Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

12/12/16, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

It is almost 500 years ago that Our Lady appeared to Saint Juan Diego amidst wide acceptance of infant sacrifice. We so need her intercession amidst the devaluing of human life and marriage/family in the North America of our own time.

• "Mary of Nazareth has always had a special place in the heart of the Church. She is theotokos, the 'God-bearer'; Scripture’s greatest human witness of courage, humility and grace. This is why Catholic life has honored her through the centuries in so many different ways: Our Lady of Consolation; Mother of Sorrows; Mother of Mercy; Our Lady of the New Advent; Queen of Heaven; Virgin Most Pure -- and in a special way..., December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of America, one continent north and south.  All of these titles are true and richly deserved. But they can sometimes obscure the human reality of Mary’s life: a young woman of the rough Galilean hills, pregnant, with a seemingly implausible story before her marriage to Joseph, who gave birth to her child in the cold in a stable far from home and then, hunted by Herod, was forced to flee to Egypt. Mary – our mother; the mother of the Church – had an intimate understanding of suffering, flight, homelessness and uncertainty. At Guadalupe, Mary appeared not to the rich or powerful, or even to the local bishop, but to the poor peasant Juan Diego...."we need to remember that the Holy Family too was once a family of immigrants and refugees. And we need to treat the undocumented among us with the mercy and justice we expect for ourselves" (Archbishop Chaput, 12/12/14).

• re: "Council May Limit Conversion Therapy" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/9/16) 
  
  
• Historians seek reparations for Californians forcibly sterilized (Reuters, 12/6/16)
  
  
• Catholic Medical Ethics: Blueprint for proclaiming the sanctity of life in health care - why conscience protection is invaluable! (11/29/16)

• High Priority: Public Comments Needed on American Nurses Association’s New Draft Position Paper on Denying Food and Water (NRL News Today, 11/23/16)

• Act now to stop assisted suicide (Diocese of Trenton, 11/4/16)

• "Please send a message to the AMA today asking them to support the dignity of every person and the need for supportive and comprehensive end of life care" (Pa Catholic Conference).

• Action Alert to the Department of Homeland Security: Ensure the well-being of Haitians affected by Hurricane Matthew (USCCB)

•  Study Guide to St. Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body"

• "In order for celibacy to be a truly free choice, seminarians must be led to understand, by the light of faith, the evangelical power of such a gift.176  At the same time they should be able to esteem correctly the values of the married state: 'Marriage and celibacy are two states of authentic Christian life.  Both are specific expressions of the Christian vocation'177" (Congregation for the Clergy, The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, 12/7/16, p. 48).

• re: "Why are we not protecting married couples from the violence of contraception — the divorce of unitive and procreative aspects of the beautiful gift of sexuality? Why are we afraid of helping our brothers and sisters to live in truth, according to their dignity? " (12/3/16)

• Marriage Unique for a Reason (USCCB, 12/2/16)

• Mum, Dad and Kids Initiative Still Collecting Signatures (Zenit, 11/30/16)

• The Bridegroom Comes! A Reflection on the Great Wedding Feast That Advent Announces (Msgr. Charles Pope, 11/29/16)

• Lawsuit Seeks to Decriminalize Prostitution in California; Anti-Porn Group Warns of Sex Trafficking Link (The Christian Post, 12/9/16)

• We Can’t Contracept Our Way to Maternal and Child Health (C-Fam, 12/8/16)

• Tell Amnesty International to Change Their Policy on the Decriminalization of Prostitution (National Center on Sexual Exploitation)

• Encourage Your Representatives To Do Something About Demand! We can't solve problem of sex trafficking until we curb the demand (National Center on Sexual Exploitation)

• Tell DOJ to enforce obscenity laws (National Center on Sexual Exploitation)

• Call to Prayer (USCCB, 12/16/16)
  

• NOT "in the sky with diamonds" (12/13/16)
• St Francis Xavier and "Silence" (12/3/16) 

• Protest Paramount’s Blasphemous Film “Office Christmas Party”(Return to Order)

• Tell The [Estonian] National Museum: STOP This CONTEMPTIBLE Attack On Mary (America Needs Fatima)

• Tell Dark Horse Brewing Co. to Stop Blaspheming Our Lord Jesus (Tradition, Family, and Property)

• Keep Satan Out of Washington Schools (Return to Order)  

• Urge President-Elect Trump to stay true to his word on pro Life concerns
• Encouraging First Steps For Pro-Lifers From President-Elect Trump (Eric Scheidler, 12/4/16)

• Click to Email Pa's Congressional Delegation, regarding positions backed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 
• Bipartisan betrayal by the Pa delegation to the House and Senate? (12/8/16)

• Click to Email all of Bucks County's representatives (as well as incoming Rep Warren) and senators in Harrisburg, re: issues/legislation backed by the Pa Catholic Conference.