40 Days For Life – My Experience so far

It's good to be participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign. I have noticed a few turnarounds coming to the Good Counsel Centre for help in the first week so it has been very successful so far.
I also noticed that Marie Stopes' staff are worried about this. I have been threatened myself by a member of staff just a couple of days ago when I was standing outside the clinic there a man approached me and took a few photographs and told me,
“you can’t stand this side of the road, I was the one who called the police and you are not allowed to distribute information this side of the road."
I did not move and he said “You will regret this now, I am taking these photos to the police and you will be arrested”. He then started complaining about the Catholic Church and accusations of the child abuse scandals. I carried on praying and ignored his remarks. Then off he stormed around the corner and I saw him coming back about five minutes later without the police. He also took photos of the other prayer vigil volunteers standing next to the banner.
Apparently the staff at Marie Stopes have been saying the same thing to the counsellors each day to try and frighten us off. But this just shows that our presence there is a real threat to them and the devil dosen’t like it. I have been praying for their conversions, that one day they too may see the truth that God wants them to see, that abortion is wrong and will never solve anything.
One lady, a passer by who disagreed with us praying at the vigil as I was coming up toward the prayer group turned around to me and said “Don’t you agree with me, look what happens when people have children that are not able to look after them like the parents of Baby P, they should have abortions”.
“I don’t agree with you I replied, I agree with these people here, abortion is a terrible violence and is just as bad as the violence inflicted on Baby P”.
She was taken back by my reply but then tried to say that it wasn’t the same because an unborn child is just a bunch of cells. The man who was counselling her continued to talk to her to try and educate her that each unborn child is a human person and not just a bunch of cells.

The organisers of 40 Days have a really good magazine, icare, that we are distributing outside the clinic with all the information needed to turn people away from abortion, so when people take the magazine and read it they will be educated about the truth about abortion and contraception. They are also distributing them outside the tube stations.
But it is very encouraging that there are many people who pass us by that agree with us and let us know. One person came up to me and said “I'm with you 100%, keep up the good work”. Other people went over to the praying people to shake their hands. Another man offered us money towards the event.
We can learn alot from being at these vigils and by speaking to many different people but it is good to remember that our aim is to be witnesses for Jesus to the truth of the Gospel of Life and try to convert as many people as possible, whether they are going into the clinic or not. We want them all to be saved.

Learn more about 40 Days for Life.

Lorraine Coyne

A Great Prayer for Life is Urgently Needed

On our Fast Day (yesterday, 7th September) against the sex education bill I found this piece from Pope John Paul II's encyclical letter, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) on the internet when looking for inspiration from God. The day of prayer and fasting yesterday was for the failure of Chris Bryant MP's Bill which aims to introduce compulsory sex education in all schools, which will come before the House of Commons today, Our Lady's Birthday.

Evangelim Vitae says:

“a great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the word. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. Jesus himself has shown us by his own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (cf.Mt 4:1-11). As he taught His disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (cf.Mk 9:29). Let us therefore discover anew the humility and courage to pray and fast so that the power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many of our brothers and sisters the evil of practices and laws which are hostile to life. May this same power turn their hearts to resolutions and goals inspired by the civilization of life and love”.

Lorraine Coyne

Missed this fast day but want to join with us in future days of prayer and fasting? Click here

July, A Month of Grace outside London Abortuaries

July was a very special month at the prayer vigil outside the abortion mill where a few of us pray and do some pavement counselling on Saturdays. Thanks be to God for His intercession and Graces, there were three Christian couples who turned around because they believed there was a sign from God when they saw the prayer vigil. They then spoke to some of the pavement counsellors who advised them properly that abortion was wrong and to put their trust in God instead. One Christian couple had come a long distance and they noticed the picture of the 12 week old baby developing in the womb and stood talking about the baby and God to my colleague Mary for a good half hour.

They booked an appointment with our Centre the next day but then phoned to say they did not need to come for help and that they had definitely decided to keep their baby and that they had realised that it was a sin to abort their baby.

When I was on holiday one following Saturday my friend Gabi texted me to say that another Christian couple had changed their minds. She had spoken to them outside the abortuary. They sent an e-mail to one of our friends afterwards, who had given them his e-mail address, to say that they had set off that day very unsure about what they were doing but decided to go along to the abortuary with abortion in mind, while trusting that when they got there, if it (the abortion)was the wrong thing to do, that there would be a sign from God. They realised that the prayer vigil outside was that sign from God not to go ahead with the abortion.

The third couple whom Mary spoke to had come all the way from Malta and had Catholic parents but were not married and were in difficult circumstances. They were very upset at the thought of abortion and really wanted to stay and talk about it for over an hour. The young lady took a prayer card from me which I offered her from Padre Pio because she was very fond of him and I told her to pray ‘The Sacred Heart Novena’ which was on the prayer card for help and told them that if they put their trust in God that He would help them through their difficulities. Somebody at the vigil also gave this lady a Rosary Prayer Card which she was happy to take. They told us they could not go ahead with the abortion and they went inside the abortuary to tell the staff who queried them why they had changed their minds. The evening before this Saturday we had had all night Adoration at our Centre and somebody told me there was a lot of Adoration going on in different areas around the UK at that time.

All praise and thanks to God for His intercession.

Lorraine Coyne

Adoration and Pro-Life Work

Sometimes I am so busy trying to get things done at home that I am tempted to miss the hour of Adoration that I usually put aside each week.

