Being a Model for the Pro-Life Cause

Phil. 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

The purpose of my blog is to highlight the blessings that come from motherhood. It is easy to get bogged down by the hardships of everyday life. Sometimes that just comes down to the monotonousness of doing laundry and endless cleanups after small children – or growing children who should know better. Add in the stress of finances, jobs, household maintenance, illness, and death, and sometimes the joy gets lost in the mix.

I try to portray a realistic picture of my family, so you know I am just like you, doing my best to be the best mom I can be to my little blessings. But I also don’t dwell on the negative. A thankful heart is a happy heart. I hope that my readers come away from my blog with a little ray of sunshine that will help with the rest of their day.

I don’t talk about abortion on my blog very much but it is always on my mind. I was horrified to hear the statistic that 41 percent of babies conceived in New York City are aborted. There is genocide going on every day in America, and our leaders are condoning it.

I also bear in mind the sobering statistic that shocked me when I was in my early twenties: one out of three women has had an abortion by the time she reaches the age of 40. Statistically that means that, perhaps unknown to you, out of your three best friends one has probably had an abortion.

What does that mean to me in the way I go about my life? For one thing, it means that I don’t go around bashing people who have had abortions. I believe that most of the mothers who have lost their babies go through a lifetime of mourning and what they need is forgiveness and healing. They don’t need to be reminded on a daily basis of the decision they made, most likely under the worst of circumstances and without the positive support of loving family members and friends willing to help save two lives.

My husband once commented, “We don’t need a pro-life bumper sticker. People can see the four kids getting out of our mini-van.” The way to be a model for the pro-life cause is to show people that kids are wonderful to have, not burdens. Go around and treat people nicely. If you see another mom having trouble with one of her kids, show her some compassion; don’t give her a dirty look. If someone you know is thinking about having a baby, give her encouragement.

Many of my friends on Facebook are pro-life and put up pro-life messages every day. Most of these are informative and supportive of the cause. Sometimes they go a little too far and put up pictures of aborted babies. When I see this, it is like getting a knife in the heart. I am on Facebook trying to communicate with my friends, and without warning I am faced with a picture portraying “excessive violence”, which happens to be against the rules on Facebook.

So I put up a status update stating: “I am 100% prolife but am offended by pictures of aborted babies posted on FB. I have hidden posts from anyone who does this.”

A good friend of mine from high school commented, “Omg who does that?!”

I am still waiting for a good explanation.

There are people on the pro-life side who don't realize that these kinds of techniques are hurtful to the pro-life cause making us look like radicals. Take the PETA people and their in-the-face commercials and advertisements. If you like to eat meat, what they do is not going to change your mind. However, if someone presents evidence in a civilized manner that cows are mistreated, perhaps I will go out of my way to purchase meat from a farm that practices humane care of their animals. Throw paint on my fox fur coat and I will not think kindly of you. Tell me nicely that you once had a pet fox and it hurts you to see me wear that kind of fur, and I might take it off.

Besides the fact that it makes good business sense to treat people with dignity and respect when trying to influence the way they think about an issue, we are Christians. Christians always act out of love, using gentle means toward their positive goals.

Report of 2010 Memorial Day 5K Run/Walk for the Unborn

Our first annual Memorial Day 5K Run/Walk for the Unborn was a small success. We had a small group in attendance from our church's pro-life group. We hope with more promotion to get a bigger turnout for next year or for the Labor Day event. See my Examiner article for the report and links to sign up your local community for the Labor Day 5K Run/Walk at 9 a.m. Sept 6, 2010.

Run/Walk for the Unborn Memorial Day Anywhere

This is a shadow event to raise money for the prolife cause. Register at the website and then organize your own walk or run anywhere at 9 AM on Memorial Day. I will be organizing one on Eastern Long Island. If you are interested please email me at ekgeroldmiller@gmail.com

Revolutionary Road: A Review with Spoilers

I find it impossible to review this movie without spoiling the ending for my readers. I have read numerous reviews on Christian sites, which seem to be afraid to talk about the main focus of the movie. Yet the topic of the movie – abortion – is something that the viewer will have wished he or she knew before going into it.

