This last Friday I had to fill in for my pastor, Fr. Phillips, and give the final prayer and blessing at the Allied Women's Center Gala. It was a wonderful event and I was very honored to be able to be a part of it. The prayer below was what I offered. You are welcome to use it in your own prayers in the days leading up to the elections on November 6. Before I started the prayer at the event I asked our Blessed Mother to make this prayer her own and to place it at the feet of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I ask that you do the same when saying this prayer.

Almighty God our Heavenly Father, you are the Author and Creator of all life and in your infinite Wisdom you created mankind in your own image. We pray for the President, for the members of Congress and for the leaders of all nations that you would open their minds and hearts to acknowledge and accept the Truth: that the life and soul of each person is created by you and is therefore sacred. We beseech you also Lord that if those who bear the authority of government are not willing to accept this Truth that you would remove them from their positions of power and replace them with those who are willing to do your will. And we especially pray for your faithful followers who have for years tirelessly worked to protect the lives of the unborn. May the work they are doing for you be blessed by your Almighty hand so that the schemes of the devil cannot overcome them. Lastly, we pray for the lives of the unborn and all the innocent babies that have been wrongfully taken out of your hand through the evil of abortion; may they and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Pope Benedict tells the bishops of the world that during this Year of Faith, "Reflection on the faith will have to be intensified, so as to help all believers in Christ to acquire a more conscious and vigorous adherence to the Gospel." (§8)

But common sense tells us that the bishops could talk and reflect on the Faith until they are blue in the face and it would have no effect unless each individual Catholic takes as of utmost importance his own faith in Jesus Christ. And that is exactly his next point. The Pope goes on to say, "Not without reason, Christians in the early centuries were required to learn the creed from memory. It served them as a daily prayer not to forget the commitment they had undertaken in baptism." (§9.2)

The word commitment in this quote is very important. Each Catholic has received baptism as "an effective sign of entry into the people of believers in order to obtain salvation." (§10.4) Due to this fact, all Catholics have a commitment to the Catholic Faith. And just because most Catholics were baptized as infants and therefore don't remember their baptism taking place doesn't change the fact that this commitment still exists. We must treat this commitment to Christ and to the Catholic Faith in a serious manner, as if our lives depend upon it, because they do. The lives of our eternal souls are at stake. There is no more time to waste as nominal Catholics. We must realize who Christ is, what He has done for us, and live our lives accordingly in a completely committed manner.

The release of the Pope's letter Porta Fidei coincided with the beginnning of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The theme for this particular Synod, as indicated in Porta Fidei, is "The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith." (§4)

And why is a new evangelization necessary? As I indicated yesterday, we can no longer take for granted that people in the world, or even those within the Church, have any real knowledge of the Faith. This is a very serious problem and it must be corrected.

But how is this new evangelization to take place? Pope Benedict explains, "The renewal of the Church is...achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world. Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us." (§6.1) But for this to be possible then Catholics must know the Faith. And that is why the Pope has enacted this Year of Faith. He writes, "The Year of Faith...is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world." (§6.2) We are called by the Pope himself during this year to become so convinced of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that our very presence in the world will lead to its evangelization. It may sound impossible, but this task is no more daunting than what the Apostles faced 2,000 years ago and in order to make it happen we will need the same courage and the same sincere belief in Jesus Christ that they possessed.

To make this happen I believe the first thing we need to do is contained here in Pope Benedict's own words,

We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation. (§3)

We are called to belief in Jesus Christ. And this belief is strengthened by "feeding ourselves on the word of God." And it must be remembered that "word of God" does not only refer to the Sacred Scriptures but also to everything contained within Sacred Tradition, both of which make up the word of God and have been "faithfully handed down by the Church." But our belief is strengthened in a more magnificent, and yet mysterious way by feeding on "the bread of life" through receiving our Lord's  Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And with the strength we receive from the word of God and the Bread of Life we can go out and bring others to Christ by the witness of our lives in the world. 

