Lord, make us grow in respect for your most amazing gift, the gift of life. Remind us that wherever we are at, you cherish our lives and are reaching out to us. Amen.

Tabloid socialite and TV personality Kourtney Kardashian recently made a decision that shocked Hollywood and rocked the reality TV world.  The pop media is still in a frenzy over the news.

Kourtney, who is 30, is the oldest sister on the E! network’s Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s, and recently finished a season of her own show: Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami with her sister.

Los Angeles native Kourtney Mary Kardashian is the daughter of the late Robert Kardashian, who was OJ Simpson’s famous trial lawyer. Her mom, Kris, is married to Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Decathlon Gold Medalist. Kourtney is a graduate of Marymount High School, an all-girls Catholic school in LA. She earned a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Arizona in Tucson, in May, 2002. After that, Kourtney assisted her mom in opening several children’s clothing boutiques in New York and LA called “Smooch”.

Reality Shows

Her first stint with reality TV began in 2005 with Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive, a show that followed celebrity kids working on a Colorado cattle ranch. The premiere of Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s in 2007 featured models Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe, who were joined by the rest of their family. This includes brother Robert, Jr. also a model, and step-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner and their parents Kris and Bruce Jenner.

Moving to Miami, Florida, Kourtney and Khloe began shooting their own reality show Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, which aired on August 16, 2009. But that’s not all that aired that week. Kourtney also broke the news that she was pregnant.

Reality Bites

In an exclusive interview with People Magazine, (August 12, 2009) Kourtney revealed her thoughts as she struggled with what to do next.

“I definitely thought about it long and hard, about if I wanted to keep the baby or not.”

Kardashian reflected that the “choice” of abortion is often made without a lot of thought and information:

“… I don’t think it’s talked through enough. I can’t even tell you how many people just say, ‘Oh, get an abortion.’ Like it’s not a big deal.”

She felt a lot of confusion and turmoil at this point.

“I called my best friend crying, and I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ She said, ‘Call your doctor, and at least find out the risks and stuff.’”

Alternate Reality

Kourtney’s doctor suggested that she do research in order to make an informed decision.

“I looked online, and I was sitting on my bed hysterically crying, reading these stories of people who felt so guilty from having an abortion,” she recalls.

“I was reading these things of how many people are traumatized by it afterwards.”

It began to dawn on Kourtney that abortion was not a choice for her after all.

“I was just sitting there crying, thinking, ‘I can’t do that,’” she said. And I felt in my body, this is meant to be. God does things for a reason, and I just felt like it was the right thing that was happening in my life.”

“For me, all the reasons why I wouldn’t keep the baby were so selfish…”

Reality, Man…

Her boyfriend, Scott Disick, 26, came to her side to offer his support even though she had broken up with him already.

“He wanted me to talk about it more, but I just kept to myself.”

He said, ‘I really want you to keep it [the baby], but I will support you whatever you decide to do.’”

“I really wanted to think it through for myself, and not hear what my sisters were saying, or what Scott was saying,” Kourtney explained.

“Even though I took it all in, I wanted it to be my decision.”

But the advice her doctor had given Kourtney at that first visit stayed with her.

“My doctor told me there is nothing you will ever regret about having the baby, but he was like, ‘You may regret not having the baby.’”

“And I was like: ‘That is SO true.’”

“And it just hit me. I got so excited, and when I told Scott, he was so excited.”

When asked about future plans for marriage to Disick, Kardashian said,

“We talk about marriage all the time.”

Then she adds:

“I just feel like there is so much to do… We should do everything for the baby right now and I’ll worry about myself later.”

Harsh Reality

Perhaps the most convincing information about the effects of abortion comes from those who know first hand what an abortion can do to both a mother and her baby. Some women who have had an abortion write their testimonies, the stories of their sufferings, and post them on web sites such as silentnomore.org , afterabortion.org , or abortionfacts.com . These post-abortive women hope others read the testimonies and learn from them, and might be spared the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering they experienced after their abortion.

Dr. Alveda King, Director of the African American Outreach at Priests for Life and niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., applauded Kardashian’s decision. In a LifeNews.com interview Dr. King said,

“I am a member of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, which posts the largest collection of such testimonies on the internet precisely for the purpose of exposing the truth about abortion.”

In another interview Dr. King said:

“Kourtney’s testimony is so encouraging. She found messages from post-abortive women like myself on the Internet.”

It takes a courageous woman to give a testimony of the painful results of choosing abortion, as Dr. Alveda King knows. But saving a child’s life makes it worth the pain.

Reality Check

The flashy, anything-goes lifestyle of reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian and the decision she made proves a very important point. Anyone, no matter who they are, no matter how they live, no matter what they do, can find the truth by seeking it with an open heart.

Kourtney didn’t want opinions. She began to ask real questions about abortion. What will it do to me? What will it do to my child? Before she made up her mind, she gave herself the chance to really check things out. Asking was the most important thing in the life of her unborn child. It saved his/her life.

