conversion stories

Mother’s Day Rally Asks Why Churches Non-Essential But Abortion Facilities Are

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On a beautiful Saturday morning, 40 pro-lifers gathered outside of the Philadelphia Women’s Center for a pre-Mother’s Day rally.

Pat Stanton opened the rally with a prayer that stresses the importance of being created for God and by God for a purpose. He later asked the question as to why would churches be closed yet abortion facilities remain open under a communist governor like Tom Wolf.

The speakers included Marlene Downing of Hope Pregnancy, Katelyn D’Adamo of Generation Life, Fr. Michael Moriarty of Legionnaires of Christ, and Pastor Herb Lusk III.

Marlene stressed the importance of praying for the conversion of not just the mothers but also those that are accessory to the slaughter of innocent blood. She even knew that God has a plan for when the facility will be closed for good. She encouraged everyone to be steadfast and present.

Katelyn, the acting Director of Generation Life, shared how her closest friend was pregnant while attending college. Because of Katelyn being present, her friend chose life and graduated second in her class.

Following Katelyn was Kim Savage. Twenty years ago, Kim became one of the first members of Generation Life. She is now a mother of four. She shared about her adoption story and reflected on what it meant to be a mother.

Pastor Herb of Greater Exodus Church reminded everyone to come from a place to love in order to change hearts. Drawing from the story of Hannah in the Old Testament, prayed for a child and turned out to be one of the greatest prophets, Samuel. She would dedicate him to God.

Fr. Michael Moriarty concluded the rally with how he shared the fact that his mom chose life despite being an alcoholic and dedicated his priesthood to helping the poor in Kensington.

A blessed Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. Thank you for your yes to life. You’re heroes.

“You risk your heart every day to become a mom.” Fr. Mike Schmitz

Abortion Clinics Remain Open During COVID-19, While I Was Arrested for Praying Outside of One

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The following is a blogpost on Alliance Defending Freedom from David Benham who is sharing about his arrest outside of an abortion facility in North Carolina.

I still remember the night.

I was 15 years old when Norma McCorvey came walking through our front door with her then-partner, Connie Gonzales. The fact that we were hosting guests for dinner wasn’t unique. We were preacher’s kids, so our door was basically always revolving.

But this night was different. On this night, God was doing something amazing—something only He could do.

Legacy of Life

The woman that my family affectionately knew as “Ms. Norma” is more widely known by her pseudonym, “Jane Roe.” Norma McCorvey was the “Roe” of the infamous U.S. Supreme Court case Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. Through the faithful witness of my dad, Norma met Jesus. Several weeks later Norma was baptized, and Jason and I helped move her stuff out of Connie’s house.

Norma wasn’t the exception. We regularly witnessed the Gospel pervade the darkness of those affected by abortion. My dad committed himself to standing for the unborn as a full-time ministry, and this commitment was a family affair.

Our dad’s vigor for life was contagious. From a young age, he instilled in us that defending the defenseless wasn’t just a duty, it was an honor. He told us that if our theology wasn’t our biography, then our theology was worthless—because Jesus cared for the “least of these,” so must we.

Leverage for Life

After retiring from professional baseball, Jason and I moved to Charlotte and immediately noticed two things:

  1. There were three thriving abortion clinics.
  2. There was a desperate need for a network of life-affirming organizations.

As our business continued to grow, the Lord made it clear He wanted us to leverage our influence and resources to mobilize Christians to stand up for life. We didn’t know exactly what this would look like, but we knew that we had been called for such a time as this.

In 2010, we joined hands with business owners and local churches and started a non-profit called Cities4Life. We were driven by the vision that true compassion always leads to action. We didn’t want to just stand against abortion, we wanted to embody the life-giving actions of the Good Samaritan.

Practically, this looks like reaching down into a place of pain, tending to any wounds, taking them to an inn, and providing intentional follow up. Vulnerable women visiting abortion clinics need the warmth and love of Jesus regardless of whether they are walking in or out of that place.

