Pro-life video

Love this youtube grassroots effort. Check out this video:

http://www.catholicvote.org/index.php?/site/homepage/#

Celibacy and the Catholic Church

In light of the recent news from Miami I thought I would bring up why our priests are required to remain celibate.

Fr. Cutie was found to be 'with' a woman on a local beach. Photographers captured this on camera and from there rose the most recent scandal.

I started to read the 'opinions' of AOL readers listed below the article and it seriously made me feel sick. There was so many slams against the church mainly highlighting the 'ridiculousness' of celibacy. There were many erroneous claims and it got me thinking about how much the faithful actually knows about why our priests don't marry.

Here are a few points that may be helpful when talking to those who aren't aware of why:

1. The tradition in the Western or Latin-Rite Church has been for priests as well as bishops to take vows of celibacy, a rule that has been firmly in place since the early Middle Ages. (This is different then the Eastern rite where some priests are married. There are rules bound to this priesthood and marriage as well). www.catholicanswers.com

2. Some believe that celibacy is unbiblical, or even "unnatural." "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28); Paul commands that "each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband" (1 Cor. 7:2). It is even argued that celibacy somehow "causes," or at least correlates with higher incidence of, illicit sexual behavior or perversion. www.catholicanswer.com

- All of this is false. Although most people are at some point in their lives called to the married state, the vocation of celibacy is explicitly advocated—as well as practiced—by both Jesus and Paul. www.catholicanswers.com

-Celibacy is neither unnatural nor unbiblical. "Be fruitful and multiply" is not binding upon every individual; rather, it is a general precept for the human race. (This is not to be confused with the calling of married couples... they are to be fruitful and multiply. But that is for another post). Otherwise, every unmarried man and woman of marrying age would be in a state of sin by remaining single, and Jesus and Paul would be guilty of advocating sin as well as committing it. www.catholicanswers.com

3. The Catholic Church forbids no one to marry. If a priest decides to become a priest he does so with the voluntary notion that he will remain celibant. www.catholicanswers.com

4. Pope John Paul II spoke about priestly celibacy during a general audience in 1993. He spoke of the Scripture:
"I will make you Fishers of Men" (Mt 4:19, Mk 1:17, Lk 5:10)
It is followed by "they left everything and followed him". (Lk 5:11, Mt 4:20, Mk 1:18,20)

JP II writes "This did not only mean renouncing material possessions, such as "house" or "lands," but also being separated from loved ones: "brothers or sisters or mother or father or children," according to Matthew and Mark, and "wife or brothers or parents or children," according to Luke (18:29)."

5. The Second Vatican Council gave the reasons for this "inner consonance" of celibacy and the priesthood: "Through virginity, then, or celibacy observed for the kingdom of heaven, priests are consecrated to Christ by a new and exceptional reason. They adhere to him more easily with an undivided heart; they dedicate themselves more freely in him and through him to the service of God and men, and they more expeditiously minister to his kingdom and the work of heavenly regeneration, and thus they are apt to accept, in a broad sense, paternity in Christ." They "evoke the mysterious marriage established by Christ, and fully to be manifested in the future, in which the Church has Christ as her only spouse. They give, moreover, a living sign of the world to come, by a faith and charity already made present, in which the children of the resurrection neither marry nor take wives" (PO 16; cf. PDV 29, 50; CCC 1579).

6. These lofty, noble spiritual reasons can be summarized in the following essential point: a more complete adherence to Christ, loved and served with an undivided heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-33); greater availability to serve Christ's kingdom and to carry out their own tasks in the Church; the most exclusive choice of a spiritual fruitfulness (cf. 1 Cor 4:15); leading a life more like that definitive one in the world to come, and therefore, more exemplary for life here below. Above taken from Vatican-General Audience

It's important for Catholics to be able to explain why the Church asks its priests to be celibate. There are so many misconceptions, many which might be right in our own families. Let us continue to pray for priests and their celibacy as it is a great gift to God.

Pro Life activist

As a stay at home mom I often wonder how I can be an active member of the Right to Life movement. I know I am called to be a voice for the voice-less but I amidst diapers and applesauce my time is limited. I have had the opportunity to be an active member of the movement from age 13 on. I attended the Washington D.C. March for Life for many years, was the president of my high school Pro-life group and became a side-walk counselor in college. The opportunities presented themselves and I wanted nothing more than to be active.

