Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas Program at School
Morgan was our Blessed Mother. She was so thrilled to get to play that role. I only wish that the school would do a better job all year long in developing that desire to be holy!! Our children should be longing to be saints and our Catholic schools should be just the perfect place to encourage and promote holiness and piety. It's a real shame that so many schools are wasting such a golden opportunity to impart the Faith in a real and powerful way. We need to be Catholic through and through and not just places that put on a good "show" for the Holidays. Sometimes I really DO MISS homeschooling...there's so much I love about it...but then there's so much I hate about it too!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sidebar Videos Make Me Laugh
I just did these dancing Santa videos...Ok I'm way too easy to please 'cause they really do make me laugh out loud! I need to laugh right about now...now's the time of year when I eat way too much junk (like candy and cookies etc) and then feel depressed about it and obsess on my weight and then head for the candy to make it all feel better...AAAAAAAAhhh!! So I enjoy looking at my family and myself included in a more humorous light - it keeps it all in perspective - don't take yourself so damn seriously Kris!!! ENJOY!!!!!! the Holiday Season! and worry about the rest after the New Year!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Remember The Forgotten
I have a special place in my heart for the russian orphans I saw in a Diane Sawyer show a long long time ago. I walked awat from that show a changed person. I read everything I could find on the subject and tried to watch more documentaries on the matter. The effects of communism on the Russian people are long lasting and far reaching...there are so many unwanted and rejected children there. The orphanages are filled and are very poor. The staff cannot adequately care for the children. They suffer alone and are often turned out to the streets to find work as prostitutes and comfort in drugs when they are never adopted out....the thought of all those little faces, those dear sweet little arms that so desperately need to hold onto someone and know that they are loved. I can't imagine the fear and the lonliness and the feeling of being so unlovable. I t sickens me that we live in a world where we waste so much money and so much time on nonsense when there are so many children that DESERVE to be loved!!!
Anyhow I found this Christmas story over at domestic church.com and I thought I'd share it. Here it is...
"For Always" - A Russian Christmas Story.
by Will Fish
presumed to be public domain
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear for the first time the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel (cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia) were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat--he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.
Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"
And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me."
"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. Then little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.
Anyhow I found this Christmas story over at domestic church.com and I thought I'd share it. Here it is...
"For Always" - A Russian Christmas Story.
by Will Fish
presumed to be public domain
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear for the first time the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel (cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia) were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat--he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.
Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"
And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me."
"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. Then little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.
And here's some stats...
“On the state of the children in the Russian Federation”, 20034 million Russian children were born out of wedlock in the last 10 years. 400,000 illegitimate children were born in 2002, a 40 thousand annual increase.
Committee on the Rights of The Child in Ukraine, 2002Children in orphanages lack food, medical care, and suitable facilities. Mortality in orphanages is dramatically high. They have been called "death houses". At the beginning of 2000 it was determined that the financial situation of institutions for children with special needs had worsened and most of these children would be denied education.
The CoMission for Children at Risk, 2002About 15,000 Russian orphans leave orphanages each year, once they are 16 to 18 years old. Of these, 5,000 are unemployed, some 6,000 are homeless, around 3,000 resort to crime, approximately 1,500 commit suicide, and roughly half the girls are forced into prostitution.
The CoMission for Children at Risk, 2002About 15,000 Russian orphans leave orphanages each year, once they are 16 to 18 years old. Of these, 5,000 are unemployed, some 6,000 are homeless, around 3,000 resort to crime, approximately 1,500 commit suicide, and roughly half the girls are forced into prostitution.
Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, 2000After leaving their orphanages:
50% - fall into a high-risk category
40% - become drug users
40% - commit crimes
10% - commit suicide
50% - fall into a high-risk category
40% - become drug users
40% - commit crimes
10% - commit suicide
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The world needs MORE images like this
found this at an unusual blog (not one I frequent) but I had been doing a search on MAry's maternity and Mary nursing the Christ child and I found this...
An unusual statuette of Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus shocked some with its nudity, but inspired the faith of others, including Atlanta writer Trudie Barreras. She submitted the photo above and the following story about this “marvelously sensitive and realistic perspective of the mother of Jesus.” The Jesus in Love Blog is sharing Barreras’ moving and important materials here because we support art that seeks to embody spirituality.
OUR LADY OF TRAVELS TO LIFE WITH REALITYBy Trudie BarrerasMy husband Ray and I made a trip to Monterrey, Mexico in December of 2001, traveling by bus because we were disgusted with all the “security frenzy” that had gripped air travel in the aftermath of 9/11. The trip, even though via “express” buses, was a grueling 26 hours, and we arrived at our destination, the MCC church in Monterrey, quite worn out.Shortly thereafter, I discovered a little statuette of Mary riding donkey-back and nursing the infant Jesus. This statue was in a “Christmas market” that specialized in figurines for the Nativity scenes that are very much a part of the Mexican culture. Most of the other figures were much more “traditional.” Indeed, this one was completely unique, representing a “perspective” I’d never seen before. Gazing at the face of the Mother, I was gripped by the thought: “This is Reality.” I reflected on my own extreme exhaustion after a 26-hour trip in a relatively comfortable bus, and wondered how a woman could have carried a nursing infant all the way from Israel to Egypt.I felt it was very important to obtain this statuette, and bring her back to Atlanta to share with the various spiritual communities of which I am a part, including First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta and the Excel retreat ministry in which I participate. I christened her “Our Lady of Travels to Life with Reality,”or, in Spanish, “Nuestra Señora de los Viajes á la Vida con Realidad.” I believe that others who meditate on the meaning portrayed by this representation may experience some of the same thoughts that have come to me. There is, of course, much more to this story, and anyone who wants to dialog with me about it is welcome to contact me by e-mail at: tbarreras@bellsouth.net.Sadly, when I attempted to share “Our Lady of Travels” with my own community at First MCC of Atlanta by placing the statue in our small meditation chapel, someone was apparently offended by the breast-feeding, and fashioned a “poncho” for her out of Kleenex! My pastor regretfully suggested that I should probably take her home. Fortunately, most of the other venues to which I have brought this marvelously sensitive and realistic perspective of the mother of Jesus seem to have responded with a sense of blessing and not of shock.
Posted by KittKatt at 2:05 PM
Labels: art, censorship, Jesus, Madonna, Mexico, naked, spirituality, travel, women's spirituality
1 comments:
Yvonne said...
Er, well obviously Mary would have breastfed Jesus.The style's a bit kitschy, but I think Mary should be celebrated as a real woman.MCC people shocked by breastfeeding? Oh please! Is there no refuge for sanity in the Christian community???
2:15 PM
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OUR LADY OF TRAVELS TO LIFE WITH REALITYBy Trudie BarrerasMy husband Ray and I made a trip to Monterrey, Mexico in December of 2001, traveling by bus because we were disgusted with all the “security frenzy” that had gripped air travel in the aftermath of 9/11. The trip, even though via “express” buses, was a grueling 26 hours, and we arrived at our destination, the MCC church in Monterrey, quite worn out.Shortly thereafter, I discovered a little statuette of Mary riding donkey-back and nursing the infant Jesus. This statue was in a “Christmas market” that specialized in figurines for the Nativity scenes that are very much a part of the Mexican culture. Most of the other figures were much more “traditional.” Indeed, this one was completely unique, representing a “perspective” I’d never seen before. Gazing at the face of the Mother, I was gripped by the thought: “This is Reality.” I reflected on my own extreme exhaustion after a 26-hour trip in a relatively comfortable bus, and wondered how a woman could have carried a nursing infant all the way from Israel to Egypt.I felt it was very important to obtain this statuette, and bring her back to Atlanta to share with the various spiritual communities of which I am a part, including First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta and the Excel retreat ministry in which I participate. I christened her “Our Lady of Travels to Life with Reality,”or, in Spanish, “Nuestra Señora de los Viajes á la Vida con Realidad.” I believe that others who meditate on the meaning portrayed by this representation may experience some of the same thoughts that have come to me. There is, of course, much more to this story, and anyone who wants to dialog with me about it is welcome to contact me by e-mail at: tbarreras@bellsouth.net.Sadly, when I attempted to share “Our Lady of Travels” with my own community at First MCC of Atlanta by placing the statue in our small meditation chapel, someone was apparently offended by the breast-feeding, and fashioned a “poncho” for her out of Kleenex! My pastor regretfully suggested that I should probably take her home. Fortunately, most of the other venues to which I have brought this marvelously sensitive and realistic perspective of the mother of Jesus seem to have responded with a sense of blessing and not of shock.
Posted by KittKatt at 2:05 PM
Labels: art, censorship, Jesus, Madonna, Mexico, naked, spirituality, travel, women's spirituality
1 comments:
Yvonne said...
Er, well obviously Mary would have breastfed Jesus.The style's a bit kitschy, but I think Mary should be celebrated as a real woman.MCC people shocked by breastfeeding? Oh please! Is there no refuge for sanity in the Christian community???
2:15 PM
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Monday, December 8, 2008
Anti-Abortion / Pro-life Short Film (Third Born)
one of the most cretive and forward thinking videos I've seen... THIS is the kind of pro-life material we need to develope and get out there...
Friday, December 5, 2008
A BABY Changes Everything
I think we most definitely take for granted the significance of our GOD coming to us as a BABY! We just gloss over it as if that is to be expected. It is a radical radical thing and we should stop and reflect on this often. I love Christmas. I think most people do. Why is that? It's not really the presents or the food or the parties. If we reflect on it - even non-believers too - we can admit that there is something mysterious and other-worldly about this time of year and this celebration. There is something deep inside the human heart that yearns for this kind of purity and joy that only Christmas provides. Why is that? The Incarnation is the most awesome statement of the dignity and the holiness of man - the human person. God came down and was one of us. But not only that but He came down and chose to be small, very small, almost invisible inside the womb of His mother. He chose to live there and to grow there and to stay hidden just like us. He was fragile and helpless and silently swimming in the holy waters within a WOMAN. He was not a man or a warrior or a king but a baby, a baby. What does this say to us about the dignity of motherhood? About the holiness of pregnancy and the unborn? What does this tell us about the power of one tiny human person unseen and unheard living at the mercy of his mother and her willingness to guard and protect and to nurture the life within her? The Incarnation says so much. The Incarnation says everything we need to know about the LOVE God has for His creatures, His children. He loves us and He wants us to reverence the mystery of every new creation, not to fear it. He wants us to see how IMPORTANT this mystery is! He wants us to know that a baby changes everything. A BABY changes the world. He gave this gift to all of us - the gift of Himself. But we must not cut off God's choice to come into this world as a baby from the deep meaning this choice holds. God can choose anything, He can do anything or manifest Himself any way He wishes. He chose this way - Why? It matters. It is the mystery that makes Christmas so magical and filled with wonder. This is the reason we all celebrate even if we aren't believers per se - the Incarnation itself brings forth JOY to the World whether the world takes notice or not. Oh the holiness and joy that was the maternity of our Blessed Mother! The sacred hiddeness of the unborn baby Jesus - GOD hidden inside a woman, inside her womb! The master of all creation the God beyond time and beyond this universe the endless everything the all and total the One who is all power and all truth and all goodness and all light and all love - just a tiny little one...
A Baby Changes Everything - I just heard this song on the radio. check out the youtube video in thie other post... I loved the dual meaning. It triggers a lot of emotion in me. I think it is so beautiful how the presence of a baby and his effect on his mother is hidden in these lyrics but more importantly the pointing to the awesome CHANGE the incarnation of Jesus held not only for His mother but for the WORLD for all eternity!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The beginnings of this year's Christmas card...
