“Truly children are a gift from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward.”  Psalm 127:3.  
A baby is not just one more mouth to feed; Scripture says a baby is a gift from God.  I heard a person on the radio
say that a baby who was aborted might have discovered a cure for cancer or some other terrible disease if he (or
she) was able to live his (or her) life.  I think the person on the radio is right.  The aborted baby could have grown up
and might have invented something very important or might have been a great speaker or a great preacher like St.
John Chrysostom, whose name means “golden-mouthed.”  We sure could use a preacher and a speaker like him
these days in the fight against abortion.  

      I’ve always wanted to become a priest since I was five years old.  One night, I went to sleep and I had a dream
about priests gathered together around the altar, and they were singing.  I saw a man that looked like me lying
facedown on the ground.  Then I woke up and thought that was God calling me to be a priest.  God has also placed
within me a deep concern for the unborn.  My mom was an older woman when she had Teressa, Felicity, and me.  I
appreciate that she said “yes” to life, having her last child at the age of forty-five.  She has five children in all.

      I watch the Mass on EWTN everyday, and sometimes I get to listen to Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life.  
Whenever I here him talk, he always motivates me to get out there and do something about being pro-life.  
In November 2004, I was very concerned about the Presidential election that was George Walker Bush against John
Kerry.  So I stood out at the polls, in the pouring down rain, and gave out a copy of a hand-written card to each
voter. The card said: “I learned in school that some plants, some animals, and some land have legal protection in this
country.  Unborn babies, who have so much more dignity than plants and animals, have no legal protection.  Please
vote PRO-LIFE, let the children be born and adopted.  Vote for Bush who is PRO-LIFE.”  

      Some people on the opposite side of the sidewalk were for John Kerry.  Whenever anybody walked by they
shouted, “ Vote for John Kerry!”  Even though they were much older then I was, and they were for John Kerry, I
decided to talk to them about why they wanted everyone to vote for John Kerry.  They said they wanted everyone to
vote for John Kerry because John Kerry wanted to lower taxes and build new schools.  They were so kind that they
gave me an umbrella when it started pouring down rain and I gave them one of the cards.  They even let me sit on
one of their chairs.  It would have been better, though, if they were Pro- Life.  I told them those taxes and schools
weren’t fair to compare to abortion.  If you haven’t been born, taxes and schools sure don’t matter.  I pray that they
changed their mind and are pro-life now.

      I handed out many cards but I vividly remember one lady in particular who had a Kerry-Edwards sticker on her
shirt.  I handed her one of my cards.  She went in and voted.  When she was done, she came back out, stopped next
to me, and said; “Guess who I voted for?”  I was a bit confused because she had a Kerry-Edwards sticker on her shirt
so I said, “Kerry?”  She said; “No, I voted for Bush because of what you wrote on the card you gave me.”  
My heart jumped for joy!  

      I’m 10 ½ years old now.  When I think back to when I was only eight years old, I felt like God was pleased with me
that day.  I let God use me to convert someone to vote pro-life.  I was so glad that I wrote the cards and stood out
there all day to try and make a difference.  Who knows how many people changed their votes that day?  (God
knows…and I bet it makes Him smile.)