News

Warmest season’s greetings to you and your loved ones.

Have you noticed how our Faith is supporting our journey towards holiness with the many memorials in its December calendar?

For example, at the outset of the month there are four days dedicated to our Blessed Mother, two of which I’m particularly fond of.

On December 8^th we venerate her under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the pristine vessel that bore Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Like him and unlike any other creature in all of time – past, present, or future, the Virgin Mary is conceived without the stain of original sin. Hence, she is the chosen instrument to receive her Redeemer Son into this world.

Another important memorial to her occurs on December 12. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe recalls her appearance in 1531 to a humble Aztec farmer, Juan Diego, who we also memorialize in December. This apparition led to the conversion to the Christian faith of some 9 million men and woman over a nine year period since her apparition!

This celebration is significant for us who defend life. The tilma or cloak which Juan Diego wore bears the very image of the Virgin Mother who appeared to him - a very beautiful Mary, full of gentleness. She appears three months pregnant, a not insignificant detail affirming the importance of unborn children as well as the defense of human life.

Next is the most significant memorial in December: Christmas.

Though being in the form of God,

(Jesus) did not count equality with God something to be grasped.

But he emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave, become as human beings are;

and being in every way like a human being,

(Phil. 2: 6-11, The New Jerusalem Bible)

On December 25^th we celebrate the timeless celebration of Our Lord’s coming into embodiment, beginning his redeeming mission for mankind.

The Holy Innocents

A last memorial to note occurs on December 28^th, the feast of the Holy Innocents, another not insignificant feast for those defending life.

The temporal ruler at the time of Jesus’ birth, King Herod, was of the jealous ilk, having done away with his rivals, his wife, and his own children to secure his power. Hence, word of the birth of the Messiah of the Jewish people had a predictable similar result, as he saw him as a usurper of his throne, not understanding that Christ’s kingdom was of another realm - the spiritual realm.

Herod’s misplaced passions drove him to order the killing of all male infants up to the age of two in Bethlehem and its surrounding region, which the evangelist Matthew links with the prophecy of Jeremiah: “A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning: Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be confronted, because they are not.”

The Ethiopians in their liturgy, as well as the Greeks in their calendar, count fourteen thousand children massacred on this occasion.

These innocent victims epitomize all innocent lives violently lost, particularly those in the mother’s womb.

Thank you for your on-going assistance to help us continue this work to protect the most innocent members of our society, thereby helping to further our Lord’s mission of redemption here on Earth.

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed trip journey to holiness and a most merry Christmas.

Brian Jenkins

This past Sunday, November 4^th, 2018, we completed our twentieth 40-day prayer vigil for the end of abortion.

Begun in Montreal in 2009 by QLC President Mr. Georges Buscemi, this twice-yearly prayer vigil has taken place every year since, moving from its original site on Saint Joseph Blvd. East to the intersection of Berri and St-Catherine streets when the Morgentaler abortion centre relocated near there in 2014.

This past fall the Montreal site was one of over 400 vigils occurring simultaneously worldwide, which since the inception in 2003 of the 40 Days for Life vigils over 15 000 babies have been spared from abortion through prayer and fasting, and timely information about resources to pregnant women. And that’s 15 000 that we’re aware of!

To quote the movement’s founder, Shawn Carney, “Abortion was imposed upon the world by the highest levels of government. But abortion is ending from the ground up through the faith and fortitude of pro-life Christians like you.”

We are already preparing the next vigil, set to begin on Ash Wednesday – March 6, 2019. Consider joining us to end the culture of abortion in Quebec.

Two signs from this past vigil spur our efforts on.

An unborn child is a human person

whose life has value and deserves to be protected by our society.

First, we witnessed the tragedy of the violation this basic pro-life message, seeing women leave abortion facilities in obvious discomfort, signs of lost life.

As Mr. Carney aptly cites Scriptures, our presence on the streets fulfills our creator’s wishes for us, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

As people of the Good News, we need to counter the mainstream message about the “right” to abortion, reinforced by the media, government officials, entertainment personalities, and pressure groups.

A second result from this past vigil was the interview of Mr. Buscemi on a local radio station which operates directly across the street from the vigil site. Daily the staff walked by us on their way in and out of the station, seeing us and our signs.

