Endow and the New Feminism

ENDOW is a Catholic educational program that brings women together to discover their God-given dignity and to understand their role in humanizing and transforming society. ENDOW utilizes small study groups, conferences and retreats to cultivate faith, fellowship and formation.

What an AMAZING study!

It goes through the letter Pope John Paul II wrote to all women thanking them for being women. He addresses woman of every faith and highlights the woman's vital role in the world. JP II specifically thanks woman who are mothers, wives, consecrated, working and every woman. He recognizes the beauty of a woman's very being and the various attributes that make up femininity. In a world where femininity is so confused it is nice to have a documented letter recognizing the many beautiful roles we have.

Foremost, our beloved JP II stresses the importance of human dignity. As stated in the study, 'dignity' is inherent, inalienable, inviolable that exists because of our very being.

Society has no right to minimize dignity as it was not the one to create it.

Dignity is perfectly coupled with the notion that we are created in the image and likeness of God. And consequently, human rights are directly connected to dignity. This can make one question what right any government may have in determining the worth of a human being (e.g. China, etc.).

The study went on to identify Mary, the Mother of God, as an active participant in the saving work of God through Christ's Incarnation. Because she had free will and intellect she essentially had the right to say no to the angel Gabriel's news of her becoming the Christ Bearer. But she said YES and did so with free will. Who better a role model for all women than Mary? I love that her 'fiat' (her yes) was so passionate and humble. And her example shows us a way to open our hearts and minds to Christ in all His glory and proclaim our fiat.

Femininity has really been destroyed by society. Now when I look at my three year old I am reminded that my job to educate will go far beyond the alphabet and numbers. Somewhere along the line I will have to teach her, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that her self worth is not based solely on her sexuality or her titles. Her dignity is rooted in the 'Image and Likeness of God'! I mean I can hardly understand that myself! I want her to know that her femininity is a gift and an opportunity to really change the world for the better.

This 'New Feminism' gets me so pumped up. It is the truth that has always resonated in our hearts but was stifled by the lies of the world. Somewhere I always knew that being a woman was not equal to actually being more masculine but the world tells us it is. Somewhere in my heart I knew that embracing my feminine traits would make me more beautiful even though the world told me that femininity means you are weak. I am so excited to do this study again and can't wait to pass on the wisdom of Pope John Paul the Second!

Works of Mercy

There is no better time to really get to the bottom of these Works of Mercy than now. Cross Roads Initiative provided this list and it really got me thinking. As Catholic moms, how much are we required to truly participate in these? How difficult or easy is it to clothe the naked or feed the hungry? Is God really asking us to be proactive with these works even though we have toddlers? What about the fact that most of the corporal works can actually apply to our toddlers? I mean if you really think about it we are feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to those that are thirsty everyday that we have our children!

But still, the longing of my heart is to go deeper, to do more, to become a more proactive member of our society so that more people may know the love of Christ. After all, isn't that what Christ has asked us to do? Are we stretching ourselves if we volunteer at the homeless shelter once a week or once a month? Are we over committing if we volunteer for the local pregnancy center? Is that pushing it? Sometimes I can truly convince myself that it IS too much. I can barely get my laundry done let alone stand in line to dish out food. Or is it?

If these are the works that we are asked, or even required to do, how can we incorporate these into our daily lives? How do we show our children that these works are not just for some individuals in life but that we are all called to participate?

Our society has become one that promotes isolation. I won't bother you if you don't bother me. Or, it's none of my business. But ultimately we will be judged on whether or not we did make it our business. Our involvement in bettering the world is something that I believe we will have to look at during judgement day. Of course raising beautiful, vibrant and healthy children is AMAZING and so IMPORTANT. But are we called to more? And if so how?


Corporal Works of Mercy


To Feed the Hungry

To Give Drink to the Thirsty

To Cloth the Naked

To Shelter the Homeless

To Visit the Sick

To Ransom Captives

To Bury the Dead


Spiritual Works of Mercy

To Instruct the Ignorant

To Counsel the Doubtful

To Admonish Sinners

To Bear Wrongs Patiently

To Forgive Others Willingly

To Comfort the Afflicted

To Pray for the Living & the Dead

Holy Baby DVD Giveaway

It's that time again.... Modern Catholic Mom is giving away a set of HOLY BABY DVD's.