Kourtney Kadashian’s current lifestyle may not change much right away. She is still the glitzy socialite chic with a TV camera covering her every move.

But who knows what questions she may ask in the future? One thing is for sure. If she asks God for His help, she is sure to get it.

Reality Babe–y

Kourtney Kardashian soul-searched until she found the courage and determination to accept new life.

“This baby was unexpected, but it’s 100 percent still a blessing,” says Kardashian. (8/26/09 from TransWorldNews)

Her choice of love over selfishness was a life and death decision. True love makes sacrifices.

Regardless of her career, or what others would think about her decision, regardless of what might happen to her in the future, Kourtney chose the life of her baby over her own needs.

For her, it was selfishness to do anything less.

Kourtney’s baby is due around Christmas. We pray she will continue to hear the voice of God.

Bible Blurbs

“Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

Isaiah 49:15

“Children, too, are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children born in one’s youth.”

Psalm 127: 3-5

“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb… My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth… my days were shaped, before one came to be.”

Psalm 139:13-16

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Luke 1:44

CLICK HERE to read and search the entire bible, ONLINE!

Catechism Clips

1738: “….Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect…”

1931: “Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that “everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as ‘another self,’…”

2227: “Children in turn contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents.”

2271: Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable…

2323: Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed like every other human being.

Ever wonder what the church REALLY says about something? Ever hear people talking about what Cathoics believe and think, “That doesn’t sound right?” CLICK HERE and check it out for yourself!

Pope Quotes

“How bitter the irony of those who promote abortion as a form of ‘maternal’ healthcare! How disconcerting the claim that the termination of life is a matter of reproductive health!”

Pope Benedict XVI, Angola, March 23, 2009

“… we ask Mary, Mother of the incarnate Word and our Mother, to protect every earthly mother: those …together with their husbands, …and those that, for so many reasons, find themselves alone in facing such an arduous task.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Sept 7, 2008

“Selfishness and fear are at the root of (pro-abortion) legislation. We in the Church have a great struggle to defend life… The Church says life is beautiful, it is not something to doubt, but it is a gift even when it is lived in difficult circumstances. It is always a gift.”

May 9, 2007

“Children are the major richness and the most precious good of a family.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Dec. 3. 2005

“…This unique contact (of a mother) with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude toward human beings – not only toward her own child, but every human being – which profoundly marks the woman’s personality.”

The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II

CLICK HERE to see all the Pope’s writings! You might be surprised at what they have to say!

Saints & Heroes

Found his faith, lost his head

Blessed Franz Jägerstätter

Lived in Austria
May 1907 – August 1943

Franz was born shortly before World War I. His parents were not married, and his early years were spent living with his grandmother. When he was 9, his father was killed in the war. His mother then married his step father, who adopted him and gave him his last name.
As Franz got older, he became a bit wild and liked to party. He got a girl pregnant and had a daughter. A few years later, he met Franziska Schwaninger, who was from a nearby village. He fell in love with her and the two were married. They decided to go to Rome for there honeymoon. Something happened to Franz during this time. His heart began to feel drawn to God and his Catholic faith.
Franz and Franziska had three daughters. He became very involved at his church, eventually being made responsible for taking care of the church property and things, and setting up for Masses and ceremonies. Franz became a Third Order Franciscan, meaning he was a lay married man who had a normal job and family, but did his best to live a life like St Francis and his Friars.
During this time Hitler and the Nazi Party was in full power. The Anschluss began, as Germany started taking over their neighboring countries. In Austria, people voted to make Austria part of the Third Reich without a fight rather than be taken by force. Most Austrians knew if they voted no, they might be arrested, beaten or even killed. In his village, Franz was the only one to vote “no”.

Once Austria joined the Third Reich, the Nazis began forcing Austrian men to serve in the German Army. Franz knew that the Nazi ideals were in direct opposition to his faith. He knew it was wrong to take a persons freedom and dignity away. He also knew of the violence with which the Nazis treated those who disagreed with them, and how they treated Jews. He decided that as a Catholic, he could not fight for such a government.
His priest, bishop, and friends all encouraged Franz to go along with the Nazis, because they were concerned about his wife and children being left fatherless. But Franz had already lived part of his life ignoring his conscience, and decided he could not do that any longer. Even if he was going to be the only one, he would not compromise his morals or beliefs.
He refused to report for duty and was arrested and given a military trial. After he was convicted Franz was beheaded on a guillotine on August 9, 1943.
No one, except maybe his wife, knows exactly what caused Franz to abandon his former rowdy lifestyle and embrace his faith. In a time in his life when he was far from God, he heard and turned his life around. And as the darkness of fascism swept up everyone around him, he managed to hold on to the light of Faith. Franz made the supreme sacrifice of love for life and freedom. He was named Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on October 26, 2007, and is on his way to being canonized as a saint.