Our pregnancy support sign (the one indicating our toll-free crisis-pregnancy telephone line number) caught the eye of one radio host and incited her to clandestinely call posing as a needy 24 year-old pregnant woman.

The ensuing phone conversation troubled her, hearing about the hard realities of abortion – dismemberments, burnings, etc. Mr. Buscemi aptly addressed her concerns.

“Both faith and reason agree that 'Abortion is murder',” was the clear message he intoned to his hosts and to the radio audience during the 14-minute interview.

He also covered the question whether abortion is justified if the woman conceives when raped – “Should a child be condemned for the crime of his father?”, as well as noted that respect for the unborn does not undermine in anyway whatsoever respect due the mother.

Your presence at the next prayer vigil, beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019, will further the work of Mr. Buscemi to foster faith and reason and so rebuild our culture into a culture of life.

Your help is needed. Consider:

• becoming a prayer volunteer, spending an hour every week, whether as part of your Lenten observance or for the sake of upholding the respect for unborn life;
• leading a group from your parish or faith community to “adopt-a-day” – i.e. committing to fill in the time slots from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• supporting us financially so that other eye-catching signs be made, draw the attention of Montrealers to the tragedy of abortion.

In any and all of these ways, we cover ourselves with the love of Christ so that the lives of our unborn brothers and sisters will not be trampled upon.

Thank you for your support to make this initiative possible.

Brian Jenkins, Outreach Coordinator

[email protected]

As you read this newsletter, we are about to begin the second half of the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil for the end of abortion.

This vigil’s goal is to tap into the God’ munificence via prayer and sacrifice so that the gift of life be ever more seen and esteemed by ourselves and all members of our society.

Since, Wednesday, September 26, 2018, the vigil has been going on daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, at the corner of Berri and St-Catherine streets in downtown Montreal, where five abortion centres ply their deadly commerce.

Below are excerpts from the vigil log; offered for your reading enjoyment and prayerful support:

Day 2, Thursday, September 27, 2018 – Divine Assistance

A sunny day brought more people onto the streets than the previous rainy day. So, more persons walked by the vigil location, many of whom expressing themselves either in favour or not about our presence. I figured the nay sayers outnumbered the yeahs, two to one.

One naysayer surprised me. In mid-afternoon, while praying, I was startled out my revelry by a slight pressure on my back. No sooner, a young appeared before me drawing a large X with a black felt marker on the sign hanging in front of me. He then scurried off.

Removing the signs, I noticed that both had a double X mark swathed on them. Wasting little time, I tried to remove the marks but had limited success.

Then Claude, one of the prayer volunteers, arrived. Quite naturally he offered me his alcohol-based hand cleaner along with a sac of Kleenex. He applied the liquid adroitly along the marks and I worked with the wipes. To my amazement the marks came off easily with no lasting impressions!

Claude was a God send, coming at just the right moment with the right tools. Need I add that alcohol cleaner and wipes are a daily tool I carry with me!

Day 5 – The Life Chain

As the Life Chain is scheduled for this afternoon, a half day will be spent at the vigil location, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. before moving to join

Day 8 – Multiple Encounters

On this overcast day we had multiple interactions with the public, some civilised and others more emotive.

By emotive, I think of three persons – two women and one man, all of whom shouted at us before continuing their way. One lady shouted as she walked by “abat aux obscurantists.” She was followed by a young man who shouted “anti-choix; allez-vous en!” as he cycled by. Finally, near the end of the day, another female pedestrian stopped and shouted for us to go to hell, us and our religion. (How she knew our religion remains to be seen!)

A positive exchange occurred for both Charlotte and I separately. A woman berated Charlotte at first but an exchange followed, particularly so when a man stopped to engage the woman. With me, a young woman stopped to learn my views about rape, my faith, and abstaining until after marriage.

Day 10 – A Day of Visitors (Vigil ¼ mark)

This day many persons dropped by the vigil location to chat and encourage those of us on hand to persevere.

