Courting Pro-Life Voters in Missouri

ChelseaPro LifeLeave a Comment

Now that the Missouri Legislature has just wrapped up its 2008 session largely ignoring the pleas of pro-lifers to pass a bill criminalizing coerced abortions and oppose funding for life science grants, some political candidates in MO are making life issues a priority on the campaign trail.

nullYesterday, Gubernatorial Republican candidate Sarah Steelman held a press conference at a former abortion clinic in Springfield calling on Gov. Matt Blunt to hold a special session in order to pass the coerced abortion bill that didn’t go through this year. She called it her “Life is Precious Initiative” saying, “So what more urgent need to do we have in this state than to protect life? It is only complacency that would allow us not to realize this is an issue that we should act on today.” If no special session takes place, Steelman says she would make this a “top priority” in her administration.

nullOther Republican candidate for Gov., Kenny Hulshoff, was also in Springfield yesterday addressing the Pregnancy Care Center on National Avenue. Kenny also voiced support for the coerced abortions bill, but stopped short of calling for a special session which he doubts would be viable. His big message was laying out his plan to push for the creation of statewide donor banks for umbilical cord blood research in order to attract federal grants and create jobs.

nullFinally, Republican congressional candidate for the 9th district, Bob Onder, will join Democrat candidate Ken Jacob in a debate about abortion policies (Dr. Onder was the sponsor of the coerced abortion bill in the House this year). The debate will be held on June 5 at 7p.m. on the University of Missouri campus in Waters Auditorium. The debate is open to the public, doors will open at 6:40 and seating is limited.

The political season is finally upon us, folks (even though the presidential candidates have been at this for about two years now). Let the games begin!

Previous posts:
Kenny Hulshoff for Governor
Bob Onder for Congress
Exposing Coerced Abortions in Missouri
Threatening a Woman’s “Right to Choose”

Eunuchs for the Kingdom

ChelseaCelibacy, Marriage, Sex, Sexuality, VocationLeave a Comment

Hello, all! Sorry posting has been pretty light for the last few days. I do have a few works in progress. Laying on of Hands

A good friend of mine was ordained a deacon last weekend for the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri. Through this sacrament Angelo, and the two others ordained with him, pledged to live his life totally committed to serving Christ and His Church. He will be ordained a priest this December. Please keep him, his brother Matt, who is a seminarian in Rome, and all of our seminarians, priests and transitional deacons in your prayers everyday!

If we are to reclaim the truth and meaning of human sexuality, it is important to understand that most mysterious call to Christian celibacy – those men and women who have made themselves eunuchs “for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 19:12).

prostrateThis is something that our sex obsessed culture simply cannot comprehend (they don’t really understand the sacredness of the marriage covenant either, but at least married people get to have sex, right?). Far from being a denial or a rejection of one’s sexuality, the celibate vocation is a living out of the deepest meaning of human sexuality, which is union with Christ and His church. As beautiful and holy as marriage and the marital act really is, it is only a symbol, a foretaste of something greater that awaits us:

    “For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. (Eph. 5:31-32)

What is this mystery? The image used more than any other in Scripture to describe God’s love for His people is that of a bridegroom for his bride. The Song of Songs is an erotic love poem that is also an analogy of God’s love for His people, Psalm 45 is a song for a royal wedding, the Bible begins and ends with marriages – Adam and Eve in Genesis and Christ and the Church in Revelation. Through this spousal analogy we see that God’s eternal plan is to “marry” us – all of us!

I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD. (Hos. 2:19)

Marriage is a sort of rocket booster meant to shoot us into heaven. Celibates proclaim to the world that this heaven is real.

Here I am at the reception with the overjoyed future Father Bartulica:

    me and Angelo

If you are interested I also have a Flickr account with more pictures from the ordination.

For a glimpse into the lives of some of these great “eunuchs for the Kingdom” check out these blogs by priests and religious:

Bonfire of the Vanities
Fr. Joe
Orthometer
Moniales, OP ~ Dominican Nuns – one sister just celebrated her 50th anniversary
Nun Blog
And you can find so many many more here and here.

Previous posts:
Called to Serve
Pray for Priests
Fr. Korte (my spiritual director) Celebrates Silver Jubilie

Theology of the Body in Omaha

ChelseaSex, SexualityLeave a Comment

Next month Christopher West will be in Omaha NE for a TOB conference. If you are in the Omaha area and have not had the opportunity to hear this amazing teaching from John Paul II, I highly recommend attending. Even if you have heard of TOB and studied it, there is always more to learn and Christopher is most entertaining as well as informative. It will be Saturday, June 28 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. Tickets are only $35 and can be purchased online through Spirit Catholic Radio or visit the event website for other contact information.

