Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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

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!!

Before you vote, please take a few minutes to read Mary Ellen’s very thorough post.

Pray. Discern. Pray some more. Then vote.

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

For more information on this Rosary Novena, visit Father Corapi’s website at http://www.fathercorapi.com. Here’s his original invitation to pray this Novena:

http://www.fathercorapi.com/PDF/ElectionNovena.pdf

And here are the prayers so you can print them out and put them somewhere where you can easily see them every day — fridge, bathroom mirror, etc. This reminder will be repeated every day from October 27 through November 4, 2008.

Our Lady of Victory

Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us,
Christ, hear us,
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

The response for the following greetings is Pray for us.

Our Lady of Victory,
Victorious daughter of the Father,
Victorious Mother of the Son,
Victorious Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious servant of the Holy Trinity
Victorious in your Immaculate Conception,
Victorious in crushing the serpent’s head,
Victorious over all the children of Adam,
Victorious over all enemies,
Victorious in your response to the Angel Gabriel,
Victorious in your wedding to St. Joseph,
Victorious in the birth of Christ,
Victorious in the flight to Egypt,
Victorious in your exile,
Victorious in your home at Nazareth,
Victorious in finding Christ in the temple,
Victorious in the mission of your Son,
Victorious in His passion and death,
Victorious in His Resurrection and Ascension,
Victorious in the Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious in your sorrows and joys,
Victorious in your glorious Assumption,
Victorious in the angels who remained faithful,
Victorious in the happiness of the saints,
Victorious in the message of the prophets,
Victorious in the testimony of the patriarchs,
Victorious in the zeal of the apostles,
Victorious in the witness of the evangelists,
Victorious in the wisdom of the doctors,
Victorious in the deeds of the confessors,
Victorious in the triumph of all holy women,
Victorious in the faithfulness of the martyrs,
Victorious in your power ful intercession,
Victorious under your many titles,
Victorious at the moment of death,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Hear us, Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy, Lord.
Pray for us, blessed Lady of Victory.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The Novena Prayer

Let us pray:
Our Lady of Victory, we have unshaken confidence in your influence with your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Humbly we ask your intercession for all of us associated under your title, Our Lady of Victory.
We beg your powerful assistance also for our own personal needs.

That the Lord’s people may be awakened.
That we may realize that while politics is not our salvation,
That our response to God requires that we be politically active.
That the Lord may awaken His people to know that they are not called to be a sect fleeing the world but rather a community of faith renewing the world.
That we may realize that the hands lifted up to the Lord in prayer are the same hands that pull the lever in the voting booth;
That the eyes eyes that read God’s Word are the same eyes that read the names on the ballot,
And that we do not cease to be Christians when we enter the voting booth.
That we may be awakened to a commitment to justice,
To the sanctity of marriage and the family,
To the dignity of each individual human life,
And to the truth that human rights begin when human lives begin, and not one moment later.

In your maternal kindness please ask Jesus to forgive all our sins and failings, and to secure His blessings for us and for all the works of charity dedicated to your name. We implore you to obtain for us the grace of sharing Christ’s victory and yours, forever in the life that knows no ending. May we join you there to praise forever the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, on God, for all the ages to come. Amen.

Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen)

Let us pray:
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To Thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn, then, O most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us.
And after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary,
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God:
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
The Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help, and sought Thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To Thee I come; before Thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate! despise not my petitions, but in Thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

All this we ask of The Father in the name of Mary’s Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with Him and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Father Baker’s Prayer To Our Lady of Victory

Let us pray:
O Victorious Lady! Thou who has ever such powerful influence with Thy Divine Son, in conquering the hardest of hearts, intercede for those for whom we pray, that their hearts being softened by the rays of Divine Grace, they may return to the unity of the true Faith, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Faithful Citizenship Election Novena is another novena you can pray (click through to the pdf file).
Presidential Novena to Our Lady of America.
More prayers at Fast for Hope. And a very doable fast from Danielle Bean.

Doesn’t matter which one you choose, but do please pray with us!

Father of us all, Author of all life
I thank you for my life and the appreciation of it.
Please help me to always respect the lives of all your children,
from conception to natural death.
Let your Spirit enlighten the minds and open the hearts
of those who do not fully respect all human life
according to your will.
Where there is remorse, grant peace to all women
and everyone affected by past abortions.
Lighten the burdens of all women with problem pregnancies.
Bring adoption of a Human Life Amendment soon.
Thank you, Father.
Amen.

Obama Catholic Argues Bishops Deny Tradition

Archbishop Chaput has strong words for Douglas Kmiec

I Am Woman – Hear Me (Michele Bachmann is the same woman on a YouTube video featured on this blog a couple of months ago, talking about Defunding Planned Parenthood)

Religion in the news — but not in newsrooms

Perpetual Rosary calendar from now ’til Election Day.

Please volunteer to say a Rosary (or more, if you are called to do so). There are still slots left today, and many more in the next days leading to the election.

Spread the word!

Thanks, Maryan!