J.M.J+
I am posting to those who wish to pray to end abortion through the 40 days for Life campaign. 40 days of fasting and peaceful prayer vigil is taking place around the USA simultaneously in 80+ cities outside of Planned Parenthood. Here is a link to explain if you have not already heard of this history making pro life event! http://40daysforlife.com/splash.cfm
It is very exciting because this is the biggest pro life vigil ever held and to be involved in any way is being part of something that our kids or grand kids will someday be reading in their history books as the beginning of the end of abortion. My husband and I have decided at the prompting of 40 Days for Life to organize a 24 Hr Vigil in front of Planned Parenthood right here in New Haven CT On Saturday the 3rd ! We need people to come and stand vigil and pray with us for an hour or more. I know you might be feeling reluctant especially if you have never done a pro life vigil before, however I can assure you you will not be standing alone. In numerous cities men and woman will be standing with you in prayer and most importantly God and Our Lady will be standing with us. Serving God and standing up for the unborn in this peaceful witness is what Jesus is calling us to do in the Gospel. Whether or not people admit it abortion kills babies and hurts women. I spent and hour on the phone today with a woman who sobbed to me about the loss she felt about the children she had aborted. She kept saying how much she wanted her babies back, could I get them back for her. She said how she was lied to and did not understand what she was doing. I heard the despair in her voice of what happens to a woman when she is lied to, her baby is killed, and then goes on to learn how she was so betrayed. She kept saying that they took a piece of her soul that day. That one conversation would be enough for anyone to be confident that the pro abortion movement does not give woman choice but takes that away from them along with the hopes and dreams of mothering the child they carried within.
In response to 40 Days for Life's call to branch out to other PP in our state we are blanketing the New Haven PP as well with our prayers. Here is an excerpt below I received in email.
***SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, UNITY VIGIL ACROSS AMERICA***Every Saturday, there are an estimated 8,000 abortionscommitted in the United States, making it the busiest abortion day of each week. But this Saturday, November 3 -- Day 39 of 40 Days forLife -- is going to be different. In addition to a big final push in each of the 80+cities holding 40 Days for Life campaigns, we are asking people of faith and conscience all across America to form a simultaneous 24-hour peaceful prayervigil outside of every Planned Parenthood center and abortion facility possible. This Saturday, please take some extra time out of yourday to be one of the tens of thousands of people -- incities and towns all across America -- who will join together as part of this "Unity Vigil. "Your peaceful witness can make a tremendous life-saving impact and help make history at the conclusion of this fall's 40 Days for Life effort".
Michael and I have decided to try to pull together all of our brothers and sisters in Christ in order to organize a 24 hr vigil of peaceful prayer this Saturday in New Haven (345 Whitney Ave New Haven CT 06511)starting at 12 am on Sat through till 12 am Sun. These past 40 days have been the biggest pro life anti abortion prayer campaign in history! This Saturday it is the hope of men and woman from all over the country that through God's grace as many PP's as possible should have witnesses for Christ visible in peaceful prayer. The goal is to save babies lives while sending the message, not only to PP but the world ,that this evil we call abortion will no longer be tolerated by God's people. We ask for prayer now in order to fill all 24 slots as well as for protection and cover for all who are praying. But most importantly we need volunteers to take an hour slot of prayer to keep the vigil going. If you have others who might as well have interest in filling an hour, please do respond or pass this along. Thank you in advance for all your prayers and we hope that together we can fulfill this goal to bring Glory to God through saving the lives of the unborn.
God Bless,
Kerry
The Eucharist
May the Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
40 Days For Life New Haven
Friday, October 26, 2007
Natural Family Planning a Gift of Marriage
J.M.J +
I recently was at a Catholic bulletin board to which a question was posted in regards to teaching middle school aged girls Natural Family Planning, as an alternative to the birth control pill. As a Catholic while it is never my intention to hurt another’s feelings ,I am growing more concerned about the increasing mentality of tolerating this watered down and morally corrupt view on the impossibility for our youth to live chaste and pure lives as well as the true message of NFP. My husband and I believe that parents being the first educators of their children should teach the importance of living a chaste and pure life before marriage, and when the time comes, in marriage. It is my continued belief that through God’s grace, along with utilizing the Sacraments, our youth when given the truth of God’s plan for sex and marriage will recognize the dignity of the human person. Along with the understanding that they are worth waiting for and a new found respect for the beauty of union between husband and wife and the gift of children through that union, I believe our youth can and will want to live pure lives. I have a fantastic link for teens which promotes chastity and purity which has a modern type appeal to our youth! http://www.pureloveclub.com/
I am also growing wearier of not speaking up for those who may not understand what the acceptable moral teaching is on NFP within the context of the Magisterium of the Church. Below is a response I posted to a question on whether or not it is acceptable to teach NFP to young girls for those schools and parents who feel chastity is unrealistic in our day and age. I hope through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I did it justice!
From a Catholic perspective NFP is meant to be used within the Sacrament of Marriage and only when the couple has prayerfully discerned it is needed either for the spacing of children and or other serious reasons. In context of our Faith it is never viewed as a birth control because abstaining from the marital embrace during the fertile time, unlike obstructing natural fertility with birth control pills or a condom, is in no way hindering God's Will when there is good reason. It is also perfectly acceptable for husband and wife to partake in the marital act when the woman is naturally infertile while abstaining in the fertile time, as God has deemed that period to be naturally infertile. So from a Catholic perspective I have a problem with young girls being taught NFP for "Birth Control" purposes. This would be taking NFP out on the confines of Marriage and changing completely the role it is meant to play. In response to the statement, "could it be a viable option for parents and schools who think "they're just going to have sex anyway"? "From a secular standpoint I am sure just as they are teaching that all teens are having premarital sex, need birth control because of this and when they are "irresponsible" in taking those pills can seek an abortion, they may consider adding NFP as a method of avoiding pregnancy. From a moral Catholic perspective this remains unacceptable because it does not change that it is immoral. Used in this way it has the same intentions as of using birth control and is perverting the context for which it was created to be used which is in Marriage. There really is no lesser of an evil here.
I recently was at a Catholic bulletin board to which a question was posted in regards to teaching middle school aged girls Natural Family Planning, as an alternative to the birth control pill. As a Catholic while it is never my intention to hurt another’s feelings ,I am growing more concerned about the increasing mentality of tolerating this watered down and morally corrupt view on the impossibility for our youth to live chaste and pure lives as well as the true message of NFP. My husband and I believe that parents being the first educators of their children should teach the importance of living a chaste and pure life before marriage, and when the time comes, in marriage. It is my continued belief that through God’s grace, along with utilizing the Sacraments, our youth when given the truth of God’s plan for sex and marriage will recognize the dignity of the human person. Along with the understanding that they are worth waiting for and a new found respect for the beauty of union between husband and wife and the gift of children through that union, I believe our youth can and will want to live pure lives. I have a fantastic link for teens which promotes chastity and purity which has a modern type appeal to our youth! http://www.pureloveclub.com/
I am also growing wearier of not speaking up for those who may not understand what the acceptable moral teaching is on NFP within the context of the Magisterium of the Church. Below is a response I posted to a question on whether or not it is acceptable to teach NFP to young girls for those schools and parents who feel chastity is unrealistic in our day and age. I hope through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I did it justice!
From a Catholic perspective NFP is meant to be used within the Sacrament of Marriage and only when the couple has prayerfully discerned it is needed either for the spacing of children and or other serious reasons. In context of our Faith it is never viewed as a birth control because abstaining from the marital embrace during the fertile time, unlike obstructing natural fertility with birth control pills or a condom, is in no way hindering God's Will when there is good reason. It is also perfectly acceptable for husband and wife to partake in the marital act when the woman is naturally infertile while abstaining in the fertile time, as God has deemed that period to be naturally infertile. So from a Catholic perspective I have a problem with young girls being taught NFP for "Birth Control" purposes. This would be taking NFP out on the confines of Marriage and changing completely the role it is meant to play. In response to the statement, "could it be a viable option for parents and schools who think "they're just going to have sex anyway"? "From a secular standpoint I am sure just as they are teaching that all teens are having premarital sex, need birth control because of this and when they are "irresponsible" in taking those pills can seek an abortion, they may consider adding NFP as a method of avoiding pregnancy. From a moral Catholic perspective this remains unacceptable because it does not change that it is immoral. Used in this way it has the same intentions as of using birth control and is perverting the context for which it was created to be used which is in Marriage. There really is no lesser of an evil here.
Monday, October 1, 2007
A Eucharist Starved World
J.M.J
As Catholics we have been given by Christ the most awesome gift of the Holy Eucharist. We have a God who loves us so completely He suffered, died, and rose for our salvation and then went on to make it so we would never be without Him, by sending His Spirit and by giving Himself to us so completely Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament. In a world that is love starved and where love is replaced with counterfeit substitutes, Jesus remains waiting for us in the Blessed Sacrament as Love itself. A love so pure and true that when we bask in His Eucharistic presence we cannot help but to be changed, for if we could feel His love we would surely become transformed into the likeness of Him who is Love. As we gaze at His Holy Presence we are reminded that love is freely giving all that we have so that others may have life.
In viewing the world which surrounds us one often wonders of whom the world learns of that which is love. We see families divided by divorce, contraception, abortion, euthanasia, war, attack on human dignity, as well as on the institution of marriage. And we ask ourselves where we are going wrong? How can it be we are in such a state of moral and spiritual crisis in our world?
The world’s portrayal of love as conditional and self fulfilling is the very reason that parents, as the first educators of their children, need to understand and live out their Catholic Faith. The Domestic Church is an integral part of Christ’s Body. The Catholic family should be a fruitful place where the seeds of catechismic faith are planted and nourished to grow. It is where our children build a foundation of Faith along with the skills of critical thinking in preparation for the adult years ahead. The Domestic Church should be in itself a sacred place where our children begin to understand and hear the vocation to which God is calling them. The Catholic home should be a haven which fosters vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life where as much as possible, the constant noise and message of the secular world is absent. As parents our lives should be a living testament to our faith through great love for and obedience to our Holy Father as well as the Magisterium of the Church. It is through this obedience as well as utilizing the Sacraments that we come to understand and radiate the treasure of God’s Church, a gift to which no worldly treasure could ever compare. I pray my children will come to know in their hearts, that God loves them so much He sent His only Son so that they might have eternal life, this eternal life which is attainable through His Church.
It is no secret our world is in a state of turmoil, chaos, and unrest. We know by the news and media our country is physically at war and in a battle where sadly men and woman must die every day to defend our freedom. Our hearts pour out to these families with loved ones who are lost at war and we pray for them. However we must also be attentive that there is a much greater spiritual war going on in our own homes and in our own families to which we need to know how to fight. As Father John Corapi so often preaches, have we forgotten that this war is a war for souls, that including the souls of our children? The difference with this spiritual war is that the consequence of fatality is eternal.
The only way to bring peace to our world is to bring peace within our families. This must happen through prayer. Father Peyton’s saying of “A family that prays together stays together” has taken on an even deeper meaning particularly now when there is such a blatant attack on the family as well as the institution of marriage. Is not the ultimate goal of the family for husband and wife to help one another get to heaven as well as their children? If this is true Father Peyton’s message becomes even more profound. For a family that prays together on earth will ultimately stay together in heaven for all eternity.
In a world that is no longer black nor white but grey, there remains a Eucharistic hunger only God can fulfill, a hunger mistaken as that of which earthly pleasures can satiate. The spiritual root of addiction to things such as drugs, pornography, sex, and gambling is nothing short of one’s misdirected need to satiate the hunger which only God can fill. It is only the One who suffered and died on the Cross who can lift us up and make us whole.
My husband Michael and I, after much prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have made the decision to home school our son within our Catholic Faith as well as any other children God Wills to send to us. We have already hit many road blocks in regards to those who believe we are unrealistic in our quest to teach Michael Mario as God has called us to teach him. We have heard the argument that educating our son in this way could cause great harm to him psychologically and socially. We have been accused of keeping him from understanding what the real world has to offer. In a world which hides the Truth by emphasizing an anti-Christian message our response to them is we sure hope so!
Through the teaching of Holy Mother Church, with our guidance as parents led by the Holy Spirit, and along with a network of other Catholic home schooling families we feel God will provide the education and understanding our son needs. We will nurture Michael’s seeds of Faith and when he is grown hope our efforts will have set deep roots in good soil to which that Faith will continue to grow. We pray he may come to understand that a world without God hungers for that which only our Eucharistic Lord can satisfy. As parents my husband and I will continue in prayer asking that through God’s grace we may come to mirror for our son the Love which gazes back at us from the Cross and fills our every hunger with the Bread of Life.
As Catholics we have been given by Christ the most awesome gift of the Holy Eucharist. We have a God who loves us so completely He suffered, died, and rose for our salvation and then went on to make it so we would never be without Him, by sending His Spirit and by giving Himself to us so completely Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament. In a world that is love starved and where love is replaced with counterfeit substitutes, Jesus remains waiting for us in the Blessed Sacrament as Love itself. A love so pure and true that when we bask in His Eucharistic presence we cannot help but to be changed, for if we could feel His love we would surely become transformed into the likeness of Him who is Love. As we gaze at His Holy Presence we are reminded that love is freely giving all that we have so that others may have life.
In viewing the world which surrounds us one often wonders of whom the world learns of that which is love. We see families divided by divorce, contraception, abortion, euthanasia, war, attack on human dignity, as well as on the institution of marriage. And we ask ourselves where we are going wrong? How can it be we are in such a state of moral and spiritual crisis in our world?
The world’s portrayal of love as conditional and self fulfilling is the very reason that parents, as the first educators of their children, need to understand and live out their Catholic Faith. The Domestic Church is an integral part of Christ’s Body. The Catholic family should be a fruitful place where the seeds of catechismic faith are planted and nourished to grow. It is where our children build a foundation of Faith along with the skills of critical thinking in preparation for the adult years ahead. The Domestic Church should be in itself a sacred place where our children begin to understand and hear the vocation to which God is calling them. The Catholic home should be a haven which fosters vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life where as much as possible, the constant noise and message of the secular world is absent. As parents our lives should be a living testament to our faith through great love for and obedience to our Holy Father as well as the Magisterium of the Church. It is through this obedience as well as utilizing the Sacraments that we come to understand and radiate the treasure of God’s Church, a gift to which no worldly treasure could ever compare. I pray my children will come to know in their hearts, that God loves them so much He sent His only Son so that they might have eternal life, this eternal life which is attainable through His Church.
It is no secret our world is in a state of turmoil, chaos, and unrest. We know by the news and media our country is physically at war and in a battle where sadly men and woman must die every day to defend our freedom. Our hearts pour out to these families with loved ones who are lost at war and we pray for them. However we must also be attentive that there is a much greater spiritual war going on in our own homes and in our own families to which we need to know how to fight. As Father John Corapi so often preaches, have we forgotten that this war is a war for souls, that including the souls of our children? The difference with this spiritual war is that the consequence of fatality is eternal.
The only way to bring peace to our world is to bring peace within our families. This must happen through prayer. Father Peyton’s saying of “A family that prays together stays together” has taken on an even deeper meaning particularly now when there is such a blatant attack on the family as well as the institution of marriage. Is not the ultimate goal of the family for husband and wife to help one another get to heaven as well as their children? If this is true Father Peyton’s message becomes even more profound. For a family that prays together on earth will ultimately stay together in heaven for all eternity.
In a world that is no longer black nor white but grey, there remains a Eucharistic hunger only God can fulfill, a hunger mistaken as that of which earthly pleasures can satiate. The spiritual root of addiction to things such as drugs, pornography, sex, and gambling is nothing short of one’s misdirected need to satiate the hunger which only God can fill. It is only the One who suffered and died on the Cross who can lift us up and make us whole.
My husband Michael and I, after much prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have made the decision to home school our son within our Catholic Faith as well as any other children God Wills to send to us. We have already hit many road blocks in regards to those who believe we are unrealistic in our quest to teach Michael Mario as God has called us to teach him. We have heard the argument that educating our son in this way could cause great harm to him psychologically and socially. We have been accused of keeping him from understanding what the real world has to offer. In a world which hides the Truth by emphasizing an anti-Christian message our response to them is we sure hope so!
Through the teaching of Holy Mother Church, with our guidance as parents led by the Holy Spirit, and along with a network of other Catholic home schooling families we feel God will provide the education and understanding our son needs. We will nurture Michael’s seeds of Faith and when he is grown hope our efforts will have set deep roots in good soil to which that Faith will continue to grow. We pray he may come to understand that a world without God hungers for that which only our Eucharistic Lord can satisfy. As parents my husband and I will continue in prayer asking that through God’s grace we may come to mirror for our son the Love which gazes back at us from the Cross and fills our every hunger with the Bread of Life.
Friday, September 28, 2007
40 Days For Life!
J.M.J +
Dear Friends
I am posting to petition you to consider donating your time and prayers to help end one of the darkest evils we face today, abortion. Our family has decided to become a part of 40 Days For Life pro-life campaign and we hope yours will too. 40 Days For Life is a peaceful 40 day vigil of prayer that will take place in front of Planned Parenthood in Norwich CT as well as many other states throughout the U.S.A. If you are unable to keep an hour at PP, prayer and fasting during these 40 days from work or home is very much needed. Please feel free to pass this information on to all your friends and family and check out the video below for more info on this cause.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On9jankGqB0
I copied the following from http://www.40daysforlife.com/norwich/
This fall, from September 26 - November 4, Norwich CT will be one of 89 cities in 33 states joining together for the largest simultaneous pro-life mobilization in history -- the nationwide 40 Days for Life campaign.
We are praying that, with God's help, this groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in our city and throughout America.
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign that consists of:
40 days of prayer and fasting
40 days of peaceful vigil
40 days of community outreach
To obtain more information in your state please go to
http://www.40daysforlife.com/
God Bless!
Dear Friends
I am posting to petition you to consider donating your time and prayers to help end one of the darkest evils we face today, abortion. Our family has decided to become a part of 40 Days For Life pro-life campaign and we hope yours will too. 40 Days For Life is a peaceful 40 day vigil of prayer that will take place in front of Planned Parenthood in Norwich CT as well as many other states throughout the U.S.A. If you are unable to keep an hour at PP, prayer and fasting during these 40 days from work or home is very much needed. Please feel free to pass this information on to all your friends and family and check out the video below for more info on this cause.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On9jankGqB0
I copied the following from http://www.40daysforlife.com/norwich/
This fall, from September 26 - November 4, Norwich CT will be one of 89 cities in 33 states joining together for the largest simultaneous pro-life mobilization in history -- the nationwide 40 Days for Life campaign.
We are praying that, with God's help, this groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in our city and throughout America.
