On September 25, 2009, I gave birth to my daughter, Teresa Maria, stillborn. I was 6 months along. Please pray for me and my family. She leaves behind three siblings, while joining three already in heaven.
Teresa Maria, pray for us.
I own several sets of books on Saints, many “all-in-one” books on Saints, and dozens of books on individual Saints. For the most part, it is the same Saints featured in each set or volume. There are a few exceptions, and every once in awhile you will find a book that features someone you have never heard of. Christians Courageous is one of those exceptional books.
Written by Msgr. Aloysius Roche (who is known for his captivating stories of the Saints) sets out to highlight the people who have gone to extraordinary lengths for the Faith. By extraordinary, I do not mean simple martyrdom (if there can be such a thing). I mean traversing impossible lands and seas, defending the Faith publicly in front of large crowds, knowing death is imminent for doing so, defending one’s country against the most brutal of enemies – alone and unarmed, and scaling the heights of intelligence and study simply to have the chance at converting “savages.” These are not your average lives.
The book seems to be aimed at younger readers, perhaps ages 12-15 (although certainly worthwhile to any adult). Younger readers may struggle with the geography each story contains (and some of which are nearly based on), but would certainly be able to read the stories. As such, this book could very well provide an opportunity for geography lessons. The stories cover only brief parts of each man’s life, and are therefore rather quick reads. I enjoyed reading a story each night before bed.
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: Of the amazing and seemingly impossible stories of those who have put everything on the line to spread and defend the Faith.
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Make the reading of the lives of Saints lifelong learning. Their ongoing inspirations can keep us going on this journey.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Christians Courageous.
Today, a child will be conceived who will in danger of being aborted. You most likely do not know the mother or the father, and it is highly unlikely that you will be outside of the abortion clinic when the mother arrives to have her child killed. So what can you do to save this child? Pray. Prayer was always been our number one weapon and always will be. It is the Holy Spirit alone that can touch the hearts of these parents.
Fulton J. Sheen suggested the “spiritual adoption” of unborn children. Simply pray for ‘your’ child everyday, for the next nine months. His suggested prayer is as follows:
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of [baby’s name] the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.”
Yes you can make a difference, and you can be part of what saves a child’s life. And not that it makes this precious life any more worthy, but this baby could be your child/grandchild’s intended future spouse, a nurse who will care for you when you are admitted into a hospital, or the first canonized Saint from his/her hometown. His/Her life does make a difference, and this world will be poorer for it if he/she does not see birth.
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: We can each help put an end to abortion, and we are all responsible for doing so.
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Adopt your child today.
I have heard it said that if Fulton J. Sheen were with us today, abortion would no longer be legal in the United States. Why? Because he was what we lack today: strong Bishops not afraid of proclaiming the Truth for all to hear. Yes, we have a few, but none have managed to command the national airwaves the way he did.
(The following is an excerpt from the Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation newsletter, which can be found online at: http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/downloads/August2009Newsletter.pdf )
To mark the 30th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God, Fulton J. Sheen, the Archbishop Sheen Foundation is embarking on a worldwide project that would bring Catholics together, united in prayer for our beloved Archbishop.
The highlight of the anniversary celebration will be a Mass on De-cember 9 celebrated in New York City at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the very Cathedral where Fulton Sheen preached so many powerful ser-mons and where he is laid to rest. (See related article about the NYC Mass)
But the New York Mass is only one of what we hope to be hundreds of Masses celebrated on December 9 around the country and around the world in memory of the death of Fulton Sheen and to pray for his cause for beatification.
What better way to unite us all in prayer than the Holy Mass?
Currently, Masses will be offered on December 9, 2009, in:
Australia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, India, Lebanon, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina.
We also have Masses scheduled in the US in New York, New Jersey, Mary-land, Minnesota, Louisiana, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Colorado.
However, in order to have as many Masses as possible, we need YOUR HELP! We are asking you, our friends, to have a Mass celebrated in your home parish in honor of Archbishop Sheen on December 9th. And if you are traveling or know someone abroad, please ask to have a Mass celebrated there.
And most important, please tell us if you are having a Mass celebrated so that we can share it with others. Once the plans are made, please contact Sara Worrell at sworrell@cdop.org or 309-671-1550 and tell her the time and place of the Mass. We will update the Foundation website to highlight this worldwide spiritual project. Go to:ArchbishopSheenCause.org
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: They can be part of the canonization of a Saint!
