4th Sunday - Loss of a Child

Lord I wanted to hold my little one on my lap, and tell them about you. But since I never had the chance, will you please hold them on your lap and tell them about me?

 In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” Before Jeremiah was born, he was dedicated to God and someday as a prophet, would speak on behalf of God. King Zedekiah didn’t want to hear what Jeremiah said and threw him into a well and eventually killed him. This reading also prefigures Jesus. Before He was conceived in the womb of Mary, He was dedicated as the future Messiah who would come to save us from our sins and would be THE prophet sent to the nations, so all may have the opportunity for salvation. Like Jeremiah He was arrested and put into a dungeon and then was killed. Later in Our Lord’s life, He would describe how the Jewish people treated prophets. He said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you!” (Matt. 23:37) And in today’s Gospel, its clearly seen how they wanted to kill Jesus because He acted as a prophet speaking on behalf of God, because He is God.

He spoke as a prophet when He said, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”. The Jews knew the scripture Our Lord had just read referred to the Messiah and that’s why they couldn’t believe He was claiming to be the Messiah. They knew Him as a boy and saw Him grow into a man. That’s why they said, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”. They also knew the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, but they didn’t know He was born there. Jesus explains “a prophet is not accepted in His own native place” and then He said something which infuriated them. He explained how God treated non-Jews such as Naaman the Syrian, by healing his leprosy and the widow, who God miraculously fed during a famine. And yet they treat Jesus, a Jew, with contempt and try to throw Him off the cliff to kill Him. They treated Jesus, the prophet of prophets, much worse than Jeremiah and the other prophets. Followers of Jesus, who speak the truth will also be treated similarly. Anyone who speaks the truth, is speaking on behalf of God and just like Jeremiah and Jesus, others will want to do destroy them.

Last week was the anniversary of Roe vs Wade and I spoke on behalf of God about respecting life and explained a person is a person no matter how small.

Today’s readings also speak about the unborn child. The prophet Jeremiah said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” and the psalm said, “On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength.” It is certainly true all unborn children depend upon God, who is their strength.

A number of years ago, my sister had an ectopic pregnancy. The child should have passed through her Fallopian tube and then attached to her womb, but attached to the tube and started growing in the wrong place. My sister needed emergency surgery, otherwise, the growing child would cause the tube to burst and both would die. My sister had surgery to save her life, but removing the tube ended the life of the baby. It was a sad event for her, her husband and the whole family. There was nothing that could have been done, no matter what would have happened, the baby could never have lived. Yet, because the child has an immortal soul, even after death, will live forever.

It is a scientific fact, a new person is created at the moment of conception, because the child has its own DNA. As Catholics we believe God infuses an immortal soul into a child at the moment of conception. So today, my sister’s child is with God.

About a year ago, my niece became pregnant, but within a month, she had a miscarriage. She was heartbroken, as it was her first child. While I can never know the pain of a mother and father who lost a child through miscarriage, in my own heart, I grieved with them.

In December, at Holy Trinity we had a Mass for those who have lost a child through miscarriage or stillbirth or abortion. Couples lit a candle and wrote the names of the children in a book. They received a rose for each child.

A few years ago, I prepared Carla and Steve for marriage. A year after their wedding, she became pregnant. They were so excited. The doctor gave them a due date and it just so happened the day the child was to be born, their baby died before she went into labor. There was nothing I could do to console the parents, for only Jesus could do that. A year later, Carla called and said, she was pregnant and asked for prayer. She was afraid she would have another miscarriage, especially since she was pregnant with twins. The children were born early, but they were fine and a few weeks later I baptized them.

Then two years later, Carla called again and said, “Father, pray for me, I’m pregnant. This time I have triplets!” She was not taking fertility pills. We prayed much and when it came time to deliver, two of them needed to stay in the hospital for several weeks, but all were fine. About a month later, I baptized them. I told her, “Carla, you and Steve need to use Natural Family Planning, you have 5 children under the age of 3” and she said, “Yes, father, that’s our plan.”

There are times when couples need to space their children for serious reasons, such as a serious financial difficulties, or the health of a parent or a child. Or a couple with 5 children under the age of 3 years old making it very difficult to manage them.

Years ago, there was only the calendar method to space children, but it was not very accurate with regard to cycles. However, over time some accurate methods were developed. And today these methods reveal God’s plan for marriage by using Natural Family Planning. NFP is 99% effective-- much more effective than birth control and there are no risks to the mother such as cancer and no serious risks to an unborn child.

NFP is so effective it shouldn’t be used to space children except for serious reasons. NFP is open to life and there are no obstacles to a total self gift to each other. There are specially trained doctors in Wichita, who can help prevent miscarriages and help couples to conceive.

You would certainly agree it should be against the law to kill a baby after birth. Wouldn’t you agree it should be against the law to abort a baby just before birth? Or if a baby is viable baby after 24 weeks. Or against the law to abort a 15 week baby? What about a baby, who feels pain? Or has a beating heart? Would you agree it be against the law to abort a baby just after conception? If you agree with all of these, you would agree some contraceptives should be against the law. Let me explain.

What I am going to say, is not easy to say, nor is it easy for you to hear. But it needs to be said. The truth needs to be told. Did you know birth control pills, the patch and the IUD can cause the death of newly conceived babies?

Most of the time chemical birth control and also IUDs prevent conception. However, at times, a child will be conceived. It takes about 5 days for a newly conceived baby to pass through the Fallopian tube and then the child will attach to the womb. However, IUDs and chemicals used for birth control irritate the lining of the womb and the child is unable to attach and so dies and the mother did not know she was pregnant. This is why some forms of birth control should be against the law because they can cause the death of an unborn baby.

Some of you may think, why was I never told this before? How come the doctor never told me, nor the priest, nor my parents. It is quite possible, a woman using birth control such as the IUD, the patch or the pill, has lost a child or multiple children and never knew it. But someday, she when she passes into eternity, she will meet the child or children because she is their mother. How deeply heart wrenching it must be for women to hear about the dangers of contraceptives. But God is infinitely merciful. God knows you did not know about this when you were using contraceptives. Jesus wants us to give Him our sins, and wash them away forever and give us peace.

Did you know in the United States contraceptives were against the law from 1873 to 1965 until a Planned Parenthood director sued the state of Connecticut causing the Supreme Court to permit the use of contraceptives. The Griswold vs. Connecticut ruling became the foundation for Roe vs Wade. Now when Roe vs Wade is overturned, the Griswold vs Connecticut ruling will need to be overturned or amended to protect life from the moment of conception.

There are three reasons why contraceptives are seriously sinful. First, as I mentioned some contraceptives can kill unborn children just after conception. Second, it says no to God, by not being open to bringing a child into the world, if God would desire it. Third, it prevents the total gift of self to the spouse by using an obstacle.

Jesus loves you and wants you to come to Him in confession and to confess the sin of using birth control, to confess not following the Church’s teachings. To confess the possibility of losing children by birth control. To confess receiving Holy Communion sacrilegiously every time you received Communion while you used birth control. If you have never confessed these sins and they remain on your soul bring them to Jesus in confession, and He will wash them away. When having un-confessed mortal sins on our soul, we don’t receive any graces whatsoever from Holy Communion, but rather deeply offend the Lord through sacrilegious communions.

For a good confession, we need to be sorry for our sins, desire to avoid the sin in the future (to be willing to take steps to look into ways to discontinue the sinful behavior) and to make amends for the sins by doing penance.

It takes trust to use natural family planning. It takes trust to confess our sins. We trust God will take care of us, and He will give us the graces we need to live out our vocation of marriage. If we take steps, Jesus will help us and guide us. He calms the frightened lambs as we snuggle near His Sacred Heart knowing He loves us.

My friends, we are all human, we all make mistakes, and at times we make seriously wrong decisions and may not even know how serious they are until later. But we must trust in God’s mercy. Come to confession and get rid of these sins on your soul, and if you do, when you go to your judgment, you will be filled with joy because Jesus will not remember them after you confessed them.

Jesus wants to help families in their sorrows, give consolation and healing by His love and help couples to have peace with the sacred act of giving oneself to each other in love. In the bulletin specially trained doctors are listed who use NAPRO (Natural Procreative Technology) to prevent miscarriages, to help couples conceive and can help with NFP methods. Just as Jeremiah and the prophets of the Old Testament and especially Jesus the prophet of prophets were called to bare witness to the truth so are we. Jesus is counting on you to tell others the truth that contraception is wrong because it tells God no to the possibility of bringing a new person into the world, because it prevents to the total gift of self and because it can cause the death of child just after conception. Will you stand up to defend babies and help young couples to follow God’s plan for marriage and future of hope?

Jesus walks with us in our life. Is always at our side. He is part of everything we do. He supports us when we grieve, carries us when we feel like we can’t endure a situation, and He gives us hope and peace in the midst of our sorrows and our joys. He gives us strength to bare witness to the truth. As the prophet Jeremiah said, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”

Today, may we ask the Virgin Mary to pray for parents who have lost a child may She comfort them and help them to have peace, She who lost Her child at the foot of the Cross knows your heartache. And pray for couples to discover God’s plan for marriage so they will have help the need when spacing children, and for those who mistakenly used birth control, may they trust in God’s mercy and through confession have peace in their hearts. I would like to close with a poem from a parent who lost a child by miscarriage.

Daddy, please don’t look so sad,
Mommy, please don’t cry.
I am in the arms of Jesus
and He sings me lullabies.

Please do not try to question God,
don’t think He is unkind.
Don’t think He sent me to you and that
He changed His mind.

You see, I am special
and I’m needed up above.
I’m the special child you gave Him,
the product of your love.

I’ll always be there with you.
So watch the sky at night.
Find the brightest star that`s gleaming.
That`s my halo’s brilliant light.

So Daddy please don’t look so sad.
Mommy, please don’t cry.
I am in the arms of Jesus.
And He sings me lullabies.

For I came from the womb of Mommy and went to God, who before I was formed-- knew me.

Bioweapon Genie- Dr. Tenpenny

 

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny Warns Humanity about Killer Inoculations

https://rumble.com/vrny6d-bioweapon-genie-dr.-sherri-tenpenny-warn-humanity-about-killer-inoculations.html

Pray this isn't true. 

May the Virgin Mary deliver us, by Her Motherly Intercession

Jan. 28th - St. Thomas Aquinas

 

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church, and patron of all universities and of students.

He was born toward the end of the year 1226. When St. Thomas was five years old, his father placed him under the care of the Benedictine monks of Monte Casino. His teachers were surprised at the progress he made, for he surpassed all his fellow pupils in learning as well as in the practice of virtue.

At the age of seventeen, he joined the Dominicans of Naples. However, in a 2 yr. period, some members of his family would try to get him to leave the order. They even went so far as to send an impure woman to tempt him. But all their efforts were in vain and St. Thomas persevered in his vocation. As a reward for his fidelity, God conferred upon him the gift of perfect chastity, which merited for him the title of the "Angelic Doctor".

After making his profession at Naples, he studied at Cologne under St. Albert the Great. Here he was nicknamed the "dumb ox" because of his silent ways and huge size, but he was really a brilliant student. At the age of twenty-two, he was appointed to teach in the same city. At the same time, he also began to publish his first works. After four years he was sent to Paris. The saint was then ordained a priest. At the age of thirty-one, he received his doctorate.

At Paris he was honored with the friendship of King, St. Louis, with whom he frequently dined. Urban IV called him to Rome where he was appointed to teach, but he declined to accept any ecclesiastical dignity. St. Thomas not only wrote, but he preached often and with great fruit.

When Pope Urban IV decided to extend the Feast of Corpus Christi to the entire church, he asked St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure to write some new prayers and hymns for the feast. When they both appeared before the Pope with their finished manuscripts, St. Bonaventure urged St. Thomas to read his first. Both praised Thomas’ masterpiece. Then St. Bonaventure said, "Holy Father, listening to Fr. Thomas, it seemed as if I heard the Holy Spirit speak, for only the Holy Spirit can inspire such beautiful thoughts It is out of place for me to compare my poor essay with such a perfect masterpiece; and this is all that remains of it!" Some of the Eucharistic hymns Thomas wrote include the Tantum Ergo and Adoro Te Devote, Pange Lingua and Ecce Panis.

He left the great monument of his learning, the "Summa Theologica", unfinished because while saying mass on December 6, 1273, he experienced a heavenly vision. Urged by others to write again, he replied, "Such things have been revealed to me that all that I have written seems to me as so much straw. Now I await the end of my life."

On his way to the second Council of Lyons, he fell sick and died at a Cistercian monastery in 1274.

St. Thomas was one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time. He was canonized in 1323 and declared Doctor of the Church by Pope St. Pius V.

Today, may we thank God for this wonderful theologian and ask St. Thomas to help us to come to know the truths of our faith.

Life is Beautiful! Movie

 

 

Wonderful Movie about a Jewish Family and Their Struggle Through World War II

 https://gloria.tv/share/EmWPnSo4A1DW3upmMWCLfoqoQ

 

Jan. 27th - Angela Merici

 

 Today we celebrate the optional memorial of St. Angela of Merici, who was born in 1470 in Northern Italy. Even as a little child, she was honored as a little saint, because she loved purity and modesty, so much.

When she was 13 years old, Angela entered the third Order of St. Francis and soon afterwards, she took the vow of perpetual chastity, renounced all her possessions, and wanted to live only on alms. She practiced many austere penances, slept on the bare earth, and fasted almost continuously on bread and water. Sometimes Holy Communion was her only food over a period of several days.

One day while she was praying in a secluded place, she had a vision of a friend, who died not long ago. Her friend prophesied that Angela would be a foundress of a religious institute, which would be devoted to the education of the youth, which would do much good for the kingdom of God. The vision gave her a great incentive to lead a life of contemplation, but also to serve others.

She gathered a group of young women, who began to give children religious instruction to little children, to help the poor, and care for the sick. Often times great sinners, were among those she instructed. She encouraged them to be reconciled with God, and begin a new life.

Her virtuous conduct and knowledge of theology, caused many, to regard her as a saint. In 1516, to escape the honor given her, she went to another town, and to live absorbed in prayer. In 1524, she had an ardent desire to go to the Holy Land, just as St. Francis once did. She visited Jerusalem, Calvary, and the other Holy Places with great devotion and returned by way of Rome, in order to pray at the tombs of the apostles.

In 1535, her group of women became a religious congregation known as the Ursualines, named after St. Ursula. They began to spread rapidly, especially in America.

When she reached the age of 70, God revealed to her, the day and hour of her death. She received the last sacraments, and with great fervor was rapt in ecstasy. While pronouncing the Holy Name of Jesus, she died, the very hour, it had been foretold to her. She was laid out in the third order of St. Francis habit, holding a pilgrim’s staff, which she carried in the Holy Land. She was later beatified and canonized.

Angela’s life was a life in which everyone could see the light of Christ shine through her.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Light, help us to live a life of virtue in imitation of Saint Angela Merici to draw all men to Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.

Jan. 26th - Timothy & Titus

 

St. Paul Consecrates St. Timothy a Bishop by Laying on of Hands

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus, who were friends of St. Paul. They went wi th St. Paul, as he went about to many cities speaking about Jesus and starting new churches. Both Timothy and Titus became bishops of the early Church.

