Abortion & Rape and Incest - Fr. Kline's Two Cents

See the angel watching over the unborn baby in the sonogram.

 

There have been a number of friends in our community, who say they thought abortion would be permissible due to rape or incest. I hope you are able to use this to be helpful to them. 

These abominations who affect the innocent are very difficult for any woman or child who has been raped. Yes, children get raped too, and sometimes by their own father, brother or uncle! Most have to deal with the effects of it the rest of their life. And there is also the problem of spousal rape. 

You would be surprised at how many times in 18 years, as a priest, I helped women with this, and even before a priest, I knew of these things happening to girls, even in my own high school, especially through date rape. On occasion, after talking with a victim, when I then take it to Jesus in prayer, I cry, because I feel their pain and truly believe Jesus feels everything they have gone through, but in a much more intense way, and He too weeps. 

 

Women can suffer from false guilt (blaming oneself), the feeling of being dirty, embarrassment, fear of wanting intimacy with one’s spouse, who had nothing to do with it. Anger, unforgiveness and other emotions afflict them. The perpetrator causes immense harm.

If we use a serial killer as an example, many would think a serial killer should deserve the death penalty. Others, don’t believe in the death penalty. If proven guilty, everyone would agree there should be punishment and prevention, such as jail.

If a married man had four children and then later in his life, he becomes a rapist, and then is apprehended, everyone agrees, he should go to jail as a punishment, and to prevent it again. His children conceived in his marriage would be very embarrassed and heart broken to discover their father was like a monster, who preyed upon innocent victims.

Should an unborn child conceived in the violence of rape be killed? Since his children in his marriage were conceived in love, they should live, right? After all, they are already born. After his wife discovers her husband is a serial rapist, she divorces him. She later reveals two of her four children from her marriage were also conceived in rape, because he raped her during marriage. She was forced to have relations with him and was beaten and abused in the process.

Would anyone think a 4 yr old and 7 yr old child should be killed, since they were conceived through the abomination of rape? Of course not.

If any woman became pregnant due to a rapist, she fears she could later look at the child and see “the rapist” and to avoid that, she may want an abortion. But the woman, who had four children from her serial rapist ex-spouse, two of which were conceived that way, still she would never want to kill them.

The dynamic behind this, is that the mother does not see her unborn child and therefore its easier to do away with her child. But, if she held her child in her arms and even if later the child grew to look like the rapist, because of a mother’s love, she would still love the child. The psychological harm (seeing him in her child) done to her by the rapist, is the problem. The child is not the problem.

Do people really mean, that if an innocent person (a child) reminds someone of their wicked father, then the innocent child should be killed? What! Does anyone really think its okay to kill an innocent son or daughter, due to the father’s sin?

Rape and incest are both criminal acts, and in our system of justice we punish the criminal. We do not punish the victim, nor do we punish the criminal's children. We are told that if a pregnancy results from an act of rape or incest the compassionate response is to offer the traumatized woman an abortion. No woman should be "forced to carry that monster's child," we are told. Adoption is always an option. The trauma of sexual assault is very real. But, why compound such severe trauma with the additional trauma of abortion? Rape is an act of violence inflicted upon a woman. She is an innocent victim, and this knowledge may someday help her come to terms with the rape and rebuild her life. Abortion, on the other hand, is an act of violence that a mother inflicts on her own child.

Through abortion, the mother becomes the aggressor, and this knowledge may haunt her long after she has dealt with the rape. Women - even those who were victims of sexual assault - have reported years of physical, emotional and psychological difficulty following their abortions. Abortion did not solve their problems; it merely created additional ones.

The compassionate response to rape is to meet the real needs of the mother. Providing life-affirming medical, financial, emotional and psychological care meets these needs, and pro-life groups across the state of Kansas – more than 30 crisis pregnancy centers, and groups like Life After Assault League – and Sarah’s Hope in Wichita www.sarahshope.com 1-800-848-LOVE are doing this work. Abortion takes the life of a living human being.

The circumstances of conception may have been criminal, but the life of the newly-created human being is just as valuable as any other person's. We do not put criminal's innocent children to death in our culture; it simply isn't done.

The so-called "life of the mother" exception for abortion is unnecessary and dangerous. To begin with, there are no situations where abortion, defined as the direct and intentional killing of an unborn child, is medically necessary to save the life of the mother. Medical operations such as the removal of a cancerous uterus or the removal of an ectopic pregnancy are moral even under Catholic teaching and are not considered abortions. If a pregnant woman has a cancerous uterus that imminently threatens her life, then the uterus may be removed even though such removal results in the death of the unborn child. Similarly, when a fertilized ovum lodges in the Fallopian tube and grows there, the damaged portion of the tube containing the baby may be removed where it is clearly necessary to save the mother's life. Such operations are justified by the "principle of double effect," because the death of the child is an unintended effect of an operation independently justified to save the mother's life. They do not involve the intentional and willful destruction of an unborn child. Legally, such operations are not considered abortions. The removal of such conditions has never been prosecuted in this country, even when the mother's life was not immediately threatened. There is, therefore, no need to provide a specific exception for such cases.

In February, I heard Melissa Ohden speak in Wichita. She was conceived in rape and her mother attempted to abort her, but she survived the abortion. She was given up for adoption and then later in life met her mother. She give thanks to God everyday, for sparing her life and in response she tries to help other women, who suffer from rape, to not kill their own child. She belongs to the organization Abortion Survivors. (www.abortionsurvivors.org)

Moreover, an explicit exception for the life of the mother is dangerous. One should never attempt to codify in law the importance of one innocent human life over and above another. Physicians must make their best effort to save both patients, giving equal care to mother and child. They should never be given a license to intentionally kill either of them.

Finally, many abortionists believe that the very condition of pregnancy itself is a life threatening condition. Consequently, a "life of the mother" exception can become a massive statutory loophole through which to drive abortion on demand. Once pro-lifers say there can be a "good reason" to kill a preborn baby, the foundation of the pro-life movement crumbles. The argument is lost. Either the preborn child is a person, or the child is not a person. Since the preborn child is a person, there can be no exceptions for abortion.

"Beware that you don't look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels will have constant access to my Father. And I, the Messiah, came to save the lost. If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the 99 others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? And if he finds it, he will rejoice over it more than over the 99 others safe at home! Just so, it is not my Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:10-14)

Let us turn to Jesus and ask Him to help those traumatized by rape, incest or abortion and give all of us a deep love in our heart to help everyone in need. Let us pray for the repentance and conversion of perpetrators. Let us pray the hearts of mothers will turn to their unborn children and love them and overcome their fears and wounded hearts. And may God’s mercy and love triumph in the hearts of every person.

This is the Pastor's Column in The Monitor, local newspaper of Little River, KS for August. I'm not a pastor, but a priest in residence at Holy Trinity in Little River, but the kind editor of the paper permits me to give my two cents once a month. 

18th Sunday - Vanity (Money, Fame, Power)

 

 

The readings today are about the passing things of the world verses the riches of heaven. In the first reading today from the Book of Ecclesiastes, spoke about the things of earth as vanity. “Vanity of vanities, says, Qoheleth, vanity of vanities. All Things are vanity.”

St. Paul in the second reading said “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” He said, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another.”

The Gospel tells us to not be concerned about earthly possessions nor to seek wealth for the sake of wealth only to store more for the sake of storing it or to not waste time with the worldly things of pleasure: to eat, drink and be merry, because we do not know when our earthly life will end. God said to the rich man, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom- will they belong?” Jesus then said, “Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves, but are not rich in the matters of God.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1723) says, “The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love: All bow down before wealth. Wealth is one idol of the day and notoriety is a second. . . .

The things of the world are money, possessions, health and notoriety.

Fame, notoriety, causes some to want special treatment, rather than to want to help others in their need. Extra wealth for one’s own sake can be a stumbling block to heaven, because God wants those who have-- to help those who have not. Jesus said, “What you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.”

God’s matters involve love. How we treat our neighbor. How we avoid offending God or hurting others by our sins. The matters of God involve virtue, holiness, love and self-sacrifice.

St. Therese of Lissiex noticed a splinter of wood on the floor. She feared one of the sisters in the convent may get stuck in the foot with it, out love for God and for the sisters, she reached down and picked up the splinter of wood and threw it in the trash. She said the Lord spoke to her and said, this little thing you did for love of the sisters was greater than if a man, were to build a skyscraper for his own notoriety and not for the glory and honor of God or love of others. Today, let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to seek the treasures above and not the things of the earth.

Abortion Due to Rape or Incest

 

Abortion Due to Rape or Incest?

Can there be exceptions?

Totally banning abortion makes some people uncomfortable. We've been told time and again that there are unique situations for which abortion is the best option. If a lie is repeated often enough, people begin to accept it as truth. Such is the case with the erroneous notion that abortion must be permitted in cases of rape, incest, fetal deformity, or a perceived threat to the mother's life. Let's take a look at each of these situations and explain why the exception is in error.

Rape and incest

Rape and incest are both criminal acts, and in our system of justice we punish the criminal. We do not punish the victim, nor do we punish the criminal's children. We are told that if a pregnancy results from an act of rape or incest the compassionate response is to offer the traumatized woman an abortion. No woman should be "forced to carry that monster's child," we are told. The trauma of sexual assault is very real. But why compound such severe trauma with the additional trauma of abortion?

Rape is an act of violence inflicted upon a woman. She is an innocent victim, and this knowledge may someday help her come to terms with the rape and rebuild her life. Abortion, on the other hand, is an act of violence that a mother inflicts on her own child. Through abortion, the mother becomes the aggressor, and this knowledge may haunt her long after she has dealt with the rape. Women - even those who were victims of sexual assault - have reported years of physical, emotional and psychological difficulty following their abortions. Abortion did not solve their problems; it merely created additional ones.

The compassionate response to rape is to meet the real needs of the mother. Providing life-affirming medical, financial, and emotional care meets these needs, and pro-life groups across the state of Wisconsin - more than 100 crisis pregnancy centers, and groups like Life After Assault League - are doing this work.

Abortion takes the life of a living human being. The circumstances of conception may have been criminal, but the life of the newly-created human being is just as valuable as any other person's. We do not put criminal's innocent children to death in our culture; it simply isn't done. It should not be done in this situation, either.

 

Fetal abnormality

Expectant parents can often view a diagnosis of fetal deformity or other form of birth defect almost as if it were death itself. Not as a physical death, but a death of hopes and dreams. Visions of a normal childhood - playing games, going to school, growing up and starting families of their own - vanish in a flash. Despairing parents becomes vulnerable to the suggestion of terminating the pregnancy and getting on with their lives.

The first problem is that medical opinions can be just that - opinions. There are countless cases of parents who permitted their children to live and found out at birth that the experts were wrong. Imagine the horror of parents who abort their child, only to see that they had destroyed a perfect baby. It is against the very nature of parents to harm their own children, and abortion is the ultimate child abuse.

When abortion is used to solve the problem of a disability, it is discrimination of the most severe kind. These children are not merely discriminated against for their disability; they are killed because of it. Abortions in these cases raise frightening prospects, for if it is all right to kill a disabled person in the womb, could it not someday be permissible to kill a disabled infant? A disabled adult? The answer is clearly "no" in those cases; why is there any question when the victim is a child in the womb? Preborn children diagnosed with disabilities deserve to be treated with the same respect as born people with or without a disability.

Every human life is a gift from God. Caring for and loving a child with disabilities allows us to serve someone other than ourselves. It fosters patience, understanding and gratitude for the gifts we have been given. And it allows us to experience the joy of Christ whose life and death was total self-giving, unconditional love for each one of us.

The mother's life

The so-called "life of the mother" exception for abortion is unnecessary and dangerous. To begin with, there are no situations where abortion, defined as the direct and intentional killing of an unborn child, is medically necessary to save the life of the mother. Bernard Nathanson, M.D., who himself performed over 30,000 abortions, said:

"In our first book [after he stopped doing abortions], we proposed a lengthy list of illnesses (including but not limited to heart or kidney disease) which would justify abortion. We regard that list now with...disbelief: if women with heart and liver transplants can be carried successfully through pregnancy, we can no longer conceive of any medical condition which would legitimize abortion. In short, we have slowly evolved to an unshakable posture of no exceptions...[W]orkable, morally acceptable legislation proscribing abortion can have no exceptions written into it - not even medical ones."(Bernadell Technical Bulletin, April 1991)

Medical operations such as the removal of a cancerous uterus or the removal of an ectopic pregnancy are moral even under Catholic teaching and are not considered abortions. If a pregnant woman has a cancerous uterus that imminently threatens her life, then the uterus may be removed even though such removal results in the death of the unborn child. Similarly, when a fertilized ovum lodges in the fallopian tube and grows there, the damaged portion of the tube containing the baby may be removed where it is clearly necessary to save the mother's life. Such operations are justified by the "principle of double effect," because the death of the child is an unintended effect of an operation independently justified to save the mother's life. They do not involve the intentional and willful destruction of an unborn child.

Legally, such operations are not considered abortions. The removal of such conditions has never been prosecuted in this country, even when the mother's life was not immediately threatened. There is, therefore, no need to provide a specific exception for such cases in a statute or constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion. Moreover, an explicit exception for the life of the mother is dangerous. One should never attempt to codify in law the importance of one innocent human life over and above another. Physicians must make their best effort to save both patients, giving equal care to mother and child. They should never be given a license to intentionally kill either of them.

Finally, many abortionists believe that the very condition of pregnancy itself is a life threatening condition. Consequently, a "life of the mother" exception can become a massive statutory loophole through which to drive abortion on demand.

Once pro-lifers say there can be a "good reason" to kill a preborn baby, the foundation of the pro-life movement crumbles. The argument is lost. Either the preborn child is a person, or the child is not a person. Since the preborn child is a person, there can be no exceptions for abortion.

"Beware that you don't look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels will have constant access to my Father. And I, the Messiah, came to save the lost. If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the 99 others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? And if he finds it, he will rejoice over it more than over the 99 others safe at home! Just so, it is not my Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:10-14)

Source: Pro-Life Wisconsin 

  

 Bruce Conceived in Rape, Glad His Mother Never Had an Abortion

Click Link to Read His Story: 

 https://considerlife.com/stories/testimony-a-raped-mother-a-thankful-son/

  Rape and Abortion

 

  Fr. Frank Pavone

National Director

Shouldn't the woman who is raped be able to have an abortion?" Many people, opposed to abortion in other circumstances, ask this question. There are various reasons why abortion is not the answer.

The woman who has been raped has undergone a terrible trauma and injustice. We care about her. We will help her. Such pro-life organizations as Fortress International and Life After Assault League exist to bring the rape victim healing and strength and help her get on with her life. Nobody should minimize or ignore the pain of a rape victim. We want to show her love.

Will an abortion help her? First of all, the abortion will not un-rape the woman. The tragedy has happened and nothing can change the past. Second, abortion brings a trauma of its own. To see abortion as a magic wand that brings relief but no pain is to ignore the pain of countless women who suffer for years and decades after abortion. Such groups as WEBA (Women Exploited By Abortion), American Victims of Abortion, and Victims of Choice provide ample proof that abortion hurts women. I know of women who have been raped and then had abortions, and are in counseling not for the rape but for the abortion! In rape, the trauma is "Someone hurt me." In abortion, the trauma is "I hurt and killed someone else -- my child." That brings even more grief.

Why is rape wrong? Because someone attacks the body of an innocent person. Why is abortion wrong? Because someone attacks the body of an innocent person. That is why both rape and abortion should be rejected.

We care about the woman who is raped. We care about the child who is conceived. Why can't we love them both? Why can't we protect them both?

A rape that results in pregnancy directly involves three people: the rapist, the victim, and the child. The victim should be helped, and the rapist should be punished. But to say the child should be killed is to punish the wrong person. Suppose your father committed a terrible crime and the police came to your home, arrested you, and had you sentenced to death? The unfairness of that is obvious. Yet that is the same unfairness that occurs if a child conceived by rape is aborted.

We should also know the results of some important studies. Pregnancy occurs in 0 to 2.2% of rape victims. Furthermore, most rape victims who become pregnant want to keep their babies. The pressure to abort often comes from someone else. Of all the abortions performed in America, fewer than 1% are because of rape.

For more information on these and other aspects of this question, or for counseling and encouragement, contact:

Life After Assault League (LAAL)
1336 West Lindbergh St.
Appleton, Wisconsin 54914
(920) 739-4489

Abortion is never the answer. Let's not add violence to violence. When it comes to the woman who carries a baby conceived by rape, let's choose to love them both!

 LINK: www.Abortion Survivors.org 

 

St. Martha - July 29th

  

Today is the feast of St. Martha. In the Gospel today, she is not the busy hard working cook, but rather a woman of faith. And in fact makes four great acts of faith.

She made her first act of faith believing the Lord could have worked a miracle to heal her brother, Lazarus, she said, “Lord if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Her faith was imperfect, because it was not necessary that Our Divine Lord be present to work a miracle, as was the case of the centurion’s servant.

She then made her second act of faith believing Jesus could raise the dead to life. She said, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give you.”

When Jesus said, “Your brother will rise”, she makes a third act of faith, as she says, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Her act of faith indicates she believes in the resurrection at the end of the world, which even the Sadducees, did not believe.

The tender love of Jesus for Martha, is revealed in His conversation with her. Our Blessed Lord aims at increasing her faith in Him, by his declaration, “I am the resurrection and the life and whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives, and believes in me will never die.”

She then responds with her fourth and greatest act of faith, “I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Bishop McEvilly, in his commentary on the Gospel of John states, ‘She believes Jesus to be the natural Son of God, God Himself and all that He has taught is true, and that He is the Resurrection and the life. She also believes Him to be the promised Messiah, and even more then the Messiah, “the Son of the living God” who has come to save mankind.’

When in the future, we think of Martha and the words of Jesus echo in our heart, “Martha Martha, you are worried about many things.” --- may we rather think, “Martha, Martha, what great faith you had. Help to increase my faith, that it may be as strong as yours.”

St. Martha is also associated with the legend of a taming a dragon.

Tradition holds that Martha’s brother Lazarus fled Jerusalem amid Christian persecution following the martyrdom of St. Stephen. His sisters, Mary and Martha, left Judea to assist him in proclaiming the Gospel in various lands. The three went to Cyprus, where Lazarus became the first Bishop of Kition (modern day Larnaca, a port city on the south coast of Cyprus). All three died in Cyprus.
Medieval popular piety presents a fuller picture of the saint. The story of Martha and the dragon comes from the Golden Legend of Blessed Jacobus de Voragine. According to this legend, Martha and her sister, Mary Magdalene, traveled to Marseilles, France, after the Ascension of Christ. In the town of Tarascon, Martha encountered a dragon referred to as the "Tarasque" in French (Tarascurus in Latin). The Golden Legend portrays it as a beast from Galicia; a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than an horse, possessing teeth sharp as a sword. Holding a cross, Martha anointed the dragon with holy water. Using her sash, she led it through the village.

As we prepare to receive the resurrected Jesus in Holy Communion. Let us ask Our Lord to increase our faith in Him. And in union with Martha, and with hearts full of faith, may we gaze upon Jesus in the Eucharist, here on the altar, and say with her: “I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world.”

July 28th - Blessed Stanley Rother, Martyr

 

A shepherd never abandons his flock for fear of repercussions due to teaching the fullness of the truth. One shepherd who did not abandon his sheep, who fearlessly fed his flock by always preaching the truth with love was Blessed Fr. Stanley Rother.

Stanley Francis Rother born on March 27, 1935, in Okarche, was as one of four children. The family had a farm. His sister, Betty Mae, became a religious sister Adorer of the Blood of Christ. He had two brothers. He was baptized on March 29, 1935, in Okarche's Holy Trinity church.

Stanley was strong and adept at farm tasks. After completing his high school studies at the Holy Trinity school he declared his calling to the priesthood to his parents. His parents were pleased with their son's decision though his father asked him: "Why didn't you take Latin instead of working so hard as a Future Farmer of America?" He was sent to the Saint John Seminary and then to Assumption Seminary in San Antonio in Texas. Most of his classes back then were all in Latin, and he had great difficulty with Latin and so his grades suffered. After almost six years the seminary told him he could not continue. Though it was difficult news, he did not give up.

