Day 4 - 40 Days For Life

Intention:

Pray that we each will daily put on the full armor of God, so that we are strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Scripture:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand.

- Ephesians 6:12-13

Reflection:

I am confounded to see how the battle over the issue of life is perceived more often in churches today as political rather than spiritual. Ironically, the enemy has used this twisted perception to silence many in the body of Christ. We must see the battle for what it is and if we are to be prepared to face the spiritual enemy on the issue of abortion, we must daily "put on" the armor God has given us:


Gird your waist with Truth (vs. 14) - Commit your emotions to believe truth and to speak truth, regardless of the repercussions.
Put on the breastplate of Righteousness (vs. 14) -It will protect our hearts - the innermost springs of our beings - from all unrighteousness so evident in this fallen world.
Shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. (vs. 15) -Preparation is vital if we are to be effective in God's work.
Taking the shield of faith (vs.16) - The Accuser will instill doubt, fear, and guilt. Faith acts as an invisible shield that deflects such false accusations.
Taking the Helmet of salvation (vs.17) - A helmet protects the head, the brain and in turn our mind and thoughts. Satan hopes we will set aside divine revelation for human reasoning.
Taking the sword of the Spirit (vs.17) - The Word of God, the only offensive weapon in this armor, was used by the Lord Jesus against Satan. The living Word is powerful and effective.

Our armor is complete. We are ready to wage war, and the next verse tells us how, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit." (vs.18)

Prayer:

Dear Lord, as you lead us into the spiritual battle of abortion may we be reminded that the battle is truly Yours. We thank you for equipping us with Your armor. Lead us daily to put it on! Thank you for allowing us to serve under your command, and for hearing our requests for direction and protection. Thank you for the victory that is ours because of Your Son Jesus, amen.

Carmen Pate
Co-host, "Point of View" talk show

40 Days For Life

Stephen Lewis - UN Abortion Czar - Proud Canadian

If he hadn't already received an 'Order of Canada' , surely all the great work he's done promoting an increase of abortions worldwide, would qualify him!

LifeSiteNews:

....Lewis, the former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and a former Deputy Director of UNICEF, has long been a vociferous supporter of the creation of a “fully-resourced” women’s agency. Such an agency could change the UN and end the “suffocating patriarchy” with a new “sensibility of collaboration.” Lewis continued that this, “would not only help women but rescue the UN from some of its worst behavior.”

One audience member questioned the necessity of a new billion dollar agency. There are already several UN bodies which focus on issues affecting women, including the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). Lewis said, “Rendering little agencies is not enough. There is not enough staff, not enough resources and no mandate.” He viewed the proposed agency as the UN’s “one last chance” to advocate for women multilaterally the way UNICEF does for children with a staff and budget to match.

It was during Mr. Lewis’ stint at UNICEF that the Vatican decided to withdraw its annual symbolic donation because of mounting evidence that the agency was promoting abortion. Critics fear that a new agency would not advocate for women but for certain ideologies espoused by those in charge, particularly for a universal right to abortion....

Lewis was speaking at a forum hosted by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs . I wonder who's 'ethics' those might be?
The past several years, under the leadership of radical nihilists like Lewis, the UN has been pressuring all countries to provide open access to abortion, and to accept homosexuality as a normal lifestyle. The EU and Canada are far, far down this road already. They are especially anxious for the less developed and the under-developed (poor) countries to drastically limit their populations, as their own populations continue to dwindle and age.


Wake Up Canadians. Stop seeing as 'heroes' the very people who have despoiled the innocence of your young country. Stop sending your kids out to gather funds that support evil abroad. Stop keeping yourself so busy with leisure sports and artsy endeavors that you can pretend everything is great. Worthwhile activities no doubt, for the rich and comfortable - but you should care that you are supporting the ending of life for people in other countries.


You should care.

Catholic Carnival #213

"Speak Friend and Enter.." hosted by Sanctus Christopher has plenty to help with your Lenten meditations and devotions.

"Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other." (Saint Peter Chrysologus)

Hey Doug! #10 - Obama Is NOT A Moderate!

President Obama has been credited by Doug Kmiec, as having a desire to reduce abortions. His selection for head of the Dept. of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, Dawn Johnsen, is not the pick of a moderate.

(Johnsen)

The[woman] is constantly aware for nine months that her body is not wholly her own: the state has conscripted her body for its own ends. Thus, abortion restrictions reduce pregnant women to no more than fetal containers.

DOUG! SMELL THE COFFEE ALREADY!!


(h/t Curt Jester)

Day 3 - 40 Days For Life

Intention:

May God's people understand that the Lazarus of the 21st Century is the unborn child, and respond accordingly.

