Novena to Our Lady of Victory

+JMJ+

Before I go on...Please PRAY the Novena to Our Lady of Victory. This begins today, and is 9 days of prayer leading up to the Election on November 4. Click here to access the Novena prayers, which Fr. Corapi is promoting.

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We are 9 days away from perhaps the most grave moment in American history. Over the past 150 years or so, the moral fabric that made America "great", the "land of the free and home of the brave" has become torn apart, leaving the remnants of a weak rag to tie together the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

How did it all begin? I surmise that the involvement in Freemasonry by many of our founding fathers laid some bad bricks in our Nation's foundation. But, I am not versed enough to address that theme.

However, fast forward to the end of the 19th Century. The Industrial Revolution redefined what it meant to work, the structure of the family, and the rhythm of the day. Now men (and in many cases women and young children) left the home to work at factories and mass-produce, vs. having home-based industry (such as farming, carpentry, millinery, etc.). As America became more successful, there was less need, effectively for God. Of course, people still attended Sunday Service or Mass...but slowly, God's presence as the center of family life began to fade away over the 20th Century.

With the Women's Movement of the late 18th Century came another element that would later erode society. While the early American Feminists were active in the abolitionist movement as well as equal rights for women, there were impure motives. Particularly, there was an overarching theme of the oppression caused to women by the traditional family model and Christianity. Founding members of American Feminism were against abortion...but with a disrespect for the roles in Christian marriage and the Ordained Ministry of Priests, is it any wonder that future feminists would abandon the rights of the unborn child?

"The greatest block today in the way of woman's emancipation," [Elizabeth Cady] Stanton [a founder of American Feminism] asserted, "is the church, the canon law, the Bible and the priesthood." For more on this topic, see Dawn Eden's excellent piece, "The Eve of Deconstruction."

Now, we know that around 1920, after WWI, themes of Eugenics began to pollute the more affluent minds of our nation. What amounted was the American Eugenics Society. Eugenics, as Akua Furlow explains in her book, The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: What Really Happened, "was a pseudo-science that supported racism and taught population control as a core part of its doctrine. It also taught "scientific racism" or "Social Darwinism." Eugenics was 'imported' from Great Britain and adopted, as I said, by social elites in the U.S., among whom Margaret Sanger. The wicked fruit of Eugenics in the U.S.: The American Birth Control League and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

Many are familiar with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), one of the most dark 'secrets' in 20th Century American History, and funded by the government, nonetheless. Essentially, Tuskegee, Alabama, was singled out to perform experiments on how to treat Syphilis. Strangely enough, the study targeted the African American Community in Tuskegee, and even after the cure for syphilis was discovered, the 'study' continued...for 40 years, as a project of the United States Public Health Service. The lives of 399 men and their families were affected and destroyed by this 'scientific study' which was nothing less than eugenics in action. I highly reccomend Furlow's book for further (extremely well document) information on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and its eugenic nature.

Out of the American Eugenics Society (which recieved funding from such institutes as the Milbank Memorial Foundation, the Carnegie Institute and the Rockefeller Foundation), was birthed the American Birth Control League...known today as Planned Parenthood. To shine a little light on the philosphy of Ms. Margaret Sanger, who founded both the American Birth Control League, let's look at her very own words:

"Eugenics is … the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems.”
"The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
"Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race."
"The undeniably feeble-minded should, indeed, not only be discouraged but prevented from propagating their kind."
"Our most pressing problem is to increase the birth rate from the superior and decrease that from the inferior."
"… in the interest of social progress or the permanence even of civilization, the intellectual classes should have more children."
"[Mandatory] sterilization for [the insane and feeble-minded] is the answer."
"The Aryan stock today is the most given to birth control and it must see that it does not suffer internationally by the relative ignorance of inferior stocks."
"Give dysgenic groups [people with 'bad genes'] in our population their choice of segregation or [compulsory] sterilization."

One could (as some have) write a dissertation and/or books on the 'legacy of Sanger. I recommend, again, Furlow's book for further sound research on Sanger. But let's move on...

