I grew up in Schuyler. Just north up the highway several miles is a Benedictine monastery and retreat center. The missionary Benedictine monks “up on the hill” had a lot of influence on me over the years. I spent many hours up there attending Mass, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, spending time with Jesus in Adoration, studying theology and philosophy, or just meandering about the property. I also spent three years in seminary, with one of those years being at Conception Seminary in Missouri, a seminary run by Benedictine monks, where I spent a lot of hours doing the same things I did in Schuyler.

In short, the Benedictine way of life has had its impact on me.

At the crux of Benedictine life is their great motto: ora et labora (pray and work). And there is probably no better way to summarize our efforts this last year since the abortion industry launched their ballot initiative to insert a right to late-pregnancy abortion into the Nebraska constitution.

There has been a lot of work, that has constantly been itself an offering of prayer to God Almighty, for the protection of women and babies from unsafe and coercive abortion practices. And there has been a lot of prayer, that has constantly been wondering what kind of work we should be doing, for the protection of women and babies from unsafe and coercive abortion practices.

But the work and the prayer are not done yet.

We have several days before us until Election Day and, as I quoted in last week’s column: “We shall not weary, we shall not rest.” Every day matters, because each day contains within it many hours, many minutes. And with every one of those hours and minutes, there are countless Nebraskans we can still encourage to vote FOR 434 and vote AGAINST 439.

We do not want to wake up on the morning after Election Day and have any regrets about what we could have or should have done before all the ballots were cast. We must “leave it all on the field.”

Here’s what you can practically do on the prayer and work front in these waning, yet critically important, days ahead of us.

Pray and Fast
Make a great offering to God, begging His mercy upon the state of Nebraska, that we would avoid the human and moral catastrophe of all-out abortion in our state constitution. Pray a holy hour, some rosaries, expedited novenas, you name it—pray, pray, pray! Be in intimate conversation with the Holy Trinity!

Don’t forget to offer fasts and sacrifices. We are in spiritual warfare on the abortion front in Nebraska. Whether it is the small sacrifices of life (like saying no to some creature comfort or offering up some small body ache or annoying relationship) or the big stuff of life (like offering up the suffering of a terminal illness), or something in between, we can all make a holy offering to the Father, on behalf of women and babies in Nebraska.

May your prayers and sacrifices move the hearts and minds of Nebraskans to vote FOR 434 and vote AGAINST 439.

Work
Don’t underestimate your relationships. You know people, and likely enough people to keep you busy in the coming days. Do not hesitate to contact them personally, via phone, via text, via e-mail, via social media, or whatever other ways you might contact them.

Ask them if they are voting—if not, encourage them to at least vote on 434 (FOR), 435 (RETAIN), and 439 (AGAINST). If they are voting, ask them how they are voting on these measures. If they are on the side of women and babies, then make sure they are encouraging others to do so. If they are not, ask them if they’ll reconsider.

As you talk with people, share any of the Nebraska Catholic Conference’s resources. We have lots of amazing information, one-pagers, videos, easy to use graphics, you name it. We make spreading the word as easy as pie. But it takes your courage and work to get the info out to the people who need to hear it most.

Find information at www.voteAGAINST439.com or www.voteFOR434.com.

Finally, from the bottom of my heart, thanks for all you will do and have been doing this last year. May God reward our efforts, and may God have mercy on our state and on the whole world!