Please come and pray for deceased Pro-Lifers

There will be a Sung Requiem Mass (Old Rite) for the deceased supporters of the Good Counsel Network on Friday 11th November at 6.30pm.

The Mass is the one organised by the

Latin Mass Society on the 2nd Friday of each month at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, Central London - the nearest tube station is Charing Cross Station.

(Photo of the Requiem Mass held at Good Counsel for Dr Bernard Nathanson.)

500 Crosses for Life Prayer Procession, 12th November 2011

500 Crosses for Life - Prayer Procession
12 November 2011, starts 1:30 pm at Westminster Cathedral, Victoria Street, SW1P 1EP

European Pro Life Prayer Procession in remembrance of unborn babies killed by abortion beginning outside Westminster Cathedral at 1.30pm and finishing at Westminster Abbey at approximately 4.30pm. From Victoria Street the procession turns down Great Smith Street, then Horseferry Road, across Lambeth Bridge and along Lambeth Road to cross Westminster Bridge and thence to the Abbey.

Join this great witness of people in peaceful Intercessory Prayer for the unborn and for the end to abortion in this Country and throughout the world.

More Information:
http://www.europrolifeuk.org

Notification email:
europrolifeuk@gmail.com

Pro-Life Fundraising Ball

Good Counsel would like to invite you all to our Annual Fundraising Ball. Last year this was an amazing success, raising us lots of money to help more Mothers choose life for their children and a very good night out for all. This year we have a wonderful location in the heart of South Kensington where we will provide a 3-course meal, live music and a great night for all.

It is being held at Ognisko, 55 Exhibition Road, London SW7 2PN on Saturday 19th November, starting at 6.30pm. Tickets are £70 each with discounts for tables of 10 or 12. Please see our website for full details.

Last year we sold out and had to turn people away, so please book as soon as possible. It is essential that if you have any dietary requirements that you let us know in advance so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Conor Carroll

National Day of Prayer & Fasting for Life Wednesday 28th September

Join Us in Prayer and Fasting for the End of Abortion, Euthanasia and all attacks on the Sanctity of Life.

The next National Day of Prayer and Fasting for Life is tomorrow, please pray for an end of abortion and euthanasia. Your prayer and fasting is urgently needed. This is an opportunity for everyone to make a real difference in the pro-life struggle.

Join us in:

•Fasting: Fast from all food except bread and water for the day or fast from a particular food or luxury, e.g. chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes, TV. Fast from whatever you can given your state of health etc, but make sure it is something that involves a sacrifice to yourself.

•Prayer: We are asking people to say a Rosary (or an extra Rosary if you say it daily already). You could also offer an extra effort such as going to Mass (or an extra Mass) on the day, or going to Adoration. You can even pray before a closed tabernacle if Adoration is not available near you.

(Photo Benediction at Good Counsel)

Stuart McCullough

Write A Letter To Mary

Mary Wagner who I have written about before here, has been jailed for 40 days (!) for her witness to unborn life. Representing herself in court, Mary chose to use the opportunity as a platform to declare the truth about the evil of abortion rather than defend herself against the charges.
Read about her here and why not send a letter to Mary thanking her for her witness.

Clare McCullough

Urgent extra National Day of Prayer and Fasting for Life, Tuesday 6th (or Wednesday 7th) September

On Tuesday 6th September(moved to 7th after we sent this out as an email!) in the House of Commons there will be a debate regarding Health and Social Care Bill. A number of amendments regarding the counselling of pregnant women in relationship to abortion will be debated. With the details that we currently have it is not clear what would be the long term outcome of these amendments. Although there are some serious concerns that pro-lifers have raised. The Good Counsel Network has therefore called for an extra day of prayer and fasting for life with the intention that God’s Will, will be done and that the bill and any amendments to it, will do nothing to hinder the pro-life movement and that it will also not lead to an increase in the number of abortions.



Therefore on Tuesday 6th of September (or on Wednesday 7th)please:



Fast



Fast from all food except bread and water for the day



Or



Fast from a particular food or luxury, e.g. chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes, TV.