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign that consists of:
40 days of prayer and fasting
40 days of peaceful vigil
40 days of community outreach
To obtain more information in your state please go to
http://www.40daysforlife.com/
God Bless!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Getting Lost in Secularized Media
J.M.J
“The serpent asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell you not to eat form any of the trees of the garden?’… ‘You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.’ The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of it’s fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Gn 3:1-7).
You know those subtle lies the devil likes to tell us, the ones which can appear at first glance as good for us and pleasing to the eyes? It is more than clear in our society they surround us each day. The television, the news, and the internet speak a language of lies and deception which often are portrayed as for the benefit of humankind. As loyal Catholics striving to be obedient to God, we are accused of being prejudice or not loving or accepting of all people. If we wish to pray we are faced with a world that does not accept prayer for fear of offending those who do not believe in God. Prayer has been replaced with “moments of silence” and God with the importance of self will. We have removed God from our world, yet we wonder where He has gone when tragedy and terror strike us down. If we view the world through the eyes of Christ and His Church, it becomes clear that the secularized media offers us nothing more than the serpent offered Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before their fall.
The secularized media has become a powerful vehicle for the anti-Gospel message in which desensitized society has become progressively and perpetually immersed. As Catholics following Christ, it is important we protect our families by filtering out inappropriate messages and media images which distort the Truth, which is Christ Himself. With our fallen nature it is easy to get caught up in the lies that media, the internet, and society tries to feed us. But when we look with open eyes, the eyes of faith, it is not so difficult to see that sin and deception are more accessible now in a technological way. It really is not surprising that the world is in such a state of turmoil, unrest, and confusion when we look at the amount of time spent engaged in the secularized media each day. Adults are no longer filtering out inappropriate content for the sake of their souls and are desensitized to the increasing corruption of the message of our times. The Good News seems to be a thing of the past and the “new” news, a norm to be accepted and enjoyed.
It is true; the message of a feel good society is wreaking havoc on the soul. Children are often left unattended to sit for hours in front of the television screen and many have their own television and internet access in their bedroom. The message they receive is one of a world without God, focused on sex, violence, greed and self importance. Young boys are learning manhood means sexual promiscuity, not purity. Young girls are learning to forgo their purity and true femininity, in hope of becoming as “equals” to their male counterparts. The result leaves us with children who have lost their innocence and are no longer living in the state of grace. We are left with children who kill one another in their own schools, those same schools which no longer offer a time for prayer or the mention of God’s name.
One cannot help but wonder what has caused our children to hate one another so much as to kill? Could it be our society has taught them well? Is not the pro-abortion message itself the message our children are modeling? This message distorting abortion to that of a “choice” and not as the killing of a human being?
My husband, son, and I recently participated in a peaceful rosary procession at a local abortion mill in Connecticut. As I prayed what kept coming into my mind was that we were indeed praying outside of the Children’s hospital. In this place which was dedicated to saving the lives of children, unborn babies lives were being taken away.
Today as we remember and pray for all of the people who died in the attack on September 11th and their families, let us ask God to please open the hearts of all Americans to receiving His grace. We pray to come to understand that a country without God is a country without true freedom, peace, and love. It is a country where our children, which are our future, remain lost. Mary Queen of Peace pray for us and our children. Please take us under your mantle of protection and love. Amen
“The serpent asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell you not to eat form any of the trees of the garden?’… ‘You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.’ The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of it’s fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Gn 3:1-7).
You know those subtle lies the devil likes to tell us, the ones which can appear at first glance as good for us and pleasing to the eyes? It is more than clear in our society they surround us each day. The television, the news, and the internet speak a language of lies and deception which often are portrayed as for the benefit of humankind. As loyal Catholics striving to be obedient to God, we are accused of being prejudice or not loving or accepting of all people. If we wish to pray we are faced with a world that does not accept prayer for fear of offending those who do not believe in God. Prayer has been replaced with “moments of silence” and God with the importance of self will. We have removed God from our world, yet we wonder where He has gone when tragedy and terror strike us down. If we view the world through the eyes of Christ and His Church, it becomes clear that the secularized media offers us nothing more than the serpent offered Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before their fall.
The secularized media has become a powerful vehicle for the anti-Gospel message in which desensitized society has become progressively and perpetually immersed. As Catholics following Christ, it is important we protect our families by filtering out inappropriate messages and media images which distort the Truth, which is Christ Himself. With our fallen nature it is easy to get caught up in the lies that media, the internet, and society tries to feed us. But when we look with open eyes, the eyes of faith, it is not so difficult to see that sin and deception are more accessible now in a technological way. It really is not surprising that the world is in such a state of turmoil, unrest, and confusion when we look at the amount of time spent engaged in the secularized media each day. Adults are no longer filtering out inappropriate content for the sake of their souls and are desensitized to the increasing corruption of the message of our times. The Good News seems to be a thing of the past and the “new” news, a norm to be accepted and enjoyed.
