PathToHoliness

This kind of goes with yesterday’s post on the importance of voting pro-life because abortion is, above all, a human rights issue.
In a speech addressed to the members of the Democratic International of the Centre and the Christian Democrats Pope Benedict said (my emphasis added):

“A Nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope” – JP II

Read my latest blog entry on the importance of voting pro-life: Preserving America’s Freedom

“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first mement of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), No. 2270)
Also, my parents will be on their way back home from Japan early tomorrow morning. They were able to go to Mass a few times, including this Sunday morning (it’s Sunday over there right now), so hopefully Dad got some good pics of the church in Japan to post on here soon. Say a prayer for them, please! It will be a looong flight.

Yes, today is my birthday – number 25. It’s always pretty sobering when I think that when I was conceived, my mother had the legal choice to have me killed before I was born. Thanks, Mom, for choosing life!

I share this birthday with the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Mary shared in the sufferings of Christ (Lk. 2:35) and stood by Him on the cross (Jn. 19:25). Besides our Lord, Mary is the greatest example of perseverance in suffering and is a constant source of strength and inspiration for me in my own sufferings.

On this feast day it is appropriate to reflect on the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin:

* at the prophecy of Simeon;
* at the flight into Egypt;
* having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem;
* meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary;
* standing at the foot of the Cross;
* Jesus being taken from the Cross;
* at the burial of Christ.

Please say a prayer for my parents who will be on their way to Japan tomorrow morning.

As pro-life people we must love and respect all human life, including those who do not love us in return, and even those who wish us harm. The Gospel reading at today’s Mass for peace was from Matthew in which Jesus tells us,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt. 5:43-44)

Today’s anniversary gives us the opportunity to put this teaching into practice. May we learn how to love and forgive our enemies, especially those who wound us so deeply. Let hatred not enter our hearts no matter how grieved we may be. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

I promised you pictures, so here they are!

The pro-life table – Most of the visitors are attracted to the fetal development models and it is frequently pregnant women, people who know someone who is pregnant and parents showing their young children what they used to look like in the womb. Oh and the balloons and candy (we had lollipops and gum with precious feet on them) helped attract visitors also:

The Catholic table – these are the only good pictures we got of the Catholic side. Most of the devotional items we had were hand made locally. Both I and a woman from our parish made the 5 decade rosaries and the Carmelite nuns who live in a cloistered monastery next to our parish made some of the brown scapulars.

I just got back from another busy Fourth of July. Every year I help set up a pro-life table at our downtown 4th of July festivities with a woman from my parish and a number of the home schooled kids in my area. This year, as president of our Legion of Mary praesidia, I decided to do a Catholic information table with some help from the Knights of Columbus. Everything worked out well, as it always does. We gave out lots of good information to the people who needed to see it. I hope to get my pictures up tomorrow – I’m pooped right now! I’m actually in bed getting ready to call it a night. We were set up downtown from about 11am to 7pm and I was there for the whole thing. It was very warm and very tiring for me! I hope everyone had a very blessed holiday! Here’s a great poem that I posted on my blog earlier today:

I Am An American

I am endowed by my Creator
With the inalienable right to life
Just like you, and every other American.
You know who I am.
Now that you can see my face,
Will you use your voice?
Please tell America,
I am an American, too.

America, it’s time to protect your children again.

That is a poem I have on one of my pro-life t-shirts and it fits very nicely with the 4th of July. As we celebrate our freedom this Independence Day we would do well to remember the millions of Americans whose freedom has been taken away in this country and pray for its restoration.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Happy 4th of July!
God Bless you all!

The Toronto Sun has two columns debating the topic of Euthanasia. In opposition is broadcaster and columnist Michael Coren and in support is Dr. Gifford-Jones. The main focus of Do They Deserve to be Born is on a set of twins, now six months old, conjoined at the head (these are not the twins pictured on your right, I couldn’t find a picture of the twins from the story). The supporting author has some harsh words about the twins and the quality of their lives which gets a little personal for me, too:

What a tragic life awaits the twins. For as long as they live they will be unable to care for themselves or lead a normal active life…

They will never walk, joined at the head in such an abnormal position. Physically they are destined for ill health, lying on their backs forever. They will become obese and develop the myriad of diseases that accompany this problem. Their lives will be a living hell.

This should be a wakeup call for us to prevent unimaginable future cruelty of this kind…I would ask this question. Is there anyone among us who would want to be born this way or willing to trade places with these conjoined twins?

As a paraplegic I not longer have any feeling or voluntary movement below my chest. My daily routine includes managing bodily functions in a way that would make most people cringe. I am confronted with new limits and challenges every day whether its needing something out of my reach or being unable to reach my destination due to inaccessibility. And lets not forget the wheelchair. Much like Dr. Gifford-Jones claims of the twins, I too have been pointed out as someone whose quality of life has been diminished as a result of my injury and have actually been told by another individual that they would kill themselves if they were in my position. I don’t know a single person who would want to trade places with me. But but does that mean that I would be better off dead?

And who is this man to decide whose life is a living hell? These children, as Coren points out, will be infinitely blessed with the love of their family and will be able to love them back. Likewise, my life, though accompanied by many trials and sufferings, is one great blessing after another. Sure, sick and disabled people must endure sometimes tragic suffering, but that does not diminish our value as human beings. And whose to say that our sufferings are greater than those enduring some interior anguish hidden from the eyes of the world?

