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Pro-Life

Random Thoughts, Volume 2

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Last weekend, I was on a two-night campout with my younger daughter’s American Heritage Girls troop.  And truly, I had a great time.  I would say so even if my whole family, children included, did not read my blog.

But, to be honest, before this, I used to say to people, “You know, the closest I get to camping is Hampton Inn.”  I love the outdoors, but I really like to come home to my own bed, or a Hampton Inn.  Some of you will know what I mean.

Even though I was officially having fun, after the first restless night with lots of little girls tossing and turning and needing to go use the latrine, I was pretty tapped out during a lull on Saturday afternoon.  So I might have hiked the half-mile to the minivan to take refuge for a little bit of quiet and non-outdoors.  I am sooo glad that I did.  That’s because I caught the very end of The Moth Radio hour. I generally stay away from The Moth, as I generally find it a more pretentious and annoying version of This American Life.  While I love and find   so Catholic and catholic, so many of the stories on TAL, it can also occasionally veer into the annoying category.

So my first random thought is to share this and invite you to take a few minutes to listen to “Before Fergus,”  Lynn Ferguson’s story of when she was pregnant at an “advanced maternal age.”  Listen if for no other reason than to hear her Scottish brogue.  Lovely.  Sitting there listening to it, and having a few minutes of quiet, was just enough to help me get back to several dozen energetic girls, the campfire, and sleeping in a bunk.

More randomness:

Do our Kids Get Off Too Easy? –Alfie Kohn, The New York Times.I found his book Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes

that I read many, many years ago, utterly fascinating, and it really informed how I parent, I think because I was parented this way, without my parents having the benefit of such a book.  “Other researchers, meanwhile, have shown that high self-esteem is beneficial, but that even more desirable is unconditional self-esteem: a solid core of belief in yourself, an abiding sense that you’re competent and worthwhile — even when you screw up or fall short.”

Always Hungry? Here’s Why–The New York Times “If this hypothesis (that “rapidly digestible carbs” are the cause of hunger & weight gain) turns out to be correct, it will have immediate implications for public health. It would mean that the decades-long focus on calorie restriction was destined to fail for most people. Information about calorie content would remain relevant, not as a strategy for weight loss, but rather to help people avoid eating too much highly processed food loaded with rapidly digesting carbohydrates. But obesity treatment would more appropriately focus on diet quality rather than calorie quantity.”

The ‘Casket Catechesis’ of John Paul II–National Catholic Register.  Not new but read-worthy.  A man inspired to start a simple casket business after seeing the casket of John Paul II. “I hope that Marian Caskets is a part of this spiritual awakening, where death is accepted but where it won’t have the last word. That’s what the casket catechesis of soon-to-be St. John Paul II is all about: facing reality with humility, acknowledging our sins and asking for God’s mercy.”

18 Reasons Why This Skeptical Pediatrician Came to Love Homeschooling Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, Aleteia.  My brother sent me this article and I found it really interesting and well-argued.  I still felt a little exhausted just reading about this family’s schedule though!  Neat connection: Kathleen attended the 2012 Behold Conference.  I got to meet her but not spend much time with her.

Who Gets to Graduate? –Paul Tough, The New York Times magazine.  Helping the most-at-risk kids to graduate.  I haven’t finished this one yet, but I find it fascinating, and want my teens to read.

What have you read or listening to randomly this week?

Haphazard Random Thoughts

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We have a family joke that whenever Mom (that would be me) says, “I have a random thought,” everyone runs screaming, because it’s usually followed by, “… we should clean out the garage” or ” or some other maybe-not-too-pleasant thing that will happen since I am Mom and moms are all-powerful.  That’s not really how it works, but I love that my husband and kids enjoy making fun of me in a cute way.

So, I keep sharing articles and various other links on Facebook or (less often) Twitter, and then when I want to find them, I have to scroll back through my own feed to find them.  And my husband often (very often) shares articles via e-mail with me, and sometimes I get to them, and share them.  But it’s all haphazard.

The “haphazard” way I read and share online isn’t going to change, but there will be a post here every so often with a random assortment of links that have had me thinking and pondering, or that moved me in some way.

I don’t have a catchy name for this yet–thus, the “Haphazard Random Thoughts.”  But I want to get this started.   Any thoughts for a good name are welcome here.