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Donate to this cause, pray for his beatification, and arrange for your local parish to have Mass said for this special intention on the 9th of December.
O Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, who merited to be called “just” by the Holy Ghost, I urgently recommend to thee the soul of (Name), which Jesus redeemed at the price of His Precious Blood.
Thou knowest how deplorable is the state and how unhappy the life of those who have banished this loving Saviour from their hearts, and how greatly they are exposed to the danger of losing Him eternally. Permit not, I beseech Thee, that a soul so dear to me should continue any longer in its evil ways; preserve it from the danger that threatens it; touch the heart of this prodigal child and conduct him back to the bosom of the fondest of fathers. Abandon him not, I implore Thee, till thou hast opened to him the gates of the heavenly city, where he will praise and bless thee throughout eternity for the happiness which he will owe to thy powerful intercession. Amen.
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: St. Joseph is a most powerful intercessor in all areas of need.
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Stop worrying about those who have left the Church and start praying for them.
Today is the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, patron of the pro-life movement, prisoners, addicts and families. Born in Poland in 1894, Maximilian was a troublesome child. His mother asked him once “what is going to become of you?” Raymond, as he was named, was concerned about his mother’s question. He knelt before a statue of the Blessed Mother and asked her. The Blessed Mother appeared and spoke to him. She offered him two crowns; one of purity and one of martyrdom, asking him which he’d choose. Raymond choose both. He became a Franciscan Friar, taking the name Maximilian Mary.
Maximilian founded the “Militia Immaculata”, dedicated to spreading devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary and consecrating souls to her. The Militia printed the “Knight of the Immaculata” magazine, which distributed millions of copies despite political tensions at the time. His militia quickly grew to over 800 men., the largest in the world.
Maximilian left for Japan and India to establish new cities of the Immaculata and spread devotion to her in the far east. His choice of location in Nagasaki saved the friary when the city was destroyed by an atomic bomb.
In 1936 he returned home due to ill health (he had had tuberculosis previously). When the Nazi’s invaded in 1939, he was arrested, but soon released. He refused to stop printing the “Knight”, and was also hiding thousands of Jewish people within the friary. In 1941, he was arrested once again. This time, he was sent to the concentration camp of Auschwitz.
On July 31, a prisoner in the camp had escaped. As punishment, ten other prisoners were to be randomly selected and sentenced to death by starvation. One of the ten chosen cried out, pleading for mercy as he had a wife and young children. Fr. Kolbe stepped forward, volunteering to take the man’s place. It was allowed. (It is well-known that the Reich held Catholic religious with great contempt, especially priests).
Following two weeks of starvation, all of the ten men sentenced had died, save Fr. Kolbe. He was then given a lethal injection and died.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982.
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: The story of this great Saint. I highly recommend the book “A Man for Others” by Patricia Treece.
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Imitate the virtues of this incredible man. His charity, his love of the Immaculata, his fervor in spreading the Faith.
When this book came up for review, I excitedly selected it as quickly as I could. A Catholic book from Ignatius Press about Europe (especially eastern Europe) leading up to WWII – I could not resist.
The story begins with an elderly man, Max, who knows his death is soon approaching. When his favorite student arrives for violin lessons, he shares with and trusts her with a “mission” near and dear to his heart. He asks her to pull a postcard out of his dresser drawer. On the postcard is a list of names, birthdays, locations, dates of death. He explains to her that these people were very special to him, and as much as he desired to, he never got around to telling their stories. He would like her to do just that. Discover who these people were, and what their lives entailed. And so the story begins…
Max is a young school boy, tutored at home. Tragedies strike, sending his to a well-know school to continue his learning. The story follows him and his friends as they grow up. This may sound mundane, but it is anything but. The boys struggle with their beliefs (or lack thereof) and what is happening around them in Germany, as well as back in their own hometowns. The atmosphere is tense and unpredictable as they watch Germany deteriorate around them.
The variety of areas of study covered in this book is astounding. And if the bits of information are correct (I am not learned enough to know), then the author is exceptionally intelligent. Philosophical arguments, the use of different languages, the atmosphere within several different countries following World War I and leading up to World War II, different philosophies of government found in the different countries…the amount of information is astounding, but not at all difficult to follow. I learned as much in this novel as nearly any of my college-level history courses.
The author’s ability to write well is also certainly not lacking. Her use of words and descriptions easily allow the reader to place himself in the surroundings of the characters. This is a book one can truly get lost in.
