One of the major themes of the Gospel is mercy. The evangelists record how Jesus demonstrated mercy by the way that He treated sinners. Jesus received sinners, sought sinners, and spent time with sinners.
For instance, as Luke records (5:27-32), after Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector to be His disciple, Matthew throws a party and invites all of his friends who are sinners and tax collectors. Jesus is the honored guest of Matthew and his friends, and this does not sit well with the religious leaders. They want to know why Jesus is eating and drinking with this type of company. (The Pharisees do not ask Jesus directly, but murmured to His disciples probably to cause division in the ranks.) Jesus knowing what has happened, replies that He has come "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (5:32).
Our Lord's behavior was in sharp contrast to many of the religious leaders of first-century Palestine. They practiced what might be termed a pursuit of holiness by remaining separate. (The name Pharisee is an Aramaic derivative of the Hebrew word for holy, and it means separated or holy ones.) The Pharisees wanted to reform religious practice in Israel. They sought to do so by strictly following their understanding of the Mosaic Law. In particular, they practiced religion by separating themselves from all that was unclean. The Mosaic Law had denoted what would make someone ritually impure, and the Pharisees took it to an extreme.
Because of this perspective, they had difficulty in understanding how Jesus could be considered a legitimate prophet. In the case of Matthew, he was a tax collector who would have had contact with Gentiles because he collected taxes for the Romans. This would be a serious problem for the Pharisees because the Romans were not only Gentiles, but they were the occupiers of the Promised Land. This made Matthew a traitor in their eyes. In addition, the tax systems was structured in such a way that abuse was rampant.
Perhaps Matthew was guilty of stealing under the guise of collecting taxes, but the point of Jesus' words are that sinners are being called to repentance. Our Lord had called Matthew, as He call all of us sinners, to repent of our sins and to follow Him. The religious leaders do not recognize God's mercy. By failing to see Jesus' mercy they also fail to see how our Lord was calling them to true holiness because He calls us to be merciful as part of our pursuit of holiness.
This is mentioned directly by our Lord in the Sermon on the Plain which St. Luke records in chapter six of his Gospel. In the part that would have deeply challenged his listeners, even as it challenges every generation, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. This was a difficult command for people who were brutally oppressed by their enemy the Romans, yet Jesus does not make any exceptions or soften the command. Instead, He explains why we should love our enemies by saying, "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" (6:36). This reason is directly linked to our pursuit of holiness because in saying this Jesus alludes to Leviticus 19:2, "You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy." He deepens our understanding of holiness to move beyond the partial understanding of holiness as being separate to actively loving even our enemies through mercy.
Of course, we should always understand this for ourselves because God sought us when we were yet enemies of Him (Romans 5:10). We really cannot come to Him because we are like the man who was robbed and beaten and left for dead (Luke 10:25-37). We need Jesus, our good Samaritan, to come to us to bring us healing. He picks us up, puts us on His donkey, and takes us to the inn where we can recover. Finally, he pays for all of our expenses. This is mercy. And for our God, this is true holiness. And this what we are to practice in order to follow Him.
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9:34 PM
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In the second chapter of the Gospel of John, St. John has recorded the miracle Jesus performed when He changed water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. The miracle was performed by our Lord at the request of His mother.
After Mary commented to Jesus that they have no more wine, our Lord responded in a way that might seem curious to us, "Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come" (2:4, DRV). I did not really understand His response, although I had heard a number of people comment on it, until I read Bishop Sheen's description of this incident in his book,
Life of Christ.
Bishop Sheen makes the point that this miracle is the first step in the beginning of the end because it marks Jesus for His crucifixion. By performing a miracle, Jesus will have begun His public ministry in earnest, and people will begin to know Him for His mighty deeds. It is this popularity which will lead to the conflicts with the religious leaders. In God's providence, the jealousy and fear of the religious leaders which incites them to have Jesus put to death provides the setting for Jesus' laying down of His life. This miracle will be the first step in Jesus' public ministry which will end at the cross.
The response of our Lord to our Lady's request is in a sense asking if she is willing to give her fiat again because this time it means saying yes to suffering that He and she, as His mother and the person who best understands Him, will undergo.