So burdened last week with the news out of Harvard, and I was unbelievably glad when it was all over, saying prayers of thanksgiving at Mass & Adoration on Tuesday:

“Holy Hour in Reparation for Acts Committed Against the Eucharist”

and some follow-up:

“Describer of Planned Black Mass-Guess How He Died?” Elizabeth Scalia at The Anchoress. I was all set for this to be sad, and then it wasn’t.  Praise God.

“Satan: A Small Skirmish Won, but the Battle Goes On.” –Thomas MacDonald. “And while we do this, we must remember that the battleground of Satan is within us as well. As Solzhenitsyn wrote, the line separating good and evil passes right through every human heart. I’d rather not lose a single soul to Hell. Not one. Not even the soul of my worst enemy.”

“The Problem with Confidence” –David Brooks, The New York Times. Sometimes my husband e-mails me articles, and then when he tells me about them in person, and sends me back to my neglected in-box to read them, I know it must be very good.  This one was, and there is almost too much good to quote. “The person with the confidence mind-set is like the painfully self-conscious person at a dinner party who asks, “How am I coming across?” The person with an instrumentalist mind-set is serving a craft and asks “What does this specific job require?”

 

“Tolstoy and Miss Daisy,” Frank Bruni, The New York Times.  I cried at this one, and this was one I shared with my husband first, and then I forgot to share on Facebook and Twitter and to tag all my siblings and their kids.  “They were proof, these two, that a family can pass its painstakingly nurtured closeness down through the generations, and that there comes a moment when the values impressed on the youngest members of the brood — the values imposed on them, really — become the values they actually elect.”

“Running  Back from Hell” by Christine Fennessy, Runner’s World.  I read this in the paper version back when it arrived in our mailbox–Runner’s World is one of my favorite magazine subscriptions.  Many (not all) of the long articles in Runner’s World are top-notch.  This was one recent standout.  How running is helping soldiers manage and overcome PTSD.

And let’s throw in a recipe for good measure:

“Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp Bars” Deb Perlman, The Smitten Kitchen. Our garden is producing lots of rhubarb this years from ancient plants we inherited when we bought our old house 20 years ago. I am looking for new recipes to try. I adapted this from another recipe of hers (I didn’t want “crispy” bars in any way–just yummy) and we cannot stop eating this one.

7 Quick Takes About #2PopeSaints

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1. Did you know there is a hashtag for the canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII? It’s #2popesaints.

2. John Paul II was the pope for most of my teen years, and most of my adult life, as well. John Paul II was the first pope I remember being pope, and such vivid memories—when he was elected, when he was shot, how he traveled the world and was so full of life.

As a young adult and beyond, I read his encyclicals, his poetry, and his books. HE’s influenced my life in so many ways. I wrote about the then-upcoming conclave that elected Pope Francis here: and reflected back on when John Paul II died and what we did. I will be getting out that scrapbook again this weekend.

To be honest, I don’t know as much about John XXIII.

I’ve had a post “in draft” for more than a week with books by/about the two popes, and I was feeling bad about not finding tons of books written by/about John XXIII, like there are of JP II. Then I was out to dinner several weeks ago with my husband and a dear friend (a bit older than both of us, who has seen more popes). He pointed out that Pope John XXIII was only pope for five years, contrasted to JPII’s 26 years as Holy Father.

This article from the Knights of Columbus “Columbia” magazine:

“Good Pope John and the Knights” was a helpful introduction to me.

Also: “Jokes, quips, wisecracks-John XXIII lived with a keen sense of humor.”  Sweet.

3.  So, books.

John XXIII is best known, book-wise, for Journal of a Soul: The Autobiography of Pope John XXIII.

This was a very moving and inspiring book.  It’s a collection of a lot of different elements–the bulk is formed of his diaries, arranged chronologically from when he was a seminarian  (for some reason, written as “seminarist” in this book) through when he was Holy Father. Things that impressed me:

*John XXIII’s deep holiness. He’s always reflecting on how to grow in holiness himself, and inspire that in others. His ideas for retreats, outreaches and

*his spiritual testament and will, showing the state of his life and faith towards the end of his life.

*prayers that he wrote for various occasions and various saints. Just one out of many that is impressive and sweet: One written in 1960 to “St. Joseph the Worker.” A lot of the language in it prefigures a major theme of the Vatican II documents: holiness in everyday life.