True pioneer of women’s rights

Dorothy Day

Lived in New York
Nov. 1897 – Nov. 1980

Dorothy was born on November 8 in Brooklyn, NY. She ended up living in Greenwich Village in the heart of the roaring 1920’s. This period of time saw many advances in technology, economic boom, the rise of communism, and a subculture of speak-easy bars opposing Prohibition. For many people, this all led to a sense of contempt for authority and traditional morals. It was against this back drop that Dorothy began pursuing her passionate career as a journalist.
As the 20’s came to a crashing end in the Great Depression, she wrote about controversial topics, such as women’s rights, birth control, and socialism. But while her political views seemed razor sharp, her personal life was a bit hazy.
Dorothy lived a loose lifestyle, having two “common law marriages”. Tragically, she ended her first pregnancy with an illegal abortion because she didn’t want to give up her career or lifestyle. When she found out she was pregnant a second time, she retreated to a beach house in a secluded vacation spot in Staten Island, NY. Here she gave birth to her only child: a daughter named Tamar. The experience of being a mother, especially after suffering the effects of abortion and years of promoting birth control, caused her to call in to question her previous thoughts about God, herself, and society. Dorothy returned to New York City a different person.
She became piously devoted to the Catholic faith, in which she found the answers to many of the social problems that concerned her. She renounced her previous lifestyle and the selfishness that went with it. She decided to live “voluntary poverty,” serving the poor, living with the poor, and being poor herself.
She started a newspaper where she wrote openly about the plight of the poor and criticized those who took advantage of them. She opened houses for homeless, and even took in the mentally ill. She helped workers protest for fair treatment. In a time when it was nearly impossible for the less fortunate to find help, but Dorothy was there with what little she had.
Dorothy also denounced the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. She said she had seen the damage that “free love” behavior could do first hand. Many people like Dorothy decided to make working for social justice more important than authentic faith. But Dorothy always held fast to Catholic teaching. The reason she did what she did was the person of Jesus Christ, and she followed and served him faithfully right where she found him present, the Catholic Church.­
The Servant of God Dorothy Day died on November 29, 1980.
While her life does not follow the path one commonly associates with sainthood, Dorothy heard the voice of God in the midst of darkness and responded with abandon. Pope John Paul II opened investigation for her cause to be canonized a saint.

Virtuous Verbiage Verification

abortion – ending the life of a human being in the womb at any stage of development.
(The medical term Spontaneous Abortion refers to a miscarriage, which can sadly occur naturally and is not the result of a human action. A Procured Abortion is when the baby’s life is ended whether directly, or as a result of some other medical procedure and is immoral.)
choice – the act of selecting one of two or more options.
(In the context of Life issues, the word choice is often used incorrectly. First, an alarming number of women who have abortions state that they feel they have no other “choice”. Second, in moral situations, if someone knows something is wrong, it isn’t really a choice. But pro-abortion activists know that by labeling it a choice, they make it politically incorrect to tell a woman that abortion is not a moral option.)
compromise – when 2 sides of an argument come to an agreement by giving up something.
(Compromise can be good, unless the thing one gives up is their morals, beliefs or conscience.)
decision – something someone has made up their mind about and is committed and resolved about.
guilt(guilty) – 1) the acknowledgement that one has done something wrong. 2) feelings of remorse or sorrow for something one has done
(Guilt can be good if it leads us to repent and change. But guilt is a serious problem if we punish ourselves with these feelings to the point of despair and neglect of God’s mercy.)
post-abortive – a term used to describe the psychological, emotional and spiritual state of a woman who has experienced the tragedy of abortion.
(PAS (Post Abortive Syndrome), or PASS (Post Abortive Stress Syndrome) is a term used to describe the symptoms of this condition, which is very similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, the American Psychological Association refuses to accept it regardless of the number of women reported to be suffering from it.)
regret- sadness or disappointment, usually related to some past thing done or left undone
sacrifice – accepting suffering or discomfort for the sake of some good thing, for self or especially others
selfish(ness) – a sin of pride, which consists of holding one’s own wants and needs as being most important, above any other
testimony(ies) – when a witness tells their story about what they saw or experienced
Third Order – someone, usually a married person, who does not actually join a religious order, but lives their life following the teachings and rules of that religious community as best they can in their current state of life.
turmoil – intense stress or suffering, usually leading to chaos or disorder

Discussion Questions

The APA, which governs the practice of psychology in the USA, refuses to accept Post Abortive Stress Syndrome (PASS or PAS for short) as a form of post traumatic stress disorder. Even though tens of thousands of women report suffering the symptoms after having an abortion, the APA insists that abortion doesn’t have a side effect on women.

• Why do you think this is?
• What reasons might they have for not wanting to acknowledge this syndrome?
• Should post abortive women be able to pay for treatment with health insurance?

1. Kourtney mentions that she can keep her baby because she is well off and can afford it.

   • Do you think the poor or less fortunate are limited in their actual “choice” because they can’t financially support their babies?
   • Is that fair or just?
   • What can or should be done about it?

2. Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood International, said, “We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.” Dr. Alveda King reaches out to African-American women because she doesn’t believe they are presented alternatives to abortion equal to other social groups.

   • Is it possible that race is a factor in how and where abortion is marketed and made available?
   • Obviously, not every abortion supporter thinks like Sanger, but could Planned Parenthood’s agenda be tainted by her ideas?
   • Should society work to make sure all women and babies are cared for and provided for equally?

3. The Kardashian sisters have not behaved like very good role models. Their provocative style of dress, sexually loose lifestyle, and often selfish and destructive behavior, seem to make them an example of what NOT to do.

   • Can people who are far from God’s plan do really good things? How?
   • Do you think Kourtney is responsible for this change herself, or is it a grace from God?
   • Ca­­n God reach us, and can we hear Him, even if we aren’t listening?

Journal Writing

Write about the time when it was hardest for you to do the right thing. Try and remember what you were feeling and what influenced your decision. Write about the people who either helped or hindered you from doing the right thing. Then, include a paragraph or two about wha­­t you might do differently or what you might do exactly the same if you were in that situation again.

Activities

1. One reason Kourtney’s decision is so shocking is the sacrifice she is willing to make for her baby. People who live surrounded by glamour and comfort often find it hard to sacrifice for others. Make a list of the people who have made sacrifices for you. Pick a way to thank them: with a card, a call, a text, or in person.
2. With your teacher or parents permission, visit some of the websites mentioned in this article. Read some of the stories presented by women like Dr. Alveda King; the stories that so deeply moved Kourtney. Make sure to pray for those women, and all women faced with the “choice” of abortion.

Debate

Split in two teams. The topic for the debate is:
“Can a baby ever be an accident or a mistake?”
Be sure to use information from the lesson, the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, your Parish priest, and other reliable resources to back up your arguments.
Remember, the point is to find the truth, not just to win!

It was an exciting moment. Carrie Prejean’s turn had arrived to answer a question from a judge during the final round of the Miss USA pageant. When the question came, Carrie’s stomach turned. The judge wanted to know what she, as the reigning Miss California and the potential Miss USA, thought about “gay marriage.” She knew what the man wanted to hear. But she also knew what she truly believed.

Carrie wondered: should she give the popular answer or speak her conscience? She quickly prayed for guidance.

We’ll get to her answer — and its aftermath — in a minute. But first, let’s take a quick look at Carrie’s life leading up to the Miss USA pageant. That will help us zero in on the point of this lesson: True marriage is worth defending … even when it costs you dearly.

Young love

Carrie Prejean was a shy child but, in high school, she became a four-sport athlete. Her softball team won a national championship. Then, encouraged by her parents, she joined a youth group at her evangelical Protestant church. She found that she loved to learn more about God, his love for her and his love for everyone. This knowledge became a source of deep joy for her.

Her parents and her church also taught her that her faith and her values would be challenged in the world today. She made a personal commitment to Christ and to her Christian values, prepared to deal with the challenges this commitment would bring.

You really think I’m pretty?

When Carrie was 17, some people began insisting that she enter beauty pageants. “I didn’t even know what a pageant was,” she told the press recently. But Carrie had always liked challenges and trying new things. The idea that she could be competitive in a beauty contest stirred her imagination.

Going for it

Carrie isn’t exaggerating when she describes herself as someone who can be very enthusiastic once she decides on a goal. She got the name of a woman who helps organize beauty pageants and called her. When the woman met Carrie, she seemed impressed. She explained the basics of the pageant and gave Carrie some information to look over and some forms to fill out. So it was that, at 17, Carrie entered her first beauty contest … and won!

College!

In college, Carrie continued participating in beauty pageants. She spent her freshman year at a state school, but after prayer and discernment decided that she wanted to attend a Christian college. She transferred to San Diego Christian College, a school known for promoting a strong faith life.

Carrie greatly enjoyed her new school. She saw the environment of faith and intellectual challenge as an opportunity to prepare for the future: She wanted to be a Christian leader. She wanted to help bring Christ to others and make a difference in the world. Most of all, she wanted people to know the deep sense of satisfaction she had found through a personal and prayerful relationship with Jesus.

Reaching out

Besides her studies and her beauty pageant preparations, Carrie also got involved in outreach programs to the handicapped and the hurting. She took part in a ministry to women exploited by prostitution and pornography.

Beauty strategy

During this time, Carrie’s attitude toward beauty pageants was, “Just be joyful and be myself. Be happy with who I am and try to show kindness to everyone else.” It worked. Her successes mounted with each contest. This past November Carrie won the Miss California USA pageant. She was also voted Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants.

Prepping

Winning the Miss California USA title was exciting in itself, but it also qualified her for the Miss USA pageant. She decided to take a semester off from school to prepare for the pageant. She worked out, followed a demanding diet and studied many of the topics she might be asked about.

The Miss USA pageant took place in Las Vegas over a two-week period. Only the last day of the pageant, April 19, was shown on national television. Which brings us back to the question that changed her life.

Facing Down Fear

As the telecast began, the host named 15 finalists. Several rounds of competition followed until only five girls remained. For the final round, each finalist would have to answer a question from a celebrity judge. The girls picked judges’ numbers from a bottle and Carrie ended up with Judge No. 8 — Perez Hilton.

This man’s real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira. He is famous for his abrasive personality and insulting commentaries on TV and the Internet. He is also famous for promoting changing the definition of marriage so gay couples can get “married.”

“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage,” said Mr. Hilton. “Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

This was a loaded question. Perez Hilton was setting Carrie up to either cave in to popular pressure or make a fool of herself in front of millions of people.

Or so he thought.

At first, Carrie tried to soft-pedal her beliefs. “I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other,” she said. “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage.”

But as she spoke these words, she heard a still, small voice speaking to her heart. Which crown did she want more — the Miss USA crown or the crown Christ wanted to give her?

She interrupted herself in mid-thought. “And you know what?” she said. “I think that in my country, and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman — no offense to anybody out there — but that’s how I was raised and … I think that it should be between a man and a woman.”

Media Firestorm

As Carrie spoke these words, an immediate reaction rose from the audience. Most people applauded, encouraged by Carrie’s bravery and honesty, but there were also some boos. You probably already know that Carrie lost the contest.

Afterward, a famous television reporter asked her about Perez Hilton’s question. Carrie was surprised that such a famous reporter would want to talk to the runner-up rather than the winner. In her mind, what happened to her was simply a side story. She soon began to find out that this was not just a side story. It had already become national news.

Digging up dirt

In May, a celebrity-gossip blog ran a photo of Carrie partially undressed. Her back was to the camera, and the image was not especially racy by today’s standards, but the organizers of the Miss California pageant announced that they were investigating. Carrie, they said, might have her Miss California title taken from her.

Speaking in her own defense, Carrie stated that she had posed for the shot when she was 17 and pursuing a career as a model. She objected to the release of the photo.

“I am a Christian, and I am a model,” she said. “Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be.”

She has also pointed out that she was “naive and young” at the time of the photography and regrets having made the decision to pose for that particular shoot. Maggie Gallagher, head of the National Organization for Marriage — which works to keep marriage between one man and one woman — spoke out in Carrie’s defense. “You don’t have to be a perfect person,” said Gallagher, “to have the right to stand up for marriage.”

“You’re fired!”

The media circus followed Carrie around for weeks. Then, on June 10, the final ax fell. Carrie was stripped of her Miss California crown. This was the title that had gotten her into the Miss USA pageant to begin with.The organizers of the Miss California pageant claimed Carrie had not been cooperative in carrying out her duties. Carrie disputed that claim.

“They don’t agree with the stance that I took [on gay marriage],” she said. “They don’t like me. From Day One they wanted me out, and they got what they wanted. … I was very respectful of people even when they slandered me and humiliated me,” she added. “I have not once stooped down to their level.”

With these words, and with her acceptance of embarrassing defeat, Carrie showed the world what Christian forgiveness looks like.

A Crown lost, a crown gained

Carrie may have been stripped of her crown as Miss California, but she certainly can stand tall. She has been given a crown of courage, even if many mock her and call her a hypocrite. She has stood up for marriage at a time when it is extremely important to do so.

Marriage really matters. It matters for all of society. Carrie has done her small part to witness to the beauty and truth of marriage.

Battles ahead

What does Carrie Prejean’s future hold? That remains to be seen. She still has many choices ahead of her.

One thing is for certain: The battle for the truth about marriage will continue. Legal experts foresee a very heated and difficult battle, because, with the approval of gay “marriage” in many states, the Christian view of marriage may be considered bigoted “hate speech” by government.

We Catholics, too, will be called on to defend marriage. Will we have the courage to stand firm as Carrie Prejean did — even when it means losing something we have worked hard for? When we experience loss, we can remember that nothing is truly lost when we stand up for truth.

On the contrary, we help others. Let us continue to speak the truth with love. Christ will give us our crown, and we will know the happiness of having helped others with our lives.

Bible Blurbs

“God created man in his image; …male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fertile and multiply’…”

Genesis 1:27-28

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.

Genesis 2:24

“…for I will honor those who honor me…”

1 Samuel 2:30

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:10

Catechism Clips

372: Man and woman were made “for each other” – not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons… for they are …complementary as masculine and feminine.

2202: A man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority, which has an obligation to recognize it.

1778: In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right.

2333: Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life.

2360: Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman.

Pope Quotes:

“… the need to avoid confusing marriage with other types of unions based on weak love is especially urgent. It is only the rock of total irrevocable love between a man and a woman that can serve as the foundation on which to build… a home for all mankind.

(May 11, 2006)

Marriage is engraved in the human being himself… man leaves his parents and is united to a woman in order to form only one flesh, so that the two may be a single existence.

