Archive for the ‘Freedom’ Category
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
This week we observe Thanksgiving Day. We rejoice in the God who has given us life and freedom. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were godly men, who understood their dependence on God and the fact that He was the source of all their blessings. The single most frequently used source for their ideas and writings was the Bible, and they taught that the nation they were founding could never survive without the worship of God and adherence to His law. They did not believe in the kind of separation of Church and state that some espouse today; in fact, the phrase is found nowhere in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. Rather, the Declaration declares our dependence upon God four separate times. Let us give thanks for our nation and for our faith.
Great tool for planning your pro-life activities: The 2012 Priests for Life calendar is a great way to keep pro-life front and center in your home throughout the year. Click here to order yours today.
Posted in Freedom | 28 Comments »
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Advocates of abortion have always tried to hijack the language and concept of freedom. The reality of killing a child has been camouflaged in the words “freedom of choice.” Yet Scripture makes clear the real meaning of freedom. In Exodus seven sixteen, God has Moses tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go.” But here, and in the following chapters, this command in its fullness is, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.” Freedom has a content. It is not a cloak for whatever we want to do; it is a road to serve the Lord. And the service of the Lord means there are some things we always choose and some things that we always reject. The service of the Lord is a way of life – indeed a narrow way. Yet to follow it is freedom.
Must-have pro-life book: Ending Abortion; Not Just Fighting It is a collection of lifesaving and informative pro-life essays from Fr. Pavone. Click here to order your signed copy today.
Posted in Abortion, Abortionists, Catholic, Compassion, Courage, Divine Love, Evangelization, Faith, Freedom, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Hope, Jesus, Peace, Pro-Life, Religion, Right to Life, Ten Commandments | 16 Comments »
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
We sometimes hear from those on the other side of the pro-life battle that they want to work together with us to “reduce the need for abortion.” It is part of our pro-life mission to reduce the numbers of abortions, and in fact our goal is not just to reduce but to end it. We have to start by making it clear that there is no need for abortion in the first place. No abortion is necessary, neither medically, nor morally. Women get abortions not because of freedom of choice, but because they feel they have no freedom and no choice. Yet when the People of God provide better choices, the way is clear to help both mother and child. Yes, we will reduce abortions, but let’s never imply there is a need for abortion.
Posted in Abortion, Activism, Freedom, Hope, Pro-Life | 847 Comments »
Friday, August 5th, 2011
GERMANTOWN, MD. – Kelly Stauffer, who underwent a late-term abortion at the age of 14, will be a featured speaker this evening at 7 p.m. as the Summer of Mercy 2.0 continues outside the office of LeRoy Carhart.
Ms. Stauffer is a member of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, the largest mobilization of men and women who speak out about their abortion experience. In her testimony, she will describe her experience as a young, pregnant teenager whose parents turned to the late-term abortionist George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas, to end her five-month pregnancy.
Her ordeal lasted five days, and immediately after the abortion, she said during an earlier protest outside Carhart’s office, “I knew I had killed my own child.” A downward spiral followed, with countless visits to therapists and prescriptions for anti-depressants that did not help. Ten years after the abortion, she found a therapist who diagnosed the source of her pain and recommended she attend a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat to find healing.
Now 29, married and the mother of a toddler, Ms. Stauffer said her abortion experience “still hurts.”
“Many defend legal abortion using the slogan ‘freedom of choice,’ ” said Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and pastoral director of Rachel’s Vineyard and of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign. “The irony of course is that women seeking abortions do not do so because of freedom of choice. They do so precisely because they feel they have no freedom and no choice. Kelly Stauffer’s story is a poignant example of that.”
Father Pavone, who delivered the keynote address on the opening night of the Summer of Mercy 2.0, urged anyone who is able to attend the remaining days of the rally to make plans to do so. Carhart closed his office this week to avoid the protests, and organizers are hoping to keep the abortion mill shut for another week at least. Large turnouts over the weekend can help make that a reality.
Summer of Mercy 2.0 participants gather outside Carhart’s clinic at 8 a.m., noon and 7 p.m. for formal prayer and worship, and to hear from nationally known speakers. Smaller groups maintain vigil throughout the day.
