Blessing of the Graves

November is the month when, in the tradition of the Church, we remember the deceased and those who have died before birth are no exception.  Group member Stella Walls writes about St John's service of the Blessing of the Graves earlier this month, at which the Memorial to the Unborn Child also received a blessing.
 

"On November 4th it was the Sunday of the Blessing of the Graves at Hills Cemetery. I had been up to the Memorial for the Unborn Child the day before, trimmed the surrounding grass, deadheaded the roses and pruned them for next Spring. It was a reasonably pleasant day - but not so on Sunday! The rain fell in torrents all morning but thank goodness stopped by lunchtime, enabling me to place fresh flowers in the vases; but as usual it was so cold.

"Our Deacon Tom and Deacon Seamus from West Grinstead braved the weather and came up for the service and blessings.  Tom Kent, our young aspirant seminarian, accompanied Deacon Tom who was incredibly good and thoughtful explaining to him who the deceased Sisters of the Holy Family were when blessing their graves and telling him about their past role in the Parish.  Deacon Tom also explained about the Memorial and how it wasn't just for us but for unborn children worldwide and that we just tended it. His prayers were beautiful and I felt honoured to be present at the ceremony to represent Pro Life and the Lay Holy Family.

"A thought came to me as I stood amongst the graves of so many dearly loved ones that afternoon. I KNOW that to Jesus all children are precious and I believe those who depart this world early become the cherubs in Heaven."

Thank you from Aila

Since the beginning of the year St John's Pro Life Group has been helping our family raise the money needed to build a ground floor extension on our house consisting of a bedroom and bathroom for our 17 year old daughter Aila, who suffers from Friedreich's Ataxia.  Through fundraising efforts and carrying a PayPal button on this blog, the Group has made a significant financial contribution - not to mention providing invaluable moral support and awareness raising.  We hope that some of the reflections and reporting that have been made in connection with Aila and her needs have helped "raise the profile" of disabled people, their needs and their value.

The extension has now been built and we are at the stage of decorating and furnishing it, so the time has come to close "Aila's Fund" and to say a huge, huge THANK YOU to the Group and to all our benefactors.  We cannot overstate the difference these adaptations are going to make to Aila's safety and independence and we ask the Lord's blessings and Our Lady's prayers for you all.

Praying for an end to abortion

Today we have our first blog post by group member Chris (but due to technical issues it has my name at the bottom!!!)

40 Days For Life is an international campaign that, usually, runs twice a year and hold a peaceful vigil of prayer opposite the headquarters of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in Bedord Square, London. Katherine and I went there on Sunday to show our support and also to see if it was something that the Parish might like to support in the future.

The vigil at the corner of Bedford Square, as you can see it
remained well attended after we retreated to find coffee!

We were booked into the 1pm to 2pm slot and arrived, much to our astonishment, at exactly the right time. We found three people at the vigil and in front of them were three boards, showing what the vigil was for and also a large sign with a passage from the Bible on it. The people were very welcoming and pleased to see us, especially the two Polish ladies, who had been standing there for two hours and we're rather cold! We took their place and had a chat with the man, Martin (who we assumed was one of the co-ordinators of the vigil), who was there.

He said that the Polish community had been very supportive of the vigil. He said that there was another vigil up the road and, between them, they had already saved 35 babies from being aborted. The other week, a Pro Choice group set up near them and began shouting abuse. A lady who works nearby came over to the Pro Life group and said that, although she didn't necessarily share their views, she was disgusted by the other group's behaviour. While we were there, only one person said a negative comment as he passed by. Most people looked and were respectful.

While we were there, we prayed as a group which was a beautiful and moving experience in itself as none of us knew each other but we had all been called there by our love for God and our neighbour. There was a blue book with various Scripture passages and prayers in it which we took turns to read aloud, we also said the Rosary. 

After an hour, we said our goodbyes and the man said that they'd be delighted if members from our Parish would be able to come to next year's vigil. Before heading home we stopped to light a couple of candles at the ever spectacular Westminster Cathedral. I'm really glad I went and I know Katherine feels the same. Please, please continue to pray for all those facing crisis pregnancies and for those helping with the vigil.

