Do you know who Kathy Taylor is? I didn't either until this Lifenews story profiling her courageous (and short) battle to give her unborn son, Luke, a chance at life, despite the aggressive melanoma that had spread throughout her body during her pregnancy. She passed on New Year's Day, at the too-young age of 33, preceded by Luke, who was delivered prematurely and died at two weeks of age. It is a tremendously sad story, and my heart breaks for her husband, Nathan, and their five older children.
Nathan has been blogging at Kathy's Miracle, both during her struggle with the terrible disease,and in the week or so since her passing. You will have to read the blog to grasp the emotions. Of course there is pain beyond what those of us who have not experienced the untimely loss of a spouse cannot imagine, though as he keenly points out in the January 6 post, "Perfected in Christ," all who truly share the depth of the bond of married love, as it was intended by, will one day feel.
But that is not all...
What pervades his writing is a sense of (1) hope beyond the pain, of rejoicing in the perfection of character that the pain brings about and hope in Resurrection and the future life to come, where the very real but temporary pain and struggle of this world will be a distant memory; and (2) of real courage, the kind of courage that, along with hope, pulls through the pain and fear.
Kathy's story--and Nathan's after their passing--beyond all else is one of courage.
Showing posts with label pro-life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pro-life. Show all posts
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Monday, August 4, 2014
"No, Jesus did not bear arms, but..." - The American Spectator
Behind the controversial and attention-grabbing title of Mark Tooley's article, Whom Would Jesus Shoot? in The American Spectator (July 30, 2014) lies his counterpoint and answer to a question that the Judeo-Christian tradition has answered (I believe very adequately, as I wrote about a few years ago in my three-part series, Faith and Firearms):
Does the moral imperative to pursue peace and non-violence automatically trump our responsibility to provide a legitimate defense and repel the assault of unjust aggressors against innocents and those charged to our care, using violence if necessary?
Tooley's conclusion is spot-on:
Does the moral imperative to pursue peace and non-violence automatically trump our responsibility to provide a legitimate defense and repel the assault of unjust aggressors against innocents and those charged to our care, using violence if necessary?
Tooley's conclusion is spot-on:
"No, Jesus in the Gospels did not bear arms. But the whole message of scripture and Christian tradition carefully allows that some of His followers may be called to bear and deploy weaponry in certain circumstances where justice requires. The ultimate question is not so much What Would Jesus Do but rather What Does Jesus Tell Us to Do?"Read the entire article here.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Opening Volleys
In the past few weeks, we have seen opening shots in "the battle of our age," of the culture of life against the culture of death. I haven't had as much time as I'd like to cover the events and share my thoughts, but there are two developments I couldn't go to bed tonight without asking you to continue to pray about:
1. Friday, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Patrick, the administration and HHS announced the expansion of the abortifacient and contraceptive coverage to include college students: LifeSiteNews.com.
2. Talk show host Glenn Beck (with whom I've had differences of opinion in the past, but respect for his apparently genuine truth-seeking), returned from the Vatican with this stark warning for Catholics: Glenn Beck Talks with Vatican Officials, Warns Catholics to Prepare for Battle - LifeSiteNews.com
And so the volleys begin...
+AMDG+
1. Friday, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Patrick, the administration and HHS announced the expansion of the abortifacient and contraceptive coverage to include college students: LifeSiteNews.com.
2. Talk show host Glenn Beck (with whom I've had differences of opinion in the past, but respect for his apparently genuine truth-seeking), returned from the Vatican with this stark warning for Catholics: Glenn Beck Talks with Vatican Officials, Warns Catholics to Prepare for Battle - LifeSiteNews.com
And so the volleys begin...
+AMDG+
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Battle of Our Age
Although I'm a few days behind on the news, I was disappointed sickened today to learn that the Blunt Amendment to protect conscience rights by allowing employers to opt out of health care coverage that violates their belief failed 51-48 in the Senate and, even worse, 13 of 24 Catholic senators voted against the amendment. That's right, over half of the Catholic senators (or so they call themselves) voted to uphold the President's attempt at circumventing First Amendment protections and silencing the voice of the Catholic Church.
The 13 Catholic Senators who voted against allowing Catholic organizations conscience rights - LifeSiteNews.com
What's worse--and nearly inconceivable--is that, had they voted in line with the faith that they claim to profess, they amendment would have passed with a solid margin.
My stomach almost began to wretch when I read that news...almost, that is, until I watched this inspiring video by Father John Hollowell. We Catholics still have a say, and slowly but surely, as she has many times in her 2000 years, Holy Mother Church is rising from the devastation of recent scandals and poor catechesis to rediscover her identity and make her voice heard, a voice that speaks the unchanging and unchangeable truth about the dignity of human life with the authority of Christ himself. As Father John quotes J.R.R. Tolkien to end his speech, "The board is set, the pieces are now in motion, at last we come to it - the great battle of our age.”
We, the faithful know how the story ends. The question now is, will we have the strength to see our chapter of the fight through. I, for one, agree with Father Hollowell and think that we shall. So I end the day pitying those who know not the forces of heaven that are gathering against what they would try to accomplish. While we fight, let us continue to pray through the intercession of St. Paul for their conversion.
+AMDG+
The 13 Catholic Senators who voted against allowing Catholic organizations conscience rights - LifeSiteNews.com
What's worse--and nearly inconceivable--is that, had they voted in line with the faith that they claim to profess, they amendment would have passed with a solid margin.