St. Timothy’s father was not a Christian. His mother was Jewish. However, his mother, and grandmother of Timothy, eventually became Christians. Timothy studied scriptures from his early youth. He would accompany St. Paul, on his journeys.

Eventually put in prison and never wavering in his faith in Jesus, he was later set free. St. Paul consecrated Timothy, as bishop of Ephesus. As bishop, Timothy stayed in Ephesus to govern the church, oppose false teachers, and to ordain priests, deacons, and bishops. St. Paul wrote a letter to him, while Paul was a prisoner in Rome, and requested he come to see him, before he died.

Timothy practiced penance to such a degree, that he drank only water, rather than drinking wine, and so, Paul told him to drink a little wine. St. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, which are now New Testament books. He was eventually stoned and clubbed to death, by a mob, because he opposed the pagan festival, in which the people would carry an idol in one hand, and a club in the other.

The other disciple, whom we celebrate, is St. Titus, who was likewise a friend, and disciple of St. Paul, as well. Paul ordained him Bishop of Crete, which is an island nation near Italy. The letter he wrote a letter to Titus, is now also a book in the New Testament.

Titus was a secretary of St. Paul, who sent him to the cities of Ephesus and Corinth in order to settle problems among the early Christians, and to solve problems of scandal. He was later sent to Corinth once again by St. Paul, to collect money for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He lived to be an old man, and died a peaceful death in Crete.

Today, let us pray to Timothy and Titus, that God will inspire us, to imitate their faith and their holy example of discipleship, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first disciple of Christ.

Jan 25th - Conversion of St. Paul

  

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. As a great persecutor of Christians, he was responsible for the stoning of St. Stephen. On the road to Damascus, a great light suddenly shone around him. Blinded by the light, he fell to the ground, and a heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?” Saul, eventually regained his eyesight, and became baptized. He changed his name to Paul, as a sign of his conversion to Christ. St. Paul went about the whole known world to spread the Good News. He became the apostle to the Gentiles.

We are likewise called to conversion. At times, we too are blinded. We sometimes can persecute those around us, by way of our idiosyncrasies, by our sins, and by our faults. We can be blinded by our sinfulness, and how we are burdens to others.

Here are some more examples of ways in which we can be blinded by our own behavior. We may be arrogant and look down upon others, because of our pride. Or we try to control everyone around us, because of our selfishness and insecurity. We can make uncharitable comments towards others because of our impatience. We can be passively aggressive towards others, and make subtle comments, because we fear confrontation. We can complain all the time, because of our lack of gratitude for what we have. We can be envious of the material things of others because we fail to see everything we have is a gift from God. We can desire attention from others, because we feel unloved. There are those who tell everyone what they think, and say things in a cold and uncaring manner and will say to themselves, “At least everyone knows where I stand.” Or we can be a workaholic, because think the whole world revolves around us and because we are afraid to enjoy life.

All of us, at one time, or another, need to be knocked off, the horse, of our pride, and gaze into the light of Christ. Our eyes need to be opened to our sinfulness, our faults, and hidden impure motivations.

Today, as prepare to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us beseech the Lord and His Holy Mother and ask them to help us, to know ourselves.

When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist--- in the silence of our heart, we will hear the voice of the Lord, telling us how we need to change our life.

And we can respond as St. Paul, by having a true conversion of heart, in which we come to know the greatness of God’s love for us, and therefore respond by changing our lives to reflect our understanding, that the way we treat others, is the way, we treat Jesus.

Jan. 24th - St. Francis de Sales

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church, who was born in 1567. One of his greatest virtues was patience.

