On December 12, 2008 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published its instruction on certain bioethical questions, entitled Dignitas Personae. Throughout the document there are wonderful quotes about Christ’s identification with humanity and unborn children. Here are three examples.
“In the face of this manipulation of the human being in his or her embryonic state, it needs to be repeated that God’s love does not differentiate between the newly conceived infant still in his or her mother’s womb and the child or young person, or the adult and the elderly person. God does not distinguish between them because he sees an impression of his own image and likeness (Gen 1:26) in each one…”
“In the mystery of the Incarnation, the Son of God confirmed the dignity of the body and soul which constitute the human being. Christ did not disdain human bodiliness, but instead fully disclosed its meaning and value: ‘In reality, it is only in the mystery of the incarnate Word that the mystery of man truly becomes clear'”
“At every stage of his existence, man, created in the image and likeness of God, reflects the face of his Only-begotten Son… This boundless and almost incomprehensible love of God for the human being reveals the degree to which the human person deserves to be loved in himself, independently of any other consideration – intelligence, beauty, health, youth, integrity, and so forth. In short, human life is always a good, for it ‘is a manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory’ (Evangelium vitae, 34).”
Dignitas Personae was published to give the Catholic Church’s teaching concerning the new technologies that relate to the unborn in our very confused Brave New World. Click here to read the document.
Here are some of the topics discussed at some length in the text:
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
Freezing embryos
The freezing of oocytes
The reduction of embryos
Preimplantation diagnosis
New forms of interception and contragestation (abortive birth control)
Gene therapy
Human cloning
The therapeutic use of stem cells
Attempts at hybridization (the admixture of human and animal genetic elements)
The use of human “biological material” of illicit origin
To read a one page synopsis from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops click here. This synopsis gives a brief overview of the topics listed below.
Ethical fertility treatments
Embryo adoption
Pre-implantation drugs and devices.
Gene therapy
Genetic enhancement/designer babies.
Human/animal hybrid embryos
Considers the challenge faced by researchers and families arising from the proposed use of unethically obtained cells and tissues.
In tomorrow’s post we will have two beautiful quotes about pre-born Jesus from Deacon Keith Fournier of Catholic Online that touch on this new document.
Fra Angelico – The Annunciation, detail of the Virgin
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009 is the Feast day of The Most Holy Name of Jesus. The Archangel Gabriel was sent on a mission to deliver a message to the Virgin Mary who lived in Nazareth (Lk 1:26-38). A key component of that message was the Name of the Messiah, a further installment in the prophetic revelations through the millennia concerning the identity of the Messiah. Previously, the revelations and prophecies had been getting more and more specific as the year of his advent approached.
God the Father spoke to Adam and Eve about the Messiah (Gen 3:15). As centuries unfolded, so too the mystery of the Messiah unfolded. It was revealed – He would be from the tribe of Judah. It was revealed – He would be born in Bethlehem. It was revealed – He would be a descendant of King David.
But now, in these last days – actually moments before the Incarnation of the Son of God – His Holy Name was revealed – to one trusted custodian: “you shall call his name Jesus”. Here we must pause and reflect on Mary’s state of soul. The Angel departs, the Holy Spirit comes upon her, the power of the Most High overshadows her, and after all is said and done, she is left alone (almost), to marvel, with a handful of words in her heart which break open the sacred mystery of the Messiah:
“Do not be afraid”
“Son of the Most High”
“His kingdom”
“holy, the Son of God”
“Jesus”
Of these five “words”, the first and the last are the most “personal” with respect to Mary’s human heart: “Do not be afraid, Mary…” and “JESUS”, her baby’s name.
“Jesus” was a special name; the fruit of God’s Heart. A name with a message, it means “Yahweh is salvation”. But uppermost in Mary’s mind was that this was her child’s name. She would have repeated it, interiorly, with great frequency…out of love, out of reverence and awe, in thanksgiving and with expectation.
After the Holy Spirit revealed the “Divine” pregnancy of Mary to Elizabeth, it was now Mary’s privilege to announce to Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah the name of the Messiah; “Jesus”(Lk 1:39-56). This holy couple represented the “remnant” of Israel who faithfully awaited the fulfillment of God’s promises through the coming of the Messiah. So to them Mary revealed the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Later, the name was also revealed to Joseph.
