Come to Cardiff....

....a metropolitan city, one of Europe's least well known but full of character, pleasant brasseries, art galleries, museums, and a death clinic!

Err....not that one!

Come and spend a happy hour or two in exceedingly good company where you will make a few new friends and be insulted and abused for your Faith by many.

I am referring, of course to 40 Days for Life Cardiff, that begins on Wednesday 25th September.

What will you get out of your Cardiff Experience?

Well, grace will be bestowed upon you in plenty.

You may also, (if you are over a certain age) receive fallen arches and a touch of sciatica.
And, if you are younger, you will be enthused and inspired by standing up in public, praying the Rosary and singing the Salve Regina.

The Vigil will take place on the opposite side of the street from the BPAS abortuary at 106-107 St Mary's Street.

The organisers would be appreciative of online or phone booking (so that a supply of vigilantes (?) may be maintained at all times).

However, if you just happen to be passing by, I am sure that informal 'drop ins' would be welcome.

And, if you can't stop just yell out (as one young man did last time round) "God bless you all".

Here are the contact details for more information:

  Tel: 07580275698                                         
  e-mail: clare40dfl@gmail.com

Thank you David Bereit, Shawn Carney, Robert Colquhoun....

....and in London, Stuart and Jan....

....and in Cardiff, Clare, Catrin, Rhoslyn, Colleen and all the other 40 Days for Life workers and volunteers, throughout the world.

Thank you on behalf of the unborn, the mothers and fathers, the abortuary workers and, of course, us; all of us.

It is surely an amazing feat to provide the organisation, tenacity and faith with which to mount a gruelling 40 Day vigil outside abortuaries; those death camps where,  they say, abortion is so safe but where, a regular flow of ambulances arrive to transport those women whose abortion did not go to plan and whose life is threatened.

See Stuart McCullough's blog HERE where his wife has a timely post.

Today is the last day of the vigil. If you have time, visit the groups at St Mary's Street, Cardiff, Bedford Square, Whitfield Street or Ealing, London.

See HERE for details.

And a prayer for all involved in the fight to protect unborn life:

Almighty God, our Father

you who have given us life 

and intended us to have it forever,

grant us your blessings.

Enlighten our minds to an awareness

and to a renewed conviction

that all human life is sacred

because it is created

in your image and likeness.

Help us to teach by word

and the example of our lives

that life occupies the first place,

that human life is precious

because it is the gift of God

whose love is infinite.

Give us the strength to defend human life

against every influence

or action that threatens or weakens it,

as well as the strength 

to make every life more human

in all its aspects.

Give us the grace....

When the sacredness of life

before birth is attacked,

to stand up and proclaim

that no one ever has the authority

to destroy unborn life.

When a child is described as a burden

or is looked upon only as a means

to satisfy an emotional need,

to stand up

and insist that every child is a unique

and unrepeatable gift of God,

a gift of God

with a right to a loving

and united family.

When the institution of marriage

is abandoned to human selfishness

or reduced to a temporary conditional arrangement

that can easily be terminated,

to stand up and affirm

the indissolubility of the marriage bond.

When the value of the family is threatened

because of social and economic pressure,

to stand up and reaffirm

that the family is necessary

not only for the private good of every person,

but also for the common good of every society,

nation and state.

When freedom is used to dominate the weak,

to squander natural resources and energy,

to deny basic necessities to people,

to stand up and affirm

the demands of justice and social love.

Almighty Father,

give us courage to proclaim the supreme dignity

of all human life and to demand

that society itself give its protection.

We ask this in your name,

through the redemptive act

of your Son and in the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Pray hard in Cardiff today

Trying for a conversion in St Mary's street

If you are travelling to Cardiff for the big game, England vs Wales at the Millenium Stadium, don't forget to pray - at the abortuary in St Mary's Street (106-107) where you will find a few stout souls supporting the right to life, the rights of the unborn child, the rights of women who should receive a complete counselling with regard to abortion and its horrendous after effects - if you are walking down St Mary's Street, stop for a few minutes to pray with those keeping watch.

After all, what sort of person could possibly object to prayers being offered on their behalf?

Remember, the 40 Days Vigil is not just about the child and the mother figure, we pray also for those engaged in the abortion industry, the medicos and nurses, administrators and caretakers and, of course, those largely overlooked figures, the fathers.

And, as five o'clock approaches, please spare another prayer for victory on the rugby field.

Is it licit to pray for the victory of one team over another?

I think so, although the Christ in the Don Camillo series always states that He is for all men.

My friend Gareth, from Catholic and Welsh will be praying for a Welsh victory whilst I (as a Sais) shall be praying for the most perfect outcome......

Wales to win.............


.................................by 6 points. Heh, heh!

