St. Paul in his epistles famously used the metaphor of a footrace to describe the Christian life of virtue. If we stay with it, we will be embraced by our Lord who will exclaim, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
The rain makes it difficult to stand. The cold makes it unbearable. The fact that we have to park elsewhere only adds to the inconvenience. On top of it all, we have hecklers sharing the sidewalk with us.
It has always been this way for Christians truly willing to walk with Jesus to Calvary. He told us it would be so, and so it is. Yet, consider what may result from your commitment to fasting & prayer: a mother, walking into 320, might change her mind and walk back out again; a passerby might see you praying and ponder anew their commitment to life; a person who never knew that abortions take place in this city might decide to get involved in the pro-life movement.
Consider what might take place inside of you (other than a growling stomachache). You will be able to walk away from this knowing that you did not leave these children abandoned. You did not let their death go unnoticed. You were with them, prayerfully with them, as they were carried by an angel to the throne of God.
And when that day, Lord willing, comes when you stand before the throne-- God will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" and peeking from behind the throne will be a child who knew your love, the love you felt in your heart, the heart that was present at 320 on the day they died.
Dear reader, don't give up. What we do, we do for love of Jesus and love of a child, a friend we hope to meet one remarkable day. I'll race you there...
October 15, 2009
October 13, 2009
"This movement is about LOVE."
-Rick Santorum, speaking about the pro-life movement at last night's dinner
My sentiments exactly!
My sentiments exactly!
October 12, 2009
Loving ALL Creation
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother's womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
-Psalm 139
Kay Bolinger, who coordinated last year's vigil, is offering bumper stickers that read: "We can save the whales...but we're killing unborn babies?" It drives home the point that care for all the wonders of creation necessarily includes our children. Care for the earth is vital, but so are human rights.
Every single day, we trample upon the human rights of those some consider undesirable. Our society lavishes more love upon puppies and kittens than their own flesh and blood. We spend small fortunes on veterinary care while children end up in the local waste treatment plant because caring for them would have been too great a financial burden. We decry the presence of mercury in our drinking water while something more detrimental to our health and civility is contaminating our soil.
Let us restore our ecological balance. Let's make care for creation a priority, and let's start by caring for the least among us, our children, the most precious natural resource in our land.
knit me together in my mother's womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
-Psalm 139
Kay Bolinger, who coordinated last year's vigil, is offering bumper stickers that read: "We can save the whales...but we're killing unborn babies?" It drives home the point that care for all the wonders of creation necessarily includes our children. Care for the earth is vital, but so are human rights.
Every single day, we trample upon the human rights of those some consider undesirable. Our society lavishes more love upon puppies and kittens than their own flesh and blood. We spend small fortunes on veterinary care while children end up in the local waste treatment plant because caring for them would have been too great a financial burden. We decry the presence of mercury in our drinking water while something more detrimental to our health and civility is contaminating our soil.
Let us restore our ecological balance. Let's make care for creation a priority, and let's start by caring for the least among us, our children, the most precious natural resource in our land.
October 09, 2009
A reflection from Bettie
Revelation 3:20 I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Lord, you have the power, the mercy and the justice that can convict any of us, if we would but open the door to you. We pray that these two abortionists [at 320 and on Eastern] will have ears to hear You knocking, and the will to let You come into their hearts. And may our hearts be humbled to receive You as the focus of our lives. That we let You burn away any chafe that keeps us from Your love and the love You have for those You have created in Your image. Help us to love as You love, with compassion and mercy, with acceptance and unconditionally. Help us to understand the hurt and misery that have brought both the women and the doctors to this point in their lives.
From Catholic Exchange: Chuck Colson, "Loving the Unlovely":
Whether or not we get to see the results, this is the kind of approach through which God can turn the ugliest life into something beautiful.
Lord, you have the power, the mercy and the justice that can convict any of us, if we would but open the door to you. We pray that these two abortionists [at 320 and on Eastern] will have ears to hear You knocking, and the will to let You come into their hearts. And may our hearts be humbled to receive You as the focus of our lives. That we let You burn away any chafe that keeps us from Your love and the love You have for those You have created in Your image. Help us to love as You love, with compassion and mercy, with acceptance and unconditionally. Help us to understand the hurt and misery that have brought both the women and the doctors to this point in their lives.