Stanley accompanied his father and the Okarche pastor to see Bishop Reed who asked him: "Do you want to be a priest, Stanley?" He replied: "Yes, but it's all over for me, isn't it?" Reed told him he saw potential in him and would send him to another seminary to see what became of it. The rector of Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland eventually sent a letter to Bishop Reed on February 14, 1963 in which said: "Mr. Rother has made excellent progress at this seminary and he should be a very valuable parish priest”. Bishop Reed ordained him to the priesthood on May 25, 1963. Fr. Rother then served as an associate pastor in various parishes around Oklahoma including Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa.

He learned that a priest was needed in Guatemala, and so applied and was permitted by Bishop Reed in 1968. He was assigned to the mission of the archdiocese to the Tz’utujil people located in Santiago Atitlan in the rural highlands of southwest Guatemala.

So that he could be in closer touch with his congregation, he set out to work to learn Spanish and the Tz’utujil language which was an unwritten and indigenous language. Fr. Rother lived with a native family for a while to get a better grasp of practical conversation, and worked with the locals to show them how to read and write. He supported a radio station located on the mission property which transmitted daily lessons in both languages. In 1973 he noted with pride in a letter: "I am now preaching in Tz'utuhil.” During that time, in addition to his pastoral duties he translated the New Testamennt into Tz'utujil and began the regular celebration of the Mass in Tz'utujil. In the late 1960s Fr. Rother founded a small hospital.

He was a highly recognizable figure in the community, owing to his light complexion as well as his habit of smoking tobacco in a pipe. Since there was not a Tz'utujil name equivalent to "Stanley," the people of Father Rother's mission affectionately called him "Padre Apla's," translated as "Father Francis," a nod to his middle name.

Rother put his farming skills to good use in Guatemala, on one occasion operating a bulldozer from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm to clear land on local farms, stopping just for Mass. His door was open to all people. There was one old man who appeared each day for lunch, and others came for advice on personal or financial affairs. Some even turned up to have their teeth extracted. On one occasion he accompanied a boy to Guatemala City to be treated for lip cancer from which the boy was eventually cured.

Fr. Stanley even took action after a major earthquake in 1976. “With courage he climbed the ravines in order to help the very poor, pulling the wounded out of the ruins and carrying them to safety on his shoulders.”

From 1971 to 1981, there were numerous killings of journalists, farmers, catechists and priests, all accused falsely of communism. Within the last year of his life Rother saw the radio station smashed and its director murdered. His catechists and parishioners would disappear and later be found dead, with their bodies showing signs of having been beaten and tortured. Rother knew all this when he returned to Guatemala in May 1981. In December 1980 he had addressed a letter to the faithful in Oklahoma and wrote about the violent situation: "This is one of the reasons I have for staying in the face of physical harm. The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger."

On the morning of July 28, just after midnight, gunmen broke into the rectory of his church and shot him twice in the head after a brief struggle. The killers forced the teenager Francisco Bocel (who was in the church at the time) to lead them to the bedroom of the "red-bearded Oklahoma-born missionary." The men threatened to kill Bocel if he did not show them Fr. Rother and so Bocel led them downstairs and knocked on a door near the staircase saying: "Father. They are looking for you." Fr. Rother opened the door and a struggle ensued as Bocel ran upstairs hearing Rother yell: "Kill me here!" One shot pierced his jaw and the fatal shot struck the left temple; there were bruises on both hands.

Father Rother was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala that year. His remains were flown back to Oklahoma and were buried in his hometown on August 3, 1981, in Holy Trinity Cemetery. At the request of his former Tz'utujil parishioners, his heart was removed and buried under the altar of the church where he had served in Guatemala.

On December 1, 2016 his beatification received approval from Pope Francis after the Pope confirmed that Rother had been killed “in hatred of the faith”. In the presence of 20,000 people, Fr. Stanley Rother was beatified, Sept. 23^rd, 2017, in Oklahoma City.

Somewhere in Dreamland

Click to Watch: "Somewhere in Dreamland"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TcRohLJx6g

 

Number 1 Cause of Death for Americans?

Doctor Russell Gombosi states, 

"Life Begins at Conception; Its a Scientific Fact"

He also said, "The number one cause of death for Americans is Abortion".

Read Article: Click: Life News

 

https://www.lifenews.com/2022/07/25/doctor-says-life-begins-at-conception-thats-a-scientific-fact/

Saints Joachim and St. Anne - July 26th

 

Everybody loves their grandparents. Today, we celebrate the feast of the grandparents of Jesus, saints Joachim and Anne. Mary was the mother of Jesus and Joseph is the foster-father of Jesus. Since Mary is the Mother of Jesus, then the parents of Mary are the grandparents of Jesus. The name of Mary’s mother is Anne and Mary’s father is Joachim. Joachim and Anne are the grandparents of Jesus.

According to tradition, Saint Anne was born in Bethlehem, and she married Joachim who was from Nazareth. Both of them are descendants of David. Together with her husband, Anne raised Mary to be the perfect woman of virtue and entrusted her to the temple as a child. The same tradition tells of Joachim was a wealthy livestock owner.

Joachim and Anne were unable to have children and because they began to get old, many thought it would be impossible for them to have children. In those days if married couples were unable to have children people believed that the couple was not blessed by God.

