This priest is great:
True love calls for total self donation.
“Man…cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” Gaudium et Spes, 24
Find more videos like this at the Our Father’s Will Communications YouTube channel.
Say Hello to My Little Friend
Meet Crash:
On this nine year anniversary of my car accident I thought I’d introduce you to one of the wonderful things that happened as a result of my injury. A few months before my accident my neighbor’s dog gave birth to a litter of Maltese puppies (I want to say that was some time in September). A few weeks later they brought over one of those little white balls of fluff and I was instantly in love. I tried to convince my mother to let my boyfriend buy one for me but she refused. We had two cats inside and another dog outside and that was enough as far as she was concerned. Besides I think she had a feeling that she would be the one taking care of this dog, no matter how bad I wanted it. As the weeks went by I never stopped loving those puppies who were slowly finding themselves new owners.
My accident was a almost 10 days before Christmas and my neighbors had one puppy left. The kids in the family decided that they wanted to give me that last puppy as a Christmas present…if it was ok with mom, that is. Of course she said yes and a few days before Christmas “Christopher” was delivered to my hospital room. I didn’t much care for the name Christopher so we quickly tried to come up with a new name for him. Sticking with the letter C, my boyfriend at the time decided that since the only reason I got this dog was because of my car accident we should call him “Crash.” It was perfect (and yes, I love the awkward reaction I get from people when they ask why we named him that). I never was a dog person before, but Crash became an immediate best friend and now I don’t know how I ever lived without him (or how I will in the future). It’s a curious thing, the bond that can exist between animals and humans.
Enjoy some pictures of Crash over the last nine years. You wouldn’t know it from these pictures, but as of a few years ago he is terrified of the camera and runs away as soon as we take it out. Luckily we got some good ones before that happened:
Protectress of the Unborn
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is the Protectress of the Unborn and Mother of the Americas.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, we turn to you who are the protectress of unborn children and ask that you intercede for us, so that we may more firmly resolve to join you in protecting all human life. Let our prayers be united to your perpetual motherly intercession on behalf of those whose lives are threatened, be they in the womb of their mother, on the bed of infirmity, or in the latter years of their life. May our prayers also be coupled with peaceful action which witnesses to the goodness and dignity of all human life, so that our firmness of purpose may give courage to those who are fearful and bring light to those who are blinded by sin.
(from a prayer said at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on January 22, 1999)
- Prayer for Victims of Abortion
Holy Mother of God and of the Church, our Lady of Guadalupe, you were chosen by the Father for the Son through the Holy Spirit.
You are the Woman clothed with the sun who labors to give birth to Christ while Satan, the Red Dragon, waits to voraciously devour your child.
O Help of Christians, we beg you to protect all mothers of the unborn and the children within their wombs. We plead with you for your help to end the holocaust of abortion. Melt hearts so that life may be revered!
Holy Mother, we pray to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart for all mothers and all unborn children that they may have life here on earth and by the most Precious Blood shed by your Son that they may have eternal life with Him in heaven. We also pray to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart for all abortionists and all abortion supporters that they may be converted and accept your Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior. Defend all of your children in the battle against Satan and all of the evil spirits in this present darkness.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, hear our pleas and accept this cry from our hearts!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Protectress of the Unborn, Pray for us!
Suicide for Everyone – On Demand!
God love Wesley Smith for keeping up with our suicide obsessed world these days. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it…I guess. It’s getting a little ridiculous. A few highlights, though not particularly high, in no particular order:
–British TV aired a documentary on one man’s journey to Switzerland for an assisted suicide. The doc apparently included video footage of his death.
–A Montana judge ruled in favor of doctor assisted suicide making it the third suicide-friendly State in the U.S. See also: Montana Assisted Suicide Decision Reads Very Much Like Right to Death on Demand, Montana Court Ruling on Assisted Suicide: Sweet Mystery of Life at Last I’ve Found You or Coup d’ Culture? and this little gem: Montana Assisted Suicide Advocate Made Up Quote by Plaintiff. Ironically, the man who brought on this case, the terminally ill Robert Baxter, died the day of the court ruling.
—Assisted Suicide Advocates Don’t Really Want Meaningful “Safeguards”. Just as a good many of the abortion supporters want abortion available and legal for everyone without restrictions of any kind (i.e. a 24 hr. waiting period), assisted suicide advocates are looking for the same kind of unfettered access to suicide services. Compassion and Choices lawyer Kathryn Tucker, who was instrumental in helping to establish a right to assisted suicide in OR, praised the “less restrictive” Montana court ruling and called restrictions like Oregon’s 15 day waiting period for patients seeking an assisted suicide “unduly burdensome.”
–A Scottish Parliment member has introduced a bill to give children 12 years of age and younger the “right” to assisted suicide. The bill would also not limit legal suicide help to those who are terminally ill, but for “patients who unexpectedly became incapacitated to an ‘intolerable’ degree, or who simply find their life ‘intolerable.'”
–And finally: A non-terminal elderly man was killed at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. Despite being a cancer survivor and having no terminal illness, 90 year old “Chris” had been plotting his death for two years because of his “deteriorating health,” otherwise known as old age.
What these stories suggest is that sanctity of life advocates are not far off when we talk about the slippery slopes that exist when killing is accepted in certain circumstances to relieve human suffering. As assisted suicide advocate and well respected British philosopher Lady Warnock acknowledges, “Once that principle is accepted it is irrational to confine it to those who are terminally ill.” It is her opinion that anyone who is suffering terribly or feels they are a burden to their family, or the state, should have the right to ask others to help them kill themselves, or even do it on their behalf. In the end that’s just what we’ll get if we continue on this path of radical individualism and misguided compassion with a utilitarian view of human life.
