The Spirituality and Miracles of St. Clare of Assisi

Sanctity of Human Life Walk & Rally 2005

I have just returned from Central IL Right to Life's March and Sanctity of Human Life Rally held in downtown Peoria. Neither freezing temperatures nor falling snow could stop this "family" of approximately 150 dedicated Christian prolifers from protesting the 32nd anniversary of the passage of Roe V. Wade.

We met in front of the Peoria Courthouse by the statue of Abraham Lincoln, where CIRL Director Dan Smith gave a motivating speech, a prayer was said, and hundreds of multi-colored balloons were released into the air. We walked to the Rally at Riverside Community Church carrying pro-life signs. Mine read "Abortion is murder." (Believe or not, some people don't know that or don't want to be reminded of it! It's freeing to proclaim the truth.)

Tonight's speakers were spectacular! Myfawny Saunders, the Director of the Women's pregnancy Center as well as the Director of Peoria Rescue Ministries updated us on the activities at Esther House -- a new residential facility to help women, and women with children in the Peoria area. Esther House is the newest residence sponsored by Peoria Rescue Ministries and it is located at 6847 North Allen Road.

It is a long-term facility, which exists for two purposes:

To present the love and life of Jesus Christ as the only way to spiritual and emotional wholeness.

To assist residents in acquiring the educational and vocational skills necessary to become functioning members of society.

Currently, Esther House consists of eleven residents -- seven women, three babies, and one in utero. The women reside there for a variety of reasons, such as: substance abuse, incarceration, and pregnancy. To date five of the seven women have enrolled in programs to further their education -- to complete their high school degree or to take college courses at Illinois Central College.

Myfawny stated that the women receive individual guidance at the residence and religious training, which includes bible study. She mentioned that some of the women enjoy living there so much that it is difficult for them to leave.

What touched me most about Myfanwy's talk was her response to the words of Joycelyn Elders, Surgeon General under Bill Clinton. Addressing pro-lifers, Joycelyn Elders in her eloquent style stated, "Get over this love affair with the fetus." Myfawny's reply was, "We need to have the same love affair with the mother as we have with the fetus."

Nurse Sondra McEnroe reminded us that "everyone who works in pro-life is called" and that Central IL Right to Life included all residents of central IL -- not just those who live in Peoria. The Primary purpose of CIRL is to educate and finances are needed for that purpose. Monies go toward: a cell phone used to talk with pregnant mothers in crisis (The hotline number is 645-8000), the purchase of models of pre-born babies at different stages of development, a phone book listing, purchasing and distributing life packets (gift bags containing diapers, baby clothing, and a toy), publishing a newsletter, putting up pro-life billboards.

Some of the fund-raising activities include: an annual garage sale held at St. Mark's in Peoria, a 4th of July walk, an annual race. Other activities include: an annual life chain to pray publicly for life, supporting pro-life candidates and educating others about the candidates, purchasing and distributing life packets (gift bags containing diapers, baby clothing, and a toy), publishing a newsletter, and putting up pro-life billboards. CIRTL's main goal for the coming year is to develop educational "infomercials" in movie theatres directed at young people.
Sondra also revealed that she is now the proud grandmother of her 45th grandchild! We call it the Roe effect.

Soloist Nora Wilburne, whose powerful, soulful voice was unforgettable, provided special vocal music. Christa Dillard's medley of religious hymns, on the synthesizer made my heart melt.

Robert Richti, Karen Guth, and Liz Boudreaux presented special testimonies. All were informative and moving. Each one deserves its own accolade.

The Keynote speaker is the person who wanted me to get up and cheer and do cartwheels around the room (I have never been able to do cartwheels -- the splits at age 4 maybe, but never cartwheels!) Dr. Mildred Jefferson is a person I will never forget as long as I live and I hope to see Dr. Jefferson long after that. If anyone belongs in Heaven, this beautiful angel of a woman does.

I spotted her in the Ladies Lounge before the talk and noticed her petite frame, her flair for fashion, her grace and elegance, her charm, and most of all -- her gorgeous smile. She looked like royalty and had such an air of dignity about her. I watched the local news interview her and thought to myself, she really knows how to handle the media. She spoke in a calm, assured voice and seemed to know exactly what to say -- each reply seemed to be well-formulated and articulately presented. She was, to say the least, perfectly poised.

