Prolife Quotes

Some things to consider as we pray and make sacrifices for an end to abortion.


"It is horrific that some children never see the light of day because of abortion" 

-Pope Francis


"Life is beautiful and life is from God! This is the most basic message we proclaim.......
.... to build a society that promotes the dignity of every human life no matter how weak... If the child in the womb has no right to live, then no one does. If the child in the womb has no human dignity, then no one does. " -Archbishop Jose Gomez

"I have noticed that everyone that is for abortion is already alive." 

-President Ronald Reagan

"The whole of society must defend the right to life of the child conceived and the true good of the woman who will never, in any circumstance, be able to find fulfillment in the decision of abortion." - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI


"If we want greatness for our nation, we will work together to end the unspeakable shame of abortion. We will speak from our hearts for those who cannot speak at all."

-Bishop James Conley

"A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope". - Blessed Pope John Paul II
“....There are two victims in every abortion, a dead baby and a dead conscience.....We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, of killings, of wars, of hatred,” Mother Teresa said. “If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other?”

-Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta

"...January 22 is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn Baby. Is anyone more vulnerable, more fragile, more in need of love, care, and protection than the unborn baby in her mother’s womb?" -Cardinal Timothy Dolan 

"In its heart, America knew that racial segregation was wrong. In its heart, America knows that human life begins before birth." -F. LaGard Smith

"What irony that a society confronted with plastic bags filled with remains of aborted babies would be more concerned about the problem of recycling the bags." - Winifred Egan

Stand Up for the Unborn this Month!

 

USCCB 9 DAYS FOR LIFE: http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/january-roe-events/nine-days-of-prayer-penance-and-pilgrimage.cfm

On January 22 our nation will mark the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the U.S.

Join thousands of Catholics across the country coming together in prayer for a "culture of life" from Saturday, January 18 - Sunday, January 26.  Since that tragic decision, more than 55 million children's lives have been lost to abortion, and many suffer that loss -- often in silence. 

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles:  

 

A Closer Look at the Cardinals To Be

2014-01-13 Vatican Radio(Vatican Radio) The names of Pope Francis’ nineteen cardinals designate were announced after last Sunday’s Angelus for the world to hear. But who are the men behind the names? The new cardinals will come from all corners of the globe and from an incredibly diverse range of ministries – we took a look at this exciting list and summarized the highlights.


On February 22nd 2014, the Feast of the Chair of Peter, Pope Francis will create sixteen new cardinals:

PIETRO PAROLINPart of the Holy See’s diplomatic corps since 1986, he was Apostolic Nuncio in Venezuela between 2009 and 2013, when Pope Francis nominated him Vatican Secretary of State.

LORENZO BALDISSERIPreviously Apostolic Nuncio in Brazil, where he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI on his visit in 2007, he was Secretary of the Congregation of Bishops from January 2012 until nominatedSecretary General of the Synod of Bishops by Pope Francis in September 2013.

GERHARD LUDWIG MÜLLERHaving graduated in philosophy and theology, he was professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Catholic Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich (Germany) between 1986 and 2002, travelling as visiting professor to universities worldwide. In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI nominated him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, President of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and President of the International Theological Commission.

BENIAMINO STELLAPart of the Holy See’s diplomatic corps since 1970, he was previously Apostolic Nuncio in Cuba and Colombia, and was nominated Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy by Pope Francis in September 2013.

VINCENT GERARD NICHOLS
Master of Arts in Theology and previously Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, he was Metropolitan Archbishop of Birmingham (UK) between 2000 and 2009, when Pope Benedict XVI nominated him Metropolitan Archbishop of Westminster (UK).

LEOPOLDO JOSÉ BRENES SOLÓRZANO
He obtained his Licentiate of Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome (Italy) and was nominated Metropolitan Archbishop of Managua (Nicaragua) by Pope John Paul II in March 2005.

