St. Ignatius of Antioch

The saint for today is St. Ignatius of Antioch, our second Pope who was martyred between 98 and 117 A.D.  He was thrown to the lions in the Roman Colosseum.  The most unusal aspect of this martyrdom is that St. Ignatius begged the people to allow it to happen and prayed that the lions would not be stopped from attacking him as happened to other great saints when the lions refused to attack.  The Traditional Breviary has a great reading from St. Jerome the Priest:

Ignatius was the third Bishop of Antioch after the Apostle Peter. When Trajan stirred up his persecution, he was condemned to be devoured by wild beasts, and sent to Rome in chains. When on his journey thither he arrived at Smyrna, where Polycarp, the disciple of John, was Bishop, he wrote an Epistle to the Ephesians, another to the Magnesians, a third to the Trallians, and a fourth to the Roman : and after leaving Smyrna, he addressed a further Epistle to the Philadelphians, and another to the Smyrnians, along with a private Epistle to Polycarp, to whose care he commended the Church of Antioch. In this last he quoteth a passage regarding the Person of Christ from the Gospel, which I have recently translated.

It is fitting that, as we have made mention of a man of so much importance, we should also note briefly the Epistle which he addressed to the Romans. I am on my way, saith he, from Syria to Rome, and am already fighting with beasts on sea and on land all the way. I may say I am chained day and night to ten leopards, for indeed the soldiers, who have charge of me, are no better. The more courteous I am to them, the worse they use me. But still their wickedness is good schooling for me, though I know that my mere sufferings cannot in themselves gain me justification. I earnestly wish for the beasts which are to devour me ; at any rate, I pray they may put me out of pain quickly, and fly on me willingly, that I be not like some other Martyrs, whose bodies the animals have refused to touch. If I find that they will not come on, I will run at them as quick as I can, to make them devour me. Let me be, my little children : I know what is good for me.

I feel now that I am beginning to be Christ's disciple ; I desire none of those things which are seen, if so be I may find Christ Jesus. I care not that there come upon me fire, or cross, or wild beasts, or breaking of my bones, or sundering of my members, or destruction of my whole body, yea, or all the torments of the devil, if only so be I may win Christ. When he was brought condemned to the theatre, and heard the roaring of the beasts which were to devour him, he felt so strong an eagerness to suffer, that he cried out : I am Christ's wheat, and so let the beasts' teeth be my mill, that I may be ground, and be found to make good bread. He suffered in the eleventh year of Trajan. What was left of his body lieth at Antioch, in the graveyard outside the gate which leadeth toward Daphne.

Again, I can only marvel that the saints have such a great love for Christ that they actually welcome suffering for him.   I pray that I will one day get to that point.  I have a hard time just accepting a headache.  I don't know how I could actually bring myself to welcome being thrown to the lions.  Truly that is the grace of God.
The Breviary also included a reading from St. Augustine:

The Lord Jesus was himself a corn of wheat that was to die and bring forth much fruit ; to die by the unbelief of the Jews, and to bring forth much fruit in the faith of the Gentiles. He, exhorting men to follow his steps, saith : He that loveth his life shall lose it. Now, these words may be understood in two ways. First : he that loveth his life shall lose it, that is, If thou love life, thou wilt lose it ; if thou wilt live for ever in Christ, refuse not to die for Christ. Or secondly : he that loveth his life shall lose it ; love not then that which thou shalt lose ; love not this present life, so that thou be thereby in jeopardy of losing life eternal. 

That this second interpretation is the meaning of the Gospel, appeareth most probably from the words which follow : And he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal. From which we may suppose the sense of the first words to be : He that loveth his life in this world shall lose it unto life eternal. This is a great and marvellous saying, shewing how a man may so love life as to lose life, and so hate life as to keep life. If thou love it too well, then dost thou hate it : if thou hate it with an holy hatred, then dost thou love it. Blessed are they that, lest they should so love it as to lose it, so hate it as to keep it.

Beware lest thou take these words, He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal, as some do, for an approval of suicide. Some evil and perverse men, bloody and guilty murderers of themselves, do indeed throw themselves into the fire, drown themselves in water, and cast themselves down precipices, and so perish. This is not the teaching of Christ, who, when the devil would have him cast himself down from an high place, answered : Get thee behind me, Satan. It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Who also said to Peter, signifying by what death he should glorify God : When thou wast young thou girdedst thyself and walkedst whither thou wouldest ; but when thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. From which it is evident that he that would follow Christ's footsteps, must be slain, not by himself, but by another.

This is one of the greatest lessons that the saints teach us.  We must learn to actually hate our life in this world, to be able to walk away from everything and everyone we love.  Christ told us that if our eye causes us to offend, we should pluck it out.  He did not mince words when he said:  "If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:26.

St. Martina

Today in the Traditional Roman Calendar is the Feast Day of St. Martina, Virgin and Martyr, who died around 226 A.D.  Martyrdom is a strange phenomena, something very alien to our culture, which prizes comfort and pleasant physical sensations and avoids any kind of pain at all costs.  St. Martina came from a rich family and had all the comforts life could offer in the 3rd Century.  But she gave it all up for her love of her Creator, and underwent extreme torture.  Because she was so willing to do this, she helped bring many people to repentance and saved many souls. 

According to the Breviary, here is her biography:

Martina was a maiden of a most illustrious Roman family, daughter of a Consul. She lost her parents while still very young, and, being inflamed with Christian zeal, she distributed her wealth, whereof she had abundance, with great profusion among the poor. Under the Emperor Alexander, she was commanded to sacrifice to the imaginary gods, and refused with much boldness to commit this great wickedness. Upon this she was again and again scourged, and mangled with iron prongs and hooks, and pieces of broken pottery. Her limbs were cut piece by piece with sharp swords, and boiling tallow poured upon the living trunk. Lastly she was sent to be eaten publicly by the wild beasts in the amphitheatre, but by the will of God they would not touch her, and she was then thrown upon a burning pile, but still remained alive.