Holy Baby DVD's are an incredible opportunity for your children to hear Catholic music and prayers through a DVD. There are everyday prayers, prayers in different languages, adorable graphics and pictures of Catholic items.

My three year old loves her Holy Baby DVD. She sings the Holy Baby song ALL THE TIME! Seriously, it is hilarious. I think she relates to the prayers that she hears in Mass and then in these DVD's. This is a great set of DVD's based on the same principles as Baby Einstein yet centered around the Catholic faith.

Volume 1

Seven Prayers in Seven Languages introduces your child to the:

Sign of the Cross

Apostle's Creed

Our Father

Hail Mary

Glory Be

O My Jesus

Hail Holy Queen

All the prayers are said in seven different languages including English, French, Spanish, Latin, Vietnamese, German and Portuguese. It is also full of vivid religious imagery and songs including Jesus Loves The Little Children, The Seven Joys of Mary, A Child's Morning Hymn and the Holy Baby theme song.

Volume 2
Jesus Loves Me , He Is The Bread Of Life is full of upbeat faith filled songs, prayers of the mass and scripture passages.

For more entries do any or all of the following: ( be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and include your email if it is not in your profile)
* Blog about this giveaway with a link back
* Subscribe to our emails
* Twitter about this giveaway with a link back ( leave your twitter name)
* Make a purchase from The Rosary Project website
*Email a friend about this giveaway with a link back ( be sure to CC moderncatholicmom ( at ) gmail ( dot) com )

Giveaway ends 3/27/10 at midnight, open to US residents.

Pro Life Conference

Franciscan University to host student pro-life conference



Franciscan University of Steubenville will host the annual Students for Life Ohio Conference on Saturday, April 4. The conference will gather student pro-life groups from across Ohio as well as portions of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

"Students in some colleges today face harsh opposition from their professors and administration to host pro-life events on campuses," says Emily Espinola, vice president of Students For Life in a press release.

"This conference gives strategies on the best ways to promote the pro-life message and work with administrators," she explained.

The conference will focus on some of the leading threats to human life today— abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and other human life issues.

Presenters include Catholic pro-life author, Kimberly Hahn; Steve Wagner, the director of Justice for All; Students for Life of America and the Susan B. Anthony List.

For more information e-mail ohiosflconference@gmail.com

Franciscan University of Steubenville is located in Steubenville, Ohio.

Stella Mariae

I had the privilege of attending a ten year reunion for my household (Christian sorority) 'Stella Mariae'. Latin for 'Star of Mary' Stella was formed in 1999 through the prayers of 15 women. The idea is that we are all stars of Mary striving to shine with Christ's love in a darkened world. Through the love of Jesus and Mary we are able to truly enter into a beautiful relationship with our Father in Heaven and one another. We try to exemplify the ten virtues of Mary (by St. Loius de Monfort):

Profound Humility
Continuous Prayer
Universal Mortification
Blind Obedience
Burning Charity
Divine Wisdom
Lively Faith
Angelic Sweetness
Heroic Patience
Divine Purity


We ususally pray for each specific virtue with a Hail Mary. We believe that by imitating the virtues of Mary we will truly be lights of Christ!

We created a covenant to the Lord and one another. It is still one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. Seeing the women from our household this weekend truly cemented the fact that those relationships that are formed with Christ as the center seem to last forever!

One of my girlfriends began talking to a friend with whom she had lost contact. Their lives are totally different and the one friend doesn't have Internet. After they had caught up the girl turned to my friend and said, ' I know that we aren't able to talk much but I do know that one day I will see you again in Heaven.' THAT is what is all about!



Although many things have transpired since I graduated college I am comforted by the fact that I have over 180 women praying for me daily. When crisis rears its head I have instant prayers. I may not keep in touch with many of the women but my heart is forever connected to them in the Eucharist. THAT is FRIENDSHIP.



Our Covenant with One Another:

Christ has called us into a special bond of spiritual sisterhood with one another. By this sisterhood, Christ calls us to LOVE (1 Cor. 13:1-13) Him first and then His Mother. Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment, love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-5)





By striving to truly love Jesus and Mary, we will learn how to love each other. Our love for each other is manifested as we serve, respect, encourage, protect and challenge one another toward holiness. We fight as women warriors, moving in unison with one another. Our battle is one for the triumph of Christ's love in our hearts and in the world. We are here to support each other in the battle, so that when one of us falls, the other women are present to help and protect the one who has fallen.