Teenage pregnancies - how can we help?

Thanks to Les Whittaker of the East Grinstead Gospel of Life group for drawing our attention to an article in his local paper which reveals that 75% of under-18s who fall pregnant in Mid Sussex have an abortion - in other words, 3 out of 4. This is apparently the highest rate in the county.  Here in Horsham we fall into West Sussex whose rate stands at 59%, but this is still above the national average of 50%.

You can read the article here.

Now pro-choicers might point to this as celebrating the availability of abortion facilities for young girls and their "freedom of choice".  We wonder exactly how free this choice often is, however, in a social culture that lauds sexual freedom and presents abortion as the convenient and essentially scruple-free answer when pregnancy arises.  It wouldn't be surprising if when combined with pressure from family and boyfriends, the necessity to adapt education and career plans and a natural concern at coping with motherhood at such a young age, this prevailing cultural outlook tended to panic young women down the road to the abortion clinic without pause for thought.

So what can pro-lifers do about these figures?  The answer must surely lie in active support for girls coping with crisis pregnancies.  Teenage pregnancy is a big deal and young women facing it deserve time and space to think through the options without pressure.  One of the best places for them to do this is in a local crisis pregnancy centre.  As Sara Jackson, manager of the Haven Crisis Pregnancy Centre in Burgess Hill, remarks in the article, "We offer the opportunity for young women to come and talk through their options. Some may feel that abortion is the easiest option because it is over quickly. But we aim to give the girls a bit more time and we give them more information so they can make an informed decision."

It is also important to ensure that young women realise abortion isn't the consequence-free, simple solution it is sometimes portrayed as being, the easy alternative to facing an unplanned pregnancy.    Rob Williamson, chairman of the Mid Sussex branch of LIFE which offers support to young girls who find themselves pregnant and even safe houses where they can stay and have their babies, says in the article, "These statistics are shocking because, first of all, girls should not be put through this type of trauma. We are desperately sorry for the girls, of course, and we are also sorry if this results in an abortion... the turmoil these girls can go through is huge. I think more teenagers are seeking out abortions because they do not feel ready for a baby, but we can help to support them."

So how can we each help to offer the support that will help young girls feel able to save the life of their babies by either keeping them or putting them forward for adoption rather than abortion?  Of course, if we know anyone facing a crisis pregnancy, then we can put ourselves out to offer friendship, a listening ear and time to chat.  It's vital to arm ourselves with local knowledge so that we can direct friends in the direction of nearby people and organisations that can help them.  And even if we aren't personally close to anyone in this situation, we can still help. Our local pregnancy crisis centre - in Horsham this is Oasis - and charities such as LIFE and The Good Counsel Network will appreciate our support, whether financially or in some practical way.  For example, St John's Pro Life Group hope to organise a collection of baby goods at church for Oasis to give to young mums.  See our minutes as linked to Katherine's previous post.

And of course, we can all pray, pray, pray!  Here at St John's group we've been saying a daily Memorare for the 40 Days For Life campaign and for all those facing crisis pregnancies.  Perhaps you'd like to join us?

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided.  Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother.  To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.  O mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petition but in thy mercy hear and answer me.  Amen.

Blowing out the cobwebs

It's been a long time since we've posted anything on the St. John's Pro Life blog...in fact over the last few months all of our regular activities in the parish have lain rather dormant but, at our meeting last week, we decided to renew our efforts in all areas, including posting on here!

So to start us off I thought you could all see what we intend to do over the coming months. You can download our recent meeting minutes here or email me for a copy. We intend to take things slowly, not bite off more than we can chew, but do more nonetheless. We'll also put up on here all the things we intend to do as they come along. If you see anything in the minutes you'd like to comment on then please, by all means do, or if you'd like to get involved in anything then that would be amazing too! You can always contact me via email if you have questions about any of our upcoming activities.

It's good to be back, God bless!