Of this latter group, at the outset of the day were an older gentleman and young Hispanic woman. In the latter part of the morning, Gordon (28) a street evangelizer stopped to chat and blessed me before leaving; we both remember meeting each other at a previous vigil. Charlotte was the recipient of some lauds, with one woman offering her a twoonie. (Interestingly, unlike previous vigils persons have been offering us, particularly Charlotte some monetary gifts - $1, $2, $5)

In the afternoon three visitors came, two of whom chatted for some time – Serge and Joseph. I had 40-minute chats with both. Serge and I saw eye-to-eye on many issues whereas Joseph made me feel uncomfortable on numerous occasions. The latter, a professed Christian, had the tendency during our talk to point his finger at passers-by and stating a judgment about them – “she’s pro abortion”, “him, a good person.. The conversation and exchange flowed better with Serge whereas with Joseph I found myself more listening and questioning the numerous claims he was making. I found he was lacking in mercy.

The third person, Charles, came just as I was closing out the day and when I emerged from 5 p.m. mass he was there with Joseph along with a police officer in conversation.

Day 14 – The Interview

Today’s highlight was the interview by a dozen or so UQAM journalism students.

At around mid-afternoon, I had no sooner taken a break that a first group of four students and then a second and a third approached me almost simultaneously. Young men and women questioned me about what I was doing, why, the support to pregnant women we offer. I gave concrete details about the latter. Finally satisfied, photos were taken and they were off.

I mustn’t forget the post-abortive woman (mid-twenties) who collapsed next to the metro aedicula. This occurred around 11:20 a.m. She was assisted by a male and female of about the same age. I offered the phone no. of a colleague who does post-abortion counselling.

Among the prayer volunteers and well-wishers who came and went on this day are Carlos, Suzanne, Alejandra, Charlotte, Denis, Mary and her son Denison.

Comments heard: young woman: “you should be ashamed of what you are doing,” and an older woman: « Vous faites pitié, Monsieur. »

Day 17 – Parting of the Veil

Because of laws and the construction occurring in the vicinity of the vigil location ( I counted five work sites all in visible range of our prayer location), we have an obstructed line of sight to the two abortion centres close at hand. Yet, this day a veil was parted briefly permitting Charlotte and I to witness the tragedy going on.

In sum three couples travelled through our prayer site, proceeding into the clinics and one of the women noticeably feeling the impact of the abortion on returning needing aid from the man accompanying her.

The latter incident particularly affected Charlotte.. The woman needed visible assistance and comfort from her partner to make her way to the metro. Never had we a greater need for our presence to point out the butchering going on.

Our presence on the streets of Montreal brings the love of Christ front and centre, not only to the men and women seeking to end of the lives of their unborn children, but also to the many others who are struggling and who have forgotten God.

Thank you for your support to make this initiative possible.

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Here's a wonderful editorial by Journal de Montréal columnist Richard Martineau. He takes on the school of Political Correctness, this time showing itself at the University of Rhode Island, and defends the importance of truth. Yet, how can this man be so adamant about truth and remain blind to the harms of both abortion and transgenderism! Prayers requested for him.

106 votes! That slim margin was enough to defeat a vote protecting the unborn child!

Let me explain.

I recently attended the Conservative Party of Canada biannual convention held in Halifax, NS.

From August 23 – 25, 2018, about 3500 delegates from across Canada met, including three of us from the Quebec Life Coalition.

Background

CPC members gather once every two years to propose, debate, and vote upon propositions to be added to the party policy handbook.

In the run up to the 2006 federal election, the national Conservatives adopted a motion – Article 65, to NOT reopen the abortion debate.

Article 65 of the Conservative Party of Canada policy platform states that “a Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.”

At this recent national convention, though as many as eight pro-life, pro-family, and pro-faith resolutions were adopted, unfortunately the proposal to delete Article 65 was defeated by a slim margin; 53% of the delegates (945) voted against removing the article versus 839 who voted in favour.

Only 107 were missing to scratch the article, permitting the Conservative Party to become a voice for the unborn!

Many of us were saddened and disheartened by this result, having travelled so far, petitioned the delegates, and falling short.

Yet our resolve to defend and speak up for the unborn is steadfast. We continue the battle. We return to our churches, our social groups, petitioning our peers for the protection of unborn life.

You’re invited to join us in our efforts.

