| Humanae
Vitae |
|
During
my life travels between continents, I am constantly encouraged by the
JP II generation of young people, aged thirty-five and younger, who
not only reject the abortion culture of death but increasingly
appreciate and accept the consistent positive total vision of the
Church’s understanding of human sexuality found in Pope Paul VI’s
Encyclical Humanae
Vitae released forty
years ago, on July 25th, 1968,
in which he emphasized the need for a total vision to make a correct
moral judgment.
|
|
Theology of the
Body
|
|
This
vision of Paul the VI was enhanced by Pope John Paul II’s reflections,
that he entitled “A Theology of the Body,” which were given at the
general catechetical audiences in Rome from September 1979 to November
1984. While reaffirming Paul the VI’s appeal to the Natural Law as a
firm basis for rejecting contraceptives, John Paul II stressed the
theological dimensions of human personhood, sexuality, and marriage
itself in light of the Scriptures, particularly Genesis, as a basis of
Church rejection of the contraceptive culture.
|
|
| Magna Est Veritas |
|
Thus
young people enthusiastically embrace the Church’s teaching that
sexuality is a sacred mystery, containing a visible and invisible
aspect. Indeed, human sexuality involves not only the visible, total,
unique gift of human love of each person to the other, but also young
people realize, that in God’s wise design, human love must never
deliberately exclude the invisible Divine Love and Creativity of God,
which brings forth the existence of a human person, who is to exist
forever. This human person is called to enter into an eternal
loving relationship with the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
and the person’s own parents. The ultimate purpose of sex, in a Culture
of Life is the bringing into existence, a human, loving, person who is
to be forever. This is indeed a far cry from the modern
contraceptive mentality in the culture of death where the pursuit of
pure pleasure has become, for so many, the ultimate purpose of sex,
even to the exclusion of love and life and another human person.
Obviously this mentality has opened the door to all kinds of
aberrations. The words of the English bard, Coventry Patmore
in
his Poem Magna Est Veritas rings true again: “When all its work is
done, the lie shall rot: The truth is great, and shall prevail, When
none cares whether it prevail or not.”
|
|
|
PRO-LIFE
MISSION TO BRAZIL
|
| The
International Conference To Defend Life at Aparecida, Brazil
|
|
As
you likely are aware, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in Brazil in May 2007, at
the great Marian Sanctuary in Aparecida, to all Bishops of Latin
America, and told them to defend Life. The Bishops of Brazil,
responding to the Pope’s admonition, called the First International
Conference to Defend Life, held in February 2008, in
Aparecida. I
was invited to be one of the speakers and my topic was Humanae Vitae,
Forty Years Later. Having addressed Pope Paul VI’s 1968
Encyclical, Humanae Vitae, to pro-lifers from forty-one
different
countries, at the International Conference for Life, co-sponsored by
the Helpers in Fatima, Portugal, in Oct. 2006, I was more than pleased
to accept the invitation. After offering Mass at 4:00 A.M. on February
7, 2008, I left at 4:45 A.M. for a 7:00 A.M. flight at JFK Airport in
New York, arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil at 6:00 P.M. After a three hour
car ride, I arrived late that evening in Aparecida.
|
|
| To stop the Legalization of
Abortion |
|
As
the first speaker on Friday morning, before commenting on Humanae
Vitae, I warned the people in Brazil of the tragic effects the abortion
culture brought to the U.S., the difficulty of changing the
law
again to protect life, and to make every effort to stop now the
legalization of abortion in Brazil. The Humanae Vitae speech given at
Aparecida and other videos and talks, are available on the Helpers Web
sites www.helpersny.org (thanks to John
Foley)
and www.helperslibrary.info (thanks to Wenqi Dwyer and Mike Reddy).
|
|
| Brazilian Bishops Declaration of
Independence |
Here
in the U.S. on July 4th we celebrated Independence Day, by recalling
the courageous Declaration of Independence by our Founding Fathers. The
Pope sent a message to the members of the International Conference not
only to defend life but indeed to resist the Culture of Death. At the
end of the Conference, the Brazilian Bishops issued a similar
courageous Declaration of Independence indicating they denounced the
implantation of a culture of death that destroys the sense of life, of
ethical values, and the natural rights from which all human laws are
derived. The Bishops stated that since 1952, a global program
devoted to world population control, has been implemented, especially
for the poorest countries.
|
|
| Bishops Resist
Anti-Life Programs |
The
Bishops stated the program, developed initially by the Population
Council created by the Rockefeller Foundation, includes
promotion
of anti-birth mentality, including the implantation of contraceptives,
legal abortions, euthanasia and other attacks on life, within a
geopolitical and eugenicist perspective. The bishops said they
denounced legalization of same sex marriage and hedonistic sex
education curricula. The bishops stated they would resist all these
anti-life programs whether their imposition came from misguided people
in their own country or from foreign governments, the United Nations,
wealthy international foundations, or non government organizations like
the International Planned Parenthood Federation. For a full
statement of the Declaration of the Bishops refer to Lifesitenews.com.
|
|
| A Moment to be Proud of
Our Catholic Leadership |
|
The
Declaration was read by Bishop Dimas Lara Barbosa, General Secretary of
the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops, on Sunday Feb 10th, 2008
at the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Concepcion, Aparecida, Brazil.
The Media reported the Declaration as the Brazilian Bishops Declaring
War on the Culture of Death and a New Pentecost among Brazilian
Bishops. The Bishops immediately began implementing a National
comprehensive Campaign not only to resist but to take back lost ground.