It is true; the message of a feel good society is wreaking havoc on the soul. Children are often left unattended to sit for hours in front of the television screen and many have their own television and internet access in their bedroom. The message they receive is one of a world without God, focused on sex, violence, greed and self importance. Young boys are learning manhood means sexual promiscuity, not purity. Young girls are learning to forgo their purity and true femininity, in hope of becoming as “equals” to their male counterparts. The result leaves us with children who have lost their innocence and are no longer living in the state of grace. We are left with children who kill one another in their own schools, those same schools which no longer offer a time for prayer or the mention of God’s name.
One cannot help but wonder what has caused our children to hate one another so much as to kill? Could it be our society has taught them well? Is not the pro-abortion message itself the message our children are modeling? This message distorting abortion to that of a “choice” and not as the killing of a human being?
My husband, son, and I recently participated in a peaceful rosary procession at a local abortion mill in Connecticut. As I prayed what kept coming into my mind was that we were indeed praying outside of the Children’s hospital. In this place which was dedicated to saving the lives of children, unborn babies lives were being taken away.
Today as we remember and pray for all of the people who died in the attack on September 11th and their families, let us ask God to please open the hearts of all Americans to receiving His grace. We pray to come to understand that a country without God is a country without true freedom, peace, and love. It is a country where our children, which are our future, remain lost. Mary Queen of Peace pray for us and our children. Please take us under your mantle of protection and love. Amen
Getting Caught Up in the Web!
J.M.J
The World Wide Web, as we call it, offers a plethora of vast knowledge accessible instantaneously. We can access information in the blink of an eye and send email or text messages to family, friends, and strangers alike with the click of a button. However there can be a great danger when the Internet is used along with the mentality of the world in which we live. When the Internet is not used with the careful awareness of God’s plan for us, the Web becomes something one’s soul could certainly get tangled up into. I am growing increasingly disturbed by the many chain email message I receive in my inbox daily, most from my Catholic friends. I am sure you all know I am referring to the poems, stories, and prayers which usually end with some wish to be granted if you send out the message to 20 people standing on your head in 8 minutes while scratching your nose or else terrible evils will befall you and your family. Now I am not writing this to wag a finger at anyone who passes on these things, but I feel it uncharitable not to write about the fear and confusion which these types of messages breed. One email “prayer” chain letter I received brought great sadness to my heart. It was a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe accompanied by a prayer to have your wish granted. Under her beautiful image were threats of what can happen to the person who does not forward the message to friends and family, including an example of the death of one’s family who did not comply in the time specified. As Catholics and Christians we need to set an example for others, especially our children, what our faith really means to us. Passing on superstitious and malicious messages which detracts from the richness and beauty of our faith and especially our Blessed Mother should never be tolerated. If we do not convey to others through our words and actions how important Jesus and His Church are to us we are robbing them of an opportunity to see the splendor of our faith. It is our job to protect our faith as well as our brothers and sisters who may not understand it. Perhaps others really do not understand how these types of emails attempt to detract from God’s greatness. Perhaps they are fearful of the threats or desperate for the granted wishes in lack of a solid faith. What a wonderful opportunity to serve our Lord through reaching out to those who need us. We so often do not think of how our actions will affect other people. Everything we do or say can affect the life of others in a profound way. The bottom line comes down to this; God does not put attachments onto prayer. If we say a novena we do so in faith and anything else attached to that, such as asking you to pass it on in a specific manner has nothing to do with God. If we pass along a prayer or message it should be out of the charity of our hearts. Really, what is loving about passing on an email to your friend that threatens harm? What are you saying to that person? I can remember two chain letters I received when I was caring for my mother who was battling cancer. I am assuming they came from family or friends who were afraid of the repercussions if they did not send them on. Both specifically threatened imminent death of a close loved one if I did not comply with their distribution. As a Catholic I knew the letters were nothing but garbage however it was very hurtful to know that someone I loved, who obviously believed they were true, would send them to me with a terminally ill parent. So next time you receive one of those chain emails delete it and send your friend back something they can really pass on to others, the richness of our Catholic faith.