Mary's response has been termed by Sr. Lucia of Fatima as Mary's commandment. She says, "Do whatever He tells you." In other words, our Lady again gives her fiat to the will of God, and she turns to the servants and us, to exhort us to do whatever Jesus tells us to do. She wants us to fully participate in the humble submission and obedience which she models for us.
This commandment of Mary's is one on which we could meditate for some time. It expresses that total devotion to Christ that comes from a heart submitted to Him. It shows how our Lady always points us to Christ. It is as if she looks out at us, directly into our eyes from the pages of Scripture in order that we might understand the essence of discipleship which is to obey the One Who loves us. Her implicit trust in Jesus should encourage us to let go of our fears and worries in order to follow Him more closely than we have to this point.
Posted by David at
9:18 PM
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Happy Birthday, John Paul II!
Thanks be to God that He has given us John Paul II as our Holy Father for these past twenty-five and half years. He has been a bulwark of strength throughout his pontificate. In God's beautiful providence, when the Church has needed a strong Vicar of Christ, perhaps more so than any time in the past several centuries, He gave us John Paul II.
On his birthday, I am reminded of how his life has impacted mine. Most importantly, I think of how he had a hand in my conversion to Catholicism. Through his holiness of life, fidelity to the Faith, and personal witness, he embodied the Rock upon which Christ founded His Church. His ministry of presence by his travels and the personalism with which he shares the Gospel drew me closer to the Church which Christ founded.
It is often said that all conversions to Catholicism turn on whether one accepts the authority of the Catholic Church especially as it is manifest in the Vicar of Christ. It is no wonder that many are coming into the Church given how this Pope has embodied the position of Supreme Pontiff. During every journey to Rome, one must realize that the authority upon which you used to rely is no longer tenable. In my case, after I saw that sola scriptura was a foundation of sand, it is with tremendous relief that I realized that the Rock upon which Christ built His Church is still firmly founded to this day in the bishop of Rome.
So on his eighty-fourth birthday, I thank God for our Holy Father. I wish him a wonderful birthday. I pray that he continues to have a beautiful apostolate which bears fruit that will last for generations to come. I thank God for his influence upon me to enter into the fullness of faith. May I, in some small way, give him a gift by heeding his call to not be afraid and cast out into the deep to serve our Lord Jesus Christ.
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9:42 PM
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God provides for us in the midst of darkness
When I thought about what was launched today in Massachusetts, I initially became very frustrated. After wondering what should be done, I then remembered that our Heavenly Father is very aware of what is happening. In fact, He has already shown us what we are to do to combat this attack upon marriage, the family, and yes, upon our Lord.
With God, there are no coincidences. Thus, it is not surprising that although the Holy Father's
prayer intentions for the month of May, which were set several months ago, include prayers that are relevant for our situation today. His general intention asks for prayers for the recognition of marriage as God has ordained it:
That the family--founded on the marriage of a man and a woman--may be recognized as the basic cell of human society.
In requesting that the faithful offer this prayer to our Lord, the Holy Father is also recognizing what the heart of the concern is--the family. The attempt to redefine marriage as a purely government-granteinstitutionon which allows the union of two people of the same sex is a direct effort to undermine the family. Both marriage and the family are God's gifts to mankind. By seeking to weaken through confusion the reality of what constitutes a marriage, the proponents of same-sex unions are wittingly (and in many cases unwittingly) attacking the natural law. Of course attacks against the natural law and God's revelation are attacks upon God.
Later in the day, I opened up to Ephesians. Not chapter 5 where St. Paul talks about the nature of marriage, but chapter 6 in which St. Paul exhorts us that we are not in a war against people, but spiritually dark forces:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (6:10-20)
St. Paul encourages us that in this fight we are not without help. Instead God has given us powerful armor and weapons to assist us. The key is found in verse 18 where he commands us to pray at all times in the Spirit. This brings me back to God's provision for us in these dark days. Through the Holy Father, He has given us the prayer we need because the Pope's missionary intention for this month is:
That through the motherly intercession of Our Lady, Catholic people may come to regard the Eucharist as the heart and soul of the missionary activity.
