40 Days for Life in Montreal

For all those interested in participating in one way or another in the 40 Days for Life in Montreal, or for those who simply want to know more about this lifesaving effort, tomorrow, Wednesday August 17 at 6PM, there will be a first 40 Days for Life meeting for Montreal. The meeting will take place at the rear of Saint-Emile church, located at 3330 Rivier (5 minutes' walk from the Joliette metro stop).

What: First 40 Days for Life meeting for Montreal
When: tomorrow, Wednesday, August 17 at 6PM
Where: 3330 Rivier, at the rear of Saint-Emile church, 5 minutes' walking distance from the Joliette metro stop

Please respond if you plan to attend. 

40 Days for Life in Quebec City

All who are interested in participating in the 40 Days for Life in Quebec city are asked to forward their email address and phone number to Christina, who is the head organiser of the 40 Days in Quebec City. Her email is: [email protected]

A first organisational meeting will be scheduled very soon!

Mark Wednesday, September 28, on your calendars for on this day begins the Fall, 2011 40 Days for Life prayer vigil.

For those of you unfamiliar with the “40 days for Life” concept, this is an INTERNATIONAL movement aimed at ending the practice of abortion. A 40 Days for Life campaign consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting combined with a constant, round-the-clock vigil at an abortion facility and proactive community outreach. The praying and fasting may be done outside abortion facilities or elsewhere where people of faith feel more comfortable to assemble. In either case, the aim is the same: to end this deadly and destructive practice.

First begun in 2004 in College Station, Texas, this forty day vigil has spread like wildfire both across the United States and across the world. For example, this past spring, 2011, there were 247 vigil locations occurring simultaneously in ten countries, with ten vigils in Canada.

These vigils are definitely having an immediate impact. Women in large numbers are deciding not to carry through with an abortion and are deciding to spare the lives of their unborn children. For example, during this past spring, 2011 vigil there were at least 483 reports of babies saved from abortions whereas at the end of fall, 2011, vigil, 541. These represent mothers who would have aborted their children if they had not seen one or more persons praying outside the abortion facility that she was about to enter.

The benefits of the vigil do not end there. For one, many abortion facilities have closed their doors permanently due to the praying that is going outside their doors.

Still another benefit of this continuous 40 days praying is the effect it is having on the hearts of many involved. Over the years, more than a few employees – nurses and staff have decided to resign their positions at these abortion facilities. Not only that but in the Fall 2009, pro-lifers witnessed something incredible; the manager of an abortion facility crossed the life line. Abby Johnston, the manager of the College Station Planned Parenthood, walked out of her office and centre joining pro-lifers in front of her facility after assisting the abortionist in a ultrasound-aided abortion. She relates her experience of having seen the foetus move away from the abortionist instruments during the procedure in a book entitled “UnPlanned.”

Here in Montreal, this will be the sixth edition of our 40-day, 12-hour per day prayer vigil. Quebec Life Coalition president Georges Buscemi began the first vigil in the spring of 2009. He and his stalwart crew braved the cold elements and the apathy within our community to deliver the all-important message to our fellow community members – Abortion kills a Human Being.

This past spring the apathy took a surprising swing. For the better part of the vigil, those praying outside of the Morgentaler facility on St. Joseph Blvd. were shadowed by counter-protesters. These people, varying in number between three and twenty and mostly twenty- somethings and present several hours each day, would promote the prochoice message alongside our own signs and banners.

Yet, our Lord is good in all things. I consider it a blessing to have had these young people there for it is an opportunity for us to witness to them the love of God and to carry the evangelical message of hope and love to them as well as to the motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. As the apostle Paul puts it, the sufferings of this age is nary to be compared to the glory to come. So if we can be witnesses of love and peace to these young folk, not to mention the more audacious and boisterous and belligerent passer-by, it will be counted to our credit and to the credit of the One who is our all.

Lastly, I have been informed that there will be a second vigil occurring in La Belle Province: Quebec City will be undertaking its first vigil. Details remain to be worked out in terms of the site and hours. Stay in tune to our website (www.cqv.qc.ca/en/40days) for details.

Planning is in full swing for the next 40 Days for Life vigil. Materials have been printed, phone calls made, and visits done, and more.

40 Days for Life is a twice-yearly 40-day vigil outside of an abortion facility. Participants are asked to pray and fast so as to bring an end to abortion. This year there are 246 registered groups worldwide, up from the 238 from this past Fall, 2010, and up from the 1 when it all got going in 2007, in College Station, Texas.

Here in Montreal, the vigil begins with a kickoff on Tuesday, March 8, at 7pm in Lahaie park, across the street from 30 Saint-Joseph E, where the Morgentaler clinic is located. This is a full month later than last year and so we will enjoy greater daylight hours and, hopefully, warmer climes. The following day, Ash Wednesday, vigilers will show up at 7am and will replace one another throughout the day until 7pm. This pattern will continue through until Sunday, April 17, 2011 – i.e., 40 continuous days.

Praying and fasting are the order of the day during this span of time. We take our lead from Christ who directed his disciples to pray and fast so as to augment one's faith and to exorcise certain demons, of which, we know, are plentiful.

Leading to March 8, numerous visits have been made. In addition to contacting local pastors, on Friday, February 4, 201, four of us from the Quebec-Life Coalition – CQV, visited the church of St. Vincent de Paul in Pont Viau, Laval, to promote the vigil. We were invited to attend the monthly prayer group. The evening began with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel followed by rosary for life. Afterward, fifteen or so of us gathered in an adjoining room where a brief presentation was made about the Forty Days for Life concept and the experience here in Montreal. The laptop of Georges Buscemi, CQV president, facilitated the presentation, permitting those in attendance to get a glimpse of the pro-life movement both here in Canada and in the U.S.

Yet, more is left to be done. We continue with our meetings and follow-ups and our core group is set to meet. Numerous church groups have been contacted ; so, if you have not heard from us, do give us a call.

Also, if you are unable to attend because you live far away, consider organizing your own vigil? We'd love to help and make our resources available to you. Contact us to find out how you can start up your own 40 Days.

Also, you can visit the official page of the 40 Days for Life in Montreal for updates, flyers, etc. as they become available: www.cqv.qc.ca/en/40days

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign that has generated measurable lifesaving results in more than 130 cities where it has been implemented. It has lead to a significant drop in abortions on almost all locations, and in some places such as the State of North Dakota Some to the closing of all abortion clinics.

The 40 Days for Life campaign is made up of three key components: prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil and community outreach.

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UPCOMING MEETINGS: