Forty Years Out, I Grieve for the Women

This coming Tuesday, January 22nd 2013, will mark a very sad day in American history.  It is a day in our history that has directly caused the deaths of over fifty-five million Americans.  OVER FIFTY FIVE MILLION AMERICANS!  This has been an ongoing horrific genocide on our own people.  So what happened on that date forty years ago?  There was a judicial court ruling that stated that abortion on demand would be legal in all fifty states of America.  That day marked the beginning of legalized murder in this country...and most turned a blind eye.

When I was pro-choice, I was unaware of the facts...which is why I was pro-choice.  I always felt like abortion was a horrible alternative and one I would not choose for myself, but I didn't want to take that choice away from women.  It seemed a necessary evil.  What an oxymoron that is: "necessary evil".  No evil is ever warranted, much less necessary!  When I was shown the facts on abortion, I was horrified.  I remember thinking, "How could this be legal???!!!"  I wanted to put a billboard on top of my car and yell through a bullhorn while driving around the streets of Miami.  "Abortion is murder!  It is a gruesome murder of innocent children!  Babies are dying!  Mothers are dying in these clinics!  Mothers are being scarred for life - both physically and psychologically!  THIS is NOT women's lib!  This is an American genocide and it is a war on women!"

This year, as I will be walking in our local Walk for Life, my heart will be filled with sorrow for the millions of women who have endured the effects of this genocide.  We have generations of women who have been lied to and continue to be lied to about abortion. It is not by any stretch of the imagination a safe procedure.  It is not only done in the first trimester (as if this even matters because as we all know life begins at conception).  It is legal through all nine months of pregnancy in all fifty states.  The methods used during an abortion are cruel and disgusting and bloody and frankly, horrific. You can view them here:  Abortion Procedure Diagrams  I, myself, cannot bring myself to view these.  Every time I mistakenly see an abortion image, my gut wrenches and I feel sick, hot, and dizzy.  I would hope that would be the same response from every human being because this is sickening and horrifying.

The ruling from Roe v Wade was supposed to prevent women from dying from self-induced abortions or abortions done in back-alley clinics.  Guess what?  Women are still dying yearly from this heinous "procedure".  Don't believe me?  You can read about a recent case here:  Woman Dies After Second Trimester Abortion - PP Chicago  We owe the women of our nation an apology.  Can we get reparations?  How would that work exactly?  How does a woman pull herself from years of deep-seated depression or make a physical impairment from a prior abortion magically go away or come to life after dying in some disgusting "women's clinic"?  The only way we can make it up to women is by stopping this genocide on their babies, their wombs, and their souls.  No one would ever deny a woman her right to care for her own body or to protect her own body.  Nor would anyone ever deny a woman her freedom to make choices regarding her own life.  But a woman's right to her body is just that - HER body.  A baby growing inside her womb is not the woman's body - it is attached to the woman's body.  Abortion is not a procedure done to a woman.  It is a merciless, unsafe, horrifically violent end to a baby's life - a life placed in a mother's womb by God for protection, nourishment, growth, and love.

Innocent babies are losing their lives daily in a sacrifice given up by their mothers on the altar of a cold metal operation table at the hands of the devil.  Please join the human rights movement of our time and help stop this war on women and this genocide on our babies!

Take Stock in Your Life...Your Creator Has

Is it just me or did schools used to encourage the writing of lists and essays dedicated to our New Year's resolutions once we came back from Christmas break?  I never hear anyone mention this anymore unless it is in a joking way - like, yeah, I'll really stick to those resolutions!  What a missed opportunity to renew your life by reviewing your past and present while making some goals for your future.  I don't think God wants us to sit on our rears and watch tv for hours on end, for example, when we could be dong something so much better for ourselves and our families. If you do pick some things for your new year's resolutions, I suggest picking a small amount.  Otherwise, you will just burn out and give up.

What are my resolutions?  They might seem strange perhaps.  The first is to write - handwrite - a letter to someone once a month and send it via snailmail.  We, as a society, are losing our writing skills and our correspondence skills...myself included!!!  And anyway, who doesn't love seeing an actual letter in the mailbox rather than junk mail or magazines?  Secondly, I am going to keep my cell phone in my purse in the back seat of my car while I'm driving.  That darn cell phone is just too tempting to want to see what new email just came in and made my phone ding, or new text, or just to want to peruse facebook at a red light.  It is a perilous piece of equipment in the car, and I am responsible not only for my own life and the lives of the other drivers, but also the lives of my children as I drive them to and fro each day.  Thirdly, I will exercise more outdoors while with my children, whether it is walking with them, pushing them in a stroller, playing frisbee or soccer or basketball, or whatever.  That is some serious bonding time!  Lastly, I will visit adoration once a month.   What a precious gift the Catholic Church has.  No other church has this.  Jesus is there waiting for me; waiting for all of you in adoration.  I will visit him.  I will show up.  It's tough to get away when you have little ones, but it is not impossible.

My last thought is how cool that as Catholics, we will get to review our lives again during Lent.  The calendar year has many times of renewal - the New Year, Lent, the first day of Spring, the end of the school year, etc.  Of course, you don't have to wait until any of these times to begin anew.  Every day is a chance to begin again.  Take these opportunities to take stock in your own life.  It has been given to you as a precious gift by your Creator.  Find our why you're here.  What are your talents and gifts and are you using them for the glory of God? May God bless you all in 2013.  Cheers!