40 Days for Life in Cardiff and the Friars of the Immaculate

Fr Agnellus and Brother Leonard of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Stoke community, joined local Welsh Pro Lifers outside the BPAS death camp in St Mary's Street, Cardiff recently.

What a difference it makes to have a religious attend a vigil. The habit or clerical dress immediately gives a sense of taking the prayers offered up several notches.

Of course, they immediately become the point of the jeers and jibes of the pro death rent a mob but that is what they are used to; that is what they do, share in Christ's passion and pray for those who cannot see or hear.

H/T to RT for the picture.

This time a Scottish poem on abortion

The Porter by Edwin Morgan

This poem is the last of five in a sequence about an abortion. It sounds best out loud in Scots. 

     Ah know ah tellt them lies at the enquiry. 

     Ah sayed ah thought the wean wis dead 

     when ah took it tae the incinerator. 

     Ah didny think the wean wis dead, 

     but ah didny ken fur shair, did ah? 

     It's no fur me tae question the doctors. 

     Ah get a bag fae the sister, right? 

     She says take that an burn it. She's only 

     passin on the doctor's instructions, 

     but she seen the wean, she thought it wis dead, 

     so ye canny blame her. And the doctor says 

     ye canny blame him. Everybody wants 

     tae come doon on me like a tonna bricks. 

     Ah canny go aboot openin disposal bags - 

     if ah did ah'd be a nervous wreck. 

     Ah passed two electricians in the corridor 

     and ah tellt them the wean wis alive 

     but they thought ah wis jokin. Efter that 

     ah jist shut up, an left it tae the boilerman 

     tae fin oot fur hissel - he couldny miss it 

     could he? The puir wee thing wis squeelin 

     through the bag wis it no? Ah canny see 

     ah had tae tell him whit wis evident. 

     - Ah know ah'm goin on aboot this. 

     But suppose the kiddy could've been saved - 

     or suppose the boilerman hadny noticed it - 

     mah wee lassie's gote a hamster, ye ken? - 

     and ah fixed up a treadmill fur it 

     and it goes roon and roon and roon - 

     it's jist like that. Well, ah'm no in court noo. 

     Don't answer nothin incriminatin, says the sherrif. 

     And that's good enough fur yours truly. 

     And neither ah did, neither ah did, 

     neither ah did, neither ah did.

H/T to Ben at Countercultural Father whose idea it was to publish poems on abortion throughout the 40 Days.

Another poem on abortion

Courtesy of Counter Cultural Father and 'Uncomfortably Glum'



And a small tribute to St David of Wales (and, especially Pembrokeshire)

St David, Ora Pro Nobis

Mary the Mother of our God - Pray for Wales - Pray for us all

Our Lady of Cardigan - Ora Pro Nobis

Pray for Cardiff and, if you can....

......come and join the 40 Days vigil this Wednesday 20th February from 2pm onwards.

One of the founders of the movement, David Bereit, will be there and the forces of those who are for abortion are also planning to be there in force.

The organisers have asked, as always, that attendance is peaceful and prayerful.

Those pro abortionists have a Facebook entry that clearly shows their hatred. It also shows that they are planning to collect cash from the passing public to support the abortion clinics. This is, of course, illegal without a special licence.

The main activist appears to be a Hannah Austin, a feminist and activist on behalf of women's rights (but not as far as their physical and mental well being apparently) and I suggest that Rosaries are offered up on this woman's behalf.

Hannah and her friends have produced a banner stating 'Get your Rosaries off our ovaries'- that tells you the level of their debating abilities.

 Register beforehand if you are able, on the 40 Days for Life Cardiff website.


Our Lady of Wales, pray for us and those who oppose the right to life, especially life in the mother's womb.

"I quite like abortion"

Yesterday's 40 Days for Life Vigil in St Mary's Street, Cardiff was a lively affair (at least from 3pm onwards when we joined the little group who prayed so fervently outside the abortion clinic).

                                  Those against Life.....................

Mrs L and myself had booked in for a one hour slot from 3pm until 4pm. We sang the Salve Regina, prayed the Rosary, recited the Divine Mercy Chaplet and, in between, chatted and laughed among ourselves; after all, for the general public to see Christians keeping vigil with smiling faces, must be almost as good as praying.
We also got soaking wet from the incessant rain.

Being an inveterate people watcher I found the response of passers by fascinating.

Most expressed a look of disgust or even anger, a few gawped vacantly, some were obviously in mental tutting mode and one young man called out as he went past at pace: "God bless you all".
That was a most welcome blessing and may God bless him also.

And then, on the stroke of four, just as a sit down and a cup of hot coffee beckoned, a young woman appeared and entered into debate with Colleen the local organiser present and Mrs Linen. Due to traffice noise I could not hear all of what the young woman was saying but, apparently the gist was:

 " This is only the concern of the woman herself and it is her perfect right to choose abortion if she so wishes, and, what is more, she is only getting rid of a parasite"

A Parasite? - I have never heard that word used to describe an unborn child. In truth it shocked me.

