With the month of November almost here, don't forget about the Holy Souls in Purgatory. If you are unsure what to pray for them, check out Requiem Press. Scroll down to where the "Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering" booklet is presented. I bought one of these not long ago, It's a great way to pray for the Holy Souls, and remember that they will also pray for you.
This morning, I attended a Men's Morning of Spirituality with Danny Abramowicz, former wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints as the key speaker. Our bishop said the Mass at the end, and we had a witness talk as well. There were several hundred men present there. The rather large church building in the Germantown suburb was filled to capacity.
As I reflect on it, I realize how much this kind of ministry is needed. In fact, one major problem that we have is that much of the spirituality (and especially the music) has been been too feminine in nature. Many of the hard truths are softened on the pulpits and in other places. The idea of spiritual warfare, which we must all wage, is just not fashionable today. One thing that was presented this morning was that being on a SWAT team and crashing in to a prostitution house to arrest the people running it is very much a Christian act. Imagine if that were said in another venue. Oh no! It might upset a pseudo-Christian pacifist movement that insists that those people who kidnap women to sell as prostitutes just need love and understanding. It's a small wonder that we now have the women doing all the work in the Church. Given this, there is little doubt in my mind that many a pastor wants to avoid offending the shrill, liberal ones.
Remember that, when we make the Sign of the Cross, we use masculine terms to describe the Trinity for a reason. God loves us and wants to call us all to himself. However, if kicking out tail is necessary for our eternal good, then we ought not put it past God. Remember that our salvation was worked out by a death by crucifixion.
Too often being a man is looked down upon. We've told we've got to be more "in touch with our feelings." Manliness is portrayed as selfishness, crudeness, and a sensuality similar to that shown on Comedy Central's The Man Show. Well, I've never actually sat down and watched it, but the opening of the show tells me all I need to know. People who act like that aren't men; they are overgrown adolescents. Our society needs real men who love God and their families and will stand up, and even go to the cross themselves, for what is right.
It appears that Michael J. Fox is recording misleading ads like this one all over the country. Other articles have quoted him saying he is a "single-issue" voter. One wonders if he is really thinking about what he is saying. I hope not.
First off, it appears that he things that embryonic stem cell research is his only hope for a cure for his condition. This simply isn't true. Even candidates who oppose embryonic stem cell research typically support adult stem cell research that does not involve destroying human embryos. Other forms of biotechnology also exist that have been used to produce medications. In fact, I work for a company that dispenses those kinds of medications.
Second, even if the research he advocates is his only hope, does he have the right to kill another innocent human being to obtain it? No, he does not. I don't know if he realizes the problem. He is making his sole issue the right to kill a human being in an early stage of life and to obtain government funding to do so.
Another thing that is of interest is the fact that embryonic stem cell research is legal. It shouldn't be, but it is. The questions on the ballots today refer strictly to government funding. Apparently, people can't get private funding for it, so they are trying to use our tax dollars for it.
Some people point out, and rightly so, that if embryonic stem cells were used on Michael J. Fox as we know them now, they will almost certainly kill him. Only adult stem cells have been used successfully. However, I would be careful about using this as an argument against funding of the research. People could easily turn around and use this as a reason why more research is needed. After all, we don't have a cure yet, but someone thinks it's promising. Therefore, more research is needed to find the cure. If enough research is done, it's possible that a medical breakthrough will result.
However, that breakthrough will be the result of the immoral destruction of human life. This is the real problem with embryonic stem cell research. We are killing a helpless, innocent human being for the sake of another. It is immoral to do evil so that good may come out of it. A medical breakthrough with embryonic stem cells may cut off the development of other, morally-acceptable means to the same end. We cannot afford to have our tax dollars used for this.
It seems like the Susan G. Komen foundation would be a good cause to contribute to. I'm sure that they have done much to help women. However, regardless of what they have done, I can't in good conscience support them when they have been found to have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Planned Parenthood.
It's sad to see something that could be doing a lot of good being involved in this. Why do they need to do this? It's like someone is taking advantage of well-intentioned people for their own agenda. I'm not sure that this is happening, but it's hard to believe otherwise.
I saw this article and wanted to blog about being in the Life Chain. It's the only demonstration that I regularly participate in. The thing that seems to strike me the most is that, while many show their support, so many seem to be indifferent. How can anyone be indifferent to the killing of so many innocent unborn children?
I was standing next to the Jiffy Lube for most of the hour. The funny part was that those guys came out with signs of their own while at work. So, imagine this . . . here I am with a sign that says "Pray to End Abortion," and next to me is a guy with a sign that says "$19.99 Oil Change." He was friendly.