The star-crossed lovers of Titanic have reunited on the set, but their relationship is nothing to be admired. In the story based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates and directed by Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet and Leonard DiCaprio play a husband and wife who have reached the stage of boredom in their 1950s upper-class suburban home in Connecticut. Two children float in and out of the picture, having no real roles but that of accessories, like the bland but elegant furniture in the large house in which they live on Revolutionary Road.

After starting his birthday with a marital argument with his wife April, Frank Wheeler seduces a young secretary at work. When he arrives home, there are tears in his eyes as his wife and children surprise him with a cake. Later, April convinces him that the way out of their unhappy situation is to sell all they own and move to Paris. There, she can take a good-paying job and he can find his purpose in life.

Setting a date for September, she purchases steamer tickets and puts the house up for sale. With some hope on the horizon, the couple seems happy that summer until two things happen that put their decision in jeopardy: she becomes pregnant and he is offered a job promotion.

“Don’t worry, Millie tells me as long as I take care of it before 12 weeks it will be okay,” she consoles him, and he says nothing. When he finds a piece of tubing in the bathroom closet, he knows she is seriously thinking of aborting. The tension grows and she becomes more and more emotionally distant. She frequently smokes and consumes alcohol. While she appears to be in control, there are times where privately she totally “loses” it, including when she gets drunk and cheats on her husband with the next door neighbor.

The night on which her pregnancy is dated at 12 weeks, they have a really awful fight, during which they both admit to hating each other, and he says he wished they had gotten rid of “it”. He later says he didn’t mean it, but he has already triggered a chain of thoughts in her mind that has set her resolve.

The last morning, there is a chilling scene during which she plays the perfect wife, making him a nice breakfast. She has placed the children in her friend Millie’s care, and you know what she is going to do as soon as he leaves the house.

Wearing perfectly starched linens, she carries the necessary instruments to the bathroom and closes the door. When she walks down the stairs, she stands at the window and smiles. She starts bleeding and calls for help. She dies in the hospital.

The movie ends with Wheeler sitting on a park bench, watching his children on the swings and obviously grieving over what he has lost.

I do not recommend watching this movie for fun. I would absolutely not recommend it for minors. I do think the movie tells some important truths, including the facts that: (1) abortion has been around for a very long time; (2) more often than society likes to admit, abortions happen even in upper-class marriages, just because the baby is not convenient; (3) abortion is a life-or-death decision for both the baby and the mother.

This post has also been published on Catholic Media Review.

Flag me as a Fish who opposes Obama's Health Care

My bold and courageous friend Leticia Velasquez has written a post on the Aug. 6 publication of her blog turning herself in as someone who is opposed to Obama's health care system. My own post here serves to put me on the record of someone who is adamantly opposed to Obama's pro-choice health care program that would put my tax dollars to work aborting unborn babies; deny people such as my father, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, the health care that they need to optimize their "quality of life"; and force health care providers to participate in abortions even when it is against their conscience.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Joachim Beuckelaer
Netherlandish, Antwerp, 1563

One Million Rosaries for Unborn Babies

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18th, 2009
CONTACT: Patrick Benedict
PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org


OVER 60,000 ROSARIES PRAYED
FOR UNBORN BABIES

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (May 18th, 2009) - People in more than 35 countries joined together May 1st - 3rd to pray over 60,000 Rosaries for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn human persons. The pro-life prayer event, titled ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES, was coordinated by the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization of Memphis, Tennessee.

"I wish I could personally thank each person who prayed the Rosary as part of the ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event," said Patrick Benedict, President of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization. "I wish I could also thank everyone who supported the prayer event in any way, including those who encouraged others to participate. True, the goal of "one million" was not met, but over 60,000 Rosaries were registered to be prayed.