The legislation paving the way for the legalization of abortion on
demand in Brazil was halted by the Safety and Family Commission,
rejected by a vote of 33-0. A unanimous vote would not have
happened if the Bishops did not speak and act as one. It was a moment
to be proud of our Catholic Leadership. |
|
| It Made the Trip a
Joy |
|
At
the Conference I was assisted by two wonderful Christian women Simone
Almeida (Julie Maria) and Marta Maria Ceravolo Pelypec and a wonderful
priest from Ireland working full-time in Brazil, Father Ailbe Michael
O’Reilly, ORC. Father gave me a copy of his scholarly
Doctoral
Dissertation on ‘Conjugal Chastity in Pope Wojtyla’ which he completed
at Rome in 2007.He asked me to review the Work to see if it should be
published. I believed it merited publication. Father Javier Sicilia
L.C. asked me to speak to the Seminarians at the Regional Seminary,
Maria Mater Ecclesiae in Sao Paulo. I was blessed to be accompanied by
Julie, Marta, and Father Ailbe on the bus to Sao Paulo. It
made
the trip a joy. |
|
| Positive Reaction by Faculty and
Seminarians |
|
After
saying goodbye to Julia and Marta, Father Ailbe and I arrived in Sao
Paolo and visited the Regional Seminary of Mary Mother of the Church,
wonderfully administered by the Legionaries of Christ’s Priests. A
scholarly priest, Father Fintan Lawless L.C., did an excellent job as
my translator. I spoke about the Priesthood and the Culture of Life. At
the end, both the faculty and students stood in applause. Praise
God! Father Ailbe and I flew the next day to Brasilia, the
Brazilian capital, and prayed inside the capital legislative buildings
that the members would maintain a culture of life in Brazil.
Later after a wonderful lunch at a government official’s home, we left
for Our Lady of Fatima Regional Seminary in Brasilia. |
|
| It Was Worth the Sacrifice |
Rector
Father Jorge Pacheco greeted us at the seminary. Father Ailbe O’Reilly
was my able translator. There was a very positive reaction by the
faculty and the seminarians. I spoke on the importance of the
Priesthood in establishing a culture of life. Between the two
Regional Major Seminaries, I spoke to more than three hundred
young men from 21 Dioceses in Brazil. The return trip on the
morning of Tuesday Feb. 12th 2008 from Sao Paulo Brazil to New York
involved taking three different planes, going through customs both in
South America and the U.S, and twenty-two hours of travel
time,
yet I realized, considering what happened at the conference and at the
regional seminaries, it was clearly worth the sacrifice.
|
|
|
UPCOMING
HELPERS PRAYER VIGILS IN
BROOKLYN AND QUEENS NEW YORK
|
| DATE |
LOCATION |
CELEBRANT |
|
|
|
| Sat
Aug 30, 2008 |
Our
Lady of the Cenacle
136-06 87th Av Richmond Hill NY 11418
718-291-2540 |
Bishop
Catanello |
| Sat
Sept 20, 2008 |
Saint
Joan of Arc
82-00 35th Avenue Jackson Hts., NY 11372
718-429-2333 |
Bishop
Caggiano |
| Sat
Oct 18, 2008 |
Saint
Patrick's
39-38 29th Street
Long Island City, NY 11101
718-729-6060 |
Bishop
DiMarzio |
| Sat
Nov 15, 2008 |
St.
Michael’s
42nd and 4th Ave Sunset Park Brooklyn, NY
11232
718-768-6065 |
Bishop
Caggiano |
| Sat
Dec 13, 2008 |
St.
Paul - St.Agnes
Congress and Court Streets Brooklyn 11201
718-624-3425 |
Bishop
DiMarzio |
|
Prayer Vigils in Manhattan and
the Bronx
|
|
Sister
Lucy Marie, SV, the Respect Life Coordinator, and Father Juniper CFR,
with the assistance of John Paduano, will organize prayer vigils in
Manhattan and the Bronx. In particular, Sr. Lucy and Sr. Mary Loretto,
S,V wants to start up monthly rosary prayer vigils in
Manhattan,
every first Saturday of the month, led by and primarily composed of
young adults. Sister Lucy requested I celebrate the Young Adults Mass
at 7:30 P.M. on Wednesday evening Sept 3rd in Our Lady’s Chapel, behind
the Main Altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral located between Madison and
Fifth Ave. Sister asked me to encourage the young people at the Mass to
actively take part in these monthly Vigils. I am scheduled to be the
Main Celebrant at the first of the Masses, at 8:00 A.M. on Saturday
Sept. 6th, 2008 at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street, NY
10012, where Msgr. Sakano, a very committed pro-life priest, is Pastor.
After Mass, we will process in prayer to the Bleeker Street Planned
Parenthood site. |
|
| The Young People in
Cincinnati Organized the Fourth Vigil |
|
Dean
Weber who helps organize monthly Helpers’ vigils outside of Planned
Parenthood in Cincinnati, said that after a while Planned Parenthood
did not open for ‘business’ on the Saturday of the Vigils. It has been
informally reported, that in the U.S., when Helpers’ Vigils are held
outside of Planned Parenthood site, as high as 40% of the patients
become no shows. The Helpers started doing it twice a month, with the
same result. Then they added a third Vigil a month. The young
people in Cincinnati organized a Vigil on the fourth week of the Month,
which is now the largest attended Vigil of the Month.
Hopefully
Sr. Lucy will have the same results.
|
|
| The Bishops by their Presence
Bless the Helpers Apostolate |
In
the last six months, here in the Diocese of Brooklyn, we were blessed
to have six different Bishops lead the Helpers Prayer Vigils. On
Saturday January 19th the retired Ordinary, Bishop Thomas Daily offered
Mass in St. Gerard Majella’s Church in Hollis, and with Deacon Marco
Lopez, led us in prayer and song during the procession and at both the
abortion sites. After we returned to the Church, the gracious
Pastor,
Father Edward Doran Ph.D. and the good people of St. Gerard prepared
some refreshments for all the Helpers.
On
February 16th the
present Ordinary of Brooklyn, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio led us in prayer
from St. Paul-St.Agnes Church on Court and Congress Streets, to Planned
Parenthood at 44 Court Street. Father Robert Powers, the
Administrator
of the St. Paul’s- St. Agnes, and the people from the parish joined the
Helpers from other areas of the Diocese. Also the Jesuit Professor,
Father Louis Aldrich, from the Faculty of Theology of Fu Jen
Catholic
University of Taiwan, who is also the pro-life representative
to the
Vatican from Taiwan, was present with Wenqi and Drs. David
and
Monica.. These last three Helpers formerly lived in China. Wenqi, with
the assistance of Drs. David and Monica, has already translated all the
Helpers materials into Chinese. The material has been sent to
Claire
Fu, from the Catholic University in Taiwan, who will be coming this
Fall, to learn from the pro-life movement in the USA. Claire will start
by staying here at the Monastery.
On
March 15th Bishop
Ignatius Catanello celebrated the Helpers Vigil Mass at Blessed
Sacrament Church in Jackson Heights, where many thousands of Mexican
Catholics faithfully attend the Sunday Masses. Once again, we were
welcomed by Msgr. Kutner and the parish priests. The Helpers and the
parishioners were joined at this Vigil, with pro-lifers who at that
time were being trained at the Monastery, like Carol Seward of Dallas,
Texas; Student members of the Pro-Life Committee from Boston College,
Massachusetts; and Matthew Marshall and others from Baltimore,
Maryland. By the way, Archbishop O’Brien already prayed outside of
Planned Parenthood in Baltimore. Thanks to Matthew Marshall and the
other pro-lifers the Helpers in Baltimore have now been Incorporated.
Hopefully their monthly witness for life in their area will complement,
the constant, tremendous witness, of the ever faithful Helpers in
Philadelphia, where only recently, once again Cardinal Justin Rigali
led the Helpers Prayer Vigil from St. John the Evangelist Church.
In
April, the Prayer Vigil was originally scheduled for Saturday the 19th.
It was prudent to change the date, since Pope Benedict XVI blessed the
City of New York by his presence here that week, when he spoke at the
United Nations and became the third Pope to offer Mass at Yankee
Stadium. And so, on April 12th Bishop Guy Sansaricq
led a very
prayerful Helpers Vigil, from St. Catherine of Genoa Church to Building
E at Kings County Hospital, where late term abortions are
performed by
using the saline method. The Pastor, Father Dumont, and his
parishioners enthusiastically prayed with the Bishop and the other
Helpers.
On
May 17th Bishop Octavio Cisneros, after a very fine
homily on the sacredness of life, led the Helpers procession from Our
Lady Queen of Martyrs along Austin Street to All Women’s Medical
Pavilion abortion mill, where Dotty Doyle and Mary Murray were doing
their weekly sidewalk counseling. Because of another engagement, the
Bishop reluctantly had to leave early, but we were blessed, when
Detective Steven McDonald continued to lead the Helpers in the Rosary,
in lieu of the Bishop. As usual, Msgr. Joseph Funaro, the Pastor, could
not have been more gracious and cooperative in making the Helpers feel
welcome.
Finally
on Saturday the 21st of June, Bishop Frank
Caggiano blest the Helpers by his presence at St. John Vianney Parish
in Flushing, with a prayerful reflective pro-life homily at
Mass, and
a prayerful recitation of the Rosary outside Liberty’s abortion
mill.
Again we were blest to have Steven McDonald alternate with the Bishop
in leading the decades of the Rosary. The Pastor Father Brian Dowd
graciously welcomed the Bishop and all the Helpers. For me, the Day was
special, since it was my Birthday. I thought to myself, it was a
beautiful way of giving thanks to God for the gift of my life on my
birthday, by praying, that unborn innocent children will also have a
birthday, and give thanks to God in the future, for their life.
|
|
| Pro-Life
Mission Trip to St Thomas University, Minnesota |
|
On
Friday Feb. 22, I left JFK Airport at noon for Minneapolis/St. Paul
International Airport, where Natalie Hefner of St. Thomas University
brought me to St. Paul’s Seminary. Katherine Burrill, the head of the
Students for Life at St. Thomas University, who invited me, organized
the whole program. My visit was preceded by an interview with the
reporter, Susan Klemond, who later wrote an excellent front page
article, in the Diocesan Paper, the Catholic Servant, entitled: ‘Live
the Sacrifice of the Mass by Offering Prayer, Counseling at Abortion
Sites.” On Saturday the program for the Building a Culture of Life
Conference included Prayer, Action and Reflection. Besides the students
at St. Thomas University, and the Seminarians of St. Paul Seminary, the
local pro-life lay people were invited to participate in the Mass, at
St Mary’s Chapel in St. Paul Seminary, and to the afternoon conference
at St. Thomas University.