Fast from whatever you can, given your state of health etc, but make sure it is something that involves a sacrifice to yourself.



Prayer



We are asking people to say a Rosary (or an extra Rosary if you say it daily already).



You could also offer an extra effort such as going to Mass (or an extra Mass) on the day, or going to Adoration. You can even pray before a closed tabernacle if Adoration is not available near you.

(Photo of Benediction at Good Counsel on the eve of the Fast Day.)

Stuart McCullough

And Then It Rained On Our Pro-Life Pilgrims, And Everyone Else

So, the already weary travellers begin their journey. With our flawless Spanish and engaging personalities, locals have been jumping at the chance to guide us on our desperate quest for cheapish food, er I mean to get to see the Pope. After some hopeless bumbling around the Plaza Del Sol, asking for about an hour, we decided to set off and gloriously begin the pilgrims march to the aerodrome to see the Pope.



Despite being suffocated with WYD volunteers, no one was able to tell us which direction we could walk to the aerodrome, and so we ended up taking train.



After hours of wearisome travel , we finally arrived, only to be booted to the back of the field as our spaces were full. Nonetheless, the excitement in the air is evidence enough to show that no matter what is thrown in the way, the love for Papa and for the Church, the Body of Christ, conquers all.

[Just after we recieved this it started to rain and rain and rain at Cuatro Vientos, which I'm told means Four Winds! Still look out for the wet Good Counsel Network postcards for the chance to win a dry copy of the Holy Father's book]

Johanna Hendrickx

Pilgrims on fire with the Faith!

Good Counsel T-Shirt spotted in Madrid! If you see him ask for a Good Counsel postcard and you could win a book by the Holy Father!

Signing in at the site, where the Pope will be tonight (6.30-9.30pm), and where he will offer Mass on Sunday morning at 7.45am. You can watch it all live on EWTN (sky 589), but you will need your own hose pipe!

Pilgrims on fire with the Faith at World Youth Day, get hosed down by local firemen!

Stuart McCullough

Three Pro-Life Pilgrims Lost In Madrid!

The news at the start of today from Gaelle, Eddie & Johanna, Good Counsel Pilgims in Madrid for World Youth Day, was clear "We're lost".



But don't worry they found a crowd and followed them! If you see them ask for a postcard to win the Pope's book.



"Arrival in Aluche to start walking to the aerodrome, after we stock up on food" (Real Hobbits!)

Stuart McCullough

World Youth Day Can Start Now, We're Here!

Well here we are in Madrid, at last! We had a long wait, and a delayed flight,

but we are alive, and going to see the Pope tomorrow. I can't wait! We will be with over a million other young people, gathering as a witness to the Catholic Faith, showing the secular world that we, the young people, can and do stand up for what we believe in.



We have collected our postcards from the wrong belt(!), and we are on route to our accommodation. We are armed with Our Lady's prayers and lots of courage to battle against the atrocity that is abortion and especially 'Catholics for choice'.

(Photos, Gaelle, Johanna & Eddie awaiting delayed plane and Midnight dinner in Madrid. Do see the post below for details of how to win a copy of Light of the World)

See the World Youth Day Website here and watch the eventsy of WYD on EWTN

Gaelle Hendrickx

World Youth Day, Book Prize

These three Musketeers are on their way to Madrid now for World Youth Day. On Saturday they will start handing out Pro-Life postcards from the Good Counsel Network to anyone from the UK. So, if you are in Madrid, find Gaelle, Eddie or Johanna, ask them for a postcard, fill it in, hand it back to them or post it in and you could win a copy of Light of the World by The Holy Father.



Please re-blog, retweet, Facebook, etc this.

Pro-Life Vigil, London Saturday 20th August

Are you pro-life? Would you like the opportunity to help stop abortions taking place in London? Could you give up a few hours this Saturday to help spread awareness in East London?