During the Great Depression, we saw the resilience of the American Spirit step forward. Men and women worked hard for better times, and were successful. WWII united the country in a common effort. Yet, at the same time family life was disjointed, and for the first time women entered the work force in a significant manner. Once men returned from the War, there was much challenge in the adjustment. Perhaps the strange themes of Betty Friedan's The Feminist Mystique (1963) exposed the lack of fulfillment for woman, but it only succeed in sowing seeds of discontent.

The 1960s and 1970s saw rise to social movements: The Civil Rights Movement, the Sexual Revolution an the Feminist Revolution. All of these had a profound impact on the fabric of the nation. While the Civil Rights Movement fought eugenic mentality and advocated for true equality, the Sexual Revolution and Feminist Revolution did much to deconstruct the moral fabric of society at large.

In 1962, the Griswold vs. Connecticut decision was issued by the Supreme Court, effectively upholding the right to privacy within marriage, legalizing the use of artificial contraception. At the very same time in the U.S. the contraceptive mentality was being promoted by the sexual revolution, which promoted 'free love' that amounted to nothing less than sexual slavery and immorality. What is the bedrock of free love? Sex without responsibility. Artificial contraception and abortion 'cured' the problem of unwanted pregnancy...though it was not as effective in preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections.

A very dark year, 1973 gave us Roe vs. Wade, which essentially legalized abortion during all nine months of pregnancy in the United States. This has greatly contributed to our moral decay.

What else, might you ask, has been ripping at the fabric of this once great nation? Welfare, definitely. Read any of Star Parker's books and you'll quickly learn how the Welfare state has kept minority communities, particularly the African American community, in poverty. It is shameful. Not only does Welfare keep people in poverty, but it destroys the family unit.

Then there is the issue of Homosexuality. Did you know that any society which institutionalized Homosexuality ceased to exist as a society within three generations? It was not until activist psychologists got their way 1973 that Homosexuality was removed from the Diagnistic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This was due largely to the work of gay rights activists within and without the mental health profession.

Funny how that happened the same year that an unborn child was denied the right to life.

The moral fabric continues to be torn apart. Now we live in a nation where roughly 4,000 children are murdered each day due to legal abortion (about 50 Million abortions in the U.S. since 1973). It is reported that 87% of Catholic married couples use artificial contraception, and among the 42 million fertile sexually active women, 89% are using contraception. Over 50% of marriages end in divorce. Record numbers of people, especially young males, are incarcerated. Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. Cyber Sex addiction is on the rise, and the 'hook-up culture' has replaced dating on college campuses. More and more, people have to fight to protect their first amenedment rights. Gay 'marriage' is being pushed on a national level, and already it is legal in some states. The numbers of people who attend Chruch Service or Mass on Sunday continue to decline, and infertility rates escalate.

I really can't even begin to expand on the themes raised here as I'd like to. I could write several books based on what I've presented. What I do want to point out is that we are living in very dark times. The culture of death is mocking what it means to be a human person on every front. No longer do we understand as a nation the dignity of the human person, nor the gift of masculinity and femininity. We don't teach our children how to think in school...only how to quote sources and perpetuate liberal agenda...

BUT there is Hope, if Christ is our Hope. We know that dark periods in the history of the world have come before. And as Pope Benedict pointed out, there is one common denominator that during every dark period of history has brought about renewal in society: the rediscovery of the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus Christ and the Mass.

As Roman Catholics, we have a profound responsibility, because we have the fullness of Faith. We beleive that Jesus Christ is fully present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist. As such, why wouldn't we spend time in Adoration as freqently as possible? Why wouldn't we pray and fast for our country, and for the outcome of this most important presidential election? Why wouldn't we ask God to speak in the silence of our hearts, and tell us what it is He desires us to do? Let us ask Him what is the role He wants us to take on for the renewal of America.

The task is set before us. It has so much to do with each of us committing to conversion and renewal in our own lives, and an additional commitment to doing all within our means to spread the message of the Gospel, which is a message of authentic love. Together, if we are Faithful, we can bring about a Civilization of Love that can displace the Culture of Death that is so deeply rooted in America (and the world), and weave together those scattered pieces of fabric, so that we may truly be, once again, One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

Renewed by Hope

+JMJ+

Faith enables Christian hope to be more than mere expectation and to become at every moment an immediate embodiment of love.