Scripture:

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire."

But Abraham replied, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."

--Luke 16:19-31

Reflection:

The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich. He went to hell because he ignored the other man. He thought that because Lazarus had less that he was worth less. He failed to recognize that Lazarus was his brother. Lazarus was waiting at the door of the rich man for scraps of food; the Lazarus of our day, the unborn child, is waiting at the door of the womb for birth itself. God does not only prohibit aborting the unborn; he prohibits ignoring them.

Prayer:

Father, I thank you for the life that I possess, and for the birth that you granted me. I hear the cries of the Lazarus of our day; I see them sitting at the door. Grant that I may never ignore them, and that through this 40 Days campaign, I may stir many others to pay attention to them as well. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

40 Days For Life

"Cool Catholics On Twitter"

Visit Fr. Roderick VonHogen, media whiz and Catholic priest in the Netherlands, for an interesting list of Catholics using the social media network 'twitter'. (Note I made the list!) Included is a list of Catholic Rockers!!

What will Catholics get up to next!

Priests At Work For Life

"Reason, Faith And The Abortion Debate" apologetic by Fr. Scott McCaig CC

"Raise Your Hand" new video by 'Priests for Life'

Fr. Frank Pavone's Youtube channel.

'Culture Of Life' Movie Awards

ZENIT:

...The awards announcement stated: "At a time when the dignity of the weakest human beings is trampled with impunity by politicians and legislators of numerous civilized countries, movies seem to emerge that run against the current, celebrating the positive value of life, even in circumstances of extreme pain."

It continued: "And these are not militant, discursive or reactionary films, nor are they directed by pro-life leaders. They are heartfelt and poignant human stories that give testimony of the simple joy of living."....

The whole list of awards is at ZENIT.


I can personally recommend these two, as I have seen them. Both of them had to be brought into Cayman by the special efforts of private individuals. (i.e. not commercially.)


"Bella" trailer

"Guadalupe" trailer

Love Conquers Pain

A moving commentary on the death of David and Samantha Cameron's son Ivan, who died suddenly after a short , challenging life is posted here by Bruce Anderson.

(David Cameron is the Leader of the Opposition in the UK.)



'Love Conquering Pain' is a Christian theme, not understood easily by non-believers, and that lack of comprehension is the reason for the British Parliaments' inability to acknowledge the supremacy of life over convenience, desire, fear, or cost.

Without Love, human life does not have any 'inherent' value, and is totally vulnerable to the whims and ambitions of politicians.

(h/t NSScott)

Obama's Concerned About Oilsands?

(h/t SDA)

Day 2 - 40 Days For Life

Intention:

May the King of the Universe, who entered this world as a helpless infant, give us the humility to be healed.

Scripture:

My power is made perfect in weakness.

--2 Corinthians 12:9

Reflection:

The great mystery of the Humility of God is very near and dear to the mission of those serving in pro life and in a special way, post abortion ministries across this nation. For those wounded by their participation in abortion, the door to healing often feels like crossing an abyss of great fear: fear of judgment, fear of being torn apart by the pain, by self hatred and rage at those who hurt and abandoned you, and manipulated you in your time of temptation. For men in particular, entering the unknown waters of emotional vulnerability, so necessary to healing calls for a different kind of courage that feels deceptively like weakness.

The door to healing is humility. It is born in the inability to no longer control the pain, to live with the consequences of that tragic decision to reject life. The hearts cries out, "I have committed a grave offense against my Creator and I am consumed by regret, grief and sorrow!"

During these forty days let us pray for all who have participated in abortion and with love call them to healing and reconciliation. With healing these women and men can become as John Paul II proclaimed in the Gospel of Life, "the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life."

Jesus proclaimed, "I am the Vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5). To bear the greatest fruit, the branches must be pruned. Each level of pruning of the vine requires a deeper level of humility so that we can abandon ourselves to His will. This is not a lofty theological concept as much as it is an earthy experience of pulling weeds, tilling rocky soil, pruning and healing the vines. "If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in my footsteps" (Matthew 16:24).

Prayer:

Lord, during these forty days, we ask that with each day of this sacred vigil, everything in us that separates us from your perfect will would be pruned from our hearts and souls. In this blessed freedom may we experience a powerful anointing of your Holy Spirit. Filled with confidence and trust may we proclaim with the mother of Jesus, "Let it be done to me, according to your Word."

Kevin Burke
Executive Director, Rachels Vineyard Ministries

40 Days For Life

Day 1 - 40 Days For Life

Intention:

That we may use these 40 Days for Life to plead for God's mercy and grace upon all those involved in the sin of abortion.