Perfect babies

I have just read this brilliant post on Ignitum Today on "perfect children." If you haven't already seen it you really must. I've posted the link below:

http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2012/07/18/92-and-perfect-babies/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

That statistic that 92% (which I'm assuming is just for the USA although I doubt it'll be little different for the UK) of babies diagnosed with Down's Syndrome are aborted is not only shocking but horrifying. Like the post's author I find it staggering that people can honestly believe that no life is better than a difficult one. Her story will, for many, raise questions as, obviously, in her case the conclusions drawn from the tests that were done were found to be inaccurate and for how many more children was this true? But regardless of whether the vast majority of children who were diagnosed with Down's syndrome did or did not have it it doesn't change the horror of the situation. So, so many children have been killed because people can't face the thought of bringing a child with a disability to term, there is a deep fear that the life that child will live will simply be unlivable, that they will be unlovable, that the lives of the parents will become too hard, that they won't have enough support and that it is cruel to bring a child with that kind of disability into the world. But, when faced with these sorts of fears and statements, I would always ask; "aren't we the ones with the disability?" After all it is we who are imposing the view that all life that is not 'normal', not 'average', not 'the same' as yours and mine is not worthy of existence. Is it not us who are so blind that we cannot even consider that someone with a different quality of life, with different abilities can still live a worthwhile life by simply living. And instead of pulling them and their families down with everything they can't do should we not try to maximise and emphasise what they can and pour our efforts into making that possible? Instead of spending billions on abortion spend billions on improving their quality of life and help them to live as full a life as we are able?

All of us, every, single one, is created in the image and likeness of God. Our innate dignity as human beings is founded in this. And that dignity, that expression of the image and likeness of God shines though the poor and sick and disabled and elderly just as much as through fit and healthy and young and wealthy. We need to see beyond the end of our own existence and truly appreciate the life of others. Yes, it may be different, but it is the beautiful, wonderful, awesome mystery of life just the same.

Memorial to the Unborn Child

Since our group's inception we have been holding small fundraising events (predominantly cake stalls...well everyone likes cake, don't they?) so that we could tidy up the Memorial to the Unborn Child in Hills Cemetery. The memorial, which consists of a simple marble tombstone (although I hasten to mention no-one is buried beneath the plot) that humbly commemorates all children lost before birth whether through miscarriage or abortion as well as still-births. Erected by the old SPUC branch in Horsham several years ago it had been left untended for a long while but was still being regularly visited with flowers and soft toys being left behind. Over the last 9 months a group member's daughter, Bekah, has been digging and slowly preparing the site for planting. It was slow going as, since the ground had never been dug, the soil was as hard as concrete! But now, as you will read in the Pro-Life newsletter at the end of the month, I am very pleased to say that the work is done, the plants are in and it looks wonderful!

If you are up that way do go and have a look-see, say a prayer if you have time for someone you know of who didn't make it to birth or, perhaps, spiritually adopt a child in danger of abortion.

Aila's Fund concert a roaring success!

Last Friday we held our Diamond Jubilee concert here in St. John's in aid of Aila's Fund and, I'm glad to say, it was a great success! Lots and lots of you wonderful people offered to help either behind the scenes with the box office, the sound system, organising the raffle and the like or by offering to share your talents by playing an instrument or singing. And, praise the Lord, even more of you came along to watch and enjoy the evening's entertainments. It was an...eclectic mix I suppose you'd say...we tried to accommodate everyone's tastes (as much as was humanly possible) and had a range of styles from classical to gospel, jazz to spanish guitars. On behalf of everyone involved in Aila's Fund I'd like to say a big THANK YOU!! to everyone who helped make the evening what it was, to the office staff and clergy, to the performers and to the wonderful audience. I believe we raised over £800! [Final total was actually just over £1,360 !! - Anneli] Not bad from one event, eh?

Here's some snaps from taken by the lovely Marilyn George...

Our lovely audience settling in as the concert began...

Fr. Terry kicked things off with a Handel
flute sonata...and a rendition of
'Annie's Song' for Fr. Richard!!

Bernard accompanying some of the performers.
He also played 'Crown Imperial March' on the
organ.

A brilliant duet with Claire O'Brien on flute and Cozette Rice on clarinet.

'Voices' sang beautifully for us...