One day, because Joachim and Anne were not able to have children, when Joachim went to the temple to offer a sacrifice to God, the priests refused his offering. Joachim was hurt because his sacrifice was not accepted, but he remembered that Abraham and Sarah did not have their son Isaac until they were old, so Joachim decided to go into the desert to fast and pray for forty days. And while her husband was in the desert, Anne also began to pray that God would help them to have a child.

While in the desert, an angel appeared to Joachim and told him that he and his wife would give birth to a girl, and that she would be blessed by God. When Joachim returned home, he went to meet his wife at the "Golden Gate" of Jerusalem.

We can see how the couple persevered in prayer and how they believed God would answer them and give them a child. How blessed they were to be able to have a child and their child was no ordinary child.

At the moment, the Virgin Mary was conceived in the womb of her mother Anne, God granted Mary freedom from original sin. All of us come into the world with sin on our soul, but not the Virgin Mary. God prevented Her from having original sin and so the Virgin Mary never needed baptism.

Later after Mary and Joseph were married, the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. The grandparents of Jesus, must have held the baby Jesus in their arms and would have kissed him, like all grandparents kiss their grandchildren. Jesus would have loved and honored his grandparents and so we should love and honor our grandparents as well.

Today, let us pray to Joachim and Anne, and ask them to pray for our grandparents and help them to be holy, virtuous and loving just as the grandparents of Jesus were holy, loving and virtuous.

And if our grandparents have died, we pray they may enjoy their time in heaven with the grandparents of Jesus, saints Joachim and Anne.

St. James the Greater - July 25th

 

 Today we celebrate the feast of St. James, the apostle, often called “James the Greater”. He was first called by Jesus to be closely associated with Him throughout His public ministry. He was one of three, together with Peter and John, whom Jesus would take aside, as privilege witnesses. Him and his brother John were called sons of thunder. All three were present at the transfiguration on Mount Tabor, at the raising of the daughter of Jairus to life, and during the agony of Jesus in Garden of Gethsemane.

There is an old tradition, he preached the Gospel in Spain before he returned to Jerusalem. Santiago, Spain is named after him. In Santiago, the basilica of St. James is believed to hold his relics. The basilica also contains the world largest thurible, which is swung with incense, only on special occasions. There is also a legend in which St. James, centuries later, appeared on a horse near the ocean to scare off attacking Muslims.

When St. James returned from Spain in 42 AD, Herod Agrippa beheaded him, as noted in the Acts of the Apostles. He was the first apostle to share the cup of suffering and death, which the Lord spoke of in today’s Gospel.

James and his brother most likely asked their mother, Mrs. Zebedee, to ask Jesus, if they could have places of honor in Our Lord’s kingdom.

In a sermon by St. John Chrysostom, he said, “the other ten became angry at the two brothers.’ See how imperfect they all are: the two who tried to get ahead of the other ten, and the ten who were jealous of the two! But, is said, before, show them to me at a later date in their lives, and you will see that all these impulses and feelings have disappeared. James, for his part, was not to live much longer: for from the beginning he was inspired by great fervor, setting aside purely human goals, rose to such splendid heights that he straight-away suffered martyrdom.”

The Apostles learned the lesson Jesus taught on this occasion: “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness, must serve the rest”. Today, let us ask Mary, the Queen of Apostles, to grant us that transformation, which changed James from seeking the greatest honor, to accept the chalice of suffering. Through our daily martyrdom, may we accept the chalice of suffering, which is to serve everyone around us.

17th Sunday, Year C - Knock, Ask, Recieve (Fr. Stu Long)

 

 

“Does God really love us? Does God really care?” Yes, God does care. God loves us, and cares more than we can ever imagine. We see more of that love and concern of God for us again today when Jesus tells us God will respond to our prayer: I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

God is very willing to listen. We just have to come before God as a beggar. God is not distant; it is we who distance ourselves from God sometimes. God is ever near us if we but reach out and pray to God. In Jesus’ parable today about a friend, going to another friend, during the night for food, and eventually receiving his request because of his persistence, Jesus is teaching us to do the same: to go to God at any time when we are in need and present our case before him. Jesus explains what that parable means in practice: I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

But suppose we are in a mess? How can we come before God with our lives in mayhem? Just go before God in whatever disarray you may be in. Go before God just as you are; you do not have to be perfect to go before God. God loves you not because you might happen to be good; God loves you because God is love. Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict), put it so well, when wrote about how we can pray in whatever misery we are in: “Look at me, God, I am nothing, but You are everything; I am full of misery, but You are rich enough to heal all the misery in the world; I am sinful and wicked, but You are full of extravagant love. You do not love as men do, who love only those who are sympathetic to them; You also love the beggar in rags, the prodigal son. You do not love because we are good but, rather, because You are good.” (Dogma and Preaching 108)

So, go before God as you are; God is always waiting for you. “Does God really love us? Does God really care?” Yes, God does care. God loves us and cares more than we can ever imagine.

When we come before God just as we are, in whatever misery we are in, rather than waiting to be better, our time in prayer helps us.

Prayer is not wasting time; on the contrary, we waste a day if we do not pray during that day. We are created by God to spend eternity with God after this life, so it is only natural to spend time with God every day now. Prayer is not wasting time; on the contrary, we waste a day, if we do not pray during that day.

