… and these Thy gifts …

Don’t put anything in this weekend’s envelope for CHD. Some people are putting acorns in, ‘though I don’t see that that would affect anything.

Here’s why:

CCHD BOYCOTT: Catholic Citizens of Illinois calls on all Catholics to boycott the annual collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development on the weekend of November 22 and 23

Catholics probe aid directed to ACORN

Catholic bishops cut all funding to ACORN

If you need help connecting the dots, click here: Fr. Neuhaus on “Obama and the Bishops”.

or here: Too close for comfort: CCHD, sex and abortion

Bishop discusses reasons behind cutoff of ACORN funding

If you need more background information, here’s my October post about this.

Why we still need to boycott the CHD collection this weekend despite the statements from the bishops: NOT ALL parishes are aware of the problem or choose to be obedient. Hence if you put anything in that CHD envelope, you won’t have any control over whether that money still makes it to ACORN or not.

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Praying is only the first step. Now we focus on what needs to be done. For starters

Sign the Petition to Fight FOCA. If you don’t understand what FOCA is, see the sidebar, which I’m copying here:

FOCA Would Wipe Away Every Restriction on Abortion Nationwide
This would eradicate state and federal laws that the majority of Americans support, such as:

• Bans on Partial Birth Abortion
• Requirements that women be given information about the risks of getting an abortion
• Only licensed physicians can perform abortions
• Parents must be informed and give consent to their minor daughter’s abortion

FOCA would erase these laws and prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.

Fight FOCA is also on Facebook. I promised myself I would be giving up Facebook after the election. I am now reneging on that promise because like many of you I realize that we have done too little, too late, to protect the unborn.

Today is Monthly Call for Life Day. We are called to go to an abortion mill today and pray. You can find a listing by state here, including the names of the centers and the parishes matched with each one. To find the abortion mill matched to your parish: “click on the name of your state. You will see the names of the abortion mills in that state, with a grouping of parishes listed under each one. Use the Search and Find function on your computer to locate, on that page, the name of your parish. (Note: If your parish is in the diocese of Steubenville, OH, you need to click on Pennsylvania, since you have been matched with abortion mills in the Pittsburgh area.)”

Join also Priests for Life on Facebookto find out about other projects in which you can participate.

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Ora et labora. Pray and work. And so we begin.

Lepanto 2008 is still taking pledges for Rosaries to be said these next four years. We’re almost halfway to the goal of 30,000,000 rosaries pledged. Please sign up today. One of the clearest messages this election left me and my family is that we, as individuals, as a family, as a nation, HAVE NOT PRAYED ENOUGH.

A day before my consecration last year, dh stepped up and told all of us that we are to begin praying the Rosary everyday. Since then, we have, missing 3 days in the past year. But we can do so much more. To help out, I’ve gotten ourselves and a few friends booklets and pamphlets from Rosary Center. Kathryn also has a wonderful set of Rosary Three Part Cards at her blog. We’ve printed these out on cardstock and keep it on our altar, making it really easy for our little one (6 yo) to memorize the Mysteries. We take turns leading the Rosary. I.e., the person leading the Rosary says the Mysteries and leads the prayers for the first Mystery. The next child (older) leads the next Mystery, and so on. Since there are 6 of us, including parents, on any given day, one family member leads and another takes a break from leading. It takes discipline and a commitment, and yes, there have been evenings when we started saying the Rosary too late in the evening and everyone’s cranky and not really cooperating. Our best Rosaries are said early (before dinner) or in the car when we’re driving someplace.

Here’s another Scriptural Rosary for children that may be helpful.

Also, please consider participating in the Inauguration Day Rosary Novena. It begins November 10 and ends on January 20, Inauguration Day. The specific intentions are on the temporary website, and I’m copying them here as well for your use:

• For the triumph of the Culture of Life in the United States of America.
• For President-elect Obama, and for all of the leaders of the United States of America, that they will be led personally to Jesus Christ and His truth, and that they will lead our country in a positive direction. Or in other words, as Archbishop Wuerl said, “That our nation’s new leaders be guided in their decisions with wisdom and compassion and at the heart of all of their decisions may there be a deep respect for and commitment to the sanctity and dignity of all human life and support for the most vulnerable among us.”
• For the hearts, minds and SOULS of the American people, that they will be turned back towards Jesus Christ and the “least of His brethren”.
• For a renewal of the virtues of purity and self-control, especially among our youth.
• In reparation for the scourges of abortion, Embryonic Stem Cell Research, euthanasia, cloning, artificial contraception, and all manifestations of the Culture of Death, and especially in reparation for the support and/or complacency that we as American Catholics have shown to these evils.