Since 2010, we’ve had the privilege of serving over 5,000 women. But in ten years, we never encountered anything like we experienced earlier this month.

Locked up for Life

On Saturday, April 4, 2020, I was standing on a public sidewalk outside an abortion clinic here in Charlotte when I was unlawfully arrested.

Earlier that morning, I had received a call saying that the police were threatening to arrest our sidewalk counselors from Cities4Life. The police claimed that we were in violation of the “shelter-in-place” ordinance put in place in response to COVID-19.

I knew immediately that the authorities had no grounds for an arrest. Because we’re a federally recognized 501(c)3 that provides life-affirming social services to women in crisis, our services are classified “essential” under the ordinance. So we had a legal and constitutional right to be there. And on top of that, as an “essential” service, we could have been there with more than ten people. Out of concern for our sidewalk counselors and our community, however, we stayed under ten in number, maintaining social distancing the entire time.

I respectfully explained all of this to the officer, but to no avail.

As they cuffed me, I couldn’t help but recall the countless hours that I watched my dad standing on similar sidewalks, proclaiming life in the midst of death. It was a surreal experience, to say the least. Only two hours earlier, I had been sitting on my couch, Bible and coffee in hand, getting ready for a day with the family. Now those same hands were pressed behind my back going numb from the tight grasp of the cuffs.

I am grieved that our local government is employing the coronavirus as an illegitimate excuse to silence the voices of pro-life people. This is nothing less than viewpoint discrimination. Abortion clinics are flooded with people receiving so-called “essential” services, while peaceful counselors are arrested for offering truly essential services.

That’s why, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, we filed a lawsuit against the City of Charlotte. If abortion clinics can stay open during the pandemic, Christians should be allowed to pray outside—particularly those abiding by health and safety guidelines.

Today, we continue to partner with numerous ministries and local churches to help bring mothers to a place of hope and healing. Opposition will not dissuade us in this fight. In fact, we are invigorated all the more to be a voice for the voiceless. We pray you’ll join us!

Praying for two moms who walked away from PA’s worst abortion center

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The following is from Tom Stevens, the Director of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia

Please pray!

Like Mary and Elizabeth …

As I was praying at Philadelphia Women’s Center (Pennsylvania’s worst abortion clinic) last Friday, two young girls came out of the abortion center and when they caught my eye, one asked if I was protesting.  I said, “I’m praying and I’m here to help.”  She said,  “I don’t want an abortion but I already have a two-year-old, and I don’t want to have a baby suffer.”  I said, “Everybody suffers, but everybody has a lot of wonderful moments in life, too.  I can’t solve all your problems, but I am here to help and we have a team of people who are ready to support you and your baby.”

When I asked how far along she was, she said, “Look, I’m 17 weeks.”  She lifted her jacket and showed me her belly.  There was no doubt.  I asked what she was doing here.  She said she and her sister were getting information about the ‘procedure’ and scheduling an abortion for Tuesday (tomorrow).  She said she wouldn’t go through with it.  Her sister, who is 10 weeks pregnant, said she wouldn’t do it either.  Praise God!

PLEASE PRAY that they stick with their intention to choose life.

Marlene Downing, Dir. of Hope Pregnancy Center, and Member of Pro-Life Union Board of Directors, is helping me in counseling them, searching for housing, and providing for material needs.

THIS IS A TIME of GRACE … even in the midst of the pandemic, shut-down, and the increased atmosphere of fear.  God is on the move.

Let’s all join in praying for great grace for moms discovering that they are pregnant right now … and pray for all those who are serving them.

Be at peace and know that the Lord is good.

Learn more here

American Idol Contestant Amber Fiedler Shares Amazing Story of Choosing Adoption Over Abortion

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The following is an article from LifeNews.com writer Dave Andrusko

Over the years I’ve written several stories about American Idol, which returned on ABC in March 2018 after a two-year hiatus. Most of the singers grew up in church and in addition to their memorable songs, their stories of perseverance and endurance in face of life’s inevitable trials and tribulations always inspired me.