In his Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei Pope Benedict wrote,

It often happens that Christians are more concerned for the social, cultural and political consequences of their commitment, continuing to think of the faith as a self-evident presupposition for life in society. In reality, not only can this presupposition no longer be taken for granted, but it is often openly denied. (Porta Fidei, §2)

To me it seems the Pope is telling us that we can no longer assume that people in the world understand anything at all of the Christian Faith. And with the many Catholics that have been affected by a worldly and secular mentality I think we could say the same about many people within the Church.

But there also seems to be a second meaning in regards to his reference to people who "are more concerned for the social, cultural and political consequences of their commitment." What I think this means is that some people put more emphasis on these consequences he has listed than on proclaiming the saving work of Christ. But these consequences are secondary and dependent upon a belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind. Therefore, the most important thing that any Catholic has to do is to first proclaim the Truth of the Gospel: that the Son of God became Man through the Blessed Virgin Mary, that He has revealed to all mankind who God is and that God wants all mankind to be saved from sin and eternal death, and that the death and Resurrection of Jesus was the only possible sacrifice that could save us from sin and eternal death. But because so many people of the world, and even within the Church, no longer understand this we need more than anything else at this time a Year of Faith. And during this year each member of the Catholic Church needs to learn his faith in a more perfect manner and proclaim it to the world.

Earlier today I read Pope Benedict's Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei. The release of this letter marks the beginning of the Year of Faith inaugurated by Pope Benedict. This letter is absolutely wonderful and I recommend that all Catholics read it. Doing so will help ensure that everyone is on the same page, so to speak, with what this Year of Faith is all about.

I know my posts have been sporadic lately. Due to that fact I am going to start posting various parts of this great document on my blog. I will try to comment on every post but some may not need any comment like the one for today. Today's post is from section 9 and I believe that it gives us the main purpose for both the letter and the Year of Faith.

We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is "the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ...and also the source from which all its power flows." At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers'  witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.

I don't think this really needs any further comment. May we all grow deeper in our own faith during this Year of Faith, but let us realize that won't happen unless we put our own effort into it.

I have received more compliments on my sermon from last Sunday than at any other time I have preached. I am not pointing this out in order to pat myself on the back but to make a point.

You should know that a great deal of thought and prayer goes into each sermon that I write. But, I do not consider myself to have any special talent in the art of writing. In fact, I did everything I could to avoid writing classes when I was in high school and college. Therefore, there are many times when I struggle to convey the ideas I have in my mind for any given sermon, or even for this blog. (And perhaps that is why it has been so long since I have posted anything on my blog.) For example, last Sunday I pointed out that I could not, in the time I had to write the sermon, fit the Sunday lessons into my sermon in an appropriate manner. I could see what I wanted to say but just could not figure out how to say it. I did eventually get done with my sermon but only after completely starting over. And once I did start over I received an inspiration to write what I did and finished within a few hours late on Saturday afternoon. This was after trying all week for several hours a day to write my sermon.

My reason for pointing this out is to help people understand that if there is anything good in my sermons at all then it doesn't come from me. I just indicated that I received an inspiration to write what I did and this has happened several times when writing sermons. In fact, I find that the sermons that are received the best are the ones where this inspiration was present when I was writing. But at the same time I am often unsure of what I have written; I don't ever know if it is good enough. My primary concern as a priest is to preach only the fullness of the Truth as it is contained within Catholic Church and to do so boldly. But I don't do this to try to make myself look good. Actually, I don't even feel worthy to preach the Truth, knowing that I am a miserable sinner. So, if anything good does come out my sermons then may the glory go to God and not myself. As I often tell people when they thank me for my sermon, "Anything good in the sermon came from God, anything bad came from me."

By Denise M. Burke, Esq.

I just published a blog at National Review on how the debate over  late-term abortion bans, such as Arizona’s new ban on abortions at or after 20   weeks, is accelerating the collapse of the abortion industry’s “house of cards.”
                                                   *********
"Despite all Democratic party hype about the 'war on women,' the
abortion industry’s 'house of cards' is collapsing. Arguments used to justify the current regime of abortion-on-demand are routinely discredited and state legislators, with the help of groups like Americans United for Life, are passing scores of new laws designed to protect women and children from the inherent and widely documented negative impact of abortion."

