Young women need justice, not drugs.

"Fasting detaches you from this world, prayer reattaches you to the next world"

I trust in You Jesus. 

We have been given an amazing opportunity to witness to the hope that we have been given in Jesus Christ. Our hope is in Him, not in men, not in princes.  He gives Himself completely to us in the Sacraments, and thanks be to God, we still can receive Him without fear in our country.  Hope in Jesus Christ is our anchor and He will not abandon us during this current storm, even if things get decidedly worse.  It is going to take a lot of trust on our part, and He will give us fortitude and courage to speak when we need to, take action when called for, and to stand firm in silence when necessary.

Each one of us has been born at this time for a particular reason.  In our ordinary lives, we are called to love in an extraordinary way.  There is a lot going on in our world and country, and it is very discouraging at times.  But God has not abandoned us.  We may be chastised a bit, but we trust in His Love for us and in His Divine Providence.  He gives and He takes away.  In all, is His Grace.  In this time, I can choose to become overwhelmed with the things of the world or I can choose to place all my trust in Him.  Trusting in Him does not mean complacency or ignoring what is going on around me.  There is a battle going on, and we must remain engaged.  Trusting in Him means giving myself completely to Him in relationship as His beloved daughter and knowing He will call me to action where I am needed in the battle.  The only way to remain grounded in Him right now is through prayer and fasting.  As Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said,

"Fasting detaches you from this world, prayer reattaches you to the next world."  

It takes discernment to hear what God is telling us, and with too much indulgence (non only food, but information and material goods) comes fog, but with fasting comes clarity.  May we discern where God wants us to be in this battle, equipped with all the virtues, especially the theological and cardinal:  faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

Lord, have mercy on us as we place our trust in You.  Mary, our Mother, watch over us.  I give you my will, conform it to the will of Your Son.  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.  St. Joseph, pray for us.  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.  In Your Most Holy Name, Amen.

Must Read: A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America

Archbishop Charles Chaput's newly released Heart on Fire:  Catholic Witness and the Next America is a must read!  I highly recommend reading this, regardless of your beliefs.  It is a fantastic perspective on what is happening in our American public square right now.

The best part is that it is available electronically for just 99 cents!  Find it here or here.  Download it and read it!  It is only 19 pages long.

Subsidiarity in Action

My daughter was quizzing me from a set of Brainquest cards the other day (it's nice to know I'm so good at 5th grade questions). One of the questions was something like "This organization improves conditions for employees in the workplace." And the answer on the card was "labor union".

So we had a little discussion about labor unions and how they were very important and are still, except that they have been corrupted by power and seem to have lost their mission. In addition, we discussed how labor unions actually give a great deal of money to anti Catholic organizations, such as abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. Our children know what Planned Parenthood is because they have prayed for an end to abortion in front of a local Planned Parenthood clinic as part of a local 40 Days for Life campaign. Anyway, after the discussion went back and forth for awhile, my daughter said, "Oh, I wish I wouldn't have asked that question!" Clearly, she had enough, but it was a good discussion to have with her.

Anyway, in talking to a friend (H/t Suzanne) about this, she told me about Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII's encyclical on Capital and Labor. I have it bookmarked, but have not had a chance to read it yet. She also told me about the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, which is named for Lord Acton, who said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power absolutely." The Acton Institute looks like a helpful place to sort through all the news reports regarding the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice call for a central World Bank. Many of these news reports say the Vatican is calling for this, when in actuality it is not the Vatican itself, but the Pontifical Council.

So thus, this post about subsidiarity. But as the mother of 5 young children, I cannot write as much as I would like about this subject (lucky for you, especially if you have already made it this far into this post). If you are interested in learning more, I would recommend The Acton Institute, and with all the labor disputes that seem to be occurring around the globe, it would be good to read Rerum Novarum as well.

I thought when soccer ended, there would be more time to write posts here, but, alas, it is not so. Michael has started crawling!! It looks like he may be an artist (when he is not sailing of course) as he loves paper and has a blue face this morning after finding our 3 year old's marker.

So, I leave you with the principal of subsidiarity in our house right now: "Whoever is closest to Michael is responsible for making sure there is nothing around him to put in his mouth." We are in zone defense right now, that is the only way to survive.

Coming Together with the Heart of the Church

Recently, news of Archbishop Patrick Zurek asking Fr. Frank Pavone to cease public ministry outside of the diocese of Amarillo due to financial concerns has been in the pro life and Catholic blogosphere. This post is not about Fr. Frank Pavone, but his situation is what finally gave me the courage to write it.

In speaking of this with a friend, she made a point about what happens to the priests who aren't well known who become accused?