Consider being with us in one of our upcoming events:

• Pilgrimage for Life. On Saturday, September 15, 2018, a day-long event, travelling to three abortion facilities and five holy places, offering our prayers and sacrifices to Our Lord that He intercede on behalf on unborn children threatened by abortion. You can join us aboard our chartered bus, by reserving a seat at 514 344-2686.
• Life Chain. On Sunday, September 30, 2018, a sixty minute silent, prayerful vigil at a busy thoroughfare, signs in hand, drawing the public’s attention that abortion is widespread in our land. There will be two thousand locations across Canada to welcome pro-lifers from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. For details call us at 514 344-2686.
• 40 Days for Life prayer vigil for the end of abortion. This twice annual event is set to run from September 26, 2018, to Sunday, November 04, 2018. Again, we will be at the heart of the abortion industry in the province of Quebec – the corner of St-Catherine and Berri Streets, Montreal, daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We need your help to bolster our diminishing number of prayer volunteers. Again, call 514 344-2686 for details.

Else, make a pledge. Your financial support funds such worthy projects such as of stalwart services:

• A toll-free phone line / “Enceinte et Inquiète” Web site, 24/7, for women experiencing a crisis pregnancy.
• Apologetics courses, instructing people of good will in the hope that is ours.

Finally your prayers ARE an invaluable way to change hearts and our culture.

Evil is in our midst. Moral iniquity is rampant. May we be instruments of good, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and inspired by our saints and the Blessed Mother to be ever faithful to Our Lord in promoting a culture of life.

Thank you for your support!

Brian Jenkins

Outreach Coordinator

The blessings of summer are here – warmth and sunshine, fresh produce, time for travel and for spending with dear ones.

We've noticed and are benefiting yet without neglecting our duty to defend faith, family and life, from conception to a natural death.

I recently reveled in a four-day pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., where along with fifty others visited shrines, museums and famous spots.

Also, I got to travel to Phoenix, AZ, with my colleague Mario Richard to attend a pro-life symposium. Well over 150 people leaders within the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil for the end of abortion movement met to share pro-life experiences.

For instance, Carmela spoke about starting a 40-day vigil in her native Columbia. Overwhelmed by the number of abortion facilities in her town she invited friends to an evening of prayer and to brainstorm on how to end the slaughter of the innocent. The answer came from the lips of a friend: “Have you heard of 40 Days for Life?” She hadn’t and, upon learning more, decided to register to become a campaign leader. God responded.

They built it, …

… and people came!

Carmela was awed by the outpouring of support that the vigil attracted. And it did not end there. Her initiative inspired many others in Columbia to do likewise in their own municipalities in subsequent vigils, proving that across the Columbia and in the rest of the world people want to see the end of abortion.

A second testimony came from Sue Thayer. Sue shared her experience of journeying FROM being a Planned Parenthood (PP) manager in Iowa TO becoming a 40 Days for Life vigil leader at the very clinic she managed!

Again God responded gracing this 17-year former PP manager to comprehend the horrible and destructive force that abortion is. (Sue’s testimony may be found in this month’s newsletter.)

Uniting around the Word of God as found in Sacred Scripture which she made available at the vigil location, the people from the different churches united to pray, resulting in the subsequent closing of the abortion facility!

With your support, here in Quebec, Columbia, Iowa, and across the world, we will achieve the end of abortion. Consider joining us this fall, beginning on Wednesday, September 26, 2018, as Montreal hosts its twentieth 40-day prayer vigil for the end of abortion.

Much more is planned to build up the culture of life and you are invited!

• Corn on the Cob/Open house, set for Sunday, August 19, 2018. The president of the Catholic Parents’ Association of Quebec, Mr. Jean-Léon Laffitte, will be our guest speaker. The day begins at noon on the grounds of Saint-Émile church, 3333 Sherbrooke Street East, Montreal.
• August 22-24, 2018, ten to twelve of us will travel to Halifax, NS, to attend the national Conservative Party of Canada Congress. We wish to strengthen the party’s pro-life platform especially as a federal election set for fall 2019.
• Pilgrimage for Life is set for Saturday, September 15, 2018, a day-long event, travelling to 3 abortion facilities and 3 holy places, offering prayers and sacrifices to Our Lord that He intercede on behalf on the unborn children threatened by abortion. You can join us on our chartered bus.
• Life Chain is set for Sunday, September 30, 2018. For details call us at (514) 344-2686.

