Romney On Abortion Through The Years

Here is Romney in his pro-choice days when it was convenient for him to be pro abortion.  Mitt Romney cannot be trusted.

Catholics Support Artificial Birth Control

Life Magazine Cover
of March 20, 1970

The fight continues between the White House and the Catholic Church about the healthcare law forcing Catholic employers to provide free contraception and/or sterilization for their employees.  Speaker John Boehner, himself a Catholic, has gotten into the fray and has said that "If the president does not reverse the department's attack on religious freedom, then the Congress, acting on behalf of the American people and the Constitution we are sworn to uphold and defend, must."   The White House is now talking about reaching a "compromise", although I don't know how you compromise with evil.  The Catholic Church's plain teaching is that artificial contraception and sterilization are inherently evil and constitute a mortal sin, which means complete separation from God, and if this sin is not confessed, repented of and absolved in confession, these men and women will die and remain separated from God for all eternity. 

Again, I think in many ways the Catholic bishops have only themselves to blame for this situation because they have allowed Catholics in their jurisdiction to disobey this law and nothing was ever said.  But now that they are actually being threatened, they have no choice but to defend Church teaching.  And as a result, the true message of God is being taught, which is a reason for rejoicing.

However, far too many Catholics don't believe this is even an issue, as they have no problem with artificial contraception and do not hesitate to make that known, as shown in this article from USA Today.

New surveys: Catholics want birth control coverage

Pundits and bishops warn President Obama he could lose the white Catholic vote over requiring a contraception option for insurance plans. But Catholic women say they want birth control covered in employee health plans.

The pivot point is how you see this. Is it a battle over birth control -- used by 98% of U.S. women at some time in their lives -- or over government intrusion into the right of religious organizations to live by their teachings? 

The Catholic bishops, backed by conservative evangelicals, say the Obama administration shouldn't include contraception coverage as part of free preventive care options in employers' health insurance plans. 

Hence the showdown: As our editorial Monday says, religious liberties fight or, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says, a free choice issue. 

And here's where the Catholic women come in. According to the Public Religion Research Institute poll released today, 

A majority (55%) of Americans agree that "employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost." Four-in-ten (40%) disagree with this requirement. 

Key breakdowns 

• 58% of all Catholics agree employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. That slides down to 52% for Catholic voters, 50% for white Catholics.
• 61% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say employer plans should cover contraception.
• 50% of white mainline Protestants want the coverage. However, for evangelical Protestants, that drops to 38%  

 And perhaps of greater note among election-watchers  

Women are significantly more likely than men to agree that employers should be required to provide health care plans that cover contraception (62% vs. 47% respectively).  

A second poll, also released today from Public Policy Polling, has similar findings. This poll, conducted at the request of Planned Parenthood, finds 

...a majority of voters, including a majority of Catholics, don't believe Catholic hospitals and universities should be exempted from providing the benefit.

...Independent voters support this benefit by a 55/36 margin; in fact, a majority of voters in every racial, age and religious category that we track express support. In particular, a 53 percent majority of Catholic voters, who were oversampled as part of this poll, favor the benefit, including fully 62 percent of Catholics who identify themselves as independents. 

I was listening to an interesting interview with the late Fr. Malachi Martin in which he compared the state of the Catholic Church to the brutally beaten and scourged Jesus Christ.  Just as Jesus Christ, as a result of the horrific scourging he received, was no longer recognizable even to his own mother, so the Catholic Church is so beaten and in such tatters that it is hardly recognizable as the same institution it was even 50 years ago.  Fifty years ago Catholics accepted the teachings and pronouncements of the Holy See and obeyed without question. Catholics faithfully attended Mass and received the sacraments. I remember the long lines at confession, the packed churches at each and every Sunday Mass.  If there was dissent among the laity and hierarchy, it was muted and only in pockets here and there.  Now it is widespread and common, and many millions of souls are at risk.

Fr. Martin says we can do only what Christ himself did - continue on the way carrying our cross.  It is still possible to be a good and loyal Catholic in these evil and turbulent times, but just as it took all of Christ's efforts and more to continue on the way to Calvary, it will mean giving everything inside of us to continue this fight.  When it became too much for Christ, another named Simeon came along to carry the burden.  When we have given all we can, God will supply the help we need.  But we must never back down.  We must always stay loyal to Christ's Holy Vicar and to the Church founded by our Savior.