Drinks and the raffle in the hall during the interval.

The Jazz Band sent us swinging into the second half...

Singing along to the Spanish guitar music...

...and here they are!

The Gospel choir brought the evening to a superb close with a song
chosen especially for Aila.

Watch the miracle of conception and early life

Thanks to Les Whittaker of the East Grinstead "Gospel of Life" group for sending me this amazing video.  It is a medical visualisation of conception and the development of the foetus in the womb, based on MRI scans.  Watch it and be amazed at the miracle which is the development of human life from its earliest single-cell beginning to an intricate and complex intelligent being - all before birth!  The most complicated parts of this development happen in the first few weeks. 

The human being is a precious marvel from his/her earliest days and worthy of all the respect and protection we can offer him.

Back to Basics 2: Catholic Marriage (1)

When my husband Edek and I were engaged, I – a non-Catholic at the time – was given a book called How to Survive being Married to a Catholic.  It set the fundamental teachings of the Church on matrimony out in cartoon strip form and was rather funny as well as very useful.  The page on sex, I remember, began with a cartoon depicting a grim-looking Bishop pointing his crozier in rather threatening fashion at a romantic couple below.  He was perched high atop towering words which read, “NO YOU CAN’T”. 

 

“NO YOU CAN’T” does rather sum up the impression many both inside and outside the Church have of Catholic teaching on sex and marriage, especially just now with gay partnerships so much in the news.  However, the boundaries that the Church places on sexual relationships arise out of the desire to protect something beautiful, meaningful and overwhelmingly positive.  May I suggest an exploration of the Church’s great big “YES!” to the beauty of human sexual love, taking the quotation below as our starting point.  
 

It’s too big a topic to cover in one go, though, so will be covered in a trinity of posts (fittingly enough really, as we shall see...)

The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptised persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.  (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1601)

'TIL DEATH DO US PART

"The matrimonial covenant..."

The rate of change of modern life can be frightening at times.  It’s not just that we’re advancing so rapidly in technological terms: that in and of itself is a value-free thing which can be turned to good or bad according to the use we make of it.  However, it seems that our approach to every aspect of life has become transitory, marked by impermanence, the desire for change, a mistrust of commitment, a valuing of some nebulous concept we call “progress” at the expense of tradition.  The way we view relationships is no exception.  We cohabit, we expect easy access to divorce; increasingly, children live in single parent families or households where one partner is not their natural parent.  “If it breaks, rather than try to fix it we dispose of it and get a new one” doesn’t just apply to our treatment of toys, socks or computers.

Marriage, in the eyes of the Church, is a covenant.  It is a binding partnership which two parties, the man and the woman, make together in clear recognition that amongst its terms is that of indissolubility – for better, for worse.  Why would two people do that?  Because they recognise that permanence and stability are the only conditions in which love can flourish.  Where the cold winds of conditionality blow, the seedling plant of human love dares not grow and bloom.  “Accept me for who I am” is the clarion call of many these days – well, Catholic marriage is the ultimate manifestation of this desire, a promise of permanent acceptance, even if you mess up or get wrinkly.

That’s exactly the type of relationship that God has had with His people from the very beginning.  The history of humankind as related in the Old Testament is a series of Covenants, made by God so that His people could live in close relationship with Him.  It’s exactly the type of relationship Jesus came to reaffirm and secure when He established the "New Covenant in His blood" - and that's the reason why marriage reflects the union of Christ with His bride, the Church, and with every human soul.  As the Catechism says, 

         Seeing God’s covenant with Israel in the image of exclusive and faithful married love, the prophets prepared the Chosen People’s conscience for a deepened understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage.  The books of Ruth and Tobit bear moving witness to an elevated sense of marriage, and to the fidelity and tenderness of spouses.  Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, a pure reflection of God’s love – a love “strong as death” that “many waters cannot quench”.  (CCC 1611)

 

Christ Himself affirms this in Matthew 19:8 when he “unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning: permission given by Moses to divorce one’s wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts” (CCC 1614).

God’s in it for the long run with each of us, just as he was with Israel throughout its chequered history.  He asks us to be in it for the long run with each other.