(April 6, 2006: Meeting with young people)

The sexual difference that distinguishes the male from the female body is not a mere biological factor… man and woman, by becoming one flesh, can achieve authentic communion… and cooperate with God in the procreation of new human beings.

(May 11, 2006)

Thus, …marriage is not an invention of the Church: it is really created right in the moment that man is created, as a fruit of the dynamism of love in which the man and the woman find themselves and thus also find the Creator who called them to love.

(April 6, 2006: Meeting with young people)

Today the various forms of the erosion of marriage, such as free unions and “trial marriage” and even pseudo-marriages between people of the same sex… makes the body despicable, placing it… outside the person’s authentic being and dignity.

(June 6, 2006)

Saints & Heroes

Defended marriage, ‘til death did him part…!

Blessed Peter To Rot (1912-1945)

Peter, the son of a tribal chief, was one of the first of his tribe to become Christian. His family was from Papua New Guinea, in the South Pacific. He was always very smart, and was always a leader, both in school, and at sports.

When he got older, he was sent to school to become a catechist and teacher. He worked to teach and defend the Catholic faith. He later got married and became the father of three children.

In 1942, during World War II, the Japanese invaded New Guinea and imprisoned all of the missionaries who had been working there. Peter brought food to them in the prison camps.

In 1945 all religious activity was prohibited, but Peter continued to fulfill his duties in secret, including teaching, bringing people the sacraments, and hiding the Eucharist in a cave.

The Japanese decided they could win support of the local people by making it once again legal for a man to marry more than one woman. This had been outlawed when Christianity spread there. Peter openly and publicly opposed this legalization of polygamy.

One of his fellow villagers, a man who spied for the Japanese, wanted to take another man’s wife for his own. Peter went to the man’s house and reminded him that marriage was a sacred union that he could not destroy. The man listened to Peter, but became bitter and looked for ways to trap Peter and hand him over to the Japanese. Not long after, the man found out Peter had celebrated a Catholic wedding with two couples. The man had him arrested for breaking the laws about religious practice.

After several months in a prison and a concentration camp, he was murdered by two military guards who hated the Catholic faith. They injected him with a terrible drug and he died a vicious death.

He had told people he was prepared to die for his faith and his people, and so he did. And he became the first native from the South Pacific to approach canonization.

Her body crushed, but her faith stronger than stone…

St. Margaret Clitherow(1556-1586)

In the sixteenth century, King Henry the VIII of England wanted a son very badly. In order to have one, he divorced one wife, had another beheaded, and separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church because the Pope would not approve.

Following this, there were violent persecutions of Catholics, people who chose their loyalty to God and the church over the king, and who were willing to stand up and say the king could not simply dismiss the bonds of a sacred marriage.

Margaret was 15 when she married John Clitherow, a butcher. She had three children, and became a Catholic at 18. Her husband approved of her conversion, even though it could be dangerous.

Margaret became a friend to the Catholics of northern England. She even hosted secret masses in her home. She cut a secret escape hatch from her attic to the neighbors house, so priests and nuns could escape if soldiers raided her house.

Her love of her faith inspired her son to become a priest. He had to leave the country because it was illegal to be a Catholic priest there.

Eventually, Margaret was discovered and arrested, charged with harboring Catholic priests. She knew that if there was a trial, her children would be brought in to court, tortured, and forced to testify against their mother. Margaret also knew that if she refused to plea guilty or not guilty, she would be immediately executed, but her family would be spared a torturous trial. So she refused to plea.

She was sentenced to be crushed to death. Even her executioners were so moved that they could not kill her themselves, so they paid a few desperate beggars to do it for them. They placed a sharp stone behind her back, laid a wooden door on top of her, and piled rocks on the door until she was dead.

Margaret believed in the sanctity of marriage, and that no political pressure could sway her faith in God and love for his church.

Virtuous Verbiage Verification:

bigoted: utterly intolerant of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one’s own.

conscience: one’s best judgment, in a given situation, on what is right or wrong. It is our duty to “form” our conscience – this means to learn what is objectively right from wrong, so we can make the right choices.

discernment: a process in which one prays and listens to the Holy Spirit, in order to figure out what the will of God is.

enthusiastic: having or showing great excitement, motivation, and interest

happy/happiness: the sense of contentment, fulfillment, and being satisfied. We become “more” happy as we get closer to God, and we will only be completely happy with Him forever in Heaven.

marriage: the vocation (or life-calling) from God, to one man and one woman, empowered by grace through the sacrament of matrimony, to become united to each other physically, spiritually, and emotionally. This bond is permanent (until death), and it is exclusive (they only unite with each other, never with anyone else). The fruit of a true marriage is openness to children, through which a man and woman participate in the very life and love of God.

naive: inexperienced, simple-minded, lacking the knowledge that one learns from experience, gullible

right: 1) good, just, correct 2) a privilege one naturally deserves or is guaranteed by a government: “the right to life”, “inalienable rights…”, “the right to remain silent…”

slandered: defamed, had one’s reputation ruined by another’s false claims or accusations

surreptitiously: with sneaky and secret plans, especially related to an attack or a trap

Discussion questions:

1. What does it mean to be “tolerant” of others? Did Carrie Prejean say anything that was “intolerant” of others? Were Perez Hilton and the officials of the Miss USA/Miss California Pageants tolerant of Carrie’s religious beliefs? Does being tolerant require that you change your beliefs? Is it possible to “accept” a person without accepting their beliefs?
2. Does the Catholic church define marriage for one man and one woman because it hates homosexuals and wants to punish them for not “fitting in”? Or is the Church really looking out for what is best for ALL men and women?
3. Since God designed marriage to be “life-giving” and “procreative,” is it ok for a man and woman who are married to refuse to be open to having children, even if they are totally capable of doing so?