My stomach almost began to wretch when I read that news...almost, that is, until I watched this inspiring video by Father John Hollowell. We Catholics still have a say, and slowly but surely, as she has many times in her 2000 years, Holy Mother Church is rising from the devastation of recent scandals and poor catechesis to rediscover her identity and make her voice heard, a voice that speaks the unchanging and unchangeable truth about the dignity of human life with the authority of Christ himself. As Father John quotes J.R.R. Tolkien to end his speech, "The board is set, the pieces are now in motion, at last we come to it - the great battle of our age.”
We, the faithful know how the story ends. The question now is, will we have the strength to see our chapter of the fight through. I, for one, agree with Father Hollowell and think that we shall. So I end the day pitying those who know not the forces of heaven that are gathering against what they would try to accomplish. While we fight, let us continue to pray through the intercession of St. Paul for their conversion.
+AMDG+
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Civil Disobedience
As I sat down to write this post, I was originally going to write a brief challenge to read an incredible book that L and I have been reading, Love and War by John and Staci Eldgredge. But that will have to wait for a bit, perhaps next week.
For now, a much more urgent issue is at hand, that I have been thinking about earnestly despite having time to blog about it: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate, as part of "Obamacare" that essentially guts the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You've no doubt seen the mandate and heard the back-and-forth (if one can even call it that), as it's been much-discussed on two of my favorite Catholic/pro-life news sources, LifeSiteNews.com and CatholicVote.org.
I find myself thinking more and more over the last several weeks, "Is this our time?" Is this the chance for our generation of Catholics, along with our Protestant brothers and sisters who share our belief in the sanctity of human life, to demonstrate the faith that we profess by toeing the line, saying, "To hither thou shall come and no further" and be willing to face the temporal consequences of resisting, through civil disobedience if necessary, the intrusion of the Federal Government into our faith lives? Perhaps it is the defining fight of our age, one that's been brewing in the decades since Pope Paul VI issued his dire warning about the devastating effects that contraception and a contraceptive mindset would have on a society, and more importantly the salvation of souls. If not, we are still in for one heckuva fight. As Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty, courageously stated as he toed the line this past week, "We want the law changed, or else we’re going to write our letters from the Nashville jail, just like Dr. King wrote his from the Birmingham jail."
If you have not yet, I encourage you to visit the "Conscience Protection" page that has been set up by the USCCB Council on Religious Liberty, which includes this quick video by cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan. The site also includes dozens of links to get up to speed on what's going on with the fight, including Friday's attempt to "shell game" opponents into believing the insurance companies, not their customers, hold the moral responsibility for the anti-life services that are to be provided under the mandate.
It is time to pray, fast, and take courageous action in this battle, that we may celebrate eternity in praise of He Who has already won the war.
+AMDG+
For now, a much more urgent issue is at hand, that I have been thinking about earnestly despite having time to blog about it: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate, as part of "Obamacare" that essentially guts the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You've no doubt seen the mandate and heard the back-and-forth (if one can even call it that), as it's been much-discussed on two of my favorite Catholic/pro-life news sources, LifeSiteNews.com and CatholicVote.org.
I find myself thinking more and more over the last several weeks, "Is this our time?" Is this the chance for our generation of Catholics, along with our Protestant brothers and sisters who share our belief in the sanctity of human life, to demonstrate the faith that we profess by toeing the line, saying, "To hither thou shall come and no further" and be willing to face the temporal consequences of resisting, through civil disobedience if necessary, the intrusion of the Federal Government into our faith lives? Perhaps it is the defining fight of our age, one that's been brewing in the decades since Pope Paul VI issued his dire warning about the devastating effects that contraception and a contraceptive mindset would have on a society, and more importantly the salvation of souls. If not, we are still in for one heckuva fight. As Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty, courageously stated as he toed the line this past week, "We want the law changed, or else we’re going to write our letters from the Nashville jail, just like Dr. King wrote his from the Birmingham jail."
If you have not yet, I encourage you to visit the "Conscience Protection" page that has been set up by the USCCB Council on Religious Liberty, which includes this quick video by cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan. The site also includes dozens of links to get up to speed on what's going on with the fight, including Friday's attempt to "shell game" opponents into believing the insurance companies, not their customers, hold the moral responsibility for the anti-life services that are to be provided under the mandate.
It is time to pray, fast, and take courageous action in this battle, that we may celebrate eternity in praise of He Who has already won the war.
+AMDG+
Monday, July 25, 2011
A Glimmer of Hope: Texas Gov. Rick Perry Signs Bill De-Funding Planned Parenthood
I've been focusing a lot on the political implications of the faith lately, and it's not by chance. As the Holy Father noted in his little-reported Advent address to the Roman Curia, it is difficult if not impossible, for anyone who has eyes to see, to look around and notice the sad state of affairs in the Church and in our society at large. On so many fronts, its seems that we are descending into another dark age, not unlike that that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, as vice and lack of faith seem to be eclipsing reason and belief:
This program is from RealCatholicTV.com
Still, once in a while, we catch a small glimmer of hope in what seems like a sea of darkness. One of those glimmers came this past week, as Texas Governor Rick Perry signed legislation into law defunding Planned Parenthood of $34 million annually in taxpayer money. I have never been a fan of Governor Perry's sometimes heavy-handed style of governing and remain critical of many of his policies, but on this one he is dead on where it counts.
