The Crucifixion

The Place of the Skull - Golgotha

This morning at morning prayer with my friends, we read as we have done a number of times this Lent from The Little Black Book, which is based on the writings of that now deceased servant of God, Bishop Ken Untener, former Bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan.  These books are available from Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw, and are used by many parishes throughout the world in the Church seasons.

Something particularly caught my ear, and my heart, which I wanted to share.

Today's reading was about the crucifixion, and has this scripture verse as its focus:

22 They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull).
23 They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24 Then they crucified him . . .

Imagine what that would be like today.  All that needed to be said by the gospel writer, in this case Mark, was "they crucified them."  Those three words were sufficient for the audience of the early scriptures, since they had all seen one probably, and knew what those three words really meant.  They could conjure up for themselves the humiliation, the pain and suffering as the crucified ultimately asphyxiated on the cross.

But, in 2010 this would be breaking news; helicopters in the air filming from above; news reporters on the ground getting on the street interviews with witnesses to the happening, and in studio interviews with experts on the medical aspects of a crucifixion; logistics experts who describe the technicalities of one.  CNN would be on it; CBC would be there, and it would be on our computers with live web coverage, followed by You Tube videos, and paralysis by analysis. 

We would have all kinds of head knowledge about what occurred, but would any of it sink to our hearts?

Would I get that He, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, accepted this awful death to save ME?  Would you get that He, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, accepted this awful death to save YOU?

Or, would the most important news story in the history of the world just be ignored?  Tiger Woods infidelities are news.  Whoever wins the Oscars is news.  Whoever wins the Super Bowl is news.

But is the Good News really news in our secular world?  And if it isn't what are you and me doing to make it news?

The Passing of the Patriarch of the Pro-Life Movement

We Have a Pro-Life Intercessor in Heaven As of Sunday Morning

So, do you think a bunch of empty suits in Washington or Ottawa or any other alleged power center of this universe stand a chance at winning for the pro-death folks, in the abortion fight after yesterday?  I don't and what follows is why.  Fr. Paul Marx, the founder of Human Life International went to his eternal reward yesterday.  He fought for 40 years for the cause of the unborn, and now he is in heaven with all the aborted children of all the ages, and guess what he is going to do.  As he rallied the troops here on earth, I am betting that he will be rallying the troops in heaven, and they will be interceding for us all, for the unborn and for those who would take their lives.  Watch the miracles come now, folks!!!

Father Paul and the host of heaven will be seeing the things we cannot, and praying for justice for the unborn, and for the fullness of the reign of heaven.  Here is the content of a letter sent our by Father Tom Euteneuer, the President, Human Life International, about the passing away of Father Paul. 

May he rest in peace, for a moment or two, while he catches his breath, and then may he carry on the fight he did on earth, but with the aid of the heavenly host.  This is, in fact, far more exciting news than the debacle in Washington last night.  This is big news in the spiritual realm.

Abbot John Klassen, OSB of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, informed me personally Saturday that the venerable founder of Human Life International, Fr. Paul Marx, went to his eternal reward peacefully at 8:10 that morning. According to eyewitness accounts, Father raised his hands as he died and said, "Take me home." Fittingly, he passed away in the Year for Priests, just short of his 90th birthday. Needless to say, he will be sorely missed!

Fr. Marx founded HLI as the Human Life Center in 1972 as a priestly response to what he saw was the global anti-life onslaught that was beginning to wash over the world with oceans of the blood of innocents. As a strong spiritual father, he could not stand by and watch this evil threaten the lives of God's precious children and the sacred institution of marriage. He infiltrated a pro-abortion conference in California in 1971 as Dr. Paul Marx (correctly so, as he had a PhD in Sociology) and taped all the proceedings of the abortion-promoters so that he could expose their evil. He did this in the book, The Death Peddlers, which was the first major work of his many writings bringing the profound evil of the abortion industry to the light. Father's legacy of exposing evil and defending the Church's teaching about the sanctity of human life, marriage and family remains deeply embedded in the hearts of those who continue pro-life work in his indomitable spirit.

I had the privilege of meeting Fr. Marx for the first time only after he had left HLI. One cannot imagine the difficulty of taking over at HLI and trying to fill the shoes of one whom Pope John II called "the Apostle of Life." After getting to know him, I have always said that there is only one "Apostle" of Life - the rest of us are just "missionaries" of life. Indeed, Father was in every way a unique and unrepeatable gift to the Church and to the world. Like his namesake, St. Paul of old, he went about the entire known world preaching the Gospel of Christ from the 60s through the 90s and establishing apostolic groups and pro-life organizations of faith to carry on the mission. Father was very much like the sower who went out sowing the good seed of life in 91 nations, personally, and motivating scores of others around the world to do the same. We estimate that Father Marx travelled something on the order of 3 million miles in his 40+ year career of pro-life activism, and ever after that, his spiritual children have done the same. In 2009 alone, HLI missionaries from the USA, and our Regional Coordinators, travelled more than 575,000 mission miles and visited 57 countries in our attempt to live up to Father's high standard of zeal in spreading the Gospel of Life!

Part of Fr. Marx's legacy can be counted in such HLI programs as the Magdalene Rescue and Rehabilitation Program, the China Orphanage Program, Seminarians for Life, the Population Research Institute (PRI) and the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam), all founded under HLI's umbrella in the 90s.

Although the Apostle of Life led a retiring life for the last decade, well taken care of by his religious community in Minnesota, Father never ceased his involvement with pro-life issues or his correspondence to his spiritual children still fighting the battles for life on the front lines of the pro-life movement. How precious it was for me to receive his periodic short letters encouraging me to keep up the fighting spirit in the face of so many new challenges. He was always well-aware of the need for funding too so he usually sent $25 and $50 checks with his encouraging notes! I treasure those letters with all my heart. Dr. Brian Clowes of HLI and Mrs. Magaly Llaguno of our Hispanic Division were among his most intimate friends and stayed in regular contact with him and his needs. Countless more were the HLI missionaries around the world who received Father's letters and notes of encouragement, some of which we will feature in future publications.