We call each other to holiness, to imitating the Blessed Mother, in the way we dress, act, and speak, in what we choose to see and hear. We help each other make decisions for the good. In this way we set our lives apart so that we will be used to bring Christ's Light and Love into this world of darkness. In giving our lives and ourselves to Jesus and Mary through interior and communal prayer, we are urged to go forth to evangelize and serve others in the different places God will place us.

Obama Stem Cell Policy

Let's continue our prayer efforts and be reminded that we must be pro-life in all aspects of our life!


AOL News reports:


WASHINGTON (March 9) – President Barack Obama is ending former President George W. Bush's limits on using federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research, with advisers calling the move a clear signal that science — not political ideology — will guide the administration.

Obama was to sign an executive order and memo Monday in an East Room ceremony, a long-promised move that would fill a campaign promise. Advisers said it was part of a broader declaration on science that would guide the administration's policies on matters ranging from renewable energy to climate change.

"I would simply say this memorandum is not concerned solely — or even specifically — with stem cell research," said Harold Varmus, chairman of the White House's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. He said it would address how the government uses science and who is advising officials across federal agencies.

Bush limited taxpayer money for embryonic stem cell research to a small number of stem cell lines that were created before Aug. 9, 2001. Many of those faced drawbacks. Hundreds more of such lines — groups of cells that can continue to propagate in lab dishes — have been created since then. Scientists say those newer lines are healthier and better suited to creating treatments for diseases, but they were largely off-limits to researchers who took federal dollars.

"We've got eight years of science to make up for," said Dr. Curt Civin, whose research allowed scientists to isolate stem cells and who now serves as the founding director of the University of Maryland Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. "Now the silly restrictions are lifted."

The proposed changes do not fund creation of new lines, nor specify which existing lines can be used. They mean that scientists, who until now have had to rely on private donations to work with these newer stem cell lines, can apply for government money for the research, just like they do for studies of gene therapy or other treatment approaches.

At the same event, the president planned to announce safeguards through the National Institutes of Health so science is protected from political interference. "We view what happened with stem cell research in the last administration is one manifestation of failure to think carefully about how federal support of science and the use of scientific advice occurs," Varmus said.

Embryonic stem cells are master cells that can morph into any cell of the body. Scientists hope to harness them so they can create replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases — such as new insulin-producing cells for diabetics, cells that could help those with Parkinson's disease or maybe even Alzheimer's, or new nerve connections to restore movement after spinal injury.
Bush and his supporters said they were defending human life; days-old embryos — typically from fertility-clinic leftovers otherwise destined to be thrown away — are destroyed for the stem cells.

The long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis — research that has drawn broad support, including from notables such as Nancy Reagan, widow of the late Republican President Ronald Reagan, and the late Christopher Reeve.

The move also will highlight divisions within the Republican Party, now in the minority and lacking votes in Congress to stop Obama. Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said the focus should be on the economy, not on a long-simmering debate over stem cells.

"Frankly, federal funding of embryonic stem cell research can bring on embryo harvesting, perhaps even human cloning that occurs," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." ''We don't want that. ... And certainly that is something that we ought to be talking about, but let's take care of business first. People are out of jobs."

http://www.news.aol.com/
Emphasis added by blogger :-)

Sad to go...

Hi everyone it is Ellen. I am sure you have been wondering where I have been lately and the answer is busy and sleeping. This pregnancy has really wiped me out and forced me to re-evaluate my priorities and whether or not my time reflects them properly. Modern Catholic Mom is an exciting new venture that I have truly enjoyed with my dear friend Tara, unfortunately my family comes first. As I found my self too tired each night to write a post I realized that I was neglecting a great site that has so much potential.

When I started this site with Tara I was thrilled at the possibility of letting my catholic voice be heard and sharing my thoughts and all the great things going on in the catholic world with you our great readers. Well since I have not been able to give this site the proper attention I have decided to leave it in the capable hands of Tara. I originally wanted to team up with Tara because I love her honesty and her openness when she writes about what inspires her and what challenges her as a catholic mom. Tara has so many great things to share with you so keep coming back for more great articles on being a catholic mom, giveaways of great products to help you and your family grow in faith and updates on things happening in the world that affect you as a catholic.

I hope to be able to do some guest posts as my world gets back in order but for now please stop by and say Hi to me at my other online home Thrifty & Chic Mom. I have truly enjoyed getting to know many of you through your blogs and will continue to stop by. I have been blessed and challenged by all of you in my walk as a catholic mom and I thank you for that. God Bless and keep praying.