"For all its new hopes and possibilities, our world is at the same time troubled by the sense that moral consensus is collapsing, consensus without which juridical and political structures cannot function. Consequently the forces mobilized for the defence of such structures seem doomed to failure."Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV.com highlighted the address in a December, 28, 2010 spot of The Vortex:
This program is from RealCatholicTV.com
Still, once in a while, we catch a small glimmer of hope in what seems like a sea of darkness. One of those glimmers came this past week, as Texas Governor Rick Perry signed legislation into law defunding Planned Parenthood of $34 million annually in taxpayer money. I have never been a fan of Governor Perry's sometimes heavy-handed style of governing and remain critical of many of his policies, but on this one he is dead on where it counts.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Signs Bill De-Funding Planned Parenthood - LifeNews.com
Score one for the Lone Star state!
Stay tuned later this week for the second installment of my series on the Holy Father's collection of political essays, Values in a Time of Upheaval, reflecting on the role that we as Christians are called to carry out as citizens of both Heaven and Earth.
+AMDG+
Saturday, February 19, 2011
House Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood
 |
| Rep. Mike Pence, sponsor of the amendment to repeal Planned Parenthood funding |
Historic amendment to defund Planned Parenthood passes overwhelmingly in House (LifeSiteNews.com)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
LifeSiteNews is being sued by a "pro-choice" priest
LifeSiteNews, which is so tirelessly dedicated to working against the culture of death, is being sued for $500,000 by a self-proclaimed "pro-choice" and pro-homosexual activist priest, Father Raymond Gravel. This is absolutely sickening. They--and all who work tirelessly for the protection and promotion of a culture of life--need our prayers for spiritual and legal protection against this evil.
LifeSiteNews is being sued for $500,000 - this could shut us down!
Friday, January 21, 2011
A Day of Prayer and Penance
Please see the request below from Father Pavone and the Priests for Life, to join in a day of prayer and penance for the events taking place this weekend in San Francisco (Saturday) and Washington D.C. (Monday). Please join in prayer, and consider offering a fast, for an end to the scourge of our time.
+AMDG+
+AMDG+
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Monday, January 17, 2011
Honoring Dr. King
Today we as a nation take a day off to honor one of the greatest figures of the 20th Century. As I reflected on in the post below from this time last year, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of "liberty and justice for all" was so very fruitful in the time and circumstances of our nation's civil rights struggle because of his courage and commitment in the face of evil and hatred. But his commitment extended even further beyond that; he recognized and preached the timeless message of Christian truth, charity, and justice that remains true "from everlasting to everlasting."
Today we find ourselves in the midst of an ardent fight whose consequences transcend even the fight for justice and equal treatment of the civil rights movement. In the 38 years since Roe vs. Wade was passed, over 50 million babies, unable to speak for themselves, have been denied the most basic right of all: the right to live. As Dr. Alveda King has chronicled on her blog, the fight to end abortion is THE civil rights issue of our time. Until it is won, we cannot hope to resolve the fight for any other right. Let us pray to our Lord that he may grant us the grace to fight with the courage and strength that Dr. King lived, until the fight is won.
Today we find ourselves in the midst of an ardent fight whose consequences transcend even the fight for justice and equal treatment of the civil rights movement. In the 38 years since Roe vs. Wade was passed, over 50 million babies, unable to speak for themselves, have been denied the most basic right of all: the right to live. As Dr. Alveda King has chronicled on her blog, the fight to end abortion is THE civil rights issue of our time. Until it is won, we cannot hope to resolve the fight for any other right. Let us pray to our Lord that he may grant us the grace to fight with the courage and strength that Dr. King lived, until the fight is won.
I thought it would be appropriate to start this blog with a few thoughts on the great American whose birthday and memory we celebrated this past week. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 82 years old this year. Every third Monday in January we take a day off to honor his memory and the momentous advances that he spearheaded as the leader of the Civil Rights movement. Yet somehow, even as we celebrate his life and accomplishments, I cannot help but think that in the years and decades since his untimely death, we may have lost some perspective of the enormity of his dream and the courageous purpose for which he lived.
In his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King addressed his fellow clergymen in hopes that he could stir them out of their “sit-and-wait” approach to dealing with the injustice of segregation. As he said in the opening paragraphs of his letter, “this ‘wait’ has almost always meant ‘never’,” and “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” It later becomes evident in his monumental letter—as in his speeches and other works—that his concept of justice expanded far beyond the civil rights movement (although he saw it as his particular battle in the greater war for true justice and peace). He realized that there was a larger fight, a fight that continues with earnest into our day and time, and that each of us, if we are to truly keep his memory alive, has a responsibility to pick and carry on. It is a fight to keep the natural law, justice, and a God-centered understanding of humanity in its rightful place.
Dr. King frequently referenced theologians and philosophers like St. Thomas Aquinas in reflecting on the nature of the relationship between God’s law and human law: “A just law is a human law that is rooted in eternal law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.” (Note: by personality here, Dr. King referred to what we today would understand as personhood or humanity) He went on to quote the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, that segregation “substitutes an ‘I it’ relationship for an ‘I thou’ relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things.” With the segregation chapter of American history behind us, how much more today do we see the same reduction of our fellow human beings to the status of things, from the holocaust of abortion to the simple manner and respect with which we treat those around us?
Dr King went on to make a comment that exposed the depth of his commitment to justice everywhere, and that should strike us to our very core today:
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did was ‘illegal.’ It was ‘illegal’ to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to my Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country’s antireligious laws.
