40 Days for Life begins

For the first time since its inception, 40 Days for Life is in New Hampshire. Last night we held a kickoff rally outside the Planned Parenthood abortuary in Manchester. It was, in a word, powerful.

All told, I'd estimate around 60-70 people showed up - maybe more by the time things really got going. Before they rally started some people were handing out St. Michael the Archangel prayer cards (and how appropriate the line, "Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil", he who is ultimately behind this menace) and the Prayer for the Conversion of Abortionists by Fr. Frank Pavone. Things started shortly after with prayer and then witness from three different individuals, each with a different story. (Click on the picture for a larger version.)

The woman speaking in the above picture is the one who came to our parish this past weekend. She told of how she waited and prayed day after day for God to send someone to bring 40 Days for Life to New Hampshire (boy, that sounded familiar...) until finally one day she realized that just maybe God had put her in that place at that time for that very purpose. What a powerful reminder that each of us has an irreplaceable role to play in this world - one God has laid out for us that no one else can do.

The woman in the back whom you can just see holding flowers is a sidewalk counselor who came to speak to us from Massachusetts. Her message was simple - pray, and be a witness, because you never know who is watching or what will happen if you put yourself out there. And above all, trust in God even if you don't know how He is going to provide for you. She shared with us a few stories of times on the sidewalk when she had to step out in faith before she knew how things would work out and when she did God responded in a big and unforeseeable way.

The young man in the front of the truck spoke last, and his story was short but powerful. He is the father of a child aborted against his will. He told us of how when he called Planned Parenthood to ask them not to go through with the abortion he was told flatly that he had no rights in the matter and that's all there was to it. The dimming sunlight reflected off no small number of tears as he spoke.

One side of the crowd

The other side of the crowd

After the witnesses were given we, again, prayed some more. We then made a candle light procession in front of the abortuary, singing Amazing Grace, turned around at the Elm Street intersection and processed back to where we started again. We had time to briefly chat with some friends and acquaintances as sign up sheets were handed around for anyone who could commit to at least an hour's quiet, prayerful witness.

Yes, if you're curious, we did have one heckler yell out "choice!" as he drove by but, well, it took a minute to even figure out what he (yes, "he") said as he didn't make much of an attempt at either enunciating his opinion or even yelling in our direction. There were also a couple of girls in nurse outfits standing by the back of the abortuary using their cell phone cameras to record the procession as they laughed and giggled. I can only guess that they work there and have simply no idea what they are doing or the pain and harm they are causing. They were, in a way, among the first people to see the power of 40 Days for Life, even if they don't yet realize it. Those two young girls have never left my prayers from that moment on.

Your friendly neighborhood reminder

Don't forget - the kickoff rally for 40 Days for Life is tomorrow, Tues., Sept. 23 at 6:30 in front of the Planned Parenthood on Pennacook Street (off of Elm Street) in Manchester. It is only through prayer and our faithful witness that we can turn the tide of this war of evil and help to bring about a culture of life throughout New Hampshire, throughout this country, and throughout this world. I hope to see you there!

40 Days for Life comes to Manchester

In a word ... finally! I've been hoping someone at the right level would decide to get this Diocese involved in the 40 Days for Life movement and it appears that it has finally happened. There will be a kickoff rally outside the Manchester Planned Parenthood this coming Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 PM and then prayerful witness outside the building from 7AM to 7PM from Sept. 24 to Nov. 2.

How can you help? First, come to the kickoff meeting if you can. At least as important as that, however, is to sign up for a slot to spend an hour in prayerful witness in front of the Planned Parenthood abortuary. (If I'm not mistaken, this is another PP building where they lied on their zoning application and the local government eventually decided to let them get away with it. Evil has no shame.) If you can't manage any time in that schedule, and that happens, then I only ask you to do whatever you can to help out the cause of the most innocent of lives - pray, fast, do pennance, any or all of the above. Parishes in the area will have signup sheets available this weekend so we can sign up for both time slots for witness and to offer any other thing we can offer. There is also a signup form on the 40 Days for Life site here - how this will be coordinated with those forms collected at parishes I don't yet know but I'm sure that's been planned out.

More information is available at the 40 Days for Life site, at New Hampshire Right to Life and in this PDF that has been circulated in bulletins recently. Whatever you do, however you can help, please do it. This could be the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood in New Hampshire and the beginning of a beautiful new era of life in this state.

BornAliveTruth.org launched

You mean you didn't know already? What size rock is that you've been hiding under? I suppose I should just be nice and say "tolle, lege". Even more than that, watch the videos, and donate if you can.

Something you won't see on CNN

Or probably any of the major networks, for that matter.

Santa Ana, CA – A pro-life man was violently attacked by an abortionist on a public sidewalk outside a Santa Ana abortion clinic on Saturday, August 2, 2008. The man, who wants only to be known as Tim, was first shoved, then battered, punched and choked by the abortionist who objected to his attempts to photograph him. Tim sustained lacerations and muscle pain that impaired his ability to conduct his normal activities as a result of the attack.

Go check out the rest of the story at Catholic Fire. Just remember, the Pro-Life folks are the ones who are constrained as to where they may walk and talk because they're the "dangerous" ones. Or something...

*ahem*

"Saying you're Catholic and being pro-abortion is like saying you're a member of GreenPeace after eating a dinner of Baby Harp Seal stuffed with Whooping Crane eggs."

Calm down, class, back to work. *chuckle*

Vatican letter to Bishops on Humanae Vitae found

LifeSite has found and published a letter sent from the Vatican to all Bishops with a pre-release copy of Humanae Vitae. Even from a distance of these many years it is a hard letter to read knowing the vast distance between what was asked in this letter and the response it was given in return. If this paragraph doesn't absolutely eviscerate you:

The Holy Father knows full well the bitterness that this reply may cause many married persons who were expecting a different solution for their difficulties. It is precisely the solicitude for those souls in anguish, and the ardent desire to bring them light and solace, which caused the great delay in giving this reply. Mindful of the grave consequences entailed by a decision of this nature, the Common Father wished to study the entire question for Himself and in detail. For a long time He reflected, with respectful consideration, upon the results of the studies and discussions of the Commission charged with examining the various aspects of the problem; for a long time, He prayed. He consulted numerous wise and learned members of the Episcopate, of the clergy, of the laity; and all of this took months and even years.

this one will:

And now He turns to His Brothers, the Bishops of the Catholic world, asking them to stand beside Him more firmly than ever in this circumstance, and to help Him present this delicate point of the Church's teaching to the Christian people, to explain and justify its profound reasons. The Pope counts upon the attachment of His Brothers in the Episcopate to the Chair of Peter, upon their love for the Church, upon their concern for the true good of souls.

One can almost feel the pain in Pope Paul VI's heart as he likely knew that even this cover letter would be ignored. We tend to forget that the word "Pope" comes from the same etymological base as the term "Papa"; in reading words like this just how much of a Papa was Papa Montini, and indeed is every Pope, truly comes to light. We have much to do.

On the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae

To think, this tiny document, this little firecracker, could hold so much power. And yet perhaps the comparison to a firecracker is more than apt. If the world had held itself open to the teachings of Pope Paul VI it would have witnessed a brilliant explosion of light. Instead it chose to tighten the fist of its heart around that firecracker and hope that if it just would squeeze tight enough nobody would notice the firecracker go off.

We know what happens when you close your fist around a firecracker. Broken bones. Savaged flesh. Blood, gore and carnage, pain and embarassment. Does this yet sound familiar? It is proven by history that ignoring those small teachings re-stated in Humanae Vitae has led to all the things Paul VI predicted and even worse.

Do yourself, and the whole world, a favor and read Humanae Vitae again. I first read it after an argument over its teachings and I was shocked at both its brevity and its simplicity. It is, without a doubt, a document you can read in one sitting but well worthy of many more.