We must turn to our Lady for her powerful intercession, and above all, we must make our Eucharistic Lord the center of all of our efforts to combat the culture of death and to "stand against the wiles of the devil". We should not become discouraged in these days. Instead we must, as St. Ignatius Loyola stated, pray as if everything depended upon God, and work as if everything depended on us. He has given us this most powerful tool, and He has even given us our Lady whose prayers are very powerful.
After thinking about these things I stopped being discouraged, and I prayed to re-double my efforts to answer God's calling upon my life.
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Science supports the full humanity of the Unborn Child
In a very interesting
interview which has been published by Zenit, Dr. Carlo Bellieni of the Department of Neonatal Intensive Therapy of the Le Scotte University Polyclinic of Siena, discusses the scientific evidence that an unborn child is fully human.
One of the points he makes is one that I have thought of for some time--namely, that at conception a unique DNA has been formed. This child's DNA is the same DNA that the new person will have throughout his life. It is the DNA of a human, not some other creature.
Today, primarily in the area of criminal justice, DNA is used to positively identify a person. It is interesting that to deny that an unborn child is a person, you have to deny that a unique human DNA positively identifies a person.
As the father of an unborn child (my wife's and my first), I have become even more aware of the humanity of unborn children. Of course, the sonograms which show the child are wonderful evidence of the physiological humanity which can be seen even at very early weeks. As I commented to someone who supports abortion when he was looking at our daughter's sonogram picture, everything is there, it just going to get bigger as the child grows.
Dr. Carlo Bellieni, in his book "Dawn of the I: Pain, Memory, Desire, Dream of the Fetus," published by SEF, addresses questions such as: What does a fetus experience? What are its rights? Is artificial insemination really harmless?
Q: Does the fetus feel pain?
Bellieni: Indeed. Modern neonatologists have the privilege of caring precisely for fetuses. We have them in our hands. Sometimes they have the weight of an apple; some are slightly longer than a hand.
They have been born prematurely and they will have to stay for months in sophisticated incubators, cared for and controlled 24 hours a day with high-technology instruments.
And no one who is caring for them doubts that they are our patients, that they are persons. Sometimes they are so small, that our efforts are useless. They die. And only we can, together with the parents, baptize them.
And all show an unexpected vitality because of their age and dimensions. Today, we know that the fetus inside the maternal womb perceives scents and tastes, hears sounds, and remembers them after birth.
Of course, we know that the fetus, at 30 weeks of gestation, is able to dream. All these characteristics allow us to appreciate the human dimensions. In recent years, this patient has been the object of research to guarantee its health from the maternal uterus.
Q: Can you give us some examples to illustrate your saying that the fetus is a person?
Bellieni: As soon as it is born, the child shows in a scientifically demonstrable way that it recognizes its mother's voice and distinguishes it from that of a stranger. Where has he learned that voice other than in the maternal womb?
There are also direct proofs. For example, we register how the movements and cardiac frequency of the fetus vary if we transmit unexpected sounds through the uterine wall. And we see that at first the fetus is startled, then it gets used to it, just like we do when we hear something that does not interest us.
In fact, the scientific evidence is immense. We cannot understand how it can be thought that it becomes a person at a certain point, perhaps when coming out of the uterus.
From the physical point of view, at the birth very little really changes: Air enters the lungs, the arrival of blood from the placenta is interrupted, the type of circulation of blood in the heart changes, and not much more.
As I often say, only blind faith in magic arts or some strange divinity can lead one to think that there is a "human" quality leap at a given moment -- certainly not science.
Q: Therefore, the affirmation that human life begins at birth is less scientific than that which holds that it is linked to the moment of conception.
Bellieni: Undoubtedly! When the genetic heritage of the ovule is joined with the spermatozoid, a process begins which is unique and unrepeatable precisely because no one in the world has a DNA that is the same as that of that little fertilized cell. Not even the parents.
Therefore, it is absurd to say that the fetus is the property of the mother or the father.