Dr. Mildred Jefferson helped found the National Right to Life Committee and has three times served as the organization's president. As a committed Christian, as well as the first African - American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Jefferson is a nationally recognized speaker on the detrimental effects of abortion to women and the minority community. She is a staunch defender of the sanctity of human life and has spoken that message on many regional and national outlets including Good Morning America, the Today Show, Nightline, Sixty Minutes, the MacNeil / Lehrer News Hour and many more.

Dr. Jefferson traveled from Boston to Atlanta to Chicago on this cold, snowy winter day and appeared totally unruffled and peaceful. She smiled frequently and when this demure, petite woman started to speak, it was as if God knocked me off my chair with a bolt of lightning!

She spoke of the tragedy of in our society -- how our little ones -- "our hope for the future" -- "the only way we can achieve immortality" -- are being destroyed.
The "planning people" want us to turn our backs on the most vulnerable, defenseless members of our family and allow them to be "put to death."
Dr. Jefferson defined "rally" as a "coming together to look at what you have done" and asking yourself, "Is there more that I could do?"

"There are many in our movement who don't know why we're here." She added that "when people feel thwarted" and when there are obstacles, which block the way, the movement develops and grows.

When the Supreme Court began to act as a "Super Congress" and violated what is was to make the law, when they violated our first right amendment which protects our right to religious freedom, they forced human secularism on us. The Civil Rights Movement was born in the churches and Dr. Jefferson did not hear even one commentary about the separation of church and state on this last holiday commemorating Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King.

Dr. Jefferson provided her personal account of the history of the movement. She began with the Griswold V. Connecticut case in 1965, which gave a woman the right to bear children when she wanted. "This cast a dark cloud over the horizon." Then, when Doe V. Bolton and Roe V. Wade both passed in 1973, these actions "released our 'Desert Storm'." She spoke of the difficulty in bringing about change and how our state and federal tax laws as well as our state and federal election laws perpetuate abortion. "You have been forced to participate in (the pro-death movement) in ways that you can't even imagine."

She spoke of Cardinal Archbishop Terrence J. Cooke and his role when in the very beginning of the pro-death movement, when our government first began to push people toward immoral behavior and human secularism. Cardinal Cooke's position was to see that his people knew their moral obligation and that they be able to recognize the difference between right and wrong. "We understood at the beginning that the hostile media always points its fingers at the Catholics."
She emphasized how important it is today to have strong pastors who will speak about pro-life issues in their churches because this is a "moral issue."

"We need pastors to lead the flock, rather than letting them wander wherever they want to go. Some poor pastors don't want to discuss this because they're too frightened." Some are afraid of "getting fired", of losing their flock if they speak of these issues. "Yes, I do feel sorry and I do pray for the poor shepherds."

She spoke of Margaret Sanger (1883 - 1936), the founder of Planned Parenthood, who opened the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1916. Margaret Sanger married well and became rich and powerful through her wealthy acquaintances, was able to influence others, and it was easier for her to do what was wrong rather than it was for the pro-life people to mobilize and do what was right. "We were sent to do this job. There are people far more capable of doing what we do, but they didn't answer."

In 1972, a TV show entitled "The Advocate" hosted by Michael Dukakis (a democrat from Massachusetts who was a strong abortion and homosexual rights advocate) was produced. The governor of California saw this program and showed it to his staff members and wrote a letter to Dr. Jefferson. He promised to do everything in his power to bring an end to this pro-death movement. At that time, California was 55% Catholic and they knew that if they could get a Catholic state to fall for abortion, they get others to fall "like dominoes." This governor was Ronald Reagan.

Dr. Jefferson told pro-lifers that they must join civic organizations. "We have to create structures to fight and the only way we can make the democratic process work is to participate in the political process."

She spoke of how all - inclusive the pro-life movement is. We represent every phase of political and religious belief." When we have Republican Presidents like Ronald Reagan and George Bush in office, it is because pro-life democrats have put him there, she added.

She concluded by stating that we are fighting this war in the only way that can be just. "We didn't start the war." She revealed that it began when doctors started using knives as weapons and saline solution to destroy life and it escalated when it began to effect family life, and further escalated when laws were passed in Oregon legalizing euthanasia, and escalated even further with the introduction of embryonic stem cell research. "We are trying to stop the killing without using killing weapons. We will win and when we win that victory it will be for God, for all of America, and for all of mankind."

AMEN!