As we see so many efforts in our culture today to marginalize—and even criminalize—the practice and profession of the traditions of our Judeo-Christian faith tradition and the system of just laws that were founded upon it, we cannot afford to lose the perspective of Dr. King. If we allow his memory and what he stood for to be hijacked or watered down by carelessly lobbing empty and dehumanizing accusations, or if we merely pay selfish lip service to the courageous commitment to justice that he was murdered for, then we ultimately fail both in honoring him and in carrying out the same task that is now entrusted to us.
+AMDG+
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Novena for Reparation for Roe vs. Wade
Before my blogging gets back into full swing, a quick but important plug for Priests for Life.
Please join Father Pavone and the the Priests for Life for a Novena for reparation from January 14-22, as we lead up to the 38th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. If ever there were a reason that so many (accurately) perceive that our society is in such a sad state of moral decline, it might begin with the fact that we have literally turned a blind eye to the slaughter of 50+ million of our own children in what should be the safest environment for a new child to live and grow, and before they had a chance to take their first breath. In a country of just over 300 million that would be closer to 350 million if those children had had a chance to live and to grow, that is approximately 1/7 of our potential population. The socio-economic impact of their absence is devastating by itself, but is far exceeded by the fact that the lie of "safe and legal abortion" has turned 50+ million parents into murderers. May God have mercy on their souls and on the souls of those who are active or complicit, and for those of us who have failed to raise our voices loud and clear in justifiable anger.
Please visit the web site and join in the prayer for the nine days leading up to the anniversary, and the March for Life on January 24, 2011:
Prayer for Reparation
God and Father of Life,
You have created every human person,
And have opened the way for each to have eternal life.
We live in the shadow of death.
Tens of millions of your children have been killed
because of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
Father, have mercy on us.
Heal our land
And accept our offering of prayer and penance.
In your love for us,
Turn back the scourge of abortion.
May each of us exult in hearts full of hope
And hands full of mercy
And work together to build a culture of life.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
+AMDG+
Please join Father Pavone and the the Priests for Life for a Novena for reparation from January 14-22, as we lead up to the 38th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. If ever there were a reason that so many (accurately) perceive that our society is in such a sad state of moral decline, it might begin with the fact that we have literally turned a blind eye to the slaughter of 50+ million of our own children in what should be the safest environment for a new child to live and grow, and before they had a chance to take their first breath. In a country of just over 300 million that would be closer to 350 million if those children had had a chance to live and to grow, that is approximately 1/7 of our potential population. The socio-economic impact of their absence is devastating by itself, but is far exceeded by the fact that the lie of "safe and legal abortion" has turned 50+ million parents into murderers. May God have mercy on their souls and on the souls of those who are active or complicit, and for those of us who have failed to raise our voices loud and clear in justifiable anger.
Please visit the web site and join in the prayer for the nine days leading up to the anniversary, and the March for Life on January 24, 2011:
Prayer for Reparation
God and Father of Life,
You have created every human person,
And have opened the way for each to have eternal life.
We live in the shadow of death.
Tens of millions of your children have been killed
because of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
Father, have mercy on us.
Heal our land
And accept our offering of prayer and penance.
In your love for us,
Turn back the scourge of abortion.
May each of us exult in hearts full of hope
And hands full of mercy
And work together to build a culture of life.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
+AMDG+
Monday, November 15, 2010
CCHD Questions Remain
Last year, we did not contribute to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), whose collection is held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. There were too many questions about contributions to organizations who either directly or by association were in opposition to the Church's moral teaching, including on issues like abortion and gay "marriage rights."
After viewing the spot below by RealCatholicTV and doing a little follow-on investigation of my own, we decided that we are not convinced that the bishops' report entitled "The Review and Renewal of The Catholic Campaign for Human Development As Accepted and Affirmed by the USCCB Administrative Committee" documents an investigation specific and thorough enough that we are comfortable contributing to the collection this year either. Below is an email reply I sent out in response to an article that was sent to me in defense of the report.
This program is from RealCatholicTV.com
+AMDG+
After viewing the spot below by RealCatholicTV and doing a little follow-on investigation of my own, we decided that we are not convinced that the bishops' report entitled "The Review and Renewal of The Catholic Campaign for Human Development As Accepted and Affirmed by the USCCB Administrative Committee" documents an investigation specific and thorough enough that we are comfortable contributing to the collection this year either. Below is an email reply I sent out in response to an article that was sent to me in defense of the report.
Thanks for the forward. I appreciate that the committee has made a set of commitments to review and renewal, but I'm just not satisfied that those guiding principles have been followed up by a thorough, top-to-bottom and inside-out review (i.e. a full review of each and every organization receiving funds, including their significant associations).
Case in point, this Reform CCHD Now report, hot off the presses today, details line by line several questionable statements (to say the least) supporting "reproductive rights" made by the alliances that CIW, the group praised in CCHD's Review and Renewal Document, is an expressed member of.
http://www.reformcchdnow.com/RCNReport11-15-10.pdf
For the interest of time, Reform CCHD Now's summary:
"The simple fact is, the CCHD stated specifically in its Review and Renewal document that 'CCHD will not fund groups that are members of coalitions which have as part of their organizational purpose or coalition agenda, positions or actions that contradict fundamental Catholic moral and social teaching.' In conjunction with this declaration, CCHD propped up an organization that is doing exactly that. This glaring contradiction within its own renewal document casts serious doubt on CCHD’s ability to effectively implement the new guidelines."
Also, it raises a personal question for me that the Review and Renewal statement has been approved by the administrative committee, but not yet reviewed by the bishops themselves. Speaking for myself and myself only, a matter with the gravity of the Church potentially contributing millions of dollars in funds to groups or alliances that directly oppose the Church's moral teaching dserves the urgent attention of the bishops.
