This is a 4D ultrasound.






The priest at St. Martha's this morning talked about the Apostles' joy and thanksgiving to God after they were scourged and reprimanded by the Sanhedrin for teaching the Word, Acts 4. They suffered for Christ. The priest said we are rarely challenged that way today. I immediately thought about the sidewalk counselors at the abortion clinic. Well, there you have it, we should also be joyful and thankful to God when we are insulted, spit on, and among other things, threatened. The priest brought our attention to the Beatitude that says "Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven" Mt 5:11-12. I need to concentrate on that because I occasionally return insults from the pro-aborts with my own "pointed" remarks. I will try to be more joyful (and quiet) when some passer-by tells me where to go or describes what he would like to do to me! I can do that.....with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, of course.

When I got to the clinic this morning, Alicia and Meg were there talking with the women gathered at the clinic door. They are the "Friday Ladies" Stan told me about. This is the first time I have come on a Friday. I am glad to finally meet them and join them to turn people away from this horrid place. They are aggressive, but nice. They worked hard on a woman who brought her friend to the clinic for what she said was her friend's tenth abortion. Hard to believe. The "friend" drove a car with a Rosary hanging from the mirror, and a holy card of the Sacred Heart on the dashboard. The ladies asked how she could be a Catholic, have Sacramentals, and be an accomplice to an abortion. She would not take responsibility as an escort nor bring her friend out of the clinic to talk with us. She has ears but will not hear. I met Jim and Jane who came to pray. Alicia and Meg continued to work, I backed them up, and we all prayed the Rosary, the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy on our knees, and other prayers.

Chris came just as I was leaving. Before I passed the clinic driveway, a young black girl came on to the sidewalk. I stopped her to talk. She was interested in the options I offered to her. She is only eighteen, she has a one year old baby girl, and does not think she can handle another baby. We talked for about ten minutes. Chris joined the conversation later. I asked her name, and she said Patricia. When I told her that was my name too, she looked surprised and started to cry. She said that must be the sign she asked God to send her when she drove in to the parking lot and saw me standing in front of the clinic. I told her that she knows what God wants her to do. She is very reluctant to abort; I think she will have her baby. I told her that she is very beautiful, and the son or daughter whom she carries will probably look just like her. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. That reaction truly revealed her youthfulness. This is a GIRL, not a woman. She told me that the father wants the baby. I asked her if he would ever forgive her for killing his child. She shook her head and winced. I told her that she will always be the mother of two children. I said that she will sadly remember this date if she has the abortion, she will calculate and sadly remember the birth date, and remember the baby she never knew on Mother's Day. I asked her if she thought her future would be haunted with the constant regret and memories of the abortion. She said she has a friend who had an abortion and every night she hears babies crying. I told her to listen to her friend.

We talked about her little baby girl, motherhood, and her church. She looked at Chris's gruesome aborted baby pictures. Then he showed her a picture he received yesterday of a newborn baby that survived because the mother changed her mind and left this very same clinic. Chris showed her that baby who has the love of his mother, a name, and a future. I told her that there are no mothers who regret having their baby, but all mothers sooner or later regret an abortion. I asked her not to make this ugly clinic's dumpster or sewer drain her baby's burial place. I told her that the doctor only wants her money, he does not care about her. Patricia took our literature and finally left the clinic. Chris and I said a prayer for her.

As I walked to my car it occurred to me that no one persecuted us today! Gosh, here I was all prepared to absorb the insults with joy and thanksgiving just like the Apostles. I thanked God for sparing us today, and asked Him to renew our strength to rejoice and be glad when inevitable future attacks occur, probably on Monday. It's no wonder some people think we are crazy....go ahead...insult me....make my day!