SPUC OUTREACH IN STRATFORD



Newham Borough in East London has the highest abortion rate in the U.K. (39.9 per 1000 women) and has the sixth highest number in Europe, with 2,341 abortions taking place every year. BPAS have recently opened a new abortion centre in the area, and so the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children will be doing a pro-life outreach there on Saturday 20th August. We aim to inform the local public about the positive pro-life services available, raise awareness about exactly what is happening in the area, and campaign against the new opening. Join SPUC this Saturday as help is needed to man the stall, distribute pro-life literature and engage with the public.



Meet outside Stratford Tube Station at 10.30am. We will finish no later than 2pm. Other details are on our facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147099005375311&view=wall¬if_t=event_wall



Hope to see you there!



Any queries please contact: 02078203140



Daniel Blackman – danielblackman@spuc.org.uk



Very happy to let you all know about this, if you cannot be there please pray and see here for other vigils. Photo is of John Smeaton of SPUC praying at a Good Counsel Vigil.

Stuart McCullough

Pro-Life Vigil in the rain, with the Bishop

Bishop McMahon of Brentwood, pictured just before the start of the Pro-Life vigil in Buckhurst Hill, Saturday 16th July. He was thanked, as this is his 7th year of attending this vigil!


It rained and it rained and it rained! Do contact the Helpers for information about other vigils and to get a recording of the Bishop's Homily.


And lastly, as this was the 7th anniversary of the funeral of Louisa, who was well known for Reduced to clear food here are the crisps I had.

Stuart McCullough

Pro-Life Bishop, Michael Evans RIP

On Wednesday 13th of July The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass was offered, in the Good Counsel Network's chapel, for the repose of the soul of Bishop Evans, who died on Monday. Here follows some information about the Bishop from John Smeaton's blog.

Michael Evans, the Catholic bishop of East Anglia, died earlier this week after a long period with cancer. I wish to put on record my gratitude for Bishop Evans' defence of the unborn when Amnesty International decided to campaign for the decriminalisation of abortion and access to abortion worldwide. Below are some extracts from the statement Bishop Evans issued announcing his decision to leave Amnesty International after 31 years of active membership. May he rest in peace.

"...[O]ur proper indignation regarding pervasive violence against women should not cloud our judgement about our duty to protect the most vulnerable and defenceless form of human life. The International Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, and became a binding treaty for those countries which ratified it. Its Preamble quotes from the 1959 Declaration on the Rights of the Child, that 'the child, by reason of his or her physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth'. This must surely be part of the body of international human rights law to which Amnesty International is committed.

The Catholic Church shares Amnesty's strong commitment to oppose violence against women (for example, rape, sexual assault and incest), but such appalling violence must not be answered by violence against the most vulnerable and defenceless form of human life in a woman's womb. Catholics would want to show practical compassion for such women, and ensure for them all the medical and spiritual care and support they need. But there is no human right to access to abortion, and Amnesty should not involve itself even in such extreme cases...

To support access to abortion even in dire situations compromises Amnesty's mandate to 'Protect the Human'. In time Amnesty may seek to develop this policy further, but even this current limited decision makes it very difficult for Catholics to remain members of Amnesty or to give it any financial support. Very regretfully, I will be ending my 31 year membership of Amnesty International, which included in the 1980s several years on the British Section Council and its Religious Bodies Liaison Panel...

[Amnesty's] regretable decision will almost certainly divide Amnesty's membership and thereby undermine its vital work. Among all human rights, the right to life is fundamental. Commitment to work to 'Protect the Human' can only be deeply compromised by any support for access to abortion..."

Stuart McCullough

By the Babe Unborn, GK Chesterton

"By the Babe Unborn"

by G.K. Chesterton

If trees were tall and grasses short,
As in some crazy tale,
If here and there a sea were blue
Beyond the breaking pale,

If a fixed fire hung in the air
To warm me one day through,
If deep green hair grew on great hills,
I know what I should do.

In dark I lie; dreaming that there
Are great eyes cold or kind,
And twisted streets and silent doors,
And living men behind.