Here comes the sun

The sun came out today. It is still cold, don't get me wrong, but there is a shining, bright sun.... It is reminding me of something... HOPE.

It has been a long time since I have had to experience a true winter. In Florida (yep, Florida) there is no winter. There is a cold day here or a cold day there but usually winter in Florida is glorious. (Seriously glorious!)

But up here in the North I have experienced winter (albeit a light winter according to most of the locals) and this surprisingly sunny day has began to rejuvenate my soul! Aside from the promised Vitamin D, the sun has provided me with hope that winter is coming to an end. I am amazed by how the seasons tie into the liturgical year up North. In college my Northern girlfriends would make fun of me as I knew none of the 'rules'. White shoes after Easter, bright, pastel clothing for Easter day, etc. I mean in Florida anything goes all the time!

Back to my sunshine.... It is as if God gives me this day to say -listen, Lent is rough and barren. This is why it is called desert time. But it will not be cold forever. My son will rise again and you will rejoice. The winter months will end and you will participate in the eternal springtime.

It is beautiful to think that this time of grey and cold will turn to a time when our flowers will grow, our food will be planted and our hearts will be created anew. I pray that Lent continues to be a time of sacrifice and reflection. I pray that I can appreciate the desert (My winter) so that when Christ is resurrected I may truly REJOICE!

Pope Benedict XVI

As Lent moves forward I find myself looking at my Lenten promises and wondering when I became so weak?? Fortunately, Pope Benedict has provided his flock with a Lenten message so to keep me on the right path.....

Now more than ever I believe prayer and fasting will be the cornerstone for change in the White house. We can use these tools to facilitate change not only in our own homes but for those in the homes of our entire country.

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

At the beginning of Lent, which constitutes an itinerary of more intense spiritual training, the Liturgy sets before us again three penitential practices that are very dear to the biblical and Christian tradition – prayer, almsgiving, fasting – to prepare us to better celebrate Easter and thus experience God’s power that, as we shall hear in the Paschal Vigil, “dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace and humbles earthly pride” (Paschal Præconium aka the Exultet). For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to focus my reflections especially on the value and meaning of fasting. Indeed, Lent recalls the forty days of our Lord’s fasting in the desert, which He undertook before entering into His public ministry. We read in the Gospel: “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry” (Mt 4,1-2). Like Moses, who fasted before receiving the tablets of the Law (cf. Ex 34,28) and Elijah’s fast before meeting the Lord on Mount Horeb (cf. 1 Kings 19,8), Jesus, too, through prayer and fasting, prepared Himself for the mission that lay before Him, marked at the start by a serious battle with the tempter.

We might wonder what value and meaning there is for us Christians in depriving ourselves of something that in itself is good and useful for our bodily sustenance. The Sacred Scriptures and the entire Christian tradition teach that fasting is a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it. For this reason, the history of salvation is replete with occasions that invite fasting. In the very first pages of Sacred Scripture, the Lord commands man to abstain from partaking of the prohibited fruit: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (Gn 2, 16-17). Commenting on the divine injunction, Saint Basil observes that “fasting was ordained in Paradise,” and “the first commandment in this sense was delivered to Adam.” He thus concludes: “ ‘You shall not eat’ is a law of fasting and abstinence” (cf. Sermo de jejunio: PG 31, 163, 98). Since all of us are weighed down by sin and its consequences, fasting is proposed to us as an instrument to restore friendship with God. Such was the case with Ezra, who, in preparation for the journey from exile back to the Promised Land, calls upon the assembled people to fast so that “we might humble ourselves before our God” (8,21). The Almighty heard their prayer and assured them of His favor and protection. In the same way, the people of Nineveh, responding to Jonah’s call to repentance, proclaimed a fast, as a sign of their sincerity, saying: “Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” (3,9). In this instance, too, God saw their works and spared them.

In the New Testament, Jesus brings to light the profound motive for fasting, condemning the attitude of the Pharisees, who scrupulously observed the prescriptions of the law, but whose hearts were far from God. True fasting, as the divine Master repeats elsewhere, is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who “sees in secret, and will reward you” (Mt 6,18). He Himself sets the example, answering Satan, at the end of the forty days spent in the desert that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt 4,4). The true fast is thus directed to eating the “true food,” which is to do the Father’s will (cf. Jn 4,34). If, therefore, Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,” the believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in His goodness and mercy.