This year’s crop is exceptional and after missing the first couple of episodes I am now glued to the television screen on Sunday nights.

As it happens, I did not see Sofia Schuster perform. She sang her song “My Body My Choice” for the three judges which she had previously sung at a Planned Parenthood Benefit. It includes such original lyrics as “My body my choice/ It’s not up to the boys/ Nobody should have to go against what’s in their heart/ And no one has the right to tear their dignity apart.”

Etc.

I only heard about her today and could find only a few seconds of her singing. Her voice is fine and, having made the first cut, who knows how far she will go.

But then there is Amber Fiedler, a 23-year-old woman from Idaho, who, when she auditioned a few weeks ago, was 38 weeks pregnant. Katy Perry, one of three judges–Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan are the other two–asked her at the time if she knew the baby’s sex—a girl—and what name she had picked out.

Amber hadn’t. She was placing her for adoption.

“How did you come to that?” Perry asked

“My mom was a user most of my life,” Amber responded. “So my grandma is the one that raised me. The last few years I was going out and drinking a bunch. I was getting caught up in life. With this pregnancy, I’ve learned who I was as a person. I’ve had time to sit and think, and looking at the big picture of life, there are days where I don’t even have $20 in my pocket. If I’m not ready to be a mom, why would I put her through that, you know?”

The family she had chosen for her baby will be able to “give her everything she wants.”

“I’m not going to be able to do that,” she said. “I’m hoping that she’s gonna understand I am trying to choose the best for her.”

After the judges gave Amber her “ticket” to Hollywood, Perry said, “Maybe you’re not ready to be a mom, but you are ready to be an American Idol.” Then (thanks here to People magazine)

“Do you hear that, baby?” Fiedler asked her belly, before reuniting with her ecstatic family outside the doors of the audition room.

As Fiedler’s family embraced her, she said, “I fulfilled my dream today by getting a golden ticket. My dream for the baby is that she lives a beautiful and happy life with the life that I have chosen for her, and I know she’s gonna.”

I saw her perform Sunday night at the “Hollywood” stage of American Idol. She had given birth just three weeks before. She told the judges it was

“such a beautiful moment when she came out and just seeing the adoptive mom hold her. it felt good, it felt right , it felt peaceful.  And I am really happy about my decision. The adoptive family named her, they named her Norma Rose They chose Rose because of my red hair. She’s really going to bring light to a lot of people’s lives. I mean she’s brought a lot of light to mine.”

Before she announced her song choice, they cut away to an earlier interview where she said,

It is a weird thing going through all this. I never would have thought that this would be my life. But I have a really good feeling that I am really am going to help people and help girls go through what I  went through.

She told the judges that she was going to sing “Rise Up,” Andra Day’s incredibly powerful song from 2015.

And then a cutaway to where Amber says, “All for her.”

Elsewhere Amber says, “The baby saved me, she really did.”

You can listen to Amber’s story and her magnificent voice here.

LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.

SILENT AUCTION & FUNDRAISER for Kathy Barnette’s Congressional Campaign

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The following is from Dr. Monique Ruberu.

Pro-lifers are invited to a silent auction and fundraiser hosted by Dr. Monique Ruberu to benefit the campaign of Kathy Barnette who is running for Congress.

We are looking for donations for the event… if anyone wants to donate tickets, dinners, shore house weekends, lessons, haircuts, jewelry, baskets of cheer, other baskets, gladly accepted for auction…
HELP IS NEEDED
If anyone wants to donate an appetizer tray, wine, desserts, cheese, crackers,
If anyone wants to come early and help set up  greatly appreciated
If anyone has access to large numbers of wine glasses would gladly borrow
If anyone wants to volunteer to help clean up after I would be so grateful
For more information regarding the fundraiser, visit here to RSVP.

 

Newly Released Details Regarding Inaugural State March in Pennsylvania

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The following is from Dan Bartkowiak, Communication Director of Pennsylvania Family Institute and Council, regarding the inaugural state march in Pennsylvania.