We, for one will withold contributions until evidence of a more thorough "cleaning house" has taken place.
In Christ,
JCM
This program is from RealCatholicTV.com
+AMDG+
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Being, Not Doing
It seems like my planned "Philosophy Fridays" are turning more into "Philosophy weekends." Life is making demands, but I'll try to do a better job of scheduling posts for the next week. In the meantime, for this week I just wanted to share a little bit of a follow-up to my previous post about Abigail, A Father's Joy.
We've had her for six weeks now. I can't believe time has gone by so quickly. I have this secret hope that life will somehow slow down, that she won't grow up and take off into the world, but I've lived enough of life to know that just isn't the case. If anything, it'll feel like it's continuing to speed up.
This little girl, who can't speak, has a very limited vocabulary for communicating her needs (i.e. crying), and cannot even regulate her own bodily functions, has taught me a very important lesson in those six weeks: Life is about being, not doing. What I mean by that is, we humans, created in the image and likeness of God, don't derive our inherent worth and dignity from anything that we think, say or do; we get it from who we are and how we were created, not by what we do.
In a strictly utilitarian sense, Abigail cannot do anything for us. She cannot produce. She cannot contribute any novel, creative thoughts or ideas, art, music, or feats of engineering. She cannot serve others or make conscious acts of faith or love (at least, I don't think she can, but she has an uncanny way of staring longingly at the crucifix, and reminds me that I need to do more of that), and only now is she beginning to be able to express glimpses of pleasure. All that she can do is communicate her needs, in complete dependency, and rely on us to figure out what she needs and provide for her. The utilitarian mindset would argue that she does not give at least as much as she takes and therefore has no worth as a human being.
I knew that utilitarian worldview was completely wrong. In her, I have been given an even deeper glimpse into just how evil and self-interested it is. It is what leads many to believe that, until a child in the womb can experience consciousness, it is not a human being, or that an adult who, through illness or injury, is no longer able to "contribute" to society, ought to be able to end their own life or have someone else make the decision to do it for them.
Now, being a father--even for only six weeks--I have had the chance to see a little bit more deeply how our Father in Heaven sees us, and how he created us to see each other, as beings with infinite worth from conception until natural death. Thank goodness His is not a utilitarian view; if it were, we would be seen as rebels, waging war against His kingdom in our sin, instead of loving and allowing Him to love us. As a saying I heard a few months ago goes, "There is a reason we are called human beings, not human doings."
We are created to live in a relationship of love from from the first moment of our existence in our mother's womb, until He decides that our time in this life has come to a close and sends his messenger to carry us before His throne. Sometimes that relationship of love is only one way, from Father to child, and it is that love alone that brings us into and holds us in existence. That's right, without God's constant love for us, we would cease to exist. Thank God--that His love is infinite and suffices, even when we cannot, or choose not to, return it.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, burning with the Father's love for us, have mercy on us when we fail to love as you have created us to love.
+AMDG+
We've had her for six weeks now. I can't believe time has gone by so quickly. I have this secret hope that life will somehow slow down, that she won't grow up and take off into the world, but I've lived enough of life to know that just isn't the case. If anything, it'll feel like it's continuing to speed up.
This little girl, who can't speak, has a very limited vocabulary for communicating her needs (i.e. crying), and cannot even regulate her own bodily functions, has taught me a very important lesson in those six weeks: Life is about being, not doing. What I mean by that is, we humans, created in the image and likeness of God, don't derive our inherent worth and dignity from anything that we think, say or do; we get it from who we are and how we were created, not by what we do.
In a strictly utilitarian sense, Abigail cannot do anything for us. She cannot produce. She cannot contribute any novel, creative thoughts or ideas, art, music, or feats of engineering. She cannot serve others or make conscious acts of faith or love (at least, I don't think she can, but she has an uncanny way of staring longingly at the crucifix, and reminds me that I need to do more of that), and only now is she beginning to be able to express glimpses of pleasure. All that she can do is communicate her needs, in complete dependency, and rely on us to figure out what she needs and provide for her. The utilitarian mindset would argue that she does not give at least as much as she takes and therefore has no worth as a human being.
I knew that utilitarian worldview was completely wrong. In her, I have been given an even deeper glimpse into just how evil and self-interested it is. It is what leads many to believe that, until a child in the womb can experience consciousness, it is not a human being, or that an adult who, through illness or injury, is no longer able to "contribute" to society, ought to be able to end their own life or have someone else make the decision to do it for them.
Now, being a father--even for only six weeks--I have had the chance to see a little bit more deeply how our Father in Heaven sees us, and how he created us to see each other, as beings with infinite worth from conception until natural death. Thank goodness His is not a utilitarian view; if it were, we would be seen as rebels, waging war against His kingdom in our sin, instead of loving and allowing Him to love us. As a saying I heard a few months ago goes, "There is a reason we are called human beings, not human doings."
We are created to live in a relationship of love from from the first moment of our existence in our mother's womb, until He decides that our time in this life has come to a close and sends his messenger to carry us before His throne. Sometimes that relationship of love is only one way, from Father to child, and it is that love alone that brings us into and holds us in existence. That's right, without God's constant love for us, we would cease to exist. Thank God--that His love is infinite and suffices, even when we cannot, or choose not to, return it.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, burning with the Father's love for us, have mercy on us when we fail to love as you have created us to love.
+AMDG+
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thank You Archbishop Burke!