Getting the kids together to take some photos seems to always goes something like this:
"Get over here, get over here, get ooooooooooover heeeeeeeeeeeere!" Sit down, sit down, d
amn it all of you sit down!" "Do you want Santa to bring you gifts for Christmas? - yes - then sit your butts down and smile! Smile I said not look goofy. Stop it! Stop touching her! No no no don't close your eyes. Get back over here. Just sit down and....Can't you people just sit your asses down for two seconds and take one nice picture for our Christmas cards!!! For goodness sakes you'd think I was asking you all to cut off your right arm!" Now everybody just look up here and smile! Smile damn it smile!!!
amn it all of you sit down!" "Do you want Santa to bring you gifts for Christmas? - yes - then sit your butts down and smile! Smile I said not look goofy. Stop it! Stop touching her! No no no don't close your eyes. Get back over here. Just sit down and....Can't you people just sit your asses down for two seconds and take one nice picture for our Christmas cards!!! For goodness sakes you'd think I was asking you all to cut off your right arm!" Now everybody just look up here and smile! Smile damn it smile!!! Okay everybody say "Merry Christmas"
Oh the irony!! Thank goodness this wasn't recorded on video. Or maybe on second thought that would have been nice to have...for a good laugh down the road! Every year those Christmas cards I send out are a heck of a lot more trouble to pull off than anyone realizes...
We have FUN though don't we? I love my kiddos!Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A Mother's Poem
A Mother's Anguish
I long to hold you
in my arms,
to see your precious
baby charms.
Though I know
it will never be,
your sweet child face
I yearn to see.
Your fate was sealed
so long ago,
I made the "choice"
to let you go.
You're with God
and I am here,
but one day we'll meet
and I'll draw you near.
I'll hold you close
and hear you say,
"Mama I love you . . .
anyway."
-- Jeanene Clarke
I long to hold you
in my arms,
to see your precious
baby charms.
Though I know
it will never be,
your sweet child face
I yearn to see.
Your fate was sealed
so long ago,
I made the "choice"
to let you go.
You're with God
and I am here,
but one day we'll meet
and I'll draw you near.
I'll hold you close
and hear you say,
"Mama I love you . . .
anyway."
-- Jeanene Clarke
Cowards in High Places
Over at www.Catholicculture.com is an article on Fr. Newman a courageous pastor who had the courage to speak the truth in love to his flock. here is a tidbit of the article -
St. Mary's church in Greenville, South Carolina, is a model Catholic parish, with an outstanding young pastor. The liturgy is beautiful and reverent; the religious instruction is meticulous and orthodox; the lay people are numerous and active. There is a busy school (run by the Nashville Dominicans), and each year there are dozens of adults welcomed into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.
But that's not why you've heard so much about St. Mary's in the past two weeks. In fact, the success of the parish is not why I'm writing about it today.
St. Mary's has suddenly become the focus of nationwide attention because of what the pastor said-- or rather, what the media said he had said-- about people who had voted for Barack Obama.
Before going any further, let's set the record straight. Father Jay Scott Newman did not say that he would deny the Eucharist to Obama supporters. In a message that he placed in the parish bulletin, he strongly recommended prayers for the .....
....To his credit, once he realized how much commotion he had caused, Father Newman wrote a longer message-- this time addressed not only to his parish but to all interested parties-- seeking to allay any potential confusion. This new, longer statement spelled out the crucial moral distinctions between a vote cast for legal abortion and a vote cast for a candidate who, among other things, favors legal abortion. If the first statement was defective, this clarification was an appropriate remedy, accurately conveying the full and nuanced teaching of the Church as Jeff Mirus acknowledges. Unfortunately the Charleston diocese ordered Father Newman not to release that clarification, and the excellent statement that was posted on the St. Mary's parish web site has been removed. So the confusion endures.
This campaign season saw the debate over abortion, and more particularly, over the duty of Catholic voters to resist legal abortion. Imagine if Father Newman had issued the same sort of pastoral warning regarding some immoral behavior that does not carry such strong political implications. Suppose, for instance, he had said that men who use pornography, or women who have undergone voluntary sterilization, should not receive Communion before making a good Confession. Would such a warning draw a rebuke from the chancery, too? If a pastor cannot warn his people about the moral consequences of their behavior, then the Church cannot instruct the faithful.
Father Newman's statement was a powerful challenge, not only to his own parishioners, but to countless thousands of Catholics and even non-Catholics who read it. He forcefully reminded us all that abortion is not an abstraction (as those who pound home the slogan of "choice" would have us believe) but a concrete reality. Our attitude toward abortion is not only a matter of personal opinion but a moral decision, for which we shall all be held to account.
_ I think you can gather from the shorts excerpts I have placed here that Fr. Newman was being "shut down" or getting the proverbial "kabash" (is that how you spell that?) for speaking the truth to his flock. And what should a pastor do? Should he sit by and watch his little lambs blindly walk into danger? Should he not have more concern for their immortal souls than for their delicate feelings? And what about these bishops of ours? What about our cardinals? Where is their courage? How are they leading their flocks? What is up with their passive luke warmness? What is going on with their quiet letters and thei dainty little press releases? How much of a warning cry are they calling out to their lambs? Is it that we are not listening well? Of course!!! We aren't listening at all! We are blinding bleeting and chewing the grass along paths that lead to the cliff's edge! What is a shepherd to do as he watches the lamb creep ever closer to the brink? Should he send out a gently worded article to a little read publication or should he leap to his feet and call out loudly as he catches that lamb by its feet with the crook of his shepherd's staff!
Now is the time for action for energy for ZEAL! The time for poetic lecture and tender "guidance" is over. We have tried that for 30 years and what has it gotten us? Obama, a pro-death house and senate, Catholic in PUBLIC dissent from their Church, a culture of death and a slide downward toward even more blatant agression towards the Church and her teachings! Wake up my brothers, my bishops! and have courage! the TRUTH is on your side and HE is the TRUTH!
St. Mary's church in Greenville, South Carolina, is a model Catholic parish, with an outstanding young pastor. The liturgy is beautiful and reverent; the religious instruction is meticulous and orthodox; the lay people are numerous and active. There is a busy school (run by the Nashville Dominicans), and each year there are dozens of adults welcomed into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil.
But that's not why you've heard so much about St. Mary's in the past two weeks. In fact, the success of the parish is not why I'm writing about it today.
St. Mary's has suddenly become the focus of nationwide attention because of what the pastor said-- or rather, what the media said he had said-- about people who had voted for Barack Obama.
Before going any further, let's set the record straight. Father Jay Scott Newman did not say that he would deny the Eucharist to Obama supporters. In a message that he placed in the parish bulletin, he strongly recommended prayers for the .....
....To his credit, once he realized how much commotion he had caused, Father Newman wrote a longer message-- this time addressed not only to his parish but to all interested parties-- seeking to allay any potential confusion. This new, longer statement spelled out the crucial moral distinctions between a vote cast for legal abortion and a vote cast for a candidate who, among other things, favors legal abortion. If the first statement was defective, this clarification was an appropriate remedy, accurately conveying the full and nuanced teaching of the Church as Jeff Mirus acknowledges. Unfortunately the Charleston diocese ordered Father Newman not to release that clarification, and the excellent statement that was posted on the St. Mary's parish web site has been removed. So the confusion endures.
This campaign season saw the debate over abortion, and more particularly, over the duty of Catholic voters to resist legal abortion. Imagine if Father Newman had issued the same sort of pastoral warning regarding some immoral behavior that does not carry such strong political implications. Suppose, for instance, he had said that men who use pornography, or women who have undergone voluntary sterilization, should not receive Communion before making a good Confession. Would such a warning draw a rebuke from the chancery, too? If a pastor cannot warn his people about the moral consequences of their behavior, then the Church cannot instruct the faithful.
Father Newman's statement was a powerful challenge, not only to his own parishioners, but to countless thousands of Catholics and even non-Catholics who read it. He forcefully reminded us all that abortion is not an abstraction (as those who pound home the slogan of "choice" would have us believe) but a concrete reality. Our attitude toward abortion is not only a matter of personal opinion but a moral decision, for which we shall all be held to account.
_ I think you can gather from the shorts excerpts I have placed here that Fr. Newman was being "shut down" or getting the proverbial "kabash" (is that how you spell that?) for speaking the truth to his flock. And what should a pastor do? Should he sit by and watch his little lambs blindly walk into danger? Should he not have more concern for their immortal souls than for their delicate feelings? And what about these bishops of ours? What about our cardinals? Where is their courage? How are they leading their flocks? What is up with their passive luke warmness? What is going on with their quiet letters and thei dainty little press releases? How much of a warning cry are they calling out to their lambs? Is it that we are not listening well? Of course!!! We aren't listening at all! We are blinding bleeting and chewing the grass along paths that lead to the cliff's edge! What is a shepherd to do as he watches the lamb creep ever closer to the brink? Should he send out a gently worded article to a little read publication or should he leap to his feet and call out loudly as he catches that lamb by its feet with the crook of his shepherd's staff!
Now is the time for action for energy for ZEAL! The time for poetic lecture and tender "guidance" is over. We have tried that for 30 years and what has it gotten us? Obama, a pro-death house and senate, Catholic in PUBLIC dissent from their Church, a culture of death and a slide downward toward even more blatant agression towards the Church and her teachings! Wake up my brothers, my bishops! and have courage! the TRUTH is on your side and HE is the TRUTH!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Living Life and Apppreciating Every Minute of It
Just some random pics from the past couple months. I am going to try to get back into the swing of things here on the blog...I need to take the holiday photos and start planning the Christmas card etc. This year has just flown by!
Lately I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my life, my family, and just the great privilege of being alive and seeing my kiddos grow! WOW how things have changed and how Tim and I both have grown and changed and it all is kind of overwhelming to me. I came across some VHS tapes this week of Tim and I "back in the day" as new parents and yet to be married. We were living in the apartment and we were so young and so silly, and joy-filled, and thin!
As I watched tape after tape I began to realize just how precious life is! That may seem obvious but you know day to day I can get so wrapped up in the bs of life that I forget that truth. I saw how much we loved each other and how much we loved Morgan. I was amazed by the sheer joy and super abundance of love we had to give our new baby. This little person seemed to have this same effect on all the people in my family. I watched all of us fall all over ourselves to have a chance at making her smile or better yet produce a little baby giggle or gurgle. We all seemed to be united and focused. Of course the back drop for all this joy and unity is vital in understanding why I got so emotional as I watched the videos play.
I couldn't help but marvel at all of our transformations. I couldn't help but be awe struck by the obvious graces poured out upon us. We were a family touched and transformed by God. One unplanned pregnancy became the catalyst for many leaps of faith! And we leaped and leaped and we keep on leaping today! My vision of my mysterious baby still invisible to me as a gift, a mystery worth discovering, worth taking a risk for is the vision which opened the door to Christ in my life. He used my surrender then and there and the chain of events since that have been just one blessing upon the next. My mother, my father, my sister, Martin, Tim, all of us have been changed over the years. We love each other more and as a new person has come into this imperfect and often "dysfunctional" family we have learned how to love MORE and sacrifice MORE and we are ALL the better for it! And there it was captured on VHS.
We don't appreciate life. we don't stop to think about what a gift it is. We take it for granted. Our growth, our learning, or changing, the love we feel, the love we give, breathing in and breathing out. Opening our eyes to a new day, day after day and given a chance to be more and do more! It is all so amazing!! I am amazed by the love of God, and how we forget it, ignore it, as it is all around us. I am glad I got some time to see it and contemplate it. I have made a promise to myself that I will be more deliberate about stopping to SEE the people in my life. I will SEE them and how they are ALIVE. I will SEE their LIFE and see it as a gift and a treasure and a MYSTERY! I will marvel in the mystery of my own life and my own personhood. God made me. God has a plan for me. He has always had a plan for me and He has loved me from the beginning of all time! WOW!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Jon Foreman - Your Love Is Strong
I love this song...It inspires me when I feel like there is so much I cannot do and so many things that I cannot control. I take so much comfort and find so much peace in the fact that His love is STRONG and His love is for me!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Vote Life! - This is a GREAT one...
There a lot of pro life videos out there but I think this one captures the essence of where the candidates stand better than others...VOTE LIFE!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Gianna Jessen Abortion Survivor in Australia Part 2
It is the mercy of God that sustains you - even when you hate Him - WOW!!!! I love that line. She is an amazing speaker how I would love love love to have her speak at my church!!!! God bless her and her mission. Let me be a part of that mission too!!!
THE TRUTH about Born Alive Infants Protection Act - Jill Stanek on the O'Reilly Factor
It is essential that we ARM OURSELVES with the TRUTH and then speak the TRUTH in love to those around us.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Religion and Politics...Sorry - on to more pressing matters...