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I’m sure this is a time when America is asking itself a lot of questions. I hope we have time to ask at least just one more.

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I have no words of my own, as my heart is still too full to speak, but I echo Jennifer’s:

So I don’t understand, but I will hope right along with you. I will have faith, the same faith I’ve always had, not a new one brought about by this one human man. I will teach my children to pray. I will teach my children to cherish and protect the newest of lives and those that are not so new, but just as precious. I will teach them to conserve, starting with our own backyard and our own consumption. I will educate my children. I will teach them to love one another [snip]. My family and I will financially support those in the world who live in poverty, just as we always have.

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It’s all over. My 17yo was in tears. I must admit that I’m dreading the next 4 years.

BUT. God is still God. And He knows best. And He never said life was going to be a bed of roses. But oh my Lord, the sweet babies…

This Catholic mom is weeping and praying tonight.

Signing off for a while…

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Man, could I use some cheery news soon! Or maybe I’ll have to make do with a cup of Iced Decaf Cafe Mocha from Caribou.

The Issue That Wasn’t

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More than anything this election, this is what truly saddens me.

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Litany of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us

Response: Have mercy on us
God the Father in Heaven.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world.
God the Holy Spirit.
Holy Trinity, one God.

Response: Pray for us
Holy Mary.
St. Michael the Archangel.
St. Joseph.
St. Gianna, filled with love for God.
St. Gianna, filled with love for children.
St. Gianna, filled with love for Our Lady and her Rosary.
St. Gianna, filled with love for the Most Blessed Sacrament.
St. Gianna, who sought the will of God in all things.
St. Gianna, generous with those in need.
St. Gianna, devoted to prayer.
St. Gianna, willing to lay down your life for the sake of the gospel.
St. Gianna, patient in suffering.
St. Gianna, united to Jesus on the Cross.
St. Gianna, called to the vocation of marriage.
St. Gianna, who welcomed children as a blessing.
St. Gianna, physician to the ill.
St. Gianna, faithful daughter of the church.
St. Gianna, witness to the sanctity of human life.

Response: Deliver us Lord through the intercession of St. Gianna
From neglecting God through prayer.
From refusing to see God in the sick and poor.
From callousness to the sufferings of others.
From selfishness.
From a lack of trust in God’s providence.
From blindness to the dignity of the human person.
From denial that human life begins at conception.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Let us pray.
Lord of life, we thank You for the heroic witness of
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla. You have taught us that
there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life
for others. Saint Gianna did this, not only as she
gave birth to her last child, but also in her everyday
life as she died to herself so that she could live
wholly for You. What selflessness we see in her!
Help us, we pray, that through the intercession of
Saint Gianna, our society may regain a sense of the
sacredness of all human life. Fill us with her spirit
of courage to suffer any struggle rather than deny
You and the sanctity of human life. We ask You
this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your son, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one
God, forever and ever. Amen

(Composed by a priest from Alabama and offered to
the Society of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla)

Nihil Obstat: Rev. Joseph G. Prior,
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: Justin Cardinal Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
Sept. 29, 2004

More about Saint Gianna

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Here’s the rest of the “Before You Vote” series of posts.

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Prayers for all our statesmen, politicians, and lawyers, and for all of us voting these people into office…

V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ, have mercy
R. Christ have mercy
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ hear us
R. Christ, graciously hear us

V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr, R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
St. Thomas More, Patron of Justices, Judges and Magistrates
St. Thomas More, Model of Integrity and Virtue in Public and Private Life
St. Thomas More, Servant of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ
St. Thomas More, Model of Holiness in the Sacrament of Marriage
St. Thomas More, Teacher of his Children in the Catholic Faith
St. Thomas More, Defender of the Weak and the Poor
St. Thomas More, Promoter of Human Life and Dignity

V. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R. Spare us O Lord
V. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R. Graciously hear us O Lord
V. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R. Have mercy on us

Let us pray:
O Glorious St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of
prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led
you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and
Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of
human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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From across the globe, Anne points out exactly why we have great hope.