Meanwhile, Mark from Perth came under fire from a couple of young men who then transferred their attention to me. They took a theological approach claiming that there was no such thing as a soul and then they went on to why the Holy Father was retiring ("because of his links to child abuse").

I try to avoid such debates because I have a very short fuse that becomes even shorter when faced with banal arguments. I tried hard to hold on to the fact that these young men were much loved by God, and it seemed to work as we entered into a bantering sort of debate with a great deal of smiling and laughter.

Finally, thet set up an impromptu counter vigil opposite proclaiming: "I quite like abortion" - but they lasted less than ten minutes before they moved on.

By then it was around 3.45pm but before we could take our leave an uproar broke out as gangs of homeless young men, with cans of extra strong lager in their hands, clashed violently and bloodily opposite.
An event unconnected with the vigil but somewhat unnerving nonetheless.

                                     .........and those for Life

How could we walk away with so much action taking place?
 By now, our numbers were down to four in total.
We held on until Mary arrived but then a middle aged woman began to harangue us in a most unpleasant fashion. As always, the organising representatives, were cool and, to all appearances, unconcerned, the prayers continued without pause; there are some that are beyond reason and this woman was one of them, please pray for her and the others who opposed the vigil and the cause.

Finally, at 5.40pm we broke off and limped away, determined to return to fight another day.

The Cardiff organisers have put out a call for male volunteers to register for the 4pm to 8pm slot on Saturday night - at present they only have women signed up and it looks like being a rough slot.

It would be a wonderful thing if a parish group could respond so that the numbers were into double figures, please pray that this will happen.

A "parasite"

                           

           

A prayer and a poem.....

....off today to pray outside an abortuary with the 40 Days for Life Cardiff group, please remember the cause in your prayers.

And, following yesterday's poem on the aborted child crying out, Ben Trovato has posted on GKC's poem, you may see it at Countercultural Father.

Ben has suggested that a series of pro-life poetry should be developed and featured on the web, an excellent idea......any contributions?

Please post them or pass them on to Ben or myself.

Tomorrow shall be our crying day

Ash Wednesday, first day of the penitential  period, first day of the 40 Days for Life Vigils opposing abortion.

 Day of wrath and doom impending,

   David’s word with Sibyl’s blending,

   Heaven and earth in ashes ending.

Well we might weep and cast about......who would harm an infant?

Who would kill an infant in it's mother's womb?

In 1969 a national newspaper reported that an aborted child, en route to be incinerated along with other human 'waste' and soiled bandages, was heard to cry out.

An awful and horrifying thought. 

Tomorrow, I will post a poem on this report, written by my late brother. It is harrowing and does not make easy reading.

It is not an isolated incident, aborted children are frequently left to die cold and alone on the operating theatre trolley.

Yet, we still allow this gruesome and demonic act to take place.

Join one of the many prayer vigils near you; it is both a sobering and yet uplifting experience.

See listing HERE

And when you stand before Almighty God and He asks "What did you do to save my souls?"

You will be able to tell Him.

Cardiff joins the Forty Days for Life

Wales capital city, Cardiff, will be included in the forthcoming 40 Days for Life prayer vigil.

The BPAS abortuary Elgin House, 106-107, in St Mary's Street, Cardiff will be the venue and all are asked to contact the organisers via the link HERE - it is important to log in for a specific slot so that the organisers may plan accordingly.

YOU can help save lives!
From February 13 - March 24, our community will be one of many cities joining together for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history -- the 40 Days for Life campaign.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

• 40 days of prayer and fasting
• 40 days of peaceful vigil
• 40 days of community outreach

We are praying that, with God's help, this groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in our city -- and throughout the UK.

Take a stand for life

While all aspects of 40 Days for Life are crucial in our effort to end abortion, the most visible component is the peaceful prayer vigil outside the local abortion clinic.

You can help make a life-saving impact by joining our local vigil outside:

bpas clinic
Elgin House
106-107 St Mary's Street
Cardiff
CF10 1DX

Sign up to participate in our local 40 Days for Life vigil by clicking the "Vigil Schedule" link at the top of this page.

Contact us

To learn more, sign up for specific vigil hours, or let us know how you feel called to serve God in this effort, please contact the local 40 Days for Life leadership team:

Clare Jackson

Phone: 07580275698

Email: clare40dfl@gmail.com

Get the latest updates

Be sure to sign-up for updates and prayer requests using the form at the top right of this page, and browse through the rest of this site to find out how YOU can help make a lifesaving impact as part of our local 40 Days for Life campaign.

Learn more about the international 40 Days for Life campaign.