For nine sacred months this name was pondered within this Mother’s Heart. She held the Divine Person in her womb and His Holy Name in her heart. Both hidden from the world until the proper time. Decades later, St. Paul would say of this “name”, that it was “the name which is above every name” (Phil 2:9). But for Mary, it was simply the most beautiful name she had ever heard or spoken.
Filed under: Pro-life
Agitation for abortion-on-demand in the United States revved up in the 1960’s and by 1967 at least one pro life group had been established in Colorado. There were definitely valiant informal pro-life efforts earlier than 1967, but as to formal organizations, we are not aware of any group before 1967.
So it has been 42 years of organized struggle on behalf of the unborn and others whose right to life has been challenged and stripped away. 42 years of prophetic Pro-Life witness in America. These have been 42 tough years as society has slid headlong down a slope – once described as slippery, now a slope no longer, but simply a chasm, a culture of death, embraced by a majority of politicians and other dubious leaders, and wildly promoted by the mainstream media.
The prophetic witness of the Pro-Life movement shares in the inspiration of John the Baptist, who while yet an unborn baby bore witness to the Unborn Christ Child by leaping for joy in his mother’s womb (Lk 1:41-44)! So the prophetic voice of the Pro-Life / Culture of Life message is a childlike voice, reflecting a childlike spirit and a child-friendly heart! As the hidden child leaps in the mother’s womb, so hidden hope leavens – stirs up – the spirit of true prophetic witness within the Pro-Life heart!
Pro – Life Services to pregnant women are prophetic in 3 respects. 1.) They are offered through and with Gospel values & virtues. 2.) These are services which would normally be provided by mainstream secular health care – but are actively opposed by that industry. 3.) These services are a moral contradiction to the society in which we live, hence they are a sign of God at work.
Pro – Life Educational & Political outreach on behalf of, and to teens, pregnant women and society in general, is prophetic for numerous reasons. But we can minimally mirror the prior points made above. 1.) It is a voice born of genuine concern and respect for the right to life of unborn children and the right to basic information of society at large. 2.) It is a critical message which should be delivered by media, educators, religious leaders and others, but instead is purposely muted and distorted by these negligent bodies. 3.) It is a voice – like John the Baptist’s – of one crying out in the wilderness, a message rejected by the powerful elite, hence a sign of contradiction.
Jesus has words of encouragement to the Pro-Life movement for the year 2009:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted…
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied…
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy…
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God…
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt 5:4-12).
Filed under: Christmas
Here is a beautiful quote about Christ’s birth from the Council of Trent.
“The faithful should also consider the salutary lessons which Christ at His birth teaches before he begins to speak. He is born in poverty; He is born a stranger under a roof not his own; He is born in a lonely crib; He is born in the depth of winter!
For St. Luke writes as follows: ‘And it came to pass, that, when they were there, her days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn’ (Luke 2: 6,7).
Could the Evangelist have described under more humble terms the majesty and glory that filled the heavens and the earth? He does not say, there was no room in the inn, but ‘there was no room for him who says: mine is the earth and the fullness thereof. (Psalm 50:12)’ As another Evangelist has expressed it; ‘He came unto his own, and his own received him not.’ (John 1:2) …
We must also take care lest to our great injury it should happen that just as there was no room for Him in the inn at Bethlehem, in which to be born, so likewise now, after He has been born in the flesh, He should find no room in our hearts in which to be born spiritually. For since He is most desirous of our salvation, this spiritual birth is the object of His most earnest solicitude.”
Catechism of the Council of Trent For Parish Priests. Second Part of Article III, “Born of the Virgin Mary”. (Thanks to Father Paul Donlan for bringing the Council’s teaching to our attention.)
Last Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Advent, one of the alternative opening prayers for the Catholic Mass included these words: “Your eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at the service of Your plan”. I was taken by this concept of Mary “at the service of” God’s plan of salvation, that is, she was at the service of the plan to redeem you and me. Her famous response to the Archangel Gabriel “Let it be done unto me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), was a wide open acceptance of God’s will – not only for the next year or two but – for the rest of her life… And what a life!
One of the Preface prayers at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer (Preface of Advent II) was even more striking: “The virgin mother bore Him in her womb with love beyond all telling”. So we see in Mary this beautiful harmony of “service” and “love” –both “beyond all telling”. She was a teenager when she conceived Christ and she was on a trajectory of growing in service and love throughout her entire life. “Full of grace” before conceiving Christ, living a life of intensifying holiness, in the constant presence of God Most High made oh so tiny (in her womb).
We will never ever understand Mary unless we understand this: that she loved her unborn child with “love beyond all telling” during her first trimester, then even more so during her second trimester, and then to the breaking point during her third trimester! Her love of her son –God’s only begotten Son – simply continued to grow and deepen, grow and intensify, grow and re-define what love is and could be.
It is “love beyond all telling” because no human mind can fathom it! Think of Mary’s closeness to her baby when you think of these words from John’s Gospel: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth…And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace…” (Jn 1:14,16).
So Mary received grace from her baby and grew in her love for her baby and her God, and Jesus received His humanity from His mother and grew in His humanness and His solidarity with humanity. Each received from the other and grew in the gift received, mother and child.
Filed under: Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI, Quotes from Great Christians, Unborn Jesus
On this mosaic Joseph is depicted as taking the Virgin Mary to his home.
This is one of the world famous mosaic depictions of Chora museum.*
“We should like to penetrate into those remaining six months, which Mary and Joseph spent together, before the birth of the Holy Child. Scripture is silent about them, but it is not difficult for a sanctified imagination to picture something of what was taking place…
The house at Nazareth was in very deed God’s Sanctuary, containing the Altar of Repose, where the Savior of the world was resting. Angels were in constant adoration before their King. The faithful consisted of Mary and Joseph, whose thought and conversation could be about nothing else but the Child Who was coming into the world. And who shall measure the graces and blessings, which that Child was showering upon Mary and her faithful spouse, during those months of waiting and prayer and holy converse,while they planned and arranged with such care and minuteness, as parents are wont to do, every detail connected with the birth of the firstborn?” Mother St. Paul, Ortus Christi
“Joseph realized how great was the blessing which God had bestowed upon him, a poor carpenter, in decreeing that from his house and family should come the hope and salvation and remedy of all generations and that he should be guardian and putative father of the Savior and the spouse of His blessed Mother. When a heart so pure and holy sees itself enclosed and inundated by such mysteries, what must it feel? How astonished and enraptured it must be amidst such marvels and blessings, especially since the Holy Spirit usually gives to the just an experience or taste proportionate to the knowledge which He gives them. What must have been the state of Joseph’s will when his intellect was enlightened concerning the great marvels and mysteries?” Venerable Louis of Granada (1505-1588)
“In these last days of Advent the liturgy invites us to contemplate in a special way the Virgin Mary and St Joseph, who lived with unique intensity the period of expectation and preparation for Jesus’ birth. I would like today to turn my attention to the figure of St Joseph…
The beloved Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, left us an awesome meditation dedicated to him in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, “Guardian of the Redeemer”. Among the many aspects it highlights, particular emphasis is placed on the silence of St Joseph. His is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to his divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions…
Let us allow ourselves to be ‘infected’ by the silence of St Joseph! We have much need of it in a world which is often too noisy, which does not encourage reflection and listening to the voice of God. In this time of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate interior meditation to welcome and watch over Jesus in our lives.” Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Message, Dec. 18, 2005.
* The Chora (Museum) Monastery is located in the northwest part of Istanbul, in a district called Edirnekapi. The word “Chora”, as widely accepted, means land, country, a suburb, or suburban area, and countryside in Greek language. As the building lay outside the city walls built by emperor Constantine, it was thus named Chora. Chora also means “womb” in ancient Greek. Some historians have thought that the church might have been dedicated to Virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus from her womb.There are two etymological approaches to the word “Chora” 1- Geographical (land, county, suburb), 2- religious and mystical (womb).