Safe and Legal…Heroin???
I could not believe my eyes when I read this story. I used this exact scenario once as a hypothetical against the “abortion is so much better when it’s ‘safe and legal'” argument. I never dreamed that it would actually happen one day:
GENEVA (AP) – Dr. Daniele Zullino keeps glass bottles full of white powder in a safe in a locked room of his office.
Patients show up each day to receive their treatment in small doses handed through a small window.
Then they gather around a table to shoot up, part of a pioneering Swiss program to curb drug abuse by providing addicts a clean, safe place to take heroin produced by a government-approved laboratory…
Swiss voters are expected to make the system permanent Sunday in a referendum prompted by a challenge from conservatives.
h/t Wesley Smith
According to the story this program has been credited with “reducing crime and improving the health and daily lives of addicts.” Meanwhile, they’re still addicted to heroin! Brilliant.
Selfishness Fuels the Culture of Death
In a column yesterday, pro-life attorney, Ken Connor, commented on the recent trampling death of a WalMart employee the day after Thanksgiving, relating it to the story of the teenager who committed suicide in front of a live web audience and the 1964 stabbing death of Catherine Genovese in front of witnesses who refused to help because they were “too tired” among other things:
There is a common thread that runs through this 1964 case of willful abandonment, the sordid online suicide, and the Walmart trampling: these tragedies occurred because individuals were looking out for their own interests rather than that of their fellow man. Their actions led to the deaths of their neighbors, and for what? A couple of hours of “fun” online voyeurism? A little extra sleep? $50 off of a TV?
How did we get to this point in “the home of the brave”? Why do so many Americans exhibit so little concern for their neighbor?
Doubtless, there are many causes, but prominent among them is our willingness to sacrifice core principles of human dignity on the altar of convenience.
We live in a culture that is so self-centered that we are no longer expected to deal with the “inconvenience” of an unwanted baby.
Nor can we be bothered to care for our aging parents. Just stick them in a nursing home at government expense and forget about them—or better yet, encourage them to take the “dignified” way out.
We selfishly maintain that our “progress” must continue through “scientific research” free of ethical restraints, notwithstanding that such “progress” kills or debases nascent human life. Our convenience, our comfort, our self-centeredness trumps the value of someone else’s life.
Mother Teresa well understood the destructive impact of radical selfishness.
Regarding abortion she declared, “[I]f we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? … Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of peace and love is abortion.”
Mother Teresa rightly understood that when one form of killing is accepted on the basis of personal convenience, other forms of violence will inevitably follow.
An underlying cause of the culture of death is a selfish unwillingness to suffer, to the extent that we literally accept killing – either of ourselves or others – as an alternative. That is why I have said a number of times on this blog that a culture of life must have a joyful acceptance of human suffering. Not just physical suffering due to illness or injury, but suffering other inconveniences as well – the surprise of an unplanned pregnancy, caring for a sick family member, putting up with an obnoxious co-worker, etc… Let us learn how to daily die to ourselves, trust in the Lord and become true gifts of self to one another.
Margaret Sanger, One of the “Women of Our Time”
American Life League reports on Margaret Sanger, who is being honored in the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery’s Women of our Time exhibit:
Pro-Life Blog Awards
American Life League announced today that they will sponsor the Pro-Life Blog Awards. Categories will include:
Best News and Reporting
Pro-Life Unity Award
Pro-Life Whistleblower Award
Best Pro-Life Apologetics
Pro-Life Instigator Award for Activism
The winners of Best Overall, Best News and Pro-Life Unity will each receive a free two night stay at the Liaison Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. for the March for Life and ALL Personhood Conference Jan. 21-23. It’s not totally up and running just yet, but keep an eye on their website (http://prolifeblogawards.com/) for further details on how to sign up.
Richardson Family Reconciles to Care for Lauren!
I forgot to post this great news when it came out a few weeks ago! Lauren Richardson’s mother, Edith Towers, has withdrawn her request to have her disabled daughter’s feeding tube removed. Lauren suffered a serious brain injury after a heroin overdose in 2006. Towers had a change of heart after Lauren began to cry when she was with her one day and she realized that her daughter had much more brain activity than she previously thought:
“She sobbed, and sobbed … heavy from the chest,” Towers said. “I held her and told her it would be OK. ‘It’s all going to be OK. You won’t be left alone here anymore.’ “
Now, Towers will share custody of Lauren with her ex-husband, Randy Richardson, who has been fighting against the removal of Lauren’s feeding tube, and together they will continue to give Lauren the proper care and therapy that she deserves. This is truly a happy ending to this tragic situation.
Previous posts:
Fighting for Life, Again
Still Fighting for Life in Delaware
Speaking of end of life issues, student comments are still coming in over at Daniel James Needed Help to Live.
Bioethics Students Weigh in on Daniel James’ Assisted Suicide
A few weeks ago a bioethics teacher at Foothill Technology High School contacted me saying that they have been reading my blog at length in class and wondered if he could have his students respond to my post about Daniel James – the UK rugby player whose parents took him to Switzerland for an assisted suicide.
I submitted to being the subject of the class assignment and now the reports are coming in. They’re not exactly what I was expecting.
Though I mentioned my faith at the end of the post, I was surprised to see that some of the kids so far have put more of a focus on the existence of God than on ethics and human dignity.
So, if anyone is interested in teenage insights into God, life and suicide, visit my post: Daniel James Needed Help to Live!. I think most, if not all, of the kids are 17/18. There are 4 up now. I’m told that there are 36 students in the class, so many more should be coming in the next couple of days.
I’d be lying if I said that the relativism that appears to exist in the minds of some of these young people wasn’t at least a little troubling to me. Hopefully they are really on a quest for the truth and not merely their own personal ideals and opinions.