To my knowledge, Father's last public appearance and speech was at HLI's 35th anniversary banquet held in his honor in Minneapolis on March 25th of 2007. He spoke passionately to his spiritual children using the very same words that Pope John Paul spoke to him when he met with the Holy Father in the early 80s: "You are doing the most important work on earth!" he repeated with fervor. Indeed we are doing that work - it is his work and the true work of the Church. Because of this one man's indomitable spirit we will not cease doing that work until we too are called home.

Fr. Paul Marx taught the whole world how to be pro-life. He was literally the Patriarch of the pro-life movement. Now it is our turn to take up the mantle of Fr. Marx's prophetic spirit and, like Elisha who saw his master go to heaven in a fiery chariot, we must turn and part the Jordan with that mantle and get back into the fray - just as the Apostle of Life would want!

[Note: stay tuned for a brand new HLI program in honor of Fr. Marx that will be coming at the end of the month - you won't want to miss it!]

Sincerely,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International

Dear Father Paul, pray for all of us who have an inkling of the belief in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, that we will be strengthened by your intercession for us all, and that we will carry on your work on earth, as you carry it on in heaven.  Teach us to know deeper the meaning of life, and God's plan for it.

Think Anyone above the 49th Parallel Cares About US Health "Reform"

Think Again

Here is what is going on over at Small Dead Animals, one of Canada's foremost blog sites.  SDA is a conservative sight that brings a lot of insight to things, and some interesting commentary, sometimes incendiary, sometimes hilarious, but often thoughtful and concerned, like this time.  The posting is not about the issue of abortion that is so important to Catholics and all those who support life, but primarily about the constitutionality of the whole mess.  Different perspective.  Same result.  Here is the blog note:

It's On

Mark Steyn:

I try to be a sunny the-glass-is-one-sixteenth-full kinda guy, but it's hard to overestimate the magnitude of what the Democrats have accomplished....

Mathew Vadum:

America suffered an atrocity of catastrophic proportions last night and it’s not clear if the nation will ever recover.

David Horowitz:

The President was right about one thing. The vote on Obamacare tonight was a historic one. The Democratic Party has...revealed itself to be an anti-democratic Party and an anti-liberty party. It is a party that has demonstrated its contempt for the Constitutional framework, for the democratic process, and for the expressed will of the American people. Its brazen contempt for the compact that holds the diverse factions of this country together has initiated a political war at home that will extend not only into the next elections but into the next generations....The people of this nation are still sovereign, and their voice will be heard. Tonight’s vote was lost but it is not the end of the battle. It is the beginning.

From the "Idaho Health Freedom Act", passed last week:

The power to require or regulate a person’s choice in the mode of securing health care services, or to impose a penalty related thereto, is not found in the Constitution of the United States of America, and is therefore a power reserved to the people pursuant to the Ninth Amendment, and to the several states pursuant to the Tenth Amendment. The state of Idaho hereby exercises its sovereign power to declare the public policy of the state of Idaho regarding the right of all persons residing in the state of Idaho in choosing the mode of securing health care services.

It is hereby declared that the public policy of the state of Idaho, consistent with our constitutionally recognized and inalienable rights of liberty, is that every person within the state of Idaho is and shall be free to choose or decline to choose any mode of securing health care services without penalty or threat of penalty.

The thread is open for your comments, quotes, links, etc.

 If you think for a minute that we here north of the 49th do not care about our friends and neighbours south of us, you would be mistaken.  And we do so passionately, as you will read below.  We also care about freedom, something that is disappearing at such an alarming rate in North America that it is beating the ice bergs to extinction, only in part because Global Warming has been discovered to be a hoax, but that is a totally different topic.  Here are the comments that accompanied this blog posting by the time I put this here.

Well they got their death care now if Canadians want something fixed what the heck are we supposed to do.

From the former Democrat supporters at HillBuzz:
"The Democrat Party is a Leftist party only now. If there were moderates and conservatives truly on the blue side of the aisle, they would never have allowed a bill like that to be passed. This was not how healthcare reform should have been done — with all the bribes, the unconstitutional mandates, the overreach of federal authority, and the Orwellian elevation of the Health & Human Services Secretary into an arbitrator of life and death for millions of Americans.
"We don’t see how a center-right nation embraces Democrats after this…not when Democrats have proven themselves to be so reckless, so Marxist, so un-American.
"We also don’t see how the party can ever be brought back from the Left now.
"There is just no going back possible."
(...)
"Democrats might think they won their big lottery yesterday…but we believe they’re going to lose everything, and will probably not exist as a major political party 10 years from now as a result."

Well, the nice thing is that the bill does stop short of further destroying the Canadian healthcare system. Nothing in there to prevent Danny Williams from hitting up the Mayo clinic again.

As we all know, winning elections is more important than fighting for what you ostensibly believe in. The health care act will never be repealed; the goal posts have been moved.

"The health care act will never be repealed."
Kevin, a few pundits agree with you, but - for what it's worth - I'm not so sure. I think there's going to be a serious, erm, chipstorm over this. The legislation is certainly going to be challenged on constitutional grounds. Even before the bill was passed, lawmakers in 35 states "filed or proposed amendments to their state constitutions or statutes rejecting health insurance mandates."
When Nancy Pelosi was asked - I'm paraphrasing - where in the Constitution is there a provision for the government to force people to purchase a government service, she replied,
"Are you serious? Are you serious?"
Not really a sound constitutional argument, certainly not one that would hold up in, say, the Supreme Court.
I don't think this one's over, not by a long shot.
I've never seen so many otherwise calm pundits, politicians and citizens so P.O'd, not just about the actual legislation but about the anti-democratic, unconstitutional process that led to it.

I agree, EBD. This is clearly in violation of the tenth amendment. I think that sometimes people forget just how powerful U.S. state governments are within the country, because most non-Americans mostly see the federal side of the country. There is going to be some serious push-back against the federales on this one ~ indeed, recall that the country was originally formed by the states' rebellion against the then British federal overreach ~ which could ultimately even result in a new constitutional amendment further damning this kind of behaviour. As Augustine of Hippo noted in Saturday night's reader tips, patience is the companion of wisdom in a case like this.