The World Wide Web, as we call it, offers a plethora of vast knowledge accessible instantaneously. We can access information in the blink of an eye and send email or text messages to family, friends, and strangers alike with the click of a button. However there can be a great danger when the Internet is used along with the mentality of the world in which we live. When the Internet is not used with the careful awareness of God’s plan for us, the Web becomes something one’s soul could certainly get tangled up into. I am growing increasingly disturbed by the many chain email message I receive in my inbox daily, most from my Catholic friends. I am sure you all know I am referring to the poems, stories, and prayers which usually end with some wish to be granted if you send out the message to 20 people standing on your head in 8 minutes while scratching your nose or else terrible evils will befall you and your family. Now I am not writing this to wag a finger at anyone who passes on these things, but I feel it uncharitable not to write about the fear and confusion which these types of messages breed. One email “prayer” chain letter I received brought great sadness to my heart. It was a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe accompanied by a prayer to have your wish granted. Under her beautiful image were threats of what can happen to the person who does not forward the message to friends and family, including an example of the death of one’s family who did not comply in the time specified. As Catholics and Christians we need to set an example for others, especially our children, what our faith really means to us. Passing on superstitious and malicious messages which detracts from the richness and beauty of our faith and especially our Blessed Mother should never be tolerated. If we do not convey to others through our words and actions how important Jesus and His Church are to us we are robbing them of an opportunity to see the splendor of our faith. It is our job to protect our faith as well as our brothers and sisters who may not understand it. Perhaps others really do not understand how these types of emails attempt to detract from God’s greatness. Perhaps they are fearful of the threats or desperate for the granted wishes in lack of a solid faith. What a wonderful opportunity to serve our Lord through reaching out to those who need us. We so often do not think of how our actions will affect other people. Everything we do or say can affect the life of others in a profound way. The bottom line comes down to this; God does not put attachments onto prayer. If we say a novena we do so in faith and anything else attached to that, such as asking you to pass it on in a specific manner has nothing to do with God. If we pass along a prayer or message it should be out of the charity of our hearts. Really, what is loving about passing on an email to your friend that threatens harm? What are you saying to that person? I can remember two chain letters I received when I was caring for my mother who was battling cancer. I am assuming they came from family or friends who were afraid of the repercussions if they did not send them on. Both specifically threatened imminent death of a close loved one if I did not comply with their distribution. As a Catholic I knew the letters were nothing but garbage however it was very hurtful to know that someone I loved, who obviously believed they were true, would send them to me with a terminally ill parent. So next time you receive one of those chain emails delete it and send your friend back something they can really pass on to others, the richness of our Catholic faith.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Loving the Poor is Belonging to Christ
“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.” Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
J.M.J
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said that in all of her work with the poorest of the poor, spiritual poverty was by far the most devastating form of desolation she had ever encountered. Her motivation for starting the order of the Missionaries of Charity was an encounter with an abandoned dying woman she found on the streets of Calcutta in front of the local hospital. Blessed Teresa stayed with that woman until she died and then went onto dedicate her life to serving and loving Jesus in the poorest of the poor. She understood what it is Jesus is calling us to be as His followers. She heard His call and responded by loving each individual she encountered as a human being deserving dignity and as her family of brothers and sisters, the children of God.
When we really stop to think about it, we as people often take the message of Jesus, to love one another, and distort it to fit into our own lives. It seems we want so much to feel good about ourselves, to do what we feel is right for us, and to try to alleviate the fear that we are less than others, that we often neglect the poor around us each day. What is really ironic is that in our selfishness and self focus we truly become the most poor.
How often have we hurt God in others by excluding them from our lives because we rationalize it is what is best for us and our families? Blessed Mother Teresa once told a story about a woman who had nine children who were starving. Mother and her sisters travelled to bring milk to the family and as soon as it was given, the woman scurried off unannounced and in haste. Blessed Mother Teresa asked the woman upon her return where she had gone. She replied that the woman next door had eight children and she gave her half the milk so that the children would not go to bed with an empty stomach. It did not surprise Mother that she gave, as often there is great generosity and love amongst the poor, rather what impacted her was that this woman knew who her neighbor was.
Do we know who our neighbors are? Do we have the generosity and love of the poor? Blessed Mother Teresa, in dedicating her whole being for the love of Christ, understood His simple and yet profound message. She understood that giving of self and losing its false nature brings us closer to God. She saw Jesus in the sick, dying, unloved, and abandoned. She often said Jesus was her all, He was her love, and she needed to be able to talk about that Love. She always said that everything that she did, she did for love of Him.
Blessed Teresa no longer saw the outcasts of society before her; it was her beloved Jesus, who was truly in her midst and dying in her arms. She was not afraid to touch the lepers or how catching their disease might affect her life. She was more concerned about others catching a diseased heart, unable to give and receive love. The only fear one could say she may have had was that others might not come to know that through their suffering, Christ lives within them. She wanted the poor to know she loved them and more importantly that God loves them. She understood that a self focused world would sadly miss one of the greatest privileges of all, that of loving the suffering Jesus amongst the poor, even in our own families. Blessed Mother Teresa knew that God was truly in her midst in every lost soul and every abandoned and dying child. In her humble and simple ministry she found a peace that only comes from giving your life away for Christ and others.
How often do we make other lepers in our own lives out of fear of losing ourselves? It is only when we realize as Blessed Teresa did, that everything we have and all that we are is God’s gift to us, will we begin to understand true happiness and peace. It is in understanding that we posses nothing, that we can begin to understand how Mother so freely gave everything that she had. It is then we can come to understand that authentic love is self sacrifice, mirrored after the Ultimate Sacrifice, Love Himself.
