U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life Chair Launches Respect Life Month and Invites Catholics to ‘Live the Gospel of Life’
October is Respect Life Month, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities has issued a statement encouraging Catholics to allow “the Gospel of Christ to touch and transform our own hearts and the decisions we make.”
Archbishop Naumann’s full statement follows:
“As Catholics in the United States, we will soon mark our annual observance of October as Respect Life Month. It is a time to focus on God’s precious gift of human life and our responsibility to care for, protect, and defend the lives of our brothers and sisters.
“This year’s theme, ‘Live the Gospel of Life,’ was inspired by the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, The Gospel of Life. Pope John Paul’s masterfully articulated defense of the right to life for children in their mothers’ wombs, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and the marginalized is more relevant today than ever before.
“Last November, the U.S. bishops reaffirmed that ‘the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.’ While we noted not to ‘dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty, and the death penalty,’ we renewed our commitment to protect the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to live.
“This past January, I shared with Pope Francis that the bishops of the United States had been criticized by some for identifying the protection of the unborn as a preeminent priority. The Holy Father expressed his support for our efforts observing that if we fail to protect life, no other rights matter. Pope Francis also said that abortion is not primarily a Catholic or even a religious issue, it is first and foremost a human rights issue.
“The Gospel of Life provides a blueprint for building a culture of life and civilization of love. The important work of transforming our culture begins by allowing the Gospel of Christ to touch and transform our own hearts and the decisions we make. May we strive to imitate Christ and follow in his footsteps, caring for the most vulnerable among us. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, may Our Lord grant us the grace to live courageously and faithfully his Gospel of life.”
New parish resources have been developed around the theme of “Living the Gospel of Life” and are available at www.respectlife.org. Respect Life Sunday falls on October 4.
Form of Spiritual Communion, by St. Alphonsus Liguori
My JESUS, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You in my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
...that next Saturday, 31 October, the Church will celebrate the Beatification of Fr. Michael J. McGivney, the Founder of the Knights of Columbus?
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1852 to Irish immigrants, Fr. McGivney was a parish Priest at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, CT, when he founded the Knights of Columbus as a parish fraternal organization to give aid and to provide insurance, particularly for immigrants, the working poor, and their families, at a time when there was great prejudice against immigrants, and Catholics! Fr. McGivney died at the age of 38, in 1890.
Within his own lifetime, the Knights of Columbus rapidly grew from a parish organization to a strong, nation-wide movement for Catholic men.
Today, the Knights of Columbus number over 2 million members in 16,000 Councils around the world, including over 300 on college campuses!
Our own local Council – St. Michael the Archangel Council #13004 – exemplifies the work of the Knights of Columbus, in promoting Catholic social teaching and Christian morality in the “public square”, as well as providing practical support and a huge number of volunteer hours to the Parish and the wider Community! (Known to us for the wonderful monthly Breakfast following Mass – which we hope will be able to resume soon!)
Sometimes called, “the strong right arm of the Church”, the Knights of Columbus are the largest and most effective lay organization in the Catholic Church, and offer a practical and effective way for Catholic men to grow as: disciples of Christ, husbands and fathers, in the local Church!
All of this, because in the Providence of God, a young assistant Priest, Fr. Michael McGivney, saw the great need of immigrants and the working poor and their families, and called forth the best in the men of his parish!
The Beatification of Fr. Michael J. McGivney will be celebrated at St. Andrew’s in Sierra Vista with a special Mass, next Saturday, 31 October, at 12:00 Noon! The Knights of Columbus and their families invite all parishioners and their families to join them for this celebration!!
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The Southwest is known for our warm welcomes and heartfelt hospitality! Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish has been extending this same warm welcome for over 140 year, since pioneer missionary, Fr. Antonio Jouvenceau, came to Tombstone, to minister to the need of those flocking into the area following the discovery of rich silver deposits!
Although the popular concept of Tombstone, largely shaped by Hollywood, portrays our community as centered in the bars and gambling dens of Allen Street and shadowed by violence, there is another and much more enduring story, of pioneer men, women and families, who sought to build a lasting community, founded on the values of the Gospel!
That is our story, and it is a story which continues to be written, not in historic re-enactments, but in the hearts and lives of people who call Tombstone home.
Our Parish is the “Mother Church” of Cochise County and has been instrumental in planting new parishes in the surrounding area. We continue to be part of the global Mission of the Church, and have entered our third century filled with the joy and the hope of those who are experiencing new life in Christ!
We would cordially invite you to experience that new life with us, and to know that the One who extends the invitation, “My house is your house!” is, in fact, the Lord!
Looking forward to welcoming you!
FR. GREG ADOLF and FR. ROBERT NESKE and all of the People of God at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish!
“Legislators must. . .strive to enact laws that are both in conformity with the moral law and appropriate to the concrete character and circumstances of the people they are intended to govern. Legislators must be conscious of the tremendous formative or deformative force of law, especially fundamental or constitutional law and the regime on which it is based. The Catechism reminds us that scandal of the worst kind can be provoked by “laws and institutions, by fashion or opinion.” Hence, “they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to ‘social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible; {Pius XII, Discourse, June 1, 1941]” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2286). Citizens, too, have a responsibility to foster the common good, in part by working for the enactment of truly beneficial civil laws. They have the duty to obey just laws, which bind in conscience, even at the cost of personal sacrifice. And as citizens and Christians, they must refuse formal cooperation with evil, even when that evil is honored with the name of law.”
(Excerpt from Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (1997))
A Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
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