Romney, Catholics and Abortion

Just this past weekend I was talking with a very devout and holy Catholic who told me that I absolutely must vote for Mitt Romney because we had to do whatever it takes to defeat Barack Obama, and Romney is the only one who can do it.  Yes, he agreed that Romney was far from perfect, but he completely deflected my arguments that Romney and Obama are basically the same person and nothing will change under Romney.  My good Catholic friend insisted that Romney will appoint the right judges and we have our best chance of defeating Roe v. Wade by electing Mitt Romney.

I saw this article today on townhall.com which would seem to belie my friend's faith in Romney.  My friend is convinced that Romney will repeal the Obama Healthcare law.  Well, friends, it just ain't gonna happen.  Ann Coulter tells us Romney is the most conservative candidate we have.  The truth is Romney, Gingrich, Santorum and Obama are all "workin' for the man." 

Romney Told Catholic Hospitals to Administer Abortion Pills

A defining moment in Mitt Romney's post-pro-life-conversion political career came in his third year as governor of Massachusetts, when he decided Catholic hospitals would be required under his interpretation of a new state law to give rape victims a drug that can induce abortions.

Romney announced this decision -- saying it was the "right thing for hospitals" to do -- just two days after he had taken the opposite position.  

The story begins in 1975, when Massachusetts enacted a law that said, "No privately controlled hospital .. shall be required to permit any patient to have an abortion ... or to furnish contraceptive devices or information to such patient ... when said services or referrals are contrary to the religious or moral principles of said hospital ... ."

Twenty-seven years later, when Romney was running for governor, he filled out a questionnaire for NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts. It said: "Emergency contraception does not cause abortion. Rather, it prevents pregnancy from occurring. Will you support efforts to increase access to emergency contraception?"

Romney said: "Yes."

The next year, the Massachusetts legislature considered an "emergency contraception" mandate. It would have allowed pharmacists to sell Plan B -- an abortifacient -- without a prescription and without parental consent. It also would have required all hospitals to inform rape victims of the availability of such "emergency contraceptives" and provide them to the rape victim if she wanted them even when they would cause an abortion.

Maria Parker of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the public policy organization of the state's Catholic bishops, explained in testimony to the state legislature why Catholic hospitals could not do this.

The normal Catholic ban on artificial contraception did not apply in a rape case, Parker said. But while contraception was acceptable in such a situation, killing an unborn child was not.

In keeping with this moral understanding, one Massachusetts Catholic hospital chain would later explain to the Boston Globe that its practice was to test a rape victim to make certain she was not pregnant and only then give her emergency contraceptives. If the test proved the woman was pregnant, the hospital would not give the woman the drugs because they could not prevent conception but they could kill her child.

Parker concluded her testimony by quoting what Cardinal Frances George of Chicago had told the Illinois legislature when it proposed a similar law: "Our hospitals cannot and will not comply with this law."

In that session, the Massachusetts Senate passed the "emergency contraception" bill, but it was blocked in the House.

As Planned Parenthood and NARAL demanded action on the bill, and the Massachusetts Catholic Conference continued to speak out against it, Gov. Mitt Romney remained mum.

"Shawn Feddeman, spokeswoman for Gov. Mitt Romney, declined to comment on the governor's position on the bill," the Boston Globe reported on July 1, 2004. "'We'll review it when it reaches the governor's desk.'"

The bill was reintroduced in the next session -- and Romney remained mum.

Romney had "no opinion on the bill," his spokesman, Eric Fehrnstorm, told The Associated Press in April 2005. "We'll take a look at the bill should it reach the governor's desk."

But the bill had veto-proof support in both chambers of the Democrat-controlled legislature in 2005. In July, the House and Senate reached a compromise on it that would protect Catholic hospitals from being forced to act against their faith.

At that time, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference published a bulletin explaining what happened. The House had included language to "expressly apply" the 1975 conscience law protections to the new emergency contraception law. The Senate had included language saying the new law should apply "notwithstanding" any existing law.