Fresco of the Annunciation at the Pantheon, Rome, 15th century
In a homily Pope Paul VI gave in Nazareth on January 5, 1964 he reminded us that:
“The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God’s inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers. Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.”
Thirty years later, when Pope John Paul II visited Nazareth he brought forth something else Pope Paul VI had said in that 1964 homily:
“Here in the town which Pope Paul VI, when he visited Nazareth, called ‘the school of the Gospel’, where ‘we learn to look at and to listen to, to ponder and to penetrate the deep and mysterious meaning of the very simple, very humble and very beautiful appearing of the Son of God’. ” Nazareth: Pope John Paul II (homily) Solemnity of the Annunciation 25th March 2000
Filed under: Quotes from Great Christians, The Incarnation, Unborn Jesus
Interior Of The Mezquita Cathedral Virgin Mary Icon*
“He has become incarnate for me; it behooves me then to keep as close to Him as possible, to love Him with all my heart and to copy Him as far as I can.
He is God and therefore there can be nothing imperfect about Him; from the first moment of the Word being made flesh in the womb of His Mother till ‘she brought forth her first-born Son’ on Christmas day, His faculties, His reason, His intelligence, His sensibilities were all in a state of perfection; He knew the past, the present, and the future; and He, the Source of grace, was pouring forth grace on all around Him.
Directly we understand this, we feel that we must draw near, not only to adore but to sympathize, to wonder, to love, to learn, to imitate. For those who understand the Incarnation, His work did not begin on Christmas Day, but on the Feast of the Annunciation, when Mary said: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to Thy word.’
What happened at that moment? The Holy Ghost overshadowed her, the Body of Our Lord was formed from her pure blood; God created the human Soul to dwell in it, and by the act of the Incarnation that Soul and Body became the Soul and Body of the Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
Mary became the Mother of God and Gabriel worshiped before the Tabernacle of the Word made flesh.”
From Ortus Christi:meditations for Advent (1921) by Mother St. Paul
*Detail – fresco of Virgin Mary “of the Sign”: she is carrying Jesus in her womb. This icon is found in The Mezquita of Cordoba, a Roman Catholic cathedral and former mosque, situated in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain. Under the rule of Islam, it was built as the second-largest mosque in the world, and is perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was transformed into a church, and some of the Islamic columns and arches were replaced by a basilica in early Baroque style. Today it houses the main church of the diocese of Cordoba in Spain.
Filed under: Advent, Incarnation, Quotes from Great Christians, Unborn Jesus
Mary full of Life brings light to a dark world. Photo taken by Rob Howells, Director of Development Union Gospel Mission
Recently, we did a post about this beautiful billboard, Mary Full of Life. The idea for the sculpture and billboard were developed by Valerie Aschbacher. (Click here to see the original news story about this billboard.) Valerie sent out an email about her efforts to make sure it was lit up at night. She finally succeeded but shared her thoughts about the darkness surrounding the billboard.
“Saddened by this dark experience, I had hoped Mary Full of Life would become illuminated for all to see – as a real beacon of LIGHT amongst the dark landscape in the city. This morning, the Clear Channel President has notified me – the light is working now.”
This made me think how Mary’s pregnancy and the Unborn Christ Child illuminate our dark culture of death. Karl Adam in his book The Son of God (Sheed and Ward, 1934) writes about how Christ “holy and exalted as was his nature…appeared to us in purely human form, in the dubious condition of all that is transitory and temporal.” What can be a more ‘dubious condition’ to this world than a single cell or a developing unborn baby.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta reminded us that the poor were really Christ in a ‘distressing disguise’. In our sad world, what disguise could be more distressing than an unborn baby?
In a post entitled Life Incarnate, two views ‘the aspiring f.o.o.l.’ (an aspiring ‘friend of our Lord’) writes these beautiful lines: “He consigned Himself to a torturous life on earth so that we might see, embodied as it is, what love is.”
When I see the billboard of Mary full of Life spreading the light of Jesus unborn to the dark world beneath it, I know this is ‘what love is’ – Jesus unborn ‘in the dubious condition of all that is transitory and temporal’ – yes a beautiful yet , ‘ distressing disguise’ that this dark world needs to behold.
