40 Days For Life

This morning I attended Mass with my good friends Karen, Stan and their daughter Jenna to kick off the 40 Days For Life campaign.  Hard to believe the election is so close.  It's time for all Christians to get involved.  Here is a link to explain activities in your local diocese and around the country: http://www.40daysforlife.com/.  There are also devotionals and prayers available if you are not able to attend activities.  This is important for our children, grandchildren and all future generations.  Stand up for life.  Have a voice.  Choose your political candidates wisely . . .

In todays Gospel (Luke 9:1-6), Jesus requires us to proclaim the Good News . . . and choosing life is a priority in our times:

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them." Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

And, in Volume One, Jesus calls us to action for the defenseless unborn:

"The modern world tries to persuade you to think that life is complex. Most issues are simple. For example, abortion is murder, dear ones. Do not be fooled. Children are your treasure, regardless of when your heavenly Father decides to send them. That issue is not complex and I need My children to be courageous in defending the lives of the unborn children of God. Your generation is suffering untold calamities because of this grave, grave sin. Be alert, My children, and I will instruct you in your role. But truly I say to you, all of heaven cries out against this crime. How long can your God remain silent in the face of these pleas? I am with you. I love you. I will remain with you in a special way, and anything you are asked to do for Me will be accompanied by such graces that it will be easy to accomplish. But you must remain close to Me. It is only when you drift off and close your ears to Me that your life becomes complex again. Be happy, dear ones. All of heaven stands ready to assist you."

Lay apostles, unite with your brothers and sisters in prayer to end abortion.  Participate in the 40 Days For Life activities.  Choose your political candidates on who Christ would choose . . . I know He would steer clear of anyone promoting the killing of such a defenseless population.  Please, now more than ever, be a Christian and help turn this beautiful country toward God again.  

Thank you, Lord, for praying the Rosary today with so many loving, kind people standing up for life.  And, I pray every Christian takes a look at what is happening to this country, seriously considering what is the best choice in favor of our dear, sweet Jesus.

God bless,

Bonnie

Here are pics from today's walk:

Faithful Citizenship

Politics are not my cup of tea.  When I do occasionally watch the news, the media's liberal agenda has me aggravated within the first few minutes. My oldest daughter and her husband who live and breathe politics in DC learned very quickly why I don't watch the news. I stayed with them the whole month of April for the birth of my grandson. Every night FOX news or some news broadcast was on . . . for hours at a time!  After the first week, I became quite irate during those hours listening to complete nincompoops voice their opinions.  It became a joke with my daughter.  When she would realize I was getting upset, she would jokingly say to her husband, "Kev, turn the channel.  Mom is getting angry!"  


Last night I attended a meeting regarding Faithful Citizenship which is a teaching document on the political responsibilities of Catholics written by U.S. bishops.  It is a must read, even if you're not Catholic.  Here is the link: 


http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship-document.cfm


And for further reading pleasure, the speaker last night informed us of a document comparing Republican and Democratic platforms.  This is NOT written by Catholics.  These are the actual platforms of each party. It's on the web for everyone to see and understand what each party stands for. Here is a link to the comparisons:


http://www.politicalresponsibility.com/comparison_side1.pdf
http://www.politicalresponsibility.com/comparison_side2.pdf

When reading today's Gospel (John 17:11b-19) think about the documents in the above links. Evil is prevalent in our society.  As Christians, Jesus is our armor to fight for what is right . . . sanctity of life. Below, Jesus is praying for our protection to His Father in heaven:

I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One.

Do the right thing, fellow lay apostles.  Stand up for what you know is right.  Stand up for Jesus.

In Anne a lay apostle's book The Mist of Mercy, she gets right to the point when it comes to accountability:

"The enemy tells God that we, who were created to develop in the image and likeness of God, have developed into the image and likeness of God’s enemy instead. Imagine God’s pain. Let political leaders and all Christians be warned. You cannot be friends with Jesus Christ and accept abortion. The truth will emerge and each soul will be accountable."

There are approximately 1.21 million abortions performed in the U.S. every year according to AGI (http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/). And, 42 million worldwide! That means billions of hurting women (and men), most not ready to admit what they did was wrong. It's too painful. So they become pro-choice as a way of dealing with the shame.  How do I know this?  Because I was one of those women when I was 18.  Somehow being pro-choice made me feel what I did wasn't so bad.  It took going to Confession after 25 years of thinking I didn't need it to make me realize admitting my mistake gave me the freedom from my past I had been searching for. We all make mistakes.  Sometimes grave mistakes. But believe me, once you come to grips with what you've done, lean on our Savior for strength and courage.  He has so much love for His lost souls. Go to Him. He is waiting to heal you.  

Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength and courage to speak up about my past. I pray it leads other hurting women (and men) to You and Your Mercy.  I promise to remain politically involved and fight for our religious freedom.  Although, I won't be staying current via the TV news! 

God bless,

Bonnie