Get ready for Candlemas

Next Tuesday is Candlemas, or Feast of the Presentation. While this is not a Holy Day of Obligation, it is a wonderful Holy Day of Opportunity. Gather up devotional candles and take them to Mass on February 2nd so that they can be blessed. Read more here.

March for Life

Real life has kept me away from the computer for a few days, but I've put up a brief report on the March for Life here. It was truly an inspiring experience to walk with hundreds of thousands of people in solidarity with the unborn and all of those who are vulnerable to the Culture of Death.

What struck me most was the sheer youth of the marchers. This throng of hundreds of thousands of marchers was predominantly people under the age of thirty. They were joyful, enthusiastic, and uncompromisingly committed to the sanctity of human life. The supporters of abortion took notice.

The Washington Post sent a pro-abortion columnist Robert McCarntney to cover the March for Life. His response is interesting. Here is a snippet, but do read his whole report. Then take heart and keep fighting for the Culture of Life.

I went to the March for Life rally Friday on the Mall expecting to write about its irrelevance. Isn't it quaint, I thought, that these abortion protesters show up each year on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, even though the decision still stands after 37 years. What's more, with a Democrat in the White House likely to appoint justices who support abortion rights, surely the Supreme Court isn't going to overturn Roe in the foreseeable future.

How wrong I was. The antiabortion movement feels it's gaining strength, even if it's not yet ready to predict ultimate triumph, and Roe supporters (including me) are justifiably nervous.

As always, we in Washington enjoy an up-close view of the health of various causes because of the city's role as the nation's most important setting for political demonstrations. In this case, I was especially struck by the large number of young people among the tens of thousands at the march. It suggests that the battle over abortion will endure for a long time to come.

"We are the pro-life generation," said signs carried by the crowd, about half its members appearing to be younger than 30. There were numerous large groups of teenagers, many bused in by Roman Catholic schools and youth groups. They and their adult leaders said the youths were taught from an early age to oppose abortion.

National March for Life in D.C. just over a week away

Unfortunately, there is still a dire need for the National March for Life. The good news is there are hundreds of thousands of Americans committed to the sanctity of human life to meet this need. Will you be there on January 22, 2010? Find out more here.

Pope Benedict XVI calls for support of families and young people

Pope Benedict XVI received Gianni Alemanno, mayor of the City of Rome, Esterino montino, vice president of the Region of Lazio, Italy, and Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Province of Rome for the traditional exchange of New Year greetings. The Holy Father touched on several issues in his address to these local leaders, however, in light of my previous post, these words stood out:

"When educating on the great questions of affectivity and sexuality, which are so important for life, we must avoid showing adolescents and young people ways that tend to devalue these fundamental dimensions of human existence. To this end the Church calls for everyone to collaborate, especially those who work in schools, to educate the young to a lofty vision of human love and sexuality. Thus I invite everyone to understand that, in pronouncing her 'noes', the Church is really saying 'yes' to life, to love lived in the truth of the giving of self to the other, to the love that opens up to life and does not close itself in a narcissistic view of the couple".

Symptoms of our Cultural Malaise

I've been teaching seventh grade CCD for several years now. In our parish, this is the Confirmation prep year. The students will be confirmed in the fall of their eighth grade year. Please, please, please, hit your knees and offer a prayer for all "tweens" and their families. What I hear every week reveals a great poison in our culture.

Recently, our class was discussing virtue. Specifically, we were covering the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. In discussing the virtue of hope, I explained that hope is what allows us to trust God. Because we trust God, we are able to submit to His will when our own will would lead us in a different direction. Naturally, these students think of moral strictures regarding sexuality when they think of this topic. I explained that sexual activity is a gift from God and can only be properly expressed in the total self giving between a husband and a wife. This prompted one student to blurt out, "You mean my mother was wrong to have an affair?" She had seen her mother be unfaithful. All the television shows have characters being unfaithful in marriage. This looked very normal to her. As I listened to the students chat among themselves, I heard them speak of how often the boyfriend/girlfriend of their divorced parents moved in with them.

I've mentioned before that when we cover each of the seven sacraments, marriage is the hardest sacrament for these students to understand. Most of them have some experience with divorce, either with their own parents or with close relatives. The idea of marriage lasting a lifetime seems to be the anomaly rather than the norm.

We can work hard to make our marriages models of holiness for our own children as well as for the world around us. However, our culture is awash in false ideas of sexuality, marriage, and family. Think about this as you watch your favorite television program. How many characters display the virtue of chastity? How many characters honor their marriage vows? A heavy dose of prayer is an essential component of the cure for this cultural malady.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Bishops call Catholics to action

Read about the latest call to action on health care reform by the USCCB.

Testing the Water

Life is always changing. As of today it looks like I will be dipping my toes back in the employment waters. Now that one child is launched and married, two are in college, and one is nearly half-way through high school I am looking for a little paid employment. I will be teaching human anatomy and physiology at the local community college. I've never had any desire to get back into clinical medicine. The lawyers and the insurance companies took all the fun out of that. If I think about it, what I really loved about practicing medicine was the teaching. Family physicians don't cure a lot. What we do is educate our patients on both preventive and therapeutic measures for their health. So I guess I will let my inner teacher come out. School starts in a week. I have a lot to do to get ready. Lesson plans, labs, paperwork, etc are waiting for me.