Sanctity of Life Sunday 2016

If I had thought about it more, I would have realized that today is National Sanctity of Life Sunday. After all the anniversary (I dislike using that normally happy word) of the erroneous Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton decisions is on January 22nd. As it is, I had forgotten. There was also not a mention in the bulletin or homily or even the petitions during Mass. But social media came to the rescue when someone liked a Facebook post of mine from two years ago.

So why is it that the unborn and their corresponding legislative milestones are so easy to bypass or forget? When even a prolife priest and a prolife family would have missed the significance of this day, one has to wonder.

Silent No More

When we join post-abortive women who vow to be Silent No More and share the hurt they have experienced through a decision made long ago, we should keep this topic close to our hearts - always. When we have dedicated much of our adult life to the prolife movement, how can it be so easy to forget? After all, we've marched and petitioned and written and prayed - for the babies and their families. But even when that is our intention, it is just too easy to forget - to push the outrage and sorrow into the background. Especially when good people tend to fall into the trap of doing nothing - saying nothing.

What About Jesus?

But is that what we should allow to happen? No. Yet as easy as it is to sometimes shove the unpleasant out of the forefront of our minds, we do the same to Jesus on a daily basis. Try as we might, we let mundane or worldly aspects of life take over our here and now. Our Lord and Savior doesn't occupy all 24 hours of each day either, and He deserves to accompany us even in our dreams.

What would He have us do? A good start is to heighten our awareness, immerse ourselves in information, spiritual endeavors, and love of others. The more we put practice to our sentiments, the more the issue of following Jesus, living His love, and abhorring abortion becomes an issue at the forefront of our minds.

Worthy Reading, Worthy Circles

In order to give those important people and topics their due, it is good to bring our focus on the important things in life. This begs the question, "what is our focus in reading, in speaking, and prayer?" Do we bring our minds, and therefore our hearts, toward worthy interests? Or do we seek to only entertain ourselves with worldly reading and entertainment?

In order to empty ourselves of worldly pursuits, it would be of benefit to take on a mission of adding spiritual reading to our day - even if it only involves reading and meditating on a daily chapter. One book that is currently inspiring me is Rediscover Jesus: An Open Invitation by Matthew Kelly.

I owe this type of reading to a priest we know and admire. During confession one Sunday, this particular priest asked me a question, "What type of spiritual reading do you do?" He didn't want the list of informational reading I shared - he wanted me to focus on spiritual reading. I had no suitable answer. Apparently I was in the habit of studying faith and other topics of interest, but had failed to read spiritually beneficial books.

That changed with his penance - he instructed me to read Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Michael Gaitley. Before this, I had been blind to the fact that my reading material wasn't so much an attempt to improve my relationship with Jesus as it was to discover and delve into facts. Slowly that is changing now. I am still a self-proclaimed nerd when it comes to fact-finding, but I have added more spiritual reading to the mix as well.

What Does That Have to Do with Sanctity of Life Sunday?

When we work on our faith life, instead of just being able to pour out numerous statistics and biological facts, our hearts soften. We become a "litte Christ" as our Pastor put it today during his homily. Others are able to more clearly see that we are not a people of judgment; we become a people of love and tenderness. We will always be called to make judgments about whether or not an act is virtuous or immoral, but we will focus less on winning the battle and more on an encounter with each person - where they are.

As Father told us today, we need to think of the lines of a famous song, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." On this Sanctity of Life Sunday, let us all strive to promote peace - in the womb and in our hearts.

Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love. ~ Saint John of the Cross

Did you hear a prolife homily or prayers of the faithful today? Do you, on a regular basis? Share your thoughts and let us pray for one another as we strive toward being the saints Jesus calls us to be.

7 Favorite Pro-Life Posts - Remembering the Unborn on January 22

Today is the 41st anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision. Here we are, 55 million dead babies later and still we're advocating for the unborn - but we are making some amazing headway. In keeping with today's theme, I've gathered some of my favorite, or most popular, pro-life posts. I hope you'll join me in marking this day with the unborn in your prayers and in your heart.

