Pope Francis discusses immediate preparation for marriage:
"Continuing these catecheses on the family, today I would like to speak about the [time of] engagement. Engagement -- we hear it in the word – it has to do with trust, confidence, reliability -- confidence in the vocation that God gives, because marriage is first of all the discovery of a call from God. It is certainly a good thing that today young people can choose to marry on the basis of mutual love. However, the freedom of the bond in fact requires a harmonious awareness of the decision, not only a simple understanding of the attraction or of the sentiment, of a moment, of a brief time ... it requires a course [sic. Instead of "a course," might a better translation have been "preparation"?]....
"you, Italians, in your literature have a masterpiece on engagement [I Promessi Sposi]. It is necessary that young people should know it, that they should read it. It is a masterpiece, which tells the story of an engaged couple that suffered so much pain; they travelled a path full of difficulties until they arrived in the end at marriage. Do not leave aside this masterpiece on engagement that Italian literature has in fact offered you. Go ahead, read it and you will see the beauty, the suffering, but also the fidelity of the engaged couple....
"We cannot treat the bonds of the flesh with heedlessness, without opening some lasting wound in the spirit (1 Corinthians 6:15-20)....
"The pre-marital courses are a special expression of the preparation. And we see so many couples, that perhaps arrive at the course somewhat against their will, 'But these priests makes us do a course! But why? We know!' – and they attend against their will. But afterwards they are happy and thank us, because in fact they found there the occasion – often the only one!-to reflect on their experience in terms that aren’t trivial....
"The time of engagement can truly become a time of initiation, to what? To surprise! -- to the surprise of spiritual gifts with which the Lord, through the Church, enriches the horizon of the new family that prepares to live in his blessing" (Pope Francis, 5/20/15; See it here.)
Rosary Rally for Marriage
Saturday, June 13 (noon - 1pm): Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (137 West Upper Ferry Rd, West Trenton, N.J.) - in front of the Our Lady of Fatima Statue.
As per the USCCB*, the Pa Catholic Conference, and/or the Archdiocese,
- End Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, as the law of the land: https://www.votervoice.net/NCHLA/Campaigns/37904/Respond
- Rescind RHNDA and HRAA:
http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=87013
[Update: See the results of the 4/30/15 vote in the House on HJ Res 43 - The "yea" votes were to oppose RHNDA and HRAA.]
- Support the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S 946): http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/write-a-letter?1&engagementId=42752
- Support the Health Care Conscience Rights Act (HR 940): https://www.votervoice.net/PACC/Campaigns/37647/Respond
- Support the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act: https://www.votervoice.net/PACC/Campaigns/37647/Respond
- Support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HR 36): https://www.votervoice.net/PACC/Campaigns/38163/Respond
- Support the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2015 (HR 1299/S 667; The Family Research Council has an action link: https://www.votervoice.net/FRCA/campaigns/39176/respond)
- Support "just and compassionate immigration reform": http://www.capwiz.com/justiceforimmigrants/issues/alert/?alertid=14503781&type=CO
(Oppose use of family detention: http://capwiz.com/justiceforimmigrants/issues/alert/?alertid=63454631&queueid=%5bcapwiz:queue_id
Support “a path to citizenship and to
oppose repealing or undoing laws that protect vulnerable children, families and
refugees”: http://www.votervoice.net/groups/pacc/Advocacy/?SiteID=-1&IssueID=33031).
- Support the State Marriage Defense Act of 2015 (HR 824, S 435): http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/make-a-call?2&engagementId=81348
- Support the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2015 (HR 1150): http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/write-a-letter?4&engagementId=104593
- Support "Supportive, Comprehensive End
of Life Care" [i.e., Oppose
"doctor-prescribed suicide." While the battle rages over
assisted suicide, many forget that in 1990, the United States Supreme
Court allowed euthanasia by dehydration and starvation. First, by
declaring artificially-administered food and water (ANH) as a form of
'life support' and then, granting third parties the ability to remove ANH
(feeding tubes) from persons with disabilities, it became effectively
legal to deny a human being food and water against their will in the
United States....Anyone requiring only a feeding tube is not brain dead, but often brain injured....Even fully-conscious people may require tube feeding" (Dr. Jacqueline C. Harvey)]
- Oppose the death penalty; thank the governor for the death penalty moratorium.): http://www.votervoice.net/groups/pacc/Advocacy/?SiteID=-1&IssueID=29560
- Oppose HB 300 / SB 300 (As the Pa Catholic Conference explains, “In other states, this law has shuttered Catholic adoption agencies and trampled religious liberty….Simply put, this legislation is intolerant and prejudiced against people of faith."): https://www.votervoice.net/PACC/Campaigns/33451/Respond
- Oppose the nomination of Pedro Cortes: "Please call and email your state Senators with this message, 'I urge you to vote against the appointment of Pedro Cortes to serve as Pennsylvania Secretary of State. He failed to stop abortionist Kermit Gosnell by failing to shut down his dangerous abortion operation.'"
sgreenleaf@pasen.gov
cmcilhinney@pasen.gov
bmensch@pasen.gov
rtomlinson@pasen.gov
"Two
years ago on May 13, Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted of
murdering newborns at his house of horrors clinic, and the state honcho who
could have stopped Gosnell, but didn’t, is set to get his old job back under
Gov. Tom Wolf....You might think Cortes would re-evaluate his skill set and
consider another line of work, given his department’s epic failure to revoke
the license of the most notorious doctor since Josef Mengele. Think again"
(J.D. Mullane, Courier Times and
Intelligencer, 5/17/15) As per the American Life League,
- The purpose of the Life at Conception Act (HR 816): is "'to implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.' The bill says: 'Congress hereby declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being. . . . For purposes of this Act: The terms "human person" and "human being" include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.' There are no exceptions in this bill. It declares that every preborn human being, from the first moment of their existence, has the right to life" (American Life League, 5/15/15).
- Ask our congressman (mikefitzpatrickpa08@live.com/)) to become a co-sponsor of HR 816.
As per the Pennsylvania Family Institute:
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