Sorry about all the rligion and politics as of late. It's a compulsion really and I just can't stop myself! Tim is in bed. we just finished watching the last presidential debate together and of course all the analysis following. We really are "junkies" I guess. It is a nice way for us both to connect with one another and to be able to talk with one another about bigger more important things than the often less than crucial matters we are forced into discussing because of the little people we care for daily. They seem to want to discuss menu options and entertainment choices endlessly. We discuss who ate the last chocolate pudding, how much popcorn is too much at one sitting, who forgot to flush the toilet again, whether or not the needed sports uniform is washed and ready for tomorrow, and of course the all important matter of getting a Halloween costume soon soon soon!
Morgan's volleyball season is almost over. Thank goodness. I must say it'll be nice to have a lot less driving around here there and everywhere. Mary Grace wants to do some tumbling classes or something. That is pretty easy and we can keep that close to home so we might sign her up. Collin is doing great in his Kindergarten class. Tim and I are so relieved that he loves school and that he is learning and behaving. We really feel very confident that we made the right choice to take him out of the catholic school and put him in our local school. Monica is happy to "play house" with mommy at home. I will sit on the big bed in the girls' room and have Monica "serve" me the dishes she prepares at her kitchen set. Chris likes to throw the dishes around and generally make a mess of things. Tim is working hard and trying to catch as much Illinois football as he can. I am trying to stay on top of the laundry and not let it get the best of me. So far so good.
Tuesday mornings are bible study. i really enjoy that. It's my one opportunity to talk about grown up things with a variety of people. Well the baby's crying...gotta go nurse him and lay him back down...I'll do that another 3-5 times tonight! Yikes! Can't wait til that's over...
Morgan's volleyball season is almost over. Thank goodness. I must say it'll be nice to have a lot less driving around here there and everywhere. Mary Grace wants to do some tumbling classes or something. That is pretty easy and we can keep that close to home so we might sign her up. Collin is doing great in his Kindergarten class. Tim and I are so relieved that he loves school and that he is learning and behaving. We really feel very confident that we made the right choice to take him out of the catholic school and put him in our local school. Monica is happy to "play house" with mommy at home. I will sit on the big bed in the girls' room and have Monica "serve" me the dishes she prepares at her kitchen set. Chris likes to throw the dishes around and generally make a mess of things. Tim is working hard and trying to catch as much Illinois football as he can. I am trying to stay on top of the laundry and not let it get the best of me. So far so good.
Tuesday mornings are bible study. i really enjoy that. It's my one opportunity to talk about grown up things with a variety of people. Well the baby's crying...gotta go nurse him and lay him back down...I'll do that another 3-5 times tonight! Yikes! Can't wait til that's over...
Monday, October 13, 2008
Rite for the Blessing and Investiture of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
To obtain the fullest possible benefits from the Brown Scapular devotion, one must be validly invested (sometimes called "enrolled") in the Brown Scapular by a priest who possesses the faculties (usually a Carmelite, Dominican or Franciscan), using a scapular blessed by the same or any other priest. After proper enrollment in the Scapular, a person need not have subsequent scapulars blessed. Once enrolled you are enrolled until death. A Scapular Ritual for Priests, with the prayers of enrollment, is found below:
Priest - Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy.
Respondent - And grant us Thy salvation.
P - Lord, hear my prayer.
R - And let my cry come unto Thee.
P - The Lord be with you.
R - And with your spirit.
P - Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, sancfify by Thy power these scapulars, which for love of Thee and for love of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Thy servants will wear devoutly, so that through the intercession of the same Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and protect against the evil spirit, they persevere until death in Thy grace. Thou who liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.
The Priest does the Aspersion and Invests Person(s) While Saying:
Receive this blessed Scapular and ask the Most Holy Virgin that by Her merits, it may be worn with no stain of sin, protect you from all harm and bring you to everlasting life. Amen.
After the Investiture the Priest Continues With the Prayers:
I, by the power vested in me, admit you to participate in all the spiritual benefits obtained through the mercy of Jesus Christ by the Religious Order of Mount Carmel.
In the name of the Father+and of the Son+and of the Holy Ghost+. Amen.
May God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth, bless you, He who has deigned to join you to the confraternity of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel; we beseech Her to crush the head of the ancient serpent so that you may enter into possession of your eternal heritage through Christ our Lord.
R - Amen.
Archbishop Fulton J. sheen - Youth And Sex - Part 1 of 4
Oh how I wish the Bishop was still here with us. I pray and ask him to help me to continue on his mission. I pray and ask him to give me the words and the love to impart those words and the Truth contained in them more effectively. Please ask Bishop Sheen to intercede for you and also pray that the Church move his case forward swiftly for canonization.
What More Do You Need To Know?
This is an article from the catholic citizens website www.catholiccitizens.org . It tells of the debate OBAMA had within the Illinois legistlature over protecting babies who are mistakenly born alive despite attempts to kill them via abortion. These babies suffer some of the most horrible attempts at takinh their life and still when they survive even this they go on to suffer alone in darkened rooms to struggle for every breath in pain until finally they breath their last and their spirits return to the Father who loved them and made them in His own image. the article follows...
The most telling debate Barack Obama ever had was not with John McCain but Patrick O'Malley, who served with Mr. Obama in the Illinois Senate and engaged him in a colloquy every American should read.
The Obama-O'Malley debate was a defining moment for Mr. Obama because it dealt with such a fundamental issue: The state's duty to protect the civil rights of the young and disabled.
Some background: Eight years ago, nurse Jill Stanek went public about the "induced-labor abortions" performed at the Illinois hospital where she worked. Often done on Down syndrome babies, the procedure involved medicating the mother to cause premature labor.
Babies who survived this, Nurses Stanek testified in the U.S. Congress, were brought to a soiled linen room and left alone to die without care or comforting.
Then-Illinois state Sen. Patrick O'Malley, whom I interviewed this week, contacted the state attorney general's office to see whether existing laws protected a newborn abortion-survivor's rights as a U.S. citizen. He was told they did not. So, Mr. O'Malley - a lawyer, veteran lawmaker and colleague of Mr. Obama on the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee - drafted legislation.