A few days ago I was talking to high school girls and I said to them: "If you return home today and your father tells you to do something because you are 'his,' because you are 'one of his rights,' what do you think? That your father is not feeling well. Well, at present, they are teaching you this: that the child is a right of the parents, a 'choice' of the parents."
Q: Is it not so?
Bellieni: Precisely by studying the premature child, the fetus, one sees that human dignity is not acquired with age, or with birth, or weight; otherwise, only the handsome, rich, and powerful would be human.
Respect for these very frail little children is immediate and teaches us that their value -- our value -- does not depend on contingent things. It depends only on being, and forming part of that level of nature called humanity.
It is easy, to be able to act on somebody, to take away his status as person, but we mustn't allow it.
Q: But with artificial insemination many families seem to become peaceful by having such a child.
Bellieni: We can wish for these parents all possible satisfactions. In any case, we must not forget that in vitro fertilization makes the survival of many embryos debatable.
Nor must we forget that the risks are not that few. In vitro fertilization can cause problems for the mother. A beautiful book came out in 2001 of a French woman journalist of "France 2" entitled, "A Child, But Not at All Costs," in which she explains the psychiatric risks of these practices.
But suffice it to read the scientific literature. It is surprising how much it is ignored.
In vitro fertilization entails the risk of multiple births and of prematureness. And these are risks for the health of the unborn child. Other works also, published in 2002, show that these risks exist even if only one embryo is implanted.
Q: What can be said, by way of conclusion?
Bellieni: That there are paradoxes. So much so that abroad things are going another way. In France there is a "Defender of Children, elected by Parliament," Claire Brisset, a famous journalist.
In the interest of children conceived this way, she has called for a moratorium on the fertilization technique called "ICSI," which introduces all the spermatozoid in the ovule with a minuscule needle.
Q: Can you explain what paradox you are referring to?
Bellieni: In the first place, the fact that we all remember: the prohibition to eat bovine meat out of fear of spongiform encephalitis [mad cow disease]. And how many cases there have been of culpable people. However, the health authorities have adopted precautionary criteria with reason.
In regard to these fertilization practices, we know what the risks are for the health of the one conceived and of the woman. Is it right to take those risks? Is it right to make one's children take those risks? Or is a prudent attitude more correct?
Moreover, I think one should say "enough" to that anti-scientific attitude that regards prenatal life as a second-class life. And the paradox is that instead the Church is accused of retarding progress. In reality, the Church has an attitude of protection of health.
I would like to remind that in vitro fertilization was invented by a priest, Abbot Lazzaro Spallanzani, 300 years ago. He united in vitro the semen and ovule of a frog and obtained tadpoles. He used dog sperm to artificially fertilize a female dog. He was a precursor. He was a scientist. He knew what could be done to an animal, and what can be done, on the other hand, to man.
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11:45 AM
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Part of the difficulty in restoring a culture of Life is that there needs to be a shift in mentality. It is important that actions which have been decriminalized such as abortion and euthanasia once again be made criminal acts, but it is also important that the mentality of the culture be shifted to one which embraces life.
For example, my wife recently told me about a woman who became pregnant with her first child prior to 1973. There were complications with the mother's health, and it was suggested to her by her husband and friends that she have an abortion. She noted that the pressure she received advocating an abortion was so great that, although she gave birth to a healthy child, her relationship with her child was significantly impacted. She gave birth to two other children who were as healthy as her first child. However, simply the pressure to have an abortion made a large impact on her relationship with her child.
It would seem that there would be no impact of this type of decision-making after the birth of the child. The rhetoric of the proponents of abortion would indicate that the mother simply made a decision and that is that. However, by letting the culture of death gain a foothold in our thinking we begin to see children, and indeed people, as people who might not have been. By having seriously contemplated aborting the child, the mother might always consider that she might not have had the child, and she can engage in the dangerous practice of imagining a life in which she had made a different decision. This is the subtle influence of the culture of death. By abandoning a full embrace of life, it plants seeds of doubt and selfishness that grow up silently in relationships.
