U.S. Prelate: Voters Need to Hear About Life Issues, Calls Them "Fundamental Concerns"

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, OCT. 29, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Life and family are not "religious issues," but actually involve "fundament concerns of human civilization." And thus, voters need to be informed about them, says the archbishop of San Antonio.

Archbishop José Gomez affirmed this in a column published today in the San Antonio Express News, noting that a voter's guide published by that daily had neglected to list the candidates' positions regarding the preservation of life and the definition of marriage.

"The 'culture of life' issues, and I include in that the preservation of the very foundational definition of the human family, often are dismissed as purely religious issues," he wrote. "This characterization is inaccurate. These issues deal with the most fundamental concerns of human civilization. The strong moral teaching at the foundation of these issues does not disqualify them from deserving serious public discussion, nor deny the impact they have on the common good."

Archbishop Gomez said he finds it "unfortunate" that "when an individual raises abortion as a critical issue, there is a fear that they will be quickly labeled a 'one-issue' voter."

"While this characterization might protect one from confronting the moral gravity of taking an innocent, defenseless, human life, it also avoids the reality that abortion is an issue that affects all segments of our society," he wrote. "It represents the primary right guaranteed in our Declaration of Independence -- the right to life. Unless we protect this fundamental right of each human person, at all stages of life, no other issue or liberty matters."

The Church does not pretend to tell people for whom to vote, the archbishop clarified. "We have a responsibility to be a voice for the innocent, the helpless, for life itself at this time of political clutter.

"We cannot ignore these issues, many of which we believe are 'non-negotiable.' If our nation loses respect for life and true 'family values' it will have lost its moral authority to lead the world."

The Daily Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL «Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68 Friday, 31 October 2008 Today the Church celebrates : St. Quentin, St. Wolfgang John Paul II: "The sabbath was made for man" (Mk 2,27) Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 14,1-6. On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?" But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them, "Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?" But they were unable to answer his question. Commentary of the day : John Paul II Apostolic Letter "Dies Domini", 61 (copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana) "The sabbath was made for man" (Mk 2,27) As the seventh day blessed and consecrated by God, the "shabbat" concludes the whole work of creation, and is therefore immediately linked to the work of the sixth day when God made man "in his image and likeness" (Gn 1:26). This very close connection between the "day of God" and the "day of man" did not escape the Fathers in their meditation on the biblical creation story. Saint Ambrose says in this regard: "Thanks, then, to the Lord our God who accomplished a work in which he might find rest. He made the heavens, but I do not read that he found rest there; he made the stars, the moon, the sun, and neither do I read that he found rest in them. I read instead that he made man and that then he rested, finding in man one to whom he could offer the forgiveness of sins". Thus there will be for ever a direct link between the "day of God" and the "day of man". When the divine commandment declares: "Remember the Sabbath day in order to keep it holy" (Ex 20:8), the rest decreed in order to honour the day dedicated to God is not at all a burden imposed upon man, but rather an aid to help him to recognize his life-giving and liberating dependence upon the Creator, and at the same time his calling to cooperate in the Creator's work and to receive his grace. In honouring God's "rest", man fully discovers himself, and thus the Lord's Day bears the profound imprint of God's blessing (Gn 2:3), by virtue of which, we might say, it is endowed in a way similar to the animals and to man himself, with a kind of "fruitfulness" (Gn 1:22, 28). This "fruitfulness" is apparent above all in filling and, in a certain sense, "multiplying" time itself, deepening in men and women the joy of living and the desire to foster and communicate life.

Same-sex Marriage Will Impact All Families and Children, Video Shows

Washington DC, Oct 27, 2008 (CNA).- To demonstrate the impact that allowing same-sex marriage has on society, iVoteValues has produced a short video showing how the gay agenda in schools impacts children and families.

iVoteValues, a collaborative effort from the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family recently released a video titled, “Gay Agenda in Schools.” In it, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, explains how same-sex marriage impacts everyone.

“You may be asking yourself, how will same-sex marriage affect my family? Well, based on the evidence, everything changes when same-sex marriage becomes legal. If it is legalized, it must be taught as normal, acceptable and moral behavior in every public school.”

“Don’t believe me? It has already happened in Massachusetts,” Perkins states in the video.

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to permit homosexual marriage in the United States. This decision has impacted students within the public school system as young as five who are taught that same-sex marriage is acceptable.

In the video, Perkins also speaks with two families who discuss their experiences of same-sex marriage being taught in schools.

The first family, the Parkers, explain that their kindergarten son was given a book about homosexuality in a “diversity book bag.” The parents were not given prior notification.

The second family, the Wirthlins, tell the story of their seven year old son coming home from school after a teacher read his class the book, “King and King,” in which a prince falls in love with another prince.

Mr. Wirthlin notes that “it’s a story that introduces the story of men having a relationship and getting married.” Wirthlin and his wife also explain in the video that homosexuality was presented to their son as something that is “good and right.”

The stories of these families show that voting in this election on same-sex marriage “affects every family and every child,” Perkins concludes in the video, “including yours.”



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OUR DAILY BREAD

Tuesday
October 21, 2008

God’s Love Story

Read: Hosea 11

How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? . . . My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. --Hosea 11:8

Is there any human feeling more powerful than that of betrayal? Ask a high school girl whose boyfriend has dumped her for a pretty cheerleader. Or tune your radio to a country-western station and listen to the lyrics of infidelity. Or check out the murders reported in the daily newspaper, an amazing number of which trace back to a quarrel with an estranged lover.

In the Old Testament, God through Hosea’s marriage demonstrates in living color exactly what it is like to love someone desperately and get nothing in return. Not even God, with all His power, will force a human being to love Him.

Many people think of God as an impersonal force, something akin to the law of gravity. The book of Hosea portrays almost the opposite: a God of passion and fury and tears and love. A God in mourning over Israel’s rejection of Him (11:8).

God the lover does not desire to share His bride with anyone else. Yet, amazingly, when Israel turned her back on God, He stuck with her. He was willing to suffer, in hope that someday she would return to Him.

Hosea, and later Jesus, prove that God longs not to punish but to love. In fact, He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us! --Philip Yancey

Love sent the Savior to die in my stead.
Why should He love me so?
Meekly to Calvary’s cross He was led.
Why should He love me so? --Harkness


God loved us so much, He sent His only Son

Bishop Reminds Catholics to Remember Judgment Day in Voting Booth

St. Louis, Oct 18, 2008 (CNA).- Bishop Robert J. Herman, the administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, has written a column reminding Catholics that their vote will be a decision weighed on the Day of Judgment. He urged Catholics not to treat the unborn as the neglectful rich man treated Lazarus in the biblical parable.

“Judgment Day is on its way,” the bishop wrote in the St. Louis Review. “We cannot stop it. We don’t know when it will come, but just as surely as the sun rises daily, the Son of Man will come when we least expect.”

“For many, this coming election may very well be judgment day, for this election will measure us,” he continued, referencing Christ’s words of judgment in Matthew 10:32-33:

“Everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My heavenly Father. But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Bishop Herman asked the faithful to consider what kind of witness they give to God when they enter the voting booth on Election Day.

“The decision I make in the voting booth will reflect my value system. If I value the good of the economy and my current lifestyle more than I do the right to life itself, then I am in trouble,” the bishop wrote.

He cited Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici, which said outcry on human rights is “false and illusory” if the right to life is not defended to the maximum.

“The right of our children to be protected from destruction is greater than my right to a thriving economy,” Bishop Herman continued.

“My desire for a good economy cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion. My desire to end the war in Iraq cannot justify my voting to remove all current restrictions on abortion.”

Bishop Herman looked to the spiritual dimension as well.

“Those 47 million children our nation destroyed are still living. We have destroyed their bodies, but their souls are still alive. When our Lord comes again, they may very well be there to judge us. Even worse, Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least of our brethren, we do to Him. We would truly shudder if we heard the words, ‘I was in my mother’s womb but you took my life!’

“It is quite possible that we might see these children, but, depending upon the choices we have made, we may very well be separated from them by a great chasm which cannot be crossed, much as the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the poor man, during his lifetime here on earth but was separated from him after death.”

Bishop Herman said the “deepest problem” with many Catholics is that they have become accustomed to rationalizing away a “life of sinful actions” headed in the wrong direction.

“My goal is not to engage you in some political party way but to engage you with our Savior and His teachings. We need to constantly challenge our accustomed behaviors in the light of the Gospel,” he wrote.

He said the issues of the coming election could help people learn about the teachings of the Catholic Church and to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

“When we do this, both we and the heavens will be filled with joy!” he asserted.

“Judgment Day is on its way,” he repeated, encouraging people to pray the family Rosary daily between now and Election Day.

In a previous column for the St. Louis Review, Bishop Herman urged Catholics not to put politics ahead of the Fifth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”

“Save our children!” he wrote. “More than anything else, this election is about saving our children or killing our children. This life issue is the overriding issue facing each of us in this coming election. All other issues, including the economy, have to take second place to the issue of life.”

Marriage Supporters in California Attacked Outside Catholic Church, "Wave of Intimidation"

Sacramento, Oct 15, 2008 (CNA).- This past Sunday, a parishioner at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Modesto, California was attacked while helping promote Proposition 8, which will define marriage as only between a man and a woman in California. According to promoters of the initiative, the assault is part of a “wave of violence” throughout the state.

Jose Nunez, 37, was waiting outside of St. Stanislaus for Mass to finish so he could distribute yard signs to Prop. 8 supporters when he was approached by an opponent of the initiative.

The unidentified man grabbed about 75 of the “Vote Yes on 8” signs and ran. Nunez then spotted the man trying to throw the signs over a wall and approached him.

When he got nearer, the man shouted, "What do you have against gays!" to which Nunez replied that he had nothing against gays.

When Nunez attempted to take the stolen signs from the assailant, the man punched him. The blow sent Nunez to the hospital, where he received 16 stitches for the wound below his left eye.

“Yes on 8” press secretary Chip White told CNA that the irony of the whole episode is that, the opponents of Prop. 8 “are the ones who are claiming to be tolerant and open-minded.”

"It's outrageous that the ‘No’ campaign calls themselves the voice of tolerance and moderation and wants people to feel bad for supporting Prop. 8. There was nothing tolerant or moderate about beating up Jose," said White. "Clearly the man who attacked Jose is intolerant of those who support traditional marriage," he added.

Following the altercation between Nunez and the anti-Proposition 8 assailant, the “No on Prop. 8” campaign director Patrick Guerrier released a statement condemning the violent attack and saying that such actions “should not be tolerated in any campaign."

In an interesting twist, Jose Nunez is originally from Mexico but just became a U.S. citizen two months ago. He will be voting for the first time in November. Nunez is also active in his parish as the Grand Knight of the St. Stanislaus Council Knights of Columbus, an organization that has contributed more than $1 million to the campaign for Prop. 8.

The attack has not lessened Nunez´s support for Proposition 8.

"The other side wants to intimidate us, but we can't stop standing up for traditional marriage,” he said. “I may be bloody and bruised, but I'm not giving up. Protecting traditional marriage is just too important for our kids," added Nunez, who is the father of three children, ages 9, 5, and 3.

According to Chip White, Californians from around the state have reported being harassed by people who are against Prop. 8. Among the incidents he related were: verbal harassment of Prop.8 supporters on the freeway, including obscene gestures; the theft of yard signs; and a woman in Riverside, California who had her garage sprayed with graffiti.

White characterized the incidents as “a whole wave of intimidation and violence up and down the state.”

Cardinal George: Bible Not Part of Popular Imagination, Society Sees Scripture As "Fantasy Fiction"

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Current society has lost touch with the world of Scripture, of searching for God's will and seeing the hand of providence in life's events, says Cardinal Francis George.

The archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. episcopal conference said this Tuesday at the world Synod of Bishops on "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church," under way in the Vatican through Oct. 26.

In his address the cardinal spoke of the "lived contexts in which believers hear the Word of God and the need for pastoral attention to conversion of the imagination, the intellect and the will."

"Western culture has been historically shaped in 
conversation with the Bible," he said. "References to 'the prodigal son' or 'the Good Samaritan' or 'Sodom and Gomorrah' could be taken for granted as images popularly recognizable.

"This familiarity, that has now largely disappeared from popular imagination, disappeared a generation ago from the world of art and theatre."

"Behind this loss of biblical images lies the loss of a sense and an image of God as an actor in human history," Cardinal George continued. "In Scripture, God is both the principal author and the principal actor. In Scripture, we encounter the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Our people, for the most part, do not live confidently in the biblical world of active spirit, of angels and demons, of the search for God’s will and God’s intentions in the midst of this world governed by God’s providence.

"Scripture takes on the genre of fantasy fiction, and the biblical world becomes an uninhabitable embarrassment."

The cardinal added that Scripture is then "approached only as a moral guidebook, and often found deficient even in that."

School of liturgy

"Scripture is the soul of liturgy even more than it is the heart of theology," the president of the US bishops' conference said. "With decreased participation in the Sunday liturgy, the faithful cut themselves off from contact with Scripture in the context of communal worship.

"Through steady attention to the Scriptures that shape the liturgical cycles and calendar, the believer opens himself to conversion and development in the life of grace."

Cardinal George called regular attendance at Mass a "schooling in the obedience of faith."

"A love of Scripture," he continued, "feeds the desire to worship in spirit and in truth, and, in turn, our worship gives God the opportunity to transform us more profoundly into the image of Christ."

The cardinal commented on the practice of "lectio divina," which he called a form of prayer "so apt to purify one’s desires and bring one’s will into harmony with God’s will," yet so "far from common even among those who regularly come to Church."

He said that if pastors are attentive, "people will not fear confusion when they read and listen to the Bible. It will not be for them a grand puzzle but a path to the freedom that comes from personal surrender to God’s world, God’s mind, God’s will.

"If the power of God’s word in Holy Scripture is to be felt in the life and mission of the Church, pastors must attend to personal context as well as to inspired text."

The Daily Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL «Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68 Wednesday, 08 October 2008 Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh week in Ordinary Time Today the Church celebrates : St. Pelagia Saint Augustine : «Teach us to pray» Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,1-4. He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." Commentary of the day : Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church Sermon 80 «Teach us to pray» My brethren, do you imagine God is ignorant of what you need? He who knows our distress foreknows our desires also. That is why, in teaching them the Our Father, the Lord counselled his disciples not to use many words: «When you pray, do not keep babbling because your Father knows what you need before you ask him» (Mt 6,7-8). If our Father already knows what we need, why tell him about it even in few words?... If you know about it, Lord, do we even need to pray? However, he who says to us here: «Do not use many words in your prayers» says to us elsewhere: «Ask and you will receive», and so that we don't think this is said casually, he adds: «Seek and you will find», and so that we don't think this to be a mere figure of speech, see how he concludes: «Knock and it will be opened to you» (Mt 7,7). So what he wants is for you to begin by asking so as to receive, to set yourself to seeking in order to find and not to stop knocking so as to enter in the end... Why ask? Why seek? Why knock? Why weary ourselves with praying, seeking, knocking as though we had to inform him who already knows it all? We even read elsewhere: «Pray always without becoming weary» (Lk 18,1)... Well, to clear up this mystery, ask, seek, knock! If he disguises this mystery it is because he wants to move you to seek and find the explanation for yourself. We should all encourage ourselves to pray.

Worthy Brief - 10/7/2008

CFC, multiply your time!

Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Life can get so hectic sometimes -- we often try to do too many things at once. But when our schedule gets that hectic, we need to start investing in some quality time with the Lord. The operating word here is "investing".

Did you know that God is the best broker in town? When we invest our time in worship, prayer and the reading of His word, He takes just takes that time and multiplies it many times over! When we give the Lord our time, He gets our minds focused and can even give us new ideas for how we can get things done better and more efficiently! I've heard testimony after testimony about this and seen God at work in my own life in this area. It really works!

CFC, I heard it said once that "proof of love is the investment of time". Do we have something to prove today? Let's start start by spending some time with the Lord. Spending time in His presence is the greatest investment we could ever make!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah

UN Petition of the Unborn Child

CFC-FFL members are strongly encouraged to sign up as requested below by Austin Ruse, for the UN Petition of the Unborn Child. CFC FFL stands in solidarity with all groups under the Prollife movement.

Austin Ruse is the President of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), the only Prolife organization holding office at the United Nations premises.C-FAM was founded in the summer of 1997 in order to monitor and affect the social policy debate at the United Nations and other international institutions.

Let us help in our little way, to support every good endeavor of our comrades-in-arms, within the prolife movement.

Solidarity is an essential stance of faith and a feature of moral consciousness recognizing that we belong to one human family. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
September 29, 2008

Dear Friend,

The UN will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this December 10th.

To celebrate this occasion, radical pro-abortion groups intend to present the UN General Assembly with petitions calling for a universal right to abortion.

The largest, richest and most powerful pro-abortion groups are even now planning their attack on the unborn at the General Assembly.

Campaigns are being waged right now by International Planned Parenthood Federation and Maire Stopes International, the two groups responsible for more abortions than any other groups in the world. Both are beloved of the powers that be at the UN; and their efforts to promote an international right to abortion are welcomed by many UN Member States, perhaps most of the UN bureaucracy, and powerful US foundations that give millions to promote abortion at the UN and around the world.

We must stop them this December.

I am writing to ask you to sign a petition calling on UN Members States to interpret the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as protecting the unborn child from abortion. Did you know that the Universal Declaration calls for a right to life? Did you know that UN committees now interpret that as a right to abortion? We can stop them.

Please go HERE to sign the petition which we will present at the UN on December 10th, the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the very least we must match what the pro-abortion advocates will present to the UN that day! They will present thousands and thousands of names. WE MUST MATCH THEM.

Go HERE to sign the petition and then please send this email to all of your family and friends. Our goal is to present 50,000+ names to the General Assembly. We need your help right now to block the pro-aborts from making huge progress for abortion at the UN.

We are going to run this campaign for the next six weeks. There is plenty of time to get this petition to everyone in your address book and all around the world. This is an international right. Please help us now.

Imagine the look on their faces when we slam down 50,000 names! Be a part of that. Sign the petition HERE and send this all over the world.

Yours sincerely,


Austin Ruse
President
C-FAM
(The only pro-life group working exclusively on UN social policy)

Only One Mommy: The Story of Lisa and Isabella Miller

October 1, 2008

Activist judges in Vermont have declared that a legal stranger is a mommy to another woman's biological child. Now, a Vermont judge will decide whether to order that the six year old little girl be stripped from the loving arms of the only mommy she has ever known -- her biological mother, Lisa.

Lisa Miller left the homosexual lifestyle and became a Christian when Isabella was 17 months old. Janet Jenkins, who was Lisa's same-sex partner when Lisa gave birth to Isabella, then sought full custody of Isabella, claiming she was a parent even though she was not biologically related to Isabella and never sought to adopt her.

Not only did Vermont create new law from the bench to declare that Isabella has two mommies, but appellate courts in Virginia (the state where Isabella was born and has lived all but 13 months of her life) directed Virginia to fully recognize the Vermont orders giving Janet (who lives in Vermont) liberal unsupervised visitation. In doing so, the courts ignored Virginia's Marriage Amendment and marriage laws declaring all rights arising from same-sex relationships void and unenforceable.

Now, a judge in Vermont on October 27 will hear Janet's argument that she should get full custody!

We are asking you to help us spread the word about the ongoing legal case that directly impacts the life of six-year old child Isabella and the future of this Nation.

If Vermont can declare from the bench that a legal stranger is a mommy to another woman's child and then have it enforced in a state with one of the strongest marriage amendments in the country, then, on the issues of marriage and family, our country will no longer be the United States of America but instead will be the United States according to Massachusetts, California, or Vermont.

To learn more about Lisa's case, please read the letter we posted on our website.

We are trying to rally support for Lisa by promoting a group on Facebook called Only One Mommy: The Story of Lisa and Isabella Miller. This group was created by Rena Lindevaldsen, a Liberty Counsel attorney and law school professor at Liberty University School of Law.

Pray:

That Judge Cohen in Vermont will not order Lisa to turn over Lisa's daughter to Janet
That the judges in the Virginia cases will follow Virginia law.
Supreme Court Justices who are considering our request for the Court hear the Miller cases
Salvation for Janet Jenkins, who is trying to take full custody of Lisa's daughter
Safety for Lisa's little girl, Isabella
God’s continued strength and grace for Lisa
That the President and Senators who will be elected in November will be those who will support the right judges
That people of this Nation will realize the importance of this issue for the entire country
Critical Dates:

Now - We are waiting to hear whether the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear our appeal from the Vermont Supreme Court.

October 27 - hearing in Vermont where Janet is asking for full custody because Lisa has not given visitation (out of concern for Isabella’s physical and mental safety).

Janet’s attorneys are pressing for an immediate hearing in Virginia to enforce the Vermont visitation (and possibly switch of custody) orders.

December 7 - U.S. Supreme Court Justices will conference together to consider whether to hear our appeal from the Virginia Supreme Court.


PRAY FOR LISA AND ISABELLA TODAY!



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