Finally, we remain steadfast in the defense of life of the unborn child and the women living a crisis pregnancy. We are ever manning our toll-free phone line along with the “Enceinte et Inquiète” Web site, as witnessed these past few weeks, helping four mothers and one gentleman with their struggles regarding a pregnancy and raising their children.

In conclusion, Our Lord has blessed with copious fruits particularly during these summer months. Mindful of these, let us not be remised in defending faith, family and life as our opposition is ever at work undermining the culture of life. Thank you for your support!

Brian Jenkins

Outreach Coordinator

Quebec Life Coalition

In these times of increasing attacks on faith, family and life in Quebec and Canada, we may become discouraged. On the other hand, we must not forget all the good that is being done to resist and even to reverse these bad tendencies. Over the past year, the Quebec Life Coalition, with your support, has also been active in the fight on several fronts:

Website: We cannot ignore the power of the media. Unfortunately, this power in the last decades has been at the service of evil. This is why the Quebec Life Coalition regularly publishes news translated from reliable sources, which otherwise would not be available in French Canada. Our website receives an average of 20,000 to 25,000 visitors per month.

Annual Symposium: Annually we present a conference that brings together our activists to inform them about the issues of faith, family and life, from conception to natural death. It is a high point of the year when social conservatives and committed Christians meet.

40 Days for Life: Twice a year, we invite Christians in Montreal to pray and fast for the end of the abortion. In addition to more than 300 other participating cities around the world, our 40-day vigils in front of abortion clinics are a great way to fight the deadly culture we live in.

March for Life: This annual walk brings together 20,000 people in Ottawa and is a great opportunity to showcase our pro-life convictions, asking the government to protect the unborn child from the moment of conception. The Quebec Life Coalition promotes the event in Quebec, chartering buses from various places in the province so people can attend.

Elections 2018 - 2019 - Conservative Congress Halifax: The Quebec Life Coalition is seeking to amend our federal and provincial laws to make them fairer. We must therefore challenge our politicians by all means available, before, during and after the elections. As well, later this summer we will join several other pro-life organisations from across the country to promote faith, family and life at the Conservative Party convention in Halifax.

Videos: Although we had to interrupt production of YouTube videos, we hope to restart this fall. The videos (of our apologetics seminars and our defense of life and the family) are a great way to spread our values.

Trial: Our lawyer, working pro bono, will soon begin a lawsuit against the Quebec government and its restrictive law against our freedom of expression outside Quebec's abortion facilities. For we need to assert our right to public expression of our disagreement with abortion, and resist any attempt at unjust censorship.

Voice of the Family: This international group of pro-life organizations, of which The Quebec Life Coalition is a member, meets annually in Rome to study more deeply the problems that we have to solve and to propose possible solutions. This gathering represents an unparalleled way to network among top pro-life groups and acquire resources to continue the good fight.

Apologetics Courses: These seminars aim to give a solid foundation to defend one’s pro-God, pro-family and pro-life convictions. Ranging from philosophy to community activism, through Christian apologetics, these courses are offered in both French and English and given on our premises to classes of 15-20 people. We intend one day to make them available online.

Saint-Enfant-Jésus Center: We support this Center which aims to help pregnant women in difficulty and founded on a solid Christian foundation. It seeks to help pregnant women in distress to make the right choice for them and their child. This center, aided by a Montreal pro-life medical doctor, will also provide housing for these women in need. (The Center is currently looking for new lodgings; a vacant rectory has been found and hopefully it will be the centre’s new home soon.)

The toll-free phone line along the “Enceinte et Inquiète” Web site: Complementing the Center, this toll-free line (1-855-871-4442), managed by the Quebec Life Coalition, and the accompanying website offers women experiencing a crisis in their pregnancy provides an important alternative to the pro-abortion government agencies. Women wishing to continue their pregnancy are referred to resources in their community.

You now see that many ways in which we are working to repair the ills in our country - thank you for helping us to continue to defend faith, family and life, from conception to natural death!

Georges Buscemi

President

Quebec Life Coalition

We wish to thank you all for your on-going support of the Quebec Life Coalition and its mission of defending faith, family and life, from conception until natural death.

Your prayers, your donations, and your words & deeds all foster a culture of life furthering Our Lord’s commandment to love, to change hearts.

