What is more pro-life than the means through which God chose to send His only Son into the world... and the Virgin Mary saying 'yes' to Life--the Life of the World? (John 6:51)

The following excerpt by St. Athanasius was given to me by a teen from St. Ann Parish in Coppell (who wishes to remain anonymous).

"O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all. O Ark of the New Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is thr flesh in which divinity resides. Should I compare you to the fertile earth and its fruits? You surpass them, for it is written: "The earth is my footstool." (Is 66:1). But you carry within you the feet, the head, and the entire body of the perfect God.

If I say that heaven is exalted, yet it does not equal you, for it is written: "Heaven is my throne" (Is :66:1), while you are God's place of repose. If I say that the angels and archangels are great-but you are greater than them all, for the angels and archangels serve with trembling the One who dwells in your womb, and they dare not speak in His presence, while you speak to Him freely.

If we say that the cherubim are great, you are greater than they, for the cherubim carry the throne of God while you hold God in your hands. If we say that the seraphim are great, you are greater than them all, for the seraphim cover their faces with their wings, unable to look upon the perfect glory, while you not only gaze upon His face but caress it and offer your breasts to His Holy mouth...

As for Eve, she is the mother of the dead, "for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22). Eve took (fruit) from the tree and made her husband eat of it along with her. And so they ate of that tree of which God had told them: "The day you eat of it, you shall die." (Gen. 2:17). Eve took fruit from it, ate some of it and gave some to her husband (that he might eat) with her. He ate of it, and he died. In you, instead, O wise Virgin, dwells the Son of God: He, that is, who is the tree of life. Truly He has given us His body, and we have eaten of it. That is how life came to all, and all have come to life by the mercy of God, you beloved Son. That is why your spirit is full of joy in God your Savior!"

(Quoted in Luigi Ganbero, S.M., Mary & the Fathers of the Church, Ignatius Press, 1999, pp 106-107)

Labels: Simple truth

Labels: Youth For Life

Labels: post-abortion healing

Time magazine has a story on Pope Benedict XVI's next encyclical and what it might contain. The proposed theme for the encyclical is on social justice but judging from the extreme reaction from members of the mainstream media and the blogging community, you would think that the Pope had mandated the elimination of capitalism.

It is one thing when uninformed, clueless members of the media get it wrong (note to Time: an encyclical is not a "doctrinal pronouncement") when referring to matters of the Church, after all they're hard-pressed to see the Church through any other lens than abortion, birth control and women priests. It is another thing when conservatives in the blogging community jump the gun just as quickly and condemn a statement that has not been even released, much less its full contents and context known, then things are really getting bad.

Note to mainstream media writers: Leave the analysis of official Church documents to those who actually know what the Church is talking about.

Note to bloggers who foolishly condemn statements not yet released by the Pope: Wait until the Pope actually releases the document before opening your mouth and inserting your foot.

Labels: media bias

Planned Parenthood of North Texas held its annual Teen Savvy event on July 26th in Dallas. DCAPP (Dallas Coalition Against Planned Parenthood) showed up to protest the event which teaches young people from 5th grade on about sex ed and contraception.

A report from the protest has found its way to the STOPP report of American Life League.

Here is the report.

Labels: Planned Parenthood

We attended a pro-life conference for Respect Life Directors in Crystal City, VA over the weekend and came into contact with numerous resources that are spelled out below.

These resources are good for anyone considering starting a pro-life ministry and are wondering what to do, or for someone who just simply wants to further their own education on pro-life matters.

Carol Franz is an Adult Stem-Cell Transplant Survivor. At least, that's what her shirts say and her testimony is an indication of the powerful transforming, regenerative power of not only the human spirit, but the human body as well.

After enduring several chemo treatments for myeloma cancer she was injected with adult stem-cells at a hospital in Syracuse and in her words, was "reborn." Here cancer went away only to come back several years later and after another treatment with adult stem cells, she has been cured once again.

Carol has a compelling testimony and along with her friends, Doug Rice and Stephen Sprague, who also experienced miraculous healings via adult stem cells, are available to come and speak about their experiences.

Hands off Our Ovaries are a group of pro-life and pro-choice women who have come together to seek a moratorium on egg extraction from women for research purposes until "such time as global discourse and scientific research yields information sufficient to establish adequate informed consent."

Their concern stems from 25 women who have died as a result of egg harvesting and the FDA's non-interest in investigating these deaths. Also, there have been no long-term studies to show the possible risks of the procedure (which is painful to hear described) and whether or not cancer or infertility may develop from them.

Jennifer Lahl is on the Board of Directors for Hands Off Our Ovaries and spoke at the conference. She is very-well spoken and had an excellent grasp of the issues as they relate to the research and harvesting of eggs involved. I am sure she would love to come to your area to speak about this as well.

Here is an editorial in the Dallas Morning News written by Ms. Lahl.

SaintMax Worldwide uses modern technology to inject the word of Christ into pop culture. They have developed a 12 minute DVD about stem cell research that they will make available for you or your diocese at a minimal cost. The idea is to further raise awareness about what embryonic stem-cells have done (or rather not done) and to encourage the use of adult stem cells.

The diocese of Phoenix has used the video and showed it in every church in the diocese and are raising money to get a series of TV commercials on air locally. You can see some of these commercials and the 12 minute DVD on their web site.

I will have more resources up in the days to come.

Labels: Pro-Life Resources

Labels: Youth For Life

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee hosts a quarterly Mass, Rosary & Procession from a diocesan church to a Dallas abortion center. St. Jude Catholic Church in Allen, TX hosted the July 2007 Mass & Procession as well as a baby shower for a mother who chose life for her baby.



An interesting thing happened that Saturday. The Abortion Center was closed (which is extremely rare for what is usually the best day for "business"). One of our sidewalk counselors called to ask why their gate was closed to find out they were closed for the day because of an emergency. Could it be possible that their "emergency" was the anticipation of our prayerful presence?

Check out www.youtube.com/prolifedallas for more videos from the Catholic Pro-Life Committee.

Labels: Abortion mill