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1: 4-5)
Key to Christ’s Kingdom Christine Granger
Here is a wonderful quote from Mother St. Paul (1861-1940) about Mary’s Pregnancy.
“She was ever holding colloquies with her God within her, pondering things over in her heart, that is, talking them over with Him from Whom she had no secrets and between Whom and her soul she put no obstacles.
Her life was spent with Him; whatever her duties might be, everything was done with Him, which is prayer. If duties or conservation demanded all her attention for a while, did it matter? No, for He was there all the same. He, in her, carried on the blessed converse with His Father; there was never any separation between Mary and the Blessed Fruit of her womb, Jesus. She would come back to Him…
…When we think of Jesus praying for nine months to His Father, when we think of Mary’s nine months colloquy with Jesus, we begin to think that there is something wrong about our methods of prayer, that they need re-modeling.
Let us try to understand something of what His prayer was. We think of Him, and quite rightly, as talking over with His Father all His plans for man’s salvation, praying for each individual thing that would be connected with it through all time. We love to think that He prayed particularly for each one of us.“
From Ortus Christi:meditations for Advent (1921) by Mother St. Paul
The picture above is a mural on the Visitation Church in Ain Karim on the outskirts of Jerusalem which commemorates Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth and the Magnificat
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah. Luke 1:39
Why did Mary decide to go to the home of Elizabeth? Undoubtedly the Holy Spirit, who had come upon her (Lk 1:35), unfolded the reason for the angel’s reference to Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Her state, as she considered what she should do was described by St. Peter Julian Eymard:
“The Word was in Mary’s womb. He inspired His Mother to visit Elizabeth; Mary carried to John his Master and King. John could not come, for his mother was too old to undertake that journey; Jesus Christ went to him. He did the same for us: we could not go to God; God came to us.”
Most likely Mary welcomed those three or four days of traveling to visit her cousin Elizabeth as it afforded her a great deal of time to reflect and pray and to sort out in her own mind what had happened. … Underlying all her thoughts was a poignant sense of duty and mission – the messianic mission. As Cardinal Berulle (1575-1629) explains, her unique role was underway:
“The Virgin is involved with Jesus and she is the only one in the whole world involved with Jesus. Thus she is the only one in the whole world adoring the mystery of the Incarnation, which was brought about on earth for the earth but unknown to the earth. She is the only one adoring Jesus. The more that she is the only one captivated by such a great subject, the greater is her involvement. She is devoted to it with all her faculties. All her senses are brought to bear on it, for it is a tangible mystery and tangible within her. All her senses should pay homage to her God made tangible for human nature. Her whole mind is concentrated on it. And the Spirit of Jesus, which enlivens this little divinized body, enlivens the spirit and body of the Virgin as well, through grace, love and a holy, gentle influence.”
Excerpt from Unborn Jesus Our Hope
The Icon of Our Lady of ‘Childbirth’ or Procreation and Mothering. Russian Orthodox Church. This wood-mounted, foil icon depicts the Theotokos with Christ in her womb. It is customarily given to expecting mothers to remind them to pray to the Theotokos for a safe, healthy childbirth.
On November 24, LifeNews.com reported that the Russian city of Novorossiysk was ‘starting a campaign called a “Week Without Abortions.” The idea is to temporarily prohibit abortions in the city and encourage couples to have children in an effort to combat the growing underpopulation problem’.
In a September 20, 2008 Los Angeles Times article, Abortion foes begin to make their case in Russia, Megan K. Stack reports that “A fledgling anti-abortion movement is beginning to stir in Russia. Driven by a growing discussion of abortion as a moral issue and, most of all, by a government worried about demographics, doctors and politicians are quietly struggling to lower what is believed to be one of the world’s highest abortion rates.”
According to the article the following pro-life changes are making their way into Russian society:
- The government recently imposed new restrictions on the procedures after the 12th week of pregnancy, and toughened the language of a waiver women must sign before terminating a pregnancy.