"Nature is wise and can help us find solutions"

I heard this story this morning on Teresa Tomeo's radio show. It is stories like this that can help remind people who don't yet understand the religious position of life beginning at conception that short of that we simply cannot define when life is and is not viable. From CNA:

Commenting on the recent birth of a baby who developed outside his mother’s womb, one of the doctors present at the delivery, Waldemir Rezende, said that the extraordinary results of the medical intervention show that it is always possible for science to save both the mother and the child.

Brazilian media has been following the case of Maria Benedita, whose difficult pregnancy could have ended in abortion but instead ended with the birth of a healthy baby.

In an interview with the Catholic News Agency, Dr. Rezende said that in cases such as Benedita’s, (which are 1 in 40,000 pregnancies), “the risks always exist and are great, but nature is wise and can help us find solutions for the different problems we encounter along the way.”

Never give up on life. Never.

A word from the management

This is your friendly neighborhood reminder that tomorrow, May 3, is the day for the One Million Rosaries for Unborn Babies prayer event. I'm certainly hoping the count on that site isn't the best we can do. C'mon, get the word out folks!

Why am I not surprised?

There's an old saying "no good deed goes unpunished". Indeed:

DETROIT, March 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The leader of an investigation that discovered bodies of unborn babies and private medical records in an abortion clinic dumpster has been billed by Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the removal of the evidence. In the meantime, the abortionist has himself escaped without any significant punishment. Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, has been billed $1,100 by the DEQ for the removal of evidence against the Lathrup Village Woman Care clinic, operated by abortionist Alberto Hodari. The evidence, discovered in dumpsters behind the clinic and videotaped by Miller, consists of the recognizable remains of at least 18 aborted children, numerous records with personal and detailed information of Hodari's patients, as well as other bio-hazardous waste material.

...

"That Michigan authorities did not have the courage to bring the maximum penalty the law can afford against this abortionist sends a terrible signal to the abortion industry," said Brown. "Now that they have gotten away with it once, we can, unfortunately, be sure they will feel more emboldened in their grisly acts of violence against preborn babies."

It is a dangerous and difficult thing to stand up to evil. And now we can add "expensive" to that list. I so desperately want to be surprised, but it just isn't happening. How long, O Lord, how long?

Spitzer

I've been ruminating lately on this whole debacle with NY Governor Spitzer and his rather pricey dalliances with the "escort service" (aka prostitution ring). There is, I will admit, a certain part of me that wants to join in the schadenfreude of some who have been willing to find joy in finally seeing his hypocrisy bite him. But no, I just can't find it in myself to catch much joy in this.

Yes, a great enemy of the pro-life movement has been knocked out of the public ring. Yes, this serves as a good reminder that "sin makes you stupid" and a reflection of the reality that public sin is often a image of private sin. It can certainly be argued that Spitzer's outspoken public support of unlimited abortion rights has had an effect on other aspects of his life, including his predilection for other sins in the same general (in this case, sexual) area. All of these are important points.

For me though, at the end of the day, it's still a story about a soul who has tragically lost his way and taken others down with him, and for that I cannot be happy. No, when I see Gov. Spitzer now I grieve for his wife and children who have to suffer this public humiliation. Even more, I grieve for him and the utter danger in which he has placed his immortal soul. When I look at him, all I can do is pray to God that he be able to open his heart to the One who is Truth, repent of his ways and reconciled both to Him and His creation. Will it happen? I don't know, but I have no choice but to hope.

While I'm here, I also have to admit a profound sadness for the young lady, Ashley Dupre, with whom he committed such terrible acts. Not only did she help an untold number of others do serious damage to their souls but she did the same, if not worse, damage to herself. In the temporal order now that her bikini-clad picture has been splattered all over the front-page news right above her name she may never be able, or at least feel as though she will never be able, to move beyond this terrible error in her life. Even if she does find some peace and/or success in her life there will always be a lingering doubt as to whether she earned it on her own or really just got by because of this whole episode. Lingering doubts are the devil's play area. I hope and pray that she will allow herself to look beyond this period in her life and see the God who loves her enough to will her very existence, and that society will somehow allow her to walk the path that takes her to Him who made her.