For example, one day Francis had a bad idea -- at least that's what everyone else thought. This was during the time of the Protestant reformation and just over the mountains from where Francis lived in Switzerland it was Calvinist territory. Francis decided he would lead an expedition to convert the 60,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism. For three years, he trudged through the countryside, had doors slammed in his face and rocks thrown at him. In the bitter winters, his feet froze so badly they bled as he tramped through the snow. He slept in haylofts if he could, and once he slept in a tree to avoid wolves. He tied himself to a branch to keep from falling out and was so frozen the next morning he had to be cut down. And after three years, his cousin had left him alone because he didn’t make a single convert. Francis' unusual patience kept him working. No one would listen to him, no one would even open their door to him. So Francis found a way to get under the door. He wrote out his sermons, copied them by hand, and slipped them under the doors. This is the first record we have of religious tracts being used to communicate with people. Adults wouldn't come to him out of fear. So Francis went to the children. When the parents saw how kind he was as he played with the children, they began to talk to him. By the time, Francis left to go home he had converted 40,000 people back to Catholicism. In 1602 he was made bishop of the diocese of Geneva, in Calvinist territory.

It was in 1604, Francis saw a widow listening closely to his sermon – who was a woman he had seen already in a dream. Jane de Chantal wanted him to take over her spiritual direction, but, not surprisingly, Francis wanted to wait. "I had to know fully what God himself wanted. I had to be sure that everything in this should be done as though his hand had done it."

Three years after working with Jane, he finally made up his mind to form a new religious order. But where would they get a convent for their contemplative Visitation nuns? A man came to Francis without knowing of his plans and told him he was thinking of donating a place for use by pious women. In his typical way of not pushing God, Francis said nothing. When the man brought it up again, Francis still kept quiet, telling Jane, "God will be with us if he approves." Finally the man offered Francis the convent.

Francis believed the first duty of a bishop was spiritual direction. At that time, the way of holiness was only for monks and nuns -- not for ordinary people. Francis changed all that by giving spiritual direction to lay people living ordinary lives in the world. But he had proven with his own life that people could grow in holiness while involved in a very active occupation.

His most famous book, INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE, was written for these ordinary people in 1608. Written originally as letters, it became an instant success all over Europe -- however some preachers tore it up because he tolerated dancing and jokes!

He died on December 28, 1622, after giving a nun his last word of advice: "Humility." He is patron saint of journalists because of the tracts and books he wrote. Today, if we struggle with patience, let us ask St. Francis to help us to be more patient and let us ask him for the gift of zeal to evangelize.

3rd Sunday - Respect Life

 Abortion - A Person is a Person No Matter How Small

 

The first reading and Gospel for today remind us of the role of the priest in interpreting scripture and how the priest is anointed to speak on behalf of God to the people today. And today, I will speak to you on behalf of God about respecting life.

The first reading is from the book of Nehemiah. The Jews were taken into captivity in 721 BC and their temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. 230 years later their captivity is over and are returning to Israel. Once they reach their Jewish soil, the priest Ezra explains to the people the content of the Law and interprets what was read.

During the time of Jesus, it was customary for Jews to read scriptures at the synagogue and the reader gave his interpretation. And this is what Jesus did in today’s Gospel. He first read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Then He said, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing. Every Jew knew this particular passage referred to the future messiah. And so they understood Jesus was declaring Himself the Messiah.

Every Catholic priest is anointed when ordained. Just like Ezra and Jesus, the priest reads scripture and then comments on it, which is a homily. Every priest receives three gifts: to teach, to sanctify and to govern. When a priest gives a homily or when He teaches, He is anointed to speak on behalf of God to the people. Today, I am going to speak to you on behalf of God with regard to respecting life.

Yesterday was the 49^th anniversary of Roe vs Wade that legalized abortion. Soon the US Supreme Court will decide if Mississippi's law is constitutional limiting abortion to 15 weeks from conception and many hope and pray for the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Also this year, Kansans will vote on the Value them Both bill. Since Roe vs Wade, over 62 million children have died from abortion and all their mothers and fathers have been wounded and deeply hurt by abortion.