 Read more at "The Abortion Industry's Desperate Battle Against
Arizona's Late-Term Abortion Ban."

By Denise M. Burke, Esq.

What a wonderful sight!!  Planned Parenthood held a rally yesterday, the first day of the Democrats'  convention, and no one came!

What was billed as  an opportunity to publicly support the nation's largest abortion provider and to vocally denounce the "war on women [and] reproductive rights" turned into a well-deserved embarrassment for abortion advocates and their allies in the media.  Did you even hear about this poorly-attended, but much-hyped rally on the news or read about it in the papers?

Extraordinary low levels of attendance and interest did not deter organizers from highlighting and attempting to advance their radical and patently offensive agenda.  They papered the outdoor venue with flyers announcing, “YES WE PLAN!” and “2012″ in which the zero is a birth-control pill packet, and handed out anti Romney-Ryan themed condoms.

The fact that this rally was included among the official convention events underscores the Democrat Party's strong allegiance to both Planned Parenthood and to abortion-on-demand.  This allegiance has not wavered even in the face of mounting evidence of financial improprieties, potential violations of state and federal law, and an increasing disregard for women's health and safety on the part of  Planned Parenthood and some of its affiliates across the nation.

Click here to learn more about The Case Against Planned
Parenthood. 

The lack of attendance and interest in the pro-abortion rally also convincingly demonstrates that Americans do not support abortion-on-demand or the policies of the Obama Administration that seek to force American taxpayers to be complicit in the on-going slaughter of innocents both at home and abroad and in the substandard care and callous indifference that women all too often receive from the nation's abortion providers including, most notably, Planned Parenthood.

On the television this morning I had the misfortune of seeing part of a national morning news program. Now I don't normally watch news programs of any kind because I don't like to be indoctrinated with the propaganda of our modern society. But, just like many people can't help but gawk at the horrific scene of a fatal accident as they drive by it, I couldn't take my eyes off the story on the morning news program.

The story was in regards to a disturbing new non-fiction book about a woman who couldn't have her own children and what she was willing to do in order to have a child. The author of the autobiographical book was on the news program and was being interviewed. As she started telling her story one of the first things she mentioned was how, when she and her husband decided to have children, she went off the birth control pill. Next, they discussed how she went through hormone treatments and other various procedures in order to become pregnant. This resulted in at least one miscarriage of twins. There may have been more but that is all I know about. As if that is not disturbing enough, next comes the very disturbing part.

On the news program with the woman mentioned above was the woman's mother. Due to the fact that the daughter could not carry her children to term the mother offered to be a surrogate. That's right, the mother of the woman on the program is not just the grandmother of the resulting child, but also the birth mother. I told you it is disturbing. So what we have is a woman who did everything possible in order to avoid having children by using contraception who has now done the unthinkable in order to have a child. (And you have to wonder how many of her own children were aborted by her being on the pill.)

It must also be noted that the people from the news program were completely accepting of all of it. There wasn't the least hint that there was anything unnatural in a grandmother giving birth to her own grandson. Instead, they emphasized how wonderful it is that this family who really wanted a child got what they wanted.

But at one point in this country, in the not too distant past, this would have been unthinkable and not just because the medical practices of the time were unable to do it. It would have been unthinkable because most people thought differently than they do now. Children used to be seen as a gift from God. But with the advent of contraception and abortion on demand the thoughts of Americans concerning children have changed. The result is that children today are seen as a commodity that can discarded through abortion if they are not wanted or manufactured in a laboratory if they are wanted. And all of this is done so that people can fulfill their selfish desires whether it be wanting or not wanting a child. And this selfishness is then praised by society - like the news program I unfortunately saw this morning.

So, is there any possible way of reversing how the country now thinks? I don't know. But if we are to have any chance of doing so we must remember that the situation in which we now find ourselves didn't happen overnight. It will be a long process to correct the misunderstandings of our society. But we can make a very clear step forward in the coming elections by voting in a pro-life manner for every single position from the President all the way down to the local mayor. It is time for the people of this country who are still scandalized by things like a grandmother giving birth to her grandson to act. If we don't then there will be many stories that are much more horrific than the one I have just told; things that we right now can't even imagine.