We are excited to announce that joining us for the first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life on Monday, May 18th is Abby Johnson! The former Planned Parenthood director now travels the globe sharing her pro-life story, one that was put to the big screen in the movie Unplanned released last year.

“I left [Planned Parenthood] after I assisted in the ultrasound-guided abortion of a 13-week-old fetus and realized humanity in the womb existed.” – Abby Johnson

As we work to build Pennsylvania as a state where life is protected from conception to natural death, we are so excited to be getting closer to this first-ever Pennsylvania March for Life. People from across the Commonwealth are planning to march with us in this historic event. Here are some details to help you plan your trip to Harrisburg.

“We will bring abortion to an end through the March for Life and other pro-life initiatives, we will build a culture of life in the United States.” – Jeanne Mancini, President – March for Life
Bus Captains
The official drop-off location for any bus or vehicle joining us for the Pennsylvania March for Life will be on 7th Street between North Drive and South Drive. Capitol Police will be closing the lane closest to the sidewalk to allow for safe drop off.

If you have a bus coming which you would like to be listed, please fill out this form to share that information with us.

More details can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions portion of the website: PaMarchForLife.org

Schedule – Monday, May 18
11:00AM – Rally at the PA State Capitol

12 noon – March begins

RSVP to Attend (optional)

Free Parking and Shuttle Available
The Pennsylvania March for Life is able to offer free off-site parking and a free shuttle service. The parking is available at the Elmerton Parking Lot, located at 116 Azalea Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110. The free shuttle service is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Knights of Columbus.

There are additional parking and transportation options to consider:

Parking: City Island ($10 per day), Various parking garages. Options: parkharrisburg.com
Train: The Harrisburg Amtrak Train Station is four blocks away from the Capitol Complex.
Bus: The Harrisburg Greyhound Bus Station and the Transfer Center for CAT Bus Services are 4-5 blocks from the Capitol Complex.

Confirmed Speakers

unnamed (1)

Ryan Bomberger

Founder, The Radiance Foundation

Abby Johnson
Abby Johnson

Pro-Life Activist, Former Planned Parenthood director

 

unnamed
Jeanne Mancini

President, March for Life
Donate to the PA March for Life
Become an official Participating Group
There are so many individuals and groups already participating with us to help this first-ever PA March for Life have a significant impact. We want to connect with pro-life groups around the state who are coordinating support for the PA March for Life and we want to show appreciation to so many who are helping to make this all possible. That’s what becomes an official participating group is all about.

There are already over a dozen participating groups! For details on how to become an official participating group, contact Dan Bartkowiak at dbart@pafamily.org or 717-545-0600.

More details to come!
For future alerts, sign-up at PaMarchForLife.org or text PAMARCH to 73075.
Please share this information! To view this email in your browser, click here.

Sean Maguire – Event Coordinator
ourseanmaguire@gmail.com | 717-222-8588

40 Days Reflection: Pro-Life Take on Three Pillars of Lent

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By now, you have received ashes on your foreheads, made Lenten sacrifices, and have a game plan to navigate yourself to grow closer to Christ by Easter.

Then again, with Lent in full swing, you are still panicking because one of them is not completely set for you or you do not know what to do.

STAY CALM! YOU GOT THIS!

The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. How can a pro-lifer do all three of these during these 40 Days? Here is how.

Prayer- Matthew 6:5-6

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

I do not think I need to explain the meaning of this essential pillar of Lent. Be sure to pray not just for neighbors but those who mock, ridicule, and cause you daily rifts. Offer a holy hour for an end to abortion and all forms that destroy human life. Pray for the conversion of those who participate in the daily murder of innocent life.

