Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Thank you Allison Gingras at  Reconciled To You  and Elizabeth Riordan at  Theology Is A Verb   for hosting Worth Revisiting each week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers . This is the second week of 2019 Fall's 40 Days For Life campaign. I thought it appropriate to re-post this: Cold As Death (Originally published February 21, 2013) Yesterday was abortion day at our local Planned Parenthood center. Three of us were outside praying for the staff, the parents and the unsuspecting children encased in their mothers’ wombs. It was bitterly cold. In fact, this is the first time over the past four years when I ever felt cold enough to wear a hooded sweatshirt and gloves. But it was not just the physical cold and wind that was bothersome. It was the pervasive coldness emanating from this place of death on this particular day. If you ever reverently touched the hand of a loved one or friend while praying farewell at their cask...

In a recent interview by Aleteia , Cardinal Robert Sarah was asked a number of questions, including the following: Can evangelism be intensified in France, which is confronting a robust Islam? (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) We would be wise to take note of this well-respected prelate’s response which is descriptive of the tragic reality in, or aspirations of, many other nations today, including our own: “France has in any case renounced its Christian roots; the Gospel is no longer its reference. God no longer has a place in its society. The only place where it is tolerated is the private domain, and even then, it is confined to house arrest. Man has taken the place of God. It enacts laws in total opposition to the laws of God and those of nature. You believe that men, or women, can marry between themselves…While everyone is fighting for the abolition of the death penalty, the murder of unborn children is legal, as is divorce. While we are fighting genital mutilati...

[What follows is a powerful and passionate response to Ireland's recent betrayal of its Catholic heritage, written by my friend, Jim Dooher, a cradle Catholic . He spent 20 years as a psychiatric social worker and provided individual, marriage and family counseling services. His letters to the editor have been published in local and national newspapers, secular and religious. Jim is a staunch defender of the right to life and currently serves as Secretary for the Syracuse Right to Life Association. He has been a Lector and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for over 30 years.  Jim is a fearless and outspoken defender of the Catholic Faith and a warrior in the fight to save souls.] (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) My eyes are red, my soul cries out, my mind is confused, my heart is broken. Ireland! My beautiful Ireland! the resting place of my Catholic heritage, the legacy left to me by my ancestors. I held out hope for you twice in 3 years. Oh, how you dis...

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan ( Theology Is A Verb ) for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting . Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). The gifted writers who post there each week will no doubt have much of value to offer you. Monday Musings - A Plea To Save Human Lives and Souls!  (Originally published October 10, 2016) This is not a political post. It is a moral exhortation, a plea to save human lives and souls! (The Truth is a Person - Jesus Christ) Speaking the Truth should not be a rarity in the pulpits of our country. Since the salvation of souls is the primary purpose of the Catholic Church’s existence, Truth should be an ever-present pulpit visitor. But alas Truth is an infrequent guest there. As a result, souls are being lost and millions of human lives, in and out of the womb, are being prematurely snuffed out and discarded like...

Another Wednesday and another opportunity to thank Allison Gingras and Elizabeth Riordan for their weekly invitation to re-post our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting. Go there now (and every Wednesday) and let an interesting group of Catholic bloggers nourish you in your Faith journey. V isit Allison at   Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb during the rest of each week.   You will enjoy your visit. This is what I am sharing this week: We Are Neither Blameless For Our Culture's Demise Nor Powerless To Redirect It (Originally posted on August 3, 2015) (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) As we bemoan the apparent disintegration of the moral fiber and structure of this once great nation, we most recognize our own significant contributions to this tragic outcome - remaining silent in the face of evil, reluctance and fear to teach and defend the Truth, misguided tolerance of conduct offensive to God (such as not valu...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) As we bemoan the apparent disintegration of the moral fiber and structure of this once great nation, we most recognize our own significant contributions to this tragic outcome - remaining silent in the face of evil, reluctance and fear to teach and defend the Truth, misguided tolerance of conduct offensive to God (such as not valuing the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death) and the poor example of cowardly and Faithless lives. Having said this, we must not wallow in embarrassment and self-pity over our failures.