I was at the vigil from 7-9 pm and could not help but be mesmerized by the fact that there was man washing the outside walls of the building at 65 Sparks using a mechanical fork lift and power hose that would take him to the top of the building wall and then back down again. He sprayed and scrubbed the walls of the building many times. He then took a break and then starting this procedure over again from top to bottom. It seemed as though the walls would not be cleaned and so he had to keep repeating the cleaning over and over again. The symbolism of his actions reminded me of the movie Passion of the Christ when Mary tried washing the stones full of blood after Jesus scourging but could not get all the blood out of the pavement so she scrubbed more and more. When I watched the water dripping down from the building, I was imagining it to be the blood of the thousands of little innocents who have lost their lives at this abortuary. I want to also say that there were many men at the vigil tonight. In fact they outnumbered the women 2 to 1. I felt safe in the presence of these men who were passionate and were unafraid to stand up for life and to show respect for women. I thank all of the men for their courage and strength in participating in the vigil.
This is the video I had thought of when I saw the man washing the building.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-passion-of-mary/196495300
- Sue
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Linda and I were not scheduled for today, but we decided to put in a bit of time tonight because I was downtown anyway for dinner with friends. I arrived at the vigil site at 9:05 to find six others. It is so encouraging to arrive to find other people keeping watch. There was a workman on a power platform washing the side of the building where the abortion mill is located. As I watched him working, scrubbing the stone of the building, I could not get the thought out of my mind that he was trying to wash away the blood of the little ones who had lost their lives on the other side of the stone facade. He kept taking breaks, coming down to ground level and looking up to the areas where he was washing. It was as if he was not satisfied that he was getting rid of the stains. I hope he never succeeds. I noticed several people took long looks at the signs and us as they passed by. They notice. They wonder. When we left shortly after 10:00, there were three people standing guard. God bless them for their dedication and may they be warmed by God's radiance as there was a raw north wind blowing down Bank Street. - David.
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I wanted to share my perspective from this morning....When we arrived at 6 a.m., there was already a woman across the street, sitting on the bench right in front of the abortuary. There was a bitingly cold wind and she was huddled down on the bench, with a hat on and her collar up, with not much more than her eyes exposed to the elements. She sat silent and motionless and I wouldn't have even known she was a vigil participant, if I hadn't noticed the Respect for Life sign that was propped up on the bench beside her. She merely sat there, praying. A gentleman came out of the 65 Bank St. door - to tell her to leave or he would call the police. He told her that she could not be there, and that she MUST be on the other side of the street (he is wrong about that. In Toronto and Vancouver, perhaps. But here in Ottawa, we are allowed to be right outside the door). At any rate, she did not respond to him. He came back out a second time to tell her again. Quite obviously her silent prayer vigil was a great distraction to him. To his intense displeasure, she did not respond to him nor acknowledge him. She merely continued her silent prayer until her vigil hour was over. What was so tremendously heartening was to see how obviously upset he was merely on account of her silent prayer. At 6:30 a.m. there was almost no traffic on the street, few people on the sidewalk, and essentially "no one" to take note of her vigil. But the mere fact that she sat there, praying, caused him obvious distress. It bothered him. Because he KNOWS the power of prayer! For anyone who thinks that "just" being there, just praying, with or without holding a sign, without necessarily an "audience" -- for anyone who thinks this is irrelevant or benign? Think again! For those whose hearts require a conversion - the power of your prayers are felt very strongly indeed. And uncomfortably. And that's a good thing. - Cynthia
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We were there between 10 AM and 11AM when Deborah Gyopong, an Ottawa based reporter for such publications as The National Cathoilic Register and the Western Catholic Reporter, took pictures of the women and men mostly from St Agustine's who were standing in prayer and silence across the street from 65 Bank Street where the Morgentaler abortion Mill is located. Rosalie was in front of the very door doing couselling as it was required. God Bless her , she was there even though she was wearing a leg brace for a dislocation. The quiet and peaceful vigil keepers were happy to be joined by folks from St Clements', St Mary's and Raise Jesus Higher Ministries. As Deborah continued to take pictures and interview us as to why we had chosen to bear this witness a group of thirty to forty little green jumper-vest clad children all in three straight rows went by with their care givers on the abortion side of the street They crossed the street further down and were headed back our way . Deborah paused to put them in the pictures. It was a poignant reminder of why we were there. Mary and Grace
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