A resurgence of belief in the power of human sacrifice is sparking terror in the communities surrounding the Ugandan capital of Kampala where hundreds of innocent children are being slaughtered.
Monthly Archives: October 2011
Girl Shortage Leads to Wife Sharing, Rape and Trafficking in India
The practice of female infanticide in India is causing girls to be victimized either at birth, or later on in life when a shortage of marriageable girls is leaving women vulnerable to “wife sharing,” rape, and sex trafficking.
To Treat or Not to Treat? Catholics and Halloween
The annual Halloween debate about whether or not Catholics should participate in this pagan holiday is raging anew, but one Deacon in the Diocese of Portland suggests that instead of continuing in our love-hate relationship with this holiday, we turn it into a valuable teaching moment for our children.
7 Billionth Baby Born Today
Population experts predict that at some time today, in either China or India, the seventh billionth baby – probably a boy – will be born.
The Rosary
Our Lady’s Rosary
Dear Mother, I bring Thee roses
Because they are so sweet,
But lilies, my favorite flowers
I am placing at Thy feet.
Accept with each Hail Mary
A rose for Thy crown so bright,
Please don’t forget the lilies,
The lilies so pure and white.
Let them be a bond of love
And understanding rare,
And send a blessing from above
In answer to my prayer.
Loneliness would be unknown
If more people came to Thee,
With their trials and sorrows
And said their Rosary.
With each Hail Mary, they would find
Their load much lighter grow,
And in humility, kiss the cross
In peace, would onward go.
Alice W. Sparks
For Reflection:
How has my load been made lighter this past month as I have prayed the Rosary? Am I willing to make the Rosary a daily prayer? Why or why not?
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The Rosary
“I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you, Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: confidently take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives. May this appeal of mine not go unheard!”
Pope John Paul II
For Reflection:
How will I respond to this urgent appeal of Pope John Paul II?
Outside/Inside — What the Connection?
Have you ever noticed the connection between what is going on in your interior life and what is taking place exteriorly? Often, Our Lord uses the events and circumstances of our daily life to draw attention to a work He is doing deep within us.
Let me give you an example. Several years ago I was sitting in my family room deep in prayer. I had just meditated on a particular passage of Scripture and was earnestly seeking what the Lord was saying to me through it.
Interiorly, I was very aware of His presence and I knew He was about a work of grace. As I waited in silence, listening for His voice with my “spiritual” ears, I seemed to hear Him tell me He was healing me of a great hurt and that He was about a work of restoration in me. He seemd to say that He was making new a certain area of my being (2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5).
Just as these words were penetrating my heart, I audibly heard a loud ripping noise that sounded like the very roof was being torn off of my house! Startled, I all but jumped off of the couch. My eyes flew open and it took a second or two to realize what was going on. I had recently hired workmen to replace the screening around my pool area and they had begun to strip away the old material at the very moment Our Lord was telling me He was making all things new!
Tears sprang to my eyes even as I began to laugh out loud. How poignantly God was emphasizing His work! He was stripping away the debris of my woundedness and replacing it with new life — and He had seen fit to accompany His work with sound effects to make the point!
What is happening in your life today? Is it worth a bit of reflection to see what God might be saying to you through it? Remember what Jesus tells us in Matthew’s gospel, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you…” (7:7). Let’s ask, seek, and find that which God is about in us today. He may well be making a very big statement!
The Rosary
“Into [the Rosary] one may take his whole life – joys and sorrows, men and things, everything – as he would take it to someone whose presence he finds restful, not to find out how he might act with more success, but to put everything into a proper light.”
Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
Do I bring the whole of my life to the Rosary when I pray? What is the difference between going to pray searching for an answer and going to prayer seeking wisdom? Which is the greater gift? How can the Rosary help me to attain it?
Facebook Photo of Down Syndrome “Survivor” Goes Viral
The photo of adorable five year-old Boaz Reigstad holding a sign that says “I am the 10 percent of children with Down Syndrome who survived Roe v. Wade” has become a sensation on Facebook.
White House Official Named Planned Parenthood VP
The cozy relationship between the Obama Administration and the abortion industry became even more apparent yesterday when it announced that Dana Singiser, who currently works in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, will be leaving her post in December to take a position as Vice President for Public Policy at Planned Parenthood.