In her wisdom, the Church is giving us a pro-life example to follow through the canonization of Gianna Beretta Molla. She faced a similar situation. Although in her case, her condition was much more grave, and she gave up her life for the life of her child. The story from Zenit:
Among the six people to be canonized Sunday is Gianna Beretta Molla, who accepted the risk of dying rather than undergo a medical treatment that would have caused an abortion.
"She lived her marriage and maternity with joy, generosity and absolute fidelity to her mission," the prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, said last December, at the ceremony to recognize the miracle that opened the way for Molla's canonization.
Molla is the first woman of Catholic Action who will be proclaimed a saint. She was born in Magenta, Italy, on Oct. 4, 1922, in a family of 13 siblings. She studied medicine, a family tradition.
The fruit of her faith was reflected in her apostolate in Catholic Action and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, where she dedicated herself to young people and charitable service to the elderly and needy.
She received her doctor's degree in medicine and surgery in 1949 from the University of Pavia, and in 1950 opened an outpatient clinic in Mesero. Two years later, she specialized in pediatrics at the University of Milan.
In her medical practice, she paid special attention to mothers, children, the elderly and the poor. She considered the exercise of her profession a "mission," and said: "Just as the priest can touch Jesus, so we doctors touch Jesus in the bodies of our patients."
Her work did not impede her from engaging in her favorite sports, skiing and mountain climbing.
On Sept. 24, 1955, Gianna married engineer Pietro Molla, also a member of Catholic Action, in Magenta.
Gianna had her first child, Pierluigi, in November 1956. In December 1957, she gave birth to Mariolina, and in July 1959 to Laura.
In September 1961, in the second month of her pregnancy with her fourth child, she was diagnosed to have a tumor of the uterus. Surgery was necessary. Aware of the risk, Gianna begged the surgeon to save the life of her unborn child at all costs.
The baby's life was saved. In thanksgiving to God, Gianna spent the following seven months before the birth with "incomparable strength" of spirit and dedication to her duties as mother and doctor, the biography issued by the Vatican says.
A few days before the birth, she said she was ready to give her life to save that of her child. "If a decision must be made between my life and the child's, don't hesitate. I insist you choose the child's. Save it," she told her husband and the doctors.
On the morning of April 21, 1962, she gave birth to Gianna Emanuela. Complications started shortly after: Septic peritonitis caused her much suffering. On April 28, amid pain and repeating the prayer "Jesus, I love you; Jesus, I love you," Gianna Beretta Molla she died a holy death. She was 39.
She was beatified by John Paul II on April 24, 1994, the International Year of the Family.
That day, her husband Pietro -- now 82 -- remembered his wife, describing her on Vatican Radio as "a wonderful woman who very much loved life; a normal woman, but at the same time a woman of great faith; a woman full of joy, personality, with a strong character, and with the courage to live the Gospel to the end."
"Above all, I remember her total trust in Providence and her full and perfect joy at the birth of each child," he said.
"Gianna's decision to offer her own life to save that of her child had deep roots: in marriage -- which she felt to be a sacrament, the sacrament of love --and in the heroism of her maternal love and her total conviction that the right to life of the unborn is sacred," Pietro Molla added.
The miracle attributed to her intercession was experienced by Elisabete Arcolino Comparini. In early 2000, the third child Elisabete had conceived began to have serious problems.
In the third month of pregnancy, the young mother lost all the amniotic fluid. Without that natural protection, the fetus should have died. But the baby girl was born in May 2000, an event inexplicable to science. Her parents, who had decided to pray through the intercession of Blessed Gianna, called the baby Gianna Maria.
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As reported in
Zenit, on Sunday, May 16th, the Holy Father will canonize six individuals. Among the blesseds to be canonized is a saint who speaks to our time. He is José Manyanet y Vives, a priest who promoted devotion to the Holy Family in order to strengthen families everywhere.
He was born in Tremp, Spain, on Jan. 7, 1833, and ordained a priest at age 26. After 12 years in the Diocese of Urgell, he felt called by God to become a religious and to found two congregations: the Sons of the Holy Family Jesus, Mary and Joseph (1864), and, 10 years later, the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
The mission of these religious families was oriented to imitating, honoring and propagating devotion to the Holy Family of Nazareth, and working for the Christian formation of families, primarily through Catholic education and instruction of children and youths, and the priestly ministry.