To show how abortion affects the world, here is an example. Cardinal Raymond Burke told a reporter, the doctor pressured his mother to abort him. The doctor told his mother, the doctor told his mother, who was very sick while pregnant with the future Cardinal Burke, “You already have five children,” “it is important for you to be in good health so as to take care of them.” Fortunately, his parents refused. “My parents told him that they believed in God,” Cardinal Burke relates, “and that Christ would give them the necessary help. My mother gave birth to me, and everything went well.”

A few years ago, I offered a private Mass on my day off to close the abortion clinic in Wichita. During Mass, I prayed for those thinking about having an abortion, will change their mind, those who had an abortion will find healing and God’s merciful forgiveness and those who work in the abortion clinic, will quit and become pro-life. About an hour later, I went to the abortion clinic, and several of us prayed the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Litany of the Saints at the gates of the clinic. Then a woman came out of the clinic and walked up to us and said, “I just couldn’t do it. The doctor told me I am pregnant with twins. I could do one of them, but couldn’t afford to pay for two of them, so I’m going to keep my babies.” About 20 min. later a young woman in her 20’s and her 5 yr. old daughter as well as a woman in her 50’s left the clinic and the woman in her 20’s said, “I’m not going to have an abortion, I’m pregnant with twins.” My friends with 30 min, four babies were saved. The prayers offered outside the clinic and the Holy Mass offered that morning, resulted in saving the lives of four children and also saved their mothers and their families from a future life of pain and regret. We can see the power of prayer, especially the Holy Mass, the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Litany of the Saints. God wants us to use these to help the confused. There should never be a choice to take the life of an innocent person. Everyone has the ability to say yes and the ability to give a child up for adoption to a couple who can’t have children.

Its dangerous when a human being is not considered a person. When an unborn baby is not considered a person, than the baby has no rights and is considered the property of the parents and so they can do with them as they want, even to kill them. Where does this mentality come from? In the United States blacks were slaves and were the property of slave owners. They were not considered human and so the owner of the slave had the right to abuse and even kill the slave which was legal. But it took a civil war before they were considered citizens with rights.

Also in the US, women did not have rights. They were considered the property of their father or their husband and could not even vote until 1920. But the truth is women are not the property of men. Blacks are not the property of any person. An unborn child is not the property of their parents. St. Paul said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price.” (1 Corn. 6:19) Our body came from God, we are not our own, we were purchased at the price of the blood of Jesus. All of us are created in the image of likeness of God. All life is sacred and we are holy because God dwells within us.

Let me ask you some questions. Do you think it should be against the law to kill a baby after birth? President Biden and Kamala Harris as well as the former governor Virginia thought so. Should it be against the law to abort a baby just before birth? Should it be against the law to abort a viable baby after 24 weeks? What about a baby who is 15 weeks? What about a baby, who feels pain? What if an unborn baby has a beating heart? Should it be against the law to abort a baby just after conception? A person is a person no matter how small.

Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and scripture tells us immediately after His incarnation, Mary went in haste to visit Her cousin Elizabeth, who was with child. Did you know it was a 5 day journey for Mary to travel from Nazareth to Ain Karem, where Elizabeth lived. And when Mary greeted Elizabeth, the unborn John the Baptist leapt with joy and Elizabeth recognized Mary was with child as she said, “Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” Just think Jesus was only 5 days from conception in the womb of Mary. He did not yet have a beating heart, nor hands, nor eyes, yet His divine presence caused an unborn John the Baptist to recognize Our Lord was present as well as his mother, Elizabeth, who was filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is a divine person with a human and divine nature. A person is a person, no matter how small.

It is a scientific fact, a new person is created at the moment of conception, because the child has its own DNA. As Catholics we believe God infuses an immortal soul into a child at the moment of conception. We believe we are created in the image and likeness of God. The prophet Jeremiah states, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Before we were even created, God knew us and has a plan for each of us.