"In the end, neither amendment was included in the bill," said the Massachusetts Catholic Conference. "House Majority Leader John Rogers, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to defend the hospitals' right of conscience, made it clear during floor debate on July 21 that the House blocked the Senate amendment so that the 1975 conscience statute would continue to have full effect."

The conference provided me with a copy of this bulletin, and Rogers assured me its account was "accurate and true."

The Catholic Church still opposed the bill because it would facilitate abortions. But at least the religious liberty of Catholic hospitals had been preserved -- or so it seemed.

On July 25, 2005, Romney vetoed the bill -- even though it was clear his veto would be overridden.

He published an op-ed in the Boston Globe the next day explaining his decision. "The bill does not involve only the prevention of conception," he wrote. "The drug it authorizes would also terminate life after conception." Romney said the veto kept his pledge not to change the state's abortion laws.

Romney made no mention of the religious liberty issue in his op-ed. But then, the bill, as the Massachusetts Catholic Conference and the House majority leader understood it, did not allow coercion of Catholic hospitals.

On Dec. 7, 2005, a week before the law was to take effect, the Boston Globe ran a piece headlined: "Private Hospitals Exempt on Pill Law." The article said the state Department of Public Health had determined that the emergency contraception law "does not nullify a statute passed years ago that says privately run hospitals cannot be forced to provide abortions or contraception."

Public Health Commissioner Paul Cote Jr. told the Globe: "We felt very clearly that the two laws don't cancel each other out and basically work in harmony with each other."

Romney spokesman Fehrnstrom told the Globe that Romney agreed with the Department of Public Health on the issue. The governor, he said, "respects the views of health care facilities that are guided by moral principles on this issue."

"The staff of DPH did their own objective and unbiased legal analysis," Romney's spokesman told the Globe. "The brought it to us, and we concur in it."

The Globe itself ruefully bowed to this legal analysis. It ran an editorial headlined: "A Plan B Mistake." "The legislators failed, however," the Globe said, "to include wording in the bill explicitly repealing a clause in an older statute that gives hospitals the right, for reasons of conscience, not to offer birth control services."

Liberals joined in attacking Romney's defense of Catholic hospitals. But that defense did not last long.

The same day the Globe ran its editorial, Romney held a press conference. Now he said his legal counsel had advised him the new emergency contraception law did trump the 1975 conscience law.


"On that basis, I have instructed the Department of Public Health to follow the conclusion of my own legal counsel and to adopt that sounder view," Romney said. "In my personal view, it's the right thing for hospitals to provide information and access to emergency contraception to anyone who is a victim of rape."

A true leader would have said: I will defend the First Amendment right of Catholics to freely exercise their religion -- against those who would force them to participate in abortions -- all the way to the Supreme Court.

Romney cannot be trusted.  He is a globalist and committed to the New World Order.  When asked about the National Defense Authorization Act, he said without hesitation that he supports it.



From thepoliticalguide.com

Governor Romney is a strong supporter of the PATRIOT Act, and the expanded powers given to the government for homeland security purposes. He supports the use of Guantanamo Bay for holding detainees, supports military tribunals, and opposes habeas corpus rights for detainees and civilian trials for terrorists. He has also expressed support for extraordinary rendition.

At a campaign event in 2007, Governor Romney stated that he supported enhanced interrogation techniques in a "ticking time bomb" scenario, but that he was opposed to torture. He praised President Bush for the passage of the PATRIOT Act, for the pursuit of wiretapping calls made by possible terrorists, and for interrogating prisoners.

During the New Hampshire Debate, Governor Romney was asked about previous statements that he believed mosques should be wiretapped if a credible threat existed. He reiterated this stance, but noted a judge's approval would be required. He stated that while he hears people worry about encroachment on civil liberties, he believes that the most important civil liberty that government can provide is to keep it's citizens alive.

At a 2009 policy speech, Governor Romney lamented the possibility that CIA interrogators would be investigated over possible violations. He stated that there were times when other countries helped us out by allowing us to have prisoners interrogated there. Investigations into those actions only weakens trust in the US and may lead to nations refusing these extraordinary renditions in the future.

As part of his 2012 campaign, Governor Romney issued a white paper on foreign policy. In that document, he outlined a vision of the world that had the US under constant assault from all sides, and noted that the military and other tools of the government needed to be adjust to accomodate those threats. He advocated for restructuring the DHS, for focusing on domestic radicalization, and for updating the authorization for the use of force to include new terrorist entities and new countries.

In 2012, Governor Romney stated in a debate that he would have signed the 2012 National Defese Authorization Act. That legislation gave the President the authorization to arrest and indefinitely detain US citizens who are suspected on being allied with al-Qaeda.

Yes we have a choice between Romney and Obama, just as we have a choice between Lucifer and Satan.

Meditation on the Carrying of the Cross

Today is the First Saturday of the Month.  Our Lady of Fatima requested that we observe First Saturdays as follows:

It consists in going to Confession, receiving Communion, reciting five decades of the Rosary and meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary on the first Saturday of five consecutive months. The Confession may be made during the eight days preceding or following the first Saturday of each month, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. Should one forget to form the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it may be formed at the next Confession, occasion to go to confession being taken at the first opportunity.

I have decided this month to meditate on the fourth Sorrowful Mystery:  Jesus Carries His Cross.  I love the meditation from St. Francis from the Stations of the Cross:

When our divine Savior beheld the cross, He most willingly stretched out His bleeding arms, lovingly embraced it, and tenderly kissed it, and placing it on His bruised shoulders, He, although almost exhausted, joyfully carried it.

And the prayer is:

O my Jesus, I cannot be Thy friend and follower, if I refuse to carry the cross. O dearly beloved cross! I embrace thee, I kiss thee, I joyfully accept thee from the hands of my God. Far be it from me to glory in anything, save in the cross of my Lord and Redeemer. By it the world shall be crucified to me and I to the world, that I may be Thine forever.

The Cross is an ugly object of execution consisting of two rough wooden logs nailed to each other, one horizontal and the other vertical.  It caused the extreme torture and long, excruciatingly painful death of those crucified on it.  Yet, our Lord reached out and embraced and even kissed this instrument of torture because it was the instrument through which salvation came to the world.  Christ commands us to follow his lead:  "Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."  (Matthew 16:24). 

The cross that Jesus carried was the salvation of the world, and we as Catholics display it in our homes, our Churches, wear it around our neck, and trace it across our bodies when we pray.  The priest makes the sign of the cross when he blesses us.  To carry our cross is to take whatever suffering is offered us and joyfully accept it because it is the road to our own personal salvation. 

Jesus was actually too physically weak to carry his cross, and because the Romans did not want him to die until they could nail him to that cross, they forced Simon the Cyrenian to help our Lord carry his cross.  I find it ironic that those who hated our Lord are the ones who helped to make it possible for Jesus to die on that Cross which would save the world.  So often those who are our enemies are actually helping us on the road to salvation because without realizing it, by persecuting us they are giving us more strength to carry our cross.  And of course, Our Lord, along with his Blessed Mother, is always walking with us lifting our burden and filling us with strength.  We are never alone. 

Life consists in carrying a cross of one kind or another.  It is our choice to either take the cross of this world which will lead to death, or the blessed cross of our Lord, which he so joyfully and willingly accepted, and which will lead to our salvation and life eternal.

Feast of The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the Feast of The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas.  To those who say the Rosary on a regular basis, they know this as the Fourth Joyful Mystery, the Presentation of Our Lord at the Temple.  In fact, the Novus Ordo calendar now calls this day Presentation of the Lord.  It is also called Candlemas because of Christ our Lord, who is the " light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (Luke 2:32).  Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing and procession of candles on this day. The reason it is called The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary is because this was traditionally the time when Israelite women went through a purification process after giving birth.  Leviticus 12:1-8:

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised [this is what the Church traditionally celebrated on January 1, but is now only celebrated in the Traditional Calendar].  And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.  But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: who shall offer it before the Lord, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.  And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

Joseph and Mary were very poor, so they offered two young turtle doves to redeem the child, the Creator of the universe.  In actual fact, Christ, the Lamb of God, was the perfect offering.

The account of the purification of Mary can be found in Luke 2:22-32:

[22] And after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord: [23] As it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord: [24] And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons: [25] And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him.

[26] And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, [28] He also took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: [29] Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; [30] Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, [31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: [32] A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. Augustine the Bishop:

Concerning that time it was written : And of Sion it shall be reported that he was born in her, and the Most High shall stablish her.  O how blessed is the omnipotence of him that was born!  Yea, how blessed is the glory of him that came down from heaven to earth!  Whilst he was yet in his Mother's womb, he was saluted by St. John the Baptist.  And when he was presented in the temple, he was recognized by the old man Simeon, a worthy who was full of years, proved and crowned.  This ancient one, as soon as he knew him, worshipped and said : Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. 

He had lingered in the world to see the birth of him who made the world.  The old man knew the Child, and in that Child became a child himself, for in the love wherewith he regarded the Father of all, he felt his own years to be but as yesterday.  The ancient Simeon bare in his arms the new-born Christ, and all the while, Christ ruled and upheld the old man.  Simeon had been told by the Lord that he should not taste of death before he had seen the birth of the Lord's Christ.  Now that Christ was born , all the old man's wishes on earth were fulfilled. He that was come into a decrepit world now also came to an old man.

Simeon wished not to remain long in the world, but with great desire he had desired to see Christ in the world, for he had sung with the Prophet : Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.  And now at last, that ye might know how that, to his joy, his prayer was granted, he said : Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.  The Prophets have sung that the Maker of heaven and earth would converse on earth with men.  An Angel hath declared that the Creator of flesh and spirit would come in the flesh.  The unborn John, yet in the womb, hath saluted the unborn Saviour yet in the womb.  The old man Simeon hath seen God as little Child.

This account leaves out the following verses from Luke 2:34-35, which are prophecies made by Simeon:

And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed. 

The Douay Rheims verison defines "for the fall":  "Christ came for the salvation of all men; but here Simeon prophesies what would come to pass, that many through their own wilful blindness and obstinacy would not believe in Christ, nor receive his doctrine, which therefore would be ruin to them: but to others a resurrection, by their believing in him, and obeying his commandments." With Christ's appearance in the world as a man, we no longer have an excuse.  If we refuse to believe in Him, we condemn ourselves.  Belief in Christ will lead to the resurrection and life.  It is now our choice.

Simeon also prophesied to Mary that "thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." Go here for an excellent explanation of what this means.  Here are a few excerpts:

Commenting on this, St Bernard says: The time will come when Jesus will not be offered in the temple nor in the arms of Simeon, but outside the city walls on the arms of a cross. The time will come when he will not be ransomed with money but will himself redeem others with his own blood, for God the Father has sent him as a ransom for his people. The suffering of his Mother, the sword that will pierce her soul, will have as their only cause the agony of her Son, his persecution and death, the uncertainty about when these things will happen, and the resistance to the grace of the Redemption, which will be the ruin of many. Mary’s destiny is bound up with that of Jesus, in its operation, and without any other possible reason.

The joy of the Redemption and the pain of the Cross are inseparable in the lives of Jesus and Mary, as if God, through his most beloved creatures in the world, wished to show us that happiness is to be found close to the Cross.

Right from the start then, the lives of Our Lord and of his Mother are stamped with the sign of the Cross. To the joy of the first Christmas is soon added privation and anxiety. From these first moments Mary already knows the pain that awaits her. And when her hour comes she will contemplate the Passion and Death of her Son with neither reproach nor complaint. Suffering as no mother could ever suffer, Mary will accept her pain in peace of mind, for she knows its redemptive significance.

Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the Cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, endured with her only-begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, associated herself with his sacrifice in her mother’s heart, and lovingly consented to the immolation of this victim which was born of her.

Mary’s suffering has an especially suitable meaning and is related to the sins of mankind. It is a co­redemptive suffering and that is why the Church gives to the Blessed Virgin the title of Co-redemptrix.

We ourselves learn the value and meaning of the sufferings and troubles which are part of every human life, when we meditate on Mary. With her we learn to sanctify pain, uniting it to that of her Son and offering it to the Father. The Holy Mass is the most suitable moment for offering all that is most painful in our lives. And there we will encounter Our Lady.

Luke 2:19: But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.

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.