April 7
St. Jean-Baptiste De La Salle (1651-1719)
“Adapt yourself with gracious and charitable compliance to all your neighbor’s weaknesses. In particular, make a rule to hide your feelings in many inconsequential matters.”
--St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle to his Christian Brothers
April 6
“However severe God’s guidance may seem to us at times, it’s always the guidance of a Father who is infinitely good, wise, and kind.”
--Traditionally attributed to St. Julie Billiart
April 5
St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)
“You must open the interior eyes of your soul on this light, on this heaven within you, a vast horizon stretching far beyond the realm of human activity.”
--From a letter of St. Vincent Ferrer
April 26
“Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: ‘Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase.’”
-- St. Rose of Lima
April 21
Feast of St. Anselm, Bishop and Doctor (1033 – 1109)
“O God, let me know you and love you so that I may find my joy in you; and if I cannot do so fully in this life, let me at least make some progress every day, until at last that knowledge, love and joy come to me in all their plentitude.”
--St. Anselm
There was little mention of the March for Life from main stream media and if reported at all, the numbers were inaccurately described as in the “thousands. There were no counter protesters, although reported as such, but only joyful, prayerful, massive pro-life crowds!I pondered these things in my heart as I participated in the annual March for Life on Monday. It was the 39th sad memorial of the passage of Roe V. Wade. Since that date over 53 million babies have been lost, mothers have been scarred for life and families devastated.
Determined to make a difference, walking shoulder-to-shoulder, umbrella-to-umbrella the massive March for Life crowd was jubilant, hopeful…and YOUNG. Those who had attended in prior years returned in 
solidarity and renewed vigor; those who were attending for the first time were in awe and uplifted.
We marched as Women of Grace in full knowledge that “for such a time as this” we were created for a specific purpose and to impact the culture. We marched with the director of our local Christian pregnancy resource center, who was overcome with emotion and thanksgiving for the presence of God she was witnessing. We marched with a young Polish priest, in our country for just 5 months, who was amazed by the hundreds of thousands of peaceful, prayerful, joyful people he encountered.
As we approached the Supreme Court building our young priest searched for the precise words to express the moment. “I am full, and I struggle to control my emotions. This (legalized abortion) is Satanic!”
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.” -2 Timothy 4:3-4My dear sisters in Christ please continue to be heartfelt, determined Women of Grace, nurturing life to the full. Pray for God’s grace and mercy to be manifest in our country. Ask Our Mother to guide you and give you her heart to transform our culture.
I pray that it would be unnecessary to March in 2013. Perhaps, however, we should consider marching together next year as Women of Grace full of joy, hope and grace?
Your thoughts?
Peggy Pritchard is a Women of Grace® facilitator and Regional Coordinator. She and Vicki Crispo conduct studies in York, PA and will be hosting the Women of Grace Healing the Wounds of the Heart Retreat and are both lay associates of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life.