No, I find no joy in this, no day of rejoicing. What I do find, however, is the ever-present cause for hope in the knowledge that God himself saw this coming even as He hung on the cross and did not forgo His part. That chance for reconciliation is always there for all of us, great sinners and great saints alike. Maybe, then, there is a small joy in this for the Heavens will rejoice greatly if out of this tragedy souls find their way to God.

Being careful where you donate

CNA has a story that is part of a bigger issue that has caused me no small amount of heartburn in recent times:

Little Rock, Arkansas is the latest diocese asking its members to halt their support for the Susan G. Komen Foundation due to a portion of their proceeds being given to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States.
...

In a February 4 statement, Little Rock diocesan administrator Monsignor J. Gaston Herbert addressed Catholics as a way to inform them of the ties between the Komen Foundation and Planned Parenthood.

“Due to its policy allowing affiliates to offer financial support to abortion providing facilities and its endorsement of embryonic stem cell research, and the continued denial that abortion may well lead to the development of breast cancer, the Respect Life Apostolate neither supports nor encourages participation in activities that benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.”

It's not that I'm desperately attached to sending money to the Komen Foundation. What saddens me is thinking about all those women who have unwittingly donated indirectly to Planned Parenthood. Is that an overstatement? Far from it. Money, once it goes in to a sufficiently large organization, becomes an essentially fungible resource - meaning in this case that you cannot donate money to one cause without it indirectly becoming a donation to another cause whether you want it to or not. That's one of the most disconcerting parts about donating to a large foundation - you just don't know for sure where all the money goes without a considerable amount of research.

The reply from the Komen Foundation is a classic example of modern relativist and consequentialist thinking:

Rebecca Gibson, a spokeswoman for the Komen foundation, told the AP that the group invested $69.6 million in more than 1,600 community-based education and screening programs during 2007. Of that, Planned Parenthood accounted for less than 1 percent of the funding, she said.

"It's insignificant in relation to all of the funding we do," Gibson said. "I think it's just really unfortunate undue attention is being shed on organizations that are providing vital services in those communities."

That boils down to "we don't donate them that much money so stop worrying that we're helping to fund an untold number of abortions". Will people like this ever understand that you can never do evil that good may come of it? It's simply not an option. Perhaps someone should mail a few thousand copies of the Summa to the Komen Foundation so they can learn some proper Thomistic principles...

Two from the Fire

Jean from Catholic Fire, as my kids would say, "rocks!" Here are two important efforts we have the opportunity to support.

First:

The ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event is scheduled to take place in the U.S.A. on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008. Participants will pray the Rosary within the same hour for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies. The Rosary may be prayed at a Catholic Church, at one's home, etc. The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is coordinating this nationwide prayer event. To learn more about this prayer event, including how to register as a participant, go here.

And second:

I am inviting all my readers, wherever you live, to join in the novena from your churches and your homes. Please encourage other Catholics to participate in this Novena. While the abortion industry is being investigated by two Grand Juries, we must pray for an end to abortion. The details are below for those in the Wichita area. However, any Catholic can join us in this Novena. The intention is "To End Abortion at Tiller's Now . . . & Abortion in Wichita Forever." It's easy: Just say the Rosary for the 9 days from March 7 to March 15th. If possible spend an hour each day praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Offer the Stations of the Cross for this intention.

Looks like it's high time to start wearing out those rosaries, folks.

Preaching to the choir

Fr. V at Adam's Ale asked whether he should be preaching on pro-life issues or if it would be a case of "preaching to the choir". My comment is below:

Simply put, you have to preach to the choir - every choir needs a director no matter how well they know the music. A well-tuned ear teaching with a single voice can bring a greater cohesion and clarity than any ad hoc collection of even the most talented and well-intentioned players.

