Holy Family

The beauty of the family is something that is so very important to bring out in our society.

I have been so blessed to be able to be around so many good families and good examples of families. All have their struggles but all can reflect the holy family in different ways. We celebrate the feast of the Holy Family today with so many attacks on the family. There are attacks against the family through Marriage where people try changing the meaning of marriage, there are attacks against the family in changing the definition of family by people trying to change the definition of the family. We see attacks against the family by not allowing children into the world through contraception and abortion. We attacks at the mocking of large families and the society saying we should not have traditional families. We see attacks against families in so many other ways. But the Holy Family is such an important example especially now with all of these attacks. The beauty of the family that is living a life according to Christ means that children will be raised up to love God, will be raised as good citizens who will be able to help society and values and beliefs will come back into the world. With all the attacks against the families let us pray for the families that they may remain strong and may always show the love and beauty of Christ love by being models of the Holy Family to the world.

HLI Challenges Pastor’s Participation In Obama Inauguration

FRONT ROYAL, VA — The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, STL, president of Human Life International (HLI), today challenged Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA to reconsider his participation in the upcoming inaugural ceremonies for President-elect Barack Obama.
“We applaud Pastor Warren’s support of pro-life causes as well as his defense of traditional marriage,” said Father Euteneuer. “This is why we are concerned that his high-profile and explicitly Christian prayerful invocation at President-elect Obama’s inauguration may be perceived as an endorsement, even a blessing, of what will likely be the most anti-life administration in the history of this country.”
President-elect Obama has promised to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), a massive assault on the dignity of life. He is also widely expected to reverse President George W. Bush’s executive order reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prevents funding of international groups and programs that advocate abortion, as well as funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which, among other assaults on life, has been demonstrated to support coercive “family planning” measures in China, including forced abortions and sterilizations.
“President-elect Obama has given every indication that he has no respect for the lives of the unborn, and whenever given the opportunity, has promised to enforce the most extreme demands of anti-life groups,” said Father Euteneuer. “This extremist agenda should not be seen to have the endorsement of pro-life leaders such as Pastor Warren.”
“I respect the personal relationship that Pastor Warren has with Mr. Obama,” said Father Euteneuer. “But such a public and explicitly Christian endorsement as this invocation is certainly confusing to those who know Mr. Obama’s record on life issues. We respectfully ask Pastor Warren to reconsider his participation in the inaugural ceremonies, given Mr. Obama’s extremist anti-life views.”

Abortion in Black America

More African American babies have been killed by abortion than twice the total number of deaths from these other causes combined.
AIDS 136,557
Violence 201,491
Accidents 250,087
Brain Vessel 364,586
Cancer 1,118,609
Heart Disease 1,532,362
Abortion 9,683,928
Abortion is a silent killer in our community. From 1981-2000, 9.6 million black children have lost their lives to abortion. This number is more than twice the amount of the other six leading causes of death combined. Since the legalization of abortion in 1973 by Roe vs. Wade, it is estimated that 14,000,000 black children have been aborted.
Did you know?
Over 1,200 black babies die in the United States every day. One out of every three pregnancies in the black community ends in abortion. The birth rate of African Americans is smaller than the death rate.
Black women have 36% of all abortions in the U.S. but represent only 13% of the population. One would expect the abortion percentage to equal the population percentage.
The abortion rate for black women is 3 times that of white women. African American women abort at a rate of 529 per 1,000 live births, while white women abort at a rate of 177 per 1,000 live births. The rate is even greater for married women. Married black women are almost 5 times more likely to abort than married white women.
It has been estimated that African Americans have spent over 4,000,000,000 (4 billion) dollars on abortions since its legalization.
The abortion trend for the last 18 years has steadily declined in the white community and increased in the black community. The CDC has documented a 19% decrease in white abortions, while documenting a 25% increase in black abortions during the same period. If this current trend continues, black abortions will equal white abortions in 2014 and surpass in 2015.
http://www.abortioninblackamerica.com/stats.html

Dignity of the Human Embryo

The Document for the Dignity of a person which was just released has many good things in it but some are so important in debates and for us to help people to see here are two good examples. Paragraph 5 makes a statement that the other side has not been made by the Church. Read this carefully.
Paragraph 5 of Dignitas Personae states.
If Donum vitae, in order to avoid a statement of an explicitly philosophical nature, did not define the embryo as a person, it nonetheless did indicate that there is an intrinsic connection between the ontological dimension and the specific value of every human life. Although the presence of the spiritual soul cannot be observed experimentally, the conclusions of science regarding the human embryo give “a valuable indication for discerning by the use of reason a personal presence at the moment of the first appearance of a human life: how could a human individual not be a human person?”.8 Indeed, the reality of the human being for the entire span of life, both before and after birth, does not allow us to posit either a change in nature or a gradation in moral value, since it possesses full anthropological and ethical status. The human embryo has, therefore, from the very beginning, the dignity proper to a person.

Conclusion of the document states.
The fulfillment of this duty implies courageous opposition to all those practices which result in grave and unjust discrimination against unborn human beings, who have the dignity of a person, created like others in the image of God. Behind every “no” in the difficult task of discerning between good and evil, there shines a great “yes” to the recognition of the dignity and inalienable value of every single and unique human being called into existence. The Christian faithful will commit themselves to the energetic promotion of a new culture of life by receiving the contents of this Instruction with the religious assent of their spirit, knowing that God always gives the grace necessary to observe his commandments and that, in every human being, above all in the least among us, one meets Christ himself (cf. Mt 25:40). In addition, all persons of good will, in particular physicians and researchers open to dialogue and desirous of knowing what is true, will understand and agree with these principles and judgments, which seek to safeguard the vulnerable condition of human beings in the first stages of life and to promote a more human civilization.

Dignitas Personae

Here is just part of the introduction of the Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions. It might be good to read the entire thing the link is at the end.

3. In presenting principles and moral evaluations regarding biomedical research on human life, the Catholic Church draws upon the light both of reason and of faith and seeks to set forth an integral vision of man and his vocation, capable of incorporating everything that is good in human activity, as well as in various cultural and religious traditions which not infrequently demonstrate a great reverence for life. The Magisterium also seeks to offer a word of support and encouragement for the perspective on culture which considers science an invaluable service to the integral good of the life and dignity of every human being. The Church therefore views scientific research with hope and desires that many Christians will dedicate themselves to the progress of biomedicine and will bear witness to their faith in this field. She hopes moreover that the results of such research may also be made available in areas of the world that are poor and afflicted by disease, so that those who are most in need will receive humanitarian assistance. Finally, the Church seeks to draw near to every human being who is suffering, whether in body or in spirit, in order to bring not only comfort, but also light and hope. These give meaning to moments of sickness and to the experience of death, which indeed are part of human life and are present in the story of every person, opening that story to the mystery of the Resurrection. Truly, the gaze of the Church is full of trust because “Life will triumph: this is a sure hope for us. Yes, life will triumph because truth, goodness, joy and true progress are on the side of life. God, who loves life and gives it generously, is on the side of life”.
http://www.usccb.org/comm/Dignitaspersonae/Dignitas_Personae.pdf

question about Holy Communion.

Sometimes you receive different questions in a day they might not all relate to what you are talking about but it is always good to know the answers to these.

So I just received this one. Where can I get information on what happens if you receive Holy Communion in sin?As an unbeliever receiving. Is it addressed in the Bible?

To receive Holy Communion in mortal sin or as an unbeliever is a Sacrilege. So it is a grave sin. Paragraph 1395 in the Catechism states "The Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full communion with the Church."
Paragraph 1457 states " Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession."

So turning to the Bible we see.
1 Cor 11:26 - 30 " For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died."
Clearly St. Paul is giving us a warning. The Church Fathers speak on this and the importance of being in a worthy state to receive communion.