Some of her tormentors were so moved by the spectacle, that they repented, and, by the grace of God confessing the faith of Christ, through which she remained constant, were themselves tortured and beheaded. Martina herself lay praying, with a brightness on her face, while a matter like milk oozed from her body along with the blood, emitting a soft, sweet smell. She was as it were unconscious of an earthquake and most violent thunderstorm which arose and was raging, and while the lightning struck temples, and melted statues, she seemed in spirit rather to be seated above on a queenly throne, praising God in heaven among the Blessed.

The judge being infuriated at what had taken place, and chiefly at her unbending firmness, ordered the head of the martyr to be cut off. At the moment this was done, a peal which shook the city was heard, like a voice calling her home, and so great was the consternation, that it was made the means of conversion to many idolaters. The holy body of Martina wherein she had suffered in the Pontificate of Urban I, was discovered in the time of Urban VIII, in the very old Church called after her, situated at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, near the Mamertine Prison, along with the bodies of the holy martyrs Concordius, Epiphanius, and others. The Church was then altered and restored and handsomely decorated, and then the body was replaced in it, amid public rejoicings, with a solemn ceremony and procession.

I feel completely inadequate when I read biographies such as these.  It is hard to imagine accepting all of this suffering and then, on top of it all, being joyful and thankful.  The reason these great saints were able to do this is first, of course, the Grace of God.  But also, the great saints realized the futility of this life.  They knew that the only thing of any importance is to obey God, because that is all that will last.

I know it in my head.  I'm still struggling to convince my heart.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

Silence in the Mass

Prayers said at foot of the altar
at beginning of Traditional Latin Mass

I recently did a post on a talk by Pope Benedict XVI on the importance of silence in communication.  I feel that silence during Mass is also very important, and I don't mean just from the people in the pews, but silence in the Mass itself.  Mass is the highest form of prayer for a Catholic because it is when we go to Calvary for the re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice to the Father.  Recognition of this fact demands reverential silence, and so it was until 1969 when the Novus Ordo Mass was first introduced.    Until the creation of the Novus Ordo Mass, the celebration of Mass included large amounts of silence.  Apart from the homily, amplification is never used during the Traditional Latin Mass.  Everything in the Traditional Mass lends itself to silent, prayerful contemplation.  It is never an intrusion into the prayers of the faithful, but an assistance in their prayers.  The priest prays with and in the same direction as the congregation.

In the TLM, the priest starts the Mass at the foot of the altar, asking forgiveness for his and the congregation's sins while the congregation kneels and prays silently with him.  In the Novus Ordo Mass, the priest comes out, stands at the side of the altar or behind it facing the congregation, and he prays at the people, almost always amplified, even if there is just a handful of people at the Mass.  The people stand, not kneel, facing the priest and instead of praying to God, they are basically answering the priest. 

Communal prayer and holding hands
during Novus Ordo Mass

It continues this way throughout the entire Novus Ordo Mass.  The priest is never quiet, not even during the Consecration. There is never a moment when the people can pray silently in personal communication with God.  Even when receiving Communion, instead of being able to kneel quietly in prayer and preparation at the altar rail while waiting for the priest to come to you, we now have to pick a line to stand in and then slowly walk up to the priest or Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist (who are no longer extraordinary but an expected part of the Mass) surrounded by the distraction of people walking all around us. Instead of being in silent, contemplative prayer, we have to wait to hear "Body of Christ" and then answer "Amen" to whomever (priest or EMHC) is giving us communion, again interrupting our internal communion with our Lord.  Most people receive in the hand, so after taking the Body and Blood of Jesus into their unpurified, unconsecrated hands, they walk away many times still holding the Host and consume it while walking, dropping the fragments of the consecrated host and, not even realizing it, desecrate our Lord, all hardly in an attitude of prayer.  The result of all of this is to lessen even more the reverence and awe due the Blessed Sacrament. 

Receiving Communion in the hand at
Novus Ordo Mass contrasted with
prayerful reception at TLM
using a paten to catch any fragments

For too many Catholics, receiving communion has become nothing more than a shared meal, not the reception of the Body and Blood of our Savior.  People don't even stop to consider whether they are in a state of grace and worthy to receive Communion.  They have basically the same attitude as Protestants do.  However, Protestants don't believe they are actually receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  And they're right - they are only receiving a symbol.  But with Catholics, we believe that we are literally receiving the same Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us on Calvary.  You sure wouldn't know this at the typical Novus Ordo Masses.  Everyone just marches up in line and, most giving no sign of reverence whatsoever such as a bow of the head or (Heaven forbid!) genuflecting or (gasp!) kneeling, they hold out their hands, barely aware of what is happening.  And it's hard to blame people since almost everything in the Novus Ordo Mass promotes that view.  In contrast, at the TLM, the people receive in a kneeling position on the tongue, all the while (hopefully) deep in prayer and communion with our Lord, and, if they wish, the people can stay kneeling at the altar rail for a moment or two in thanksgiving.   There is a reason why those at the TLM almost always walk to and from the communion rail with their hands folded in prayer, while you rarely see that at a Novus Ordo Mass.  The physical posture and gestures of the people reveal what is going on in their minds. 

The music in the Traditional Latin Mass is also never intrusive but instead, is always conducive to contemplation.  The singers and organist are up in the loft behind the congregation and basically out of view.  Music in the Novus Ordo Mass has come to include guitars, drums and other instrusive instruments. The choir is no longer unobtrusively in the choir loft but front and center, taking the focus off the Sacrifice of the Mass.  Again, this leaves no silence in which the congregation can worship. 