In 2001, he introduced three bills. SB1093 said if a doctor performing an abortion believed there was a likelihood the baby would survive, another physician must be present "to assess the child's viability and provide medical care." SB1094 gave the parents, or a state-appointed guardian, the right to sue to protect the child's rights. SB1095 simply said a baby alive after "complete expulsion or extraction from its mother" would be considered a " 'person,' 'human being,' 'child' and 'individual.' "
The bills dealt exclusively with born children. "This legislation was about preventing conduct that allowed infanticide to take place in the state of Illinois," Mr. O'Malley told me.
The Judiciary Committee approved the bills with Mr. Obama in opposition. On March 31, 2001, they came up on the Illinois Senate floor. Only one member spoke against them: Barack Obama.
"Nobody else said anything," Mr. O'Malley recalls. The official transcript validates this.
"Sen. O'Malley," Mr. Obama said near the beginning of the discussion, "the testimony during the committee indicated that one of the key concerns was - is that there was a method of abortion, an induced abortion, where the - the fetus or child, as - as some might describe it, is still temporarily alive outside the womb." Mr. Obama made three crucial concessions here: the legislation was about (1) a human being, who was (2) "alive" and (3) "outside the womb."
He also used an odd redundancy: "temporarily alive." Is there another type of human?
"And one of the concerns that came out in the testimony was the fact that they were not being properly cared for during that brief period of time that they were still living," Mr. Obama continued.
Here he made another crucial concession: The intention of the legislation was to make sure that (1) a human being, (2) alive and (3) outside the womb was (4) "properly cared for."
"Is that correct?" Mr. Obama asked Mr. O'Malley.
Mr. O'Malley tightened the logical knot. "[T]his bill suggests that appropriate steps be taken to treat that baby as a - a citizen of the United States and afforded all the rights and protections it deserves under the Constitution of the United States," said Mr. O'Malley.
But to these specific temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb-human beings - to these children who had survived a botched abortion, whose hearts were beating, whose muscles were moving, whose lungs were heaving - to these specific children of God, Mr. Obama was not willing to concede any constitutional rights at all.
To explain his position, Mr. Obama came up with yet another term to describe the human being who would be protected by Mr. O'Malley's bills. The abortion survivor became a "pre-viable fetus."
By definition, however, a born baby cannot be a "fetus." Merriam-Webster Online defines "fetus" as an "unborn or unhatched vertebrate" or "a developing human from usually two months after conception to birth." Mr. Obama had already conceded these human beings were "alive outside the womb."
"No. 1," said Mr. Obama, "whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or other elements of the Constitution, what we're really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a - a child, a 9-month-old - child that was delivered to term."
Yes. In other words, a baby born alive at 37 weeks is just as much a human "person" as a baby born alive at 22 weeks.
Mr. Obama, however, saw a problem with calling abortion survivors "persons." "I mean, it - it would essentially bar abortions," said Mr. Obama, "because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute."
For Mr. Obama, whether or not a temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb little girl is a "person" entitled to constitutional rights is not determined by her humanity, her age or even her place in space relative to her mother's uterus. It is determined by whether a doctor has been trying to kill her.
Terence P. Jeffrey is a nationally syndicated columnist.
The most telling debate Barack Obama ever had was not with John McCain but Patrick O'Malley, who served with Mr. Obama in the Illinois Senate and engaged him in a colloquy every American should read.
The Obama-O'Malley debate was a defining moment for Mr. Obama because it dealt with such a fundamental issue: The state's duty to protect the civil rights of the young and disabled.
Some background: Eight years ago, nurse Jill Stanek went public about the "induced-labor abortions" performed at the Illinois hospital where she worked. Often done on Down syndrome babies, the procedure involved medicating the mother to cause premature labor.
Babies who survived this, Nurses Stanek testified in the U.S. Congress, were brought to a soiled linen room and left alone to die without care or comforting.
Then-Illinois state Sen. Patrick O'Malley, whom I interviewed this week, contacted the state attorney general's office to see whether existing laws protected a newborn abortion-survivor's rights as a U.S. citizen. He was told they did not. So, Mr. O'Malley - a lawyer, veteran lawmaker and colleague of Mr. Obama on the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee - drafted legislation.
In 2001, he introduced three bills. SB1093 said if a doctor performing an abortion believed there was a likelihood the baby would survive, another physician must be present "to assess the child's viability and provide medical care." SB1094 gave the parents, or a state-appointed guardian, the right to sue to protect the child's rights. SB1095 simply said a baby alive after "complete expulsion or extraction from its mother" would be considered a " 'person,' 'human being,' 'child' and 'individual.' "
The bills dealt exclusively with born children. "This legislation was about preventing conduct that allowed infanticide to take place in the state of Illinois," Mr. O'Malley told me.
The Judiciary Committee approved the bills with Mr. Obama in opposition. On March 31, 2001, they came up on the Illinois Senate floor. Only one member spoke against them: Barack Obama.
"Nobody else said anything," Mr. O'Malley recalls. The official transcript validates this.
"Sen. O'Malley," Mr. Obama said near the beginning of the discussion, "the testimony during the committee indicated that one of the key concerns was - is that there was a method of abortion, an induced abortion, where the - the fetus or child, as - as some might describe it, is still temporarily alive outside the womb." Mr. Obama made three crucial concessions here: the legislation was about (1) a human being, who was (2) "alive" and (3) "outside the womb."
He also used an odd redundancy: "temporarily alive." Is there another type of human?
"And one of the concerns that came out in the testimony was the fact that they were not being properly cared for during that brief period of time that they were still living," Mr. Obama continued.
Here he made another crucial concession: The intention of the legislation was to make sure that (1) a human being, (2) alive and (3) outside the womb was (4) "properly cared for."
"Is that correct?" Mr. Obama asked Mr. O'Malley.
Mr. O'Malley tightened the logical knot. "[T]his bill suggests that appropriate steps be taken to treat that baby as a - a citizen of the United States and afforded all the rights and protections it deserves under the Constitution of the United States," said Mr. O'Malley.