The election of the massive marxist Obama awakened the slumbering silent majority in the US. The Constitution shredding "health care" bill has now angered them. I expect to see huge marches on Washington - with only minor (derogatory) mainstream coverage. There will also be several States who flex their Constitutional muscles.
Liberty defenders will not surrender without a fight.

Now all we have to do is wait for that giant surge in popularity. Cause it sure still just looks like noise from here.

They've been violating the Tenth Amendment for a long time - think Social Security and Medicaid.
I hate to admit it, but I must agree that this will not be repealed...at least not until the US is much closer to economic Armageddon.
David Frum (a pox on his smugness) points out over at the NP (I will not link to that guy) that in 2 years, you will never get the votes necessary to revoke a person's insurance because they had a pre-existing condition.
It's just not going to happen - just as the Republicans never moved against the other anti-tenth-Amendment entitlements.

Even the New York Times agrees with the right
( well... at least on a important few points )
»...Never in modern memory has a major piece of legislation passed without a single Republican vote...»
»...Mr. Obama has lost something — and lost it for good. Gone is the promise on which he rode to victory less than a year and a half ago — the promise of a “postpartisan” Washington in which rationality and calm discourse replaced partisan bickering. ...»
Read the rest here,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/health/policy/22assess.html?hp

The Myth of Pedophile Priests

Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Fr. Dwight is a well known writer, preacher and speaker.  He came to the Catholic Church as a married Anglican priest, and we are blessed to have him here in the Catholic Church.  He also has lived many years of his life in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America.  His heart is pure; his knowledge and wisdom are excellent.

He writes here about a book produced by a Penn State professor, Dr. Philip Jenkins, entitled
Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis. He also references an article from 2002 by Dr. Jenkins where he summarised his findings.  Dr. Jenkins concluded his article:

My concern over the "pedophile priest" issue is not to defend evil clergy, or a sinful church (I cannot be called a Catholic apologist, since I am not even a Catholic). But I am worried that justified anger over a few awful cases might be turned into ill-focused attacks against innocent clergy.

The story of clerical misconduct is bad enough without turning into an unjustifiable outbreak of religious bigotry against the Catholic Church.

It is far easier to target a faith, in particular the Roman Catholic Church over an issue that is terrible in the world, and should not be manifested anywhere, let alone within the RC Church clergy.  Fr. Dwight writes wisely about context and facts, both of which get forgotten in times of blaming and shaming, and when there is so much pain.  

As more pedophile priest scandals blow up across Europe we should be ashamed of the offenders and those who sheltered them and oppressed the victims. The guilty should be weeded out, removed from office and handed over to the civil authorities where they are guilty of crimes. Systems to avoid abuse must be established and rigorously maintained, and victims should be justly compensated for their suffering.

However, Penn State professor Philip Jenkins (who is not a Catholic) has written the most objective book on the subject, and he summarizes his arguments in this excellent article. In light of his work, we should remember some basic facts and principles:

• Priestly celibacy is not the issue - married men are more likely to abuse children than unmarried
• Most child abuse takes place within the home.
• All religious groups have pedophile scandals, and the Catholics (while the largest religious group) are at the bottom of the list statistically.
• Child abuse is prevalent in all areas of society: schools, youth organizations, sports, etc.
• Statistically, of all the professions, Christian clergy are least likely to offend. Doctors, Farmers and Teachers are the professions most likely to abuse children--not clergy.
• Among clergy offenders Catholic priests are least likely to offend.
• Catholic cases of pedophilia make more headlines because of anti Catholic prejudice and because the Catholic Church is bigger and more lucractive to sue.
• Pedophilia and Euphebophilia are different problems. The former is sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. The latter is attraction to teenagers. Most cases branded 'pedophila' are actually 'euphebophila.'
• Most of the cases of euphebophilia are homosexual in nature, however the politically correct do not want this problem to be associated with homosexuality.
• The number of Catholic priests guilty of pedophilia is very small.
• What we now call 'cover up' was often done in a different cultural context, when the problem was not fully understood and when all establishment organizations hushed scandals. They did so for what seemed good reasons at the time: protection of the victims and their families, opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender, the avoidance of scandal to others. It is unfair to judge events thirty years ago by today's standards.
• When lawsuits are looming people smell money. We must be wary of false accusations.
• The accused must be entitled to a fair hearing. The church should insist on hard proof of the abuse, and for the sake of justice, ensure that the innocent are not prosecuted.
• When guilt is established the offender must be punished, not sheltered.
• Distinctions must be made between types of abuse. Some offenses are worse than others. Verbal abuse or corporal punishment during a time when that was acceptable, while lamentable, is not the same as sexual abuse or extreme physical abuse.
• Sexual abuse of an adult, or a sexually experienced older teenager is wrong, and damaging, and should be punished, but it is not the same as the sexual abuse of a younger, innocent child.
• Number of offenses must be considered. One lapse is not of the same seriousness as repeated, persistent and premeditated offenses. 

I am in no way wishing to be soft of pedophiles and those who covered for them, however justice and truth demand an objective analysis of the facts. 

I have met many women who were sexually abused in their life times, because of a very close and dear friend.  I have never met one who was abused by a priest, not because it did not happen, but because as a proportion of all sexual abuse, it is a very small one.

Archbishop's Journal - Free Will, Conscience and Moral Choice: What Catholics believe

A Response to A Member of His Flock- Nancy Pelosi

The Archbishop of San Francisco has a difficult job as it is, but in this very informative letter, which is instructive for all Catholics, he is particularly trying to overcome lies and misconceptions being perpetrated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the USA, Nancy Pelosi, who has been pro-abortion for a long time.  God love Archbishop Niederauer in his loving fatherly approach to Ms. Pelosi, but he may have to excommunicate her to get his point across.

Pray for the conversion of Ms. Pelosi and that God will have mercy on her soul.