The lack of silence and opportunity for contemplation, meditation and personal prayer on the part of the people has directly led to lack of belief and proper respect for the Real Presence. Mass has become a matter of the priest entertaining the people, trying to find new and innovative ways to keep the attention of the congregation.  It has led to a tremendous falloff in weekly Mass attendance (down from 75% in the 1950's to about 20% in the US and single digits in Europe), and people complaining more and more that they are bored with the Mass.  Is it just coincidence, just an accident?  Is there really any wonder why people do not show reverence at Mass and feel free to talk before, after and even during Mass?  As the Holy Father told us, silence is an important part of communication with each other, and it is just as vital in our relationship with our Creator.  The corrections recently made to the Novus Ordo Mass are very welcome, but I think it still has a long way to go.

A Catholic View of Rick Santorum and Ron Paul

I saw this posted over at Catholicknight.blogspot.com.  It is a talk by Tom Woods, a Traditional Catholic speaker, on the difference between Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, and I was amazed as I listened to this to realize that I am not alone in the Catholic world in my assessment of the Republican presidential candidates.  When I read popular Catholic blogs like Father Z's wdptrs.com, who goes along with the conventional political wisdom of the mainstream media, I tend to feel very alone.  Are there any sound, traditional Catholics who reject mainstream political thought and see basically no difference between the two political parties?  I have discovered to my great delight that yes, there are others who have come to the same conclusions I have, as the video below shows.

It has been a difficult road in realizing the truth about our government.  I have certainly been aware for many years that our country is in decline.  That is obvious to anyone who pays the least attention to what is happening in our country.  But it is only recently that I have come to accept the very difficult truth that it is the United States government, be it Republican or Democrat, that is a force for evil, promoting abortion, war, class warfare, secularization, and which has now openly declared war on the Catholic church by saying that in one year, all employers including the Catholic Church must provide free artificial birth control, including sterilization, to their employees in their health plans.  As I heard one man say in a speech, in trying to decide whether to vote Republican or Democrat, we are basically deciding whether to vote for Satan or Lucifer.

Fortunately, there are people who are very much aware of the evil in our land and are speaking out against it. Tom Woods seems to be one of them.  The truth can be found, but we have to look behind the curtain. 

Please watch the video below and then question everything you see.  Pray to our Blessed Mother who will guide you on the right path.  Realize that you are completely surrounded by evil, and far too much of the world is allowing itself to be led by the devil to their own destruction.  QUESTION EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE.  Test the spirits.

I have now added Tom Woods' website to my blog.

Silence Is Golden

Pope Benedict XVI, one of the most profound thinkers of our time,  gave a fantastic talk on Wednesday, January 24 on the importance of silence.  More specifically, the Holy Father talked about the importance of silence in communicating with other people, how important it is to even understand ourselves, and how vital it is in our relationship with our Creator.  I can only think of the political talk shows I see when people with opposing points of view don't converse.  They just argue at each other and try to get their points across, never considering for a moment what the other person is saying and the value of what the other person thinks.  They have already made up their minds and no one and nothing is going to change it, and they don't pause for a moment to reflect.  Too many of us live our lives that way.

Here is the text of that speech with a few of my comments.  So many problems in the world could be solved by applying this message, from family relations to global conflicts. 

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE 46th WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY

Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization

[Sunday, 20 May 2012]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we draw near to World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially necessary to recall. It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved. When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness [as I mentioned, we see this all the time on TV, where people argue without listening to each other, only looking to make their own points and never bringing clarification to each other or those of us who are watching.  I've heard such "discussions" called shoot outs, which seems an appropriate term, because there is certainly no communication]; when they complement, however [meaning when silence and words are used together, never one without the other], communication acquires value and meaning.

We Must Be Willing To Forsake All

Today in the Traditional Calendar is the Feast Day of St. Timothy, disciple of St. Paul, and to whom two books in the New Testament were written.  The Gospel for the traditional calendar is Luke 14:26-33.  I've heard and read this passage many times in my life, but for some reason it really hit me today when I read it.  It is a very deep passage, which asks that we give our entire lives to Jesus Christ:

²⁶If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
²⁷And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
²⁸For which of you having a mind to build a tower, doth not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it:
²⁹Lest, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able ti finish it, all that see it begin to mock him,
³⁰Saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
³¹Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him?
³²Or else, whilst the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth conditions of peace.
³³So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple.

Whew!  This passage would never make it in a Madison Avenue advertising agency.  Christ tells us that if we want to follow him, we must be willing to give up everything and everyone we love, including our very own lives, and to take up our cross - be ready to suffer, be ready to completely deny ourselves to the point of death.  Who in their right mind is going to accept this offer?  Deny yourself, accepting suffering, give up everything.  In our world, and most specifically in the western world, we don't do anything unless it makes us feel good in some way.  Why would anyone willingly take on suffering?

And yet, what are we really being asked?  Why are we so intent on clinging to this life, which is temporary and fleeting at best?  No matter how happy we may think we are, no matter how much we gain in riches and fame and whatever other material goal we may set, it is all going to fade away.  Everything that we can see, taste, touch, hear and smell is going to one day be gone.  And if that is where our heart is, we will be gone with it.  We can never be free in this life from death and the fear of death.  It is always there, and we know that one day death will be the victor and will rob us of everything. 

Christ is telling us that if we want true life, eternal life, then we must let go of this material world. Christ is asking us, when everything is boiled down to its essence, to give up death, because everything in this world will eventually lead us to death.  And in return, he will give us life.

There is a great reading in the Traditional Breviary from St. Gregory the Pope which explains this much better than I can:

Dearly beloved brethren, if we consider what and how great things are promised unto us in heaven, all things which are upon earth grow poor to our mind. For when this world's goods are reckoned against the gladness above, they are found to be a hindrance rather than an help. This present life being compared to life eternal, ought rather to be called death than life. For what is the daily failing of our corruptible body but, as it were, a creeping death? And what tongue can tell, or what mind comprehend, how great is the rejoicing in the city above? For there they have part with the choirs of Angels, and stand with those most blessed spirits before the glory of the Creator, and see the face of God present, and gaze upon Light Incomprehensible, and have no fear of death, but rejoice in the gift of an incorruption which is eternal.

When we hear these things our hearts burn within us. And we long to be already there, where we hope to rejoice eternally. But we cannot attain unto great rewards save through great labour. Therefore saith the mighty preacher Paul : No man is crowned except he strive lawfully. If the greatness of the reward delighteth the mind, then the pressure of the struggle cannot make the heart grow faint. Therefore the Truth saith unto all who would come to him : If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

But it may be asked, how we are commanded in one place to hate our parents, and all our kith and kin, and in another place to love even our enemies. And verily, the Truth hath said, concerning wives : What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. And Paul saith : Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church. Behold the disciples commandeth a man to love his wife, and the Master saith : If any man hate not his wife, he cannot be my disciple. Doth the Judge, then, make one proclamation, and the crier make another? Can we both love and hate at the same time? But if we consider well the force of the commandment, we shall be able by discretion to do both.  Let us love wife, and kindred, and neighbour, in so far as the duties of the flesh are concerned, but in so far as they hinder on us the way to God, let us not know them, but hate them and flee from them.

Obama Doublespeak

All right, we have now officially crossed over into the Twilight Zone, where up is down, down is up, right is wrong, wrong is right, and death is life.  The President of the United States has stated that killing an unborn baby ensures that "our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams."  Huh???  How does killing her unborn baby ensure that a woman has the same rights as a man?  And what about the rights of the baby?  Why don't we just legalize murder completely?  If anyone gets in our way and threatens to take away our rights, encroaches on our freedom to do what we want, we can just off them, the same way we do with our unborn children.  And we can do it by tearing their limbs apart or poisioning them, or any number of ways in which it is legal to kill unborn babies.  Obama tries to mitigate his total support of abortion by stating:  "no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant woman and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption."  I think I must have missed it when Obama was doing this.  All I have ever heard him do is promote abortion every chance he gets, such as on this blackest of anniversaries. 

This statement by our president is just plain evil, there is no other way of putting it. 

From TheHill.com:

Obama defends Roe v. Wade on anniversary of Supreme Court ruling

By Jeremy Herb - 01/22/12 01:00 PM ET

President Obama marked the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade court decision Sunday by saying that he remains committed “to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right.”

“We must remember that this Supreme Court decision not only protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters,” Obama said in a statement Sunday.

Abortion and the Roe v. Wade decision, which said laws banning abortion were unconstitutional, has been a rallying cry for social conservative voters as well as pro-abortion rights advocates for decades, a trend that continued in 2011.

The Republican-led House passed bills in 2011 that would restrict federal subsidies for abortion, and the issue nearly sparked a government shutdown in April after a last minute dust-up. States enacted 67 measures restricting abortion in 2011, according to a report released last week by abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Obama said Sunday that reducing the number of abortions was something that everyone could agree to [No, reducing abortions is not enough.  One baby killed in the womb is too many.  We must stop abortions completely], whether they supported or opposed abortion rights.

“While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue — no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant woman and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption,” Obama said.

“And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”

State Rankings For Pro Life Legislation

A very interesting article from lifesitenews.com:

 ‘Life List’ 2011 shows huge legislative gains for life in the 50 states

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) –Americans United for Life on Thursday released its seventh annual “Life List” http://www.aul.org/auls-life-list – a ranking of all 50 states based on a comprehensive list of life issues, from abortion to euthanasia. For the second time in three years, Louisiana tops the list, followed closely by Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and Arkansas.

Washington, California, Hawaii, Vermont, and Montana come in as the least life-affirming states, while Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, and Utah rate as the “most improved.” (Click here for the entire list.)

AUL CEO and President Dr. Charmaine Yoest said that the remarkable gains for Life at the state level reveal that many state legislators are creating a blueprint for legislative changes when Roe v. Wade is ultimately overturned.

AUL called 2011 “a watershed year in the defense of life,” with 47 states considering more than 460 abortion-related measures, ultimately enacting more than 70 of them. And that, they said, is just the beginning.

Yoest also pointed out AUL’s involvement, with at least 86 bills introduced in 32 states that were based in whole or in part on AUL’s model language or on which AUL consulted and advised.

“As the legal arm of the pro-life movement, the AUL legal team has created the legal architecture for reversing Roe v. Wade,” said Dr. Yoest. “The states are preparing for the day after Roe. And as the Life List documents, we’re seeing tremendous gains in defending life in law.”

The AUL release also noted that state legislators looking for model legislation will soon see a new AUL guidebook with 43 pieces of model legislation, including legislation restricting insurance coverage of abortions within state Exchanges created pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s healthcare plan. This model has already been used by five states to opt out of Obama’s healthcare law.

While I certainly applaud the efforts to pass pro-life legislation, and I will pray that it continue, this is not the answer to stop abortion.  Msgr. Philip Reilly has pointed out that the only way to stop legal abortion in our land is to change the minds and hearts of the American people.  This land must come to a mass repentance and turn to God and beg for his forgiveness.  Only then will we stop this horrendous evil.

Baby Melinda Goes Home

Baby Melinda leaving the hospital with her parents

Back on December 15, 2011, I posted a story about a premature baby born at 24 weeks and weighing just 9-1/2 ounces.  Please keep in mind that it is completely legal in our land to abort a baby at this stage.  However, Baby Melinda's parents wanted to desperately to save their baby's life, and it seems they have succeeded.   They took their precious baby home with them on Friday, January 20, five months after her birth.   I find it especially ironic that this story appears at the time of the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized the murder of pre-born babies in the United States. 

Here is the story from usatoday.com:

 Tiny baby gets Hollywood treatment as she leaves LA hospital

 LOS ANGELES (AP)–One of the world's smallest surviving babies was discharged Friday from the hospital where she spent nearly five months in an incubator — but not before getting the Hollywood treatment.

Wearing a pink knit hat and wrapped in a pink princess blanket, Melinda Star Guido was greeted by a mob of television cameras and news photographers outside the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

"I'm just happy that she's doing well," said her 22-year-old mother Haydee Ibarra. "I'm happy that I'm finally going to take her home … I'm just grateful."

Melinda was born on August 30 weighing just 9.5 ounces, less than a can of soda. She was so tiny that she fit into her doctor's hand. Melinda is believed to be the world's third-smallest surviving baby and second smallest in the U.S.

Now weighing 4.5 pounds and breathing through an oxygen tube as a precaution, doctors said Melinda has made enough progress to go home. It's too early to know how she will do developmentally and physically, but doctors planned to monitor her for the next six years.

Most babies as small don't survive even with advanced medical care. About 7,500 babies are born each year in the U.S. weighing less than 1 pound, and about 10% survive.

Melinda has come a long way since being delivered by cesarean section at 24 weeks after her mother developed high blood pressure during pregnancy, which can be dangerous for mother and fetus.

She was whisked to the neonatal intensive care unit where she breathed with the help of a machine and received nutrition through a feeding tube. Infants born before 37 weeks are considered premature.

Even after discharge, such extremely premature babies require constant care at home. Their lungs are not fully developed and they may need oxygen at home. Parents also need to watch out for risk of infections that could send infants back to the hospital. Even basic activities like feeding can be challenging.

"They may need extra help and patience while they learn to eat," Dr. Edward Bell, a pediatrician of the University of Iowa who runs an online database of the world's smallest surviving babies born weighing less than a pound.

The list features 130 babies dating back to 1936 and does not represent all survivors since submission is voluntary. Melinda was not eligible to be included until she was discharged.

Two years ago, Bell published a study in the journal Pediatrics that found many survivors have ongoing health and learning concerns. Most also remain short and underweight for their age.

There are some rare success stories. The smallest surviving baby born weighing 9.2 ounces is now a healthy 7-year-old and another who weighed 9.9 ounces at birth is an honors college student studying psychology, according to doctors at Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois where the girls were born.

Soon after birth, Melinda was treated for an eye disorder that's common in premature babies and underwent surgery to close an artery. Ibarra held Melinda for the first time after the operation in November.

Despite the hurdles, doctors said Melinda was fortunate she did not suffer serious complications such as bleeding in the brain.

I feel very confident that Baby Melinda  will do just fine.  There is a 2-year old child in my apartment building who was born at about 26 weeks and weighed less than 2 pounds.  This baby was conceived despite her mother's IUD, which should have aborted the fertilized egg, so she is actually an abortion survivor.  She had a rough go of it the first several months of her life as well.  But she is as healthy as any 2 year old you will ever see.  Baby Melinda is yet another answer from God to abortion.  It's not a choice, it's a baby. 

January 22, 1973 - The Blackest Day in American History

I will always remember reading the headline in the paper on January 22, 1973.  It said that abortion had been legalized by the US Supreme Court.  I was completely stunned.  I was only 17 years old, but even I knew that this meant we would now be killing our babies.  It just didn't seem possible that such a thing could happen. 

It is now 39 years later, and the reality is that over 50 million babies have been surgically aborted in America, and that does not count the babies aborted due to artificial contraception, as most contraceptives are abortifacients.  They do not prevent pregnancy.  They abort the fertilized egg before it can attach to the womb.  For 39 years we have been poisioning and burning babies alive, pulling them apart limb by limb and vacuuming them out of their mothers' wombs like so much garbage.   I live in New York City, the abortion capital of the United States, in which there are approximately 89,000 abortions every year.  Forty percent of all pregnancies end in abortion in this city.  In the Black community, there are 3 abortions for every 2 live births.

Below is a map from cpforlife.org that helps to visualize the tremendous scope of abortion and how many people have died.  I am always amazed at discussions about the financial crisis in our country.  No one ever mentions that over 50 million potential tax payers and job creators have been murdered, people who could be paying into and contributing to the system.  How many have lost a wife, husband, doctor, lawyer, best friend in the holocaust we call abortion?  And holocaust is the correct name for what has happened to our land.  Holocaust means "whole burnt offering." To whom are these tiny sacrifices being offered?  See below. 

The map above has 18 states blacked out. The population of these states is equal to the 50,000,000+ reported "legal" surgical abortions since 1973. Perhaps this visual perspective helps one to grasp the number of people that are gone, dead-robbed of their God given, constitutional rights to life and liberty. How does the “most religious” nation on the planet allow such unspeakable horror?

Abortion is the perfect sacrifice to the devil. Below is an article written by Father John Hardon, S.J. explaining just how demonic abortion is, and the best way to defeat it.

Abortion as Pagan Sacrifice

by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

We know what the word “sacrifice” means. It means the surrender of something precious to the god in whom a person believes. Sacrifices have been part of world religions since the dawn of recorded history. Without exception, the deities of all the religions of the ancient world demanded sacrifices in their honor. The Egyptians and Babylonians, the Greeks and Romans, the deities of pre-Christian India and of the continent of Africa required that their adherents offer what we call sacrifices in their name.

What is less well known, however, is that these religions also required the sacrifice of children as an oblation and even as a condition, for obtaining blessings from the gods. We read in the Office of Readings for today’s Divine Office that the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, charging the Jews of imitating the pagans in their practice of child homicide. Said the Lord, “They have built high places for Baal to immolate their sons in fire as holocausts to Baal: such a thing as I neither commanded nor spoke of, nor did it ever enter my mind.”

As we read statements like foregoing, we ask ourselves: how could human beings be so deluded as to seriously believe that their gods required human sacrifice as a condition for receiving divine favors? The key word is “deluded.” Thirty years of teaching comparative religion has taught me that there is no limit to the irrational, indeed insane, practices that religious mythology will not put into practice as a mandate from the deities in whom they believed.

Thus we read in the history of the Aztecs in South America before Columbus that they would kill up to ten thousand children on a major feastday in honor of one of their gods. Although seldom mentioned, infanticide as a religious ritual was practiced in India before its colonization by Great Britain.