“We are really encouraged by the participation from the local churches. Men and women who have never stood outside an abortion clinic before are bringing their families to the streets to stand for life,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, a key organizer of the event. “It is great to see so many new people being brought into the movement and activated.”
To see a video of Ms. Stauffer’s Silent No More testimony, go to www.silentnomoreawareness.org/video/video.aspx?testimonyid=5116
For information about the Summer of Mercy, visit http://summerofmercy.com
Posted in Abortion, Abortionists, Activism, Awareness, Freedom, Late-term abortion | 384 Comments »
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
One day, the Lord Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain, and was transfigured before their eyes. His clothes became as bright as the sun, Moses and Elijah were seen speaking with him about his upcoming passion, and the Father’s voice was heard declaring that he was his Son.
All this was a sign to those apostles that they should not be troubled by the events that would unfold. The betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus were to fulfill the Father’s plan for our salvation.
The Transfiguration is also a sign to us. Circumstances can make us forget that every human life is part of the Father’s plan, and that the glory of God is to be seen in every person, no matter how burdensome, unplanned, or ill that person may be.
Posted in Abortion, Activism, Apostles, Awareness, Catholic, Charity, Choice, Compassion, Conscience, Conversion, Courage, Despair, Divine Love, Divine Providence, Evangelization, Faith, Faithfulness, Fear, Freedom, Help, Hope, Humility, Jesus, Logic, Mercy, Prayer, Pro-Life, Providence, Redemption, Religion, Resurrection, Saints, Self-sacrifice, Service | 373 Comments »
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
ATLANTA — Dr. Alveda C. King, Director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life, today mourned the passing of the Rev. Howard Creecy Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
“Howard will be sorely missed. He was a man of integrity and deep compassion,” said Dr. King
Rev. Creecy, 57, died Thursday, July 28, at his Atlanta home. The cause of death has not yet been determined.
He was elected to lead the SCLC in January, when Bernice King, the daughter of SCLC co-founder Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., declined the position. A third-generation preacher, he also was the senior pastor of Olivet Church in Fayette, Ga.
When he assumed the SCLC post, Rev. Creecy acknowledged that internal divisions had troubled the 54-year-old organization in recent years. His goal was to get past those divisions and move the organization forward with a clearly defined mission.
SCLC spokesman Maynard Eaton told Reuters that Rev. Creecy “saved this organization. It was on the brink of disaster. He became this organization’s lifeline with his charisma and his preacher passion.”
Dr. King was looking forward to working with Rev. Creecy to raise awareness of the devastating impact of abortion on the African-American community.
“Howard and I spoke just a few weeks ago at a women’s conference honoring both our mothers. He stopped me in the hallway and said, ‘Alveda, we should meet soon. I am with you in the fight for life.’ He went on to say that he had attended a pro-life prayer meeting with Dr. Billy Graham, and had also participated in Operation Rescue pro-life rallies.”
Isaac Newton Farris Jr., a nephew of Martin Luther King Jr., has been named interim president, the organization said.
Rev. Creecy is survived by his wife, Yolanda Grier Creecy, and two children. The funeral will be Saturday at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Posted in Abortion, African-American, Alveda King, Civil Rights, Compassion, Courage, Ethics, Faith, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Freedom, Human Rights, Law, Political Responsibility, Prayer, Pro-Life, Religion, Right to Life, Self-sacrifice | 1,135 Comments »
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
So many pro-life leaders I know, including myself, have been falsely accused in public of advocating or even doing violence. Pregnancy centers, which compassionately serve parents and their babies every day, have been falsely accused of deceiving the public. Activists who try to change the laws have been falsely accused of opposing democracy.
The litany goes on and on, and proves that pro-life people are living this beatitude. They should rejoice, for their reward in heaven indeed is great. The children, who cannot know how much pro-life people love them, cannot repay them. They will be repaid in the resurrection of the just.