Sacred Scripture

Changing hearts is at the core of our faith tradition. In the Old Testament we read, “I (the Lord) will give you a new heart, and breathe a new spirit into you; I will take away from your breasts those hearts that are hard as stone, and give you human hearts instead.” (Ez, 36:26)

The New Testament announces the gifts that the Spirit supplies us with to carry out this work.

“(4) … there are different kinds of gifts, though it is the same Spirit who gives them, … (8) One learns to speak with wisdom, by the power of the Spirit, another to speak with knowledge, with the same Spirit for his rule; (9) one, through the same Spirit, is given faith; another, through the same Spirit, powers of healing; (10) one can perform miracles, one can prophesy, another can test the spirit of the prophets; one can speak in different tongues, another can interpret the tongues; (11) but all this is the work of the one and the same Spirit, who distributes his gifts as he will to each severally. – 1 Corinthians 12

The Importance of the Father

Father’s Day is upon us, Sunday, June 17, 2018, and these tools are vital to the station of fatherhood.

Vital because an often cited reason why women choose abortion is related to the father.

For example, over a ten-day period two years ago, I received six phone calls from women asking for our help because they were being coerced to abort the child they were carrying and in three of these instances it was the father of the child doing the coercing.

These incidents are not isolated. This past April, I received a call from a young woman who left Gatineau to seek refuge at a friend’s place in Montreal-North so as to avoid the father of the child she bore because he too was pressuring her to abort.

Fortunately, in this latter case, a friend offered sanctuary, permitting the young woman the time to establish herself on a more secure footing and to continue with the pregnancy.

If only all such cases ended so well.

Fatherhood is an important determinant in the viability of the unborn.

Author and psychologist Dr. G.C. Dilsaver observes that fathers learn that “it is only by imitating Our Lord’s headship over His Church, that men can lead their families to become what God intended, and empower them to resist the threats of secular culture.”

Writer Steve Skojec recognizes that left unto ourselves, men are inadequate creatures to care for their families: “… like so many men of my generation, I don’t really know how to be a man, much less a good husband and father. I have a God-given authority over my family that I’m pretty terrible at using well. And there’s something about having to look it up on the Internet that seems to defeat the purpose.”

Skojec has come to see the importance of humbling oneself and to pursue wisdom by speaking to other men, known and respected, and draw on resources “in hopes of finding good advice.”

As Father’s Day approaches we pray that this day stirs men to the material and spiritual roles they are called to be as husbands and fathers in the lives and welfare of their families.

Yours for Life,

Brian Jenkins, Vice-President

I am writing these words the day after the March for Life in Ottawa, Thursday, May 10, 2018. It was a great success, with nearly 15,000 people having braved the rainy weather.

The day began with several Masses, including at Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, at St. Patrick's Basilica, and, according to the extraordinary form, at St. Clement church which I attended.

At the conclusion of the Mass at Saint Clement, some thirty of us processed with a six foot cross, from the church to Parliament Hill while reciting the rosary and other prayers. Honouring Our Saviour and re-enacting a Christian tradition dating back to the seventh century, we – men, and women, and children, traveled through the lower town section of Ottawa and into the busy Byward market area in full witness to commuters, homeless, lunchtimers, and locals.

At around noon, and after a picnic in Major’s Hill Park, sis near the Parliamentary grounds and along the Rideau Canal, we joined the crowds gathering in large numbers on the Hill.

Among the participants, we were pleased to see sisters from the Mater Dei congregation having come from the diocese of Saint-Jérôme and attending their very first march. Their presence this day was meaningful. A recent incident involving the support of a woman in a crisis pregnancy spurred the community and a few of their supporters to charter a bus the week prior to the march. Grace was at work as no sooner had they begun to advertise the pilgrimage that half of the 56-seat coach was filled!

A familiar participant was the dynamic contingent from the diocese of Sherbrooke. Laypeople working with religious from the men’s Missionaries of the Gospel once again filled a bus, allowing for boarding in Granby on the way to Ottawa and back. This group coordinated a gathering on the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada – see below.