If enough people pray, prayer can change the course of history. Our Lady appeared in Fatima near the end of the first world war, and said if people did not pray enough, there would be another worse war which of course happened—the second world war.

Abraham interceded before God for Sodom in our first reading today, and if God found enough righteous people the city could be saved. At first God would spare the city for fifty good people. But five more times Abraham interceded before God when he could not find enough righteous people in the city, and on five occasions the number needed was reduced from fifty to eventually only ten. We see that just a small number of good people can change the course of history; never underestimate the power of prayer.

This is why I am asking that when you do your Holy Hour, to offer your Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the passing of Value Them Both Amendment, you can help save the lives of thousands of unborn children. By your prayer, you can inspire people to vote Yes.

A small number of people can save a city or a country. There was a pastor about a woman, unable to have children, and after she got her house blessed by him, she was able to have children. In the same place, there was another woman unable to have children, and after she was prayed over, she was able to have children. So, when you pray, you never know what good effects prayer can produce; never underestimate the power of prayer. This is what we see in the Genesis reading today and in Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel: I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

“Does God really love us? Does God really care?” Yes, God does care. God loves us and cares more than we can ever imagine. And then we come to that difficult question: “Why is prayer not answered sometimes, especially when we think we are praying for something good?”

One way I look at that is that while we pray and continue to wait for the answer we would like, we are gradually growing to accept that the answer might not be what we would wish. In other words, our prayer is also working on our own souls, making us a little more ready to continue to carry our cross.

Pilgrimages to Lourdes are common in Europe, especially for those who are ill. Lourdes is a city in France, where the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette and in that location, there is a miraculous spring of water. There have been thousands of people who have claimed to receive physical healing. I know of one man from Great Bend, who told me he was physically healed there and when he told me about it, he wept like a child.

However, frequently we hear the sick, on their return from Lourdes say things like, “Even though I didn’t come back physically healed, I got a grace in Lourdes.” This happened to Fr. Stu. What the movie about Fr. Stu didn’t tell you, was that before he was ordained a priest, he went to Lourdes to be healed.

Still feeling adamant about his call to the priesthood, Stu decided in 2007, to take a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, the site of a well-known Marian apparition and many miraculous healings throughout the centuries. “He thought he would be healed. He absolutely believed 100%, he was going to receive a physical healing,” Fr. Bart recalled.

Stu went to Lourdes in a wheelchair. But he believed he would stand up and walk out of the shrine’s healing waters.  But when he did stand up, after coming out of the waters, he nearly fell over into the water. He couldn’t walk. He wasn’t healed. Stu was devastated. He thought God had abandoned him. But a friend on the trip encouraged him. Stu went back to the Lourdes bath water a second time, a few days later, after he had gone to confession. Whatever Stu said in that confession is unknown. But “when he came out of the water, the second time, he had this sense of peace, just this real sense of peace, that wasn't there the first time,” Fr. Bart said,“And he didn't experience the physical healing, but he had peace.”

On the way back home from Lourdes, the group stopped in Paris. They visited Notre Dame Cathedral, where Stu saw a statue of St. Joan of Arc.  Stu experienced what Fr. Bart described as “a kind of mystical encounter with Joan of Arc. And at that point, he knew he was being asked if he would carry the disease for Christ.” Stu accepted the call. From that moment on, he knew the disease would claim his life, but that it would be for Christ and for the Church. When he returned from Lourdes, Fr. Bart said, there was something different about him.

Sometimes prayer is answered in a different way. Jesus asked in Gethsemane that the cup would pass him by. It didn’t pass him by, but it was answered in another way in His resurrection.

As you pray, go before God in whatever disarray you may be in. Go before God just as you are. You do not have to be perfect to go before God. God loves you not because you might happen to be good; God loves you, because God is love.

*A good portion of this homily was taken from Fr. Tommy Lane

St. Bridget of Sweden - July 23rd

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden, who was born about the year 1303. She was raised in a pious family. Her father would go to confession every Friday. At the age of 7, Bridget had a vision in which our Lady placed a crown on her head. At the age of 10, after a sermon on the Passion, she saw Jesus in a dream wounded and bleeding.

After her mother died in 1314, she lived with an aunt until she was 13. And out of obedience married, Ulf Gudmarsson in an arranged marriage. They had four boys and four girls. One of her daughters, Catherine of Sweden, who would become a saint.

On their pilgrimage to Compestella, Spain, Ulf became very ill. Bridget feared he may die and prayed at his side all night. A bishop appeared to her, and promised Ulf would recover and ‘God had great things for her to do.’ He told her he was Denis, Patron of France. Ulf recovered and was able to continue his work, until he died in 1344.

After Ulf died, Bridget began to live a penitential life near a Cistercian monastery. When she was 41 years old, God called her to be His bride and asked her to found a new religious order. She planned the Rule and Office of the order she was called to found, but she never saw come into existence. After Bridget’s death, her daughter, St. Catherine of Sweden would become the first abbess of what was to be called the Bridgitine Sisters, who have a devotion to Our Lady and to the Passion of Christ.

She lived an ascetic life, eating very little, sleeping short hours, and praying continually. She followed a strict rule and practiced charitable works, and even went about begging. She had the gift of prophecy and worked many cures. She received inspirations known as her 'Revelations’.