- Late-term abortions used to be easily accessible on “social” grounds: A woman merely had to visit a social worker, complain that she wouldn’t be able to raise a child, and she could collect a stamped waiver. These days, exceptions are available only for extreme circumstances, such as the sudden death of a husband or a medical emergency.
- Many gynecologists have launched their own small efforts to persuade patients to go through with their pregnancies. Although law requires parental consent only for girls younger than 16, many doctors boast that they involve the parents of any patient younger than 19. Gynecologist Natalia Smirnova even stated: “This is the decision of a lifetime. It’s very important for me to show them the ultrasound picture of their fetuses. This stops most of them.”
- Natalia Karpovich, who is pregnant with her fifth child and is a leader of the State Duma committee focused on family, women and children, is one of the Russian lawmakers who doesn’t think that abortion should be so casual. The spiritual position,” she said, “should be that this is murder and the woman who does this commits a sin.” She is pushing for media messages that warn women about the consequences of abortion such as infertility and damage to the body. She also supports new measures meant to encourage childbirth by paying cash bonuses and opening new day-care centers across the country.
- What is most surprising is that some of the doctors who used to perform abortions are now the ones trying to dissuade women from getting them. One woman, Marina Chechneva, a former abortionist, is now devoting her time to writing magazine articles on fetal development, something she knows well from years of handling aborted fetuses. She says she feels a responsibility for unborn children, and writes articles for women seeking abortion who do not realize “that what they’re doing is already a murder.”
Why is Russia rethinking its long held liberal abortion stand? The Rand Corporation has some interesting articles that give a back story to these new developments in Russia.
In a 1997 article published by the Rand Corporation entitled Russia’s Demographic “Crisis”: How Real Is It? the author’s make some interesting observations:
- Recent demographic trends in Russia have caused widespread public concern.
- Russia is experiencing unusually high death rates from non natural causes, many related to alcoholism.
- The Russian fertility rate has declined to among the world’s lowest, while its abortion rate is the highest.
- For the first time in Russian history, the annual number of deaths has exceeded the number of births.
- The population is aging rapidly–a trend that will accelerate over the next two decades.
In a 2001 Rand Corporation article entitled: Dire Demographic Trends Cast a Shadow on Russia’s Future, Vladmir Putin is quoted: “Year by year, we, the citizens of Russia, are getting fewer and fewer. . . . We face the threat of becoming a senile nation.” The article goes on to state: “At the same time, the fertility rate has declined to among the world’s lowest, while a high rate of abortion poses significant health problems. Deaths have exceeded births since 1992.”
In a 2002 article published also by Rand Corporation, Julie DaVanzo and Clifford A. Grammich point out that: “Like many Communist or post-Communist nations, Russia has one of the highest abortion rates in the world. These rates have created a legacy of significant medical problems. Complications from abortion are the cause of more than one in four maternal deaths in Russia. Overall, two in three Russian women aborting their pregnancies suffer health complications as a result of the procedure, further stressing the overburdened Russian health care system. Abortion has also led to high rates of secondary sterility in Russia; an estimated one in ten women is left sterile by the procedure.”
And finally click here to read another good article on this topic: Russia Rethinks Abortion: What About America? by Albert Mohler ,(president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). One of the points Dr. Mohler makes is: “Some credit this change to the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church after seven decades of official Soviet atheism and repression. The Church has clearly influenced some key political figures and may play an even larger role in the future. A pro-life movement is now emerging in Russia, and these restrictions are a sign of its success.”
To that I add, ‘Our Lady of Childbirth, please pray for us.’
A photograph of the sculpture Mary Full of Life renders it larger than life. The image appears on a billboard over Old Town at the intersection of West Burnside Street and Northwest Third Avenue.
In an article entitled: Old Town billboard of pregnant Mary aims to bear hope, Nancy Haught begins:
“An image of a very pregnant Mary, the mother of Jesus, looks down on Old Town from a billboard on West Burnside Street and Northwest Third Avenue. In the weeks before Christmas, she is a reminder of the approaching celebration of her son’s birth.” Click here to read the rest of the story.