Pro-Abortion Slogans #17

Pro-Abortion Slogan: "Banning abortion discriminates against poor women and women of color. You are racist because you want to keep women of color down by denying them the right to control their own fertility. They will never be able to progress without reproductive rights."Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) CLARIFICATION: "Abortion is not a 'good' that will improve the lives of minority women."
(2) CLARIFICATION: "How strange it is that abortion mills are concentrated in minority neighborhoods!"
(3) CLARIFICATION: "Abortion itself is a racist institution."
Background. Pro-abortionists show by their actions that they don't care as much for the poor as they do for preserving their precious abortion 'right.' They only trot out the tired old "women of color" chestnut when they want to play upon their audience's sympathies and appear compassionate. They say that their objective is to relieve poor women — especially "women of color" — of the "crushing burden of unlimited fertility."
The pro-abortionists are attempting to play the victim yet again.
In reality, they look for women in crisis situations, use them as unwitting tools, and then discard them and forget about them when their usefulness has ended.
The Role of Wealth and Power. Pro-abortionists constantly allege that, if abortion is criminalized, only rich women will be able to kill their preborn children. So what?
Wealth and power have always made breaking the law easier. For example, Teddy Kennedy (D.-umb) walked away from a drowning Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick and got away scot-free, because he supports all the anti-life causes and is a United States Senator.
Does this mean that murder should be decriminalized, because the poor don't have the money and influence to kill with impunity? Does not being able to kill freely make the poor victims? Of course not!
The rich will always be able to afford cocaine and other dangerous and illegal drugs, even if it costs a thousand dollars per ounce. Does this mean that we should subsidize dangerous drugs for the poor? Does an inability to purchase the very finest crack cocaine make the poor a class of victims? Of course not!
Abortion is Not a "Good Thing." With this "poor folks" argument, the pro-abortionists are once again begging the question by making a basic false assumption, i.e., Abortion Is A Good Thing. They are trying to paint the poor as 'victims' who would be deprived of a 'basic human right' should abortion be criminalized.
In order to effectively rebut this argument, we must first answer the question: Where does society generally draw the line between unrestricted and restricted availability? If something is perceived to be a basic and necessary "good," i.e., clean drinking water, good food, shelter and health care, the public generally tries to insure that all persons have access to that particular "good."
If society considers something to be "bad," then it has no obligation to insure that everyone has access to it. Such "bads" are alcohol, dangerous drugs, and pornography. Restricting an evil does not make victims of those who cannot practice it. If abortion is criminalized, the only victims will be the preborn babies of the rich, and the rich women who are ravaged by the physical and psychological trauma of abortion. Abortion Itself is a Racist Institution. Pro-abortionists love to call pro-lifers "racists" because, as they allege, criminalizing abortion will hurt "women of color" the most. This is a classic example of pro-abortion projection. The truth, of course, is that abortion itself is racist. Pro-abortionists are enraged whenever a pro-lifer brings up the fact that abortion is exterminating the Black race. In some instances, pro-abortionists have even physically attacked pro-lifers during debates when they show charts demonstrating this fact. Black women obtain abortions at more than twice the rate of White women. And their fatality rate from "safe and legal" abortion is twice that of White women, as shown in the "deaths" document. What the pro-abortionists really want in many cases is not only "safe and legal abortion," but also a reduction in the number of poor and non-White people in this country, either because they are pure racists or because they consider such people to be a "drag on the economy." This is entirely in keeping with the philosophy of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who desired "A race of thoroughbreds." For more than a thousand lengthy pro-eugenics and other quotes by Margaret Sanger and other authors from The Birth Control Review, see the Anti-Life Quote Archive, which also contains many racist quotes by modern-day pro-abortionists. Pro-abortion publications commonly discussed this racist goal until their public relations experts wisely decided to hush them up. For example, in a looseleaf workbook entitled "Organizing for Action," published as recently as 1974, the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League claimed that "Legal abortion will result in a reduction in welfare rolls. And notorious California abortionist Edward Allred said that "I would do free abortions in Mexico to stem the new influx of Hispanic immigrants. Their lack of respect for democracy and social order is frightening. ... When a sullen Black woman of 17 or 18 can decide to have a baby and get welfare and food stamps and become a burden to all of us, it's time to stop. In parts of South Los Angeles, having babies for welfare is the only industry these people have

Too many Options

I have found the book Anecdotes & Scripture Notes by Rev John G. Hillier to be a good source for ideas for homilies. Even when though I might not use what he had it can be helpful to put you on a good path for a homily. Here is one of his stories and what he says in story 85

Too many Options.
In our technical world, our lives are drowning in options that consume our time. Even watching television may be a giant undertaking because it seems to take fifteen minutes to go through all the 197 channels trying to choose what to watch. If we shop for spaghetti sauce, we have to choose from a dozen brands the sad truth is that we have become “prisoners of options.”

Reflection
Although some options in modern living may border on the ridiculous, having them is not always bad. Worse than options is the sad truth that we often assign equal value to the choices we have. Making decisions must always be responsible and legitimate. To use the example of abortion, it can never be a correct, moral choice. The question of Choice, by definition, suggests that the outcome would be a valuable one. We may have options concerning how we are to live out the details of discipleship, but what options do we have if Jesus invites us through baptism to follow Him. In fidelity? Only two: to accept whole-heartedly, or not to accept. What will our R.S.V.P be?

There are many times in homilies and stories that we can bring in abortion and keep it on the peoples minds this is a good example of how do to that.

Pope address seminarians

I would now like to address you in particular, dear seminarians, who are preparing to be laborers in the Lord's vineyard. As the recent assembly of the Synod of Bishops also recalled, among the priority tasks of the priest is that of spreading with full hands the Word of God in the world, which, like the seed in the Gospel parable, seems too small a reality, but once it has germinated, it becomes a great bush and bears abundant fruit (cf. Matthew 13:31-32). The Word of God that you will be called upon to spread with full hands and which brings with it eternal life, is Christ himself, the only one who can change the human heart and renew the world. However, we might ask ourselves: Does modern man still feel a need for Christ and his message of salvation?
In the present social context, a certain culture seems to show us the face of a self-sufficient humanity, anxious to carry out its projects on its own, which chooses to be the sole architect of its destiny and which, consequently, believes that the presence of God does not count and so excludes it from its choices and decisions.In a climate marked by a rationalism shut-in on itself, which considers the practical sciences as the only model of knowledge while the rest is subjective, non-essential and determinant for life. For these and other reasons, today, without a doubt, it is increasingly more difficult to believe, more difficult to accept the truth that is Christ, more difficult to spend one's life for the cause of the Gospel. However, as we see every day in the news, modern man often seems to be disoriented and worried about his future, seeking certainties and sure points of reference. As in all ages, man of the third millennium needs God and seeks him perhaps without realizing it. The duty of Christians, especially of priests, is to respond to this profound yearning of the human heart and to offer all, with the means and ways that best respond to the demands of the times, the immutable and always living Word of eternal life that is Christ, Hope of the world.
In face of this important mission, which you will be called to carry out in the Church, the years spent in the seminary take on great value, a time allocated to formation and discernment; years in which, in the first place, must be the constant search for a personal relationship with Jesus, a profound experience of his love, which is acquired above all through prayer and contact with the Sacred Scriptures, interpreted and meditated in the faith of the ecclesial community. In this Pauline Year, why not propose the Apostle Paul to yourselves as model in which to be inspired for your preparation to the apostolic ministry? The extraordinary experience on the road to Damascus transformed him, from persecutor of Christians to witness of the resurrection of the Lord, willing to give his life for the Gospel. He was a faithful observer of all the prescriptions of the Torah and of the Hebrew traditions; however, after having found Jesus "whatever gain I had -- he writes in the Letter to the Philippians -- I counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (cf. 3:7-9). Conversion did not eliminate all that was good and true in his life, but enabled him to interpret in a new way the wisdom and truth of the Law and the prophets and thus be able to dialogue with all, following the example of the Divine Teacher.
In imitation of St. Paul, dear seminarians, do not tire of encountering Christ in listening to, reading and studying sacred Scripture, in prayer and personal meditation, in the liturgy and in every daily activity. In this connection, dear ones responsible for formation, your role is very important, as you are called to be witnesses for your students even before being teachers of evangelical life. Because of their typical characteristics, the Regional Seminaries can be privileged places to form seminarians in diocesan spirituality, inscribing this formation in the largest ecclesial and regional context with wisdom and balance. Your institutions should also be vocational "houses" of welcome to give greater impetus to vocational pastoral care, taking care especially of the world of youth and educating young people in the great evangelical and missionary ideals.
Dear friends, while thanking you for your visit I invoke over each one of you the maternal protection of the Virgin Mother of Christ, which the Advent liturgy presents to us as model of those who watch while awaiting the glorious return of her divine Son. Entrust yourselves to her with confidence, take recourse often to her intercession, so that she will help you to stay awake and vigilant. For my part I assure you of my affection and daily prayer, while I bless you all from my heart.

