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Newsletter's content:
• Editorial
• A Father Shares His Story
• A letter to my little girl, Rachel
• Prayer For The Spiritual Adoption
Of An Unborn Child
• A Timely Warning for Expectant and
Would-be Parents
• Why We Need The Helpers of God’s
Precious Infants
Thank you for those who answered the call for feedback. It is gratifying to
know that our readership is alive, responsive and appreciative! Thank you to
• those who sent in donations,
• those who are keeping in touch by
phone and mail,
• “David” and Deirdre, who made
letter contributions for the newsletter.
• Michele for the beautiful spiritual
sponsorship cards she designed and produced, which we distributed at Masses in
Lismore on 25th March - the Day of the Unborn Child. Hopefully next year we will
be able to celebrate in a bigger way, involving other parishes, other churches
and the wider community.
If we are to achieve our aims in Apostles for Life, we must pray like
everything depends on God, and work like everything depends on us. Not only
that, it is essential that we unite our efforts and work together, thus building
a community of love that will be a sign of hope To those who have lost hope.
Jesus showed us to what lengths we might be expected to go in order to follow
Him. How else can we succeed in our fight against the forces of death, than to
face the Cross full on, in spite of all our fears, shortcomings and faults? We
must be prepared to stand at the modern day Calvary where Jesus is crucified
again, in the person of the innocent victim of abortion. We must be there for
the mothers, fathers and grandparents, to offer them our help, and let them know
that there is forgiveness, mercy and healing to be found through the death and
Resurrection of the Victim who died to put an end to death. Those who can’t be
there in body can be there in prayer and in spirit, offering your own cross,
whatever it may be.
Please pray for the formation, in the very near future, of a group of Helpers
of God’s Precious Infants in the northernmost parts of our diocese. For this
intention, we are asking you to join in a novena praying the Chaplet of Divine
Mercy starting on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter) 22nd and ending
on 30th April.
May you and your loved ones experience the gift of New Life this Easter! And
please KEEP IN TOUCH.
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WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR
FROM YOU!!! PLEASE GIVE US FEEDBACK: WRITE A LETTER OR AN ARTICLE OR JUST A
THOUGHT; DISAGREE, POINT OUT THE FAULTS. MAKE A DONATION
(STAMPS ARE USEFUL)
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A Father Shares His Story
In our March 2001 Newsletter we were able to tell a little about our Human
Life International meetings that we held in Lismore and in Murwillumbah. There
is so much more to tell and some outcomes we may never hear about in this life.
However “David” has generously offered to share with you his story which is one
of grief, loss, emptiness, and now though God’s grace, one of forgiveness, mercy
and peace. Please pray with, and for, David as he painfully comes to terms with
his past life and finds New Life through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
I write this in the hope that it might help others to come to grips and find
peace and eternal happiness at the loss of a loved one. With God’s divine help
and Jesus’ love I will do my best to relate my story to others.
In 1989, I was involved in a relationship with a lady. When she pregnant I
was ecstatic and filled with joy at the prospect of being a father. We talked
about marriage and being a family, but after a while, my partner got cold feet
and terminated the relationship. At this stage I felt no need to worry, as maybe
she needed time to adjust to being with child. Then early December 1989 she said
to me that she wanted an abortion. I was horrified and vehemently said “NO!”
under no circumstances was she to go ahead with the abortion.
Unfortunately, I had to Melbourne on family business. When I returned my
partner had been and had the abortion. I felt empty as though I had lost a big
part of me. I was angry and resentful. Eventually my partner and I parted ways
for good and I forgot about the abortion until I attended a Human Life
International meeting in Lismore l2 years later. As a result of this meeting, I
had an outpouring of grief which I had suppressed. As a father who had lost a
child due to a mother’s choice, I found it very hard to come to terms with.
Where were my rights as the father? Or didn’t I count? Or was I just the other
person in the act?
Jesus says that we should love one another but I find it hard because they
don’t care about my feelings. Now there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think
and feel about my daughter, who would now be 11 years old. I pray to God and the
Virgin Mary that Rachel’s soul is at peace and that she knows that I did
everything in my power to prevent her death at the hands of her mother.
Today I pray my darling Rachel#, and her mother……, that God ís looking after
both. I can’t afford to remain angry with…… To harbour a resentment is a matter
of life and death. I believe that God is watching over Rachel and caring for her
in a better place and that ………….will find peace and contentment with God’s help.
In closing, I believe that Jesus and the Virgin Mary are looking after me
through my hour of need. With my faith and belief in God as I know Him I am able
to lead a life free of guilt.
# A Mass was said for Rachel. Rachel’s name appeared to me, whilst reading
babies’ names; every book I opened was at the name, Rachel. It leapt out at me
as though God was telling me her name.