Journal Writing:

• Make a list of some of the things you believe in the most and feel the strongest about… the kind of things you would be willing to stand up for no matter what. Write about why you believe in those things, and if you think they mean enough to you that you would sacrifice your dreams or goals for what you believe in like Carrie did.
• Imagine you have a friend who lives in a country where there is no freedom of speech or religion, a place where this friend could be arrested for simply stating what he/she believes. write a letter to this friend and encourage them to hold on to their beliefs.

Debate:

Divide in two teams. The debate topic is “Does a government have the right to define marriage without taking into account the religious beliefs of the majority of its people? Is this a matter of separating church and state? Or is this a matter of government taking away some freedoms of religion and speech?”

Activity:

Write letters of support to Carrie Prejean. Offer her encouragement for the many more choices she will have to face as she continues to grow. Find out how to send them to her, or send them to us at O.F.I.A. and we will send them to her.

When the news broke last month that the captain of an American cargo ship had been captured by pirates, it is likely that many people didn’t realize how dangerous and terrifying that really was.

Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. CNS photo from Walt Disney.

Arrr… Danger ahoy!

From Peter Pan to the Pirates of the Caribbean, everyone loves a good pirate story. But real pirates aren’t silly swashbucklers like the romanticized treasure hunters we know from movies and books.

On Wednesday, April 8, 2009, four ordinary-looking Somali fisherman, all less than 20 years old, used grappling hooks and rope ladders to board the merchant vessel ship Maersk Alabama. Armed with AK-47 assault rifles, they were seeking to take control of the ship and its crew at gunpoint.

Some armed Somali pirates. US Navy photo - Public Domain.

The ship was off the coast of Somalia, carrying medical supplies and food destined for refugee camps. Some of these things belonged to Catholic Relief Services.

Violence breeds violence

Somalia is probably best remembered from the movie Black Hawk Down. Recently, however, this north-east African country has been in the news for many of these types of pirate attacks.

Years of civil war and unrest have left the country very poor, and so many people there turn to violent means of providing for themselves and their families.

A Map of Somalia

Somalia has hundreds of miles of coastline along very busy shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. Ships here are an easy target for these pirates. Sometimes the pirates are interested in stealing the cargo on the ships. However, most of the time they are looking to get ransom money.

Walking the plank

When they learned that there were pirates on board, the crew went below deck and locked themselves in safe rooms. They had managed to capture one pirate. Only the captain and one other crew member stayed on deck to negotiate with the pirates. What happened next is what makes this particular story very different from the other cases of piracy in the news lately.

The captain of this ship, Captain Richard Phillips, was so concerned about the safety of his crew that he did something unthinkable… He asked the pirates to take him as their prisoner, and in return let his crew take the ship and go free. Once the ship and crew were at a safe distance, they would exchange Captain Phillips for the captured pirate.

The lifeboat on a crane. US Navy photo, Public Domain.

Tide turns against him

The three armed pirates liked the idea. Capt. Phillips led them to one of the ships small lifeboats, climbed in it, and had it lowered into the water. Captain Phillips was in close quarters with the men who could easily have killed him at any moment. He showed them how to operate the boat. And then the plan went horribly wrong.

The crew of the Alabama, as they had agreed, brought out the injured pirate for the trade. But now that the pirates had their friend, they didn’t release their prisoner. They kept Capt. Phillips as a hostage, and were holding him for ransom.

For five days these bandits held him under constant guard. There was water and food, but there were no bathrooms or showers. It was unbearably hot in the enclosed lifeboat; so much so that Capt. Phillips said he dreaded the sun coming up in the morning. The captain and his captors sat, waiting. The pirates weren’t sleeping and were becoming agitated.

Real Navy aerial surveillance photo. US Navy photo, Public Domain.

At one point, Capt. Phillips even tried to escape. He pushed one of the pirates guarding him overboard, and dove in the water and swam away. He swam towards a US Navy ship, the USS Bainbridge, that was following them. But it was nearly a half mile away. Before long, he was caught again; only now the pirates were very angry with him.

Real Navy aerial surveillance photo. USS Bainbridge keeps watch (above) over Capt. Phillips in the lifeboat (below). Public Domain.

Is Davey Jones comin’?

