A Frightening Parallel

My hat goes off to Uwe Siemon-Netto, of the Concordia Seminary Institute on Lay Vocation, for his recent article Remembering Collective Shame--he hits the nail right on the head:

(click on article title above for the full version--it's well worth the read)

(Excerpt)

"I am certain that in 1933 most Germans did not find the Nazis’ anti-Semitic rhetoric particularly attractive. What made them choose Hitler, then? It was the economy, stupid, and presumably injured national pride, and similar issues. This came to mind as I read the latest Faith in Life poll of issues Americans in general and white evangelicals in particular consider “very important” in this year’s elections.
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Guess what? For both groups, the economy ranked first, while abortion was way down the list. Among Americans in general abortion took ninth and among white evangelicals seventh place, well below gas prices and health care.
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What I am going to say next is going to make me many enemies, of this I am sure: Yes, there is a parallel between what has happened in Germany in 1933 and what is happening in America now. The legalized murder of 40 million fetuses since Roe v. Wade in 1973 will one day cause collective shame of huge proportions. So what if this wasn’t a “holocaust?” This term should remain reserved for another horror in history. But a genocide has been happening in the last 35 years, even if no liberators have shocked the world with photographs they snapped of the victims as the Allies did in Germany in 1945. And it has the open support of politicians running for office next month.
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I agree it would be unscholarly to claim that what is happening in America and much of the Western world every day is “another holocaust.” No two historical events are exactly identical. So let’s leave the word “holocaust” where it belongs – next to Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Mauthausen. Still there are compelling parallels between today’s genocide and the Nazi crimes, for example:

1. Man presumes to decide which lives are worthy of living and which are not. “Lebensunwertes Leben” (life unworthy of living) was a Nazi “excuse” for killing mentally handicapped children and adults, a crime that preceded the holocaust committed against the Jews. Notice that today fetuses diagnosed with Downs Syndrome are often aborted as a matter of course in America and Europe.

2. In German-occupied territories, Jews and Gypsies were gassed for no other reason than that some people considered it inconvenient to have them around. Today, unborn children are often slaughtered because it is inconvenient for their mothers to bring their pregnancies to term.

3. Murder I is legally defined as killing another human being with malice and aforethought. The Nazis killed Jewish and Gypsies with deliberation – and maliciously. But what are we to think of babies being killed deliberately simply because they would be a nuisance if they were allowed to live? No malice here?

4. Ordinary Germans of the Nazi era were rightly chastised for not having come to their Jewish neighbors’ rescue when they were rounded up and sent to extermination camps. Ordinary Americans and Western Europeans might find the fad to kill babies disagreeable, but as we see from the Faith in Life poll, most have more pressing concerns.

Some future day Americans and Western Europeans will be asked why they allowed their children to be slaughtered. They would even have less of an excuse than Germans of my grandparents’ and parents’ generation. In Germany, you risked your life if you dared to come to the Jews’ rescue. In today’s democracies the worst that can happen to you is being ridiculed for being 'a Christian.'"

Proposition 8 is About Kids

Children have become the absolute last consideration when it comes to marriage. And it is heterosexual couples who have made marriage what it is today. No-fault divorce, cohabitation in place of marriage, an increase in out-of-wedlock births, and intentional single-parent families have created a sense that marriage is simply an optional contract in an array of choices.

Children have long suffered at the hands of adult selfishness. For many the foundation of love and security that should stand beneath them has been taken away; that foundation is a loving mother and father (man and woman) who are committed in marriage to love and honor each other and to love and care for their children for the rest of their lives. This is the original meaning of marriage, and I think we can all agree that this is the ideal. It is the ideal because it provides for each child, and therefore each person in society (as we were all children once), the security that comes with being loved and raised by the two people who created them and who have unbreakable bonds with them because of that connection. It is also the ideal because it provides for each child the balancing influence of both the male and female sex, which studies have shown is necessary for healthy development. When a child is deprived of either mother or father, there is a sense of loss that cannot be denied.

This is not to say that single, divorced, or homosexual parents cannot raise a child well, or even raise them to be better off than they might have been otherwise. But marriage between a man and a woman remains the ideal because it is the only union that provides committed mothers and fathers to children.

This is why, regardless of how badly we have destroyed marriage to this point, we need to uphold it and work to rebuild it to what it was always intended to be—not tear it down or redefine it. For once we need to think about what's in the best interest of our children, not just what we want for ourselves.

If we do not vote YES on Proposition 8, conditions that have always been considered unfortunate for a child will instead be called fortunate. We will not be able to acknowledge that children in homosexual marriages are missing something they long for, as the law will equate these unions with heterosexual marriage. It will become discriminatory to speak the truth that children need both a mother and father in their lives.

It's time to put the needs of our kids first, and vote YES on Proposition 8.

Catholics, it's time to face the music

How is it possible that so many of our Catholic brothers and sisters are still planning to place their vote for Barack Obama? The Church may not be allowed to come right out and name a particular candidate, but I sure can.

Have they not heard the Church's unanimous statements, from the Vatican down to the bishops, that there are no issues of greater moral importance than abortion and euthanasia??? If they have, why are they not listening? Do they think that these statements made by the Church are mere suggestions? Do they feel that their personal opinions are just as morally valid as those held by the Church, which was founded by Christ Himself? Do they think that voting their "conscience" means that they may dismiss the Church's teachings in place of their own "feelings" on an issue? The Church is very clear that our conscience must be "formed", and that means challenging ourselves to look deeper--not look the other way-- when we have personal qualms about something the Church is guiding us in.

So many are saying that abortion is not the only issue that poses a threat to human life and dignity, and are using this rhetoric to argue that in this election the issues of war, the economy and health care pose a greater threat to humanity in this country.

I ask you...HOW is that even possible?

How can the poor and the disenfranchised be helped if they are first denied the fundamental right to live? How can we talk about health care for everyone when we are not even protecting the lives of the most vulnerable? How can we honestly look at this war and say that it has caused more death and destruction to the human person than the killing of the innocent unborn through abortion? No one is saying that war isn't horrific--but one has to weigh the facts: Abortion is the direct, intentional killing of an innocent person; war is not. Innocent persons do die as a result of war, but their deaths are not the intended outcome, nor the target of attack.

Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, PA. laid it all out when he recently crashed an election forum in his diocese:

"To begin, laws that protect abortion constitute injustice of the worst kind. They rest on several false claims including that there is no certainty regarding when life begins, that there is no certainty about when a fetus becomes a person, and that some human beings may be killed to advance the interests or convenience of others. Another argument goes like this: ‘As wrong as abortion is, I don't think it is the only relevant ‘life’ issue that should be considered when deciding for whom to vote.’ This reasoning is sound only if other issues carry the same moral weight as abortion does, such as in the case of euthanasia and destruction of embryos for research purposes. ... National Right to Life reports that 48.5 million abortions have been performed since 1973. One would be too many. No war, no natural disaster, no illness or disability has claimed so great a price. Even the Church’s just war theory has moral force because it is grounded in the principle that innocent human life must be protected and defended. Now, a person may, in good faith, misapply just war criteria leading him to mistakenly believe that an unjust war is just, but he or she still knows that innocent human life may not be harmed on purpose. A person who supports permissive abortion laws, however, rejects the truth that innocent human life may never be destroyed. This profound moral failure runs deeper and is more corrupting of the individual, and of the society, than any error in applying just war criteria to particular cases. No social issue has caused the death of 50 million people.”

The Church is giving us guidance here on issues of great importance--we need to take this seriously. Do we honestly think that we are better at discerning these matters on our own than the Church is? The Church, which we are part of because we believe (or at least should believe) has the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit to lead us, free of error, in matters of Faith and Morals? If we do not believe this, WHY are we Catholics?

Neither candidate running for President is perfect. But one, Barack Obama, has promised to do more damage to life than we can possibly allow. In his outright failure to protect babies who have survived abortions through his opposition of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, and in his promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act as one of his first acts as President, Obama will do far more than just allow abortion to continue in this country. He will promote and expand abortion "rights" to prevent any possible reduction or elimination of abortion--a vote for Obama is a vote for more killing of the unborn. If you do not believe this, I urge you to look for yourself. I wouldn't make this stuff up.

Even if McCain does nothing to actually reverse abortion, he will do far less damage than Obama who has pledged to expand abortion. Obama will take us even further away from protecting the lives of the most innocent and weakest among us, which as Catholics must be our first priority.

Children teach us how to be joyful

A little boy sat in the shopping cart at the grocery store...

"VROOMMMMMM!" he said as his mother pushed him through the aisles, his hands holding an imaginary steering wheel. I learned from him that even the most mundane errands can be opportunities to use my imagination.

A little girl walked down the street with her mother ...

"La la la di da di da" she sang as she skipped to the tune in her head. I learned from her that it doesn't matter who's watching--live in the moment and sing if 'ya wanna. It's fun.

My baby girl, while snuggled in bed between my husband and I, rolled over into me and put one chubby hand on each side of my face. I woke up and saw two little blue eyes staring into mine. "Mommy, I love you!," she seemed to say through the most delighted smile. I learned from her that each moment with our loved ones is a moment to cherish, to delight in, to savor. A moment to stop and notice...to put your hands around.

When I stop and watch children, I learn how to live each moment joyfully. Unlike me, they don't worry themselves with what other people think, with the chores that await them, or with the many concerns of this world. They are unburdened and free to be fully in-the-moment.

We too have this freedom, if we live each moment with Jesus. Jesus tells us over and over in the Gospels not to be afraid, or anxious, or worried--to bring our cares to Him and let Him bear the burdens for us. He tells us, "for My yoke is easy, My burden light." This is how we have to become like little children, and how we will gain entrance into Heaven...by trusting everything to Him so that we can live every moment as He intends it.

Your Family Next...

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking this won't happen in California! If Prop 8 fails, your family will be next. Whether or not you agree with gay marriage, do you really want a system that denies your rights as a parent to choose the time and manner in which you will introduce these topics to your kids? Do you want to be criminalized for teaching your beliefs to your children?

Vote YES on Prop 8!

Answering the Call at 3:00 AM

During this presidential campaign, we have been told that it's important to elect someone who can handle the call that comes at 3:00 AM.

But I am not talking about that call. I am talking about the call that I get, just about every night, at 3:00 AM...the same call that most of us mom's get.

It's the voice of Jesus, in the form of a baby's cry, that calls out to me in the dead of sleep and says, "Wake up...come and love me."

Sometimes I have to listen carefully to hear Jesus, but it is He who calls me. It may sound like my daughter, but it is really my Lord.

"You can sleep when you're dead. Come and feed me."

"I'm sad. Come and comfort me."

"It's dark in here, and I'm lonely. I want you near me."

And so I rise from my sleep, weary with eyes half-shut, and shuffle in to pick up my baby girl. "I'm coming Jesus," I sometimes say. It's the way I remind myself that there is great holiness to be obtained in this job of motherhood--even in the littlest of moments, we are doing great things for Christ.

It's hard to answer the call night after night, but if I think about it these precious moments with Jesus, through the tender cuddles of my little one, won't last forever.

What better way to be spending 3:00 AM?

Obama's Promise to Extend Abortion "Rights"

If you think Obama will not really do anything to affect abortion in this country (other than keep things as they are), here he is, in his own words, promising to take action on this issue:


"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." -- Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007




And just what is the "Freedom of Choice Act?" Otherwise known as FOCA, H.R. 1964, (read the bill here) would, in the words of Planned Parenthood: "prohibit states from enacting laws intended to deny or interfere with a woman's fundamental right to choose an abortion."

If FOCA were to pass, we would lose the ability to enact any laws (or retain current laws) pertaining to: (read more here)

-- restriction of government funding of abortion.

-- prohibition of abortions in public hospitals. (The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that such policies do not violate Roe v. Wade.)

-- any requirements that girls and women seeking abortion receive certain information on matters such as fetal development and alternatives to abortion, and then wait a specified period before the abortion is actually performed, usually 24 or 48 hours.

-- allowing doctors, nurses, or other state-licensed professionals, and hospitals or other health-care providers, to decline to provide or pay for abortions.


--parental or adult notification of a minor seeking an abortion.


And who knows...pro-lifers may even be restricted from praying near clinics as this could "interfere" with a woman's "right" to choose.

Our Kids, Their Agenda

Here is exactly why we must support Prop 8!

1st Graders in San Francisco taken to their teacher's lesbian "wedding" as a field trip

It's not even a matter of "when" you will lose your parental rights, because it is already happening.

Vote YES on Prop 8!

Marriage Matters to Kids!

Check out this wonderful video and pass it on to everyone you know!

http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/

Will our reasoning be enough?

If we believe that we can put the abortion issue aside this election in favor of other things we believe to hold "equal" or "greater" moral weight, what will the consequences be? Will our reasoning be enough to justify our actions when someday we meet the victims of abortion face to face?

There are two ways of thinking I wish to address: the first is the idea that even if you are personally against abortion, you should not "impose" this viewpoint on others--i.e. that abortion should remain legal. The second is the idea that even if you believe abortion is wrong and should be illegal, there are other issues of equal or higher importance that should take precedence. For many, abortion is a done-deal--unfortunate, yes, but not worth wasting your vote on.

To those who identify with the first: it seems your fundamental argument is not that the unborn are not human beings, (after all, science has unanimously disputed any claims to the contrary), but that the right of the woman to "choose" supersedes the right of the unborn to live. Here I ask you to consider the words of our dear late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II:

"The Holy See insistently proclaims that the first and most fundamental of all human rights is the right to life, and that when this right is denied all other rights are threatened. The assumption that abortion and euthanasia are human rights deserving legislative sanction is seen by the Holy See as a contradiction which amounts to a denial of the human dignity and freedom which the law is supposed to protect. A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members; and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying."

How are we to have any rights if we are first denied the right to live? And if the unborn person is undeniably a person, which he or she surely is, does abortion not single out the unborn as the only group denied this fundamental human right? What if a candidate were in favor of denying gays, minorities, or children who have just been born the right to life? (Oh, and by the way, we do have a candidate who is in favor of denying the just born the right to life.) Would we consider it "imposing our views" to speak out against the candidate? Would not that one viewpoint sway our vote even if the candidate held other opinions we agreed with?

Those who vote pro-life first are often accused of being single-issue voters, placing aside all other concerns. But pro-lifers are not unique in this--we all do it. The question is not whether you care for all issues equally or care for one issue alone, but which issue concerns you the most.

For those who identify with the second idea: I point you also to the words of the Holy Father. But I also want to address the issues of this election that are pulling your heart in other directions, as they are not without merit: the war in Iraq, the failing economy, care for the poor, illegal immigration and many others. These are all important issues, but when nearly 4,000 babies are aborted in this country every day, (over 1 million per year) all else pales in comparison. Our Church is very clear about this. And if we believe that a candidate who doesn't see the moral corruption in abortion can make sound moral judgements elsewhere, we are sadly mistaken. A candidate's seemingly good economic policy, or his promise to fund programs for the poor, or his plan to pull the troops from Iraq on a set time-table does not outweigh or excuse his view that this holocaust of abortion is morally acceptable. If babies are not people worthy of human rights and protection under the law, how can we expect sound protection of our own rights?

In a recent interview, Barack Obama sited Jesus' words "whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me," saying that the maxim should apply to victims of poverty, sexism and racism. And while none of us can disagree with him there, Obama misses the mark by a long-shot in his disregard for the absolute "least" among us--the unborn.

As Archbishop Chaput warns us, God willing, someday each of us will meet the victims of abortion in Heaven. As we stand face to face, what will we say to them? Will we be able to look them in the eye and defend our choices on earth without shame? Will we be able to say with confidence that we did all we could to protect them? Will our reasons for not defending them be sufficient to release us from any complicity in their deaths?

This November, challenge your heart, inform your conscience, and vote life first.

God Works in Mysterious Ways...even on vacation!

I suppose the last thing my husband and I expected to do on our vacation was pray in front of an abortion clinic...but God is funny that way.

This past weekend we planned a short get-away to the wine country with our 5-month-old daughter...her first vacation. We were looking forward to peace, quiet and relaxation. Most of all, a little break from the every-day worries and concerns.

As we approached the address of the cottage we had rented, we noticed that there was a group of pro-lifers gathered on the sidewalk. Once we got closer, we noticed they were standing in front of Planned Parenthood--then, we noticed something that horrified us: the clinic was literally two-doors down from our rental cottage! For a few hours we were a little sick to our stomach to be staying so close to such a place, but after talking about it we realized that, as with all things, God had a plan. This could be no accident.

Friday night we decided to join the pro-lifers outside the clinic for a short time. Praying with them was such a beautiful and unexpected experience. Our voices united in peaceful worship as passers-by screamed profanities at us. It was such a stark contrast that pointed out to me the extreme suffering those on the pro-choice side are experiencing. Those who have suffered abortion personally, who have been complicit in the act or who have been close to someone who's had one--all are in need of healing.

It reminded me that we must not be tempted to anger or aggressive argument, but must remember compassion and love. To speak the truth always, but to also care for the sufferings of our dear brothers and sisters.

We learned that those in front of the clinic were taking part in something called "40 Days for Life"--a nation-wide 40 days of constant prayer and fasting for the end of abortion, combined with 24-hour vigils in front of abortion clinics. Click here for more information: www.40daysforlife.com.





The Napa county pro-life community was gathered in front of that Planned Parenthood around the clock during our entire trip, and they are still there now. We were so inspired by their dedication and service for the rights of the unborn and the care of women in crisis pregnancies, and we were so honored to be a part of it.

We may have thought we planned this trip for ourselves, but it's clear to us now that God was our travel agent.