*in the appendices, a section of “maxims heard or gleaned from various sources” that Pope John XXIII made as a seminarian.  It contains quotes from Scripture, the saints and church documents, all pointing towards  holiness and heaven.  I have been a huge quote fan since I was young–some of my most prized possessions are various quotation books, like a number of Bartlett’s Quotations, that were gifts from my father, also a huge quote lover.  For some time, I’ve had a goal to collect various scraps of things into a commonplace book, or inspire my children to start one of their own.   Reading John XXIII’s selections is giving me a nudge to get that going this year.

4.  Books by John Paul II. So, so many. Just two of my favorites:


This was answering a series of questions put by journalist Vittorio Messori about the Catholic faith, truth in other faiths, and just human life over all.  I love this one; I haven’t read it in years but I’m pulling it off the shelf to read again.

I love the poetry of John Paul II.  I have several versions of his poetry, and I think this book includes most of them. I shared two of his poems  (read them here and here) three years ago when JPII was beatified.

5. Books about John Paul II.  Again, there are so many, but here are three (plus one not quite “out” yet).


George Weigel’s Witness to Hope is the definitive biography of JPII.  It is fantastic, and really a must-read by everyone college age on up. But at more than 1,000 pages, it is a long read.  For those who want a more popular and good introduction to the heroism, holiness and charisma of John Paul II, may I suggest Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason Evert.


I really enjoyed this book.  The short biographical chapters remind us just what a remarkable man John Paul II was and why he is “the great,” and it works really well to organize the rest of the book into JPII’s five loves: young people, human love, the Blessed Sacrament, the Virgin Mary, and the Cross.  And this one is just a bit over 200 pages–much more manageable.  I plan to have my kids read this book, and hope that it whets their appetite down the road for tackling Witness to Hope.

Peggy Noonan’s John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father was a gift to me by one of my sisters many years ago, and I must confess I’ve never read it.  Pulling off the shelf to give it a go this summer, perhaps?

This book looks so promising: The Story of Saint John Paul II: A Boy Who Became Pope by Fabiola Garza. I downloaded this on Kindle because I didn’t think (rightly) that a print review copy would arrive before writing about JPII books.  Regrettably, there are some glitches with the e-version.  You can read and listen to it, but the illustrations aren’t there.  I think it being worked on, and I can’t wait to see a physical copy of this book, and an improved e-version.  I’ll be writing about it once I do.

6. Links about JP II

*21 Awesome Facts about John Paul II.

*Loved this “Letter to Artists” excerpts read by students at John Paul the Great University. “Beauty will save the world.”

7.  Finally, I couldn’t resist sharing–yet again!– John Paul II autotuned.  I just LOVE this one.

Linking up with Jen Fulwiler for 7 Quick Takes.

What books/videos/resources/links can you share about 2popesaints?

Five Ideas for the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

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What are you doing to mark today’s 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade?

Last year, I wrote about five ideas for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  I’m updating that this year with some new ideas.

1.  Celebrate the first Rogation Day for Life

Yesterday I shared how Rogation Days are back in the diocese of Peoria, and how I hope to commemorate the first one, today.  Its theme is Life, naturally, and suggestions include attending a pro-life event, visiting an elderly neighbor or family member, and praying the rosary and other devotions.

I am so intrigued with the idea of Rogation Days and setting aside a day for prayer and penance at different points in the year.

2. Speak Life

I wrote last year during 40 Days for Life about how we are all loved and forgiven.  I also wrote about how I haven’t always spoken life when it was necessary.

So this year, I’m going again with promoting the idea that the theme song of the March for Life should be the song “Speak Life” by TobyMac.

How will you “speak life” today?

3. Be part of the March for Life.

This is one of the times I’m really grateful we still have a (locally provided) cable television.  Since EWTN is one of the stations, we can watch the March and tons of interviews live. Here’s a link to the pro-life programming on EWTN this week.    (Local side note: part of that programming includes a show to air Friday night at 9:30 CST called “Voices in the Desert,” about the Pope Paul VI Institute and its work.  One of the young doctors featured on the show is Dr. Jillian Stalling, an ob/gyn in the Peoria area.

Our older teenager is actually at the March for Life with a group from our diocese and local Catholic high school.  It’s terrific to have a member of our family on the ground so to speak, and also we hope to catch a glimpse of her and the group somewhere along the way.  This is a meme just for her:

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4. Be pro-life in your own way.

Encountering a group of fellow LIFE Runners who ran the Naples Half -Marathon last weekend was an unexpected blessing, and I’ll be writing more about that in the future.

I was in Naples last weekend for two reasons: visiting family, and running the half-marathon. It’s my third time doing this particular race (the second along with my much-faster niece) and I really enjoy it. This visit allows our family to visit brother and sister-in-law, both law professors, and their family, and get a little sun and warmth mid-winter.

As I’ve written about in the past, LIFE Runners combines for me two loves: long-distance running, and devotion to the pro-life cause. I wrote before about how I did the St. Louis Marathon with LIFE Runners (visit part 1 here and visit part 2 here ), and the great experience I had there.

In the meantime, here’s a very quick interview with three of the 12 LIFE Runners (all from Ave Maria University). I am proud of myself for posting this even though I am not the least bit thrilled with way I look or sound here, and I don’t have the time to edit the video properly.  I’m just so proud of these young women:

5. Read (or re-read) some great pro-life books.

I’ve shared many, many pro-life books over the years.  Let me just share one now, that you can read with your children:

This book–about an unborn child who sees an angel while “in the waters”–is universally appealing among all age groups.  It’s a classic that people will be giving their children and grandchildren for years to come.  I can never read it without tearing up, and I dare you to, too.

(linking up for the first time with Moxie Wife, because I realized this fits into Five Favorites).

What are you doing to remember Roe v. Wade this year? 

Rogation Days–Will You Celebrate?

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Did you hear–Rogation Days have returned to the Diocese of Peoria?

I was so intrigued to read several weeks back an article in The Catholic Post about Rogation Days, and how the diocese is implementing them again.  Fr. Luke Spannagel wrote this helpful and theological article describing the concept of Rogation Days and how they might be celebrated this year.  Fr. Spannagel is diocesan episcopal vicar for rural life.

From his article:

The word “rogation” comes from the Latin word rogare, which means “to ask.” As some of our seasoned Catholics may remember from their youth, Rogation Days were days set apart by the Church for prayer and penance, specifically asking God’s blessing on the fields and for a fruitful growing season.

There were various traditional rogation days, many related to agriculture and the harvest (thus why Fr. Spannagel is involved in this project), and currently U.S. bishops are allowed to decide and proclaim the celebration of Rogation days on a diocese-by-diocese basis.

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Bishop Jenky has set aside five Rogation Days for 2014, inviting the faithful locally to have a special day of penance and prayer each of these days.  Here they are:

January 22: for Life (the anniversary of Roe v. Wade)

March 24: for Planting (the Eve of the Annunciation, March 25, and the beginning of the growing season)

 June 23: for Growing (highlighting pollination and the continued growing season)

September 13: for Harvest (highlighting victory, completion-the Eve of the Triumph of the Holy Cross)

December 7: for Family (for Eve of the Immaculate Conception, highlighting the goodness of family)

Please read Fr. Spannagel’s entire article about Rogation Days to get a sense of what these are all about, as well as some specific suggestions for parishes, families, and individuals to do on each of those days.

We are going to try to observe these days as much as possible in our family, so they are added to our calendar.

Since tomorrow is the first one, we will continue our tradition of watching the March for Life (live, on EWTN), trying to attend Mass that day, and giving up meat and special treats all day (no chocolate for me).  I’ll be updating my five ideas list that I did last year for tomorrow.

Did you know about Rogation Days before now? Do you plan to celebrate them, and if so, how? I’d love to hear some other creative ideas.

You are Loved. You are Forgiven.

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I made a mistake.

IMG_3223The woman walked up to the abortion clinic and stood, holding a sign still a little drippy with paint, about five yards or so from our larg-ish group of sisters, couples & families with kids for our shift at the local 40 Days for Life last week.

I made a mistake.

My husband spotted her and pointed out her sign to me. I extricated myself from a group of wiggly kids and sprinted over.

As I put my arm around her, both to comfort her and because she looked cold (it was about 50 and windy, and she did not have a coat on), she said, “Don’t get too close to me; you might get wet paint on you.”

I told her not to worry about that, and kept my arm in place as we moved closer to our group. She thanked me for putting my arm around her, since it helped to calm her a little. I didn’t know what to say.

And then the words came out of my mouth:

“You know you are loved. You know you are forgiven.”

She nodded and we stayed in silence for some time, the voices of a group of teens and younger kids praying the rosary nearby.

After a while, we chatted about our children, and teenagers, and best friends. It was a pretty mundane conversation, two moms visiting, as moms will do.

After about 10 minutes or so, she said, “Well, I came what I did to do. Do you want me to leave my sign?” Of course, I said.

(The sign is still there, I’m told by other 40 Days for Life-rs).

She said, “Well, I hope I saved someone from going what I went through.”

I told her again, “You know you are loved, and you are forgiven.”

“Yes,” she said.

I told her that I would pray for her, and I asked her to pray for me. I tried to tell her about Silent No More (and realized only later that there were signs from the group in the 40 Days for Life stash), but it was a pretty poor job. Here is the website.

I have hesitated to share this story because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself in this–it was the Holy Spirit speaking through me.

So many times I haven’t gotten the conversation right.

If you don’t know me in real life, believe me: on a lot of topics, I tend to either talk too much or talk too little. But a few related to life issues stand out:

*in high school I worked at a candy store in the mall. One day, I was visiting there with a friend and her brother (her name is lost to the mists of time; I’m not even sure if it was a brother & sister, but that’s how I recall it.) A girl about our age came in to buy some candy. I had never seen her before, and I never saw her again. She shared that she thought she might be pregnant. I’m not sure I said anything at all. If I did it was not helpful, since I was a garden-variety insecure and self-centered teenager. I do recall being embarrassed by the brother laughing nervously, but not enough to do or say anything about it.

*various conversations over the years in which I’ve been dismissive, uncharitable and unkind of of friends or family whose views that don’t align perfectly with my idea of “pro-life.” Instead of being a good listener or a good prayer intercessor for my most dear, I have been the opposite.

*Several years ago, I happened to join Twitter right at the beginning of 40 Days for Life. One of my first tweets was something like, “#40DaysforLife in Peoria: women deserve better than abortion” after my hour in front of the abortion clinic. Later that day on the #40daysforlife hashtag, there was a long monologue from a Texas abortion advocate who wrote (in multiple tweets) about how her mother (and she) would have been better off if she had been aborted, so unpleasant was her upbringing and early life.

I remember feeling very strongly to tweet back, “Well, I am really, truly glad you were born, and I’m glad you are alive.” But I didn’t know Twitter at all, and felt afraid–what would be her response? Would she harass me? Was this even “done” on Twitter?

Of course, conversations between strangers are “done” on Twitter, and friendships can form, and people also harass each other. But I was a Twitter novice, and I still am in a lot of ways. So I stayed silent, and while I did pray for her, I never responded.

So I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity I had last week to stand side by side with the woman at the abortion clinic last week. It’s one of the rare times I truly felt I got the conversation “right.”

“I made a mistake.”

Haven’t we all? I am just as much a sinner in need of God’s grace, and so grateful for the love of Christ.

“You are loved. You are forgiven.”

A few days later, someone shared this article, “Don’t Assume People Know God Loves Them,” and what really hit home for me was the author, Rebecca Teti, describing what happens when she realizes a friend does not know this basic fact:

“Now the tears came to my eyes, too. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Here was a beloved daughter of God who did not know how much God loves her: who had no inkling of the beauty and value of her own soul, no notion of God’s infinite mercy – his power to draw good from evil circumstances, to “make all things new.” How it must have ached her fragile heart to … (hear) about the beauty of the relationship with Christ, but with no understanding that it was available to her, too. She thought she had “blown it” and must forever look wistfully in at the windows of Christianity, never to be allowed inside.”

Do you know that, really and truly?

Do you know that you are loved?

Do you know that you are forgiven?

Thoughts on this topic:

1. You are loved. You are forgiven.

2. I am loved. I am forgiven.

3. God is love, and we are his precious children.

update from me: this morning when I was waking up one of my children, I turned on the bedside clock radio, and this song was playing.  It made me think of this post (and I still hold by belief this song should be the theme of the March for Life every year) about how to “speak life” and how our prayers can be answered.

How are you going to “speak life” today?