On
Saturday morning, after Sarah Burt
organized breakfast and registration, John Posteuca and Reid Hennick
led the group across the campus of St. Thomas, to St. Mary’s Chapel in
St. Paul’s Seminary, where Father Thomas Dufner, a long time pro-lifer
and an old friend concelebrated Mass. Katherine’s friend, Aana Bendson,
did a fine job coordinating music for the Mass. Later we
traveled
to Highland Lifecare Center, silently assembled and processed in prayer
and song to Planned Parenthood.
After
the Vigil, we returned
to the University for lunch and to conduct a training session on the
art of Sidewalk Counseling and establishing a follow-up prayerful
presence. Kelly Whittier, a young, talented American I met in
Vienna, who then joined the Austrian Helpers and now is part of a new
religious order bringing Jesus, the Lord to Russia,
attended
the conference. After, Katherine Burrill and her
wonderful
parents drove me to the Seminary to pick up my luggage, and then to the
airport. I am sure God will continue to use those good people to build
a Culture of Life.
|
|
| Other Visitors to the Brooklyn
Monastery |
|
On Feb.
20th Sister Pamela Marie, a Good Shepherd Sister, working
with
women in crisis pregnancies in Hong Kong, spent time at the Monastery
and prayed outside the abortion site. She was happy to learn
that
the Helpers materials have been translated into Chinese.
Fom
March 2-4, we were blessed with four wonderful pro-life visitors from
Germany. Prof Alfred Josef Mueller, who teaches at the University in
Mainz and is the Organist for St. Matthias Basilica in Trier. He gave
me a CD of his original organ improvisations, played at the Church of
St. Michael in Aachen-Burtscheid. This talented man spent long hours
kneeling outside the abortion mill on 43rd St, praying with retiree
Peter Muehleccker and Francisco Pereira Guimaraes, who lives in Germany
and has a great Devotion to the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Francisco is
trying to spread this devotion in his home country of Brazil.
Accompanying the three men, was a long time friend and pro-lifer,
Roswitha Maria Marburg. They surprised me with an unusual
gift: a
replica of Veronica’s veil. On September 1st 2006, Pope
Benedict
XVI visited the village of Manoppello, to celebrate the
500th anniversary of the arrival of the sacred
Veil, that
is reputed to be that with which Veronica wiped the
Holy
Face of Our Lord. The image exactly maps the image of Our Lord’s face
on the Holy Shroud of Turin.
On
Tuesday April 29th Laura Bowman from Albuquerque, New Mexico arrived at
the Monastery, here in Brooklyn, and spent long hours in prayer at the
abortion site at 43rd Street, and many hours learning not only sidewalk
counseling but how to set up the whole Helpers approach from Vigils to
Prayerful Presence. As long time pro lifers well know, after
many
years in this struggle, new enthusiasm and commitment is always
welcomed. Laura is an organized, dedicated person,
is
intent on bringing new life to the Helpers in New Mexico. I am sure she
will be a blessing for the unborn and their mothers.
From
May 22nd to the 24th I left the Monastery for a few days, and drove to
the Guadalupe Villa in Stanford, Connecticut, to offer Mass and preach
at the Sisters of Life Discernment Retreat. I spoke to each
new
aspirant. Many present on the retreat have been or are still
actively involved in the Helpers Apostolate. On May 28th
Gerry
Maglio, from Wayne, New Jersey, who counsels outside the infamous
Engelwood abortion site, came to the 43rd St. abortion site and to the
Precious Blood Monastery, to gain experience in sidewalk counseling and
to obtain counseling materials.
Jessica
Newman, and other members of the Missionaries of the Eucharist, stopped
at the Monastery on June 6th and 7th on their way to Lewiston, Maine
for their annual Summer Walk for Life, from Maine to Washington D.C.
Four of the regulars were missing,for in the past year, they entered
the Religious Life, Br. Peter Martye, a Dominican; Sr. Oliva Harper,
Servants of the Lord; Leslee Simms, Sisters of Life; and
Lauren
Franko, a Dominican. In early August, Ron and Diane
Allen,
Helpers from San Diego California joined us in prayer outside the 43rd
St. abortion mill. They have put some of my talks on their
Padre
Pio web site www.saintpio.org.
|
|
| Pro Life Mission Journey
to Iowa |
|
Ten
years ago I went to the Quad City area of Iowa, for a prayer vigil in
an open field in Bettendorf, Iowa, where Planned Parenthood intended to
build an abortion mills. Across the street was another empty field,
where the pro-lifers intended to build a life center. Jeanne
Wonio, who organized the first Vigil, invited me back to lead the Tenth
Anniversary Helpers’ Prayer Vigil in front of the Planned Parenthood
mill that was built and across from the magnificent two story
Women’s choice Life Center that was also built. So, early
morning
on May 1, I departed LaGuardia Airport for Moline Quad City Airport. |
|
| In Our Times Life and
Vocations Go Together |
|
Jeanne
Wonio met me at the Airport and drove me immediately to Iowa City,
Iowa, to St. Mary’s Rectory. Judee Albert made arrangements with Father
Ken for me to stay at St. Mary’s and to speak that evening to those
attending Holy Hour. After Father Ken finished Holy Hour, I
spoke
of the need to reestablish a Culture of Life and that one positive way
was by attending the Prayer Vigil the next morning at St. Wenceslaus’
Church. At 6:30 AM on Friday, I left for the 7 AM Vigil Mass
at
St. Wenceslaus, joined in the celebration of the Mass by the wonderful
pro-life Pastor, Father Michael Phillips. Ten years earlier,
Father accompanied me for the first Vigil in Bettendorf. I
was
told that St. Wenceslaus has the most young men studying for the
priesthood in the Diocese. Life and Vocations in our times
goes
together. |
|
| The
Unborn Children’s Sleep Must Not Be Interrupted |
|
After
Mass, Father Phillps and I led the Rosary procession to the Ari Goldman
Clinic, in Iowa City. This abortion mill was the first mill
in
the United States set up by Margaret Sanger of Planned Parenthood,
after the January 22nd 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing
abortion. No mystery then, why Iowa City among Iowan
pro-lifers,
is known as a liberal, pro choice City. During the Vigil,
some
people passing in the cars gave negative gestures and at the
end
of the Vigil, a man living across from the mill screamed at the prayers
for not caring about people who want to sleep. He did not
understand that we were there precisely to make sure that the unborn
children’s sleep was not interrupted. After the closing Benediction, we
gathered in upper room of the Catholic Book Store called the Mustard
Seed, run by Christina Ossonig from Vienna, Austria. Learning
about the Helpers in Vienna, Christina said she would visit them on her
next trip to Vienna. After a meal and a two hour workshop, I
was
driven back to Davenport.