Here is a letter I have written for my little girl.
Dearest Darling Rachel,
Sweetheart, I am at sorry for being unable to stop your death, as your
mother was determined to carry it out. My life has been empty ever since.
Today you would have been 10 ˝ years old. Your Daddy loves you very much and
misses you. I know you are in a wonderful place, being looked after by the
angels and Our Blessed Mother Mary. Pray for me and your mother and you
grandparents you never met.
In closing, all that I can say is that I love you with all my heart and
soul. I hope that we will meet when my time is up. Until then, Darling may
God bless you and keep you safe.
All my love
Daddy
PRAYER FOR THE SPIRITUAL ADOPTION OF AN UNBORN CHILD
Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary Your Mother, who bore you so
lovingly, and of St Joseph, strong man of faith, who protected you both, I pray
to You for the life of an unborn child, the one I have spiritually adopted.
Please give to the parents of this particular child (and every child in danger
of abortion) the grace and courage to bring it to the life You have destined for
him/her. Amen.
No-one more absolutely innocent can be imagined.
John Paul II
Your spiritually adopted child may be known only to God now, but in the next
life it is hoped that you will meet the child whose life was spared by your
prayers, and spend eternal happiness with them.
Pray, hope and don’t worry!
Blessed Padre Pio
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A Timely Warning for Expectant and Would-be Parents
Dr. Deirdre Little of Bellingen has expressed concern about the legal
pressure being put on the medical profession to increasingly make use of the
growing number of tests that are available to check for birth defects. The
assumption is that, should their child be diagnosed with an abnormality, the
parents then need to “make a choice about continuing the pregnancy,” in other
words they will feel the pressure to kill their imperfect child. Deirdre writes:
Of particular concern to me, as a GP/obstetrician, is current research,
resource and media focused attention on pre-natal diagnosis of untreatable
conditions. Mothers and fathers, who would not normally plan a termination
of pregnancy, are being led through non- therapeutic amniocentesis and
chorionic villous sampling to determine if their babies should be
recommended for abortion. I feel we need an organised, articulate Catholic
response to these medical and social trends. For example, it would be
helpful to have handout literature available to counteract the NSW Health
Dept. brochure entitled, ‘Checking your Baby’s Health before Birth’, so that
there can be a balance of information in the community.
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Why We Need Helpers
This story was related to me by a friend, who asked that it be published in
the hope of encouraging those who are hoping to help those mothers approaching
the abortion clinic in Tweed Heads.
Unbeknown to me, my friend, ‘Mary’ became pregnant and booked herself in for
an abortion in Tweed Heads. She was fairly happily married and had two children,
but felt her inadequacy as a mother and believed she couldn’t cope.
She lived many hours from the clinic; her husband and her two children made
the long trip together, and on arrival in Tweed Heads, she was dropped of by her
husband, who took the two children shopping in order to fill in the time.
As she sat in the waiting room, she thought to herself that she was unable to
go through with the abortion, so she got up and left to wait out the front for
the return of her husband.
She waited, anxious to get away, but her husband was later than arranged. In
the meantime, the abortionist came out of the building, began to talk to her
(counsel?) putting pressure on her that she was not strong enough to resist, and
she found herself back inside, and tragically, the abortion was performed.
Her distress was severe, and what was probably most damaging for her marriage
was the fact that she blamed her husband for not being there in her time of need
for protection. Both she and her husband, (and no doubt their children),
suffered greatly as a result of the callousness on the part of the abortionist,
in bringing about the death of a child that they would no doubt have grown to
love. The marriage has been saved, and she has gone on to have another child.
How different this story could have been, if there was just one person who
had been there to talk to ‘Mary’ at that terrible time in her life!
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Helpers of God’s
Precious Infants
Vigil for life
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be celebrated by
Archbishop Bathersby at 8am on Saturday 12th May 2001 at St. Brigids, Church Red
Hill Followed by a Rosary Procession to the Spring Hill Abortuary
Join with us as we keep a peaceful prayerful vigil to show love and offer
hope and help to parents desperate enough to consider abortion for their
children.
This coincides with Right to Life’s Walk for Little Feet. The 13-km walk
commences at Planned Parenthood’s Bowen Hills Abortuary, to Spring Hill
Abortuary, and on to Parliament House. The Helpers plan to join Right to Life
after their vigil.
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STOP PRESS
The Helpers of God’s Precious lnfants meeting to establish a
regular prayer vigil in front of the abortuary in Tweed Heads will be held at
4pm on Friday 4th May at the Futcher Room (below Presbytery) Frances Street,
Tweed Heads
All welcome. Please pray for the success of this very
important meeting
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