Then I remember Jesus words and He reminds me “Would you not spend one hour with me?”.

And I think of how vital Adoration is to our pro-life work and I know that I must make every effort to be there and pray before God for the success of our work and to put prayer before other things. So many of the saints have had such great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and so it is important to follow their example and offer it to God.
When I am at Adoration I try to remember the first names of the women who have contacted our centre so that I can pray for them and especially if I know that somebody will be counselling them on that day and I always include all woman seeking abortion throughout the world at this time. I also pray for their conversions and for the baby’s father’s conversion because I know that this is very important for their salvation. It is vital to pray for the counsellors too and for the vigils that are taking place outside the clinics.
There are also some really good dedicated supporters who pray an hour of Adoration each week or more especially for our work and people who pray at our centre chapel at our monthly first Friday all night Adoration and I am sure that as a result of their sacrifices, dedication and efforts there have been many turnarounds from the abortuaries. I have witnessed myself that on the occasions when there has been all night Adoration we have had more turnarounds the next day from the abortuaries. And I believe Mother Theresa's words when she said that if enough people prayed before the Blessed Sacrament that abortion would end completely.

If you can join our Adoration Rota, offering an hour of Adoration each week in a Church of your choice, or our Rosary Rota, offering a Rosary each month for our work, please click here to sign up, or call us on 02077231740.

Lorraine Coyne

Contracepting Society Reaps A Monstrous Harvest of Impurity Amongst Children

The Picture Shows St Maria Goretti, the 12 year old Virgim Martyr who died witnessing to the value of purity to her assaillant who later reformed his life.

Many people these days fall into the trap of being pressurised by the modern world, advertising, the media,friends and even family.
It seems the easiest solution to many people, even those who are newly married, is to "wait until later" to have children, just to take a 'simple' contraceptive pill every day and not to worry about getting pregnant, with all the promises of the governments and family planning "clinics" that it will stop unwanted pregnancy.
Sadly there are many Catholics that do not believe that contraception is wrong. How many times have we heard them say, “ the Church should start keeping up with the changing times”. I had to remind a couple of young relatives recently, “ But God’s laws don’t change with the
times, if we change God’s laws to suit the modern times it will lead to sins such as abortion and euthanasia”.
We need to remember that fornication is still a sin, using contraception as the majority of people do before marriage is still a serious sin. Also, to use contraception in a marriage is a serious sin.
Unfortunately, many people are unaware that many hormonal contraceptives found in the Pill, contraceptive implants, some coils(IUS), injectable contraceptives and contraceptive patches are also abortifacients (they can cause abortions when they fail to prevent conception occurring).
Unfortunately many people like to "make up their own minds" about what part of their religion is right or wrong - usually if it's inconvenient for them they are easily tempted to find an excuse to do what they want by justifying it so it fits in with their lifestyles.
Now in schools we are threatened with the recently proposed children,schools and families(SRE)Bill which aims to make sex and relationships education compulsory for five to sixteen year olds even in Catholic schools. This is very worrying.
If these proposals come back under the new government, as they may well do, from a young age children will be taught about contraception, how to use it and where to get it. They will also learn how to procure an abortion.
The Government and Family Planning "clinics" are now encouraging sexual behaviour
at an early age and with guidance from the Teenage Pregnancy Advisory Group and
members of the pro-abortion lobby which include the Family Planning Association,
Marie Stopes International, Education for Choice and Brook Advisory Service.
Britain is already notorious for having one of the highest teenage pregnancy and abortion rates in Europe. Recently something I read that shocked me, but didn't surprise me, in a London paper; up to two school children aged under 16 are being charged with sex offences every week. The paper stated that the appalling scale of sex crimes among school age children is clear from details obtained under freedom of information laws. There was a sickening case of a boy aged 12
admitting to raping a boy aged 9. He was already on bail for sexually assaulting two girls under the age of 13.

I believe this is the result of sex education gone mad. I believe our Children should be taught about Chastity and the importance of Marriage and Christian family values. They also need to hear that the use of contraception is a sin and harmful in many ways to an individual and to society.

Lorraine Coyne

The Importance of Prayer in Pro-Life Work

I opened my bible with the intention of writing about prayer after praying for inspiration from God and thanks be to God I believe it was the right page to start off with.
First Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy Chap 2:1-6; "I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men: For kings, and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times."
We know that prayer is vital to our pro-life work and that Jesus in the only mediator who stands in need of no other to recommend His petitions to the Father. But this is not against our seeking the prayer and intercession, as well of the faithful upon earth as of the saints and angels in heaven for obtaining mercy , grace, and salvation through Jesus Christ. And we of course know the importance of praying the Holy Rosary for Our Lady’s intercession for all our needs and the needs of others.
Our Lady has revealed many promises to those who devoutly say the Rosary. Also it has been revealed that the Divine Mercy is a vital prayer to say in the fight against abortion. Monsignor Reilly recommends it for praying outside abortion clinics. We witness the power of prayer when we hear that so many abortion clinics have been closed down in America with ‘The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants’ led by Monsignor Reilly.
We need to pray for those mums who are being tempted by satan to abort, we pray for the graces to resist temptation and for them to be directed to our Centre or some kind of help so that they can keep their babies instead so that they will turn against abortion and to pray also for their conversion and salvation of their souls. We know that God will intervene if we pray fervently and have faith in Him.

Lorraine Coyne