40 Days

 

40 Days for Life Campaign 

 

40 Days for life is one of the most effective counter-cultural responses to the abortion explosion in Ireland.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the pre-eminent task facing the Catholic Church in Ireland today is her response to abortion. It is the pre-eminent priority because of the threat to life and salvation of souls. The supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls, and this should be the guiding principle for both the laity and hierarchy in undertaking any missionary effort.

 

Before abortion is committed. and the fifth commandment violated, the individuals involved have already broken every other commandment in the lead up to that crime. Hundreds of thousands of baptised young adults in this country don’t desire sanctifying grace as a habit in their souls but rather see the habitual access to abortion as a fundamental right, otherwise they see themselves as living “in the dark ages”.  It is to these lost souls that intense missionary effort should be made. The explosion of abortion over recent years has resulted in no effective Catholic strategy to confront the issue and reverse it   Since 2018 the cry amongst those who want to defend life has been “where do we go from here”?

 

It is precisely in this bleakness that a group called “40 Days for Life” has come to the fore. It is an international lay organisation focused on ending abortion by means of public prayer and witness at the locations where abortions occur. It is an organisation that takes seriously the call of Pope John Paul II in his encyclical - the Gospel of Life. “We have been sent as a people. Everyone has an obligation to be at the service of life. This is a properly "ecclesial" responsibility, which requires concerted and generous action by all the members and by all sectors of the Christian community. This community commitment does not however eliminate or lessen the responsibility of each individual, called by the Lord to "become the neighbour" of everyone: "Go and do likewise" (Lk 10:37).” EV.79. In the UK and in the USA abortion centres have closed because of 40 Day for Life campaigns.

 

As a member of 40 Days for life in Galway city for the last two years I have seen how public prayer and witness have led to the first steps of what the above Pope calls for “a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life.” E.V. 95. Supported by training, social media and international networks 40 Days for life is very gradually encouraging more Catholics here to activate their faith and take up their rosary beads in this missionary work.

God is not outdone in generosity. Despite the challenges every 40 Days for Life volunteer reports a strengthening of faith and courage.

 

40 Days for life in Galway recently held a candlelit vigil to end their recent campaign and remember the forty-six thousand children who died through surgical abortions in Ireland since 2018. Laurah and Cabrini , who both participated, said they were “grateful for the opportunity to pray, witness and help bring the issue to the attention of others”.

 

Ending abortion is a daunting task, it’s a supernatural task that requires people to step out in public and ask that grace change individual hearts and whole cultures. It is a task that started in other countries years ago and must it continue here to pass onto future generations the gospel of life in action.

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Campaign

 

Our patron saint will be St. Bernadette whose relics are currently in Ireland until early November. St Bernadette would have been an amazing 40 days for Life volunteer because:

 

1. She prayed publicly.

 

2. She loved Our Lady and the Rosary. Through her public prayer others came to Christ through her love for Our Lady.

 

3. Despite losing many of her eight siblings when they were young she was embued with an understanding that life is from God . 

 

4. She had great courage and her faith was strong, she once said her only fear was weak Catholics.

 

All our prayer volunteers are encouraged to read and accept the below Statement of Peace. These are the standards required for every 40 days for Life volunteer throughout the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all who are volunteering.

Every effort will be made to ask futher volunteers to cover more hours with prayer in withness

 

Hours covered Sept 25th - Nov 3rd  

 

                                Mon        Tue          Wed      Thur            Fri              Sat

 

8am - 9am                                                x            x

9am- 10am                                               x            x

10am- 10.30pm                          x             x           x

10.30am - 11am               x         x             x           x                 x                  

11am - 12pm                    x                                                       x

12pm -12.30pm                                                                         x                 x

12.30 -1pm                                                                                                   x

1pm - 2pm                                                                                                    x

2pm- 3pm

3pm -4pm

4pm-5pm

5pm-6pm

 

Essental Numbers and Emails :

 

Gianna Care 

Tele No. 01 5322116 or 01 5322117

Gianna Care Galway email giannacaregalway@gmail.com

 

 

"  Fear not your enemies, at worst they can kill you. Fear not your friends, at worst they can betray you. Fear the indifferent, as all the most infamous crimes on earth are committed with their tacit consent."  Julius Fucik

 

Retreat position outside buffer zone