"It was particularly gratifying to learn that many young people were to pray the Rosary for the unborn babies. And, I am very encouraged that there was such widespread support for the ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event. The Rosary was prayed in various countries, including Columbia, Canada, Portugal, Peru, South Africa, Honduras, Argentina, Sweden, France, Switzerland, U.S.A., India, England, Australia, Germany, and Poland," concluded Benedict.

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization has already begun coordinating the 2nd annual WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event which is scheduled to happen October 16th - 18th, 2009(It is planned that information about this prayer event will be available in at least 12 languages). More information about this pro-life prayer event should be available at some time in June on the website www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org. Or, a person may write to the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization at P. O. Box 41257; Memphis, Tennessee 38174.

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization encourages people to pray the Rosary at least once a week for the protection of unborn babies."

White House Confirms it got 2 Million Red Envelopes

"President's mail worker claims letter campaign 1 of largest in 35 years

The White House mail office has confirmed it received a "deluge" of as many as 2.25 million red envelopes symbolizing the empty promise of lives snuffed out in abortion in a massive campaign that was larger than most White House mailing
movements in the last 35 years."
- See World Net Daily for the rest of this story.

Just a reminder that the deadline to submit comments to the Department of Health & Human Services is midnight, April 9.

Here's a link from AUL Action that provides additional information about the proposed removal of conscience protection.

UN Commission Ends with Delegations Saying No to Abortion

"UN Commission Ends with Delegations Saying No to Abortion
By Samantha Singson

(NEW YORK ? C-FAM) As the sun rose on the last day of negotiations at the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) at the United Nations (UN) today, delegations were still embroiled in a contentious debate over language concerning ?sexual and reproductive health and rights,? which some radical NGOs and UN committees have interpreted and used to promote abortion. As UN member states came together at the closing meeting to adopt the document, delegations took the floor to define abortion out of the document.

Up until the eleventh hour, the contentious term ?sexual and reproductive health and rights? remained in the draft document. Just prior to adoption, Iran took the floor to object to the phrase which has never before been included in any negotiated UN document. Iran stressed that the term remained problematic for a number of delegations and urged the Commission to revert back to previously agreed upon and carefully negotiated language from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action, which is understood not to create any right to abortion.

In an attempt to get consensus, the chairwoman from Mexico suspended the meeting and after twenty minutes, returned to the room and announced that Iran?s proposal would be accepted and that the term ?sexual and reproductive health and rights? would be removed from the text. The document was then adopted by consensus.

Several delegations, however, went further and made statements to explicitly define abortion out of the CPD document and to reiterate that the document created no new rights. Comoros, Peru, Poland, Ireland, Chile, the Holy See, Malta, and Saint Lucia spoke out against the other remaining reproductive health-related terms such as ?reproductive rights,? ?reproductive health services? and ?sexual and reproductive health? and emphasized that these could not be construed to ?support, endorse or promote? abortion.

Malta?s ambassador stated that his delegation was finding it more difficult in accepting the resolutions of UN bodies like the CPD where there were consistent attempts to expand ?reproductive health? to include abortion.

Saint Lucia made an explicit objection to the term ?safe abortion? because the term could ?give the impression that abortion was a procedure completely free of medical and psychological risks.? Saint Lucia also highlighted a provision in the CPD document which called on states where abortion was legal to ?train and equip health service providers and should take such measures to ensure that such abortion is safe and accessible.? The Saint Lucian representative stressed that her delegation understood this provision did not impact the right of healthcare providers to refuse to perform or be complicit in abortions as a matter of conscience, stating, ?Again, no new rights are created or acknowledged in this document, and the universal right to conscience can in no way be overridden or weakened.?

Only the representative of Norway expressed regret that the term ?sexual and reproductive rights? was not accepted in the text, saying that his country had widespread access to abortion and virtually no negative effects on women.

The CPD will next meet in April 2010. "

From the American Family Association

"President Obama has lifted a ban on federal funding for international groups that promote or perform abortions, reversing a policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Obama's actions mean that hundreds of millions of your tax dollars will go to help groups like Planned Parenthood perform abortions around the world.

His actions came one day after the 36th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states.

Please take the actions suggested below. It will not cause Obama to reverse his decision, but it will send a notice to him that unborn babies are human and deserve the same rights as the born.

Take Action!
· Send President Obama an email, asking him to stop funding the killing of unborn children.
· After you send the e-mail, please make a phone call (202-456-1414) and leave a message that you strongly disagree with Obama's using tax dollars to fund abortion."

A Novena to Fight FOCA

Dear Readers,
I received the following email from an unknown source and think it is worth publishing here. Please remember to also contact your senators, congressmen, and President-Elect Barack Obama over the next week, if you have not already done so. It is a matter of life or death.
God bless you,
Elizabeth

“Dear Friends,

If you are apposed to abortion then there is bad news on the horizon.
For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is
set to be signed if congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009. The
FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If made a law
then all limitations on abortion will be lifted which will result in
the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be
required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens Bishops
vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more then 30% of all
hospitals in the United States.

2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and have no
limitations.

3) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions.

4) Parental notification will no longer be required.

5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of
100,000 annually.

Perhaps most importantly the government will now have
control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future
amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain
situations (rape, down syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate
how many children women are allowed to have.

Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly
true. As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the
needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must
stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

The Plan :

To say a novena ( 9 days of prayer ) along with fasting
starting on January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be
the rosary with intentions to stop the FOCA. For non Catholics I
encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intentions,
also for nine consecutive days. The hope is that this will branch and
blossom as to become a global effort with maximum impact. We have very
little time so we all must act fast. Just do three things:

1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people

2) Do it in three days or less

3) Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine
consecutive days.

(please also fast for at least two days during the novena)

Remember that with God all things are possible and the
power of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless
killing of defenseless children then the time is now to do something
about it!

May God bless you all!!”

Urgent Action Needed!

President Elect Barack Obama has a new website in which you can post your comments on his proposed policies. Please go here to voice your opposition to the Freedom of Choice Act.

Will there be a Bailout for the Abortion Industry?

Read the article here from World Net Daily.
Click here for an easy-to-fill-out form petitioning against such a bailout.

What to do now?

I have been giving a great deal of thought to the issue of what to do as a Pro-Life advocate in a country which will now be led by a President and Congress that is largely pro-choice.

President-Elect Barack Obama comes to this position with a great deal of emotional baggage. Perhaps he perceived himself as a burden on his mother and grandmother; else why would he see a child as "punishment" for a mother with an unintended pregnancy?

My thought is that it is possible to change his heart, if he hears enough personal stories to persuade him otherwise. If every mother wrote to him her own personal story of motherhood, and why she is against abortion, I do think it could have an effect upon him. I think people should start writing to him now, as he collects his thoughts on his first actions to take when he is sworn into office.

You can reach Senator Barack Obama at:
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-2854
obama.senate.gov/contact/

A hand-written, heartfelt letter is always the best, but any contact is better than none at all.

UNICEF this Halloween?

A reader commented on one of my UNICEF posts, which was a quote from LifeNews 2006, asking for evidence about the link between UNICEF and abortion providers. The most current report from LifeNews is still warning against giving to UNICEF. For more on this see my detailed comments on last year's post on this topic, which I have updated today in response to the reader. Thanks to a dear friend for her help in getting me the links for these reports.