Are You Smarter Than a 4-year-old? 

This post shows how kids, unfettered by preconceived notions, 'get it' when it comes to the humanity of the unborn.

The Aborted Generations - Faceless Group or Beloved Individuals?

Thinking of the unborn as individuals, personalizes the picture of abortion for me. Those millions of faceless babies - represented by crosses, memes, or other pro-life tactics - could have been, should have been just as amazing as any one of us.

When a Pro-Life Victory Doesn’t Mean You’re Winning

At 20 weeks all babies feel pain, yet legislation has excepted babies conceived in rape and incest as well as including a 'life of the mother' clause. This type of incremental thinking may not be the way to go...

Let's Stop Nitpicking Abortion

Instead of getting lost in the details, we should consider the big picture. The humanity of the unborn, now irrefutably proven by science, is all the consideration we need to apply. All pro-choice arguments are thus moot.

Pope Francis Wants a Mess? Let's Stir Up Some Pro-life Passion

Pope Francis was quoted as telling the attendees at World Youth Day to 'make a mess' and 'take the Church to the streets'. Of course, my instant reaction was to find a way to inspire and encourage pro-life advocates to become foot soldiers for Life.

The Unborn as Lazarus

The plight of Lazarus was not due to anything the rich man did to Lazarus - the sin came from inaction - because he also didn't do anything for him. How do we measure up in regards to the unborn? Are they on our 'action list'?

Abortion Takes a Human Life - What More Needs to Be Said?

There has also been much talk about exceptions, when it comes to the pro-life issue. Some say that it’s okay to compromise, that babies born with defects, conceived by rape, or who endanger their mother’s health are somehow less worthy of being saved. They are expendable. Of course, we know this isn't so.

If you enjoyed the stories and the accompanying pro-LIFE memes, join Designs by Birgit on Facebook. I freely share hundreds of my memes with anyone willing to post them.

Sanctity of Life Sunday - Created in His Image

And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7

The Lord God Our Creator distinguished us from all the other creatures of the earth by forming us from dust and breathing an eternal soul into our bodies. We are His children, and as such occupy a unique place in this life and in the next. When pro-abortion people speak of the unborn, they attempt to dehumanize them - an effort to diminish their place in society. This perverted attitude toward the unborn has lead to a society no longer respectful of the human person nor his soul. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014 will mark the 41st year of legalized abortion. Let us never forget that we are God's chosen ones, carrying His breath, in the form of an eternal soul within our being. Even at fertilization that soul has a destiny - to live as a child of God and to love and serve Him alone. May we aid society in recognizing this aspect of humanity by our prayers, love, and education of others. God bless those who will be participating in the 41st Annual March for Life and all other pro-life activities scheduled in our efforts in calling attention to the need for the respect of all life. As we are told in Romans 8:31, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?"

Update: National Sanctity of Life Sunday 2016

Tweet with Us at The March for Life in DC - #SistasMFL13

As you may know, I also write for a rapidly growing blog consisting of women from across our great nation. If you already follow the Catholic Sistas blog on Twitter, you've seen us working on some tweets for tomorrow's 40th annual March for Life. With the help of some local friends and Ink Slingers, we will be peppering our account between now and the end of the March tomorrow with various tweets and pics. We will also be posting a live tweet widget just for this event that you can follow on the home page of the website. You can easily follow the party by searching the hash tag #SistasMFL13 as well as including it in your own tweets. We look forward to seeing you over there! Let's make our voices heard for the voices too weak to defend themselves.

My daughter is also an Ink Slinger for Catholic Sistas and is reporting live from Washington DC. Stay tuned for more information as she provides it.

God bless the pilgrims on this crucial ministry!

My daughter and the Social Concerns director.

Crossing the Potomac on a snowy day.

Viewing pro-life exhibits.

The view from their hotel.

Use our Twitter hashtag for the March for Life in DC, 2013. #SistasMFL13 @Catholic_Sistas on Twitter