GÉRALD CYPRIEN LACROIX, I.S.P.X.
Part of the “Institut Séculier Pie X” since 1975, he has been both Secretary General and Director General of the institute, as well as Director General of its centre for spiritual formation “Maison du Renouveau”. He was nominated Metropolitan Archbishop of Québec (Canada) by Pope Benedict XVI in February 2011.

JEAN-PIERRE KUTWA
Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Theology and previously Metropolitan Archbishop of Gagnoa (Ivory Coast), he was nominated Metropolitan Archbishop of Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in May 2006.

ORANI JOÃO TEMPESTA, O. CIST.A member of the Cistercian Order since 1969, he was Prior of the São Bernardo monastery in São José do Rio Pardo (Brazil) from 1984 until the monastery became an abbey in 1996, when he was elected its first Abbott. Previously President of Brazil’s National Commission for Culture, Education and Social Communications, he was nominated Metropolitan Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in February 2009, in which capacity he welcomed Pope Francis on his visit in July 2013.

GUALTIERO BASSETTIHe was previously a member of the Episcopal Commission of the Italian Episcopal Conference for the Clergy and Consecrated Life, and a member of the Managing Board of the Catholic Committee for Cultural Collaboration with Orthodox Churches of the Byzantine tradition and Eastern Orthodox Churches. He is currently Vice-President of the Italian Episcopal Conference for Central Italy, and Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve (Italy).

MARIO AURELIO PIOLIHaving graduated as Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, he was appointed there as professor of Ecclesiastical History in 1980. He is currently President of the Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education and of the Episcopal Commission for Ministries with the Argentinian Episcopal Conference, and was nominatedMetropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina) by Pope Francis in March 2013.

ANDREW YEOM SOO-JUNG
Archbishop of Seoul (South Korea) since May 2012, he previously occupied a series of senior administrative posts within parishes and seminaries across South Korea.

RICCARDO EZZATI ANDRELLO, S.D.B.
A member of the Salesians of Don Bosco since 1966, he worked with the Salesian Society in parishes and educational institutions all over Chile. Previously Metropolitan Archbishop of Concepción (Chile), he was nominated Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago (Chile) in December 2010.

PHILIPPE NAKELLENTUBA OUEDRAOGO
Previously a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, he was nominatedMetropolitan Archbishop of Ouadraogo (Burkina Faso) by Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009.

ORLANDO QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Already a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he graduated in Pedagogy from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila (Philippines). He was appointed first Bishop of Kidapawan (Philippines) when the diocese was created in November 1982, and nominatedMetropolitan Archbishop of Cotabato (Philippines) by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

CHIBLY LANGLOIS
Nominated Bishop of Les Cayes (Haiti) by Pope Benedict XVI in August 2011, he was previously professor of Pastoral Theology at the Grand Séminaire Notre-Dame in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) and professor at the Diocesan Institute for Human Education and Promotion in Jacmel (Haiti).


At the same time, Pope Francis will join to the members of the College of Cardinals three Archbishops Emeriti, distinguished for their service to the Holy See and to the Church:

LORIS FRANCESCO CAPOVILLA
A qualified journalist and former editor of a diocesan weekly magazine in Venice (Italy), he was secretary to Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, later Pope John XXIII, first in Venice and then in the Vatican. He was Pontifical Delegate for the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto (Italy) from 1971 until his retirement in 1988. At 98 years old, he is the third oldest archbishop in the world and will be the oldest member of the College of Cardinals.

SEBASTIÁN AGUILAR, C.M.F.A member of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and previously Bishop of León (Spain), he is Archbishop Emeritus of Pamplona (Spain), where he served from 1993 until his retirement in 2007.

KELVIN EDWARD FELIX
Having graduated as Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of Bradford (UK) in 1970, he was professor of Sociology at the University of the West Indies at Saint Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago) for many years. Previously President of the Caribbean Conference of Churches, President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, he is Archbishop Emeritus of Castries (Saint Lucia), where he led the diocese from his appointment in 1981 until his retirement in 2008.

Pope on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and NEW Cardinals named

Dear brothers and sisters, hello!