Scripture:

Blow the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly. Gather the people, notify the congregation. Assemble the elders; gather the children and the infants at the breast… Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, "Spare, O Lord, your people."

-- Joel 2:15-17

Reflection:

The toll of abortion cannot be measured. We hear estimates of almost 50 million innocent victims, but that's only one aspect of the harm that has unfolded in abortion's wake. There are also the mothers and fathers of these millions, as well as the grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins. Unborn lives destroyed. Lives of the living shattered.

It's overwhelming and depressing, but even in the midst of such unfathomable darkness, the church teaches us to have hope. Yes, it was indeed Calvary that followed Christ's 40 days in the desert, but without Calvary there would have been no Resurrection - His victory over death that opened the gates of heaven to those who believe in and follow Him.

The psalmist encourages us to go humbly before God as we seek His will: "A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me… Give me back the joy of your salvation and a willing spirit sustain in me… O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise" (Psalm 51:12, 14, 17).

We are called to be God's messengers; or as the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: "We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). That is the true message to all we encounter at the abortion centers and in our communities who have been deceived by the Culture of Death. We don't bring condemnation; we bring God's good news.

Prayer:

Lord, we ask for the strength, courage, wisdom, determination and stamina to carry out this mission according to Your will. Guide us, we pray, as we go forth and proclaim Your truth, always doing so with a spirit of love and compassion, as was demonstrated to us by Your Son, Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, amen.

David Brandao
Communications Director, 40 Days for Life

Hey Doug! #9 - "Who Do You Trust?"

Between Doug Kmiec and Pope Benedict XVI, who would be more likely to 'exaggerate' or speak carelessly? Who has a better background in ACTUAL Catholic theology? Who's life is dedicated to serving Christ and shepherding His people?

Who DO You Trust?

CCD:

....The Pepperdine University law professor suggests the pope, instead, could take "a different, less intrusive course," by "continuing to observe the difference between a jurist and a legislator."

"Few are pleased with the abortion jurisprudence as it is," argues Kmiec, but by "imposing moral duties on Catholic jurists that are incompatible with their envisioned judicial role in a democracy," Pope Benedict XVI "is hardly likely to make it better."

Edward Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its program on the Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture, questioned "whether Kmiec’s reading (of the Vatican statement) is actually a careful one."

"For starters, Kmiec assumes that the term 'jurists' is equivalent to 'judges'," Whelan explains, when actually the terms applies to "any person who possesses a degree in law."

The EPPC expert explains that "even if the statement does apply to American judges, all it says is that 'jurists' should 'work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.' Kmiec turns this into an “admonition to ‘jurists’ to undertake an activist, law-changing role. But the statement doesn’t compel that reading." ....

I think I'll go with .....the POPE!

"How To Win The Culture Wars" - Kreeft

Peter Kreeft:

To win any war, the three most necessary things to know are (1) that you are at war, (2) who your enemy is, and (3) what weapons or strategies can defeat him. You cannot win a war (1) if you simply sew peace banners on a battlefield, (2) if you fight civil wars against your allies, or (3) if you use the wrong weapons.

Here is a three point checklist for the culture wars. If you don't know that our entire civilization is in crisis, I hope you had a nice vacation on the moon....

Seriously, this is a great essay, and I encourage you to read it. Its quite a stomach full....you may not like what he's saying.... but its certainly something to think about this Lent.

And Pray.

And Sacrifice.

Note - Kreeft is not advocating 'circling the wagons' but giving ourselves body and soul to Christ FOR BATTLE!

(h/t bigbluewave)

Egan And Dolan

You can find here on 'Catholic Radio' an interview with outgoing Cardinal Egan and newly appointed Archbishop Dolan.

(h/t NCRegister Blog)

An African Perspectve on African Poverty

Scott Gilbreath:

Dead Aid, the title of the book by Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, is an obvious slap in the face of Bob Geldof, Bono, and the other jet-setting celebrities who performed at Live Aid. Her recent interview in The New York Times is headlined “The Anti-Bono”....

....Billions of dollars in government-to-government foreign aid has brought Africa no apparent benefit; indeed, Dr Moyo argues that aid has obstructed economic growth and made the poor even poorer. Asian economies have prospered with little outside financial help, while Africa has stagnated.

Dead Aid is now available in the UK. It is scheduled to be released in North America next month.

New Archbishop for New York

It has been confirmed that Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan has been appointed the new Archbishop of New York, succeeding Cardinal Edward Egan.