"Parents Warned Against Giving to UNICEF this Halloween - UNICEF Still Promoting Abortion
By John-Henry Westen

TORONTO, October 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Halloween is here again, and with it the fundraising drive for UNICEF, the so-called children's fund of the United Nations, which has been mired in abortion support for the last twenty years. The organization has not learned from its past and continues to engage in the anti-life agenda. Earlier this month UNICEF joined Planned Parenthood International and the UN's population control arm UNFPA in sponsoring a women's conference, one thirds of which was dedicated to promoting abortion. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101201.html )

UNICEF has been implicated in population control and "family planning" measures for many years as thoroughly documented in Winifride Prestwich's 1993 pamphlet UNICEF: Guilty as charged. The organization descended even further in 1995 when Carol Bellamy, a radical pro-abortion activist, became the executive director of the organization, a post she held till April 2005. From her elevated position, Bellamy turned UNICEF into a more direct force behind the promotion of abortion and abortifacient contraceptives working hand in hand with the notorious UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in such activities. (See LifeSiteNews.com's archive on such UNICEF activities: http://www.lifesite.net/waronfamily/unicef/ )

The change in focus at UNICEF quickly became apparent causing the Vatican's UN Mission to issue a press release in 1996 noting that it was withdrawing its symbolic donation of support to UNICEF. The release noted that UNICEF had "begun to divert some of its already scarce economic and human resources from the care of the most basic needs of children" to abortion supporting activities. (see the Vatican release: http://www.lifesite.net/waronfamily/unicef/vatican1196.html )

Jim Hughes, Vice President of International Right to Life Federation suggested that pro-lifers use the opportunity to give support to international aid organizations assisting mothers and children in the developing world, and at the same time respect the right to life.

Such organizations include:

MaterCare International
http://matercare.org/

Canadian Food for Children
http://www.canadianfoodforchildren.org/

The Holy Childhood Association
http://www.holychildhoodusa.org/

Pro-life supporters looking for a home for their donations can also send assistance to LifeSiteNews.com directly through our website: http://www.lifesite.net/contribute/
"

Pampers not Pro-Life

Those of you who watch television might have seen the Pampers commercial touting its alliance with the abortion-advocating, International Planned Parenthood-allied UNICEF (I wrote on this prior to last Halloween). One box of Pampers = one vaccine to a child in an underdeveloped nation. I have yet to look into what type of vaccines are being used. (See Leticia’s posts where she advocates vaccines completely developed from lines without the use of embryonic cells.) However, the next time I shopped for Pampers, I was automatically looking for the green box with size 4 on it. I have been using Pampers for many years now. They did not have the size I needed, and I was given pause when I saw another size box with the sponsorship for UNICEF now advertised in bold on the box. I begrudgingly grabbed a box of LUVS, which I am not at all happy with, and will try Huggies next time. It strikes me as so contradictory that a company that sells baby products would contribute to a group with anti-life philosophy. After all, they would have so many more bottoms to cover if more babies were born. But then we always knew Lucifer comes as an Angel of Light, didn’t we? Ignorance is bliss when we go shopping, but it can be a real headache once you are armed with a little bit of knowledge. It would be so much easier for us if Pro-life companies formed an alliance with a universal symbol indicating this.

The L-Shaped Room

Just in case you thought the recent boom in “she’s having her baby” movies was a modern one, I would like to bring to your attention the 1962 black-and-white movie “The L-Shaped Room”.

Leslie Caron plays Jane Fossett, an unmarried French woman who goes to London in her second month of pregnancy, hoping to live out the duration in relative anonymity before returning home. Although she hides her situation from her fellow boarders, she does seek out medical advice and reveals that she had left the father of her own accord. She later confides that she had had a moment of weakness with this fellow, losing her virginity and becoming impregnated at the same time.

She soon finds that no-one seems to think she should have the baby. The obstetrician makes an appointment for her to terminate the pregnancy, assuming that was what was warranted. She leaves, insulted and determined to keep the baby. Another boarder, who overhears her telephone call to the doctor, offers her pills to end the pregnancy. She puts them in her pocket and leaves.