We return to the theses that should be explored far beyond the time we can give it in this conference. Abortion as the widespread practice that it has become today is incredibly a religious practice. It is inspired by the evil spirits who, in Christian terms, were and are the malignant deities of paganism. These deities, often goddesses, demanded the sacrifice of children to be propitiated. Unless children were killed and offered to these gods, they would avenge their anger against the people in the most devastating ways.

As believing Catholics, we know that behind the murder of unborn children is the superhuman mind and malevolent will of Satan and his minions. To know this is to also know that only divine power is a match for the demonic power behind abortion. This divine power is the power of the God who became man in order, as He told us, to conquer the devil as master of the world.

How did Christ provide for the conquest of Satan and his agents? He did so by dying on the cross. The one who died on Calvary was man, but this man was the living God. On these premises, Calvary is the divine sacrifice because it was God who assumed a human body and a human soul which could separate in a human death on Good Friday. Except for this divine sacrifice of Jesus Christ there would be no hope for the human race.

However, let us be clear. Christ did die for our salvation. He shed His blood on Calvary. In that sense, He completed the mission given to Him by His Father. But really that was only the beginning. By His sacrifice on Calvary, He won for us the title to the graces we need to reach our eternal destiny. But this same Jesus Christ made sure that these graces would be communicated to mankind until the end of time. The principal channel of these graces is the Sacrifice of the Mass.

The graces which Christ pours out on a sinful world through the daily offering of Mass are the graces which a homicidal world needs to return to its worship of the one true God, and cease committing the crimes of abortion which are really acts of worship of the evil deities who we know are the evil spirits.

The Sacrifice of the Mass, therefore, provides us with the light and strength we need to live sacrificial lives. But we must use these graces and really live lives of sacrifice. If we do, and in the measure that we do, we shall obtain for the agents of death the miraculous graces they need to abandon their idolatry and return to the worship of the one true God.

Our faith tells us that the Sacrifice of the Mass is at once the sacrifice of Christ and our sacrifice, too. Christ has done all that He could by dying on the cross. We must do all that we can to follow in His footsteps and die to ourselves out of love for Him.


When you see an abortion clinic, realize that you are looking at a temple of Satan, and that human sacrifices are being given to him. As Msr. Philip Reilly has said, when you go to an abortion clinic, you are going to Calvary, because it is the death of innocence. It is Satan laughing at God as he destroys human beings. It is the greatest evil this world has ever seen. And it all goes on behind closed doors with society ignoring it and at the same time, silently assenting to this demonic sacrifice. We are all paying a price for this, and America and the rest of the world will have to answer for the innoncent blood it has shed. Mother Teresa said that abortion leads to nuclear war. Truer words were never spoken. 

Below is a video about the reality of abortion. It starts with the story that I heard directly from the pro-life person involved. It involves a woman who was determined to abort her baby, but had come to a pregnancy clinic first. She was given an ultrasound of her baby, but this left her undeterred in her decision to abort the baby. The pro life person prayed to the Holy Spirit for inspiration. She then told the mother to place her hand on her stomach and tell the baby to hold her hand. The mother put her hand on her stomach and as she did, the baby, who had been squirming and moving constantly, suddenly stopped and pressed his hand against his mother's, which could be clearly seen on the ultrasound. Everyone in the room was stunned into silence. The mother burst into tears and made the decision right then to keep her baby.

Litmus Test

It was pretty amazing watching all of the Republicans trying to circle the wagons around Newt Gingrich after his ex-wife gave an interview describing the hell the former speaker had put her through in their marriage.  I watched Laura Ingraham on the O'Reilly factor defending the Newt against ABC for daring to show the interview with the Newt's ex-wife.  Why, Laura argued, this is just old news and all they are trying to do is hurt Gingrich.  ABC has terrible, immoral programs (which is absolutely true and why I don't watch that network or any other) and they're all just a bunch of hyprocrites for bringing this up.  But Ms. Ingraham, a professed Catholic, did not utter one word about the immorality of Newt Gingrich and that just maybe this does disqualify him to be president.  Rush Limbaugh, of course, is out in full force, trying to somehow project it all onto Obama:

I don't understand why the media's pretending to be so upset about these charges coming from Marianne.  I mean, it's all about sex [this is sure not what he said about Bill Clinton or Ted Kennedy] and how many times are we told that somebody's sex life, even if they're president, doesn't matter. It's nobody's business as long as it doesn't affect the job.  And how about all the sex stories from Obama's former girlfriends?  That's right: What stories? What former girlfriends?  In fact, have we ever found out anything about any of his students when he supposedly taught law at the University of Chicago or buddies at Harvard Law Review?  I mean, we still don't know anything. "Mr. Limbaugh, this is very clever of you trying to disguise the fact that Mr. Gingrich is..."  No, I'm just reacting here.  [Just reacting?  How do we go from the adulterer Gingrich to Obama's college records?  I think that is called "deflecting."]

Limbaugh doesn't stop there, trying to make light of the entire sordid Gingrich story:

I got a great [???????] note from a friend of mine.  "So Newt wanted an open marriage.  BFD.  At least he asked his wife for permission instead of cheating on her.  That's a mark of character, in my book.  Newt's a victim [Now I think I'm getting seriously sick].  We all are.  Ours is the horniest generation.  We were soldiers in the sex revolution.  We were tempted by everything from Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice to Plato's Retreat, Deep Throat to no-fault divorce.  Many of us paid the ultimate price, AIDS, abortion, or alimony for the cultural marching orders we got.  Hell, for all I know we should be getting disability from the government." That's from a good friend of mine [gotta wonder about Rush's friends], "Newt's slogan ought to be, 'Hell, yes, I wanted it.'"  (laughing)  I'm sharing with you how some people are reacting to this. 

Now, I'm certainly not saying that the MSM doesn't have a motive in putting out this story about Newt.  The timing is interesting, to say the least.  But gimme a break.  This still doesn't take away from the fact that Newt Gingrich completely betrayed not only his first wife, but his second wife as well.  He had a 6-year affair behind her back, and then when she is sick with MS, and the doctor has specifically said that she should not be put under stress, he tells her he wants a divorce.  And even has the gall to ask for an "open marriage" (which he denies and we are expected to believe), telling his wife she has to "share" him.  And people like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham are defending him?   