We must not abandon our Spiritual Fathers. Yes, I do believe we must pray, always we must pray, and fast for our priests. But to put love into action requires a bit more. When a priest is accused, first, he deserves the presumption of innocence until a full investigation takes place. In this presumption of innocence, he deserves the public support of his diocese, and the Church at large. I do not mean blind support, but support with the Heart of the Church, with Mercy and Love as our foundation, always taking into account the great hurt that may have been committed against the victim.

We have recourse to our Mother Mary, who will not abandon us or any of her children who flee to her for protection. If guilt is found, we must follow Mary as our guide and still must not abandon our Spiritual Fathers. We all desperately need the Mercy of Christ. Forgiveness is a necessity for healing, even for, especially for, the victim. Justice cannot be served without repentance and forgiveness. Believe me, this is something that I have lived and know.

This past Sunday, we heard about forgiveness in the Gospel. We cannot control the response of other people, but we can our own. It is my prayer that we will come together and support our priests in a public way, with the presumption of innocence to begin, and with mercy and forgiveness always, both for the priest and the accuser. If we come together in loving support and become stronger when this happens, maybe, just maybe, some of the nonsensical false accusations will cease. If not, then those who make false accusations are only accomplishing what they mean to do and that is to tear us apart. Our mercy must also extend to those who are making false accusations; however, mercy does not mean standing by and letting a great wrong persist just to keep from offending people who are hurting. It does no good to real victims of crimes to let a false accusation stand.

For more information about falsely accused priests, visit Fr. Gordon MacRae's blog These Stone Walls. He had a wonderful post a few months ago, If Night Befalls Your Father, You Don't Discard Him. You Just Don't!

Also at Fr. MacRae's blog is commentary, including an article about priests who have been found guilty and who have been "discarded." Let us not abandon our priests ever. This does not mean condoning or accepting horrible crimes. This means living with the reality of Christ's call to repentance in our own lives, and to forgive as we have been forgiven. God's mercy is greater than all of this.

St. John Vianney, pray for us! St. Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us! St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle! Our Lady of Good Help, pray for us! Christ, have Mercy on us!

UPDATE: Read Fr. MacRae's latest post: SNAP Judgements Part II: Ground Zero of the Catholic Scandal.

Pilate's moral relativism

My husband is reading Life of Christ by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The other night he read to me the following, His Excellency's reflections of Pilate's actions after asking Jesus "What is truth?" (John 18:38):

Then he turned his back on truth- better not on it, but on Him Who is Truth. It remained to be seen that tolerance of truth and error in a stroke of broadmindedness leads to intolerance and persecution; "What is truth?" when sneered, is followed up by the second sneer, "What is justice?" Broadmindedness, when it means indifference to right and wrong, eventually ends in a hatred of what is right. He who was so tolerant of error as to deny an Absolute Truth was the one who would crucify Truth. It was the religious judge who challenged Him, "I adjure thee"; but the secular judge asked, "What is truth?" He who was in the robe of the high priest called upon God to repudiate the things that are God's; he who was in the Roman toga just professed a skepticism and doubt.

and

Pilate was one of those who believed that truth was not objective but subjective, that each man determined for himself what was to be true. It is often the fault of practical men, such as Pilate, to regard the search for objective truth as useless theorizing. Skepticism is not an intellectual position; it is a moral position, in the sense that it is determined not so much by reason as by the way one acts and behaves. Pilate's desire to save Jesus was due to a kind of liberalism which combined disbelief in Absolute Truth with a half-benevolent unwillingness to disturb such dreamers and their superstitions. Pilate asked the question, "What is truth?" of the only Person in the world Who could answer it in all its fullness.

We are Here Because We Care

Praise God for courageous and caring people standing for women and their unborn children in Germantown, MD against notorious late term abortionist Leroy Carhart. This show of suppport and prayer has been primarily organized and promoted by 17-year old Jamie Morrison. Praise God! Lord, let these women know, let their hearts KNOW that they are cared for and loved and that they do have a choice, they can choose life. Dispel their fear and protect them and their unborn children from evil. Let these people witness to Your Love for them. In Your Holy Name, AMEN!!!





HT Eric Sammons at The Divine Life

Do You Know Dr. Mildred Jefferson?

I did not until today. Go visit toomanyaborted.com to find out about Dr. Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School who died last October. Here is a beautiful quote from Dr. Jefferson:

"I became a physician in order to help save lives. I am at once a physician, a citizen, and a woman, and I am not willing to stand aside and allow the concept of expendable human lives to turn this great land of ours into just another exclusive reservation where only the perfect, the privileged, and the planned have the right to live.” –Mildred Jefferson, M.D. (2003, American Feminist magazine)

Thank you for your courage Dr. Jefferson. May God inspire us to speak up for women and their unborn children in the face of the culture of death.