“...by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life...”
 

That’s all very well for God, you might say.  I’m only human and there’s only so much I can or think I should put up with.  (Before going on, it should be said that, of course, in cases of physical or mental abuse this is true and no-one should be asked to remain under the same roof as a spouse who, for example, beats them.)

Such cases aside, marriage does demand it all.  All of you, all of your love.  All your patience, tolerance and forgiveness. It’s because marriage demands it all that it is so wonderful and beautiful, such an unparalleled opportunity for growth and fulfilment as a human being.  “No pain, no gain” does not apply just to the gym.  Push your capacity for virtue and see how your moral muscle power and your heart's ability to pump out love both grow!

We all have bad days... wish I looked
this good when I was having one

God’s nuptial covenant with us brought Him to earth to suffer and die on the Cross so that He and we might enjoy each other in love for all eternity; similarly, married love is sacrificial.  Good marriages work so well because the sacrifice is mutual – the spouses, as encouraged by St Paul, “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21).  I don’t need to detail how one makes those sacrifices; big and little, they are called for every day. 

It can help to avoid two traps.  One: you are not two people living under the same roof; you are “one flesh” and each other’s priority (even when there are children on the scene).  Making that a lived reality rather than a pretty idea requires effort.  Two: don’t even vaguely hope for perfection.  God wants you to try for perfection, He helps you get closer to it, but He doesn’t send you packing because you haven't attained it yet.  Give your spouse the same leeway!

 

“... this covenant between baptised persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament....”

The disciples muttered and murmured amongst themselves when Jesus gave them the news that from here on in, marriage was forever.  It’d be better not to go near a woman in the first place, they decided.  However they were not allowing for the Jesus Factor.  Many engaged couples are told on marriage preparation courses that Jesus is the third person in their marriage.  Through Him, they receive what is known as a “grace of state” – supernatural aid to help them fulfil their vows.  The Catechism puts it beautifully,

          ...Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy – heavier than the Law of Moses.  By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God.  It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to ‘receive’ the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ.  This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ’s cross, the source of all Christian life. (CCC 1615)

 

It’s this presence of Christ in marriage that the Church has recognised in instituting it as a sacrament.  That is, like Baptism or Holy Communion, marriage is a vehicle of God's "grace" or life-changing power. It’s the one sacrament which the Latin Church does not bestow via an ordained minister; the man and woman confer it upon each other, with the minister there as witness on behalf of the Christian community (see CCC 1623).  It has to be bestowed with the free consent of both parties, and we’ll look at that in a further post.

Christians are ambitious for their marriages.  Man and wife, they are working together for a great and glorious ideal – to reflect in the world the love of God for humankind, of Christ for His Church and for every soul.  Together they aspire to offer themselves as a joint vessel of the grace and goodness of the Lord, a sacramental chalice of the Lord’s blood “poured out for many”.  That’s an ambition to make every other goal pale by comparison. 

As a married couple, you form the fabric of a living breathing sacrament.  You are a means through which God acts in the world. Next time you hold your spouse, then, remember how precious, how sacred their flesh is!

IT'S GOOD FOR YOU

 “...is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring...”
 

We’ve discussed that the stability and acceptance offered by a permanent marriage partnership offers the best environment for the flourishing of the human personality, secure in love and acceptance, and is even a necessary antidote to an increasingly transitory world. Marriage also, the Church teaches, shines a divine light on human nature so that we see it as God intended it.

        The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator.  Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures... These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics.  Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity, some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures.  “The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life.” (CCC 1604)

What are these "common and permanent characteristics"?  The Church refers back to Scripture, to the opening two chapters of Genesis where we see humanity created as male and female and given the command to be fruitful and multiply; where God sees that it is not good for the man to be alone and gives him woman as a “helpmate”, representing “God from whom comes our help” (CCC 1605).  In fact the human being, in his intrinsic need to love and be loved, is reflecting the nature of God, Three in One, who exists in a permanent relationship of love.  
 