Recently, Valerie Aschbacher, (who commissioned the sculpture and put up the billboard) got in touch with us to share her beautiful website : Mary Full of Life. In her email she said: ‘It appears Mary has been “speaking” to quite a few of us…..This artwork began in 2004.’
Click here to see this wonderful sculpture and the prayer that Valerie wrote artfully displayed and brought to life .
Let us pray.
Holy Mary, Full of Life
The Word lives within you!
Blessed are you among all generations
Divine is The Son, in your womb, Jesus.
Humble Mary, Bearer of God
Show us, your children,
How we may be born into new life.
Amen.
Prayer by Valerie Aschbacher
The Visitation, panel from the St. James Altarpiece, c.1440 Bohemian School, (15th century) (Czech) tempera on panel (visitation type fetus)
“In the Eucharist the Church is completely united to Christ and his sacrifice, and makes her own the spirit of Mary. This truth can be understood more deeply by re-reading the Magnificat in a Eucharistic key. The Eucharist, like the Canticle of Mary, is first and foremost praise and thanksgiving.
When Mary exclaims: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’, she already bears Jesus in her womb. She praises God ‘through’ Jesus, but she also praises him ‘in’ Jesus and ‘with’ Jesus. This is itself the true ‘Eucharistic attitude’.
At the same time Mary recalls the wonders worked by God in salvation history in fulfillment of the promise once made to the fathers (cf. Lk 1:55), and proclaims the wonder that surpasses them all, the redemptive incarnation.
Lastly, the Magnificat reflects the eschatological tension of the Eucharist. Every time the Son of God comes again to us in the “poverty” of the sacramental signs of bread and wine, the seeds of that new history wherein the mighty are ‘put down from their thrones’ and ‘those of low degree are exalted’ (cf. Lk 1:52), take root in the world.
Mary sings of the ‘new heavens’and the ‘new earth’ which find in the Eucharist their anticipation and in some sense their programme and plan. The Magnificat expresses Mary’s spirituality, and there is nothing greater than this spirituality for helping us to experience the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, may become completely a Magnificat!“
John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, section 58
“Three months Mary abode in Zachary s house, and all that time the flame of communicating love abode there too, burning ever more brightly within her. What a privilege for the house of Zachary! We read in Sacred History that once “the Ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite for three months; and the Lord blessed Obededom and all his household.” (2 Kings vi. 11.)
What then must have been the blessings bestowed on Zachary’s household, while Mary the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ abode there! ‘ Foederis area, ora pro nobis.’ Pray that we too may get the blessings of those who receive thee as their constant guest.” From Mater Christi : meditations on Our Lady (1920). Mother St. Paul
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“Our Lady stayed with Elizabeth until John was born; that is the point of the ‘three months’; the gospel account is surely Mary’s personal recital. There were no maternity wards in those days, and Mary assisted at the birth of Elizabeth’s son.” From The Gospel Story by Ronald Knox and Ronald Cox, Sheed and Ward, 1958
What I love about this painting (see below) is that Mary is holding John the Baptist right after his birth. Of course, Jesus is also present at this birth in his mother’s womb.
The Birth of St. John the Baptist, Andrea di Nerio, c. 1350
Mary in the House of Elizabeth , Robert Anning Bell 1863-1933
“All through those blessed three months during which Mary abode with Zachary and Elizabeth, she was singing Magnificat. All through her life she sang Magnificat, even though she was the Mother of Sorrows, for the thought of God’s glory ever lifted her out of herself and made her praise Him for all He did. It was because Mary had said her Fiat that she could say her Magnificat….
…We know nothing of what went on during those three months, but we may presume that things continued as they began. It is not likely that Elizabeth said her ‘Ave’ only once, and only once spoke of the honour she considered it to have the Mother of God in her house. It is not likely that the unborn Forerunner never again saluted His Master, in Whose presence he so continually was. It is impossible to conceive that Mary sang God’s praises and her own unworthiness no more during those three months. And what about Jesus ? These were the first three months of His life on earth, and grace was surely going out from Him to His Blessed Mother first, and then to all who knew the secret.”
