1-16-07
Greetings!
Next Monday is the 34th tragic anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion (Roe v. Wade). In recent years we have looked down our noses, aghast at how little, people (Catholics especially) appeared to do to prevent the Holocaust. "How could so many sit by idly amidst such horror?" "Why didn't they do something?" we wonder. Remember Hitler was democratically elected. You already know where I'm going with this….
When the abortion holocaust has ended, history will also judge us by asking "what did you do to prevent such atrocities?"
Even more profound is what awaits us on Judgment Day when we come face to face with God to give an account of our own life. And when He asks, what did you do to prevent the killing of the most innocent in the womb? What did you do to help mothers in such difficult circumstances that they'd even consider an abortion? What did you do to vote into office those who would help make abortion illegal again? And how will we respond? There is no excuse for doing nothing. There are houses, (Hannah House) to help mothers in difficult circumstances. Do you support them? St. Peter's Family Life Committee has set up a Spiritual Adoption prayer effort that lasts 9 months. Did you take advantage of that? This Monday there is a day of prayer at St. Peter's for an end to this tragedy. Will you come? 3 busses from the Diocese of LaCrosse are taking young people to Washington D.C. for the National March for Life. Did you support them? When the time comes to give an accounting. how will you respond?
A Catholic knows its cold when
As the temperature dips into the low single digits (or below zero according to some), I ran into some particularly Catholic experiences this morning. So here is my "A Catholic knows it is cold when:"
- Your lips freeze to the metal crucifix as you kiss your Rosary for the morning commute.
- You bless yourself with holy ice instead of holy water from the font by the front door.
- You experience an apparition walking by the front yard statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary; she isn't crying, but she appears to be shivering.
- The Rosary swinging from the rear view mirror chips ice off the windshield as you slam on the brakes.
Source: http://un-muted.blogspot.com/2007/01/catholic-knows-its-cold-when.html
Somewhat surprisingly, there are more people traveling to Rome to see Pope Benedict then came in the years JPII was pope. No doubt JPII is helping people along from heaven!
3.2 Million Visited Pope in 2006
VATICAN CITY
, JAN. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- More than 3.2 million faithful and pilgrims attended public meetings in 2006 with Benedict XVI in the Vatican or the papal summer residence.
The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household reported this figure, which does not include those who attended meetings with the Pope during his apostolic visits within and outside of Italy.
The number of faithful and pilgrims includes participants in the Wednesday general audiences, special audiences, liturgical celebrations and the recitation of the Angelus.
Last year, 45 general audiences were held, attended by a total of 1,031,500 visitors.
Special audiences gathered 357,120 visitors.
Crowds were the largest in April with 196,000 individuals attending celebrations.
In addition, 1,295,000 people took part in the recitation of the Angelus.
In 2005, when Benedict XVI began his pontificate, some 2.85 million people attended public meetings with the Pope.
ZE07010923
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This is a fascinating site that an awful lot of work went into. Based on census information, they have mapped the percentage of religious affiliation in every county throughout the US. Take a look, it's interesting stuff!
http://robotwisdom.com/issues/religmaps.html
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Abortion
Would you consider abortion in the following situations?
1. There's a preacher and wife who are very, very, poor. They already have 14 kids. Now she finds out she's pregnant with her 15 th. They're living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty, and the excessive world population (editorial note: overpopulation has now been shown to be false), would you consider recommending she get an abortion?
2. The father is sick with sniffles, the mother has TB. They have 4 children. The 1st is blind, the 2 nd is dead; the 3rd is deaf; the 4th has TB. She finds she's pregnant again. Given the extreme situation, would you consider recommending an abortion?
3. A white man raped a 13 year-old black girl and she got pregnant. If you were her parents, would you consider recommending abortion?
4. A teenage girl is pregnant. She's not married. Her finace' is not the father of the baby and he's very upset. Would you consider recommending abortion?
-In the first case, you have just killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists of the 19 th century.
-In the second case, you have killed Beethoven.
-In the third case, you have killed Ethel Waters, the great black gospel singer.
-If you said "yes" in the fourth case, you have just declared the murder of Jesus Christ!
-Author Unknown
Finally—attached is the flier for our 4th Annual College-Age Retreat. This has proven to be a very fruitful time. In fact, we just had our 1st marriage come out of one of these weekends this past summer. Likewise, we sent one of our young men to seminary from a past retreat. Feel free to pass this on to any young person you know who would find this fruitful. We attract young people from around the state, and it's hard to top our leaders, especially Fr. Joe Hirsch! Likewise, please keep this event in your prayers.
God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
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