Marriage reflects this Trinitarian love precisely in its composition as a relationship between man and woman, a relationship which is inherently fruitful (just as the Holy Spirit springs from the love of Father and Son within the Trinity). This is why gay marriage is not “marriage”.  It is a relationship of a different type.  One cannot separate out the procreative aspect of the sexual relationship from the “unitive” or loving aspect without denaturing it... but that will be the subject of one of the two further posts, when the call to have children will be looked at as well and we’ll finish our unpacking of the quotation above!

This is already a very long post and we haven’t covered:
 

“Free consent” and what about when it all goes wrong?

Sex, love and children

So watch this space!  Further “Back to Basics” are planned on euthanasia and embryo research amongst others but please do let us know if there’s a particular topic you’d like delved into.

A breath of fresh air in a muggy modern world – the life of St Gianna Beretta Molla

Thanks to her recent feast day (28 April) I have come across a few programmes and blog posts recently about St Gianna Beretta Molla, patron of mothers, physicians and unborn children.  She died in 1962 and was canonised by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 2004.  These programmes and posts prompted me to find out a bit more about her, and she blew across my soul like a breath of fresh air!  Why?

I had known the basic facts about St Gianna and the reason why she is such an inspirational saint for pro-lifers.  However, if you’d asked me what her sanctity consisted in I would have replied, “She sacrificed her life for her unborn child even though she could legitimately have saved herself” (St Gianna was diagnosed with a large fibroid tumour in her womb early in her fourth pregnancy, that could not be left untreated.  The Catholic Church would have allowed a hysterectomy to save her life, as this would not have been a direct abortion but the child’s death would have been an unintended secondary effect – the moral principle of “double effect”.  The Saint, however, chose to have a much riskier operation to remove the tumour so that her child might live.  She died of septic peritonitis after a difficult pregnancy and birth).
 

What I hadn’t realised was that St Gianna’s whole life was dedicated to sacrificial love (one of her best-known maxims is, “One cannot love without suffering or suffer without loving”).   All through her life this seems to have been her mission, indeed her raison d’être.  Endowed from an early stage with a strong sense of vocation, she would have liked to follow her brother overseas as a missionary but was dissuaded because her health was not strong enough.  Instead, she devoted herself to the formation of young girls in the “Catholic Action” movement and to doing good in the St Vincent de Paul association.  
 

Her vocational sense did not diminish; it is seen very clearly in her attitude to her work.  She was a doctor, practising both in general medicine and paediatrics, and – somewhat unusually for women in the 1950’s – continued her job after marrying and starting a family.  She had an enormous reverence for her patients, in every dimension of their being.  Thus her husband, Pietro, could say when interviewed at around the time of her beatification in 1994, “Gianna had a holy respect for the body and the person of the patient... She often repeated: ‘Whoever touches the body of a patient, touches the body of Christ.’  It was a quasi-sacramental concept, according to which Gianna sought to cure illnesses but at the same time bring comfort to spirits.  The sick realised they were treated with dignity and were grateful.” St Gianna would surely have been an enthusiastic advocate of the Theology of the Body!  
 

Her sense of vocation is also strong in her other great calling – marriage and motherhood.  During their engagement she wrote to Pietro, “I have so much trust in the Lord, and I am certain that he will help me be a worthy spouse to you.  I like to meditate often on the first reading for the Mass of Saint Anne: ‘Who shall find a valiant woman?... The heart of her husband trusteth in her... She will render him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.’ (Prov 31:10-12.)  Pietro, I wish I could be the valiant woman of the Scripture for you!”  Ten days before their wedding she wrote, “I would like our new family to be a cenacle gathered around Jesus”.
 

St Gianna was a virtuous woman.  When her cause for beatification was introduced, Pietro wrote – in the form of a “conversation” with his late wife – a summary of how she conformed to the theological and cardinal virtues.  St Gianna, who had a great reverence for Church teaching and did her best to pass it on to the young women in her care in Catholic Action conferences, would have seen life in these terms too.  She attended Mass daily if at all possible and her life, as Pietro tells us, “rested on prayer” – the Rosary, meditation, and a great devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel to whom she consecrated each of her babies after their baptism.  At her suggestion she and Pietro prepared for their wedding day with a triduum of Mass and prayer.
 