Learn how you can perform the Spiritual Works of Mercy

Fasting- Matthew 6:19-21

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Now, many assume fasting is just for food. The catechism has a deeper meaning for it. There are seven reasons for fasting:

  1. From the beginning, God commanded some fasting, and sin entered into the world because Adam and Eve broke the fast.
  2. For the Christian, fasting is ultimately about fasting from sin.
  3. Fasting reveals our dependence on God and not the resources of this world.
  4. Fasting is an ancient way of preparing for the Eucharist—the truest of foods.
  5. Fasting is preparation for baptism (and all the sacraments)—for the reception of grace.
  6. Fasting is a means of saving resources to give to the poor.
  7. Fasting is a means of self-discipline, chastity, and the restraining of the appetites.

For those looking to fast from earthly possession, Sam Guzman offers several suggestions here

Almsgiving- Tobit 4: 7-11

“Give alms from your possessions. Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, and God’s face will not be turned away from you. Son, give alms in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have but little, distribute even some of that. But do not hesitate to give alms; you will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity. Almsgiving frees one from death and keeps one from going into the dark abode. Alms are a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who give them.”

Almsgiving is the one that is often forgotten. With everyone filing their taxes and in turn, receiving their refunds in the coming weeks, keep pro-life ministries in mind in between your loan, car, gas, and other bills.

Suggestions

  1. Every time you receive change from eating out, getting groceries, shopping for gifts, and the liking, set them aside in a special can. By Easter, put it in your parish’s Sunday collection.
  2. Host a baby bottle drive at your parish or church
  3. Cluttered? Uncluttered and donate unused clothes to goodwill, local homeless shelter, or veteran charity
  4. Collect gently used baby items and give them to a mother in need
  5. Learn about the Corporal Works of Mercy and some concrete suggestions

Pro-Life is not just for Catholics, says a Protestant

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The following is a profile article written by Lou Baldwin of CatholicPhilly.com. He recaps a recent visit of Scott Klusendorf who spoke at the 32nd annual Celebrate Life Banquet held by Pennsylvanians for Human Life on February 23rd and spoke at three local high schools. 

When one attends pro-life events in the Philadelphia area or even the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., it is easy to come away with the impression that the pro-life movement is just a Catholic thing, and no one else cares.

That is not as widespread as one might suspect.

Take Scott Klusendorf, an Evangelical Christian who was the main speaker at the 32nd annual Celebrate Life Banquet held by Pennsylvanians for Human Life at the Springfield Country Club on Feb. 23.

A graduate of UCLA who holds a master’s degree in Christian apologetics from Biola University in Southern California, he has been a fighter for human life for three decades.

Now 59 and living near Atlanta, Georgia, he and his wife Stephanie are parents of four children, Jeffrey, Tyler, Michael and Emily — “all pro-life,” said their dad.

He has been a pro-life speaker for 30 years and credits his own Christian commitment to his Chaucer professor at UCLA, who exposed him to the Christian theology underlying the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

More specifically his own awakening to the pro-life issue came while he was an associate pastor at a church in Los Angeles and he heard a talk given by Gregg Cunningham, the founder of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.

“It changed my life and I felt I had to do something about it,” Klusendorf said. “I felt I can’t just pass on the other side of the road like the priest and the Levite did. I went home and told my wife my career was about to take a dramatic change. Six months later I started a ministry helping pro-life people making a difference in the public square.”

Since then he has spoken at more than 80 colleges and universities, countless Protestant and Catholic high schools and written extensively on the issue. As a matter of fact, the day after his talk at the Pennsylvanians for Human Life dinner, he gave talks at three archdiocesan Catholic high schools – Archbishop Carroll, Msgr. Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast and Cardinal O’Hara.

Among the high schools he speaks at, probably 80 percent are Catholic, he estimated. But even among Catholic schools, not all welcome a pro-life speaker. “They give lip-service to pro-life but won’t allow speakers,” he said.

Interestingly, in this post-Vatican II era when the different denominations including Catholic have been more open to ecumenism and dialogue, Evangelicals have been warier of this than most.

Has this mutual opposition to abortion helped Evangelical-Catholic relations?