Finally, a charter from Quebec City attended this year thanks to Quebec Life Coalition’s own Mario Richard. Almost single-handedly and working from our Montreal office, Mario was able to fill a bus of pilgrims-for-the-day. Nineteen of the twenty-one seats of the Quebec City coach were filled and there had been three last minute cancellations! Further, Mario endured not only two five-hour trips in a single day (Quebec City to Ottawa an back), but also traveled to Quebec City the eve and back to Montreal the day-after. Quite a testimony of stamina and dedication! Thanks, Mario.

We were blessed by the presence of dedicated pro-life dignitaries including many bishops, five of whom were from Quebec including Cardinal Lacroix of Quebec and Archbishop Lépine of Montreal, and politicians, such as Conservative MP the Hon. Harold Albrecht.

On the Hill, I took the opportunity to bring our petition of nearly 5,000 names against the unfair discrimination of Prime Minister Trudeau and his party against pro-lifers and Christians of Canada. As you know, the Prime Minister is relentless in his hostility towards believers and pro-lifers to the point of excluding these from his caucus.

In December, his government made it mandatory for all organizations wishing to obtain government grants to hire students during the summer, to sign a statement that they agreed with the abortion, the "Gay Marriage" and the "transgenderism."

After the march and at 3 pm, many gathered on the Hill to hear the testimony of post-abortive women and men, while a second group of us, nearly a hundred met on the grounds of the Supreme Court of Canada, a few steps west of Parliament, for a short presentation on issues of faith, family, and life, from conception to natural death.

At the conclusion of the latter it was time to board our buses and return to Montreal.

So once again we were able to send a strong message to the men and women in power: "You have a duty to promote faith, family and life. You must protect the weakest, especially the unborn children who are victims of abortion and the vulnerable people targeted by euthanasia! "

Throughout the day, we broadcast live events on our Facebook page. You can watch the videos by visiting https://www.facebook.com/CampagneQuebecVie.

Yours for Life,

Georges Buscemi, President

p.s. The organization of this day would not have been possible without you. Through your generous donations, you help us educate our fellow citizens and politicians.

Blessed Feast Day!

I write to you on the Feast Day of the Annunciation.

March 25 is generally the day reserved for this feast, the solemn day when the Blessed Virgin Mary is greeted by an angel and professes her faith in God by saying yes to become the mother of God and Our Lord becoming incarnate, a full nine months before Christmas.

However, exceptions do arise. For example, when March 25 falls between Palm Sunday and Divine Mercy Sunday, a fifteen-day period, then the solemn feast is displaced to the earliest date following this interval.

This year March 25 occurred on Palm Sunday and as the earliest day for the celebration of the Annunciation is today, Monday, April 9, 2018, we celebrate it today.

Today is a day for rejoicing!

I and long-time QLC supporter Charlotte commemorated this day in a special manner—via prayer.

We met at an early mass and afterwards across the street from the former Morgentaler abortion facility we prayed. We spent close to thirty minutes reciting the rosary and other devotions, remembering the innocent lives lost in this building. We estimate close to 75,000 children were killed and many women maimed.

And yes women have been harmed by this unfortunately legal procedure.

Consider the testimony of former abortion provider Dr. Kathie Aultman, retired Ob/Gyn of 35 years:

I don’t believe a woman can remain unscathed after killing her child. At some point, usually after childbirth or the inability to get pregnant, the realization of what she did hit her. It was not until after I had my first child that I regretted my own abortion.

At the Quebec Life Coalition, we have been working at righting this wrong for the past 27 years.

During this time we have conducted 19 public prayer vigils for the end of abortion.

During this time, we have started a pregnancy support program including a residential program aimed at providing a sanctuary where women can carry out their pregnancy in a quiet and relaxed environment.

During this time, we have organized pilgrimages to Ottawa once a year—the National March for Life, so our elected members of Parliament know that abortion in our land is not in our Creator’s plan of abundant life.

Our efforts do not end there. Educational programs about the importance of life have been initiated via a Christian and pro-life apologetics courses and daily news updates on our Web site (www.cqv.qc.ca), the latter regularly reaching nearly 30,000 internet users a month.

With your support, we are achieving this goal of righting a wrong.

Yet, lest we forget that our ultimate success is measured solely on how faithful we remain to God’s will for us daily. As we travel through the Easter season, please pray that we remain always align with the divine will, so that faith, family and life will flourish in Quebec.

Brian Jenkins

Outreach Coordinator

Quebec Life Coalition