The Catholic Difference

Find out more information about the 45th Annual Faith Formation Convocation.

http://www.catholictv.com/Faith-Formation-This-is-the-Day.aspx

Here is what Fr. Robert Barron has to say about what makes one an effective evangelization. Sneak peak…. it is JOY!  Yes joy is the way.Joy and the new Evangelization by Fr. Robert Barron

Thanks Father and what a great message and a good reminder.

“God our Creator, we give thanks to you, who alone have the power to impart the breath of  life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; grant, we pray, that we, whom you have made stewards of creation, may remain faithful to this sacred trust and constant in safeguarding the dignity of every human life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”

-Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, Third edition of the Roman Missal

Click here to see Daniel Cardinal DiNardo’s homily from last night’s Vigil for Life Mass in Washington, D.C.

I have spent a good number of my 27 birthdays protesting. You see, I was born on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States, January 22^nd. I first attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. on my thirteenth birthday and I have spent every birthday (except for my 18^th birthday, which was spent in U.S. Army Basic Training) since then participating in either the national March for Life or a local version.  I can honestly say that I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday.

As I grew up and became more aware of the significance of the Roe v. Wade decision, I would often reflect on its meaning for my life. Was it a sign that I was supposed to do something dramatic to overturn the legalization of abortion? Celebrating my life also presented the paradox of the birthdays’ uncelebrated because of a fateful judicial decision that would lead to the loss of 54 million lives and counting. It has been the Church that has allowed me to put my reflections and struggles in perspective. The Church teaches that the dignity of every human life is to be protected, particularly the weakest among us. But the Church also helps us to place our political and social efforts in the context of prayer. St. Thomas Aquinas says that to pray is to hope. We may often despair when we examine all that is wrong with the world, but prayer allows us to see the world with God’s eyes. Prayer allows us to see the end of our efforts. The Book of Genesis tells we are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27). Genesis also tells us of humanity’s fall from grace and the entrance of evil into the world. It doesn’t take long for a brother to shed the blood of brother. But looking forward the Book of Revelation tells us:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away” (Rev. 21:4).

So Roe v. Wade may never be overturned in my lifetime (although I hope it will), but I know that prayer and witness of the Church in defending the dignity of human life can, in some mysterious way, anticipate the promises of Revelation 21:4. Prayer gives me hope that Christ marches with us, that he consoles those who mourn, and heals those who have sinned. This is why before we March for Life, we pray. When I attended my first March for Life in Washington, DC on my thirteenth birthday, I prayed more than I protested. We prayed at the Vigil for Life Mass and we prayed as we marched on the Supreme Court. As we commemorate another anniversary of the legalization of Roe v. Wade. Let us place our confidence in the Holy Spirit, the source of prayer. To quote John Paul II in his famous homily to the Polish people in 1979:

Let your Spirit descend.
Let your Spirit descend.
and renew the face of the earth,
the face of this land.

This weekend marks the 39th Anniversary of the tragic Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States, Roe v. Wade. Many dioceses around the country will mark this day with Mass, adoration, and peaceful protests. In anticipation of the March for Life in Washington, D.C., I want to share one of my favorite pro-life homilies. This homily was given by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-life Activities.

Sisters and brothers, Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary met and the joy that was unleashed of two unseen beings — John the Baptist and Jesus, both in the wombs of their mothers — that’s power. There is much, much unseen in our own witness today. Let the unseen power of the Lord Jesus through the gift of the Holy Spirit touch you as you rally, make you joyful — we may be fasting and abstaining today, but no, no bad looks today! Today is a day of joyful sadness or sad joy — this is a day of remembrance of sadness, but it is joy at the Lord because we have been gathered by Jesus: first for this action of Eucharist, but then to rally, all on behalf of God’s human beings — born and unborn.

You can read the whole homily here.

Be sure to come to this blog for more coverage of the March for Life and related activities. In the meantime, the USCCB has a list of activities they are sponsoring.