Do most (I hope most, anyway) of us know that the pro-life issues are of critical importance? Sure. Do we have the theological background with which to create a consistent platform from which to speak? Most of us do not and even those who do should appreciate the insights a different perspective brings.

Most of all, I think, if you don't talk about it people will think it's not important. Someone once tried to tell a RCIA class I was teaching that Humanae vitae was not important because you never heard about it from the pulpit. If a catechist gets that message, think about how many others do as well.

Yes, preach to the choir. Absolutely, and without reservation. I tell you simply, even if I've heard the tune before, the beauty of Truth will always be music in my ears, bring a smile to my face and renew both the love and the determination in my heart.

As a postfix ... speak, because the next pro-life homily I hear ... will be my first.

I can't begin to tell you how much it hurts to have to write that last point. It needs to be a constant reminder to priests and seminarians that the homily is for both education and edification. Just because we know it, doesn't mean we don't need to be reminded of and reinforced in it.

There is no such thing as a throw-away homily. I know that probably seems like an unfair statement, that I expect too much from our priests. You know what? You're probably right - I do. All I really want, though, is for them to always have before them that they act in persona Christi and present to those around them a unique imago Dei whether they feel like it or not. An impossible task? By yourself, sure. That's why it's so critical for priests to remember that they do not act purely of their own capacity and grace, but that of Christ himself. Several old standby sayings come to mind here: "Let go and let God"; "Pray more, preach less" are but two of them.

Before you go away thinking I ask the impossible and expect it all to be done with no fanfare or thanks ... Remember this as well: for every person who does come or write to thank you there are ten or twenty more who simply don't have the words. And on this topic, perhaps your most grateful audience can't even speak ... yet. To all the priests out there, I offer my thanks and prayers - through your hands thousands of thousands of graces have been set free, and through your words untold lives have been saved and souls saved. For it is not you who act, but Christ who acts in you. Deo gratias...

Another example

of why the unarmed should not get into a battle of wits. While the fireworks can be pretty, it's usually a pretty bad end for the wick. Yeah, I have commentary, but why ruin the work of a master?

Varia

I've been knee-deep in paint and wallpaper all weekend, so here is a quick update of the many things that have caught my eye. But first, a solemn salute to all our veterans on this Veterans' Day. That includes my paternal grandfather (requiescat in pace) who served as a SeaBee in the Pacific theater in WWII, my maternal grandfather (requiescat in pace) who was a medic in the European theater in WWII, my uncle who served in the artillery in Vietnam and my other uncle who served in Beirut. Service has long been a hallmark of my lineage and I am honored and humbled to be a part of this line.

As for the varia:

• Diane at Te deum laudamus! has a nicely researched post pulling together some of the salient points and statements in the participatio actuosa debate. Particularly thrilling for me was the quote from Pope John Paul II's ad limina address in 1998, "The liturgy, like the Church, is intended to be hierarchical and polyphonic". To describe the Church as music - indeed, truly insightful.
• Drew at the Shrine has posted a Martyr's Love-Letter. In only a few short paragraphs it encapsulates the true depth of interpersonal love - to desire the highest and best thing, eternity with God, for the beloved.
• Bella has made it to Manchester, NH! This is quite a move from it's opening weekend where the nearest theater was in Long Island.
• Gregory Popcak excoriates Gary Wills' recent argument that abortion is not a religious issue. When someone can resonably argue your article should have started like a Brothers Grimm story, you know you're in for trouble.
  

Tags: Catholic, Liturgy, Pro-Life, Abortion, Bella

The baby that refused to die

The BBC has the full story and AmP has some commentary:

Gabriel Jones was not growing in his mother's womb so parents Rebecca and Mark of Staffordshire decided to take the medical staff's advice.

But, despite a number of operations designed to end his life, Gabriel instead began to grow.

He and brother Ieuan were successfully delivered by caesarean section.

Rebecca Jones, 35, of Lightwood, said that thinking Gabriel was going to die was the most horrendous experience she and her family had been through.

"It was a bit of a nightmare to say the least," she said.