But to these specific temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb-human beings - to these children who had survived a botched abortion, whose hearts were beating, whose muscles were moving, whose lungs were heaving - to these specific children of God, Mr. Obama was not willing to concede any constitutional rights at all.
To explain his position, Mr. Obama came up with yet another term to describe the human being who would be protected by Mr. O'Malley's bills. The abortion survivor became a "pre-viable fetus."
By definition, however, a born baby cannot be a "fetus." Merriam-Webster Online defines "fetus" as an "unborn or unhatched vertebrate" or "a developing human from usually two months after conception to birth." Mr. Obama had already conceded these human beings were "alive outside the womb."
"No. 1," said Mr. Obama, "whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or other elements of the Constitution, what we're really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a - a child, a 9-month-old - child that was delivered to term."
Yes. In other words, a baby born alive at 37 weeks is just as much a human "person" as a baby born alive at 22 weeks.
Mr. Obama, however, saw a problem with calling abortion survivors "persons." "I mean, it - it would essentially bar abortions," said Mr. Obama, "because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute."
For Mr. Obama, whether or not a temporarily-alive-outside-the-womb little girl is a "person" entitled to constitutional rights is not determined by her humanity, her age or even her place in space relative to her mother's uterus. It is determined by whether a doctor has been trying to kill her.
Terence P. Jeffrey is a nationally syndicated columnist.
Friday, October 10, 2008
From Our Holy Father
One must be re-educated to the desire to know authentic truth, to defend one's own freedom of choice in regard to mass behaviour and the lures of propaganda, to nourish passion for moral beauty and a clear conscience. This is the delicate duty of parents and educators who assist them; and it is the duty of the Christian community with regard to its faithful.
Concerning the Christian conscience, its growth and nourishment, one cannot be content with fleeting contact with the principal truths of faith in infancy, but a programme of accompaniment is necessary along the various stages of life, opening the mind and the heart to welcome the fundamental duties upon which the existence of the individual and the community rest.
Only in this way will it be possible to prepare youth to comprehend the values of life, love, marriage and the family. Only in this way can they be brought to appreciate the beauty and the sanctity of the love, joy and responsibility of being parents and collaborators of God in giving life.
In the absence of a continuous and qualified formation, the capacity for judgment of the problems posed by biomedicine in the areas of sexuality, new-born life, procreation, and also in the way to treat and care for patients and the weaker sectors of society, becomes even more problematic.
It is certainly necessary to speak about the moral criteria that regard these themes with professionals, doctors and lawyers, to engage them to elaborate a competent judgment of conscience, and if need be, also a courageous objection of conscience, but an equal need rises from the basic level for families and parish communities in the process of the formation of youth and adults.
Under this aspect, next to Christian formation, whose aim is the knowledge of the Person of Christ, of his Word and Sacraments in the itinerary of faith of children and adolescents, one must consistently fuse the discourse on moral values that regard the body, sexuality, human love, procreation, respect for life at every moment, at the same time with valid and precise motives, reporting behaviour contrary to these primary values.
In this specific field the work of priests must be opportunely flanked by the commitment of lay educators, also specialists, dedicated to the duty to guide the ecclesial reality with their knowledge enlightened by faith.
Therefore, I ask the Lord to send among you, dear brothers and sisters, and among those dedicated to science, medicine, law and politics, witnesses endowed with true and upright consciences in order to defend and promote the "splendour of the truth" and to sustain the gift and mystery of life.
I trust in your help
Concerning the Christian conscience, its growth and nourishment, one cannot be content with fleeting contact with the principal truths of faith in infancy, but a programme of accompaniment is necessary along the various stages of life, opening the mind and the heart to welcome the fundamental duties upon which the existence of the individual and the community rest.
Only in this way will it be possible to prepare youth to comprehend the values of life, love, marriage and the family. Only in this way can they be brought to appreciate the beauty and the sanctity of the love, joy and responsibility of being parents and collaborators of God in giving life.
In the absence of a continuous and qualified formation, the capacity for judgment of the problems posed by biomedicine in the areas of sexuality, new-born life, procreation, and also in the way to treat and care for patients and the weaker sectors of society, becomes even more problematic.
It is certainly necessary to speak about the moral criteria that regard these themes with professionals, doctors and lawyers, to engage them to elaborate a competent judgment of conscience, and if need be, also a courageous objection of conscience, but an equal need rises from the basic level for families and parish communities in the process of the formation of youth and adults.
Under this aspect, next to Christian formation, whose aim is the knowledge of the Person of Christ, of his Word and Sacraments in the itinerary of faith of children and adolescents, one must consistently fuse the discourse on moral values that regard the body, sexuality, human love, procreation, respect for life at every moment, at the same time with valid and precise motives, reporting behaviour contrary to these primary values.
In this specific field the work of priests must be opportunely flanked by the commitment of lay educators, also specialists, dedicated to the duty to guide the ecclesial reality with their knowledge enlightened by faith.
Therefore, I ask the Lord to send among you, dear brothers and sisters, and among those dedicated to science, medicine, law and politics, witnesses endowed with true and upright consciences in order to defend and promote the "splendour of the truth" and to sustain the gift and mystery of life.
I trust in your help
If these stats are true (and I fear they are) then Our bishops, our priests, our educators, and ouselves - all of us HAVE FAILED
Overall, 44 percent of Catholics said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, while 54 percent said it should not. About 61 percent of young Catholics reported it was not a very important voting issue, compared to 56 percent of Catholics 35 years and older.
As a whole, 30 percent of Catholics agreed that “gay couples should be allowed to marry,” rising to 47 percent when the question is framed by the insistence that “no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples.”
Only 26 percent of young Catholics said they favored no legal recognition for same-sex couples, compared to 32 percent of those 35 years old and up. About 22 percent of young Catholics considered it a very important voting issue, compared with 27 percent of those 35 and older.
Respondents were also asked what they heard talked about in church. Among all Catholics, 90 percent said they have heard about hunger and poverty while 78 percent claimed to have heard about abortion and 37 percent claimed to have heard about homosexuality. About 33 percent said they heard about immigration while 58 percent said they had heard about the war in Iraq and 54 percent said they heard about the environment at church.