Let storm clouds come: better an hour,
And leave to weep and fight,
Than all the ages I have ruled
The empires of the night.

I think that if they gave me leave
Within the world to stand,
I would be good through all the day
I spent in fairyland.

They should not hear a word from me
Of selfishness or scorn,
If only I could find the door,
If only I were born.

There will be a Chesterton Conference in Oxford on Saturday 2nd July. Chesterton Prayercards can be printed from here.

Stuart McCullough

Ronald Reagan's words of wisdom

"I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born."
Ronald Reagan
New York Times, 22 September 1980

Stuart McCullough

Happy Birthday Pro-Life English Bishop.

Today is the 75th birthday of Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood. We wish him a Happy Birthday. If you were wondering what to get a Bishop for his birthday when he reaches the age of retirement, let me tell you. Bishop McMahon has for a number of years prayed outside Marie Stopes Abortuary in Buckhurst Hill. On Saturday 16th July (the next day will be the 31st anniversary of him being made a Bishop) he will do so again. So the best present you could give him, would be to attend this vigil.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered in St Thomas of Canterbury Church, 557-559 High Road, Woodford Green, IG8 0RB at 9am. At 9.45 approx the Bishop and the faithful will process to the abortuary saying the Rosary etc. on route. We will then return at 12 noon to the Church and at 12.30pm break for tea and a get together. Please bring a packed lunch. For more details. If you are not sure if you can attend please click here.

There will also be a Vigil at Bedford Square abortuary on Saturday 2nd July, in honour of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Photo from Fr Finigan's blog.

Offering up 72 Miles of pain to save lives

Hi everyone,

I am going on The Chartres Pilgrimage over the Pentecost weekend. It is my first time doing this Pilgrimage and I am really looking forward to completing it. It is a Pilgrimage in the true sense of a Pilgrimage. We leave London very early on Friday 10th June having had Mass at Westminster Cathedral. We then travel to Paris by coach, staying one night in a hotel in the outskirts.

On Saturday we get up really early and have our last proper meal for three days. Mass is said in Notre Dame Cathedral and then the Pilgrimage starts. Over the next three days we will walk 72 miles to Chartres, praying, singing and generally giving glory to God. We will have Mass every day and survive on bread water, and whatever we can carry. Each night we camp out in large tents which I am told are bitterly cold (even though we are in the middle of Summer).

Finally at about 3pm on Monday we arrive at Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres where we have Mass and finally a rest.

I am hoping that you will sponsor me for my efforts with all the money raised going to The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel which is a Catholic Pro-life Charity who give support to expectant Mothers who are in the most difficult and desperate circumstances before, during and after the birth of their child. For more information about their work please see www.goodcounselnetwork.com or to donate.

This is from Gaelle's Just Giving page, I'm pleased to say that she made it. You can still donate.

Stuart McCullough

"The best talk I have ever heard" John Smeaton

Monsignor Philip J Reilly, has just given what John Smeaton, described as, "The best talk I have ever heard." And to be honest, I would be hard pushed to say he was wrong. If you were unable to be at Spanish Place last night, do contact the Helpers of God's Presious Infants as they were filming the talk. John's blog will no doubt cover the talk in detail.

Photo of Monsignor & John chatting at the end of the talk.

Stuart McCullough

Most important Pro-Life talk in England so far this year, will be on Wednesday

Monsignor Philip J Reilly, the founder of the Helpers of God's Precious Infants will be in London on Wednesday. He will be giving a talk at St James' Church, Spanish Place, 22 George Street, London, W1U 3QY, on Wednesday 18th May 2011 at 7.30pm.

The number of babies, as well as Mothers & Fathers saved from the horrors of abortion by God's Grace, through this Priest is amazing. Should we go to the abortuary and pray? What should we do when we are there? Do Bishops and Priests need to go? Will me going really make a dfference? Over years I've heard Monsingor answer all of this and much more besides.

Stuart McCullough