“As a Protestant, I am grateful for my Catholic friends who were at the forefront on this issue before Protestants were,” Klusendorf said. “Let’s face it, without the Catholic influence the pro-life movement would have died. We can disagree on theological issues without demonizing each other. We can discuss them over beer and cigars then roll up our sleeves to help defend life.”

While Klusendorf has been teaching pro-life especially to mostly young people for three decades now, he admits he sometimes gets discouraged.

“But I am persuaded I am required by God to speak the truth whether the people are listening not, he said. “God told the prophet, Jeremiah, to go preach against child sacrifice (Jer. 19-5), and told him ‘nobody is going to listen to you.’

“My job is more encouraging than the one he was given,” Klusendorf said. “My job is to put a pebble in their shoe, something to think about after I am gone, maybe when they are facing a crisis or a friend is considering an abortion. My job is to speak the truth and let God do the work.”

It is the same as the work of Pennsylvanians for Human Life, which has been celebrating life for decades.

At this, their 32nd annual banquet, Dr. Monique Ruberu was honored with the Margaret Way Hoffner Award and Bradley V. O’Brien received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Pro-Lifers Celebrate Life, Kick Off 40 Days One Week Out

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150 pro-lifers came out to celebrate Herb Lusk, Pastor of Greater Exodus Baptist Church, and also mark one week until 40 Days on Wednesday evening. The evening was marked with speakers, singing from the church’s choir, and reflections on Herb Lusk’s life.

Matt Britton of 40 Days took time to address the crowd. He reminded them to keep praying and showing to the moms going in because one day the abortion facility will be transformed into a haven of life. He shared that if someone is praying outside of an abortion facility the show-up rate declines due to a pro-lifer’s presence. He even shared the amazing facts of how lives were saved and transformed since the campaign started in 2004 and went national in 2007.

Monique Ruberu took the time to remind people to fill up every hour and to bring love to the sidewalk.

To sign up for 40 Days, visit here

 

9 Days for Life Novena- Day 7

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9 Days for Life

Intention
May all who support or participate in abortion experience a conversion of heart to seek and receive the Lord’s boundless mercy.

Prayers
Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be

Reflection
When God fashioned the human person in His own image and likeness, He destined us for eternal life with Him. Yet because of the sin of our first parents, death entered the world. The book of Genesis recounts the first occasion in which a person takes the life of another, as Cain violently kills his brother Abel. This instance of brother rising up against brother “at the very dawn of history is thus a sad witness of how evil spreads with amazing speed” (Evangelium vitae 8).

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From the time of creation, disregard for human life has continued to spread. When we, like Cain, allow sin to find a place in our hearts, we become blinded to the truth. Sometimes this blindness might be so deep that we fail to recognize the undeniable humanity of unborn children. We may even tragically believe the lie that abortion is an act of compassion. But we know that “life, especially human life, belongs only to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself” (EV 9). Let us pray that all who support abortion encounter the transforming love of the Father and, with repentant hearts, seek His mercy.

Acts of Reparation
(Choose one.)

Smile. Ask God today for the grace to be extra joyful and to share the light of Christ with those most in need of His love and mercy.

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Seek the intercession of Our Lady by praying a scriptural Rosary, meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries.

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Offer some other sacrifice, prayer, or act of penance that you feel called to do for today’s intention.

One Step Further
Our culture is obsessed with perfection—a superficial perfection. Social media, magazines, and television are staged and edited to depict seemingly perfect lives. When life doesn’t seem to measure up to these standards, we may be tempted to believe it’s not worth living.

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In “A Perfect Gift,” one parent shares about the experience of raising a child with Down syndrome, contrasting it with what onlookers might perceive: “It’s like looking at a stained-glass window from the outside: The colors look dark, and you can’t quite make out the figures. From the inside, however, with the sun shining through it, the effect can be brilliant. From inside our family, love illuminates our life with Charlie.* What may seem dreary to others, perhaps even unbearable, is actually filled with beauty and color.” Every life is a gift.

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