• 
  
  

By Archbishop George H. Niederauer
In a recent interview with Eleanor Clift in Newsweek magazine (Dec. 21, 2009), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked about her disagreements with the United States Catholic bishops concerning Church teaching. Speaker Pelosi replied, in part: “I practically mourn this difference of opinion because I feel what I was raised to believe is consistent with what I profess, and that we are all endowed with a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And that women should have the opportunity to exercise their free will.”

Embodied in that statement are some fundamental misconceptions about Catholic teaching on human freedom. These misconceptions are widespread both within the Catholic community and beyond. For this reason I believe it is important for me as Archbishop of San Francisco to make clear what the Catholic Church teaches about free will, conscience, and moral choice.

Catholic teaching on free will recognizes that God has given men and women the capacity to choose good or evil in their lives. The bishops at the Second Vatican Council declared that the human person, endowed with freedom, is “an outstanding manifestation of the divine image.” (Gaudium et Spes, No. 17) As the parable of the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov, makes so beautifully clear, God did not want humanity to be mere automatons, but to have the dignity of freedom, even recognizing that with that freedom comes the cost of many evil choices.

However, human freedom does not legitimate bad moral choices, nor does it justify a stance that all moral choices are good if they are free: “The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything.” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1740) Christian belief in human freedom recognizes that we are called but not compelled by God to choose constantly the values of the Gospel—faith, hope, love, mercy, justice, forgiveness, integrity and compassion.

It is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching to conclude that our freedom of will justifies choices that are radically contrary to the Gospel—racism, infidelity, abortion, theft. Freedom of will is the capacity to act with moral responsibility; it is not the ability to determine arbitrarily what constitutes moral right.

What, then, is to guide the children of God in the use of their freedom? Again, the bishops at the Council provide the answer—conscience: “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment . . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God . . . . His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” (GS, No. 16) Conscience, then, is the judgment of reason whereby the human person, guided by God’s grace, recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act. In all we say and do, we are obliged to follow faithfully what we know to be just and right.

How do we form and guide our consciences? While the Church teaches that each of us is called to judge and direct his or her own actions, it also teaches that, like any good judge, each conscience masters the law and listens to expert testimony about the law. This process is called the education and formation of conscience.

Catholics believe that “the education of conscience is a lifelong task.” (CCC, No. 1784) Where do we go for this education of our consciences? Our living tradition teaches us that “In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path; we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord’s Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.” (CCC, No. 1785)

Our Catholic beliefs about free will, conscience and moral choice are rooted in the Good News of Jesus Christ’s teaching and his redemptive life, death and resurrection: “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1); “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2Cor. 3:17); we glory “in the liberty of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:17). Common caricatures of Christian morality portray believers as living in fear of punishment or concerned only with an eternal reward. Long ago, however, St. Basil the Great, a fourth-century bishop and theologian, taught that the Christian, in living a moral life according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “does not stand before God as a slave in servile fear, nor a mercenary looking for wages, but obeys for the sake of the good itself and out of love for God as his child.” (CCC, No. 1828)

As participants in the life of the civil community, we Catholic citizens try to follow our consciences, guided, as described above, by reason and the grace of God. While we deeply respect the freedom of our fellow citizens, we nevertheless are profoundly convinced that free will cannot be cited as justification for society to allow moral choices that strike at the most fundamental rights of others. Such a choice is abortion, which constitutes the taking of innocent human life, and cannot be justified by any Catholic notion of freedom. Because of these convictions we commit ourselves to a continuing witness to, and dialogue about, the Gospel values that underlie our understanding of freedom, conscience, and moral choice.

This column (“Archbishop’s Journal”) by Archbishop George H. Niederauer was published in the Jan. 15 issue of Catholic San Francisco, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Updated Again: Health Care Bill: Did Bart Stupak 'Limit the Harm'?

This piece appeared at Catholic Online yesterday, in light of what occurred in Washington about the Health Care Bill.

By Deacon Keith Fournier
3/21/2010

Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Congressman Bart Stupak is a faithful Catholic. He is also wrong.

Congressman Bart Stupak and President Obama during the last Presidential Campaign.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – Update2:  The Susan B. Anthony List was to honor Congressman Bart Stupak with an award for his Pro-Life stand. They have now rescinded the award with these words: "This Wednesday night is our third annual Campaign for Life Gala, where we were planning to honor Congressman Stupak for his efforts to keep abortion- funding out of health care reform-we will no longer be doing so. By accepting this deal from the most pro- abortion President in American history, Stupak has not only failed to stand strong for unborn children, but also for his constituents and pro-life voters across the country."

Update1: Since writing this article many friends I greatly respect have written to tell me they believe that the promised Presidential Executive Order is "worthless". That may be the case. My purpose was to express my appreciation for the effort of Bart Stupak - even though I disgree with him. Let me be clear, I oppose this legislation. I have made that clear from the beginning. I hope the Congressman was trying to limit the harm in accordance with the provisions I cited below from the "Gospel of Life." (Deacon Keith Fournier)

*****
Washington and the Nation were transfixed on the Press Conference held at 4:00 pm, Sunday March 21, 2010, called by Congressman Bart Stupak, the Pro-Life Democratic Congressman from Michigan. He appeared to be the last hurdle to the passage of the Senate Version of the Health Care Bill.

There is no doubt that he stood heroically, refusing to compromise on the fact, confirmed by medical science and written on every human heart through the Natural Moral Law, that the child in the womb is one of us, our first neighbor, and that killing him or her by "choice" must never be considered "Health Care".

I have written extensively on this subject. I well understand the other strong objections to this legislation. I share many of them. For example, whether handing over 1/6th of the economy to the Federal Government violates the Social ordering principle of subsidiarity? I personally believe that it is bad public policy and legislation on many other fronts.

However, whatseemed clear throughout this historic debate was that Congressman Bart Stupak was a faithful Catholic and a faithful Pro-Life DEMOCRATIC Congressman who refused to compromise on the first priniciples. He has always supported the Health Care Reform package. He is, after all, a Democrat. He simply refused to compromise on the fundamental human rights issue of our age, the Right to Life. For that, he should be honored and thanked by Pro-Life people.