He also left no doubt about the hypocrisy of so-called Catholic politicians and others who publicly disobey and refuse to live according to the magisterium in every day life:
"We find self-professed Catholics, for example, who sustain and support the right of a woman to procure the death of the infant in her womb, or the right of two persons of the same sex to the recognition which the State gives to a man and a woman who have entered into marriage. It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself publicly in this manner.”
He lamented the scandal that it as wrought, "that many have become confused about 'the most basic truths,' namely the inviolable dignity of innocent human life from conception until natural death, and marriage of one man and one woman 'as the first and irreplaceable' source of life and society."
We have been looking for these words from Rome for a long time, since we are not hearing them from many of our own pulpits. Even better that they should come from an American.
Read the article: A Plea for Life, Truth, and Obedience (Zenit.org)
+AMDG+
Monday, October 18, 2010
Dr Alveda King's Blog
My apologies for not having much time to type out a good post lately. However, I did want to point you all to a new blog that I can't believe it's taken me this long to come across. Dr. Alveda King, neice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a staunch pro-life advocate and associate of Priests for Life. Her blog highlights the abortion struggle as exactly what it is, a civil rights issue. No, more than that: the civil rights issue. Until we right this wrong of millions of unborn children being ripped (literally) from what ought to be the safest place to begin growing, until we stop denying the most innocent and voiceless among us the most fundamental right to live and exist as the human being that they are, all other "rights" and policy issues ought to pale in comparison. We cannot get them right until we get this one right. God does not compromise in creating life, so we cannot compromise in protecting it.
+AMDG+
+AMDG+
Monday, September 6, 2010
CACG Closes Up Shop--At Least for Now
More good news on the pro-life front. We are making short strides in turning around the culture of death, but there is still MUCH work to be done, including the continued exposure politicians and political activists who falsely claim to be faithful Cathlolics.
Washington D.C., Sep 4, 2010 / 10:01 am (CNA).- A member of the advisory board for the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) confirmed to CNA on Friday that the organization had closed its offices, ceased the majority of its activities and that staff members had moved on to other jobs.
Catholics in Alliance was accused by bishops and laity of identifying Catholic social teaching with the concerns and agenda of a single political party, and criticized for neglecting the importance of issues such as abortion.
Dr. Liza Cahill of Boston University, a member of CACG's advisory board, explained to CNA in a e-mail that the group "did not cease to exist but did close its offices and most operations. It is in a holding pattern and staff have gone into positions at similar organizations."
CNA confirmed that the group's phone number has been disconnected, with “no further information” provided by the phone company. CACG's former executive director, Alexia Kelley, was named to a position at the Department of Health and Human Services in June 2009. The group's spokesman John Gehring also recently left CACG, according to his current employer Faith in Public Life.
Attempts by CNA to contact CACG's interim executive director, Vicky Kovari, did not result in any response. Although Catholics in Alliance's website remains online, it lists no current staff, and its last blog entry is from June.
CACG became embroiled in a number of controversies that surrounded the 2008 election of Barack Obama and his subsequent presidency. The group strongly supported the passage of national health care legislation that was criticized by the nation's Catholic bishops for lacking conscience provisions and possibly opening the door to federal funding of abortion.
Archbishop Charles Chaput criticized CACG and similar groups in a 2008 speech, saying that in spite of their concerns for social justice, these groups had ultimately harmed both society and the Church.
Such groups, the archbishop explained, typically “seek to 'get beyond' abortion” as a politically divisive issue, “or economically reduce the number of abortions, or create a better society where abortion won’t be necessary.” But these strategies, the archbishop charged, “involve a misuse of the seamless garment imagery in Catholic social teaching,” demoting the issue of an individual's right to life in favor of “other important but less foundational social issues.”
CNA encountered some difficulties in attempting to ascertain the present status of CACG, particularly in seeking clarification from Chris Korzen, Executive Director of Catholics United.
CNA approached Korzen because he not only co-authored a book with the founder of Catholics in Alliance, but was on the group's payroll as a full-time employee in 2007.
Korzen, however, would not answer questions about the status of Catholics in Alliance, and instead chose to respond to inquiries by asking CNA a series of unrelated questions.
“Can you tell me what the relationship is between CNA and EWTN?” he asked, ignoring a direct question as to whether Catholics in Alliance was now defunct. “What is the relationship between CNA and the Archdiocese of Denver?”
Eventually, Korzen explained his refusal to answer questions about Catholics in Alliance by saying: "It occurs to me that we've never exactly been clear on who you guys are and what your real motivations are. So we're not going to be able to answer any questions until we get some more clarity.”
The director of Catholics United also insisted he was “separate from Catholics in Alliance, so I really can't speak for them anyway.” Korzen received $84,821 in compensation for full-time work for CACG in 2007. In 2008, he explained to Anne Hendershott in a piece for the Catholic Advocate that Catholics United does the “edgier” work.
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good's current president, Morna Murray, will make an appearance this Sunday on "This Is America With Dennis Wholey." The program runs on WHUT, a Washington D.C. public television station, and will air at 6 p.m. Eastern. Murray will be accompanied by the National Education Association's Dennis Van Roekel and American Federation of Teachers' Randi Weingarten.
Click here for the original article at CNA.
Washington D.C., Sep 4, 2010 / 10:01 am (CNA).- A member of the advisory board for the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG) confirmed to CNA on Friday that the organization had closed its offices, ceased the majority of its activities and that staff members had moved on to other jobs.