The practice of fasting is very present in the first Christian community (cf. Acts 13,3; 14,22; 27,21; 2 Cor 6,5). The Church Fathers, too, speak of the force of fasting to bridle sin, especially the lusts of the “old Adam,” and open in the heart of the believer a path to God. Moreover, fasting is a practice that is encountered frequently and recommended by the saints of every age. Saint Peter Chrysologus writes: “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself” (Sermo 43: PL 52, 320. 322).

In our own day, fasting seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning, and has taken on, in a culture characterized by the search for material well-being, a therapeutic value for the care of one’s body. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a “therapy” to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God. In the Apostolic Constitution Pænitemini of 1966, the Servant of God Paul VI saw the need to present fasting within the call of every Christian to “no longer live for himself, but for Him who loves him and gave himself for him … he will also have to live for his brethren“ (cf. Ch. I). Lent could be a propitious time to present again the norms contained in the Apostolic Constitution, so that the authentic and perennial significance of this long held practice may be rediscovered, and thus assist us to mortify our egoism and open our heart to love of God and neighbor, the first and greatest Commandment of the new Law and compendium of the entire Gospel (cf. Mt 22, 34-40).

The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord. Saint Augustine, who knew all too well his own negative impulses, defining them as “twisted and tangled knottiness” (Confessions, II, 10.18), writes: “I will certainly impose privation, but it is so that he will forgive me, to be pleasing in his eyes, that I may enjoy his delightfulness” (Sermo 400, 3, 3: PL 40, 708). Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word. Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God.

At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live. In his First Letter, Saint John admonishes: “If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him – how does the love of God abide in him?” (3,17). Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother (cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, 15). By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger. It is precisely to keep alive this welcoming and attentive attitude towards our brothers and sisters that I encourage the parishes and every other community to intensify in Lent the custom of private and communal fasts, joined to the reading of the Word of God, prayer and almsgiving. From the beginning, this has been the hallmark of the Christian community, in which special collections were taken up (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27), the faithful being invited to give to the poor what had been set aside from their fast (Didascalia Ap., V, 20,18). This practice needs to be rediscovered and encouraged again in our day, especially during the liturgical season of Lent.

From what I have said thus far, it seems abundantly clear that fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person. Quite opportunely, an ancient hymn of the Lenten liturgy exhorts: “Utamur ergo parcius, / verbis cibis et potibus, / somno, iocis et arctius / perstemus in custodia – Let us use sparingly words, food and drink, sleep and amusements. May we be more alert in the custody of our senses.”

Dear brothers and sisters, it is good to see how the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each one of us, as the Servant of God Pope John Paul II wrote, to make the complete gift of self to God (cf. Encyclical Veritatis splendor, 21). May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor. I am thinking especially of a greater commitment to prayer, lectio divina, recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass. With this interior disposition, let us enter the penitential spirit of Lent. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Causa nostrae laetitiae, accompany and support us in the effort to free our heart from slavery to sin, making it evermore a “living tabernacle of God.” With these wishes, while assuring every believer and ecclesial community of my prayer for a fruitful Lenten journey, I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 11 December 2008.

(emphasis added by blogger) :-)

For a copy of this article click here.

Obama quietly removing doctors' protections on abortion

Hello All,

Please make your voices heard as this is not getting much press. Pass this on to everyone you know and contact President Obama to let him know what you think. http://www.lifenews/.com/nat4865. html

President Obama Starts Process of Removing Doctors' Protections on Abortions by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com Editor


February 27, 2009Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) --

The White House quietly announced on Friday that President Barack Obama is starting the process of overturning protections President Bush put in place to make sure medical staff and centers are not forced to do abortions. The move is the latest that will add to Obama's growing pro-abortion record.Existing federal laws already make it so doctors and hospitals are not required to perform abortions. Because those laws aren't always followed, the Bush administration added additional protections.Bush officials noted a pattern of grant recipients being unaware of or flouting existing laws protecting medical professionals´ rights of conscience.