Archbishop Dolan has a reputation as a generator of enthusiasm and funds, and as a 'great communicator'. No doubt these skills will come in handy in New York.

You can read his recent homilies in Milwaukee here.

Meanwhile, In The EU

Czech Pres. Vaclav Klaus makes a stand for democracy:

...The present decision making system of the European Union is different from a classic parliamentary democracy, tested and proven by history. In a normal parliamentary system, part of the MPs support the government and part support the opposition. In the European parliament, this arrangement has been missing. Here, only one single alternative is being promoted and those who dare thinking about a different option are labelled as enemies of the European integration. Not so long ago, in our part of Europe we lived in a political system that permitted no alternatives and therefore also no parliamentary opposition. It was through this experience that we learned the bitter lesson that with no opposition, there is no freedom. That is why political alternatives must exist.

And not only that. The relationship between a citizen of one or another member state and a representative of the Union is not a standard relationship between a voter and a politician, representing him or her. There is also a great distance (not only in a geographical sense) between citizens and Union representatives, which is much greater than it is the case inside the member countries. This distance is often described as the democratic deficit, the loss of democratic accountability, the decision making of the unelected – but selected – ones, as bureaucratisation of decision making etc. The proposals to change the current state of affairs – included in the rejected European Constitution or in the not much different Lisbon Treaty – would make this defect even worse.

Since there is no European demos – and no European nation – this defect cannot be solved by strengthening the role of the European parliament either....

Not too many clear heads in the European Parliament. No wonder Klaus is persistently vilified and disrespected in the Parliament. He makes sense.

And What of Democracy?

This week my husband and I attended one of several public 'townhall' forums being held to discuss the draft constitution and bill of rights for the Cayman Islands. This is the draft , after several years of starts and stops, that the British gov't has decided to sign off on. (The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory.)

The CI Human Rights Committee has some problems with the draft bill of rights, the major one being that there is not an open, unlimited non-discrimination provision. (This was presented by the HRC chair, as something 'taken away', when in fact the new constitution and bill of rights goes much farther than the 1972 edition to protect 'rights' of Caymanians from gov't abuse.)

The proposed non-discrimination provision reads:

"subject to subsections (3) (4) (5) and (6), government shall not treat any person in a discriminatory manner in respect of the rights under this Part of the Constitution."

The HRC objects to the 'bolded' phrase, and would like the provision to be unqualified. (Discriminatory is defined in the document as "affording different and unjustifiable treatment to different persons on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, age, mental or physical disability, property, birth or other status.)

The forum was side-tracked by the usual (for Cayman) bogeyman of homophobia, in that the 'opposition' to the current draft, were concerned that the qualification included was in fact there solely for the purpose of protecting the Islands from being over-run by gay rights activists. For this they seemed to blame the churches, who had representaion equal to the HRC, on the negotiating team . (Something we'd never see in North America , I'm sure!) Although, the church representatives, and certainly many parishioners at the forum, have a fear and concern about this (who can blame them, considering the ridiculous things happening in Canada and Europe!), the greater concern is much more serious.

The HRC, in supporting their contention that the non-discriminatory provision should be unqualified, had several supporters
with moving personal stories of hardship that could have been alleviated by the gov't. One was a blind woman who had trouble renting because of her guide dog. Of course, since the CI proposed bill of rights is vertical, and applies only to the gov't treatment of its people, she was not a great example. Her case would only be relevant if she was denied an apartment in a gov't building. The gov't representative pointed this out, and suggested that local legislation was the answer to this kind of difficulty.

He was right. Local legislation is how a citizen has the ability to address needs in a democracy. The interesting thing was the HRC chair's response to that. She suggested that Caymanians would be better served by depending on unelected judges to sort out what the gov't owes them.

See the problem? Very few, of even the draft bill supporters, saw the problem.

The 'independent body' designated as a support for human (not just Caymanian) rights, the HRC, proposes to reduce the citizens input by handing over legislative responsibilities to the courts.

(How's that working out for you, CANADA??)

Is the HRC suggesting 'less power to the people' because the Caymanian people can't be trusted ?

And why does the Cayman media do nothing to 'enlighten' their readers? Do they also not trust the Caymanian voters?

Do the HRC, their supporters, and the media have a 'secret agenda'....?

...........................

Why is it that people who have never known any other life than that under a democratic system , have no idea when their democratic 'rights' are being siphoned off. Why don't they care?

I call it 'stealth socialism'.

I'm hoping that our haven of personal freedom, the Cayman Islands, doesn't have to suffer the degradation and repression of their society the way the once proud Canadian people have. And I say that as a Canadian.