Catholics in Alliance was accused by bishops and laity of identifying Catholic social teaching with the concerns and agenda of a single political party, and criticized for neglecting the importance of issues such as abortion.
Dr. Liza Cahill of Boston University, a member of CACG's advisory board, explained to CNA in a e-mail that the group "did not cease to exist but did close its offices and most operations. It is in a holding pattern and staff have gone into positions at similar organizations."
CNA confirmed that the group's phone number has been disconnected, with “no further information” provided by the phone company. CACG's former executive director, Alexia Kelley, was named to a position at the Department of Health and Human Services in June 2009. The group's spokesman John Gehring also recently left CACG, according to his current employer Faith in Public Life.
Attempts by CNA to contact CACG's interim executive director, Vicky Kovari, did not result in any response. Although Catholics in Alliance's website remains online, it lists no current staff, and its last blog entry is from June.
CACG became embroiled in a number of controversies that surrounded the 2008 election of Barack Obama and his subsequent presidency. The group strongly supported the passage of national health care legislation that was criticized by the nation's Catholic bishops for lacking conscience provisions and possibly opening the door to federal funding of abortion.
Archbishop Charles Chaput criticized CACG and similar groups in a 2008 speech, saying that in spite of their concerns for social justice, these groups had ultimately harmed both society and the Church.
Such groups, the archbishop explained, typically “seek to 'get beyond' abortion” as a politically divisive issue, “or economically reduce the number of abortions, or create a better society where abortion won’t be necessary.” But these strategies, the archbishop charged, “involve a misuse of the seamless garment imagery in Catholic social teaching,” demoting the issue of an individual's right to life in favor of “other important but less foundational social issues.”
CNA encountered some difficulties in attempting to ascertain the present status of CACG, particularly in seeking clarification from Chris Korzen, Executive Director of Catholics United.
CNA approached Korzen because he not only co-authored a book with the founder of Catholics in Alliance, but was on the group's payroll as a full-time employee in 2007.
Korzen, however, would not answer questions about the status of Catholics in Alliance, and instead chose to respond to inquiries by asking CNA a series of unrelated questions.
“Can you tell me what the relationship is between CNA and EWTN?” he asked, ignoring a direct question as to whether Catholics in Alliance was now defunct. “What is the relationship between CNA and the Archdiocese of Denver?”
Eventually, Korzen explained his refusal to answer questions about Catholics in Alliance by saying: "It occurs to me that we've never exactly been clear on who you guys are and what your real motivations are. So we're not going to be able to answer any questions until we get some more clarity.”
The director of Catholics United also insisted he was “separate from Catholics in Alliance, so I really can't speak for them anyway.” Korzen received $84,821 in compensation for full-time work for CACG in 2007. In 2008, he explained to Anne Hendershott in a piece for the Catholic Advocate that Catholics United does the “edgier” work.
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good's current president, Morna Murray, will make an appearance this Sunday on "This Is America With Dennis Wholey." The program runs on WHUT, a Washington D.C. public television station, and will air at 6 p.m. Eastern. Murray will be accompanied by the National Education Association's Dennis Van Roekel and American Federation of Teachers' Randi Weingarten.
Click here for the original article at CNA.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Global Warming Unmasked: The Hidden Agenda
The team at CIA, as usual, has done an outstanding job of summarizing over 500 hours of research that went into producing this presentation. Host Michael Voris effectively lays out the evidence that this is about much more than reducing our energy output and "carbon footprints." The sinister connection of the global warming movement as the "more sophisticated" outgrowth of the early 20th Century eugenics movement is frightening and startling; advocates of both have supported population control (many explicitly through forced methods and large-scale "reductions" if necessary), global government, and many other types of dangerous social engineering that raises man or the earth--the creation--above the Creator. CIA has put all the pieces together in a way that everyday, working Catholics probably never would have had the time to do, and have produced a documentary that EVERYONE who believes in the sanctity of human life according to the Judeo-Christian tradition needs to watch.
Global Warming Unmasked: The Hidden Agenda
Monday, July 26, 2010
TruthTV.org
The quote from George Orwell on their CNA banner ad caught my eye:
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
Indeed it is, and we are living in just such a time, when, as the Casting Crowns song While You Were Sleeping says,
"We're lulled to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children."
TruthTV is a website out of Ireland that does a wonderful job of presenting the facts and pro-life bio-ethical arguments in one place, and in a way that's the "average Joe" can take with them.
Check it out:
TruthTV.org
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
Indeed it is, and we are living in just such a time, when, as the Casting Crowns song While You Were Sleeping says,
"We're lulled to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children."
TruthTV is a website out of Ireland that does a wonderful job of presenting the facts and pro-life bio-ethical arguments in one place, and in a way that's the "average Joe" can take with them.
Check it out:
TruthTV.org
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Where are our bishops???
When will the American bishops start using their shepherd's rods to separate out (excommunicate) these wolves who confuse the faithful, poison the message of the Church, and sanction the murder of unborn babies, all the while "wearing sheep's clothing" and daring to call themselves Catholic?
Catholics United raising $500,000 to monitor ‘religious right,’ defend against pro-life groups (CNA)
Catholics United raising $500,000 to monitor ‘religious right,’ defend against pro-life groups (CNA)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
'The Civil Rights Movement of the Century'
Let's be on our knees in prayer for and with those who'll be riding this weekend for freedom from the holocaust of abortion that has killed 50 million Americans before they were able to take their first breath.