Even in the midst of the extreme suffering there are rays of hope and happiness. And if there are not there’s no need to worry for something greater awaits us – a place where every tear will be wiped away and mourning, crying and pain will be no more (Rev. 21: 3-4). This is the good news of human suffering – while on earth our suffering is inevitable and we should never violate human dignity and the sacredness of life to avoid it – it will not last!

In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.(Mt. 16:24-25)

But here’s where it gets most troubling:

Hogan-Simms should not have been allowed to make the ultimate decision. I have in the past always cast a jaundiced eye on committee decisions, but I like to believe in this instance an ethics committee would have seen the logic of terminating this pregnancy.

So now we should be able force women to have abortions (think China)?

It saddens me to no end that people can view any life unworthy to be lived. As beings made in the image and likeness of God our lives have meaning independent of our abilities and usefulness. Therefore all life is precious and worthy to be preserved.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
No Pain, No Gain

Hello there, Chelsea here! I found another great example of an extraordinary act of holiness. Such stories are hard to come by in our day so it is important to highlight them when they do occur.

Reflection: How many of us women, pregnant and faced with a life threatening illness, would give up our own lives in order to become a mother to our son, if only for a couple of months.

One mother from Scotland has done just that. Anna Radosz has passed away six months after giving birth to her son, Oscar. While she was pregnant, Anna learned that the malignant melanoma that she fought the year before returned and her best chance for survival would be to abort her unborn child in order to undergo the proper treatments. To Oscar’s benefit his mother refused to end his life, even if it meant saving her own. To a local newspaper she said:

I’ll move heaven and earth to get more time with my precious baby. I could have a year, maybe six months or even less, but I’ll do anything to live to be a mother to my baby

It’s a tragic end, to be sure, but it is a great example for all pregnant women in difficult situations. No matter how bad the situation is, it is never a good idea to cooperate with evil even to bring about something good. Children, though they may come from tragic circumstances, are great gifts from God and should be nurtured and treasured as such. Sometimes that means putting our own needs aside in order to preserve the life of someone more vulnerable. It’s hard to do, but if we entrust ourselves to the will of the Heavenly Father, He will give us the strength that we need.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (Jn. 15:13)

Today Mexico City legalized abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Our Blessed Mother must surely be weeping for this city she once saved.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, we turn to you who are the protectress of unborn children and ask that you intercede for us, so that we may more firmly resolve to join you in protecting all human life. Let our prayers be united to your perpetual motherly intercession on behalf of those whose lives are threatened, be they in the womb of their mother, on the bed of infirmity, or in the latter years of their life. May our prayers also be coupled with peaceful action which witnesses to the goodness and dignity of all human life, so that our firmness of purpose may give courage to those who are fearful and bring light to those who are blinded by sin.
(from a prayer said at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on January 22, 1999)

Presidential hopeful, Senator Sam Brownback, is a rarity as far as presidential candidates are concerned. A devout Catholic, he constantly strives to sanctify his daily life. One of the ways he does this is by keeping a quote from Mother Teresa on the back door of his home about not judging people:

“So easy to judge people,” he says. “I see you coming in the hallway and my mind just automatically goes, ‘Okay, reporter, Washington Post, that’s a primarily liberal publication, be careful.’ Well, now I’ve automatically judged you. So I’ve spent my time judging you instead of thinking, ‘Oh, here’s a great person that I can interact with. I pray to love ’em.’ “

He frequently examines his soul for hate and then works to rid himself from its harmful effects. He even went so far as to apologize to Hillary Clinton for having once despised her and her husband. In the business of politics it is easy to have ill feelings for those with whom you are in disagreement, especially in a heated debate. For these situations Sen. Brownback practices prayer:

“Instead of getting angry at somebody for opposing you on something, you’re just praying for them,” he says. “You just pray blessings on them, blessings on their family.”

In addition to striving for sanctity, the Senator is committed to promoting a culture of life. Recently he was the only presidential Candidate in the Senate to vote against a bill to increase funding for embryonic stem cell research and even lead the floor debate in opposition to it. During the 2004 Republican convention he said, “We must win this culture war. I say we fight.”

So now the Kansas Senator is seeking the office of Presidency and he does so with a humble abandonment to the will of God, “If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. It’s a great liberation”

Though not an Opus Dei cooperater himself, Sam Brownback, a lifelong Protestant, was welcomed into the Catholic Church four years ago by Fr. John McCloskey, a priest of the prelature.

Source: Faith Based Initiative from the Washington Post

Three cheers for the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the partial birth abortion ban. This is a barbaric procedure which destroys the dignity of human life and our children, our women, deserve better.

Daily prayer for the Supreme Court: “May the Guardian Angels of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices guide them today.”

Really behind on posting again.

I’m going to figure out a way to change this since I’ve been trying to blog here like I do on my professional sites. So here’s the new idea. I’ll post daily and they’ll be short, but still include links to timely items of interest (hopefully).

For example, I’ve been wanting to write about the current situation with our MO Senator, Jim Talent. He’s always been so very outspoken about his prolife beliefs and until just recently has exhibited that in his offices. However, he just removed his name as a co-sponsor of a Senate bill to ban cloning. His reasons are not good and I don’t see how he can spin his way out of this one. I believe he even mentioned the need to “compromise.” There’s never a need to compromise about life in my opinion. I’m highly disappointed in him and the next thing I’m going to do when I finish here is write him a letter to let him know how I feel. I hope you will too.

You can do so here.