I was not surprised when he made his announcement. He was surrounded by other Pro-Life Democrats who had made the same decision with him. He spoke of the "agreement we have been able to reach" with the President. That agreement entails the issuing of what he called an "extensive" Executive order by the President immediately upon the passage of this legislation.

He seems to honestly believe that with this Executive Order, the current Hyde Amendment language will be protected in the law. He is confident that this Executive Order will ensure that the fatal flaw with this legislation, clearly set forth by the US Bishops, which undermined the fundamental Human Right to Life, will be cured. As a Constitutional lawyer, I strongly doubt it. Though I live in Virginia, I am, to use the old adage "from Missouri", show me! I know, some will even resent that I am writing this piece! Executive orders can be rescinded and have questionable value in correcting statutory law.

I know that many are disappointed in Stupak's decision. I am. I do not agree with this legislation for many important procedural, constitutional and substantive reasons. However, the first and fundamental reason I opposed it was that it DID indeed open up Federal funds for the killing of innocent children. If it did not, why is the President of the United States signing an Executive Order to allegedly cure the Bill? So, the Catholic groups who sold out the Right to Life before this Executive Order should be exposed for what they truly are.

I know there are serious procedural problems with how this legislation was handled. I know there are serious substantive problems with the legislation on many other fronts. However, I am writing this opinion piece to encourage our readers to pray for him - and for his family.

I wanted to get out in front on this story before others in the community of which I am a part, the unqualifiedly Pro-Life community, begin to consider what he has done in changing his vote against this Bill to a vote in favor and bringing other Pro-Life Democrats along with him. I am sure he will receive a "mixed" response to say the least. I disagree with his decision. However, there is more to be considered.

In "The Gospel of Life", (Evangelium Vitae) the Encyclical Letter written by the Venerable Pope John Paul II which affirmed the unbroken teaching of the Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Christian Church for over two thousand years that every procured abortion is always and everywhere intrinsically evil, we read these words:

"73. Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. From the very beginnings of the Church, the apostolic preaching reminded Christians of their duty to obey legitimately constituted public authorities (cf. Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:13-14), but at the same time it firmly warned that "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

… In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to "take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it".

"A particular problem of conscience can arise in cases where a legislative vote would be decisive for the passage of a more restrictive law, aimed at limiting the number of authorized abortions, in place of a more permissive law already passed or ready to be voted on. Such cases are not infrequent.

"It is a fact that while in some parts of the world there continue to be campaigns to introduce laws favoring abortion, often supported by powerful international organizations, in other nations-particularly those which have already experienced the bitter fruits of such permissive legislation-there are growing signs of a rethinking in this matter.

"In a case like the one just mentioned, when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects."

So, I ask, has Congressman Bart Stupak at least "limited the harm" done by this Legislation? Has he "lessened its negative consequences"? Has he tried to act as a faithful Catholic Christian in public life? If so he should be commended. Even if, like me, you disagree with his ultimate decision.

Oh, I know that some will be disappointed in my making this assessment. However, anyone who has read me over many years knows that I have long insisted that "Catholic is the Noun". In other words, I insist that, authentically understood, Catholic Social thought needs to be the foundation for our participation in public policy efforts and political action.
We Catholics must not first be "conservatives", "liberals", neo-conservatives", "progressives" .... or any other of those limiting political labels. We are Catholic Christians first, last and all in between. The true Social teaching of the Catholic Church has too often been co-opted by both the left and the right.It needs to be liberated from these limitations and offered as the path to prevent the collapse of Western Civilization.

I have also said for many years that I would welcome a United States of America where both major political parties began with the fundamental truth - the very heart of any authentic vision of Social Justice - the first and foundational principle -  the recognition that every human life, from conception to natural death, has human dignity. There simply IS a fundamental Human Right to Life and abortion is not a "right"-  it is a wrong - no matter what the US Supreme Court said in those horrid opinions in Roe and Doe.

Make no mistake; I disagree with this flawed Health Care legislation for many reasons.However, I applaud a consistent Democrat, one who hears the cry of all the poor!. One like Bart Stupak, who has not sold his soul at the altar of Planned Parenthood and its evil effort to call the killing of children a "right" or a proper and moral "choice". They betray everything this Nation stands for.
Congressman Bart Stupak claims to care about the poor, including those whom Mother Teresa called the "poorest of the poor", children in the womb. He may be the heir to the vacant seat left by the last late, great, Pro-Life Democrat, the former Governor Bob Casey. My apologies to his son, but I must be honest.Your Dad was the last Democrat I could support. I hasten to add, I am no great fan of many Republicans either.
Now, let the real debate over public policy and the future of this great Nation truly begin. The 2010 elections are now underway. Even more importantly, the 2012 Presidential race has begun in earnest. We need a Pro-Life, Pro-Marriage and Family, Pro-Poor and Pro-Freedom candidate. I will do everything I can to assist him or her to run for the nomination and win the Presidency. America is at a crossroads. 

In the interim, did Congressman Bart Stupak try to "lessen the harm" of this poor legislation.
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Praises for the Fifth Sunday in Lent 2010

Picking Up on a New Tradition

Jennifer Hartline at My Chocolate Heart, writes a praise and thanksgiving report each week, and invites others to do the same.  I like the idea, and here is my first addition to this new tradition.  I guess if it is kind of new, it's not really a tradition as yet, but it deserves to be one.

I praise God that He is in control.  When we as Catholic Christians look at the ugliness of what is happening in Washington over this Health Care Bill, we see the ugliness of power and politics being wielded by people who are not interested in what the people of America want but in their own agendas.  I thank God for opening our eyes to this ugliness, and praise Him that this all fits into His plan.

I praise God for the beautiful sunshine we have had in Southern Ontario for most of the last few weeks, since our return from Arizona, for the onset of Spring, with the first little signs of it that are peeking up in our garden.

I praise God for opening my eyes once again to the Liturgy of the Hours, and the beautiful prayers and readings contained therein, and for brothers in Christ to pray them with.

I thank God for my lovely wife Christina, and for the opportunity she has had this weekend to go away with some friends on a quilting weekend, a chance to get away from the challenges here, and to be renewed in spirit.

Pelosi Misleads and Deceives: St. Joseph Would Not Approve

It Will Take Scandal to Clear Out the Rot in the Church

Though all does not appear to be well for those who are truly Catholic and Christian, and for that matter for all those who are truly Christian in the United States of America.

There are many in Christian (Catholic and Protestant) circles who are head Christians, not heart Christians, and Jesus wants us to love Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit and each other with our whole hearts.  Aye, there's the rub.  The Holy Spirit is running the show here on earth now, and is speaking to all of us at the heart level.  We can grieve the Holy Spirit and choose earthly things over things of the spirit, but we do so at our own peril, and also at the peril of influencing our children and those who may hear what we say or see what we do to follow a path that does not lead to the Cross of Christ, but to our and their own eternal destruction.

The Health Care debate in the US will resolve, but life will never be the same for Christians and Catholic Christians, as leaders of the Christian Church, particularly our Catholic Bishops have stood up and been counted.  They cannot and should not ever fade into the wood work again.  In fact, we need their leadership to guide us in the formation of our consciences.

When you read the lengths that alleged Catholics like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, may God have mercy on her soul, will go to manipulate the truth to achieve an AGENDA, which is about political power, and not the will of the people, it is sickening, but true.

Here is the latest at Catholic Online from Jennifer Hartline about this hypocrisy and apostasy.

Once again, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gets it wrong - and brings more scandal to the Church in the United States.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Unborn Child.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - It sure is an interesting – not to mention a critical -  time to be a Catholic in America.  The headlines this past week have talked about a "Holy War" going on within the Church between those who want the health care bill rejected and those who want it passed.  The bishops have made strong and clear statements about the "fatally flawed" nature of the Senate bill and said in explicit terms that the bill must be rejected by all faithful Catholics. 

Sadly, their statements were answered by several groups of so-called Catholics who flat out defy the wisdom and leadership of the Church and insist that the only right thing to do is pass the bill.  Included in this defiant group were nuns from a small number of religious orders who published a letter stating their opposition to the Bishops and their support of Obama's plan.

This isn't simply a ping-pong game between two equally worthy opponents.  This isn't a back-and-forth debate between two equally morally sound arguments.  This is a manifestation of the spiritual battle between truth and lies.  There is a right and a wrong here, and the distinction isn't murky.

The Catholic Church teaches that human life is sacred from the moment of conception to natural death, period.  One cannot support the mythical "right" to abortion and claim to be a faithful Catholic.  One cannot tolerate legislation that uses federal dollars to pay for the execution of the unborn and claim to be a faithful Catholic.
 
Whatever other good this legislation may produce will come with innocent blood on it.  The ends do not justify the means.  On this point, there is no wiggle room; no freedom to "agree to disagree."  Humility and obedience ask each of us to heed the instruction of our Bishops on matters of such grave moral importance, not arrogantly and defiantly dismiss them outright.

Chief among those who call themselves Catholic while openly defying the Bishops and the Church is Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  She has spent her political career lobbying and voting for abortion "rights" in utter disregard and contempt for the Church's teachings, all the while claiming to be a faithful Catholic.  She manipulatively trots out her Catholic faith for press conferences and interviews, enjoying the glowing support of other so-called Catholic groups, publications, and politicians who defy the Church as openly as she does while they profess how precious their faith is to them.

She wears her Catholic upbringing lovingly around her neck like a trophy charm and then publicly distorts, misrepresents or just plain ignores Church teaching when it suits her purpose.  In doing so, she causes scandal after scandal as she confuses the American public and even the faithful about the Catholic Church.  She holds herself up as an example of a "modern" Catholic woman and uses her status as a Catholic to give false cover to her immoral and anti-Catholic pursuits.

She is not a faithful Catholic; she is a scandalous dissident.  She is also terribly ignorant of the Catholic faith she claims to have been raised and educated with – a fact she made plain at Friday morning's press conference.  It was a great day in the Church year; the day we remember and honor St. Joseph, the man charged with caring for our Blessed Mother and our Lord.  An honorable, humble, faithful, obedient man who gave us the ultimate example of earthly fatherhood.

Pelosi stood grinning before the press and proclaimed it to be "the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, the day we pray to St. Joseph, pray to benefit the workers of America."  Then she added that "that's exactly what this health care bill will do."

Once again, Nancy, you got it all wrong.  As The Anchoress so perfectly put it:
  "First off, Nancy, this is not the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker.  That feast day is May 1, and it is a simple (and optional) memorial.  TODAY is the Solemnity of St. Joseph in his role as the Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Provider and Guardian for the Child Jesus.  A solemnity is not an optional feast day, and Pelosi, who was educated by religious sisters and went to a Catholic college, should know that."

"It is highly doubtful that St. Joseph, who was faced with an unimaginable event, one fraught with challenges, things unknown, social questions, difficulties and sacrifice, would be a happy endorser of a "life-affirming health care bill" that includes the federal funding of abortions, sterilizations, contraception – undoubtedly down the road – euthanasia."

Yes, Pelosi actually called this bill "life-affirming" and had the gall to brag about the children she'd hijacked as political props this past week to sell her deadly bill:  "Little children, babies as young as six weeks old to talk about what it means to them."  How crass can she get?  Babies?  The same class of citizens who will be killed in record numbers at our expense after her "life-affirming bill" is passed?  Now she wants us to hear them "talk about what it means to them"?  How about hearing their silent screams, Nancy?

But she didn't stop there.  She went on to gush about the letter sent to Congress by NETWORK, signed by 60 leaders of women religious who broadcast their opposition to the Bishops and their support of the bill.  "Every order you can think of was there saying they wanted us to pass this life-affirming legislation."

She conveniently made no mention of the Bishops' repeated admonishments concerning the bill, nor of the letter from the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, representing thousands of sisters from over 103 different orders who stand with the Bishops against the bill in defense of Life and authentic Catholic teaching.  Authentic Catholic teaching is simply of no use to Pelosi.

The shamelessness and deviousness with which Pelosi twists authentic Catholicism into some kind of fetching dog that goes where she commands and brings back the moral approval she needs to market her anti-life, sacrilegious, evil undertakings to the rest of the world is evidence of someone who wishes not to serve the Lord and His Church, but to undermine and silence it.

Our decisive shepherd Archbishop Chaput said this week: "...If the defective Senate version of health care reform pushed by congressional leaders passes into law – against the will of the American people and burdened by serious moral problems in its content – we'll have "Catholic" voices partly to thank for it.  And to hold responsible.

Let's start by holding Pelosi responsible.

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Jennifer Hartline is a grateful Catholic, an Army wife and mother of four precious children (one in Heaven).  She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online on topics of Catholic faith, family, Life and politics.  She is also a serious chocoholic.  Visit her at My Chocolate Heart

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Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding our link (www.catholic.org) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!

This particular issue is an American issue, but the same kind of thing goes on amongst people professing to be Catholic, and therefor to represent Catholic views around the world, and particularly where there is power involved.

It is absolutely imperative that those professing to present themselves as Catholics do so in accord with the leadership of the Catholic Church, for fear of bringing scandal to those who hear us, see us, or would follow what we say.

We can see the wheat being separated form the chaff.  It is not a pretty sight, but it is important for the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in all of us, and for all of us, and through all of us, in this time in history.  Why now?  Why this?  If we want an answer to these questions, that is best asked on our knees.

Let us head the perfidy of those we are observing in this particular plight, and beg God to forgive us our sins, and guide us along His paths.  Let us truly affirm the life that he has given us each and every day, not in false power, but in humility.

Colorado Bishops: Catholic Supporters of Health Care Bill do - ´A Grave Disservice'

Colorado Bishops: Catholic Supporters of Health Care Bill do - 'A Grave Disservice'

As Catholic writer and blogger Jennifer Hartline points out at her own blog My Chocolate Heart, the battle has been engaged, and the Bishops of America are going to the mats, to speak up against deceptions put forward by some who think and claim they speak for the Catholic Church.  

In her current posting, she sides with the spiritual leaders of the Church in America, and no surprise here, it is the Bishops, not a band of recalcitrant nuns.  I have reproduced the article from Catholic Online that directly quotes the Archbishop's letter below.  You can follow the link in Mrs. Hartline's post copied here as well, to the loony nuns article also reported in Catholic Online.  She also has the link to the supportive letter of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, also reported at Catholic Online.


There is no doubt in my mind that Deacon Fournier and writers for Catholic Online, to which I have also been privileged to contribute lately, stand four square behind the descendants of the Apostles, our Bishops and the Bishop of Rome, Our Pope.  They are our leaders, not me and not you.


It seems to me that the Bishops of the USCCB and the CCCB here in Canada, are waking up from a long nap, having been forced and having chosen to address the rot that is present in our beloved Church.  It is a Church of humans, and has had ebbs and flows, but these men are on the job, and above all God is on the job and on the throne, as He has always been.

We must stand behind our bishops, and must help to root out evil in our midst, especially that which has taken root in our own hearts.  And, we must do this in proper respectful submission to their divinely ordained authority.



As Mrs. Hartline states: 

Do we adequately appreciate the gift we have in Archbishop Chaput?  (You know what I see in him?  A future Pope.)

He has once again spoken in clear terms about the Health Care bill, setting the record straight after the "Network" of loony nuns came out with their letter publicly rejecting the Bishops' stand on the legislation.  Confusion, dissent, and misinformation spreads... enter the voice of a true leader.

"Don't be fooled... nothing has changed... the Senate bill is fatally flawed... Catholics cannot support this bill."  Period.

God bless you, Shepherd Chaput.

Related:  God bless the sisters of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious for issuing a public statement that the loony nuns who think the abortion language in the Senate bill is just a "technicality" do not speak for them!  Thank you, sisters!

Here is the Catholic Online article, written by Deacon Keith Fournier, Editor in Chief about Archbishop Chaput's response to the nutty nuns.

Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

'Do not be fooled. Nothing has changed. The Senate bill remains gravely flawed on the issues of abortion funding, conscience protections and the inclusion of immigrants'.

'In the past two days, congressional leaders and the White House have brought tremendous pressure on prolife Democratic members of Congress to support a fatally flawed Senate version of health care reform.' (Northern Colorado Bishops)

DENVER, CO (Catholic Online) – What a week it has been in the fierce battle to prevent the current version of Health Care from being enacted, without a real vote, on Sunday. Without Amendment the Bill is fatally flawed. It will result in federal funds being used to take the lives of innocent children in their mother´s womb, calling such an intentional killing "health care."
The official opposition of the US Catholic Bishops to this current legislation is very clear. From among their ranks, few have articulated as clearly the reasons for such opposition as the Archbishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
In an article which appeared in the Denver Catholic Register entitled ´Catholics, Health Care and the Senate's Bad Bill´, he once again called the legislation "fatally flawed". He also strongly warned the Catholic faithful of those Catholic voices who have rejected the clear admonitions of the Bishops using these words:
"Groups, trade associations and publications describing themselves as "Catholic" or "prolife" that endorse the Senate version – whatever their intentions – are doing a serious disservice to the nation and to the Church, undermining the witness of the Catholic community; and ensuring the failure of genuine, ethical health-care reform."
As the week progressed, the use of such groups by those who want to force this legislation through without life saving amendment has intensified. It is also confusing the faithful. The letter sent to Congress by a group called ´NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby´, signed by 60 leaders of religious communities of women in the United States supporting this seriously and fatally flawed Bill is one of the worst examples.
This letter was distributed extensively by those who do not recognize the fundamental Human Right to life and want the legislation, without amendment, to become law.  In this letter the signatories not only opposed the US Catholic Bishops but they accused them of misinforming the faithful. They also supported Sr. Carol Keehan, the CEO of the Catholic Hospital Association who publicly supported the legislation in a letter which was released at the beginning of the week. 
The signatories of this latest letter claimed to represent 59,000 religious sisters and nuns. However, the numbers were later shown to be inflated. In fact the alternative leadership group, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, released their own letter. In it they stood with the US Bishops in opposing the legislation, without the absolutely necessary life saving changes. 
Now, the Archbishop of Denver and his assistant Bishop, another great pro-Life champion, Bishop James D. Conley, S.T.L., have issued a formal warning to the faithful of their Diocese. We publish it below. We ask our readers to distribute it as widely as possible.

In addition, another giant of the pro-Life cause, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, has written an exceptionally clear article for the Diocesan newspaper The Leaven in which he articulated the reasons why this Bill must be opposed by genuinely Pro-Life Catholics and all Pro-Life people of Good will.

He opined that "The Catholic Health Association´s position, in effect, provides cover for any member of the House who chooses to buckle under the pressure of the President and the Democratic leadership to accept government funding of abortion….They can now defend themselves by pointing out that Catholic Health Care leaders recommended they vote for the bill."

Archbishop Naumann cut to the chase in commenting upon Sr. Keehan´s claim that the issue of federal funding of abortion was a "technicality". He wrote "Either the bill permits previously prohibited government funding of abortion or not. This is not a technicality…If the Senate had wanted to prohibit federal funding for abortion all they had to do was accept the language that had been adopted by the House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority." Well said.

Here is the warning issued by the Bishops of Denver:

TO THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO
In the past two days, congressional leaders and the White House have brought tremendous pressure on prolife Democratic members of Congress to support a fatally flawed Senate version of health care reform.
Regrettably, groups like Network and the Catholic Health Association have done a grave disservice to the American Catholic community by undermining the leadership of the nation´s Catholic bishops, sowing confusion among faithful Catholics, and misleading legislators through their support of the Senate bill.
Do not be fooled.  Nothing has changed.  The Senate bill remains gravely flawed on the issues of abortion funding, conscience protections and the inclusion of immigrants.  Unless seriously revised to address these issues, the Senate version of health care is unethical and should be firmly opposed.
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.Archbishop of Denver
+James D. Conley, S.T.L.Auxiliary Bishop of Denver

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A Catholic Gem

St. Peter Chrysologos

London, ON.  I have been attending Morning Prayer with some Christian friends of mine in the chapel at St. George Parish, and came across this little gem this morning.

I love the Catholic Church, because for me it contains the full deposit of the faith in Jesus Christ, and I love Him most of all.  So, this is where I am and plan to be unless I am sure that God has called me to go elsewhere.   And it is in moments like these that I know that I am where God has planted me right now, this very moment in time and space.

About a week after our return from Arizona this winter, I was invited to join with 3 brothers in Christ who pray the breviary each morning from Christian Prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours.  God-incidentally (since I don't really believe in coincidences) I had taken my copy of the book of Christian Prayer off the self and placed it right here beside my computer almost immediately on our return.  So, when I was invited to join these friends for prayer, I was pretty sure that God had his hand in it.

One of my friends is a deacon, one is a first year diaconal student, and the third is hopeful of joining the programme this year.  I am in good company.  Why I have the book in the first place is that my friend the deacon, when he was a candidate, used to meet with me in the morning to pray from it a few years back.

The Breviary is not for the faint of heart, in part because it is a bit of a challenge to get your head around the method, so that you can enjoy and draw fruit from the prayers themselves.  As it had been some time since I had prayed from the book, the first few days with my friends were very challenging for me.

But, due to spring break for grade school and high school students here in Ontario, I have found myself alone in the mornings, in the chapel, with my breviary.  This morning, I discovered something which I had totally forgotten over the years.  Tucked away in the back of the book are a number of Biblical and Non-Biblical Readings for various seasons of the church year.

And wouldn't you know it, there in the front of the Lenten Season Non-Biblical Readings is Reading 1: Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives, a sermon by St. Peter Chrysologos, a Doctor of the Church, known for his short inspired talks.  Hence his name Chrysologos which means golden-worded.

Here are the exact words of that gem:

There are three thing, my brethren, which cause faith to stand firm, devotion to remain constant, and virtue to endure.  They are prayer, fasting and mercy.  Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, and mercy receives.  Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other.

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.  Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated.  If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing.  So if you pray, fast; if you fast show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God's ear to yourself.

When you fast, see the fasting of others.  If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry.  If you hope for mercy, show mercy.  If you look for kindness, show kindness.  If you want to receive, give.  If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.

Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you.

Therefor let prayer, mercy, and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor.

Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others.  Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting.  There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart.

Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God.  Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give him yourself you are never without the means of giving.

To make these acceptable, mercy must be added.  Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy.  Fasting dries up when mercy dries up.  Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth.  However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit.

When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn.  Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering.  Give to the poor, and you give to yourself.  You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others.

I don't know if this stirs up your faith, but it gets mine close to a boil.  There was nothing new here, just a clear unequivocal statement of how to make prayer fruitful.  What faithful Christian does not desire to have prayer that changes things, prayer that draws us to our Creator and Lover, and soothes the pains and hurts of our lives, of those we love, and of those we encounter on our daily walk.

But, unlike a gem stone that is really just for admiring in its beauty, this gem is meant to be put into practice, to become part of our daily life.  What better time to think about the union of prayer, fasting and mercy than in this beautiful season of Lent, when we are preparing to celebrate that once and forever love sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour, and His Resurrection, whereby we were set free forever.  It is by prayer, fasting and mercy that we join ourselves and our pains, sorrows, and needs to His sacrifice on the Cross, and His Resurrection.

The prayer part is easy for most Christians.  The mercy can be more of a challenge, as some of those who need mercy from us have hurt us badly, and many days we don't feel like looking out for number 2.  But imagine using fasting as a glue between the two.  Imagine what fruit it can bear in our lives and in the lives of others.