Culture of Life.

Benedict XVI is praying this month for the expansion of the culture of life.The Apostleship of Prayer announced the general intention chosen by the Pope: "That, faced by the growing expansion of the culture of violence and death, the Church may courageously promote the culture of life through all her apostolic and missionary activities."The Holy Father also chooses an apostolic intention for each month. In December, he will pray that especially in mission countries, Christians may show through gestures of brotherliness that the Child born in the grotto in Bethlehem is the luminous Hope of the world."

Advent

The season of advent is one which can be passed by because of all the Christmas things that are going on. It is important to remember in Homilies, to talk about this season of preparing for the coming of Christ. It is also a good time to show the Dignity of being human. I find this aspect of the Pro-life movement is not always brought to the front. When we do this we can also talk about the beauty of Children and the vocation of the family. Just a few ideas for when you are preparing homilies for this time of year.

Society is sick because the family is being destroyed

Spanish cardinal: Society is sick because the family is being destroyed
Toledo, Nov 25, 2008 / 10:19 pm (CNA).-
During his homily on Sunday, Cardinal Antonio Canizares of Toledo said, “We are suffering a true illness in our society because of the weakening, if not the destruction, of the family, which together with the Church, are obstacles to be overcome in order to impose a new plan for mankind and for society that certainly has no future.”
“I know I’m going to get criticized. Who cares? Our society is sick, very sick and we cannot hide it. We have the abominable crime of abortion, although--why not say it?—a small light has been lit recently in our sister country of Uruguay,” the cardinal said in his homily.
The cardinal said abortion symbolized the illness that society is experiencing, together with “other attacks on life, such as euthanasia, experimentation with embryos and their use for economic reasons.”
He also pointed to a fear of the Christian faith that is manifested in the removal of crucifixes from schools and other efforts to suppress religious expression.
“These are difficult times we are going though,” the cardinal said, “and nobody can be predict what is going to happen in the future. The grave crisis in schools and businesses is part of a deeper crisis, of which the economic crisis is not the most important, and that is the crisis of the meaning of life, the human and moral crisis of universal values.”
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14446

Suffering from chronic lack of hope

Europe suffering from chronic lack of hope, bishop warns
Madrid, Nov 24, 2008 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- The secretary general of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, warned this week that European society “has made science almighty, it has made progress a substitute for salvation and suffers a chronic lack of hope, where the culture of death gains ground everyday on the culture of life.”
During his speech at the Tenth Congress on Catholics and Public Life, the bishop underscored that in response to this reality in Europe, Christian hope is needed for a future that has lost its value and seems to have renounced the protection of human life and of man in the face of the culture of death.
Religious action in the public sphere is an immunization against the totalitarian temptation to view man as merely part of the social machinery. “Prayer is an exorcism against society monopolizing life and turning it into a beehive. Society is not the horizon for human life, but rather a means for life to be realized according to God’s plan,” he said.
For this reason, the bishop continued, things such as prayer, churches and crucifixes rejuvenate public life, because they “show man what his meaning is.” The lack of hope, he said, is the result of “this dominant culture that seeks to substitute the God of hope with the idol of progress.”

An Exhortation To Hear Mass Devoutly

On "Gaudete" Sunday, as St. Gertrude prepared to communicate at the first Mass, which commences "Rorate," she complained to our Lord that she could not hear the Mass; but our Lord, who compassionates the afflicted, consoled her, saying: "Do you wish, My beloved, that I should say Mass for you?" Then, being suddenly rapt in spirit, she replied: "I do desire it, O beloved of my soul; and I most ardently beseech Thee to grant me this favor." Our Lord then intoned the "Gaudete in Domino semper," with a choir of saints, to incite this soul to praise and rejoice in Him; and as He sat on His royal throne, St. Gertrude cast herself at His feet and embraced them. Then He chanted the "Kyrie eleison" in a clear and loud voice, while two of the princes of the Choir of Thrones took her soul and brought it before God the Father, where she remained prostrate. At the first Kyrie eleison, He granted her the remission of all the sins which she had contracted through human frailty; after which the Angels raised her up on her knees. At the second, He pardoned her sins of ignorance; and she was raised up by these princes, so that she stood before God. Then two Angels of the Choir of Cherubim led her to the Son of God, who received her with great tenderness. At the first Christe eleison, the saint offered to our Lord all the sweetness of human affection, returning it to Him as to its Source; and there was a wonderful influx of God into her soul, and of her soul into God, so that by the descending notes the ineffable delights of the Divine Heart flowed into her, and by the ascending notes the joys of her soul flowed back to God. At the second Christe eleison, she experienced the most ineffable delights, which she offered to the Lord. At the third Christe eleison, the Son of God extended His hands and bestowed on her all the fruit of His most holy life and conversation. Two Angels of the Choir of Seraphim then presented her to the Holy Spirit, Who penetrated the three powers of her soul. At the first Kyrie eleison, He illuminated her reason with the glorious light of divine knowledge, that she mights always know His will perfectly. At the second Kyrie eleison, He strengthened the irascible part of her soul to resist all the machinations of her enemies, and to conquer every evil. At the last Kyrie eleison, He inflamed her love, that she might love God with her whole heart, with her whole soul, and with her whole strength. It was for this reason that the Choir of Seraphim, which is the highest order in the heavenly hosts, presented her to the Holy Spirit, Who is the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, and that the Thrones presented her to God the Father, manifesting that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty, living and reigning perfect Trinity through endless ages. The Son of God then rose from His royal throne, and, turning towards God the Father, intoned the Gloria in excelsis in a clear and sonorous voice. At the word gloria He extolled the immense and incomprehensible omnipotence of God the Father; at the words in excelsis He praised His profound wisdom; at Deo He honored the inestimable and indescribable sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The whole celestial court then continued in a most harmonious voice, Et in terra pax homininbus bonae voluntatis. Our Lord being again seated on His throne, St. Gertrude sat at His feet meditating on her own abjection, when He inclined towards her lovingly; then she rose and stood before Him, while the Divine splendor illuminated her whole being. Two angels from the Choir of Thrones then brought a throne magnificently adorned, which they placed before our Lord; two princes from the Choir of Seraphim placed St. Gertrude thereon, and supported her from each side, while two of the Choir of Cherubim stood before her bearing brilliant torches; and thus she remained before her Beloved, clothed in royal purple. When the heavenly hosts came to the words Domine Deus Rex Caelestis, they paused, and the Son of God continued alone chanting to the honor and glory of His Father. At the conclusion of the Gloria in excelsis, the Lord Jesus, Who is our true High Priest and Pontiff, turned to St. Gertrude, saying, "Dominus Vobiscum, dilecta - The Lord be with you, beloved;" and she replied, "Et spiritus meus tecum, praedilecte - And may my spirit be with Thee, O my Beloved." After this she inclined towards the Lord to return Him thanks for His love in uniting her spirit to His Divinity, Whose delights are with the children of men. The Lord then read the Collect, Deus, qui hanc sacratissimam noctem, which He conlcuded with the words, Per Iesum Christum filium tuum, as if giving thanks to God the Father, for illuminating the soul of St. Gertrude, whose unworthiness was indicated by the word noctem (night) which was called most holy, because she had become marvellously ennobled by the knowledge of her own baseness. St. John the Evangelist, then rose and stood between God and her soul. He was adorned with a yellow garment, which was covered with golden eagles. He commenced with the Epistle Haec est sponsa, and celestial court concluded, Ipsi gloria in saecula. Then all chanted the gradual Specie tua, adding the Versicle Audi filia et vide. After this they commenced the Alleluia. St. Paul, the great Doctor of the Church, pointed to St. Gertrude saying, "Aemulor enim vos - I am jealous of you" (2 Cor. xi, 2); and the heavenly choir sang the prose, Filiae Sion exultent. At the words Dum non consentiret, St. Gertrude remembered that she had been a little negligent in resisting temptations, and she hid her face in shame; but our Lord, Who could not bear to behold the confusion of His chaste queen, covered her negligence with a collar of gold, so that she appeared as if she had gained a glorious victory over all her enemies. Then another Evangelist commenced the Gospel Exultavit Dominus Iesus, and these words moved the Heart of Jesus so deeply that He arose, and extending His hands, exclaimed aloud, Confiteor tibi Pater, manifesting the same thanksgiving and gratitued to His Father as He had done when He said the same words on earth, giving special thanks for the graces bestowed on this soul. After the Gospel He desired St. Gertrude to make a public profession of faith, by reciting the Creed in the name of the whole Church. When she had concluded, the choir chanted the offertory, Domine Deus in simplicitate, adding Sanctificavit Moyses. The Heart of Jesus then appeared as a golden altar, which shone with a marvellous brightness, on which the angel guardians offered the good works and prayers of those committed to their care. The Saints then approached, and each offered his merits to the eternal praise of God, and for the salvation of St. Gertrude. The angelic princes, who had charge of the Saint, next approached and offered a chalice of gold, which contained all the trials and afflictions which she had endured, either in body or soul, from her infancy; and the Lord blessed the chalice with the sign of the cross, as the priest blesses it before Consecration. He now intoned the words Sursum corda. Then all the Saints were summoned to come forward, and they applied their hearts in the form of golden pipes, to the golden altar of the Divine Heart; and from the overflowings of this chalice, which our Lord had consecrated by His benediction, they received some drops for the increase of their merit, glory, and eternal beatitude. The Son of God then chanted the Gratias agamus to the glory and honor of His Eternal Father. At the Preface, He remained silent for an hour after the words Per Iesum Christum, while the heavenly hosts chanted the Dominum nostrum with ineffable jubilation, declaring that He was their Creator, Redeemer, and the liberal Rewarder of all their good works, and that He alone was worthy of honor and glory, praise and exaltation, power and dominion, from and over all creatures. At the words laudant angeli, all the angelic spirits ran hither and thither, exciting the heavenly nhabitants to sing the Divine praises. At the words Adorant Dominationes, the Choir of Dominations knelt to adore the Lord, declaring that to Him alone every knee should bow, whether in Heaven, on earth, or under the earth. At the Tremunt Potestates, the Powers prostrated before Him to declare that He alone should be adored; and at the Caeli caelorumque, they praised God with all the angel choirs. Then all the heavenly hosts sang together in harmonious concert the Cum quibus et nostras; and the Virgin Mary, the efflugent Rose of Heaven, who is blessed above all creatures, chanted the Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, extolling with the highest gratitude by these three words the incomprehensible ominpotence, the inscrutable wisdom, and the ineffable goodness of the Ever Blessed Trinity, inciting all the celestial choirs to praise God for having made her most powerful after the Father, most wise after the Son, and most benign after the Holy Ghost. The Saints then continued the Domine Deus Sabaoth. When this was ended, St. Gertrude saw our Lord rise from His royal throne and present His blessed Heart to His Father, elevating it with His own hands, and immolating it in an ineffable manner for the whole Church. At this moment the bell rang for the Elevation of the Host in the Church; so that it appeared as if our Lord did in heaven what the priests did on earth; but the Saint was entirely ignorant of what was passing in the Church, or what the time was. As she continued in amazement at so many marvels, our Lord told her to recite the Pater noster. When she had finished He accepted it from her, and granted that by this Pater noster they should accomplish everything which had ever been accomplished for the salvation of the Church and for the souls in purgatory. Then He suggested her to pray for the Church, which she did, for all in general, and for each in particular, with the greatest fervor; and the Lord united her prayer to those which He had offered Himself when in the flesh, to be applied to the Universal Church. Then she exclaimed: "But, Lord, when shall I communicate?" And our Lord communicated Himself to her with a love and tenderness which no human tongue could describe, so that she received the perfect fruit of His most precious Body and Blood. After this He sang a canticle of love for her, and declared to her, that had this union of Himself with her been the sole fruit of His labors, sorrows and Passion, He would have been fully satisfied. Oh, inestimable sweetness of the Divine condescension, Who so delights in human hearts that He considers His union with them a sufficient return for all the bitterness of His Passion! and yet, what should we not owe Him had He only shed one drop of His precious Blood for us! Our Lord then chanted Gaudete iusti, and all the Saints rejoiced with St. Gertrude. Then our Lord said, in the name of the Church Militant, Refecti sibo; He then saluted all the Saints lovingly, saying, Dominus vobiscum, and thereby increased the glory and joy of all the blessed. The Saints and Angles then sang, for the Ite Missa est, Te decet laus et honor Domine, to the glory and praise of the effulgent and ever peaceful Trinity. The Son of God extended His royal hand and blessed the Saint, saying: "I bless thee, O daughter of eternal light, with this special blessing, granting you this favor, that whenever you desire to do good to any one from particular affection, they will be as much benefitted above others as Jacob was above Esau when he received his father's blessing."

My dear reader, were our Lord to favor you but once with such a vision, how great would not be your devotion in hearing Mass! Ah! dear reader, our vision must be our faith; faith is the best of all visions, because it is not subject to any illusion. In the light of a lively faith you will see in every Mass all these marvels of Divine Omnipotence, Wisdom and Goodness, which St. Gertrude saw.

Fr. Michael Muller, C.S.S.R., The Blessed Eucharist: Our Greatest
Treasure, October 22, 1867.

The Holy Spiriit

I read today “The president of Planned Parenthood claims the election results showing a majority of Catholics supported pro-abortion candidate Barack Obama means Catholics now support abortion.” The Church does not change its opinions because of the people but follows the Holy Spirit which guides the Church. Many times we will read the voices of people in the Church but they might be in the Church but are not speaking for the Church. The Church is clear in its teaching. Just because many people have turned away from the Catholic faith does not change the truth. The Church has never been and will never support abortion in any way for God never created a human life that was a mistake and God will never want us to destroy that life. Even if 90% of the people claiming to be Catholic would not follow the teachings of the Church the Church will never leave the path of life that is given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Holy Apostles

I was able to go to Holy Apostles in Cromwell CT to give a talk on the international Pro-life movement. Holy Apostles is one of the stronger Pro-life seminaries I have been to. It is a blessing to see men that are interested in learning about the message of life and the importants of prayer in our lives.

This is before the start of the talk.

Fr. Bellrose giving the talk to the seminarians.

One of the seminarian asking questions.

The powerpoint presentation part of the talk.

The blessing at the end.

Hope for pro-life people

A quote from the late Congressman Henry Hyde, an outspoken lion of the pro-life movement.

“When the time comes as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I’ve often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God and a terror will rip through your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there will be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, “Spare him because he loved us,” and God will look at you and say not, “Did you succeed?” but “Did you try?”‘

Prayer vigil Romania

While in Romania I was able to go and do a prayer vigil for life. We processed with our Lady in front and prayed in front of a clinic. This is such an important part of our work being visible for the people allowing them to see that the priest is not afraid to stand up for life. If the priest leads the people will follow.

Here is the march to the clinic.



I was leading the Roasary in English and they were responding in Romanian.


Children can be an taught the beauty of life but also show the beauty of life this young man will convert more souls by praying out in front of the clinic then most.

We ended the prayer vigil with prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. This is an important part to begin and end with our Lord.

Romania

I was able to go to the seminaries in Romania. It was good to preach the pro-life message there some of the seminaries were teaching the message well and you could tell by the questions others were not. Even the seminaries that were teaching the pro-life message not one of the seminarians have a great idea of what the Church actually teaches.
Here are some photos from the trip.

These are Seminarians at Alba Iulia
Fr. Ioan on left and Fr. Bellrose in the center giving a talk at Oradea

Seminarians at Blaj

The Greek Catholic Archbishop His Beatitude Major Archbishop LUCIAN MURESAN in Blaj

Women who die from abortion

One of the debate tactics that many of the pro-abortion people say is. "Right to Life, that's a lie! You don't care if women die! We won't go back to the days when thousands of desperate women died every year from abortions performed by quacks in unsafe, unsanitary back-alley butcher shops!"
Which of course we know is false here is a good way to look at this argument.
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) REFUTATION: "The statement that "thousands of women died before Roe v. Wade" is a bare-faced lie."

(2) REFUTATION: "If pro-lifers don't care about women, why do we run more crisis pregnancy centers than you have abortion mills?"

(3) PARALLELISM: [To the audience] "Let's see who cares about women more. Call up a pro-life crisis pregnancy center and tell them you are unmarried, pregnant, and that your parents have thrown you out of the house. Ask for help with rent money, groceries and utilities. Tell them you need someone to talk to. Then call up an abortion clinic and ask them the same questions. You will see who really cares about women and who is just in it for the money."

(4) PARALLELISM: "Do you support sex-selection abortions directed against preborn women?"
The Primary Argument. Pro-abortionists who insist that thousands of women died annually of illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade have absolutely no statistical backup for their claims — and they usually know it!
Consider the following quote by Dr. Bernard Nathanson, one of the original founders of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (later the National Abortion Rights Action League, NARRAL and finally NARAL Pro-Choice America), and the operator of the biggest abortion clinic in the nation for years; "How many deaths were we talking about when abortion was illegal? In NARAL, we always said '5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year.' I confess that I knew the figures were totally false, and I suppose the others did too if they stopped to think of it. But in the 'morality' of our revolution, it was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?"
The actual Centers for Disease Control (CDC) figures on deaths caused by abortions, both legal and illegal, for those years immediately before and after Roe v. Wade are as follows;
1970: 90 deaths.
1971: 83 deaths.
1972: 90 deaths.
1973: 57 deaths.
1974: 54 deaths.
1975: 49 deaths.
Despite these statistics, pro-abortionists are still lying about the number of women who died of illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade. They insist upon using these apocalyptic numbers because they depend more on feelings than rationality.
One pro-abortionist wrote in 1998 that "Legalization has largely eliminated the estimated 5,000 annual abortion-related deaths in the years before Roe ... Unfortunately, their [19th Century doctors] successful effort to make abortion illegal simply drove it into the back alley, where, according to some estimates, as many as two million abortions a year were performed ..."
In many cases, your pro-abortion debating opponent will insist upon painting gory word pictures of bloody butchers in the back alley. One way to refute this tactic and effectively show audiences how most pre-Roe abortions really took place is to read a quote by an actual illegal abortionist or by a woman who actually had a "tourism abortion."
Ruth Barnett, who had no medical training whatsoever and yet performed over 40,000 illegal abortions in Portland, Oregon without a single fatality, said that "In the movies, they always depict the fallen woman sneaking up a dirty, rickety stairway to a dismal room — or making her way, furtively, into a dark alley that leads to a decrepit shack where some alcoholic doctor or untutored butcher performs the abortion. A clinic such as mine was not that way at all. It was a bright, cheerful place where women's problems were handled quickly, efficiently and with dignity, no matter what the circumstances of the patient."
One Zero Population Growth (ZPG) writer describes a report from a young woman who she referred to an abortionist in Mexico City: "Things were really good down in Mexico City. Everything happens so fast there is almost an aura of fantasy. The clinic (more like a mansion really) is very nice and comfortable. There were about seventeen women there the morning I had the D&C done, plus some in the afternoon. They get you up right after and feed you fruit and drink and cookies right away — helps take your mind off the cramping. Some of us went sightseeing that afternoon. Mexico City is really nice, and I had no trouble at all with any facet of the journey or my stay there. You know, in a way it was almost fun."

HPV Vaccine

Some points about HPV Vaccine

· The HPV Vaccine is called Gardasil which comes in 3 shots over 6 months that cost about $150 per shot.
· According to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) there are about 100 types of HPV, but this vaccine would only cover 4 of them: types 6, 11, 16 and 18.
· Even though the CDC feels that types 16 and 18 cause almost 70% of cervical cancer, there is no long term proof that Gardasil will stop either HPV or cancer.
· Gardasil is not a cure for cancer or a cancer vaccine, but only a vaccine against 2 types of HPV that cause cancer though it is marketed as a cancer vaccine. In fact , Gardasil is marketed as a vaccine that prevents cancer, but it “. . . has not been evaluated for the potential to cause carcinogenicity or genotoxicity.”
· The tests that were done only proved that women did not get the two strains of HPV but did not show if the cancer was still a threat.
· During testing, an aluminum-containing placebo was used. Aluminum can cause permanent cell damage and is a reactive placebo unlike most standard saline placebos. This means that tests of Gardasil may not have given an accurate picture of safety levels.
· Gardasil is a prophylactic, preventative vaccine and will not treat pre-existing HPV infections. Not only will Gardasil not cure pre-existing HPV, it can also make pre-existing symptoms worse.
· While Gardasil is the most expensive vaccine ever to be recommended by the FDA, its long-term effectiveness is unknown and could be as brief as only two to three years.
· Although some states are considering making it mandatory for young girls to get the Gardasil vaccine, some even as young as 9 years old, it has only been tested with one other vaccine commonly given to children. There are ten commonly administered adolescent vaccines, the reaction to these vaccines is unknown. Gardasil is still in the testing stages, and will not be fully evaluated for safety until September 2009. VAERS reports (which is where all reports are made) show that as many as eighteen to twenty people have died after receiving Gardasil.
· It is unknown what any long term effects of Gardasil are, including any effects on fertility or other health areas.
· Just because someone receives Gardasil does not mean they do not need Pap’s Smears. So it does not save any money for the government, or individuals.
· It is reported that 27% of pregnant women experienced adverse reactions, to Gardasil and the VAERS reports show 45 cases combined number of miscarriages and spontaneous abortions, often within weeks of receiving the Gardasil vaccine.

Marion Joshua Hite

In the Pro-life work many people are heros that will not be recognized. One of which passed away recently. Looking at the Obituary we would not think anything about his pro-life work.

Marion Joshua Hite
Recitation of the rosary followed by a funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, in Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Portland for Marion Joshua "Doc" Hite of Beaverton, who died Oct. 4 at age 102.
Marion Joshua Hite was born Dec. 9, 1905, in Boring. A farmer in Gresham and a truck driver, he also owned a body-and-fender business. He was a member of the church.
Survivors include his sisters, Pearl Barger and Marie Spencer.
Remembrances to Human Life International. Arrangements by Zeller.

Looking at his life you would wonder why non of his work was recognized. Here is a better example of this mans life.