Today is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This morning I baptized 32 newborns. I thank the Lord with you for these babies and for every new life. I like to baptize children. I really enjoy it! Every child who is born is a gift of joy and hope, and every child who is baptized is marvel of the faith and a festival for the family of God.

Today’s Gospel reading highlights the fact that, when Jesus received baptism from John in the Jordan River, “the heavens opened for him” (Matthew 3:16). This fulfills the prophecies. In fact, there is an invocation that the liturgy has us repeat during Advent: “O that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 63:19). If the heavens remain closed, our horizon in this earthly life is dark, without hope. But, celebrating Christmas, the faith has once again given us the certainty that the heavens have been opened by Jesus’coming. And on the day of Christ’s baptism we again contemplate the opened heavens. The manifestation of the Son of God on earth is the beginning of the great time of mercy, after sin had closed the heavens, making a barrier between human beings and their Creator. With Jesus’ birth the heavens are opened! God gives us in Christ the guarantee of an indestructible love. From the moment the Word was made flesh it is possible to see the heavens opened. It is possible for the shepherds of Bethlehem, for the magi from the East, for the Baptist, for the Apostles of Jesus, for St. Stephen, the first martyr, who exclaimed: “I see the heavens opened!” (Acts 7:56). And it is also possible for each one of us, if we let ourselves be invaded by God’s love! This is the great time of mercy! Do not forget it. This is the great time of mercy!

When Jesus received the of baptism repentance from John the Baptist, entering into solidarity with the repentant people – he who is without and without a need to convert – God the Father made his voice heard from heaven: “This is my beloved Son. In him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Jesus received the heavenly Father’s approval, who sent him precisely to share our condition, our poverty. Sharing is the true way to love. Jesus does not disassociate himself from us. He considers us brothers and shares with us. And in this way he makes us sons, together with him, of God the Father. This is revelation and the source of true love. And this is the great time of mercy!

Does it not seem to you that in our time there is a need for more fraternal sharing and of love? Does it not seem to you that we all need more charity? I am not talking about that charity that contents itself with extemporaneous help and does not get involved, does not put itself into play, but that charity that shares, that takes on our brother’s hardships and suffering. What flavor life has when we let ourselves be flooded with God’s love!

Let us ask the Holy Virgin with her intercession to sustain us our effort to follow Christ along the way of faith and charity, the way traced out by our Baptism.

[Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:]

Dear brothers and sisters,

I offer all of you my cordial greeting, especially the families and the faithful from different parishes in Italy and other countries along with the associations and various groups who are present.

Today I would like to address a special thought to the parents who have had their children baptized and those who are preparing for the Baptism of a child. I join in the joy of these families, I thank the Lord with them, and I pray that the Baptism of their children with help the parents themselves to rediscover the beauty of faith and to return in a new way to the Sacraments and to the community.

As has already been announced, on February 22, the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, I will have the joy of holding a consistory, during which I will name 16 new cardinals, who – belonging to 12 nations from every corner of the world – represent the profound ecclesial relationship between the Church of Rome and the other Church’s dispersed throughout the world.

On the following day I will preside at a solemn celebration with the new cardinals while on February 20-21I will hold a consistory with all of the cardinals to reflect on the theme of the family.

Here are the names of the new cardinals:

1 – Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Titular Archbishop of Acquapendente, Secretary of State.

2 – Monsignor Lorenzo Baldisseri, Titular Archbishop of Diocleziana, Secretary General of the Synod.

3 - Monsignor Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus of Regensburg, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

4 – Monsignor Beniamino Stella, Titular Archbishop of Midila, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

5 – Monsignor Vincent Gerard Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster (Great Britain).

6 – Monsignor Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, Archbishop of Managua (Nicaragua).

7 – Monsignor Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec (Canada).

8 – Monsignor Jean-Pierre Kutwa, Archbishop of Abidjan (Ivory Coast).

9 – Monsignor Orani João Tempesta, O.Cist., Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

10 – Monsignor Gualtiero Bassetti, Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve (Italy).

