AMDG

So there is an abortion centre near you - maybe a hospital, maybe an abortion 'clinic'. Perhaps you know, or know of an abortionist. Maybe you are aware that your local hospital has a habit of neglecting - to the point of death - the elderly or handicaped, or even of 'assisted suicide'. So what can you do about it?

Very often we feel totally demoralised by the very size of the problem. Perhaps circumstances do not allow us to make a commitment to active pro-life work of any kind, or perhaps we are already doing such work, but are assailed by the wish to do more - actually to see an end to abortion, at least near where we live.

Whatever your present position, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING. You can set up a prayer rota to make your town or area a pro-life zone. Please consider whether God is calling you to do this - abortion centres in England and the USA have been closed by prayer and fasting

If you decide to set up a rota, you will see much fruit, though not neccesarily when and what you expect. The day you have a full rota of people, things will start to happen, and even before. Always remember our total dependency on God. If nothing seems to be happening, we can pray for a sign, but it is wise simply to go on believing that constant prayer will prevail. When we tried to set up the prayer vigils outside the abortion mills in London, we encountered failure for months. However when we had made a complete rota of fasters and prayers, a prayer vigil consisting of several new people and one old hand, completely without any prompting from us, had taken place, and still continues to this day - but not at the same place because that is now closed. I think this was God's way of telling us that this work was not ours, but His - we are only His instruments and He uses the weakest of instruments to produce the greatest miracles

It is as well to remember this, because when we forget we lose strength - nothing tells us that we are on the winning side, except faith in God. If you do pro-life work seriously, you are seriously attacked by the devil in all sorts of ways, and you need the protection of a solid life of prayer, and the prayers of others. A veteran pro-lifer, who attends prayer vigils regularly, said to me that it is like the Air force: it takes four or five men on the ground to send up one airman. Similarly it takes four or five supporters in prayer to make one active pro-lifer. Even if a person never did any other pro-life work at all, this work of prayer is what maintains and sustains those who are on the cutting edge of pro-life work .

These notes are for guidance only. None of this is compulsory - we have followed more or less this pattern, and found it helpful.

1. Who to ask to join the rota: Friends, Relatives, Parish priest, Local convents, Churches of other denominations.
2. How to start: First make sure you have the information ready
   1. Decide what particularly you are praying for and find out about it. In the case of the abortion mill:
      How many babies does it kill a week, how often is it open, what is its reputation?
      If it is a hospital:
      What happens to the elderly and handicapped there. Do they have specific policies about euthanasia.
      If an abortionist:
      What is his/her name? How long has he/she been doing abortions. (Please remember that we are not trying to attack the individual but what they do)
   2. What is being done about it/him/her? Which groups are involved? Is there a reguler prayer vigil? Have there ever been any rescues done there?
   3. When do you want the people on your list to fast?
   4. What constitutes a 'fast'?
3. Next write to the people who might join (See samples of the type of letters we wrote - but obviously local groups would say different things)
4. Negotiate with your parish priest and others to see if you can give a talk (preferably after Mass)/ stick up posters etc.
5. Write to people who are firmly committed giving them dates.
6. To maintain interest, write to your fasters regularly every month or two, telling them what has been happening, any problems the group has, any babies saved, any progress of any kind. A prayer vigil at the actual abortion centre generally gives one a lot of news to use, as does a pregnancy counselling service. Keep up the personal element as much as possible - ask for prayers for particular people and intentions, e.g. the conversion of a named member of staff, as well as the broad general one that the place be shut down. Report any sign of prayer being answered, even if it is a very tiny thing that you are not quite sure about - but be honest about this - tell it how it is!
7. Start the rota as soon as you have anyone who has undertaken to fast and pray. Ask them to pray initially that you get a full rota. Send them extra copies of your introductory letter to pass on to their friends.
8. Fast and pray yourself!
9. When you have succeeded in your object start on the next problem.

Please write to me and let me know what happens, so that I can tell other groups any news. God Bless your endeavour! With this information there is a year-planner and a fasting rota manager.