Dr. Bernard Nathason, a former Jewish abortionist oversaw 75,000 abortions and performed 5000 himself. Be he changed his mind when he saw the silent scream of an unborn child on an ultrasound when he we doing an abortion. But when He was baptized, God forgave all his sins and the punishment due to his sins and God came to dwell in his heart. So if he would have died immediately after his baptism, he would have went straight to heaven. The greater the sinner, the greater one’s right to God’s mercy.

Abby Johnson, a former director of Planned Parenthood, had two abortions and then assisted in an abortion, but realized the wrong she was doing and when she became Catholic, Jesus forgave all her sins and washed them away in the ocean of God’s mercy.

Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. But Jesus appeared to her first, before He appeared to the Apostles because she repented when washed the feet of Jesus with her tears. Jesus told Simon the Pharisee about Mary Magdalane, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much...” (Luke 7:47-48)

My friends, we are all human, we all make mistakes, and can make wrong decisions based upon misinformation of what others tell us or what they failed to tell us or maybe we ourselves chose not to seek the truth. But we must trust in God’s mercy.

The Church as a mother wants to help her children. She gives us priests to teach us about respecting life. The Church gives us the sacraments for grace and healing when we hurt our self and others. Jesus acts through priests, through the sacraments and through the people of God to help all of our brothers and sisters in Christ deeply hurt.

The boyfriend who helped his girlfriend to have an abortion, the parents of the pregnant girl, who forced the child to have an abortion, grandparents, who participated, friends who wrongly scheduled the abortion-- nurses or doctors who encouraged the abortion, everyone--everyone--everyone can be forgiven! There is no sin Jesus will not forgive. If you have been affected by abortion, know Jesus loves you and forgives you. Jesus understands when a young girl is pressured or told a lie, its not a baby, but only tissue. Sometimes the devil tries to make us doubt in God’s mercy. He will say, “God will never forgive you. Your sin is too great.” Or after you confessed the sin, the devil will make us doubt God forgave us, and a result, we will keep confessing the sin over and over. But we can’t give in to lies, rather we trust in God’s mercy. We pray, “Jesus I trust in You”, and Jesus forgets the sin after we have confessed it and so should we.

There is a diocesan organization called Project Rachel which gives retreats, some of its leaders have had an abortion, and they want to help others to find healing, like they received and want to bring peace of heart and healing of the spirit and soul to all those hurt by abortion.

Jesus gives us hope. Jesus gives us love. Jesus gives us forgiveness. Jesus gives us mercy. Jesus gives us healing. Jesus gives us a future of peace and joy.

Jesus told St. Faustina, “My daughter, write that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; [urge] all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all. (Diary 1182). Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the immeasurable depths of My mercy.” (Diary 1059)

The Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. On that day, The Lord opens wide the gates of His mercy and makes our soul like it was at baptism. If we go to confession during Lent, and receive Holy Communion, on the feast of mercy, our sins will be forgiven and all the punishment due to our sins are forgiven. We should look forward to that day, when all is washed away in the ocean of God’s mercy.

How beautiful at Holy Trinity we pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy before or after every Mass along with the Holy Rosary. It must be very pleasing to God, we are praying for mercy for the whole world.

During this year of the Eucharist, let the light, love and power of Jesus in the Eucharist shine forth from His beating Heart by you spending time in Eucharistic Adoration, offering your Holy Hour for an end to abortion, to close Planned Parenthood and the abortion clinic in Wichita. To offer the graces you receive in Holy Communion. Jesus wants to use you as channel of grace and love to change the hearts and minds of those who are confused and hurting. Will you offer your Holy Communion today for that purpose? To offer the graces you receive by being present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Will you pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy often.

Let us turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who miraculously conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and ask our heavenly Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to intercede for our country so government legislators and judges will outlaw abortion, and every American will have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And most especially the right to life, for without life, we cannot have liberty, nor pursue happiness.