Faith is a force, one so powerful that it cannot tolerate anything next to it. How weak in faith we are: we are constantly letting things outside of God take up space in us!

~ Adrienne Von Speyr

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The above are taken from my most recent purchase, Lumina ++ New Lumina, a collection of thoughts and antidotes from the journals and notes of Adrienne. Von Balthasar comments that these are fruits of Adrienne's contemplative union with God, perhaps she wanted to use them for manuscripts, but they never were incorporated into her other works.

What a lesson for me these above thoughts on Faith, Hope and Love truly are! Perhaps you've experienced a little hopelessness lately? I've been rather down regarding the state of our country and the current political landscape. Living in Chicago--a.k.a. Obamanation--is often demoralizing. Yet, should I really be living with a mindset of gloom and doom?

The reality is, as Papa Benedict said while visiting the US in April--Those who have HOPE live differently! And, this is not the Obama definition of hope: hope in ourselves and our own ingenuity, hope that is a vague, undefined ideal. This is the theological virtue of HOPE that Papa Benedict preached while in our nation. This is the REAL DEAL.

If we have Hope, then we will live differently. We'll know that this life is NOT what it is all about. Even if Obama becomes president and the nation goes to pots, even if FOCA is signed into law and we experience radical socialist agendae, in the end...it will not matter.

Why? Because we KNOW the story's ending. We know, as proclaimed in the Gospel, that Christ will come again--we know, as Our Lady of Fatima said, that in the end HER IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH.

There will be sorrows, persecution. We see it now--as we've seen it over the past 2000 years--even today our Christian brothers and sisters are being killed in Iraq and India...and other places around the globe. But, as was said so long ago, the Blood of Martyrs is the Seed of Christians. These men and women dying for the Faith are heroes, and what a consolation to know they are in Heaven praying for us even at this very moment?!

There is nothing to fear. Thursday (Oct. 16) was the anniversary of Papa John Paul's election as Pontiff. Do you know what he said on that day?? "Do not be afraid. OPEN wide the DOORS to Christ." What did Papa Benedict remind us of while in the US? "CHRIST is our HOPE!"

Seeing with the eyes of faith changes our perspective. Today at Mass I heard a homily preached, and the crux thereof: We must view the word through the prism of the Gospel! What a lesson for us right now, today!

I hear so many faithful men and women so discouraged by our world, saddened by the nearly 4,000 abortions daily in the US, discouraged by the secularization of the Western world...and honestly distressed at general apathy towards God. But, didn't Jesus say in the Gospel of John, "Do not let your hearts be troubled...Do not be afraid...for I have conquered the world." Didn't He promise He would come again? Didn't He say that if we are faithful, we have no reason to worry?

Life is so short! This is just a speck. How silly of us, as Adrienne reminds, to even allow ANYTHING to consume our time or our selves that is not in essence Faith, not in essence God?!

And, if we allow Hope to truly live in us, we will be what we have been created in the image of...God Himself, who is Love!

In these troubled times, may we look forward to the fulfillment of God's promises. May we rejoice in the Crosses we are invited to bear, may we accept the challenge of living true Hope in a world confused and starving for Truth. May we not allow politics, apathy or even our own weakness distract us from the Source and Summit of our lives, God...Who is so humbly and perpetually available to us, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!

The Cross Inside

+JMJ+

I began the day unassumingly. Oatmeal...coffee...a quick shower and packing my bag. I had C. Dziwisz's "A Life with Karol" initially, but then I thought it was too heavy to carry. Re-evaluating the number of books I'd take on my adventure, I determined the need for additional reading material...and chose Edith Stein's (St. Theresa Benedicta) "Science of the Cross" quite randomly. It was too early in the morning for me to realize what I had done...

I am a firm believer in Sundaying...and refuse to do labor any longer, unless it is a life-and-death or Evangelization related affair. My intention for today: Mass, prayer, and lots of good reading...and a little baking. Mission accomplished!