In a rash and terrible moment, she takes the pills. When she collapses in the street, she is brought to a hospital, where she finally receives some quality prenatal care. She is thankful that the abortive attempt was unsuccessful. The film ends with a healthy birth and an open ending as to how a romantic interest might play out.

This is a wonderful movie starring an excellent actress. Some adult situations, mild in comparison with today's films. I would preview this film before viewing it with your older teenage daughter.

Mental Illness and Abortion

Royal College warns MPs that women should be warned about risks of mental illness after abortion. Read the article here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3559486.ece

"Emily's Hope", by Ellen Gable

“Emily’s Hope” by Ellen Gable is a semi-autobiographical novel about a young woman, Emily, who, in the course of doing a genealogical high school project, discovers the spotty life history of her great-grandmother, Katharine. Her curiosity continues as she explores the family albums into her forties.

During my reading of the first few chapters I feared the novel would be overly preachy. However, it is soon revealed that the physically innocent Emily is in her heart no saint, and has only remained a virgin for lack of opportunity. She falls prey to the liberal attitudes of the 1970s regarding premarital sex, contraception, and abortion, believing all the above are up to the individual and not harmful to society. As she embarks on her first romantic experiences, I found myself in suspense, hoping that she would still keep herself for marriage.

Emily has the great fortune of falling in love with a spiritual young man who lovingly convinces her that they should wait for marriage and practice Natural Family Planning. The book takes the reader through a long and difficult long-distance courtship and one hopes the young lovers will be able to continue practicing self-restraint. Do they or don’t they? That is part of the page-turning drama, which I will not spoil for the reader.

The chapters alternate between the stories of Emily and Katharine. Katharine does not present as a likable character. Cold, adulterous, and multi-abortive, one wonders what she could possibly have in common with the warm and thoughtful young Emily. Emily discovers with shock that the “BPO-Midwife” entries in her great-grandmother’s ledger refer to a turn-of-the-century practice among midwives of “bringing on the period” by abortion.

As Katharine begins to age, the reader is able to view her choices with more sympathy in light of the circumstances of her life. Emily does not condemn her ancestress, but forgives her poor choices and prays that she has received grace enough to enjoy the afterlife with her Maker.

The stories of both women show how intricately tied together with spiritual well-being is the way in which we use the gift of sexuality that God has given us. Emily and her husband demonstrate that with Natural Family Planning comes love and joy in its fullest. Several quotes from Papal Encyclicals may lead the reader to explore the original texts for themselves. Included at the end of the book are prayers and references that give hope to those who wish to renew their purity, who have had an abortion, or who have suffered a miscarriage.

As a subheading underneath each chapter number is a reference to a scripture, which the author leaves to the reader to look up for oneself. I must confess that, during my initial reading of the book, I was too curious to find out what happens next to the characters to stop and pick up my Bible. However, upon completing the book I looked up each reference and found that each one was carefully picked in a way that would set the tone of each chapter. I wish now that I had kept my Bible by my side while reading the novel through the first time.

There are some mildly descriptive scenes in which both Emily and Katharine miscarry due to tubal pregnancies. The purposes of these sections are not for shock value, but rather to convey the emotional effects on each of the women. Also portrayed are a few near-death experiences as well as a young woman who dies due to an abortive attempt. For this reason, I would not recommend this book for the young, innocent teen. However, lest I scare off the more mature but squeamish reader (as I would describe myself), I will say these scenes are depicted delicately, with much sympathy toward the victims of these tragedies.

Heartbreakingly, Emily and Jay lose six children due to tubal pregnancies and miscarriages. However, they do have at least five sons and hope for more. One of the scripture references is one that I think summarizes the tone and purpose of the book. “But not only that - we even boast of our afflictions! We know that affliction makes for endurance, and endurance for tested virtue, and tested virtue for hope. And this hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5, NAB)

I can see this text as being highly valuable in preparation for marriage. I would recommend reading it together with older teens as part of the discussions of courtship and how best to respect and enjoy God’s gift of sexuality in the context of marriage. Also for older couples who may find something lacking in their relationship, this book may convince them that Natural Family Planning could result in their experiencing marriage in the fullness and joy intended by God.