Later in Limbaugh's monologue, he even tries to blame Marianne Gingrich:

I also know that Marianne Gingrich... I've seen places shortly after Newt was made Speaker with Mary, social weekends and so forth, and she was never comfortable with the public eye -- and that bothered him. He thought it limited his future. She didn't like the media, she didn't like the focus on her life, so she just wasn't comfortable with the public eye -- and I know that he said, "Well, you knew what you were marrying." So there's two sides  to all this [I can't stand it!!!!  Marianne wasn't all that comfortable in the spotlight, so that makes it okay that Newt was a lying, cheating adulterer]

Rush later makes another reference to that "great note" he read:

And don't downplay this note I got from my buddy who's in his fifties, and I'll read it to you again here sometime during the program.

Limbaugh does correctly point out the hypocrisy of the media, but Limbaugh claims that the media hypocrisy means we should just ignore Gingrich's behavior:

Here's a headline from the New York Times: "Former Gingrich Wife Says He Asked for Open Marriage." Now, folks, this is the same New York Times that never ran one article about John Edwards cheating on his cancer-stricken wife. Do you remember ABC, CBS, NBC, Washington Post, New York Times would get nowhere near the John Edwards story? That was a National Enquirer exclusive, and the mainstream media was dragged kicking and screaming to it.

All I can say to this, is so what? Just because, like Rush, the MSM are hypocrites, that does not justify Gingrich's behavior and Limbaugh's defense of it.

Then there's the final kicker from Limbaugh, who himself has been married four times:

Hell, Newt was married to Marianne for 18 years. Do you realize that's a lifelong commitment in Hollywood terms? That's a lifetime marriage, in Hollywood.

So because Newt was married longer than most people in Hollywood, anyone who dares to criticize him is a hypocrite.  As far as I'm concerned, anyone who defends this behavior has lost all credibility.

I also watched the Republican debate in South Carolina last night, and the first question was to Gingrich about his ex-wife's intereview.  He castigated the moderator and attacked the MSM for bringing this up.  The most alarming part of this is the fact that the audience supported Gringrich, applauding him for standing up to the media!!!  Gimme a break, people.  Do you realize you are supporting a serial adulterer here, a seriously flawed individual?  Oh yea, we're suppose to be forgiving, and that's fine.  But does that mean we have to support him for president?  He has been married 3 times.  As far as I'm concerned, that alone completely disqualifies him to be president.  He shows a serious lack of character and morals.  Maybe he is truly repentant and wants to live a different life, and I actually hope for his sake that this is the case.  But please!!  How can anyone with any sense of right or wrong support this man for president?  He needs major help.  When Clinton was caught doing the nasty with Monica Lewinsky, all of his political opponents attacked him because they said it made him vulnerable to blackmail.  So why isn't this the case with Gingrich?

I guess we get the leaders we deserve.

Obama The Baby Killer

An interesting news item from Lifenews.com:

Second Grader: Defeat Obama, “He Says You Can Kills Babys”

by Jill Stanek | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 1/18/12 11:21 AM
I received the following from a second grade teacher:

The class has been learning about Martin Luther King, Jr., and we were talking about how one person can make a big difference. We talked about how he had a dream.

So they had a writing assignment to write about what their dream for the world right now is. This little boy wrote, “My dream for the world Is for president Obama to not be president ever again. Because he says you can kill babies. And because that is a dumb law.”

* * * *

I have one problem with this news story.  Obama is being blamed for the fact that we have abortion in our land.  Certainly, Obama is the most pro-abortion president we have ever seen, and hopefully will ever see.  But has it been any different with Republicans?  Does anyone think it will be any different with Romney, who has done a 180 degree flip flop on abortion?  Has any Republican president ever gone beyond talk and actually tried to outlaw abortion?  We have never seen it.

Our salvation is not with any politician.  It is only through Christ and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, just as she told us at Fatima.  Defeating Obama is not going to change anything.  The hearts and minds of the American people must change.  That is the only way to defeat this horrible evil.  I'm no fan of Obama, but the terrible scourge of abortion cannot be laid only at his feet.     

The Federal Government Should Not Legislate Morals

The video below shows how the MSM tries to belittle and distort Ron Paul's message, trying to make him look like a left wing liberal when in reality, he is the strongest supporter of the US Constitution of any candidate in recent history.

Ron Paul is asked by Chris Wallace why he, Congressman Paul, says that the legalization (or not) of marijuana, cocaine and even heroin should be left up to the states.  Congressman Paul gives a brilliant answer to this question.  I can only point out that it is the federal courts that gave us the legal killing of babies, known as abortion, and strongly supported by the federal government.  Whenever the people are left to decide what should be legal or not, they always come down on the side of morality.  Ron Paul is right - the federal government should not be in the business of making decisions for us.  We are capable of making our own decisions.  Once the government infringes on one part of our liberty, it will start taking away other liberties.  Prohibition of liquor - when the government decided we shouldn't drink alcohol - resulted in making criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens, and actually produced more drunkeness and wrecked lives.  Government legislation, especially by the Federal Government, does not make people moral.  It has to come from within.  If the people are allowed to decide what should be legal or not legal, we will be much better off.  I can assure you that abortion would have never been legalized in 1973 if it had been left up to the people. 



Don't accept the argument that we need government to take care of us. Government is, for far too many who are a part of it, immoral and corrupt. Witness all the many, many scandals we have seen over the decades. As shown in my post about the Masonic influence in politics, we as Catholics should be doubly suspicious of anything our government does.  Why should we let such people, who can't make moral decisions for themselves, make our moral decisions. 

Here is a snapshot of a poll asking people's opinions on abortion published in July 2011.  As you will see, if left up to the people, abortion would be vastly restricted and regulated.  But in the government's hands, it continues almost unabated.