From Catholic Exchange: Chuck Colson, "Loving the Unlovely":
“Who can save a child from a burning house without taking the risk of being hurt by the flames?….Who can take away suffering without entering it?” --Henri Nouwen
You can't just show up with a few Scripture quotes and pep talks and make things all better. It takes enormous amounts of time, patience, and trust in God, and a willingness to invest oneself fully, in order to let Him do His greatest work through us.
Whether or not we get to see the results, this is the kind of approach through which God can turn the ugliest life into something beautiful.
October 07, 2009
Peaceful
St. Teresa of Avila, who wrote extensively about mystical union with Christ, penned this prayer, which was found posthumusly in the marginalia of her diaries:
Let nothing disturb you;
let nothing frighten you.
All things pass;
God is unchanging.
Patience obtains all.
Whoever has God
wants nothing else;
God alone suffices.
It's almost a mantra: "God alone suffices," or as St. Ignatius prayed, "Give me only your love and your grace, for that is sufficient for me."
Let's then consider the Lord's Prayer, pared down to its basic predicates: "Give us bread, forgive our sin, and Lead us."
In all these prayers, there is a sort of resignation of the will. An acquiescence. "Okay, God," we seem to say, "thy will be done."
Hence our total peace. It's liberating to simply give over to God, in whose hands we have all we could ever possibly want or need. It's calming to know that the Almighty has it covered, that we are forgiven.
We can forget that sometimes in our eagerness to bring about the Kingdom. We want to impress, we want to get 'x' amount of things crossed off our list before we die. We don't always behave as though God has held up His end of the bargain.Yet, remaining ever transcendent, ever immanent, God our Father is saying, "Just be with me, as I am with you. I love you!"
This gift of presence is all God really desires of us, what will sufice. Present presence. Peaceful presence. Present and full of peace. God's peace.
Lead us Lord, ever more deeply into your peace, a peace the world cannot give~
Let nothing disturb you;
let nothing frighten you.
All things pass;
God is unchanging.
Patience obtains all.
Whoever has God
wants nothing else;
God alone suffices.
It's almost a mantra: "God alone suffices," or as St. Ignatius prayed, "Give me only your love and your grace, for that is sufficient for me."
Let's then consider the Lord's Prayer, pared down to its basic predicates: "Give us bread, forgive our sin, and Lead us."
In all these prayers, there is a sort of resignation of the will. An acquiescence. "Okay, God," we seem to say, "thy will be done."
Hence our total peace. It's liberating to simply give over to God, in whose hands we have all we could ever possibly want or need. It's calming to know that the Almighty has it covered, that we are forgiven.
We can forget that sometimes in our eagerness to bring about the Kingdom. We want to impress, we want to get 'x' amount of things crossed off our list before we die. We don't always behave as though God has held up His end of the bargain.Yet, remaining ever transcendent, ever immanent, God our Father is saying, "Just be with me, as I am with you. I love you!"
This gift of presence is all God really desires of us, what will sufice. Present presence. Peaceful presence. Present and full of peace. God's peace.
Lead us Lord, ever more deeply into your peace, a peace the world cannot give~
October 05, 2009
"Be thankful."
--Col 3:15b
[you really should read the whole chapter]
My mother celebrates six decades today, the day that was also my due date. Her mother chose life, and then my mother chose life. My wife is choosing life for her grandchild.
What else can I do but be thankful this day?
Abortion seems to stem most of all from a lack of gratitude. We are only here by the gratuity of God. All that has been provided for us, be it meagre or excessive, has been provided to meet the needs of all; thus it remains sufficient. To claim insufficiency is to render oneself poor, very spiritually poor. Yet a proclamation of gratitude yields such abundant blessings...
Nothing could be more empty of gratitude than abortion.
We are called to gratuity. To give freely, joyfully, excessively, without reservation. In this we will most resemble Christ, who is still giving daily- this very moment in fact. We are called to be gratuitous in our love of others, especially those who seek calumny against us.
I believe that we are doing this at 320. Ultimately, the staff there will not answer to us. But when we answer to God, we will be able to declare righteously that we loved every single person inside that building and prayed for each of them. Let us be grateful for their life, and pray for the conversion of every heart towards the One who loves us all into being.
Happy Birthday, Mom. Thank you for loving me gratuitously.
[you really should read the whole chapter]
My mother celebrates six decades today, the day that was also my due date. Her mother chose life, and then my mother chose life. My wife is choosing life for her grandchild.
What else can I do but be thankful this day?
Abortion seems to stem most of all from a lack of gratitude. We are only here by the gratuity of God. All that has been provided for us, be it meagre or excessive, has been provided to meet the needs of all; thus it remains sufficient. To claim insufficiency is to render oneself poor, very spiritually poor. Yet a proclamation of gratitude yields such abundant blessings...
Nothing could be more empty of gratitude than abortion.
We are called to gratuity. To give freely, joyfully, excessively, without reservation. In this we will most resemble Christ, who is still giving daily- this very moment in fact. We are called to be gratuitous in our love of others, especially those who seek calumny against us.
I believe that we are doing this at 320. Ultimately, the staff there will not answer to us. But when we answer to God, we will be able to declare righteously that we loved every single person inside that building and prayed for each of them. Let us be grateful for their life, and pray for the conversion of every heart towards the One who loves us all into being.
Happy Birthday, Mom. Thank you for loving me gratuitously.
October 02, 2009
Guardians dear
Every one of us has an angel watching over us.
So, when a mother enters 320, there are three angels present: her angel, her child's angel, and the doctor's angel. You can imagine how hard the latter one is working!
Let us entrust each child that perishes to their guardian angel, who will carry them up to the throne of an Almighty and Loving Father. With the Prince of Peace at His right hand, God will rejoice at the reflection of His own dear Son in this wee child. Then we pray that this Father, Just and Merciful, will send His Holy Spirit upon the mother and the doctor, that their angels might guard them from the evil of complacent denial.
May all our hearts be guarded from complacency and denial!
Dear reader, I pray this prayer for you too:
Angel of God, my Guardian dear,
to whom God's love commits me here:
ever this day, be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
+Amen+
So, when a mother enters 320, there are three angels present: her angel, her child's angel, and the doctor's angel. You can imagine how hard the latter one is working!
Let us entrust each child that perishes to their guardian angel, who will carry them up to the throne of an Almighty and Loving Father. With the Prince of Peace at His right hand, God will rejoice at the reflection of His own dear Son in this wee child. Then we pray that this Father, Just and Merciful, will send His Holy Spirit upon the mother and the doctor, that their angels might guard them from the evil of complacent denial.
May all our hearts be guarded from complacency and denial!
Dear reader, I pray this prayer for you too:
Angel of God, my Guardian dear,
to whom God's love commits me here:
ever this day, be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
+Amen+
October 01, 2009
O Captain my Captain!
Bettie shares the following reflection, written by Anthony Esolen, reprinted from Magnificat:
---------------------------------------
from the poem The Soldier by Gerard Manley Hopkins:
Mark Christ our King. He knows war, served
This soldiering through;
He of all can reeve a rope best.
Hopkins is thinking of the battle of the passion, when Jesus did not simply, passively, agree to die, but crushed in his unshakeable grip the throat of all-devouring Death and led from the grave the souls of the just. Christ’s is the rope that does not break. He reeves it through the rings and hoists the sail. He is our deliverance, who alone fights to the last… For Christ searches not for whose cuffs are in order, but whose knuckles are white with hard work, perhaps the work of praying the rosary as if all the words meant life and death in our storms of trouble, with the enemy near. Christ looks for his faithful soldiers, men and women, old and young; and, Hopkins says, he looks out for the man in uniform especially:
There he bides in bliss
Now, and seeing somewhere some man do
All that man can do,
For love he leans forth, needs his neck must fall on, kiss,
And cry ‘O Christ-done deed! So God-made flesh
Does too:
Were I come o’er again’, cries Christ, ‘it should be this.’
