One of the tragic facts of the ongoing abortion holocaust is that if all the abortions in the world stopped tomorrow, the painstaking work of healing will have only just begun ... and will go on for decades.
Mark my words. In an America that has been devastated by the killing of the innocent unborn in the womb, the task of bringing hope and reconciliation to all who have been involved in abortion has become a vital element of our pro-life mission.
As you yourself know only too well, the idea that abortion “solves problems” is a deception and an illusion. Abortion solves nothing. On the contrary, it brings with it a host of problems of its own.
As a priest who ministers to both women and men who were caught up in the abortion lie, I know that when a mother walks into an abortion clinic and allows an abortionist to kill her baby, TWO LIVES are lost ... not just one.
Both mother and baby die in an abortion. The baby physically ... and the mother (if she survives physically) dies spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally.
The dad also sacrifices his fatherhood.
With trust in the Father of mercies, we commend the souls of the innocent children killed in abortion into His loving hands.
But our work doesn’t end there. For there is much God expects us to do for the parents of those children. In fact, here is the impassioned plea the late Pope John Paul II made in Evangelium Vitae to women who had an abortion. It’s from section 99:
The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. … If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and to His mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. ... [Y]ou will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life.
I emphasized the part where the Holy Father spoke of “other people” because YOU and I and our fellow members of the pro-life family are those other people of whom he was speaking.
We are the instruments God will use to pour His love, mercy and healing upon women and men who are suffering from the guilt and shame of having participated in the direct killing of their child.
Speaking of that healing, it is a well-documented fact that healing abortion trauma saves babies.
That’s because almost half of all abortions are repeat killings. And almost 100,000 women a year undergo abortion for at least the fourth time!
Which means that until they find healing from abortion, many women will have more abortions!
They do so, not because they are evil or heartless, but because they become filled with shame and self-hatred. They try to understand and master the trauma of abortion by repeating it. And they try to numb the guilt by convincing themselves that it wasn’t so bad.
That’s why it is so important to bring healing to a woman who has had an abortion as quickly as possible. In so doing, not only is that woman saved from spiritual and emotional death ...
... but so are the lives of her future babies.
All of which brings me to YOU and this email.
One of the great blessings I have in my ministry is to serve as the Pastoral Director and Chairman of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries, the world’s largest ministry for healing after abortion.
Our pastoral associates Dr. Theresa and Kevin Burke founded Rachel's Vineyard and continue to develop it as the most effective healing process to treat post abortion trauma.
These programs – and especially the weekend retreats – bring peace and inner healing to women and men who suffer intense guilt over having killed their babies ... women like Lori who wrote:
“My abortion has left me empty, alone and in despair. It has taken me to a place I almost couldn't come back from. The self-hatred I see every time I look in the mirror has been my constant companion for the last ten years.”
Lori’s testimony is distressing and painful to read. She needs healing ... and so do all those who have taken part in the deadly evil of abortion. As followers of Christ ...
... you and I cannot abandon these mothers and fathers. We must help them.
And you can do so by clicking here and making the largest contribution you can to Rachel's Vineyard.
As incredible as it may sound, Rachel's Vineyard does not require a great deal of money to fulfill its post-abortion ministry. In fact, all it needs to carry out its vital mission is around $15,000 a month.
But look at all that we are able to do with that $15,000:
Maintain an internet website – www.rachelsvineyard.org – which receives over 1.5 million visitors annually!
Provide retreat manuals, a 13-week support group model, aftercare resources, and training sessions for those who supervise Rachel's Vineyard retreats (of which there were 400 last year alone!)
Staff a 24-hour toll-free hotline – 1-877-HOPE-4-ME
Host an annual Training Conference
Educate medical and mental health professionals about the damage abortion does to women, men, families and our culture
Conduct seminars for diocesan Project Rachel offices, clergy and seminarians on how they can reach out to those who have had abortions and bring them healing
... and more that there isn’t room to include in this short email.
The bottom line is that through the healing ministry of Rachel's Vineyard women and men are literally brought back to life!
Which is why The Most Reverend John J. Myers, the Archbishop of Newark, has given Rachel's Vineyard his blessing:
“I enthusiastically endorse the Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat process as a very effective outreach to those suffering after abortion.”
As has Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR:
“I cannot think of another work of this kind so well done. A most difficult and painful human problem is engaged with faith, psychological insight and trust.”
And these two testimonials from participants in a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat bear that out:
“I have been through 14 years of therapy and anti-depressants. I've confessed my abortion a hundred times. Just when I thought I could take the pain no longer, I found Rachel's Vineyard. This weekend literally saved my life.”
“After my abortion, I was stumbling from day to day both spiritually and emotionally. In some ways, my pain was even worse because I felt completely unworthy and shut out from God’s grace. Going on a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat brought me out of that awful darkness. Through this program I was able to finally receive Christ’s love and forgiveness, to understand that the Lord could forgive me for my awful crime. The healing I experienced with Rachel’s Vineyard has since helped me to grow strong enough to not only help other mothers to mourn the loss of their children and receive God’s forgiveness, but also to help women choose life for their children from the first!”
Those healings and that new life would not have happened but for Rachel's Vineyard ...
... and the pro-life men and women just like you who helped provide the funds that made those retreats possible.
As you can see, your financial support for these healing ministries will allow those who work in our Rachel's Vineyard project to reach out to those who are suffering from the pain and guilt of abortion and offer them a chance to experience God’s loving mercy and healing forgiveness.
What’s more, your help today will demonstrate that it is we in the pro-life movement who care about BOTH mother AND child. You cannot separate the two. They are inextricably linked by God Himself. If you hurt one, you hurt the other. If you love one, you must love both. And the father as well.
Your response to this email will affirm your understanding of that essential pro-life principle.
Please take a moment right now – before you hit the “delete” tab and move on to your next email – to click here and make a contribution to Rachel's Vineyard.
Your financial gift will bring you into SOLIDARITY with those who are responding to the late Pope John Paul II when he called on all the people of life to help heal women damaged by abortion and turn them into ardent pro-life champions.
What’s more, when you support Rachel's Vineyard, you support the work of the Church! That’s because almost half of all Rachel's Vineyard retreats are run by a diocese here in the United States. Which means that the official post-abortion outreach of many dioceses IS Rachel's Vineyard.
So please click here and be as generous as you possibly can.
Even as you read this, a pro-life revolution is beginning to spread around the country. As joyous as it is to see this, we dare not leave the wounded and lame behind. Like the Good Samaritan, we must minister to them and be the instruments through which God heals their broken lives.
I’ll close here by telling you that I am quite confident my trust in you is well placed and that you are more than up to the challenge I’ve set before you. I’ve always been able to count on you to do the right thing. And I know you will respond accordingly today. You always do.
Thank you ... and may God bless you.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Frank Pavone,
National Director, Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries
Pastoral Director, Rachel’s Vineyard
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