Posted in Abortion, Abortionists, Activism, Apostles, Awareness, Catholic, Charity, Compassion, Courage, Despair, Divine Love, Evangelization, Faith, Faithfulness, Fear, Freedom, Holy Innocents, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Hope, Humility, Mercy, Peace, Political Responsibility, Prayer, Pregnancy Resource Centers, Pro-Life, Religion, Self-sacrifice, Service, Ten Commandments, Testimony, True Freedom, Truth | 462 Comments »
Thursday, July 14th, 2011
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The person who lives the Beatitudes knows that God is the source of all he needs. Although he develops his human skills and asserts himself as necessary, the Lord’s servant never believes he has to hurt another to get what he needs. The meek are strong and secure in their dependence on God. They will have a healthy ability to fight for their rights, but will not do so with an anxious need to dominate. In the Lord, they know they will inherit the earth.
The Culture of Death, on the contrary, is built on the idea that sometimes you have to do violence to advance your rights, your career, or your freedom. The violence of abortion is seen as a path to fulfillment.
Posted in Abortion, Freedom, Pro-Life, True Freedom | 108 Comments »
Friday, July 1st, 2011
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite days.
Living across the street from a public high school field from which the town fireworks display was launched each year made it extra special, as did the presence of many relatives and friends who would come to our house to celebrate the day (as well as my father’s and brother’s birthdays).
As a priest, furthermore, I enjoy offering the prayers of the liturgy for Independence Day. The Preface is particularly inspiring. It reads in part:
“[Christ] spoke to men a message of peace and taught us to live as brothers. His message took form in the vision of our Fathers, as they fashioned a nation where men might live as one. This message lives on in our midst as a task for men today and a promise for tomorrow. We thank you, Father, for Your blessings in the past, and for all that, with Your help, we must yet achieve” (Sacramentary, Preface for Independence Day I, P82).
The blessings we give thanks for on the Fourth of July are many. I have come to realize that more than ever as I have had occasion to speak on almost every continent. We give thanks not only for material possessions and for freedom, but for the vision behind them. The vision is that “men might live as one”; the vision is that all will be welcomed, as the Statue of Liberty symbolizes; the vision is that “all are created equal”; the vision is “liberty and justice for all.”
It is a vision that we do not merely look back on, thanking God that our Founding Fathers had it. It is, rather, a vision which is “a task for today and a promise for tomorrow.”
This is why the pro-life movement is so American. It is a movement striving to achieve welcome for those of whom Roe v. Wade spoke when it said, “The word ‘person,’ as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn” (Roe at 158). Roe excluded; the pro-life movement includes. Roe made the circle of persons in America smaller; the pro-life movement seeks to expand it.
One Fourth of July, some friends of mine and I held a banner in front of my house as all the people gathered across the street for the fireworks. It said, “Pray to end Abortion.” One man, expressing agreement with the message, questioned whether it was the right setting to deliver it. “Of course it is,” I explained. “This is the day we celebrate a nation in which all are supposed to be considered equal. What better way to celebrate our freedom than to work to extend it to others?”
I pray you will all enjoy this Fourth of July. I know I will, as I watch the fireworks right from home. As I celebrate Mass that day, I will pray that this year’s celebration will renew your determination to work for justice and freedom for all unborn Americans.
Posted in Abortion, Activism, Freedom, Human Rights, Jesus, Prayer, Pro-Life | 2,165 Comments »
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
The celebration of our nation’s independence is an important moment to reflect on the blessings of God, the meaning of freedom, and the task to expand the blessings of freedom to our unborn brothers and sisters who are still enslaved by our nation’s abortion policies. That’s why Priests for Life begins this Sunday a special novena of prayer for our nation, in preparation for Independence Day. You can download the prayer at priestsforlife.org. The prayer reminds us that our Founding Fathers took inspiration from the Gospel in founding this nation, and that our task is to secure liberty and justice not just for some, but for all, including the unborn. Please visit priestsforlife.org, download the Independence Day Novena, and invite your family, pro-life groups, schools and parishes to take part in it.
Posted in Abortion, Faith, Freedom, Political Responsibility, Prayer, Pro-Life | 2,668 Comments »