The problems were first noticed when Rebecca went for her 20-week scan. Gabriel was found to be half the size of his brother.

"He wasn't growing and he wasn't putting on weight like babies should," she said.

"At 22 weeks I went to North Staffordshire's maternity unit with pre-eclampsia. At that point I thought we were going to lose both of them."

'Dangerous size'

Two weeks later she attended Birmingham Women's Hospital where the news was getting worse.

"Gabriel had slowed right down. He was not moving or growing and his heart had swelled to a dangerous size.

"At the end of the day I wanted both of them.

"I was carrying both of them and I wanted both of them desperately.

"But it was looking like it was not going to be."

The family realised they had to make a decision. Medical staff had explained that if things continued as they were Ieuan could also suffer.

"We had to make the decision. It was not a matter of if he died, he was going to die.

"It was a case that when he died there was a high risk that we would have lost Ieuan as well."

Opposite effect

So, at 25 weeks, on 13 February, staff at Birmingham Women's Hospital took the decision to sever Gabriel's umbilical cord to cut off his blood supply.

However, that was unsuccessful so later the twins' placenta was cut in half.

"No-one expected him to live through but it had the total opposite effect and he started to grow."

The twins were born by emergency caesarean at 31 weeks and now need no treatment at all.

The family have since raised more than £4,000 for the two maternity units.

I think AmP's final statement is the most important: "The presumption is life, not death." Contemplate that for a while as we consider the unquestioning power so often given doctors over every aspect of our lives.

Tags: Catholic, Pro-Life

Help out a pro-lifer

Via AMDG, you can help out the pro-life cause simply by voting in an online CNN poll. From the story:

Scott Southworth, the district attorney of Juneau County and a longtime
supporter of Pro-Life Wisconsin, has been nominated for an award by CNN. The voting is done online and ends Monday, November 5, 2007 at 12 p.m. ET. Vote now and show your support for a fellow pro-lifer! All votes are anonymous and do not require registration.

According to the CNN description of Southworth, "In 2003, while in Iraq, Maj. Scott Southworth volunteered at the Mother Teresa Orphanage in Baghdad. There, he befriended Ala'a, a 9-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. Two years later, Southworth arranged to bring Ala'a to the United States. In June, he was granted legal adoption and the two officially became father and son."

It looks like all of the people listed there are worthy of great attention.

Tags: Catholic, Pro-Life, Adoption

Il Papa: it is impossible to anesthetize the conscience

Well, Pope Benedict certainly has put himself squarely in the middle of a rather raging debate. Talking to an international gathering of Catholic pharmacists he told them squarely to "consider conscientious objection which is a right that must be recognized for your profession so you can avoid collaborating, directly or indirectly, in the supply of products which have clearly immoral aims, for example abortion or euthanasia." While it's a given that he has wider aims, many in the States have seen this as pointing a long finger at the recent decision by the Connecticut Bishops to allow Catholic hospitals to dispense "Plan B". Perhaps my favorite quote, however: "It is not possible to anesthetize the conscience, for example, when it comes to molecules whose aim is to stop an embryo implanting or to cut short someone's life." Indeed. Attempts to cast palls of gray do not make black change colors. CNA has more here.

The secular reactions to his rejoinder have been predictable. CWN has a host of them here. Among my favorites was Green party parliamentarian Gianpaolo Silvestri's blind-as-a-bat knee-jerk reaction, "Will we ever see the day when the papacy overcomes its fears of the female body and of women's right to self-determination?" He's quite right you know. The Pope's desire to help people avoid eternal damnation, and in the temporal sphere to avoid harming both women and men, clearly stems from a fear of the female body. Is that really the best they can do? Sheesh - it's almost not fun batting around these gnats any more. They need some new material.

Much more in-depth coverage can be had at American Papist. What with his degree work in bioethics, one would expect him to have good coverage on this, and he does not disappoint.

Tags: Catholic, Benedict, Pope, Pro-Life, Abortion, Plan B, Italy