A gentle legend in the pro-life world has died.
Each day for decades, Doc Hite walked, stood, sat and eventually slumped outside a Portland abortion clinic, urging adoption over abortion. His mission was persistent testimony to what he considered a slaughter of innocents. Hite, a member of Holy Rosary Parish, kept up his protest until he was 100.
He died Oct. 4 at age 102, after several years of sickness thwarted his mission. There was a rosary and funeral Mass at Holy Rosary last weekend.
“Only the dear Lord knows how many babies he actually saved,” says Thomas Di Novo, a Beaverton member of a Catholic men’s association that included Hite as its spiritual inspiration. “I know we are not to declare anyone a saint before the church does, but there are many who thought of him as a living saint.”
Hite received honors for his work from the church and pro-life groups, but not until he was well into his 90s. For decades before that, the former cowboy and berry farmer kept lonely vigil outside the Lovejoy Surgicenter, a clinic in a chic Portland neighborhood. Rain or shine, he always took the bus from the low-rent side of town, toting signs, a lawn chair and an umbrella.
He did not usually speak harshly of others, but did have some words for Christians who would not join him. “I quoted Scripture,” he told the Sentinel in 1999. “‘Naked and you clothed me, thirsty and gave me drink.’ What will He say to them? ‘I was being tortured and killed by the abortionists and you never lifted a finger to stop it!’”
He was more vocal in the 1970s and early 1980s, when he was part of a larger protest group that even blocked the clinic doors with their bodies. Hite was arrested seven times and spent a month in jail, praying and reading. He mellowed with age, but kept up at Lovejoy after the crowds faded. Court injunctions kept him from positioning himself directly in front of the clinic.
Hite always spoke respectfully if pleadingly to the women he encountered outside the building, urging them to call a 1-800 number for information about adoption. He was rarely, if ever, harsh and leaned toward compassion.
There are about 10,000 abortions in Oregon each year and usually about one in three are performed at Lovejoy.
Hite’s motivation, he told the Sentinel in 1999, is “love of God and children.”Some of the women who did not abort because of his presence at the clinic would bring their babies to see him. You could count them on one hand, but most people assume there were many others who made their decisions without telling him.
Hite grew up on a small farm between Sandy and Boring. A lifelong Catholic, he was raised in the faith at St. Michael Parish in Sandy, the second oldest of seven children.
He attended Benson Polytechnic High School and then he headed to Mount Angel Seminary, intent on becoming a priest. He says that he was forced to leave because of an illness. “General sickness, I guess,” he says.
There began a long series of roughneck and often lonely jobs. He tended sheep and rustled cattle in eastern Oregon. He worked in logging camps around the state and fixed dents in cars.
His given name was Marion. His cowboy nickname, Dock, morphed into Doc.Hite retired in the early 1970s, just after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the door to legal abortion. It was then that he decided he had better do something.
“Thou shalt not stand idly by when human life is at stake,” he said, briefly breaking into King James English. “I’m afraid that is what a lot of people are doing.”He never wed. At 100, he admitted it might have been nice to have children.He is survived by two sisters, Pearl Barger and Marie Spencer, and many nieces and nephews.

This story can be found at http://www.sentinel.org/node/9533

Abortion on the high sea

Sometimes we see how people will circumvent the laws of the land this is one way the culture of death does this.

A Spanish pro-life group said it plans to protest the arrival on Thursday of a Dutch boat that is offering to provide abortions that circumvent Spain's strict laws. The boat is due to anchor off the Mediterranean port of Valencia, the Dutch non-profit organisation Women on Waves said on its web site. From Friday, it will offer abortions on the ship in international waters under the Netherlands' more liberal abortion laws. This "symbolic initiative" will allow "abortions outside Spanish law for the first time in Spain's recent history, but without violating it," said Spanish gynaecologist Josep Lluis Carbonell, one of the promoters. But it has already sparked controversy. Valencia's conservative mayor Rita Barbera termed the plan a "provocation that has sparked indignation." The anti-abortion group Provida in Valencia said its members plan a protest aboard a smaller vessels when the boat arrives. Spain decriminalised abortion in 1985 but only for certain cases: up to 12 weeks of pregnancy after a rape; up to 22 weeks in the case of malformation of the foetus; and at any point if the pregnancy represents a threat to the physical or mental health of the woman. But the Socialist government last month said it plans to introduce a new law that will offer greater legal protection for women who wish to have an abortion and doctors who carry out the procedure.
The Women on Waves ship visited Ireland in 2001, Poland in 2003 and Portugal in 2004, sparking protests in each country.
This story was at http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081015182545.kro529yr&show_article=1

Instruct the ignorant

This is one of the spiritual works of mercy and many times it is out of ignorance that people speak, admonishing the sinner and instructing the ignorant are two works of mercy that society has fallen away from so I figured I would give you an example from yesterday that I had. Someone wrote and said.

I personally, am not a Christian, nor do I believe that oral contraception is bad. But I have Christian friends, I have gone to Christian churches, I have attended Christian youth groups and such. One of the overarching themes I have gathered from my experience was this idea of "free will," or, as C.S. Lewis put it, "God cannot rape, only woo." That we, as humans, have free will to guide our lives and such. So my question (or maybe an observation) is doesn't your thesis (being anti-birth control) fly in the face of our God-given free will to come to Christ (for example) as it is to control how many kids we have?

That was the question he posed and it can be easy to just blow off those question but better to address them in an ordered fashion here is what I responded with.

That is a good question. I like how you look at freedom and free will. It does make sense and the problem is the idea of freedom. What is freedom and free will? First we say that we are free in the US, but that does not mean that if I get upset with someone I can kill them. I can, but first it would be illegal and second there are consequences for that action because I did not do the correct thing. So all freedom, both natural and supernatural, has some limits. I am free to jump off a cliff but if that cliff is high enough and I don’t have anything to bring me down slowly… is call suicide. Now true freedom is the ability to do God’s Will. So I am free when I am able to do what God wants me to do. This freedom is truly freeing because when we follow God’s will – we do not have regrets with it. I never regretted doing anything God asked me, but since you don’t believe in God I won’t force this part of freedom on you. This is just to explain how we look at freedom, and looking at free will... So even though it might not be what you believe - I am just trying to explain it to you to help you understand what we are saying.Next part is free will. What is free will? Free will is the ability to choose God’s will or the ability to not (which we call sin). Now we know that if we choose God’s will that we will go to heaven and if we do not choose God’s will and turn completely away from Him, we will go to hell. As Christians we are called first and foremost to love our neighbor. If I truly love you, which I do, otherwise I would not bother explaining this, I will help you get to heaven. Love also has two aspects for it - to love, not lust.First you love the other as a person- not use them as an object. You want to see them reach their greatest good. Their greatest good is heaven. So I do not want you to do anything that would cause you to sin. So even though you have the freedom to choose, I will do my best to show you the way to heaven because I love you. If I did not love you I would just tell you to go ahead and sin because I don’t want you to go to heaven - I want to see you burn in hell. Hopefully this helps. The other part of your question is about how many kids we have...Did you know that NFP (Natural Family Planning) provides the only truly safe and effective methods with a better success rate than contraception? And best of all it does not put the woman’s health in danger or kill a child. But to be truly open to God’s Will means we will be open to Him if God decides to bless us with a child. Contraception takes God out of the picture and says we don't want God in my relationship. I hope this helps.