|
|
| From
Moline to Davenport to Bettendorf |
|
Barb
Arland-Fye, Editor of the Catholic Messenger, the Davenport Diocesan
Newspaper, put some short articles in the newspaper about my coming to
the quad City area. That evening I went to St. Paul the Apostle Church
where Pastor Father Michael Spickermeier greeted me. Then we left for
St. Mary’s Church in Moline, Illinois, for a Holy Hour and
talk.
Later we gathered for an enjoyable evening, with other Helpers, at the
beautiful home of Rand and Jeanne Wonio and their eight children, most
of whom after ten years, are now young adults. On Saturday morning,
following the well-attended Vigil Mass at 8 AM at Our Lady of Lourdes,
in Bettendorf, Iowa, we prayerfully proceeded to Planned
Parenthood. We said an extra decade of the Rosary outside
Women’s
Choice Center, across from Planned Parenthood. We returned to the
Church for Benediction, an elaborate lunch and a Life Conference, where
I spoke and met many wonderful people like Linda McNeill, Cathy
Trowbridge, Mary Ball, Karen Guth and others but unfortunately had to
leave for a flight. At the airport, I expressed my gratitude
to
Rand and Jeanne Wonio, for organizing the last three days’ events, and
for the faithfulness of all the Helpers to God’s Precious Infants and
their Mothers for the past ten years. |
|
| Intense
Prayer on Holy Saturday |
|
This
year, as indeed for many past years, from midday on March 21st Good
Friday to midday on Holy Saturday, the Helpers here in New York City
and elsewhere, maintained 24 hours of prayer outside the largest
abortion mills. Under the leadership of people like Mike
Marino, Rose
Diaz, Charles Buckley in Brooklyn, Jorge Bernal in Queens, Mary Divine
in the Bronx, and Peggy Beirne in Rockland County, many people were
given the opportunity to pray. God will reward each of them
for their
great generosity.
|
|
| 40
Days For Life Program |
Speaking
about prolonged prayer, many Helpers throughout the country asked my
opinion on participation in the spring or fall, 40 Days For Life
Program. The program’s director, David Bereit and his wife,
are
old friends of mine who once spent time at the Monastery in Brooklyn. I
went to College Station, Texas to run a Helpers workshop for pro-lifers
there, and to lead a Prayer Vigil to the abortion mill. It a good and
holy initiative to encourage people to take part in a prolonged forty
days of prayer and fasting program, outside of abortion
mills. However I caution Helpers participating in the 40
Days,
not to abandon the four seasons of the year, Helpers’
approach. We have to remain faithful, year in and
year out,
aware that God alone knows how much time of prayer,
fasting
and penitence will be necessary to reestablish once
again a
Culture of Life in the hearts and minds of people, in our country, and
around the world.
|
|
| The
Grandeur of God |
|
On
We are called to remain faithful even when we don’t experience success.
I think of many prayers, alive and deceased, who for the past twenty
years publicly sowed countless prayers for life outside of abortion
mills in our country and around the World but did not see visible
results. Today there are many signs indicating God seems to allow us to
reap a new harvest of life. What are these signs? In the Western world
all the countries including the United States, fell below the
replacement level of 2.1 However the birth rate in the United States
keeps going up, so that we are back at replacement level. At the same
time, fewer politicians, publicly proclaim abortion to be something
positive, especially with the polls showing the
majority of
Americans are now pro-life. In New York City, twenty years ago, more
than 115,000 abortions were performed annually It is now down to 80,000
a year. With a drop off of at least 35,000 abortions each year,
obviously, in New York City, abortion ‘clinics’ large, like Eastern
Women’s, and small, like the Court Street clinic, keep closing. In the
early 90’s Ellen Soppe asked me to assist her, Frank Samoylo, Therese
Bierne and others to start the Helpers in Rockland County. Recently
Father Frank Samoylo offered a Helpers’ Mass of Thanksgiving, with the
closing of the sixth and final abortion mill in Rockland County.
For
more than fifteen years, the Helpers prayed and counseled outside the
12 abortion mills in Dallas, Texas. With the recent closing
of
the abortion mill, Aaron Women’s Health Center, there are only four
left in Dallas. After more than fourteen years of the Helpers praying
outside the abortion mill in Camperdown, Sydney, Australia, it closed.
