Some might consider it just a series of coincidences; however, others believe it to be Divine Providence.
When Father Peter West, Vice President of Human Life International, traveled to Sharonville, Ohio this past May, he didn’t travel alone.
The Pilgrim Icon of Our Lady Czestochowa accompanied the priest to the city’s Women’s Center clinic for an intense prayer vigil. As has happened now all over North America, the “Black Madonna” joined the pro-life faithful in their prevailing efforts to end abortion at the facility.
“We gathered with Our Lady in prayer and asked for her intercession,” said Father Peter West. “The triumph of our Lady over the injustice done to the unborn bears further witness to the sanctity of life, and spurs intense conviction for all prayer warriors that only God can – and will — end abortion.”
Three months later, the Women’s Center closed its doors by order of the Ohio Department of Health, following allegations of abuses on the part of the facility’s operator. But what has many people of faith is the timing of the events. Judge Jerome Metz upheld the Ohio Department of Health’s closure order on August 15, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the order went into effect on August 22, the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary.
Martin Haskell, operator of the Sharonville facility, had committed abortions for 32 years in the Cincinnati area. When his facility license was revoked in January, Haskell appealed the ruling. “The prayers of many faithful pro-lifers certainly led to the revocation of Haskell’s license,” said Father West. “Yet it seems that God was trying to make a point in the final closing, choosing dates in which the Church honors the Mother of God, and following her visit to this death mill.”
Pointing to the many extraordinary events in the history of the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Father West added that the faithful should be edified, not surprised, by the many coincidences that follow prayers asking for the intercession of the mother of Jesus to stop abortion. “When we see that thirteen abortion mills have closed following our visits just in the U.S. alone, we are aware of the need to set our hearts and minds to prayer, and let God do what we can’t in this fight against evil.”