Conception, Fertilization or implantation

Did you know that nowadays when we say “conception” people may be thinking two different things? Thanks to modern medical propaganda that furthers the culture of death, there is an additional (and so-called) “definition” for conception. While most Catholics should know that conception occurs with fertilization, the new “definition” from the prevalent medical community says that conception happens at implantation.
Why did they change the definition of conception? As Dr. Brian Clowes points out in The Facts of Life, “In 1963, the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) defined abortion as "all the measures which impair the viability of the zygote at any time between the instant of fertilization and the completion of labor." Until the mid-1960s, scientists universally acknowledged that conception occurred at the moment of fertilization of the ovum by the spermatozoa, somewhere in the fallopian tube.
But pro-abortionists and population controllers already had their sights set on a shift from contraceptive to abortifacient methods of artificial birth prevention - - and such abortifacient research was already ongoing in Japan and several European countries. To accomplish their desired change, the death promoters needed to pervert the definition of "conception" from fertilization [union of spermatozoa and ovum] to implantation. Under their fabricated new “definition,” if a device or drug — such as an IUD or Depo-Provera — prevents implantation, then no abortion takes place! For them, abortion would only occur if a device or chemical killed a pre-born child who had already implanted in the endometrium (lining) of the uterus.
The pro-abortionists' continuing agitation for a change in terminology was finally successful in 1965, when the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) published its first Terminology Bulletin, stating that "conception is the implantation of a fertilized ovum." This semantic subterfuge resulted in the Bulletin inventing two additionally misleading terms for early abortion: "Post-conceptive contraception" and "post-conceptive fertility control."”
Why is it important to know these facts? Well, when we speak to people (who may even be well meaning and sincere) and they say such things as “the pill and Depo-Provera do not cause abortions” it may just be that they have accepted the altered definitions. But clearly, just because I start using the term “conception” to mean something other than fertilization, does not change the reality. If they decide to move “conception” to the time when the baby now resides in our environment instead of that inner environment of the womb, this obviously would not change the fact that a new human being has been created at the time of fertilization.
When I would preach about this at Mass, I have had many good responses from the people because they love to hear how the “other side” works. Additionally, many people, if given the chance, appreciate truth and are eager to respond. Hopefully we can use this knowledge to help train others how to speak pro-life.

Pro-life dinners

Sometimes as a priest you go to different events and are able to meet many of the people that are involved with the Pro-life movement. Last night I was able to go to the Healing and hope awards banquet in Washington DC. I was able to meet many people and to talk with many great people that work in the pro-life movement people such as Bud Macfarlane Sr., Joe Langfeld, Daniel Flynn, Missy Smith, Mary Perrelli, I also was able to speak with some of the up and coming pro-life people like Marie Hahnenberg famous for the pill kills http://www.thepillkills.com/ It was good also to see so many priest that attended. It is so important to see the priest at these events to help people get a better idea that we are there to lead and support them in this ever so important movement. Remember as a priest it is important to inspire the people by our example. Just being there many people came up to me and wanted to talk. What a beautiful way to lead by example.



Here is a picture of Bud Macfarlane, Sr. and Marie Hahnenberg. They are holding work that they have been involved with.

Debating tips watch for Diversions

One of the first tricks that will be used by the anti-life side is to bring up a diversion from the hard cold facts.
Every trial lawyer knows this basic rule: If the facts back you up, you argue them. If the facts don't back you up, you argue about something else.
This is the essence of distraction or diversion.
A person who possesses a weak position in any contest must resort to trickery and deception in order to win. By far the most common and effective tactic employed by the weaker party in any debate is the simple diversion or distraction of his opponent's (and audience's) attention away from the subject being discussed.
Anti-lifers know that the best they can do against an experienced pro-life debater is to break even (and this is a rare event indeed). Therefore, the easiest way for an anti-lifer to salvage a tie in a debate is to drag a series of tangential or irrelevant topics into the discussion.
Quite simply, if the anti-lifer can appear to be reasonable when offering facts that nobody can dispute — on a topic unrelated to abortion — he can then expect that this appearance of reasonableness will transfer over to his position on abortion in the minds of the audience. Observers will walk away and make the connection between the pro-abortionist's position on abortion and his logical and concise presentation on topics that have absolutely nothing to do with abortion. The product of this connection will be the vague feeling that the pro-abortion position is somehow superior.

We see this in a quote from the Anti-life side
"I urge incredible restraint here, to focus on your message and stick to it, because otherwise we'll get creamed. If the debate is whether the fetus feels pain, we lose. If the debate in the public arena is what's the effect of anesthesia, we'll lose. If the debate is whether or not women ought to be entitled to late abortion, we probably will lose. But if the debate is on the circumstances of individual women. ... then I think we can win these fights."
— Kathryn Kolbert, Vice-President of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (now the Center for Reproductive Rights).

The Rosary

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Here are some quotes from different saints about the Rosary.

“Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today – St. Padre Pio

"The rosary is my weapon." St. Pio

"The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying." – Pope Leo XIII

"If you say the Holy Rosary everyday, with a spirit of faith and love, our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her Son's path." – St. Josemaria Escriva

"The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the results." – St. josemaria Escriva

"Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world" - Pope Pius IX

Called to true love

In the document "The truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality" the Pontifical council for the Family does such a great job countering the message being put forth by the world today. This is a document that would be good to read. Here is paragraph 8 which talks about the call to true love.
8. As the image of God, man is created for love. This truth was fully revealed to us in the New Testament, together with the mystery of the inner life of the Trinity: "God is love (1 John 4: 8) and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image... God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. Love is therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being". The whole meaning of true freedom, and self-control which follows from it, is thus directed towards self-giving in communion and friendship with God and with others.

Assisted suicide

It is always important to keep up with what laws are being made not just in your state but in others because it can cause other states to adopt those same laws. One like Initiative 1000 in Washington is a good example. When we see laws being put forward in one state to allow assistant suicide then it might be a good time to educate the people in your parish so it can be stopped early. Here is a little something on Initiative 1000.

Initiative 1000 would legalize assisted suicide, permitting a doctor to give a lethal overdose to a
patient if the doctor feels that the patient is likely to die within six months. Proponents argue that this initiative presents a “humane step toward improving care for terminally ill adults.” But an actual reading of the initiative text shows no real safeguards to protect the vulnerable. Instead, Initiative 1000 pressures those without adequate insurance or financial means to think that they have no choice other than assisted suicide. It provides an incentive for health plans to cut costs by encouraging assisted suicide. And it places many Washingtonians at risk. Patients currently have end-of-life choices, including durable power of attorney • and living wills, among others. Patients at end of life deserve personal care and real compassion. Not assisted suicide. • Similar proposals have been defeated in 21 states. Since Oregon passed its assisted-suicide
law in 1994 – the only state to do so – numerous physician-assisted suicide and/or euthanasia
bills have been introduced in 21 states, some multiple times. Not one has passed.For more information on this you can go out to. www.noassistedsuicide.com

Who is IPPF?

IPPF International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Many times we will talk about different groups without knowing much about them. The information that I am showing here are directly off of their website http://www.ippf.org/ but sometimes it is good to see the size of this organization to understand them better.

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
Location of Headquarters: London, England
President: Dr Jacqueline Sharpe
Director General: Dr. Gill Greer
Annual Income:
The Member Associations of IPPF are autonomous and report independently, therefore their accounts are not presented here.

The income received by IPPF in 2007 of $120.6 million is an increase of 39 per cent over the last 5 years.
General Description: IPPF currently has 152 Member Associations. These Member Associations are working in 168 countries (the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation operates in 17 countries). In addition, IPPF is active in a further 12 countries where there is not currently a Member Association. This brings the total number of countries in which IPPF is working to 180. The Member Associations of IPPF are autonomous and report independently, therefore their accounts are not presented here. IPPF has a Secretariat that carries out the policies and functions as approved by the Governing Council. The Secretariat has its headquarters in London and is divided into Central and Regional functional units. There are six regional offices: Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), Arab World (Tunis, Tunisia), East/South East Asia and Oceania (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Europe (Brussels, Belgium), South Asia (New Delhi, India), and Western Hemisphere (New York, USA).

The lighter side

Sometimes when we are working on defending life and we see how the devil is working so hard against you it is good to take a step back and see why we are doing all of this work. Without doing this we cannot continue the struggle without feeling oppressed. Sometimes we get this encouragement buy a great success story of how a baby or many babies were saved or just seeing the beauty of what we are striving for. Here are some examples.

These are all children with born with aids. The world would not want them but they are a beautiful group.

All of these Children were "unwanted pregnancies", but at this home they are not unloved.