Unpredictable this book was as well. The characters’ unexpected choices, and surprising (and sometimes tragic) situations keep this story anything but dull. The only difficulty I had with the story is a couple of situations dealing with a character’s sexuality and choices regarding his behavior. It was uncomfortable for me to read. I also knew, however, that Ignatius Press would not let me down, so when these parts of the book (there are two) presented themselves, I read all the more quickly to get past them, knowing they would have to end, and they did. I am not so sure that they really needed to be part of the story, but life is life and it is certainly not always pretty. I suppose I just grew so attached to the main character that it was painful to see him go down the wrong path.
Overall, this book was wonderful. Novels are not always my preference, but this one was a very enjoyable read. Ignatius Press has been producing several movies recently, and they would do very well to add this one to its production line.
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: It is possible to enjoy fictional work without compromising your faith. There are many Catholic works of fiction out there.
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Make a point next time you are looking for a good read to look for something Catholic. Genuinely Catholic.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on A Postcard from the Volcano.
I usually avoid personal notes, but in case you are wondering if I fell off the face of the earth…
I am dealing with the pleasantries of early pregnancy (cannot read books or look at a computer screen for very long are included among the effects), I was on vacation for three weeks, and I am a bout a month behind on my current theology course. As soon as I am feeling well and my course work is complete, I will return to my blog.
My apologies to St. Maria Goretti for missing her feast day. I was hoping to at least get something posted on her, but…
Unborn Baby, 22 Weeks
And now a word from Fr. Frank Pavone, MEV:
Forcing a Pro-Choice Crisis: What About Third Trimester Abortions?
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
What do LeRoy Carhart, Warren Hern, and George Tiller have in common? They are among an unknown number who perform abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy (the third trimester being the seventh, eighth, and ninth month!)
For two decades I have been proclaiming from the pulpits of America that abortions happen in the third trimester. Many Americans find it hard to believe. Now, in the aftermath of the death of George Tiller, this fact is getting a bit more attention.
The Associated Press reported on June 2 in an article by Eric Olson that physician LeRoy Carhart of Nebraska wants to continue performing abortions at this late stage, but he, as well as Warren Hern, also want to make sure enough physicians are trained in how to do so.
How many are we talking about? The AP story reported, “Carhart said 75 to 100 of the “several thousand” abortions he performs annually are in the third trimester.”
Stanley K. Henshaw, a senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, the research division of Planned Parenthood, and the best source of these statistics, is quoted in a June 5 Washington Post article as saying, “The information just isn’t available…This is an area that we just don’t know much about.”
The Guttmacher Institute does report in its official statistics, however, that some 13,310 abortions each year are at 21 weeks or more of pregnancy (that is, 1.1% of the 1.21 million abortions per year). Of the 40 states that reported in 2005 to the Centers for Disease Control, 32 states reported abortions of babies 21 weeks or older.
This means that every day, 37 babies the size of a large banana are dismembered and decapitated – and these include healthy babies of healthy mothers…and it’s happening legally.
These are babies that the mother can already feel moving. According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, these babies are storing fat on their bodies, their heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope, they can hear, they have eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails and toenails. Incidentally, MedlinePlus calls them “babies.” (See www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/002398.htm ).
Many people wonder how they can get some traction in the seemingly intractable abortion debate. How can they get people to listen, or make pro-choice people believe that pro-life people have good reason to be against abortion?
My suggestion: start by discussing the facts I just mentioned.
It’s morally legitimate to focus on late-term abortion; that doesn’t deny that all abortion is wrong; it’s simply a way to get the ball rolling, a pedagogical method of going from the most obvious to the less obvious, of starting with what people know and leading to what they don’t know.
When people are astonished by these facts, as they will be, they are forced to re-evaluate just how much priority “privacy” and “choice” have over life. If they are “pro-choice,” they are forced to figure out when in pregnancy the line is drawn – and why.
And now you’re talking.
The text and audio of this column can be found online at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2009/09-06-15-pro-choice-crisis.htm
My apologies, but my very limited programming knowledge does not allow me the ability to imbed the following video. I assure you, it is well worth your time to click on the link and watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KUBdrrbF6o
What I Wish Every Catholic Knew: It is entirely inappropriate for the University of Notre Dame to honor a pro-abortion speaker and retain its Catholic identity.
What I Wish Every Catholic Would Do: Sign the petitions, write the letters, and join those fighting on campus in prayer.
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Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my mother: to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