For more information or to order a copy of the book, go to Full Quiver Publishing (www.fullquiverpublising.com) or write to:
Full Quiver Publishing
P.O. Box 244
Pakenham, Ontario KoA 2Xo
Canada
You may email the author at:
Info@fullquiverpublishing.com

This review has also been posted at a new blog:
"Catholic Media Review:
Shining the Light of Christ on Everything the Media Does"

More Things People Said

This is Part II of yesterday’s post, “Things People Said”.

I was outside after church collecting signatures to stop Governor Eliot Spitzer’s “Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act”, S.5829. (Go to www.nyscatholic.org to take action.)

A woman was signing the letter when she made the most outrageous statement.

“His mother should have had an abortion,” she said, in reference to the originator of the bill.

“That’s a terrible thing to say!” I replied.

“Well, if he wasn’t around we wouldn’t have this bill.”

Spoken while signing a PRO-LIFE letter.

The whole point of the label “pro-life” is that God is the Creator of human life and we have no right to take it away. God has a purpose for every person conceived. We are all sinners, yet his purpose is brought about in ways we cannot imagine.

God hardened Pharoah’s heart so that he would not let the Hebrews go. Yet in the end his actions brought about a cataclysmic series of events that led to their triumphant break from slavery.

Dictators in every era of history arose – why? In history class my teachers spoke of the zeitgeist, or spirit of the times. If it wasn’t Mussolini, it would have been someone else. God handpicked that person for his own reasons. None of us can conceive of his ways.

When we work for any good cause, I hope we can each look into our hearts and pray that our works are done out of love of God and neighbor. And pray that God’s will be done.

“Yet I will make Pharaoh so obstinate that, despite the many signs and wonders that I will work in the land of Egypt, he will not listen to you. Therefore I will lay my hand on Egypt and by great acts of judgment I will bring the hosts of my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt, so that the Egyptians may learn that I am the Lord, as I stretch out my hand against Egypt and lead the Israelites out of their midst.”
Exodus 7:3-5

Picture above: Broadoak St Paul, Dorset

Things People Said

My involvement with the 40 Days for Life program has been a real eye opener into people’s attitudes, even of those who are involved in the pro-life movement.

Today I was outside after church collecting signatures to stop Governor Eliot Spitzer’s “Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act”, S.5829. (Go to www.nyscatholic.org to take action.)

I was working with an elderly couple.

“How many children do you have?” asked the woman.

“Four.”

“It’s a lot of work. I have five.”

“Oh, God bless you!”

“Not really. Put your money in the bank. It’s a better investment.”

I am pretty sure my jaw dropped, and she attempted to soften her comment with “I’m just kidding, of course.”

But her further comments led me to believe she really did hold a bitter view about child-rearing.

“There is one thing you can count on.”

I waited for her to continue, then prodded, “What’s that?”

“They will disappoint you one day.”

I looked at her and felt sad for her. But I also was rather shocked at how she would convey this viewpoint to me, I who am just in the messy midst of the raising of young children. She knew this, too, because she had met them before the Mass.

I asked her if she had any grandchildren. She had eight.

I told her, trying to lighten the mood, “I look forward to having big backyard baseball games with our grandchildren.”

“Don’t count on it,” she said, “They all move away.”

I recounted this conversation to a friend later. She said something must have happened recently with one of her children, and to pray for her.

It gets worse – but I will save that story for my next installment, “More Things People Said”.

Tonight I will dream of playing baseball with my grandchildren in my large yard, which by then will be enfenced with roses of all shades and varieties…

[Picture above: Leigh-on-Mendip St Giles, Somerset]