Now, back to the book selection. I wandered to the Lakefront, coffee in hand, after Mass, and found a perfect spot on the rocks to sit and read. I pulled out my book, and as I read through the introduction I realized--today is the anniversary of Edith's birth! Now, mind you, I haven't actually read any of her texts for quite a while--clearly there was some Divine intervention in my book selection.

Now, the Science of the Cross is the last book dear Edith wrote. There is so much to say about the back story! But, I cannot go into that now. But there is an excellent theme I'd like to share with you. Yesterday someone pointed out to me my idealism. Today I thought, it is good to be idealistic. There are too many people out there that are realistic-pessimists. I choose not to be such a person. But, perhaps prudent idealism is called for--I submit this as a proposition.

Here is what I read today in the introduction written by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D., to Edith's text, that I think plays into the concept of prudent idealism:

"Where through a lively faith the doctrine of faith and the "tremendous deeds" of God are the content of life, a "holy realism" as Edith calls it, exists. Out of this realism comes an openness, in uninhibited simplicity, to the truths of faith, from which springs the science of the saints. If the mystery of the cross becomes the inner form of this science, a living energy that allows the soul to be molded by what it received from this mystery, it turns into a science of the cross."

There is so much here! Really, Edith had in mind something that was living, not static, not purely theoretical. When she thought and wrote science of the cross she had in mind Truth, Truth that influences and affects all that one does--transforming and conforming one's world view to see through the eyes of Christ on the Cross. Can you imagine living in such a way? Do you beleive that this, truly, is the vocation of all Christians?

When I think about idealism, I think about Christ Himself. He never said, "well, they are going to do it any way, might as well minimize the damage." He breathed the BEST OPTION. Jesus is all about the ideal standard and the highest goal. The worst thing we could possibly do in this life is be mediocre, is resign ourselves to the status quo. We must be idealists if we want to be a part of the cultural revolution that is so desperately needed!

Yet, the virtue of prudence is essential. There is a time and place for everything--we must perpetually be witness to Truth, and to the BEST of humanity. Yet, we must pray for good judgment and prudence in all of our actions, so that we are constantly in communion with God's Holy Will and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our actions and activities, for the Greater Glory of God.

This is where Edith's synthesis of St. John of the Cross' spirituality fits in. Can we truly espouse a science of the Cross in our own lives? Can we live spiritually what St. Francis lived physically--as if we have the Stigmata imprinted upon our very being? Surely, it is a radical way of life! But, doesn't the world hunger for that radical witness? With the virtue of prudence and a firm Hope in Christ, we can live the ideal, and bear witness to the science of the Cross...

For the Right to Life and Love

+JMJ+

This is something I worked on for a secular, academic audience. My boss did some edits (particularly adding the information on infertility/adoption), let me know what y'all think!

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October is Respect Life Month, when all people of good will are asked to intentionally consider the dignity and sanctity of all human life, and how they as citizens can work for the protection of all human life from conception to natural death.

The Catholic Church’s position of upholding both life and justice issues offers an approach that is consistent scientifically, philosophically, and spiritually. Standard human embryology textbooks agree that “The time of fertilization represents the starting point in the life history, or ontogeny, of the individual.” (Carlson, Patten's Foundations of Embryology). While offering a consistent approach to all life issues, the Church recognizes that some issues have greater moral significance than others. We are particularly commissioned to advocate for those whose voices go unheard, including the unborn.

In a land where abortion is permitted throughout all nine months of pregnancy, there are over 1.2 million abortions in the U.S. annually, and college-aged women account for 1/3 of those abortions (Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute). We must work for protective laws for women and children concerning abortion regulations, while also engaging in dynamic works that provide real, viable options for women facing unexpected and even unwanted pregnancies. With infertility on the rise, 2 million couples in the U.S. currently seek to adopt. Surely, there must be a way to enable the BEST choice—life. At the same time, we must advocate for the rights of the elderly and disabled, especially those who may be victims of euthanasia, as well as a myriad of other life issues, including stem cell research, poverty, war, the death penalty and ethical use of biomedical technologies.

This is significant for those engaging in academic work, because these principles are not “imposing religious opinions” as some allege, but based upon natural law. The roots of medicine affirm the quest to uphold the dignity of life. For example, from antiquity the Hippocratic Oath affirmed the immorality of abortion.