For the rest of her life she saw visions concerning the reform of the Church, she gave messages to kings and popes and many other persons in high places, directing them to work for the Church. However, nothing she set out to do was ever realized. She never had the pope return to Rome, she never managed to make peace between France and England, she never saw any her religious order founded, and never returned to Sweden. Rather, she died in what seemed to be an apparent failure in July 1373. She can be called the Patroness of Failures. In this she was like her Lord. He was also classed as failure as He hung on the Cross. Bridget was canonized only 18 years after her death.

Today, let us ask St. Bridget to pray for us that we may imitate her perseverance and her love of Jesus. May we seek not so much to be successful, but rather to be faithful until death.

July 22nd - St. Mary Magdalene

 

Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalene. The name Magdalene comes from the town, Magdela, in Galilee, where she was from. Most believe, including St. Clement of Alexandria, that she is the woman who poured perfume on the feet of Jesus. She is the woman whom Jesus cast out seven demons from her. Mary Magdalene was one of the women, who accompanied Jesus, and followed Him throughout His ministry. It is certain she with St. John, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the other women, who stood at the foot of the Cross of Our Blessed Lord. Tradition has it Jesus first appeared to His Mother, the Blessed Virgin, and then to Mary Magdalene, before appearing to the apostles.

It was Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus entrusted the joyful news of the Resurrection, as He told her to tell the apostles. She is therefore called the apostle, to the apostles. One tradition holds she traveled with the Blessed Virgin and St. John, to Ephesus, where she died and was buried. Another tradition states she lived the last 30 years of her life in a cavern as a hermit dedicated to God.

Today’s readings remind us of Mary Magdalene’s constant search for her beloved, and her deep longing within her heart to hear the voice of Jesus call her name. After she finds Peter, she said to him, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they put Him?” When she returns to the tomb and then sees the angels, she repeats what she said to Peter, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they put Him.” And when she sees Jesus, but doesn’t recognize Him, she states once again her longing to be with Jesus. She said, “Sir, if you carried Him away, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.”

Her hope to find the dead body of Jesus was rewarded, with something far more than what she anticipated. She sees the living, risen body of Christ, and gazes upon His glorified face, but only after Jesus said her name, “Mary”, did she recognize it was Him. When she heard the voice of Jesus, she rejoiced, and it was then her deep interior longing to be with Jesus was realized.

Now, as we prepare to gaze upon and receive the Body of the Risen Lord in the Eucharist, may the deepest longing in our heart be satisfied when hear the voice Jesus call our name within us.

St. Lawrence Brindisi July 21st

 

Today, let us be inspired by St. Lawrence’s devotion to Mary, His love for our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, His preaching of Catholic doctrine, and his courage as he held a crucifix in battle. May we too, grow in love for Mary, Our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, fearlessly stand up for our faith, and carry our cross into the battle of everyday life.

 Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Lawrence, who was born in Brindisi, Italy in 1559. From his earliest years, he was given many gifts of nature and grace. When he was only 6 years old, he preached in the Cathedral, with such force, many were deeply affected. When he was twelve years old, as was the custom in Italy, he preached, in remembrance of the preaching of Jesus in the temple, who preached for the first time at the same age.

He became a Franciscan Capuchin, when he was only 16 years old, and was a model of perfection. He was a model brother, punctual in all community exercises, and perfectly submissive to superiors, and was full of respect and charity, towards all.

As a tremendous preacher, Lawrence preached fluently in 7 different languages. He attributed his talents to Mary, the seat of wisdom, whom he honored with special devotion. His writings are made up of 15 large volumes, mostly sermons. One volume is a masterful exposition of Catholic doctrine, about the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Because he was a highly successful preacher, he was called to Rome, and entrusted with the conversion of the Jews. His thorough knowledge of the Hebrew language, won the esteem of rabbis, and with his gentle manner, led many to baptism.

In 1598, he was sent to Germany, with eleven other friars to establish a Capuchin friary to preach against the heresy of Luther, which was gaining a foothold in Austria.

The emperor later entrusted to St. Lawrence the task of organizing a crusade against the Turks, who were threatening to invade the whole of Christianity. Father Lawrence, as chief chaplain of the army of archduke Mathias, went to Hungary in 1601, to war against the Turks. While in battle, despite his severe arthritis, he mounted his horse, and with crucifix in hand, rode at the head of the troops into battlefield, giving the men great courage.

Later in his life, while offering the sacrifice of the Mass in Munich, our Lord appeared after the elevation in the form of a Child, who lovingly caressed St. Lawrence.

Frequently, the holy man was so affected during the celebration of the Holy Mass, that he would shed copious tears. Altar cloths, which became wet with his tears, were later used to cure the sick.

On the feast of Mary Magdalene, July 22^nd, 1619, he fell very ill at Lisbon, Portugal. After devoutly receiving the last sacraments, he fell into ecstasy, and went to embrace the Lord.

Today, let us be inspired by St. Lawrence’s devotion to Mary, His love for our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, His preaching of Catholic doctrine, and his courage as he held a crucifix in battle. May we too, grow in love for Mary, Our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, fearlessly stand up for our faith, and carry our cross into the battle of everyday life.