So, HHS enacted the new regulations to require grantees to certify compliance with them in order to receive funds. In August, 2008 the Department of Health and Human Services proposed regulations to strengthen those existing laws. The regulations were finalized on December 18, 2008 and went into effect January 20, 2009.Abortion advocates complained about the new regulations and made false claims that they would somehow deny women access to birth control even though the regulations do not limit or restrict any legal practice or product.Three pro-abortion groups and pro-abortion attorneys general from seven states filed a lawsuit to overturn the rules and today's news makes it clear the Obama administration is preparing its own move to rescind them.Obama officials told the Chicago Tribune that they are opening up a 30-day public comment period, after which they will roll back the protections for medical personnel and facilities."We believe that this is a complex issue that requires a thoughtful process where all voices can be heard," one unnamed official told the newspaper.

The Obama aides indicated the administration will draft a new set of rules that will clarify, but also likely lessen, the protections and enforcement health care workers enjoy under the Bush rules.Three pro-life medical associations banded together last month to fight the lawsuit from abortion advocates and the pro-abortion state officials. Attorneys with the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund filed motions to intervene in that and two other lawsuits filed by top pro-abortion groups to overturn the Provider Conscience Clause.Casey Mattox, an attorney with the Christian Legal Society, told LifeNews.com that the rules are needed so medical professionals have the security of knowing they won't be pressured to participate in abortions.

"Medical professionals should not be forced to perform abortions against their conscience. Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and their pro-abortion allies are seeking to punish pro-life medical professionals for their beliefs," Mattox said. "Far from arguing for `choice,´ these lawsuits seek to compel health care workers to perform abortions or face dire consequences.

"Matt Bowman, a senior legal counsel with ADF, also weighed in on the case."For over three decades, federal law has prohibited recipients of federal grants from forcing medical professionals to participate in abortions," he told LifeNews.com. "The arguments in the lawsuits themselves demonstrate lack of compliance with these laws and the necessity of the regulation they are challenging.

"The Bush conscience rules were intended to educate those in the medical field as well as the general public about the rights of medical personnel to treat their patients in accordance with their conscience free from discrimination or intimidation. They also give health care professionals recourse to the HHS Office of Civil Rights and a way to press charges in the event they experience discrimination.

President Obama has already upset pro-life advocates with his move to make them fund groups that perform and promote abortions overseas and by his appointing numerous pro-abortion officials to top posts.Obama had been expected to wait to overturn the conscience rules until after he named a new Secretary of Health but that process has been held up because his top choice, Tom Daschle, had to withdraw and his second choice, Kathleen Sebelius, is under fire for her radical pro-abortion stance supporting late-term abortions.

See LATimes article: http://www.latimes./com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-conscience27-009feb27, 0,6549166. story

Catholic Mens Conference

The Columbus Catholic Mens Conference is this coming weekend!

GIVE THE MEN IN YOUR LIFE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE SPIRITUALLY RENEWED DURING THIS LENTEN SEASON. IF IT IS ANYTHING LIKE THE WOMENS CONFERENCE THEN THESE MEN ARE IN FOR AN AMAZING SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE!


Find more information here.

12th Annual Columbus Catholic Men’s Conference

Crossing the Goal “… to Holiness by Knowing the Love of Christ” (Eph. 3:19)

WHEN: Saturday, March 7, 2009

WHERE: St. Joan of Arc Parish - 10770 Liberty Rd., Powell, Ohio 43065

TIME: 6:00 a.m. - Adoration, 7:00 a.m. - Registration/Breakfast 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. -

Speakers/Conference Televised worldwide by the Eternal Word Television Network!Hear inspiring stories from EWTN's "Crossing the Goal" host Danny Abramowicz, former NFL all-pro wide receiver and coach; Peter Herbeck Vice President, Renewal Ministries; Curtis Martin, Founder of The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS); and professional broadcaster, Brian Patrick

One2Believe Winner

Congratulations to Betsyburt on winning the One2Believe giveaway! Please check your email and get back to us.

40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent

40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent

February 24th, 2009 by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. Print This Article ·
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent", url: "http://catholicexchange.com/2009/02/24/116167/" });

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This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of Lenten ideas. But it’s a start! Many of the resources mention here are available on our website at www.crossrsoadsinitiative.com or can be found by visiting our links pages.

1 Take 30 minutes to pray, ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance, look over this list, and make a few practical Lenten resolutions. Be careful. If you try to do too much, you may not succeed in anything. If you need to get up early or stay up late to get the 30 minutes of quiet, do it. Turn off your phone and computer. Don’t put it off and don’t allow interruptions.

2 Get up earlier than anyone else in your house and spend your first 15 minutes of the day
thanking God for the gift of life and offering your day to Him.