For those engaging in the debate between faith and reason, applying these principles to the collegiate culture can be challenging. Most people, even if pro-choice, will acknowledge that abortion is not the ideal solution to a crisis pregnancy. Yet, abortion is a symptom of the more deeply rooted problem facing our culture—a crisis in the understanding of human sexuality.

Modern technologies and laws have made it easier for people to engage in sexual activity while believing there are no consequences. But sexual activity outside of marriage does have emotional and possibly physical and psychological consequences. Men and women living in a hook-up culture may feel that they have found the solution to unintended pregnancy or STDs, but they are bearing the scars of activities that demean their own dignity.

The book Sex and the Soul by feminist theologian Donna Freitas tackles the problem: university campuses are a reflection of society at large; there is an escalation of sexual activity, partying and regret. The most significant point of her research, supported by countless studies over the past 10 years, is that the Risky Sexual Behavior (RSB) that college students engage in is based on a false perception. In study after study, students report that they believe their peers are engaging in more RSB than they actually are, and then make their own sexual decisions based on this misinformation.

There are so many philosophical theories that uphold the best option advocated for by the Catholic Church—that sexual morality is definitive, and is the best option for society. In a culture where moral relativism is the status quo, the Catholic Church is stepping out in the midst of all the ‘options’ say there is a BEST OPTION that does lead to satisfaction and happiness. The Theology of the Body affirms these principles, that sexuality is a gift and is meant to express the total gift of love from oneself to another.

As the Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month, we work toward a holistic understanding of the human person and a greater respect for human sexuality. We advocate for sexual responsibility and moral integrity. With Faith supported by scientific research, we maintain that sexual intimacy is reserved for a husband and wife within a committed marriage covenant. By challenging society to seriously examine their sexual choices and consider the impact their personal decisions have on others, some will begin to make choices that reflect the best of our culture—which is founded on the belief that all life is sacred and has inherent dignity, and that each person has a significant contribution to make to the world in which we live.

Burning it at Both Ends

+JMJ+

Sometimes I wonder--how did Mary handle things? Today the Church gives us some food for thought with the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary--and really, the Rosary is like the Gate-Way drug for learning meditation (pardon my crass analogy).

It has not been my plan, but over the past 2 weeks I've found myself in three different settings talking about something I never thought I'd be so passionate about--prayer. I already shared about my adventures in Cincinnati, where the focus of my talk really was prayer. On Sunday I spoke at a parish for Respect Life Sunday, and the talk morphed into a rallying cry to make prayer the center of life and any effort to build a Civilization of Love. Today, 1st-8th graders at a local Catholic grammar/middle school heard a little bit about respecting life...and prayer.

It isn't like I'm planning this out, but I am incapable of saying anything substantive to a Catholic audience without talking about prayer! I remember the days when praying was a challenge...and I am still living in those days. But, I can't get away from it. My day is not complete without prayer. I've allowed it to mark the hours so intentionally, that if I miss prayer, I know I am missing something vital.

Every year Autumn is an insane season. With back to school comes back to everything, and when you work full-time for the Church, this means full-time and then some! I remember these seasons in the past, and how hectic and MISERABLE they could be at times. The curious thing about this year is that I am as busy as ever (haven't really had a day off in over 2 weeks), and yet, I am content.

I am not complaining like I usually do...not being grouchy. Sure, I am a little tired and I've forgotten some stuff here and there, but I find myself at peace. I have this sense of how privileged I am to do the things I do, and am more aware of the blessings that even exist amidst the struggles.

Now, I'm not saying I am perfect or that life is void of pain and challenge, but what I AM saying is that the more I pray, the better I am able to take everything in stride. The more I pray, the more balanced I am...and the more willing I am to sacrifice little things to keep the day simple and take care of myself in the midst of busyness.

On this feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, may we take the invitation to prayer--which is an intimate conversation with God--seriously. We have everything at our disposal to learn how to pray...and how to pray well. All that is required of us is a choice, a commitment to prayer. Are you ready to make that commitment?