It is an illusion to think that we can build a true culture of human life if we do not…accept and experience sexuality and love and the whole of life according to their true meaning and in their close interconnection (n. 97)

Christopher West is probably the most well known expert on JPII’s theology of the body and does an excellent job of explaining it in a way that is non threatening and very easy to understand. You can read some of West’s articles at the Catholic Education Resource Center. Topics include:

What is the Theology of the Body & Why is it Changing so Many Lives?
God, Sex, & Babies: What the Church Really Teaches about Responsible Parenthood
In-Vitro Fertilization and the Hermeneutic of the Gift
A Basic Theology of Marriage
The Theology of the Body & The New Evangelization
John Paul II’s Theology of the Body: Key to an Authentic Marital & Family Spirituality
Celibacy for the Kingdom & the Fulfillment of Human Sexuality
And an interview with Christopher West

Previous posts:
Kansas City Here I Come!
Reclaiming the Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality
Theology of the Body in KC

Fighting for Life, Again

ChelseaCulture of Death, Euthanasia, Suffering, video1 Comment

Another family feud over the life of a disabled family member, a la the Schindler-Schiavo fight 3 years ago, is taking shape in Delaware. Lauren Richardson suffered severe brain damage after a heroin overdose in 2006. She is responsive and breathing on her own, but because she must be fed through a feeding tube and is so severely handicapped, Lauren’s mother (who has custody of her) is convinced that Lauren would “not want to live like this” and should be killed by having her feeding tube removed. God bless Lauren’s father, Randy, for fighting to save his daughter’s life.

Once upon a time people with serious brain injuries were loved and cared for and received intense physical therapy, not because they could “fully recover” but because there was still functioning brain activity and hope for at least some improvement. One of the fundamental characteristics of humanity is our ability to love and care for the weak and suffering members of our society, especially within our own families. People like Lauren Richardson are not brain dead or dying and a feeding tube is not artificial life support – they are seriously disabled individuals who need only the basic human necessities to continue living.

The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through “com-passion” is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another’s suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope. (Spe Salvi, n. 38)

Previous posts:
Better off Dead?
Live Life, Love Life and Honor Terri Schiavo
Eight Years!
Love and Suffering
The Paradox of the Cross

Playing Games With Human Life

ChelseaEmbryo ExperimentationLeave a Comment

nullResearchers in NY created the first genetically modified human embryo by inserting a gene for a florescent protein:

After the embryo divided for three days, all the cells in the embryo glowed, Dr. Rosenwaks said. He said the goal of the work was to see if the fluorescent marker would carry into the daughter cells, allowing genetic changes to be traced as cells divided.

I don’t know or care what practical purpose an experiment like this could ever serve, it is disturbing to see human life treated as nothing more than an instrument of scientific experimentation.

Previous post:
It’s Just Unethical, Period

Behold the Wonder of the Female Body

ChelseaAdult Stem Cell ResearchLeave a Comment

The female body is pretty amazing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its ability to generate and sustain the life of another human being. Now it is helping advance the science of stem cell research. So far scientists have been able to find stem cells in placenta, menstrual blood and breast milk. Now two Indian researchers have discovered the presence of adult stem cells in the entire female genital tract:

[Scientists Satish] Patki and [Ramesh] Bhonde, who heads the stem cell division at NCCS, told newspersons in Kolhapur on Tuesday that they have also demonstrated that stem cells could be obtained from the female genital tract by using non-surgical methods…

Under lab conditions, the stem cells obtained from the uterus were developed into cells of kidney, liver, fat, brain and beta cells of the pancreas — which produces insulin — and the beating cells of the heart.

According to the researchers, the application of this research includes curing degenerative diseases and studying the effects of drugs.

According to them, the treatment with stem cells can increase the embryo carrying capacity of the uterus, which is helpful in infertility diseases like repeated abortions, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and for in-vitro fertilisation.

We also would not have umbilical cord blood, which has been successful in treating many human patients, were it not for the female body (not to mention the glorious act of procreation as well).

SMILE! Your Mom Chose Life!