(Original article is posted here)
50 Years After Freedom Rides, Pro-Life Activists Take to the Road
‘The Civil-Rights Movement of the Century’
Joseph Pronechen
Register Staff Writer
National Catholic Register - North Haven, CT
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — As the civil-rights movement was simmering in the early 1960s, black men and women, often accompanied by white sympathizers, boarded buses in the American South and sat wherever they wanted. These “freedom riders” challenged local and state laws and customs that kept the races separate on public transportation as well as in waiting rooms and restrooms.
This Friday, a new kind of freedom rider will take to the road as “Freedom Rides for the Unborn” turns the ignition key.
A rally and concert will kick off the first Freedom Ride in Birmingham, Ala., featuring a new anthem for the rides called “The Least of These.” Saturday begins with a prayer vigil at Planned Parenthood before pro-life leaders board a bus and head to Atlanta for a late afternoon pro-life service at the tomb of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Priests for Life, the organization behind the Freedom Rides for the Unborn, is inviting people and families to drive along in a caravan with the freedom bus.
“We’re obviously linking this to the civil-rights movement,” explained Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
He and Alveda King, Martin Luther King’s niece and director of Priests for Life’s African-American Outreach, envisioned the Freedom Rides for the Unborn and officially introduced the movement in Birmingham April 27.
Linking the Freedom Rides for the Unborn to the concept and method of the 1961 Freedom Rides for civil rights was the result of a conversation Father Pavone and King had while attending a March for Life.
“This is the civil-rights movement” of this century, King concluded.
“I always see the pro-life effort and my own involvement as a striving for freedom,” said Father Pavone. “We’re talking about real people who are really enslaved, oppressed. And the whole ministry of the Gospel and priesthood is what Jesus said about his ministry: ‘I come to proclaim liberty to captives.’”
The first Freedom Ride for the Unborn, to be led by Father Pavone and King from Birmingham to Atlanta on July 23-24, is coming just months before the 50th anniversary of the original Freedom Rides in 2011. On the original Freedom Ride, 13 people boarded a bus in Washington to travel to New Orleans to test a Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation on interstate transportation vehicles. When the riders ran into opposition in Alabama, hundreds of others joined them. That one Freedom Ride multiplied into 60 across many states.
Plans call for today’s Freedom Rides for the Unborn also to multiply.
“This is not just a one-time event,” stressed Father Pavone, who looks forward to scheduling dozens of rides in all parts of the country over the next year. “We want it to be a continuing opportunity for unifying the pro-life movement.”
‘Truth Will Rise’
During this week’s event, Father Pavone plans to announce the next cities for the Freedom Rides.
The symbolism of the bus and the ride is significant.
“You know a destination, and you’re set in that direction and moving,” explained Father Pavone. “With the bus ride we are on our way to a specific destination — in this case, protection for the unborn. The bus brings in the idea there are many people who can be riding the same time to the same destination.”
The goal is also to mobilize and unify people.
King sees the rides bringing together “pro-life people from many walks of life, from across the country, of (different) denominations, ethnic groups, ages, younger and older,” she said. “We’re all together for a common cause, and that is for life.”
Birmingham has significant memories for King, whose father, A.D. King, was also a civil-rights leader. Their home was bombed in 1963, and a classmate was killed in the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church across the way.
Yet her family of Christian preachers - father, grandfather and uncle - “preached the love of God and we’re all equal in the sight of God,” said King.
She envisions the same ultimate success with Freedom Rides for the Unborn as the original civil-rights Freedom Rides realized: This ride will be “for justice and freedom for all, from conception until natural death.”
“Certainly in this decade America has become pro-life,” she explained. “We are moving toward a victory. My uncle would always say, ‘Truth crushed to earth will rise again.’ And the truth for life is arising for America.”
Freedom From Lies
Among the pro-life leaders planning to be on the bus this weekend are Theresa and Kevin Burke, founders of Rachel’s Vineyard.
“Freedom from lies” is one lesson the ride will teach, said Kevin Burke, because “abortion from the very beginning is where lies are implanted in the heart, particularly of fathers.” Once a father denies the truth of his vocation as a man to defend the life of his child regardless of his circumstances, Burke said, he is deeply wounded. “He becomes imprisoned by those lies and needs to be set free from those lies.”
Theresa Burke finds great significance in linking the Freedom Rides for the Unborn with the civil-rights freedom rides. “It’s a wonderful unification of lots of different people and history together to take this to the next level to promote freedom for everyone, including the unborn,” she said.
Furthermore, the Burkes believe the symbolic connection of the first Freedom Rides with the new one also underlines the generational trauma on African-American families: Many minority communities are targeted for abortion and contraception, with abortion clinics set up in very poor neighborhoods.
In support of the Freedom Rides, Birmingham Bishop Robert Baker sent a letter to all parishes to encourage participation.
“It’s another event like the March for Life in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to the plight of the unborn,” Bishop Baker told the Register. “It’s important to do all humanely possible to underline the moral gravity of abortion and help women in distress to find alternatives. The Freedom Ride for life is a visible, peaceful expression of concern for the right to life for the unborn. It is in the tradition of Freedom Rides for civil rights in the past.”
Those who cannot travel to Birmingham can still participate. Said Father Pavone, “We want to mobilize people right where they are. We want people to identify themselves as Freedom Riders for the unborn.”
Priests for Life is offering Freedom Rider lapel buttons, and people can participate in an ongoing prayer campaign.
“Prayer is at the heart of this pro-life movement,” Father Pavone emphasized. “People need to pray very deliberately, specifically to end abortion.”
Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
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