Now that I am a blessed parent I find that I don’t have the same time I did before. I can hardly get laundry, cleaning or cooking into my day. But truthfully my heart desires more. In our turbulent society, amidst the culture of death, I cannot count on ‘someone’ else volunteering. But I can pray that God will reveal my time and talents so that I may use them in a way that glorifies Him and helps put an end to abortion. I know that I am a wife first, a mother second and an activist third. And my activist heart desires to volunteer some of my time for those who are not able to fight for themselves. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:

1. Join your parish Right to Life movement. Don’t have one? Start one!
2. Join other moms for a rosary and pray for the end to abortion.
3. Volunteer a few times a month at your local pregnancy center.
4. Donate old maternity clothes and baby items to pregnancy centers.
5. Keep updated on the political aspect of abortion. By keeping educated you can be a better defender of the faith.
6. Study and memorize what the Catholic Church says about why abortion is wrong. If you know your facts you will have a better chance of helping to educate someone who is pro-abortion.
7. Refuse to say ‘Pro-choice’. Instead say ‘Pro-abortion’. There is no ‘choice’ for the baby.
8. Educate yourself about all aspects of the Pro-life movement- stem cell research, In vitro fertilization, etc.
9. Join 40 days for Life. Check out www.40daysforlife.com
10. PRAY AND FAST. AND THEN PRAY AND FAST SOME MORE!

Review of 'Praying Scripture for a Change'

"If we want to hear God in our prayer the first step is reading well." p. 43

I had the opportunity to review ''Praying Scripture for Change' as a part of the review program the Catholic Company provides. 'Praying Scripture for Change' can be viewed and purchased here.

'Praying Scripture for change- An Introduction to Lectio Divina' by Dr. Gray is a phenomenal read about how to use Scripture to pray. Unfortunately my cradle Catholic tendencies have rendered my Bible reading pretty sad. It's not that I don't know the absolute importance of God's written Word, I do. It's more that I have never made the firm commitment to use Scripture as a means of prayer. (Making the commitment now!)

Besides all the amazing quotes placed throughout the book, Dr. Gray provides specific instructions about HOW to use Scripture as prayer. And Dr. Gray.... we need the HOW!

His instruction includes:

Lectio: Read well, slow down, ask who, what, where, and when

Meditatio: Meditate- digging below the surface, ask why

Oratio: Dialogue (inner), bringing the passage to God in prayer, how does it apply to our lives?

Contemplatio: Contemplation, 'a restful gaze upon the author of all beauty and wonder

Operatio: living out our faith with virtue

This book requires careful reading and processing. It requires the reader to take their time and to really understand what direction is being provided (kind of what Dr. Gray is telling the reader to do when reading Scripture). But the best part is it truly is written for the common lay person. I have picked up many a book that was WAY over my head. This book truly meets the reader at a realistic place. The book provides concrete examples of how to utilize the steps Dr. Gray provides. I love that Dr. Gray reminds the reader that Jesus is the one who teaches us to pray through the written Word. Christ had to teach his disciples 'how' to pray!

'Praying Scripture for a Change' is not just a book. It is an opportunity to spiritually mature in a way that incorporates Scripture. Other faiths really have a wonderful grasp on the importance and wonder of the Bible. Dr. Gray provides the Catholic with an opportunity to embrace Scripture and take it to heart. I highly recommend this book.

A few of my favorite lines:

"The reason anyone anywhere at anytime has ever been moved to prayer is because God, by His Spirit, was drawing him toward him." p. 7

" In short, God doesn't just teach us how to pray; His Spirit empowers us to pray". p. 8

"We must always keep in mind that prayer is God's invitation to enter into an intimate relationship of love and life with him. If we forget that this is what is happening when we pray, we start treating prayer as a simply an obligation, as a hoop that must be jumped through in order to avoid offending God and provoking His displeasure." p. 8

"Scripture is living and active, and so it ever remains God's Word spoken to whomever has the courage to pick it up and receive it". p. 16

"Scripture is a love letter from our Divine Bridegroom, and, like the saints, we too should eagerly and often read the Scriptures and hear there the voice our Beloved speaking to us". p. 17

Make sure to check out other amazing books and products at http://www.catholiccompany.com/