After many years of Helpers Prayer Vigils, three of the five public
hospitals in the City of Bratislava, Slovakia, have stopped abortions.
We must persevere and keep praying in this culture of death with the
hope of seeing again the culture of life by remembering the lines
expressed by the English Bard, Gerard Manley Hopkins, when he wrote:
“The World is charged with the grandeur of God It will flame
out,
like shinning from shook foil:..Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;…And though the last lights
off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink
eastward,
springs …Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm
breast and with ah! Bright wings.”
|
|
|
PRO-LIFE
MISSION TO AUSTRALIA
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Life
Mission to the Wonderful Helpers in Australia
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On
this long trip, I was indeed fortunate to have as my
companion
Mike Marino, who is my 81 years young, daily partner, in Sidewalk
Counseling outside Ambulatory Abortion Center in Brooklyn. I
knew
that Mike would not have any problems with this demanding trip, because
few can do what Mike has done for so many years, such as sidewalk
counseling in New York City, six days a week, exceeding forty hours
weekly. For the two weeks we were away, another extraordinary
Counselor, Rose Diaz, took vacation from work to cover forty hours a
week outside of Ambulatory. May God richly reward both of them for
their courageous generosity.
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| From Sydney to Brisbane |
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After
Mike Reddy took us to JFK Airport, Mike Marino and I left New York on
Tuesday July 8th and after a stopover in Los Angeles, we finally
arrived in the Sydney Airport in NSW at 6:30 A.M. Friday morning where
Paul Hanrahan, the past President of the Sydney Helpers met us. From
there, we drove to Our Lady of the Way Church in Sylvania, where Paul
Hanrahan and his Wife Christine and their four sons and daughter, who
looks just like her mom, regularly attend Mass. I arrived in time to
concelebrate the 9 AM Mass. While in Sydney, Father Kevin
Lovegrove, the Pastor, generously allowed Mike and me to use the
Rectory of Our Lady of the Way, while Father stayed that week at the
Rectory of the nearby amalgamated parish. We left our luggage in Paul’s
car, while we went for breakfast, since we had to return to the airport
that afternoon to fly to Brisbane, in Queensland, the same distance as
New York to Boston.
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| United to the Sufferings of
Christ Brings Great Grace |
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In
Brisbane, Dennis MacDonald and his wonderful wife waited for us, and
opened their home during our brief but busy time in Brisbane. On
Saturday morning at 7 AM we joined Craig Robinson and thirty other
Helpers, in two hours of prayer outside a Brisbane abortion
mill.
While praying, Helpers Roadside Counselors offered help to all who
came. Immediately after the Prayerful Presence, we went to the Villa
Marie Nursing Center, where I joined the chaplain, Father Rego, a
Marist priest. In the homily, I explained why the suffering of the
sick, united to the sufferings of Christ, brings great grace to the
sufferer and to the World and the pro-life movement. Father Rigo is
deeply involved with Life Decision Incorporated, an organization
reaching out to men and women throughout Australia, to help in times of
crisis to keep their unborn children. Father gave me some copies of the
Life Prayer he composed, especially for the members of the
organization. A Brisbane Helper, Bernadette Jones, insisted on asking
for the Church to have an annual World Wide Month of Prayer, Penance
and almsgiving for life.
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| Rockhampton Helpers Drove 400
Miles |
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We
visited a center similar to those of the Legion of Mary Center, in
an area that could use their presence. After brunch, we
conducted
a workshop exceeding two hours on the Helpers Apostolate.
Representatives of the Helpers in Rockhampton, Mark and Merle Ross,
drove 400 miles to Brisbane, to attend. It was a pleasure to meet this
wonderful dedicated pro-life couple. On Sunday morning I met my old
friend, a wonderful Jesuit priest, Father Gregory Jordan S.J., who
asked me to offer the traditional Latin Mass for a full Church of
traditional pro-life Catholics. I was more than happy to do
so.
After Mass, Mike and I once again had to leave for the Brisbane
Airport, to catch a Virgin Airline Flight to Adelaide which is like
going from Boston to Dallas, Texas. We said goodbye to the
hospitable and kind Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald.
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| The Wills Family in Adelaide |
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Marguerite
Wills, who organized and arranged everything for Mike and I during our
time in Adelaide, met us at the airport, along with Scott McKendry, the
new Director of Human Life International in Sydney, who observed us
during our time in Adelaide. Mike was taken to the spacious
home of
Des and Christine Wills, by their daughter Marguerite. It was ten years
since I saw their children, who are now young adults.
Francesa lives
in Sydney, Xavier in South Australia, and Emma is in a Contemplative
Benedictine Monastery in France. I was taken to Archbishop Wilson
House, where the House Manager Simon Mills, was very helpful.
Later
that evening, I joined Mike for a delicious supper prepared by
Marguerite at the Wills’ home.
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| From Mt. Lofty Summit to the Low
of Mareeba |
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On
Monday morning, we drove up the Adelaide Hill to Mt Lofty Summit, for
sight seeing, which was hindered by a thick fog. After an afternoon
lunch in the hills, we returned to prepare for the 6 PM Mass at St.
Peter’s. I offered a Latin Novus Ordo Mass. After Mass, we
met in
the Parish meeting room for a causal pizza dinner, followed by a two
hour Helpers workshop. Adelaide’s retired Ordinary, Archbishop
Faulkner, an old friend, who prays since his retirement outside of the
abortion mills, stayed for the whole workshop. On Tuesday
morning
at 8 AM I offered the Helpers Vigil Mass at Mater Dei Church. After
exposition, following the Banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, about fifty
helpers processed in prayer and song to the Mareeba Abortion mill in
Woodville Park, and returned to the Church for closing
Benediction. After a delicious lunch at ‘Nice and Tasty Café
in
Hindmarsh, we flew to Sydney.