11 – Monsignor Mario Aurelio Poli, Archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina).

12 – Monsignor Andrew Yeom Soo jung, Archbishop of Seoul (Korea).

13 – Monsignor Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., Archbishop of Santiago de Chile (Chile).

14 – Monsignor Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).

15 – Monsignor Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I., Archbishop of Cotabato (Philippines).

16 – Monsignor Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes (Haiti).

Together with them, I add to the College of Cardinals 3 archbishops emeriti who are distinguished by their service to the Holy See and to the Church:

Monsignor Loris Francesco Capovilla, Titular Archbishop of Mesembria;

Monsignor Fernando Sebastián Aguilar, Archbishop Emeritus of Pamplona;

Monsignor Kelvin Edward Felix, Archbishop Emeritus of Castries, in the Antilles.

Let us pray for the new cardinals that, clothed in the virtues and sentiments of the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, they can more efficaciously assist the Bishop of Rome in his service to the universal Church.

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good lunch. Goodbye!

Poverty, Justice, and the Fight for Freedom

"Law is meant to form character, and integrity, and holiness. Law is meant to protect charity. We can measure a law by this standard. Good law leads us to choose what is good, and bad law tolerates, endorses, or celebrates evil."

Bishop James D. Conley, Bishop of Lincoln, NE
 Friday, 10 January 2014

Jeanne Jugan knew poverty. Her father was a fisherman, who was lost at sea when she was only 4 years old. Her mother raised eight children as a single mom. The family struggled to eat, and for a place to live, and often enough they knew real hunger, real cold, real need.
As a child, Jugan worked in the fields caring for sheep, doing hard, rough work to help support her family. Eventually she became a maid. She worked for a kind noblewoman who made sure that she had enough to eat, and a place to live. The noblewoman also made sure that Jeanne Jugan did not forget about poverty: part of her duties were to visit the sick, the poor, and the elderly, and to bring them food and money on behalf of her employer.
Jeanne Jugan’s whole life became service to the poor. She worked hard, serving families and widows with very little. She served them because, as she would say, she was a sister to the poor. She served the poor, she said, in order to serve Jesus Christ.

Eventually, Jeanne Jugan began living with and caring for poor widows. Soon other women joined her. They worked as nurses and cooks, and they lived with the poor as Christian companions. Soon, they started a new religious community, and Jugan became the foundress of The Little Sisters of the Poor.

For almost 200 years, the Little Sisters of the Poor have carried on the work of St. Jeanne Jugan. But today, federal law threatens their work. The dictates of the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act require the Sisters to either support the use of contraception or pay insurmountable fines. Their goal is only to serve the poor. But today our government is undermining that goal.

Last week, the Little Sisters of the Poor won a small victory in the fight to protect religious liberty. The Sisters have filed suit against the federal government, alleging that any participation in the contraceptive mandate violates their conscience and thus their religious freedom. Of course, they’re right. And last week, a Justice of the United States Supreme Court granted the Sisters a reprieve from the mandate while their case is decided.
In the meantime, the Justice Department has opposed the Sisters’ petition on the grounds that colluding in the provision of contraception and abortion is not a violation of the Sisters’ religious convictions.

The Little Sisters of the Poor are not political activists. They’ve not filed suit to make a statement, or to establish legal precedent. They’re working to protect the integrity of their ministry. They’re working to ensure that federal law treats them justly and fairly.
“For law to be good,” said St. Thomas Aquinas, “it should make us good… The purpose of human law is to lead men to virtue.”

Law is meant to form character, and integrity, and holiness. Law is meant to protect charity. We can measure a law by this standard. Good law leads us to choose what is good, and bad law tolerates, endorses, or celebrates evil. 

A law that requires Catholics to violate their religious conviction is not a good law. A law that requires support and endorsement for the use of contraception and abortion is an unjust law. And the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose only mission is to support elderly people living in poverty, are refusing to be led into evil by unjust laws.