Father Manyanet wrote several works and founded The Holy Family magazine, which is currently published in Spanish and Italian.
He also promoted the building in Barcelona of the church of the Holy Family. The church's architect, Antoni Gaudí, is in the process of beatification.
Father Manyanet, whose health was weakened by open wounds on his side, which he bore for 16 years and which he called "the Lord's mercies," died Dec. 17, 1901, in Barcelona.
His last words were: "Jesus, Joseph and Mary: receive my soul when I die."
The period in which he lived was "comparable to our time," says Father Everino Miri, postulator of the cause of canonization. "There was a propaganda that was absolutely contrary to the Christian spirit and to the Christian formation of the family through the sacrament of marriage."
The future saint started "from a very important principle valid also for today," Father Miri said. "Through the education of children and youths, the families of tomorrow can be formed -- a type of preventive method, a way of thinking for the future."
We should ask for the intercession of the Holy Family along with José Manyanet y Vives' prayers because we do indeed face a crisis of the family being attacked on all fronts. There is not a moral issue today which is not in some way an attack upon the family. Every life issue from abortion to stem cell research relates to the family.
José Manyanet y Vives response to the same crisis in the nineteenth century should be our response. We must educate the children in order that they carry the fullness of the Faith to the next generation.
Today, however, we may need to approach the problem from a slightly different point of view. The unfortunate failure of the catechesis of today's parents means that the primary educators of the children are ill-equipped to pass the faith on to their children. No CCD program for children can substitute for the lack of day-to-day education which a child needs. Instead, faithful Catholics need to address the root of the problem.
Every means possible should be used to teach the faith to the adults. Adult education programs should be the crown jewel of every formation program. Religious education is not just for children. It is a lifelong process that every faithful Catholic needs to pursue no matter what age they are.
I urge those who feel a calling to this apostolate to roll up their sleeves and take a leadership role as an educator for adults. My own limited experience in leading Bible studies for adults has been very positive. I have learned so much about our Holy Faith, and I get excited just thinking about passing on that information to others. There are many good, faithful resources available to help any one who wants to help others.
We should let José Manyanet y Vives inspire us to educate ourselves about the faith and then share what we have learned with others.
Holy Family pray for us that we may help families today perservere through the storms of our times.
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The Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses
The following was sent to me from the
Cardinal Newman Society. On the one hand, it might be easy to respond that some of the schools listed in the report are only Catholic in name alone and there is no reason to be shocked or even to do anything about what is happening at these schools. However, these schools once were very Catholic and that is important foundation upon which to build. These colleges should be restored to truly be Catholic schools of higher education.
I would especially urge those of you who are alumni of a Catholic college to look at the
full report (PDF), and contact your almamater, if it is listed in the report. In the past, the efforts of alumni, and indeed of folks who simply lived in the diocese where the school resided, who have contacted college officials to address these problems have had an impact on pushing back the Culture of Death and promoting the Culture of Life.
MANASSAS, VA (April 28, 2004) – Cardinal Newman Society has issued a shocking new report on scandals at U.S. Catholic colleges and universities that is certain to reignite concerns about the colleges’ religious character.
The 56-page report, “The Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses: A Five-Year
Review,” documents inroads made by advocates of abortion, contraception,
premarital sexual activity, and physician-assisted suicide onto Catholic
college campuses since 1999. It is the most extensive evidence of problems
in Catholic higher education ever compiled in a single source—and yet it
only scratches the surface, relying primarily on media reports and college
websites.
“‘Pro-choice’ is no choice for a Catholic institution, which by its Catholic
mission must be courageously pro-life,” said Erin Butcher, lead researcher
and co-author of the report. “Cardinal Newman Society has responded to
scandal after scandal on Catholic campuses, but many Catholics still fail to
appreciate the scope of the problem.”
The report, which can be downloaded free of charge at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org beginning April 28, identifies the
problems and suggests solutions to ensure that Catholic colleges uphold their
Catholic, pro-life mission. Highlights include:
* Pro-abortion presidential candidates at Catholic colleges. In
January, St. Anselm College (N.H.) hosted seven pro-abortion candidates for
their final debate before New Hampshire’s Democratic primary. Other campaign appearances have included John Kerry at Georgetown in January 2003, Dennis Kucinich at Sacred Heart University last June, Howard Dean at St. Anselm last September and at Georgetown last October, Dick Gephardt’s daughter at Boston College last November, Gephardt and Kerry at Clarke College (Iowa) in January, Wesley Clark at Rivier College (N.H.) in January, and Kerry at Georgetown again in April.
* Nearly 200 instances of campus speakers and honorees who have been
public advocates of abortion or otherwise contributors to the “Culture of
Death”. These include at least 17 visits and lectures by President Bill Clinton
at Georgetown University, researchers engaged in human cloning and
embryonic cell research at Assumption College and the College of the Holy Cross, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Kate Michelman at Boston College law school, radical feminist Gloria Steinem at Fairfield University, pornographer
Larry Flynt at Georgetown University, and National Organization for Women
(NOW) president Kim Gandy at Loyola University of New Orleans.
* “Emergency contraception,” an abortifacient, provided to students by
the College of Santa Fe and Rockhurst University.
* College officials and faculty with ties to pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia organizations, including a Boston College law professor on the board of directors of the Death With Dignity National Center; a Georgetown University philosophy professor on the board of directors of the Compassion in Dying Federation, and two Georgetown University women’s studies professors who are also employees of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
* Pro-abortion politicians serving as college officials and faculty, including Carol Moseley Braun teaching management at DePaul University, Geraldine Ferraro on the Fordham University law school Board of Visitors and teaching public policy at Georgetown University, and Leon Panetta teaching political science and on the Board of Trustees and law school Board of Visitors at Santa Clara University.
* Pro-abortion student clubs including the Reproductive Choice Coalition at
Boston College law school, Hoyas for Choice at Georgetown University, Georgetown Students for Choice at Georgetown law school, and a NOW
chapter at St. Ambrose University.
* Internships and service opportunities offered by Catholic colleges, including service as a Planned Parenthood “clinic escort” promoted by Nazareth College’s campus ministry and internships with Planned Parenthood
offered by Villanova University.
* Website referrals to pro-abortion organizations as medical or academic
resources including Georgetown University links to local abortion clinics,
LaSalle University links to NOW and the Feminist Majority Foundation, Loyola
University of Chicago links to Planned Parenthood and the Feminist Majority
Foundation, Loyola University of New Orleans links to NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood, and Seton Hall University links to the Feminist Majority Foundation and NOW.
* Student newspapers promoting sex and contraception, including sex
advice columns titled “Sex and the University” in The Heights at Boston
College and “Sex on the Hilltop” in The Hoya at Georgetown University.
The report is available at
www.cardinalnewmansociety.org.
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The Holy Father presented a
message on work last week on the eve of the feast of St. Joseph, the Worker. He highlighted the many lessons we can draw from the mystery of our Lord's hidden life when he was a worker.
Aware that work "has been profaned by sin and contaminated by egoism," John Paul II says that it is an activity that "needs to be redeemed."
In the text, the Holy Father stated his intention to attend the conclusion of Italian Catholic Action's pilgrimage to Loreto next Sept. 5. Loreto is where, according to tradition, the Holy House of the Virgin Mary is kept, transported from Nazareth in 1294.
The Holy House of Loreto, the Pope said, is a reminder of the mystery of Nazareth, "which never ceases to amaze us! Why did the Son of God (...) want to spend such a long time subjected to the hard exhaustion of work?"
From this "gospel of work" one can deduce that "Jesus was a man of work and that work enabled him to develop his humanity," in addition to the fact that "the work of Nazareth constituted for Jesus a way to dedicate himself to the 'affairs of the Father,'" witnessing that "the work of the Creator is prolonged" through work, the Holy Father explained.
"According to God's providential plan, man, by working, realizes his own humanity and that of others: In fact, work 'forms man and, in a certain sense, creates him,'" the Holy Father stated.
"But work -- Christ teaches us -- is a value that has been profaned by sin and contaminated by egoism and because of this, as is true of all human reality, it needs to be redeemed," he added.
The Pope noted that work must be rescued "from the logic of profit, from the lack of solidarity, from the fever of earning ever more, from the desire to accumulate and consume," because when it is subjected to "inhuman wealth" work becomes a "seductive and merciless idol."
Liberation from these chains comes when there is a "return to the austere words of the Divine Master: 'For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?'" the Holy Father asked his listeners.
The "divine Worker of Nazareth" also "reminds us that 'life is more than food' and that work is for man, not man for work. What makes a life great is not the entity of gain, nor the type of profession, or the level of the career. Man is worth infinitely more than the goods he produces or possesses," the Pope said.
Thus, John Paul II invited his listeners to be alert, because "the heart that is inordinately concerned with food and clothing" and is not concerned about "the poorest brothers, becomes inexorably a heart blinded by riches, incapable of solidarity and of selfless love, obstinately closed to God and to brothers."
"It corresponds to Christians, individually or in association, in particular to the lay faithful, to enter the fabric of civil society to inscribe the divine law in the life of the earthly city," the Pope continued in his message to Italian Catholic Action leaders and members.
The Holy Father exhorted them "to foster the creation of proper occasions of work for all young people, so that they will be able to form a family in worthy conditions of life, the first of them, in their own home."
In addition, the Pope called for "equitable and fair treatment of all workers," the combating of "all exploitation," and respect for the "immigrants' work contracts."
"Never neglect the effort of an apostolate of first missionary evangelization among the multitude of immigrants who are not Christians," he exhorted.
Finally, John Paul II recommended forcefully that Sunday must be for all those who believe in Christ a "day of rest and celebration, day of the Lord and of the community, of the family and of the poor."
These are thoughts worth reflecting on in order that in the midst of my work day, I might consider why I am working and how God is trying to use my work to draw me closer to Him. This is not always apparent, but it might become easier for me to see if I consider how Jesus submitted Himself to human labor. To follow the master, I must submit to the work He has given me to do. And I must do it as unto the Lord for His glory.
Pray for those who need to find work. May St. Joseph intercede on their behalf that they might soon find a good job.
Posted by David at
10:36 PM
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Today's feast of St. Joseph, the Worker reminds us of the dignity of work. Far from being a curse, God originally designed work as part of our human experience. In Genesis 2:15, it reads that "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." And one of today's possible first mass readings is from earlier in the book of Genesis (1:26-2:3) where it describes the work of creation which God did for us. The passage ends by describing how the Lord rested from His work on the seventh day. He hallowed this day. The Sabbath which was established in the Mosaic Law and included in the Ten Commandments which picks up this idea of the Sabbath rest and its connection to Creation: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy ... For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day" (Exodus 20:8,11).
It is only after the Fall that work becomes burdensome. God declares in Genesis 3:17-19, "cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you and you shall eat the plants of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground." This was not God's original intent for work, but because of Adam's sin, work became difficult. Nonetheless, work has great dignity because it is done unto the Lord.
As St. Paul writes in the other optional reading for today from Colossians, our work should be done as if the Lord was our boss because He is. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him...Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ" (3:17,23-24).
St. Joseph, the just man, exemplifies this attitude of performing his work unto God. As a husband, father, and carpenter, St. Joseph accepted the tasks which the Lord gave him. He performed them with an amazing obedience. When he was commanded by an angel to take Mary as his wife, St. Matthew records that St. Joseph awoke from the dream and did as the angel had told him (1:24). Again, an angel told St. Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt, and St. Joseph quickly obeyed (2:14). Finally, Jesus was identified as the son of St. Joseph, the carpenter. Joseph was know for his work.
Today we are reminded to do our work unto the Lord even as St. Joseph did. Even the most difficult and mundane task is made into a holy offering to God, if it is done with love. This was the key for St. Joseph, he did his work because of his love for God. This can be the key for us, too.
Posted by David at
10:14 PM
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