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| Sydney’s Helpers Headquarters |
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Upon
our arrival in Sydney airport, Paul Hanrahan was there to drive us to
the Family Life International Center, where Gail Instance, the
organizer, and many young and older Sydney Helpers eagerly awaited our
arrival. In an informal setting, for next few hours, I shared ideas
with the dedicated, enthusiastic counselors and prayers. When we
counsel in Brooklyn, many people call Mike Marino, ‘Father’. After the
week in Sydney in the priests’ rectory, I am afraid Mike might believe
it. It does tell you the mettle of a man when people think he
is a
Priest.
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| Speaking at the Love and Life WYD
Sight |
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On
Wednesday morning, after offering the parish mass and eating, we
conversed with young people attending the World Youth Day activities.
We arrived early afternoon at the Love and Life Site, which the Sisters
of Life from New York had organized at St. Benedict’s parish. In my
talk to about 500 young people, I stressed that to be a true Christian
one must reflect and think. Then, pray and internalize, what you
thought about or believe, and finally it must influence your life and
others, namely you must act on the truth. I stressed that
this is
especially true in trying to reestablish a culture of Life. At the end
of the talk, the young people stood and applauded. Praise
God! At
this site I chatted with a strong supporter of the Sydney Helpers
Bishop Anthony Fischer who was responsible for all World Youth Day
activities.
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| From Kingswood to Barangaroo |
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On
Thursday, we attended 7 AM mass in Kingswood, West Sydney, and gathered
at Marie Stopes abortion mill where the dedicated group of Helpers, for
example, Elizabeth Brew and her children, prayed for two full hours
while the roadside counselors offered help to all women. After the
Vigil, one of the Helpers welcomed us to their home and prepared rich
delicacies for the group. We drove to Barangaroo, Sydney, where we
gathered with 150,000 young people to greet the large sightseeing boat
carrying the Holy Father. After the Pope was welcomed by the Head of
Australian Catholic Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Wilson, who
hosted me several times in Adelaide, and by Cardinal George Pell of
Sydney, whom I met several times in Melbourne, we listened to the
Pope’s words of Wisdom.
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| A Special Mass at St. Peter’s in
Surry Hills |
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On
Friday July 18 we attended the 7 AM mass at St. Peters Church Surry
Hills, with a young priest who has prayed with the Helpers in England,
Father Alexander Sherbrooke of St. Patrick, in Soho Square, England, as
our main celebrant. Concelebrating with me was a priest from
China,
Father Mathew Kou who spent 29 years in prison confinement because of
his loyalty to the Holy Father. Father Kou resides in San
Jose,
California, where his friend, the late Ignatius Cardinal Kung, is
buried on the grounds of the parish. Though the situation
improves in
China many young people are unaware of the extent older Catholics
suffered for their Faith.
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| Little Peace for Catholics Loyal
to the Holy See |
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In
1949, the Communist Party took power in China. In 1951, the Communist
government launched an anti-empire movement that tried to coerce
Catholics to denounce Archbishop Riberi, the Delegate of the Holy See
in China, and accused the Legion of Mary of being
‘anti-revolutionary.’ Kou, a 23 year old seminarian and a
member of the
Legion of Mary, was arrested and spent the next 29 years in Chinese
prisons and labor camps. On Sept. 8th the Feast of the Nativity of Our
Lady, a massive persecution against the Catholic Church began. Hundreds
of thousands of Christians were imprisoned. In 1957, the
Chinese
Catholic Patriotic Association was created. In 1958, the
government
and the Patriotic Association, disregarding the Holy See, nominated and
consecrated their own Bishop. Through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s there
was little peace for Catholics loyal to the Holy See in
China. I spoke
to Father Kou about my friends Drs. David and Monica who also suffered
for their faith during this time in China. Father Kou gave me
a book
written in Chinese, and insisted that I give them the book.
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| Praying Outside the Oldest
Abortion Mill in Australia |
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About 80-100 Helpers
participated in the Rosary Vigil in front of
Preterm Foundation abortion mill, the oldest Australian mill. Besides
local Sydney Helpers like Marilyn, I met Helpers from Melbourne, such
as Trudy and Jane Byre. At the end of the Vigil I informally
addressed
the group and encouraged them to keep up their courageous witness for
life. On this trip I would have loved to join the good Helpers in Perth
like Helen Sawyer, Francine, Archbishop Barry Hickey, Francine, Helen
Sawyer and others, who for eleven years have been faithful
prayerful
witnesses for life in Perth, time and distance prevented it.
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| Our Life Mission to Australia was
Done |
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On
Saturday after Mass and breakfast we watched WYD events on T.V. Later
we went to a beautiful restaurant on the Harbor with Paul, his wife,
Christine, Gail Instance, and other Helpers. Later,
at
Sacred Heart Residence, we visited a priest suffering from a heart
condition who always prays with the helpers at the clinics. The
residence was located high above but near the Racetrack where all the
young people on Saturday were waiting for the arrival of the Pope. When
the roar went up to the heavens we knew the Pope arrived and our job
was done. After an early Sunday Mass with the Hanrahan family, our life
mission to Australia finished and we left the rest in the Hands of God
and the pro-lifers in Australia. Mike Marino and I left with grateful
hearts for all the kindness and hospitality we experienced from the
Australian Helpers. And so saying our final goodbye and asking God’s
Blessing on all we started the long journey back to New York where the
ever faithful Mike Reddy met us at JFK and drove us home.