This week the Church celebrates the feast of St. Raymond of Peñafort—one of the Church’s great legal minds. In a time of legal ambiguity and confusion, St. Raymond worked to ensure that the Church’s laws, and those of Europe’s nations, were just and fair. Today we face legal ambiguity and confusion. Today we need more men and women like St. Raymond of Peñafort, who work to ensure that law leads us all to virtue.

We need to join together in prayer and sacrifice for truth. We need to stand together for justice. Like St. Jeanne Jugan, and the Little Sisters of the Poor, and like St. Raymond, we need to stand together for what is good, and beautiful, and true.

Reflective Quote...

“I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history.”

-Cardinal Francis George 

Three little resolutions for the New Year

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez

I hope you all had a merry Christmas with your families and friends.

I love this season of Christmas because everybody seems to have a new sense that God has given us great possibilities for our lives. And this is true! This is the beautiful reality of Christmas. Jesus comes to be with us out his deep, personal love for each one of us.

So making New Year’s Resolutions is a profoundly Christian habit. It reflects a beautiful desire to grow in our friendship with Jesus Christ. And it reflects our awareness that we are not yet the people that God wants us to be.

We know that with God’s grace and help, all things are possible. In this spirit, I want to suggest three resolutions for all of us in this coming year.

Resolution 1: Make Jesus the center of our lives.

Let’s really do it this year. Let’s wake up every morning with our mind on Jesus and let’s go to sleep each night with our mind on Jesus.

Jesus wants us to be our friend, our brother. Let’s really start relating to him as our brother. He shares in our human nature. He is like in all things but sin. We need to learn from his words and his example.

One practical way to grow in our friendship with Jesus is to try to find the time to read the Gospels — the life of Jesus.

Set aside a few minutes every day to read one passage of the Gospels. Maybe use the Gospel reading that the Church proposes for daily Mass. Always begin by making a simple prayer from your heart that will put you in the presence of God.

Ask Jesus to open his Word for you. Don’t ask what the Gospel passage says “in general” or what it might mean for other people. Ask him personally, “Lord, what are you saying to me? What do you want me to do? What in my life must I change if I want to follow your more closely?”

Try to carry that Gospel passage with you throughout the day, reflecting on it. This is the beginning of walking with Jesus in our daily lives. We begin to see what our lives look like from his perspective.

Resolution 2: Make life better for others.

God’s plan for our lives is simple and beautiful. He wants us to receive his love in Jesus and to share that love with others. By our love we change the world. We make it more like heaven. And our own road to heaven is paved with our little acts of love, charity and kindness.

We need to have a positive intention every day to serve — to make life better for someone. Love begins with those who make the most demands on us, those who challenge our selfishness.

That means love begins with those who are closest to us. In our homes. In the places where we work or go to school.

Practically speaking, we need to have more patience, more understanding with the people in our lives. Let’s give others the benefit of the doubt, accept people as they are, stop being so judgmental. Let’s give a positive tone to our conversation and avoid negative criticism.

We have to treat one another with tenderness and love. Sometimes we can change a person’s whole day just be smiling, just by listening to what they have to say.

Resolution 3: Forgive others as God forgives us.

We have to open our hearts and open our lives — and show people the love of Christ that we know. That’s what it means to share our faith. It means loving people. Caring for them. Showing them mercy. And especially forgiveness.

We don’t forgive enough. This hurts our families. This hurts our relationships. People are going to hurt us and offend us. It’s going to happen every day. But staying angry or resentful doesn’t heal anything. It just makes things hurt longer.

Our Holy Father Pope Francis has said, “Jesus calls us all to follow this path: ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.’ … In silence, let's all think … of a person with whom we are annoyed, with whom we are angry, someone we do not like. Let us think of that person and … let us pray for this person and let us become merciful with this person.”

This is beautiful advice for us. So let’s make a resolution — to forgive others just as God forgives us. Every time! All the time!
I wish you all a very blessed New Year! Let’s keep praying for one another in 2014!

And let’s ask our Blessed Mother Mary to help us in this coming year to grow in our relationship with her Son Jesus.