From Mater Christi : meditations on Our Lady (1920). Mother St. Paul
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization by Mother Adela, SCTJM
During one of his visits to Mexico, Pope John Paul II said “No Mexican should dare to victimize the precious and sacred gift of life that grows in the womb.”
Sadly enough that all changed on April 24, 2007 when the Mexico City legislature approved a bill to make abortion legal during the first three months of pregnancy. On August 28, 2008 the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) upheld the law legalizing abortion in Mexico City through 12 weeks of pregnancy, rejecting a constitutional challenge.
But according to an article entitled “A Wake-up Call” by Sean Salai in The Catholic World Report there is still a great deal of hope for Mexico. Here are some points from the article:
-“The Supreme Courts ruling merely states the city’s legislation is constitutional and makes no provision for wider legalization measures.”
-Fr. Marco Bran Flores, S.J. from Mexico states:”…Mexico City exhibits a very different cultural environment…Mexico City’s liberal reputation is almost mythical throughout the country, and contrasts sharply with the conservatism of the other big cities. This law will not easily be duplicated in other parts of Mexico.”
-Mexican Bishops have come out strongly even telling lawmakers who voted for this law that they are automatically excommunicated.
– Rosalind Villasenor, a Mexican born lay minister who conducts abstinence retreats in the U.S. and Mexico points out: “I wouldn’t consider (the law) typical, Mexico is known to be protective of its culture, faith and values. There can’t be anything more important (to Mexican) than life.”
And one other point that the article made was:
-“This law will have little effect on the rest of Mexico and will only serve to galvanize the Mexican pro-life movement.”
And that is exactly what has happened – since the March 2007 Mexico City pro-abortion law was passed there have been many demonstrations for life in Mexico. Here are links that show the Mexican people standing up for life:
Mexico Pro-Life Advocates Will Protest Abortions Once They Begin April 25, 2007
Silent No More Pro-Life March, Mexico March 2007
40,000 march against abortion in Guadalajara May 11, 2007
Massive Mexican Protest for life on May 25 /2008
Mexico City Pilgrimage to Protest Abortion Law to be Held this Sunday “Pilgrimage for the Marvelous Gift of Life,” June 22.2008
Mexican Pro-Lifers to UN: Stop Murdering our Children Organization accuses United Nations of complicity in “genocide” against Mexicans July 16, 2008
Mexico Bells ordered to be rung as ‘sign of morning’ Aug 31, 2008
But there is even better news coming out of Mexico.
Last week, at the national meeting of the Mexican Bishops conference, they agreed to the following actions for the defense of life
- Prayer, Holy hours, Masses for life
- Teaching “Evangelium Vitae” everywhere
- Massive and permanent campaigns for life
- Promoting pro-life laws
- Creating pro-life and natural family planning committees at parish level.
Pro-lifer’s are also working hard on the political level to outlaw abortion in the rest of the country.
In order to prevent the attempt to legalize abortion at the national level Mexico needs 16 of its 31 states to protect human life in their constitutions. Since the Supreme Court ruling in August many of the Mexican States have been putting this legislation on a fast track. Following are the states that have either passed this legislation or are working on protecting human life in their constitutions:
- Sonora October, 2008 (with exceptions in case of rape, mother’s life, miscarriage)
- Baja California October, 2008 (no exceptions)
- Morelos November, 2008 (no exceptions)
- Chihuahua already had protections for life in their constitution since 1994.
- Last week the Governor of Veracruz has sent his State congress a bill to protect life from conception.
- Jalisco and Nuevo Leon, the two most important Mexican states after Mexico City, are on the verge of approving constitutional amendments that will establish the right to life of the unborn from the moment of conception.
- Also, last June Legislators in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which borders the United States, rejected an attempt to decriminalize abortion, according to the news agency Infonorte.
- Guanajuato and Jalisco each have proposed Constitutional amendments, but they still don’t have enough votes from PRI legislators to approve them, so they are waiting.
We should be encouraged and find inspiration in the Pro-life response of the Mexican people. Please remember them in your prayers. Thanks to Marcela Vaquera for giving us current information on the situation in Mexico.
UNBORN WORD of the day 