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This was a post that was several paragraphs long — but who am I kidding, the more I write, the more I get upset, the more I cry, the more I feel desperate. So I’ll just leave you with this:

Abortion Methods

And if that’s not enough for you, here are the complete instructions for performing a partial birth abortion: pdf file.

so you at least know what you’re saying yes to, should you decide that indeed, it is prudent to vote for a man who supports unrestricted abortion.

And just to be sure we understand each other here. Abortion is not simply a medical procedure like having a suspicious mole or an impacted tooth removed. An abortion kills a CHILD. Let’s not hide behind all the euphemistic talk of freedom and choice and compassion. There’s no freedom or choice or compassion for the CHILDREN who are being murdered, is there?

Here’s the rest of the “Before You Vote” series of posts.

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Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here’s the rest of the “Before You Vote” series of posts.

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I haven’t had the heart to really continue the Before You Vote posts I was doing and that I promised dd. I have several drafts in my folders that are sitting there because they were upsetting me more, as I was writing them, more than comforting me. (They’re not really supposed to comfort me, but you know what I mean… sometimes you need to take a step back from the screen.)

Fighting the battles are always hard. This election year is especially difficult, personally, because #1, we’re having baby #5 and that just brings all the pro-life stuff home to me. I have first hand experience of how precious life is, right here, right now and there is no way anyone can convince me that a baby is just a blob of tissue that can be discarded anytime. If you could see my hubby and children crowd around my tummy, waiting for that new life to move, kick, anything — you would understand what I mean. Two, because I have a teen who’s very aware of the issues now and is at that stage in life where she is thinking seriously about her future — her vocation, career choices, whether she’s called to the convent or to marriage, what God wants her to do with her life, etc. Granted she still has lots of years ahead to make these decisions, but we’re laying the groundwork now (and even before) so that every decision is a God-filled one (we pray). Three, I always knew we were “different”, in fact the selfish part of me takes delicious pride in that often. We’ve chosen some paths that have made our family unique in some ways — even within the Catholic community, even within the Catholic homeschooling community (though that’s where I’ve found the most kindred spirits)! We’ve talked to our children about being counter-cultural, about going against the grain/swimming against the tide and all that. But whoa! Nothing prepares you for the realization come election year of just how different you are. I was talking to a dear friend just a couple of weeks ago and remarking how that morning I logged on to join a supposedly global poll being promoted at a Catholic blog and I was just absolutely shocked (I shouldn’t have been) that all my answers, save one, were opposite the majority. Yikes. Good thing she’s on my side and we’re both weird. And we raise our families to be “weird”.

At this point I’m all reader’ed out and post’ed out and totally burned out from the election drama. All I have left is prayer. And so that’s what we’re be concentrating on the rest of days through election. I’ll probably post links to articles that have been on my brain the last week… but I have to admit the sheer volume depresses me…. it feels like there’s so much to be done, said, thought of, prayed about, and not enough time to do it…

If anything, one thing that I learned from this election is just how polarized Catholics really are. I naively thought that a cafeteria Catholic knew he/she was a cafeteria Catholic, you know? My concept of “cafeteria Catholic” before all the campaigning started was someone who went to Mass once or twice a year, didn’t see the importance of doing anything more than that, but readily would admit to not being as “good” a Catholic as one should be if one professes to be a Catholic anyway. Now I see how wrong I was. That I was flummoxed by this realization is probably the shocker. I’m still bewildered that anyone can say I’m *NOT* a Cafeteria Catholic, I’m a *DEVOUT* Catholic and yet I support all (or most of) the non-negotiables. It just doesn’t compute! But I’ll stop here.

And I’ll go do what I said what I would. Leave it all in God’s hands. And pray unceasingly. I invite you to do the same. God bless!!

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