3 Get to daily Mass.

4 If you can’t do Mass daily, go to Mass on Fridays in addition to Sunday and thank Him for laying his life down for you. Maybe you can go another time or two as well.

5 Spend at least 30 minutes in Eucharistic adoration at least one time during the week.

6 Recover the Catholic tradition of making frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament throughout the week, even if it is only for 5 minutes.

7 Get to confession at least once during Lent after making a good examination of conscience. If you are not sure why confession is important, get my CD “Who Needs Confession.”

8 In addition to the penance assigned by the priest, fulfill the conditions necessary for a plenary indulgence. You can learn about plenary indulgences from the official Handbook of Indulgences, Catholic Book Publishing Company (costs only about $13).

9 Make a decision to read at least some Scripture every day.

10 Even if you can’t get to daily Mass, get a daily Catholic Missal or go online to get a list of the readings used each day in Mass, and read these readings daily. During special seasons such as Lent, the Mass readings are thematically coordinated and make for a fantastic Bible study!

11 Pray the liturgy of the hours. You can buy a one volume edition or a full four volume edition. Or you can get it day by day online for free at www.universalis.com. Or you can subscribe to a monthly publication called the Magnificat that provides a few things from the liturgy of the hours together with the Mass readings of the day. The Magnificat is a great way to start learning the Liturgy of the Hours.

12 Get to know the Fathers of the Church and read selections from them along with Scripture. Short selections from the Fathers writing on Lenten themes can be downloaded for free from the Lenten library of our website, www.crossroadsintiative.com

13 Make the Stations of the Cross each Friday either with a group or by yourself. If you have kids, bring them.

14 Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary often during Lent, especially on Friday and Wednesday. The glorious mysteries are especially appropriate on Sundays. Joyful and Luminous mysteries are great on other days.

15 Purchase the Scriptural Rosary, which supplies you with a scripture verse to recite between each Hail Mary. This makes it easier to meditate on the mysteries. Another resource to deepen your understanding of the Rosary is my CD set “How Mary and the Rosary can Change Your Life.” (link)

16 If you’ve never done a family rosary, begin doing it. If starting with once a week, try Friday or Sunday. If it’s tough to start with a full five decades, try starting with one. Use the Scriptural Rosary and have a different person read each of the Scriptures between the Hail Marys. This gets everyone more involved.

17 Make it a habit to stop at least five times a day, raise your heart and mind to God, and say a short prayer such as “Jesus, I love you,” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” or “Lord, I offer it up for you.”

18 Pray each day for the intentions and health of the Holy Father.

19 Pray each day for your bishop and all the bishops of the Catholic Church.

20 Pray for your priests and deacons and for all priests and deacons.

21 Pray for the millions of Christians suffering under persecution in various Muslim and Communist countries around the world such as the Sudan, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, Viet Nam, and North Korea.

22 Pray for Christian unity, that there would be one flock and one shepherd.

23 Pray for the evangelization of all those who have not yet heard and accepted the Good News about Jesus.

24 Pray for your enemies. In fact, think of the person who has most hurt you or who most annoys you and spend several minutes each day thanking God for that person and asking God to bless him or her.

25 Pray for an end to abortion on demand in the United States. Pray for pregnant women contemplating abortion.

26 Pray for a just peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Holy Land and elsewhere. Pray for military personnel and for others in harm’s way.

27 Pray for an end to capital punishment. Pray for those on death row, and for the families of murder victims.

28 Find a form of fasting that is appropriate for you, given your age, state of health, and state of life. Some fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays. Some fast from sweets or alcohol throughout Lent. Some fast on one or more days per week from breakfast all the way to dinner, spending lunch hour in prayer or at noon Mass. Some cut out all snacks between meals. The money saved from not buying various things should be given to an apostolate or ministry serving the physically or spiritually poor.

29 Prayer is like breathing – you have to do it continually. But sometimes you need to pause and take a very deep breath. That’s what a retreat is. Plan a retreat this Lent. It could be simply a half day, out in nature, or in a Church. Or it could be a full day. Or an overnight. You can certainly read lots of things during your retreat or listen to lots of talks. But try sticking to Scripture, the liturgy, and quiet as much as you can. During or at the end of the retreat, write down what the Holy Spirit seems to be saying to you.