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| My
Talks at the World
Prayer Conference for Life at Fatima |
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My
gracious friends from the Helpers of God's Precious Infants, Vienna
Austria, were kind enough to record several of the
talks I
delivered at the World Prayer Conference for Life, at Fatima,
Portugal, October 2006. I've posted three of them here for
your
edification.
Just click on any talk below:
Thursday, October 5, 2006
"Humanae
Vitae, Donum
Vitae"
Thursday, October 5, 2006
"Evangelium
Vitae"
Friday,
October 6, 2006
"Golgotha
Today - Standing with
Mary
and John at the Foot of the Cross"
If
you have a dialup connection and are having difficulty listening to the
talk, or if you would simply like to save the talk to your
hard disk, right click on the talk. In the
drop down menu click "Save Target As...". You will then be prompted to
choose a download directory. Once the file is saved, simply
double-click
on the file name
to open it in your default media player.
Printable
Version of Talks: Click on title to view or print complete
text. (.pdf format)
Thursday, October 5, 2006
"Humanae
Vitae, Donum
Vitae"
Friday,
October 6, 2006
"Golgotha
Today - Standing with
Mary
and John at the Foot of the Cross"
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A Radio Session, a TV
Show and Book on Helpers Apostolate
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As
a result of the Jan. 20 interview on EWTV with Father Benedict
Groeschel many people through the U.S. contacted me or visited the
Helpers website www.helpersny.org. In Australia, I was
surprised that
many people told me they watched the interview with Father Groeschel.
Wanda Skowronska of Sydney, Australia wrote a fine book on the Helpers
of God’s Precious Infants and their Spirituality entitled
Roadside/Sidewalk Contemplatives, published by Family Life
International of Sydney. All copies I brought back were
quickly
taken. I encouraged them to have an American outlet since
many would
find it interesting and helpful. I agreed to a brief interview on the
Helpers Apostolate by the Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite
Radio.
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| Rescued More Than 230
Unborn Children |
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The
National Catholic Register in May did a Prolife Profile on the Guardian
of Germany’s Unborn, a young woman in her twenties, Maria Grunberger
who helped rescue more than 230 unborn children by counseling women
outside abortion mills in Germany. Maria is featured in a German
Documentary film called Maria und Ihre Kinder (Maria and Her Children).
At the age of 17, Maria said she heard me speak in Germany, and since
then became involved with the Helpers, due to her maturity and language
ability, as my reliable translator in Germany and other European
Countries, and is actively involved with the Helpers in Germany under
the leadership of Wolfgang Hering, the President of the Helpers in
Germany.
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| Procession of a
Thousand White Crosses in Munich |
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Recently
Bishop Dr. Andreas Laun from Salsburg, Austria led the Helpers Vigil in
Munich, praying outside the Stapf abortion clinic. Archbishop Joseph
Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky will be the Keynote speaker at the
Helpers Humanae Vitae Congress in Munich from Oct.3-5. On Saturday
Oct.4 the Archbishop will lead the Helpers Prayer Procession of a
Thousand White Crosses in Munich. A thousand unborn babies are killed
each day in Germany. Here in America, Archbishop
Kurtz,
like Bishop Laun in Europe, prays outside abortion clinics.
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| October Conference For
Life at Lourdes |
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The
3rd International World Prayer Congress for Life will be held in
Lourdes from Oct. 28?Nov. 2, 2008, the great jubilee year of Lourdes,
France, celebrating the Virgin Mary’s apparition to St. Bernadette 150
years ago. Like the two previous Congresses in Fatima and
Krakow,
this year’s Congress will be cosponsored by the Helpers of God’s
Precious Infants, Human Life International, World Apostolate of Fatima,
Ja zum Leben International etc. Father Benedict Groeschel,
Father
Thomas Euteneuer, I and others are scheduled to speak at the
Congress. For information, refer to www.hli.at/lourdes2008
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| New Visitors to the
Monastery in September |
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Father
Louis Aldrich S.J., Director of the Human Life Ethics Center of Fu Jen
Catholic University of Taiwan, will send Claire Fu Wen-Ling to the
United States to gain knowledge and practical skills of reaching
mothers in crisis situations. Beginning with the third week
of
September, Claire will begin training, starting here at the Monastery
of the Precious Blood. Hopefully during that week Father Lawrence CFR
will also participate in the training courses.
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| Prayers and Best Wishes |
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Our
prayers and best wishes go to Helpers Wenqi and Craig, who became
engaged in China this July, and long-time Helpers, Susan Moore and
Kevin Moore (not related yet) who will marry in October and also to
Helpers, Margaret Driscoll, who married Ben Cheah at St. Daniel’s
Church, Syracuse, in April, and to Angela Mosconi, who married Jack
Bankson in May at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Manhattan. Please keep in
your prayers recently deceased Helpers, especially the Spiritual
Moderator of the Boston Helpers, the well-known healing Redemptorist
priest, Father Edward McDonough, and all those who are sick, especially
Theresa Gandolfo, a faithful daily prayer outside the Brooklyn abortion
sites for almost twenty years.
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Until We Meet in Prayer at Calvary,
Msgr. Philip J. Reilly
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©
Helpers of God's Precious Infants All Rights Reserved
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