And yet with all this she was joyful.  She lived life to the full.  She loved creation; she loved skiing; she loved attending plays and concerts; she expanded her somewhat workaholic fiancé’s worldview by encouraging him to play as well as work.  Pietro says, “In our workaday life, Gianna introduced the elements of beauty and festivity”.  In fact, amongst her notebooks we find that she wrote a whole Hymn to the Smile!
 

So: sacrificial love; vocation; prayer; virtue; joy. Pietro praises her distinctively “feminine” qualities.  Her role as wife and mother was of central importance to her.  All this, it seems to me, makes her a vital (both in terms of importance and of alive-ness!) “sign” in our times.  Reading the book co-authored by her husband and writer Elio Guerriero, I was deeply refreshed by her simplicity, her straightforwardness, her cutting to the heart of what is important in life and what makes it worth living.  
 

A few days before St Gianna’s beatification, Cardinal Martini said, “Figures like Gianna Beretta Molla are a sign of hope for us, even in this confused time that we pass through.”  I would say, especially in this confused time.  In an age of specious sophistication, dissent masquerading as intelligent debate, arrogant intellectualism, individualistic rejection of authority and a sense that we have “moved beyond” the old-fashioned simple approaches of virtue and devotion (and that’s just within the Church!), St Gianna witnesses – in the words of Cardinal Martini – to a “simple charism of fidelity to the Gospel”.  I could almost feel myself unwind as I read more and more about her.  “Thank goodness for that,” my soul seemed to say.  

Thank Goodness for St Gianna Beretta Molla. 

Facts and quotations above are drawn from the book "Saint Gianna Molla" by Pietro Molla and Elio Guerriero, trans. James G Colbert, published by Ignatius Press, ISBN 0-89870-887-7

Civil rights for the unborn?

A thought-provoking video by ProLife Wisconsin (hat tip to John Smeaton)...

It brings to mind the words of Ruth Pakaluk, featured in an earlier post.  "Human rights are rights that pertain to us simply in virtue of the fact that we are human, not for any reason above and beyond that; the fundamental human right is the right to life, and so, if that right is denied, then all human rights are in effect denied; the thing growing in the mother's womb is surely alive (otherwise it would not need to be killed by abortion), and it is human; thus, to deny that the thing growing in the mother's womb has the right to life is to deny that anyone has any human rights whatsoever."

Back to Basics: 1. From conception until natural death

Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2319.)

This is one of the most frequently quoted phrases by pro-lifers, one you've more than likely heard or read before. The Church has a lot to say about the sanctity of human life, she proclaims it boldly in fact, and it all stems from this one little sentence. In these 34 words more is said about the wonderful gift of life, its meaning and purpose than often meets the eye. And for some it also raises a lot of questions. I have tried to address some of the more frequently asked ones...

When does life begin?

Before I answer this question I'd first like to ask you one...when do you think a person becomes a person?

a) At birth
b) At 24 weeks
c) When there is an audible heartbeat and organs are forming
d) At conception

We asked this very question to our parish's confirmation candidates a few weeks ago and, whilst most of them answered d), there were some who thought c). There is a lot of conflicting opinion about precisely when human life begins; read different books, visit different websites and you will be told very different things. Part of the reason for this is that people often use strange, alien terms to refer to an unborn child during the various stages of development (e.g. zygote, foetus, embryo and many others) which dehumanise it and desensitise us to what it is too. But the fact is that a person is a human life from the very first moment, from the point of conception that zygote is an unborn child. Yes, he or she doesn't have arms or legs or a head yet but not being fully formed yet doesn't make them any less of a human being, in the same way that a toddler is no less a person than an adult purely because they haven't finished growing. A fertilised ovum will always result in a child growing in the womb of the mother, there is no point at which it suddenly becomes human having not been so before.

What does the Church have to say about life beginning at conception?

The Church has always believed that human life starts from the moment of conception. Until 1751 New Years Day in the English calendar was not January 1st but March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Our Lady that she was to become the mother of God (Luke 1:26-38). Our ancestors, along with the rest of the Body of Christ, recognised that Jesus' life on earth began long before his birth on December 25th. His incarnation began in the womb of the Virgin Mary, he became man at that moment, was fully human from that point onwards. The same is true of each of our lives; we are fully ourselves, totally human from conception. And because of this we have the same right to life as any other person. (CCC 2323)

What does it mean to be "created in the image and likeness of the holy and living God"?


Scripture and tradition speak at length about our innate dignity as human beings. That word, 'dignity', is one often thrown around, twisted and warped to mean a whole host of different things in a wide variety of contexts. But our true dignity stems from our being created in the image and likeness of God (CCC 1700), we are given a special gift, a unique honour in creation in that we resemble the divine. And this image and likeness, this dignity, is expressed in all of us, it is what makes each of us truly equal with our neighbour, none of us have more dignity than someone else. This image and likeness is expressed through the sick, elderly, disabled and dying, the toddler and the unborn child just as much as it is shown in the young, the fit, the successful and the healthy. Nothing can ever change this, no set of circumstances, no other person can ever alter the fact that we are made in God's image and that we are loved and cherished by him more than we could ever hope to fathom. And because we all share the same innate dignity we all have the same right to life. Just as no one can stop you from being created in God's likeness so can no one take away your dignity and your inviolable right to exist.

This is an immense and beautiful gift given to us by our Father in heaven, our lives are not something that we can create or bestow upon ourselves or others but something that we have been entrusted with.

What is 'natural death'?

Our lives are a gift from God from the moment of conception and this carries on until the moment we die. Because our lives are not our own (man does not have full dominion over his life, he cannot control when he comes into existence and only has limited control over his mind, body and spirit) they are not ours to end prematurely. Our human existence is directed towards doing the will of God and we do this through the big and small, major and minor events of every day right up until we breathe our last breath. In living the life that God has ordained for us and dying when he chooses we offer him our full obedience (CCC 1011), we set our worldly desires and will to one side and set our eyes on the things of heaven.

But as bleak as this may sound to some death is not a negative, nor is living out our full life. In living a full life (i.e. a life not cut short) we are given the invaluable opportunity to carry our very own Cross, to walk with Christ, to journey with him towards the Father, to grow in love and holiness for God and our fellow man. And because of Christ's triumph on the Cross at Calvary death is not the end but only a gateway into life, life with God for all eternity (CCC 1010). It is something that we should look forward to and prepare ourselves for through a regular reception of the sacraments.

That being said it is not something that we can or should hasten. Suffering is something that is as painful to watch as it is to endure but that does not mean that there is no value in it, that a person's life in those times of darkness and pain is less worth of having than yours or mine. We are called to love our neighbour, to care for them as we would have others do to us (Mark 12:30-31), to try and ease their discomfort through the means at our disposal (e.g. pain medication etc.) but not to perform so-called 'mercy-killings' as, due to our innate dignity as human beings, that person is still created in the image and likeness of God right up until the end and we have no right to say when a life becomes 'worthless' or 'too hard to endure'.

Don't we have the right to an abortion or the right to die?


There is a notion that we have the "right" to an abortion or the "right" to die as and when we choose, some even refer to them as "human rights." Human rights were created and given international recognition after the Second World War to ensure that never again would the rights of our fellow man be violated in such a dreadful way. These rights are there to protect our lives, to keep our right to life from being threatened by others. We, to name but one example, have the right to live free from the threat of torture, something designed to keep us safe and well.

Abortion and assisted suicide/assisted death can never be "rights" as they fundamentally undermine our right to life, they purposely seek to destroy it and this is totally contrary to what human rights were created for in the first place. Abortion, assisted suicide and assisted death are attacks and violations of our dignity as human beings, they destroy that life which has been freely created and freely given and are not a "right" and can certainly never be the correct course of action to take.

Although I tried to think of a poetic conclusion to draw this post to a close it unfortunately didn't quite come together. So instead I leave you with the same quote I opened with and hope that you will see more in those 34 words, understand better the Church's need to proclaim the Gospel of Life than you perhaps did to begin with.

Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2319.)