Blessed Teresa took God’s gift of her life, and made it a living prayer in thanksgiving to Him. Even through her decades of the dark night she remained faithful to what she knew God called her by vocation. Despite her own struggles and emotions, she remained obedient to God, the blind faith which He is calling of each of us. Blessed Mother Teresa said “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” I often ask myself if I am doing my job as a Christian when so many of my brothers and sisters are leaving the Church. Was I so preoccupied with myself and my life that I missed someone felt unwelcome in our Father’s House?
Are we truly doing our best to make others feel they belong to us? In a very dark world full of false promises, it seems God’s people need each another more than ever. Let us pray to Blessed Mother Teresa to intercede for us for the grace to understand what Jesus is calling us to be as Catholics, what He is calling us to be as families, and what He is calling us to be as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. “For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although He was rich, that you by his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Thank you Blessed Teresa for teaching us that true richness comes from serving the hidden Christ, who is always amongst the poor.
J.M.J
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta often said that in all of her work with the poorest of the poor, spiritual poverty was by far the most devastating form of desolation she had ever encountered. Her motivation for starting the order of the Missionaries of Charity was an encounter with an abandoned dying woman she found on the streets of Calcutta in front of the local hospital. Blessed Teresa stayed with that woman until she died and then went onto dedicate her life to serving and loving Jesus in the poorest of the poor. She understood what it is Jesus is calling us to be as His followers. She heard His call and responded by loving each individual she encountered as a human being deserving dignity and as her family of brothers and sisters, the children of God.
When we really stop to think about it, we as people often take the message of Jesus, to love one another, and distort it to fit into our own lives. It seems we want so much to feel good about ourselves, to do what we feel is right for us, and to try to alleviate the fear that we are less than others, that we often neglect the poor around us each day. What is really ironic is that in our selfishness and self focus we truly become the most poor.
How often have we hurt God in others by excluding them from our lives because we rationalize it is what is best for us and our families? Blessed Mother Teresa once told a story about a woman who had nine children who were starving. Mother and her sisters travelled to bring milk to the family and as soon as it was given, the woman scurried off unannounced and in haste. Blessed Mother Teresa asked the woman upon her return where she had gone. She replied that the woman next door had eight children and she gave her half the milk so that the children would not go to bed with an empty stomach. It did not surprise Mother that she gave, as often there is great generosity and love amongst the poor, rather what impacted her was that this woman knew who her neighbor was.
Do we know who our neighbors are? Do we have the generosity and love of the poor? Blessed Mother Teresa, in dedicating her whole being for the love of Christ, understood His simple and yet profound message. She understood that giving of self and losing its false nature brings us closer to God. She saw Jesus in the sick, dying, unloved, and abandoned. She often said Jesus was her all, He was her love, and she needed to be able to talk about that Love. She always said that everything that she did, she did for love of Him.
Blessed Teresa no longer saw the outcasts of society before her; it was her beloved Jesus, who was truly in her midst and dying in her arms. She was not afraid to touch the lepers or how catching their disease might affect her life. She was more concerned about others catching a diseased heart, unable to give and receive love. The only fear one could say she may have had was that others might not come to know that through their suffering, Christ lives within them. She wanted the poor to know she loved them and more importantly that God loves them. She understood that a self focused world would sadly miss one of the greatest privileges of all, that of loving the suffering Jesus amongst the poor, even in our own families. Blessed Mother Teresa knew that God was truly in her midst in every lost soul and every abandoned and dying child. In her humble and simple ministry she found a peace that only comes from giving your life away for Christ and others.
How often do we make other lepers in our own lives out of fear of losing ourselves? It is only when we realize as Blessed Teresa did, that everything we have and all that we are is God’s gift to us, will we begin to understand true happiness and peace. It is in understanding that we posses nothing, that we can begin to understand how Mother so freely gave everything that she had. It is then we can come to understand that authentic love is self sacrifice, mirrored after the Ultimate Sacrifice, Love Himself.
Blessed Teresa took God’s gift of her life, and made it a living prayer in thanksgiving to Him. Even through her decades of the dark night she remained faithful to what she knew God called her by vocation. Despite her own struggles and emotions, she remained obedient to God, the blind faith which He is calling of each of us. Blessed Mother Teresa said “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” I often ask myself if I am doing my job as a Christian when so many of my brothers and sisters are leaving the Church. Was I so preoccupied with myself and my life that I missed someone felt unwelcome in our Father’s House?
Are we truly doing our best to make others feel they belong to us? In a very dark world full of false promises, it seems God’s people need each another more than ever. Let us pray to Blessed Mother Teresa to intercede for us for the grace to understand what Jesus is calling us to be as Catholics, what He is calling us to be as families, and what He is calling us to be as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. “For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although He was rich, that you by his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Thank you Blessed Teresa for teaching us that true richness comes from serving the hidden Christ, who is always amongst the poor.
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