The Patriarch of Lisbon criticises ‘Masonic influence in politics’

All of the men pictured here, including John Wayne,
Harry Truman, Franklin Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh,
George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt,
were 32nd Degree Freemasons

In 1917, when Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, she warned that Russia must be consecrated to her immaculate heart.  In the third apparition of Our Lady in Fatima, on July 13, 1917, Our Lady warned that if man does not:

stop offending God, another even worse war will begin in the reign of Pius XI… To prevent it [the war], I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays. If they listen to my requests, Russia will convert and there will be peace; if not, it will spread its errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and several nations will be annihilated.

The errors of Russia, which is most specifically atheistic communism, have spread throughout the world.  Our Lady told us that the only way to avoid the errors of Russia being spread throughout th world was by consecrating Russia to her Immaculate Heart, as quoted above.  Russia was not consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart, and as she predicted, WWII broke out during the reign of Pope Pius XI, a greater and much more destructive war than the "Great War," WWI.  There were 35 million military and civilian casualities in WWI, more than the world had ever seen, but just a little over 20 years later, as predicted by Our Lady, WWII began in which it is estimated that 60 million people were killed, which was 2.5% of the entire world's population.  Also in this war, nuclear weapons were introduced, now making it possible to annihilate the entire world. 

It is now 2012, and though our Lady specifically asked that Russia be consecrated to her immaculate heart no later than 1960, the consecration still has not been done.  Therefore, the errors of atheistic Russia have continued to spread around the world, wreaking untold havoc and misery on mankind.  Joseph Stalin of the USSR is said to have killed 20 million people, with some estimates as high as 60 million.  China's Mao Zedong is estimated to have killed anywhere from 49 million to 78 million people, plus countless hundreds of millions more killed through China's mandatory one-child law, which results in the abortion of 35,000 babies every day.  There are the terrible wars and manmade famines throughout Africa, the killings in Cambodia by Pol Pot of 1.7 million people.  The atrocities go on, ad nauseum.  And there is no end in sight.  I onced heard a priest say that Satan always demands humand sacrifice.  We are certainly supplying him with more sacrifices than he probably thought possible.

Below is an article from Vaticaninsider.com concerning The Archbishop of Lisbon, Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, in which he describes how Masonry influences politics.  The reason I bring up the warning of Fatima along with this article is because they are at heart one and the same.  Masonry is belief in salvation through man, which is exactly what communism preaches, the errors of Russia.  When you read this article, keep this in mind. 

Make a Pledge to Recite the St. Michael's Prayer

O glorious prince St. Michael,
chief and commander of the heavenly hosts,
guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits,
servant in the house of the Divine King
and our admirable conductor,
you who shine with excellence
and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil
who turn to you with confidence
and enable us by your gracious protection
to serve God more and more faithfully every day

There can be no doubt that Satan has been unleashed upon the world.  The 20th Century was by far the bloodiest, most deadly century in the history of mankind.  It is estimated that 180 million people were killed in war in the 20th century, and this new century seems headed on the same path. No time has ever seen such immorality as we have seen.  No culture, no matter how debauched, ever considered destroying marriage as we have, no one ever killed their children on such a massive scale as we have.  Right is now wrong, and wrong is right.  Those who live upright moral lives are now considered the outcasts. 

I believe that one of the most important prayers given to the Catholic Church in the last 150 years to combat the terrible evil that reigns in this world is the St. Michael's Prayer.  Below is the story of how it came to be written:

The Saint Michael prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII in 1884. There are some variations on the exact events that inspired him to write this prayer.

After saying Mass one day, Pope Leo suddenly fell into an unconscious state.

People who were around him thought he was having a stroke or some other medical emergency.

Just as suddenly he regained consciousness and there was no evidence of a medical condition.

He is reported to have said, "What a horrible picture I was permitted to see!"

He heard two distinct voices coming from the tabernacle, the place where Jesus, truly present under the appearance of a consecrated host remains after the Mass.

One voice was kind and gentle. This was the voice of Jesus.

The other voice was harsh and wicked. This was the voice of Satan.

The conversation he heard was Satan telling Jesus that he could destroy His Church.

Jesus told Satan that if he thought he could destroy the Church then he could try.

Satan responded that he needed more power and more time. Satan asked for a century and for more influence over those people who were willing to be his servants.

Jesus said He would allow this to happen.

This frightening vision inspired Pope Leo XIII to write the Saint Michael Prayer.

He knew that the world would need this prayer to get through the horrible century when Satan would have more power over the wicked.

Pope Leo XIII felt this prayer was so important that he asked that it be said after Mass.

Even though this practice (saying the Saint Michael Prayer after mass) was suppressed in 1964 by Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II asked people to reestablish the practice of saying this prayer after Mass once again in 1994. John Paul II said,

"May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle we are told about in the Letter to the Ephesians: "Draw strength from the Lord and from His mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of St. Michael the Archangel (Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had a very vivid recollection of this scene when, at the end of the last century, he introduced a special prayer to St. Michael throughout the Church. Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world." 

Human Life International, a group dedicated to pro life causes, has a campaign that encourages people to make a pledge to recite the St. Michael prayer after every Mass to specifically pray for the conversion of abortionists.  You may go here to to sign the pledge and download St. Michael prayer cards.  Below is the pledge you will make:

To our dear priests and bishops: As a faithful member of the Church Militant, I intend to say the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of every Mass that I attend. I respectfully ask that you lead the faithful entrusted to your care in doing the same. I do so because our fight against the culture of death is fundamentally a fight against “the principalities and powers of this world of darkness” (Eph 6: 12). That being true, then surely we need to invoke St. Michael’s assistance if we are to bring to conversion and to the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all abortionists who commit crimes against our unborn brothers and sisters. In union with millions of others around the world who labor to restore the sanctity of human life, I promise you my prayers as you consider this request.

PRAYER TO
SAINT MICHAEL
THE ARCHANGEL

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the snares and temptations of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who roam about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen