Kindness counts

...sometimes more than we could imagine.

In those bleak moments when the lost souls stood atop the cliff, wondering whether to jump, the sound of the wind and the waves was broken by a soft voice. "Why don't you come and have a cup of tea?" the stranger would ask. And when they turned to him, his smile was often their salvation.For almost 50 years, Don Ritchie has lived across the street from Australia's most notorious suicide spot, a rocky cliff at the entrance to Sydney Harbour called The Gap. And in that time, the man widely regarded as a guardian angel has shepherded countless people away from the edge.
What some consider grim, Ritchie considers a gift. How wonderful, the former life insurance salesman says, to save so many. How wonderful to sell them life.

 Click through to read the rest of the story about how kindness can make a huge difference in people's lives.

HT: The Anchoress

Little Audrey Santo

Three years ago today, little Audrey Santo passed into the arms of God. Read her incredible story here. Basically, she drowned when she was 3 years old and was left in a non-responsive state. Her mother was told to put her in an institution, but she refused, saying she would care for Audrey at home. And she did...with the assistance of the community that rallied around her...for 20 years. Miracles began to occur around Audrey: bleeding statues, oil oozing from statues and most astoundingly, hosts began to bleed during Masses said at her bedside. All of this happened in Worcester, Massachusetts. Audrey is a powerful witness to the culture of LIFE. In the world's eyes, her life had little or no value--she couldn't work, she couldn't walk or talk, she needed constant care. But God used little Audrey Santo to show the world that each life, regardless how little, weak, or broken, has great value and is so very precious in His sight.
Thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of little Audrey's life. Through her witness, may the Culture of Life shine forth to dispel the culture of death that currently exists in our world.
Little Audrey, pray for us.

Prayer for the Beatification of Audrey

Eternal Father, we thank you for the gift of Audrey Santo and for her extraordinary witness to the world that all life, no matter how small, broken, or wounded, remains precious in Your eyes. Grant that she may be venerated as a saint for the glory of God. Hear the requests of all those who seek her intercession, especially the grace for which we now ask… We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Life is Precious

What a beautiful story. Life is precious, even when things look very bleak, every life has meaning and beauty.

(HT: Blessed Among Men & Catholic and Enjoying It!

The Pope is right---go figure!

I cannot agree more with this comment by Theresa of Ave Maria, FL:

"I learned years ago that whenever I thought that the Catholic Church was wrong on an issue, if I had an open mind and really studied the topic----I was wrong and Christ's Church was beautifully right."

Being a convert, I did have to work my way through some issues that I had picked up in the secular world--abortion, women priests, the death penalty, to name a few. I have also found that the Truth, in its fullness, is contained within the Catholic Church--every time. Not only that, but the Wisdom and Beauty of Christ's teachings are so profound, so compassionate and so respectful of human dignity, that any secular arguments completely dissipate and are blown away like so much chaff.

It is heartening to see others acknowledge the Truth of Pope Benedict's words.

Regarding AIDS and Pope Benedict's recent comments about condoms, please read this excellent article.

You have GOT to be kidding!!

Please read this and watch the video.
Bill Clinton can NOT be this ignorant about basic biology. Of course an embryo is fertilized!! Can his words be more sinister than stupid? Remember, he is the master of redefining basic terminology (define "is" and "I did not have *** with that woman"). Is he actually trying to make us believe that "implantation" is synonymous with "fertilization"? This is insidious, sinister and just plain evil.

True Charity

What I am loving most about today's March for Life, as I am watching it on EWTN, is the embracing of the post abortive women. We do not March only to save the babies, but their moms as well. Abortion is not a quick fix; its consequences are deep and far reaching.
As important as it is to stand up against abortion and for life, our stance cannot be condemning of the women who have had an abortion, else we fail in charity, and hearts that might otherwise be open to God's love and forgiveness, could slam shut.
The women holding the signs that say, "I regret my abortion" are so brave to be there, and it is encouraging to see them treated with respect and dignity, and welcomed so wholeheartedly. The tears in their eyes at the love poured out to them speak their gratitude where words fail them.
These words of our dearly departed Pope John Paul II are beautiful:

“I would like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The
Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and
she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering
decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what
happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement
and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it
honestly.”
“If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with
humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his
forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to
understand that nothing is definitely lost and you will also be able to ask
forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord.”
“With the
friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own
painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone’s
right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth
of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone
to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human
life.” — Pope John Paul II

Let us pray that abortion ends in our country and the suffering of the innocent children and their mothers ends with it.

Disturbing

Planned Parenthood of Indiana has suspended a nurse after the release of an undercover videotape showing her coaching a supposed 13-year-old on how to duck Indiana's laws about parental consent on abortion and the reporting of child sex abuse.

The videotape shows Lila Rose, the president of a university pro-life group and a brunette, posing as a blond 13-year-old girl named "Brianna" and telling the Planned Parenthood nurse at the clinic in Bloomington, Ind., that she is pregnant by a 31-year-old man.

"I am supposed to report [you] to Child Protective Services," the nurse says on the videotape, though she assures "Brianna" that she will not do so if she can tell a plausible different story.

"I didn't hear the age. I don't want to know the age," the nurse says at a later point on the tape.

The nurse, who is referred to on the video as "Diana" but whose face has been blurred, knew neither that the session was being taped nor that "Brianna" really was Miss Rose, a 20-year-old pro-life activist at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Miss Rose told The Washington Times on Thursday that this footage is only part of an ongoing project with many examples of such conduct. Her group and other student pro-lifers have released tapes of similar counseling.

Indiana is not one of 12 states that restricts or prohibits surreptitious taping.

Click here to view the video

Also, Planned Parenthood in Indiana is giving out holiday gift certificates for services including abortion!
Read about it here

Baby Borrowers

My family became hooked on the TV show "America's Got Talent" last summer, so we were excited to watch this summer's installment. The show itself has been fine and about what you would expect....lots of bad talent (who tells these people that they should audition??) and some surprisingly great talent. BUT....during this show, a commercial appeared for a new fall reality show called "The Baby Borrowers."
It seems to be a show where teens "borrow" babies to see what parenthood is really like. (Who lends their babies to such a show??!) The commercial started by showcasing teen couples who said things like, "I just love babies", or "I don't think it's hard (to parent)" or "I can't wait to be a mom". Then it cuts to shots of babies screaming, crying and projectile vomiting while the teens melt down. THEN... text appears across the screen as the announcer states, "It's not TV, it's birth control!" That is the precise moment my blood started to boil.
Many people believe that programs such as this, or the mechanical baby project in Jr. high school are great deterrents to teenage pregnancy...perhaps not by promoting abstinence, respect of self and others, or appropriate relationship dynamics, but by making darned sure that these kids use birth control/protection/"safe sex"...after all we don't want them to "ruin" their lives by getting pregnant. Programs such as these send the message that babies are bad, too much work, too expensive, and tie you down. It says that these teens are "worth too much" and "too important" to have their lives impacted so negatively by a baby. It reflects the self-absorbed mentality that permeates our society..."how will this affect me?"

Jennifer F., writing on her blog , "Et tu?", about her conversion experience, describes her (previously) pro-choice mentality:
"The way I'd always seen it, the standard position was that babies were a horrible burden, except for a couple times in life when everything is perfect enough that a couple might temporarily see new life as a good thing; " For the rest of Jennifer's excellent article, go here.

The viewpoint that Jennifer describes is what is being taught, formally or informally, in our schools, legislature and society at large. These are the roots of the "Culture of Death" our dear pope, John Paul II, spoke of. When new life is seen as the "enemy", it is an easy journey down the slippery slope to abortion, disrespect for all human life and the culture of death.
This viewpoint is flawed because it does not recognize a basic truth. Once a child has been conceived, the new mother's first responsibility is the welfare of her baby. It is no longer "all about me." This is the first and most basic change that must take place in a new mom's heart. For me, this was definitely a new way of thinking. I remember my heart feeling like it was flayed wide open with a love so powerful it hurt, when my firstborn entered the world. I believe our Lord used this event to completely change my heart (Thank you, Jesus!). I was a recent convert to Catholicism and grew up with the mentality described above. In an instant my heart was completely and totally changed; not so, my brain. The day to day dying to self began to happen, and I struggled. Not with my love of my baby, but with letting go of habits and ways of being, thinking and acting that conflicted with this new attitude of my heart. It can be a difficult transition.
When we teach our young people that babies are their enemies, we do not prepare them to make this transition in their hearts. We do not prepare them for the routine and lovingly made sacrifices that proper parenting requires (sacrifices that benefit the parents as much or more than the child they are made for). We do not prepare them for parenthood at all. We prepare them to avoid parenthood and anything else that might require self-sacrifice. Our culture and our world need better parents, not more selfish ones.
Certainly, a teenage girl becoming pregnant is a serious situation, and she needs to consider her own future, but I believe better decisions will be made for both mother and baby if we, as a society and as individuals, come to recognize that all human life is precious. Rather than generating fear and disdain of new life, we need to encourage respect and awe. New life is not to be avoided because it is bad, but because it is such a magnificent gift...a gift that we should only accept when we are able to nurture, support and cherish it accordingly. New life, whether a couple's first or fourteenth child, is always a miracle, always a gift, always a blessing and ALWAYS wanted...if not by the biological parents then by eager adoptive parents and most certainly by God. As opposed to seeing the baby as an intrusion into its mother's life, that needs to be "gotten rid of", the baby should be seen as a unique, unrepeatable gift from God who needs to be protected and provided for.
When we change this thought process around, and change our questions from, "How will this affect me?" to "How can I best fulfill my responsibility to this new life?", then, and only then, will our culture begin the slow ascent back up that slippery slope from death to respect and reverence for life.