As a whole, 30 percent of Catholics agreed that “gay couples should be allowed to marry,” rising to 47 percent when the question is framed by the insistence that “no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for gay couples.”
Only 26 percent of young Catholics said they favored no legal recognition for same-sex couples, compared to 32 percent of those 35 years old and up. About 22 percent of young Catholics considered it a very important voting issue, compared with 27 percent of those 35 and older.
Respondents were also asked what they heard talked about in church. Among all Catholics, 90 percent said they have heard about hunger and poverty while 78 percent claimed to have heard about abortion and 37 percent claimed to have heard about homosexuality. About 33 percent said they heard about immigration while 58 percent said they had heard about the war in Iraq and 54 percent said they heard about the environment at church.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Why the Abortion Issue Matters MORE Than Any Other - Because An Error In The Beginning Is An Error Indeed.
"An error in the beginning is an error indeed." is a quote from St. Thomas Aquinas that I think is so important in framing the issue of abortion properly. Many a Catholic, and many people in general, will say that they of course hate abortion but that it is one of many issues modern people must confront. They say that the battle against abortion must be fought side by side with the battle against poverty, war, and economic injustice. They may even say that in winning these other battles we will in turn effect positive change in the abortion issue. They tend to frame the issue economically rather than spiritually. How so? They see abortion as the result of poverty, economic hardships, and a culture that doesn't "support women" well.
This view is not only wrong-headed, it is dangerous. This is the view that has lead so many to give up the good fight against abortion. This is the view that has allowed many to justify support for leaders who promote "choice" and promise freedom from "injustice" in many varied forms. This is the view that fails to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
We have a choice as believers. We can put our faith in world action to move Jesus' spiritual plan forward or we can put our faith in spiritual action in order to change the world. Now, is abortion a worldly issue or a spiritual issue? That is the primary question to ask. What I mean by this is, are the deaths of millions of innocents at the request of their own mothers a brutal blemish on our human capacity to love and welcome the unborn into our world? Or are their violent deaths a bloody feast for the demonic to feed on and gain strength and power from in order to propel God's children further and further away from their Father?
Of course we live in the world an so the death of the unborn at the hands of their mothers is a fact that effects the world now and in the material order. We are literally missing people! We have wiped out so many faces and names, so many hands and feet and minds. This is a tragedy of the material order. But we fail to see that the damage that abortion does spiritually is far reaching and pervades all other issues we confront as a society. If we hate the abuse of the poor, if we hate war, if we hate racism and bigotry, if we long for the dignity of man to be restored, then we must see that the root of all these injustices is grounded firmly in abortion. They draw their strength from the blood that soaks the ground beneath them, the blood of the unborn.
How can abortion lead to other injustices? Because "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12. God thought so highly of motherhood, so highly of the unborn, that He chose to place Himself among their ranks. He has therefore blessed this state (of a mother carrying her unborn child within her) by His own participation in it. He has raised the level of motherhood to one of great spiritual significance. He has shown us the dignity and the preciousness of new life by choosing to partake in this greatest of all miracles. Satan understands this well. He is no fool. He went to the woman in the garden and he continues to go to the women today. He knows that we women hold the greatest of powers within our very wombs. We cooperate with God so intimately that a new person and their God-given soul take up residence within our very bodies! Satan seeks to destroy this greatest of treasures and to make out of it a curse!
When we curse the very thing that makes us great, the very thing that shows us when and where all human beings get their great dignity, we lose sight of what it means to be made in God's image and we lose sight then of all the dignity man deserves. We begin to see humans as disposable, replaceable. We strip away the very foundation man has to stand on in order to say that he is endowed by his Creator with rights, rights that cannot be arbitrarily dismissed! When abortion is left to stand side by side with other issues we fail to see that abortion's blood stains everything that robs man of his dignity and value. We fail to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
This view is not only wrong-headed, it is dangerous. This is the view that has lead so many to give up the good fight against abortion. This is the view that has allowed many to justify support for leaders who promote "choice" and promise freedom from "injustice" in many varied forms. This is the view that fails to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
We have a choice as believers. We can put our faith in world action to move Jesus' spiritual plan forward or we can put our faith in spiritual action in order to change the world. Now, is abortion a worldly issue or a spiritual issue? That is the primary question to ask. What I mean by this is, are the deaths of millions of innocents at the request of their own mothers a brutal blemish on our human capacity to love and welcome the unborn into our world? Or are their violent deaths a bloody feast for the demonic to feed on and gain strength and power from in order to propel God's children further and further away from their Father?
Of course we live in the world an so the death of the unborn at the hands of their mothers is a fact that effects the world now and in the material order. We are literally missing people! We have wiped out so many faces and names, so many hands and feet and minds. This is a tragedy of the material order. But we fail to see that the damage that abortion does spiritually is far reaching and pervades all other issues we confront as a society. If we hate the abuse of the poor, if we hate war, if we hate racism and bigotry, if we long for the dignity of man to be restored, then we must see that the root of all these injustices is grounded firmly in abortion. They draw their strength from the blood that soaks the ground beneath them, the blood of the unborn.
How can abortion lead to other injustices? Because "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12. God thought so highly of motherhood, so highly of the unborn, that He chose to place Himself among their ranks. He has therefore blessed this state (of a mother carrying her unborn child within her) by His own participation in it. He has raised the level of motherhood to one of great spiritual significance. He has shown us the dignity and the preciousness of new life by choosing to partake in this greatest of all miracles. Satan understands this well. He is no fool. He went to the woman in the garden and he continues to go to the women today. He knows that we women hold the greatest of powers within our very wombs. We cooperate with God so intimately that a new person and their God-given soul take up residence within our very bodies! Satan seeks to destroy this greatest of treasures and to make out of it a curse!
When we curse the very thing that makes us great, the very thing that shows us when and where all human beings get their great dignity, we lose sight of what it means to be made in God's image and we lose sight then of all the dignity man deserves. We begin to see humans as disposable, replaceable. We strip away the very foundation man has to stand on in order to say that he is endowed by his Creator with rights, rights that cannot be arbitrarily dismissed! When abortion is left to stand side by side with other issues we fail to see that abortion's blood stains everything that robs man of his dignity and value. We fail to see that an error in the beginning is an error indeed.
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