40 Days for Life - Chicago

Last night we went to the 40 Days for Life site for Chicago. I invite everyone in the area to attend if they can, it was a very positive experience for us.

We stayed for about two and a half hours. I was initially concerned about staying that long mainly because the nights have been cool and I'm getting over a nasty cold, but my pink hoodie kept me warm enough.

We had a chance to talk to other prayerful pro-lifers, and pray. We were standing talking to a couple other folks when a mini-van pulled up and a guy rolled down his window and yelled out, 'what are you guys protesting here?'. The older gentleman in our group walked over to the car to engage him in discussion. The man in the car said he realized that this must be an abortion clinic because of all the people that have been standing there. He continued to say God Bless Us and in Jesus' Name we will end abortion. The man we were standing with invited him to join us when he can make it and he said he would. I don't often get to see such a positive result, I was very happy.

-rant on-
Conversely I was dismayed to find hear that the organizers of the event in Chicago had invited many non-Catholic churches to help participate (it takes a lot of people to keep the vigil going for 24 hours for 40 days) and not one had responded positively. This goes along with what I have seen in other places, where Catholics and non-Catholic Christians cannot get along and work together in the pro-life movement. I don't know much about what protestant churches and organizations do in the pro-life movement - I know they are out there somewhere, Operation Rescue for example - but I frankly cannot understand why the two sides are never able to work it out.

What I have personal experience with (and I'm sure I've blogged about before) although I can't say for sure is why they did not choose to participate in the 40 days, is that some are uncomfortable with the praying of the rosary by the Catholic pro-lifers. It ended up breaking up a group of faithful people who would protest weekly. I don't get it! If nobody makes you say the Rosary, and you are over there saying your prayers and they are over there saying the Rosary I don't see what the problem is. Last March we were saying the Rosary by our corner when a group of Orthodox Christians came and began their own prayers. Granted Orthodox and Catholics are a lot closer on many things than Catholics and many Protestants, but I didn't get mad that they were there saying prayers different than mine. Instead I was excited that another group had joined us in prayer and witness.
-rant off-

So anyway, we did the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet, and just enjoyed talking to some of the other pro-lifers there to find out what is going on around the archdiocese in the movement. When I'm feeling a little bit better I might try to see about going again.

The pictures of course... I actually took a short video of the clinic and you can hear us saying one of the decades of the rosary, I haven't watched it yet, I'm a little self-conscious to think all the internet will hear is my scratchy-cold voice - I hate my voice usually, but this one is worse. I'll have to fire it up when I get home and see how it sounds and looks.