30 Find a written biography of a Saint that particularly appeals to you, and read it during Lent.

31 Instead of secular videos for weekend entertainment, try some videos that will enrich your spiritual life. Suggestions: Jesus of Nazareth, by Franco Zeffirelli, The Scarlet and the Black , the Assisi Underground (if you can’t find these for rent at the local video store, they are all available from Ignatius Press)

32 While driving, turn off the secular radio for awhile and use commute time to listen to some teaching on audiocassette or CD. Some great resources can be purchased through www.dritaly.com or from other Catholic apostolates and publishers that you can find on our links pages.

33 Find a local homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or crisis pregnancy center, and volunteer some time there throughout Lent. Serve the people there with the understanding that in so doing, you are serving Jesus. Try to see Jesus in each person there.

34 Visit someone at a nursing home or in the hospital or sick at home. Again, love Jesus in and through the suffering person.

35 Is there a widow or divorced person living in your neighborhood? If so, invite that person to your home for dinner, coffee, etc.

36 Go and see Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ during Lent, if you feel you can handle the violence. Get a copy of The Guide to the Passion to help you get the most out of the movie.

37 Bring someone to The Passion of the Christ , especially someone whose faith is rather nominal, or who does not practice their faith, or who does not profess Christian faith at all. Give them a copy of The Guide to the Passion .

38 Spend some focused time with your spouse, strengthening your marriage. Start praying together, or make praying together a more frequent occurrence.

39 Spend some focused time together with each of your children. Listen. Pray. Maybe even have fun.

40. When Easter comes, don’t drop the new practice you’ve begun during Lent! Make a permanent feature of a deeper Christian life!


Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA and adult and teen faith formation, with a special emphasis on the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the Sacrament of Confirmation.

(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)

40 Days for Life

40 days for life begins today, Feb. 25.


40 Days for Life is a nationally coordinated life campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:

Prayer and fasting
Constant vigil
Community outreach

It started 4 years ago in one city and has now spread to over 130 cities in the US and 3 other countries. It is held 2 times a year. During the last 40 days for life (fall of 2008), more than 1,100 babies were saved from abortion, 5 abortion workers quit their jobs and walked away from this evil industry, and 3 abortion clinics completely shut down...among many many other blessings.



1. Prayer and fasting: are the foundation of this campaign. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you can pray to end abortion.



Christ told us that some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God's will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us reach beyond our own limitations with God's help.

Fasting is not a Christian diet; it is a form of physical prayer. You can fast from food, TV, alcohol ... anything that separates you from God.



2. Constant vigil:


The most visible component of 40 Days for Life is a constant prayer vigil outside a place where children are aborted. It is the hope that the vigil can be maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


It is a prayerful witness to the clinic's patients and employees, and to the entire community, that evil is in our midst and that with God's help, it will be defeated.



3. Community outreach:


During 40 Days for Life, the pro-life message is proactively taken to the community through focused, grassroots educational efforts. People are given the opportunity to visibly show their support for 40 Days for Life.

A door-to-door petition and education drive reaches out. Informational flyers raise awareness about abortion. This outreach can include church involvement, media contact and campus outreach.




Please see the website: 40daysforlife.com

You can sign up to get daily email updates about the progress of this campaign.


PLEASE participate at least by praying for this important cause.

You can also pray for God's guidance for those involved in the prayer vigils and pro-life action around the country. And please consider fasting.Fasting simply involves renouncing an activity that can put a barrier between you and God. It could be television, the internet, chocolate, coffee, etc. You really can do without it. Take the time you usually spend in those activities and give it back to God for the sake of these little souls.

Crossing the Desert

'Crossing the Desert- Lent and Conversion'- by James Keating






"Lent is not simply a season for avoidance; it is a season of new life, a springtime of the soul" p. 6

"The word 'Lent' originated from Middle English and means 'springtime'. In the turning from sin and the consequent embracing of moral goodness, one knows a moral 'springtime'." p. 6

There are six chapters:

The Desert of Consumerism
The Desert of Ordinary Life
Waiting in the Desert
The Desert of Sin
Leaving the Desert
The Oasis of Lent


Through out the book there are opportunities to 'meditate' with questions like this one:

Recall your most promising Lent.
Why did it or did it not reach fulfillment?

'Crossing the Desert' is a easy to read guide that allows the reader an opportunity to really get to the heart of the Lenten season. It is not specific to certain days during Lent so you could pick it up at any point and start to read it.

We pray your Lent is a time for spiritual renewal!