Have we done all that man can do? Suffered, as Mary, and not lost heart? May our Captain one day say of us, as to the fallen at Lepanto, “Had I come again in flesh, I would have done as you have done. For it was I who fought with you.”
Anthony Esolen is a professor of English at Providence College and a senior editor of Touchstone Magazine. He is the translator and editor of Dante’s Divine Comedy and the author of Ironies of Faith.
--------------------------------------
As we stand sentinel in front of 320, we must remember we are not fighting this fight ourselves. We are just foot soldiers in Christ’s army. He is our Captain. The battle has already been won, we know the outcome. We just need to be faithful and model Jesus. He will and does make all things new.
O, good Jesus, hear me, Within Your wounds hide me, that I may never be separated from You!
---------------------------------------
from the poem The Soldier by Gerard Manley Hopkins:
Mark Christ our King. He knows war, served
This soldiering through;
He of all can reeve a rope best.
Hopkins is thinking of the battle of the passion, when Jesus did not simply, passively, agree to die, but crushed in his unshakeable grip the throat of all-devouring Death and led from the grave the souls of the just. Christ’s is the rope that does not break. He reeves it through the rings and hoists the sail. He is our deliverance, who alone fights to the last… For Christ searches not for whose cuffs are in order, but whose knuckles are white with hard work, perhaps the work of praying the rosary as if all the words meant life and death in our storms of trouble, with the enemy near. Christ looks for his faithful soldiers, men and women, old and young; and, Hopkins says, he looks out for the man in uniform especially:
There he bides in bliss
Now, and seeing somewhere some man do
All that man can do,
For love he leans forth, needs his neck must fall on, kiss,
And cry ‘O Christ-done deed! So God-made flesh
Does too:
Were I come o’er again’, cries Christ, ‘it should be this.’
Have we done all that man can do? Suffered, as Mary, and not lost heart? May our Captain one day say of us, as to the fallen at Lepanto, “Had I come again in flesh, I would have done as you have done. For it was I who fought with you.”
Anthony Esolen is a professor of English at Providence College and a senior editor of Touchstone Magazine. He is the translator and editor of Dante’s Divine Comedy and the author of Ironies of Faith.
--------------------------------------
As we stand sentinel in front of 320, we must remember we are not fighting this fight ourselves. We are just foot soldiers in Christ’s army. He is our Captain. The battle has already been won, we know the outcome. We just need to be faithful and model Jesus. He will and does make all things new.
O, good Jesus, hear me, Within Your wounds hide me, that I may never be separated from You!
September 29, 2009
Archangel Allies
1 "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.
2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
3 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.
--from the 12th Chapter of the Book of the Prophet Daniel
Today I am celebrating that powerful trio of messengers known as Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
Raphael was sent to bring healing in the Book of Tobit. Where do we need more healing than at 320?
Gabriel announced that Mary would conceive and bring forth a child. Gabriel is trying to bring that good news to each mother who enters 320, if only they would listen.
Michael battles Satan in the ongoing war for souls. It may look like Satan's winning on Fulton Street, but those of us who pray at 320 know otherwise.
Let us send a message to our foe. You will find in the box excessive amounts of prayer cards with the following prayer on it:
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do, thou, O prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Let us be like the stars forever as we stride towards victory! Let us shine in the bright firmament!
2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.
3 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.
--from the 12th Chapter of the Book of the Prophet Daniel
Today I am celebrating that powerful trio of messengers known as Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
Raphael was sent to bring healing in the Book of Tobit. Where do we need more healing than at 320?
Gabriel announced that Mary would conceive and bring forth a child. Gabriel is trying to bring that good news to each mother who enters 320, if only they would listen.
Michael battles Satan in the ongoing war for souls. It may look like Satan's winning on Fulton Street, but those of us who pray at 320 know otherwise.
Let us send a message to our foe. You will find in the box excessive amounts of prayer cards with the following prayer on it:
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do, thou, O prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Let us be like the stars forever as we stride towards victory! Let us shine in the bright firmament!
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