ChelseaVocation, Women3 Comments

    The very soul of a woman is meant to be maternal.*

nullThis Mother’s Day be sure to thank your mother for, among other things, choosing to give you the gift of life – especially if you were born in or after 1973! Thanks, mom, for life! And thank all of you mothers for choosing life, love and maternity in a world which shuns all three (case in point). This includes three very dear friends of mine, two of whom are first time moms. One is due this August (see post). The other is pregnant with twins (thanks to NFP) after trying to get pregnant for three years (see her blog).

Don’t forget to thank Our Lady who, by saying yes to God’s gift of life, became the Mother of God and the Mother of Eternal Life. At the foot of the cross became our own Mother as well (Jn. 19:26-27).

Other special Mother’s Day wishes to:
Michelle Duggar, who is really embracing her call to motherhood. She is pregnant with child no. 18!

Laura Ingraham, who recently adopted a little girl, Maria Caroline, from Guatamala.

Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, who recently gave birth to fifth child, son Trig, who was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Finally, to the Dominican Nuns of Summit, New Jersey, spiritual mothers all, who keep up a very well done blog that I enjoy!

Some noteworthy “Mommy Bloggers”:
First is my own mother, Cindy, who does news blogging at Domestic Fuel
Jen at Et Tu?
Jean at Catholic Fire
Leticia at Causa Nostrae Laetitae
Marybeth at Mother May I…Be Born
and Monica, my partner in crime at Adult Stem Cell Awareness

Mary, our Mother, the Queen of all mothers, we love you! Pray for us!

*The above quote comes from The Privilege of Being a Woman by Alice von Hildebrand – an excellent book (very short) for all women!

It’s Just Unethical, Period.

ChelseaEmbryonic Stem Cell Research1 Comment

Yesterday’s hearing on stem cell research had testimony on why the federal government should/should not expand funding for embryonic stem cell research almost solely based on the promise/effectiveness of ESC research vs. adult. But that’s not the point. Human cloning and nullESC research shouldn’t be funded by the federal government because it is unethical, period! This must be our main focus in the debate about whether or not to use or fund the use embryos for scientific research!

Pointing out the ineffectiveness of using ESCs so far is important and it helps to call to mind the fact that alternative resources exist, but there is still a very real possibility that ESC research could live up to the hype surrounding it. In which case, it is not really a question of science (can this research be done), but of ethics (should it be done).

Therefore we must focus on these key points if we are going to answer this question:

    –From the start, the embryo (or zygote or blastocyst) is distinct from any cell of the mother or the father.
    –It is human in its genetic makeup.
    –It is a complete organism, though immature, and unless prevented by disease or violence, will develop into the mature stage of a human being.
    –Destroying human embryos in order to obtain stem cells for research or medical treatment is in essence killing one class of human beings to benefit others.

We’ve all heard the heartbreaking testimony of those who are desperate for cures and relief from their suffering, but hard cases and lofty goals don’t justify the use and destruction of human life, no matter how small or insignificant.

I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I am a human being and I can tell you for a fact that at one point in my life I was an embryo, and before that a blastocyst, and before that zygote. These, along with others like infant, toddler, child, teenager and adult are merely words used to define the various stages of the same human life, one whose nature (human) remains constant from the very moment of conception. Intentionally destroying life at any of these stages, no matter how noble that intention may be, greatly diminishes the value of all human life and is wrong.

Personally I would love to be able to walk again and to see the sufferings of others diminished, but, I could never accept the harvesting of another human life, no matter how small, for some small earthly comfort.

See: Life at 4 Cells Old
Previous posts:
When Technical Progress Becomes a Threat
Live Life, Love Life and Honor Terri Schiavo

House Hearing on Stem Cell Research – Updated*

ChelseaPolitics, Stem Cell Research1 Comment

Today the House Committee on Health in the Energy and Commerce (Subcommittee on Health) will be holding a hearing titled Stem Cell Science: The Foundation for Future Cures.

See the witness list.
Listen to the webcast

Sorry for the late notice…it starts at 10 am EDT (that’s in 10 min!).

h/t Citizen Link

*11:40 am (CST): The hearing went in recess for over an hour and has resumed, so you can still listen to it now.

Protest by Destruction

ChelseaAbortion, Activism, video1 Comment

Upset by a “Cemetery of the Innocents” display at the University of Wisconsin, Student Senator, Roderick King went on a cross tearing rampage arguing that women have a right to choose, but that these students had “no right” to put up the crosses.

h/t: Students for Life