Sometimes just the smile of a child is enough to bring you back to this is all worth while.

St. Michael

Dear Friends,
Catholic pro-lifers naturally turn to Saint Michael, the prince of the heavenly host, in our struggle against the principalities and powers of the culture of death. Pope Leo XIII composed a magnificent prayer to Saint Michael and ordered it to be recited after the celebration of the Mass. Pope Pius XI asked the faithful to pray it for the restoration of religious freedom in Russia, and it was popularly tied to the Fatima prayer intention of the conversion of Russia whose "errors" were spreading throughout the world. Since the Soviet Union was the first country to legalize abortion, we can rightly see in the modern abortion industry an extension of the "errors" of atheistic communism.

Although no longer obligatory, since 1965, an increasing number of parishes and individuals are going back to praying to Saint Michael after Mass. Pope John Paul II himself urged the faithful in 1994 "...to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world.

" Human Life International is convinced that invoking Saint Michael's protection is necessary in the Church's victory over the satanic attacks against innocent human life that characterize our modern world. Please join us in reciting the Saint Michael Prayer with the intention of respect for human life from conception to natural death and the conversion of abortionists. We are distributing free prayer cards which can be ordered in English, Spanish, French, Italian or Portuguese.

We also ask you to sign our petition to re-establish the universal practice of saying the Saint Michael Prayer after Mass. It would be most appropriate for the Holy Father to ask Catholics everywhere to unite in a powerful prayer to cast out the greatest evil of our times, the slaughter of almost two billion innocent children whose blood cries out to heaven. Saint Michael, guardian and defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, Pray for us!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer

President, Human Life International

Please go to http://www.hli.org/st_michael_prayer.html/

Pro-Abortion Slogans

Sometimes it is good to know how to go against the average pro-abortion slogans. Like many groups they use the same slogans over and don’t really think about these or know how to respond when you come up with a reasonable response. Here are two to think about.

"You can't legislate morality!" Or: Keep your laws off my body.Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) PARALLELISM: "Of course you can legislate morality! Why don't you name one law that does not legislate morality in some way?"
(2) PARALLELISM: "Do you believe that taxpayers should pay for abortions for poor women? You do? Why your morality on me by trying to force me to pay for abortions?"
(3) PARALLELISM: "Now wait a minute. Isn't it "legislating morality" to say that the law of the land is that human life begins at birth? Does this not impose a particular religious standard on when human life begins?"

"Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless."— Martin Luther King.
Ignoring Realities. Any person who uses this slogan is extremely naive about the realities of living in a society.
Of course people can legislate morality! We do it all the time! Legislating morality is the primary intent of every one of our hundreds of thousands of existing or proposed laws. The extensive legislating of morality is absolutely essential to the survival of any society.
The Purposes of This Slogan. What a person who uses the "legislating morality" slogan is really saying is this: "I don't want anyone or anything to interfere with the practice of my immorality!"
One purpose of this slogan — which is used by virtually all anti-life groups — is to try to cast abortion, euthanasia, pornography and other issues as Church/State conflicts. The slogan asserts that anyone who tries to outlaw some immoral act is doing so out of a purely religious motivation. Thus, such persons are trying to establish a religious belief as the law of the land, and such activity is (of course) blatantly unconstitutional.
The Christian Basis for Legislating Morality. In the United States, there are more than 250,000 laws and ordinances in force, representing more than 10,000 different local, city, county, state, and Federal jurisdictions. Every one of these quarter-million laws makes a moral judgement that certain behavior is not to be tolerated — from murder, espionage, and forcible rape to double-parking and running stop signs.
Most of our country's important laws are based on or derived from the Ten Commandments and Judeo-Christian tradition, and many of these directly legislate morality for the good of the individual and society.
As the United States Supreme Court majority declared in its McGowan v. Maryland decision, "Nearly every criminal law on the books can be traced to some religious principle."
A few examples;
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Laws against murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide, attempted suicide, mutilation of both living and dead persons, possession of unregistered firearms, drunkenness, drunken driving, reckless endangerment, kidnapping, and the sale and use of illegal or dangerous drugs.
• Thou Shalt Not Steal: Laws against robbery, fraud, shoplifting, stealing, larceny, theft, insider trading and embezzlement.
• Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness: Laws against libel, slander, and perjury (lying under oath).
Justice Potter Stewart's common-sense approach in McRae v. Matthews summed up the situation: "That the Judeo-Christian religions oppose stealing does not mean that a State or the Federal Government may not, consistent with the Establishment Clause, enact laws that prohibit larceny."
It is very interesting to watch the reaction of a pro-abortionist who has been challenged to name a single law that does not legislate morality to some extent!

Second Slogan "Don't foist your morality off on me!"
Summary of the Pro-Life Response.
(1) CLARIFICATION: "Of course I'm trying to foist my morality off on you! Isn't that the purpose of all public debate — to convince others of the validity of one's views?"
(2) PARALLELISM: "Aren't you trying to do the same thing, right here, right now, by defending the 'pro-choice' position?"
(3) CLARIFICATION: "What do you mean by that? Don't you really object to my mere presence here, defending the pro-life position?"
Background. Pro-lifers should not be offended by this slogan. Of course we're trying to "foist our morality" off on other people! Is this not the purpose of all activism, debate and public discourse — to convince others of the morality and correctness of one's views? If a pro-lifer is trying to foist his morality off on others, his pro-abortion debating opponent is equally guilty of trying to foist his [im]morality off on the pro-lifer!
This slogan is a scaled-down variant of ("You can't legislate morality!"). The difference is that the pro-abortionist is addressing an individual pro-lifer personally here, instead of criticizing pro-lifers or Christians in general.
Analysis of the Slogan. Of course, a pro-abortionist who uses this slogan is not really objecting to pro-lifers trying to "foist their morality" off on him, because that would imply some sort of coercion on the part of pro-lifers or cooperation on the part of the pro-abort, neither of which is likely to happen. What the pro-abortionist is really saying is that he objects to the pro-lifer's mere presence and his audacity in taking a stand for life. Nothing would please pro-abortionists more than to have the pro-life viewpoint outlawed entirely. When a pro-abortionist uses this slogan, he is basically telling pro-lifers to "shut up!" As William Barclay has said, "There is nothing that the world would like so much as a silent Church."
If a pro-abortionist uses this "last resort" slogan, the pro-lifer can be assured that he is winning the debate. He can answer it by using the process of clarification: "What do you mean by that?"

From Contraceptions to Abortifacients

This excerpt from the Facts of Life by Brian Clowes helps us to see where the battle on Contraception is going. It is important to realize some of these difference so when we are talking to people we might be able to give them a better answer then it is all the same.

The Future of Pro-Life Activism. The current paramount objective of "reproductive" research is to find the ideal abortifacient — one that will kill the preborn child every time without side effects to the woman. This emphasis on abortifacients, rather than contraceptives, has come about because abortifacients in general eliminate or greatly reduce user error, whereas contraceptives, which always remain under the control of the user, have much higher failure rates than abortifacients and are therefore less effective. In other words, abortifacients are much more efficient at ending pregnancies than contraceptives are at preventing them. The average user effectiveness rates of oral contraceptives, IUDs, Norplant and Depo-Provera are about 94 percent, and the average user effectiveness rates of the male and female condoms, cervical caps, diaphragms and sponge are only about 83 percent. This means that as women change their preferences from surgical abortion to chemical abortion, the future of pro-life activism lies not as much outside the abortion mills as it does inside and outside the major pharmaceutical corporations. Of course, no matter how effective abortifacients are at killing preborn children, just as they did with contraception, pro-abortionists will demand surgical abortion as a "backup." After all, abortifacients have been freely available since the mid-1960s, but have not significantly affected the abortion rate. This means that we will always have abortion mills — at least, until the law or public outrage shuts all of them down.

This is what they want us to believe about the Planned Parenthood ideas.