By this point, the outcome didn’t look too bright for Captain Phillips. “It was just settling everything. Getting ready to die and just settling everything. You know, saying my last thoughts. Andrea, the kids.” He no longer believed he would leave that boat alive. He wondered why the pirates were dragging things out when he was certain they would kill him in the end anyway.

He had known when he went with them that there was a chance he would die. But he had been willing to take that chance freely, to spare his crew. Now, faced with what seemed certain death, he was at peace with his decision.

Mrs. Phillips tries to stay strong as she holds a picture of her husband. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Watching and waiting

Thousands of miles away, in a tiny town in Vermont, the Phillips family was experiencing the turmoil of wondering what was happening to their husband and father. “We did not know what Richard was enduring while being held hostage on the lifeboat, and that was really the hardest part… the wondering,” said Mrs. Andrea Phillips.

Fr. Danielson interviewed at St. Thomas Church. (Photo: Daria Bishop - dariabishop.com)

Mariah, the captain’s 19 year old daughter, expressed the shock of learning that this had actually happened to her family: “This is something that happens to other people. Obviously, I am other people.”

They received visits from Fr. Danielson, their parish priest, who prayed with them and told them not to lose hope.

Captain Phillips was unaware that there were other forces at work in his story. There was prayer power gathering and there was planning by the US Navy.

Living the mystery

Jim Caviezel as Jesus in the movie The Passion of the Christ. (CNS Photo)

These events came about at a very appropriate time of year. The day Capt. Phillips was captured was the Wednesday of Holy Week. The time he made his escape attempt was probably around the time we remember Jesus’ agony in the garden.

On Easter Sunday morning, Fr. Danielson told the Phillips’ friends and neighbors that they should pray more intensely for Capt. Phillips. Father said he believed Capt. Phillips’ story would serve as an example; just like Christ Jesus’ suffering led to His Resurrection, once again God and His goodness would triumph over evil in the end.

Members of USS Bainbridge's Visit, Board, Search and Seizure team. (US Navy Photo: Public Domain)

A Storm breaks loose

Later in the evening on Easter Sunday, things became extremely tense on the little life boat. One of the pirates had gone aboard the USS Bainbridge for medical treatment, and to try and arrange the ransom payment. When the other three pirates hadn’t heard from him in a while, they got restless.

They climbed out of the hatch of the life boat in plain view, and began firing warning shots in the air. The Bainbridge and the lifeboat were both moving, and the waves were bouncing them up and down in the darkness.

2 US Navy SEAL's. (US Navy photo, Public Domain)

Capt. Phillips had no idea what was going on. As he heard the shots, he dove to the deck and got as low as he could. He thought perhaps the pirates were fighting against each other. Or perhaps they were getting ready to kill him.

Salvation is from the SEAL’s

US Navy SEAL snipers took advantage of the opportunity, firing one perfect shot at each pirate. After what felt like a long time, but was only a few seconds later, Capt. Phillips heard the beautiful sound of a US Navy SEAL’s voice, asking him if he was alright. He was saved.

Daniel, Mariah and Andrea Phillips smile with joy and relief as they relay the good news at a press conference. (AP Photo, Toby Talbot)

Capt. Phillips hugs and kisses his wife Andrea after being reunited with her at the airport. CNS photo/Herb Swanson, Reuters.

“Hi, Honey…”

A short time later, back at home, Mrs. Phillips, their daughter Mariah, their son Daniel, and their whole family were relieved and elated to hear Captain Phillips himself, on the phone, telling them he was safe.

Mariah said, “You never know how strong your family can be when something like this happens.”

In a statement about how they survived the emotional torture of the five day ordeal, Mrs. Phillips said, “My family and closest friends held onto our faith knowing that Richard would come home.”

Capt. Phillips made the cover of People magazine.

The town made a welcome home sign. (Photo by Daria Bishop - dariabishop.com)

“I need a hero…”

What makes Captain Phillips a hero? Is it in conquering or strength? No. Like Jesus, his willingness to surrenderhimself as a prisoner, to suffer, and accept even death is where we find his true heroism.

Captain Richard Phillips is an example of love and respect for life. The lives of his shipmates meant so much to him, that he would offer up his own to save them. This is the ultimate sign of love and sacrifice. Whether he realized it at the time or not, Capt. Phillips was imitating Jesus Christ, at the very time when Jesus made the sacrifice that saves us all. He willingly offered himself to save others. He spent a few days in a little “tomb-like” capsule, and on Easter Sunday he got to taste a little bit of Jesus’ Easter victory.

Capt. Phillips is welcomed home by his wife Andrea, daughter Mariah, son Daniel, and mother Ginny. (CNS photo/Herb Swanson, Reuters.)

Just doing his job

Captain Phillips does not consider himself a hero. For him, what he did was just part of his job. He had accepted the job as a captain, and that meant putting the safety of his crew above his own. Yet there is something we admire about this attitude. When we see his example, we know we have met a real man, a man who puts others first.

True manhood is about service and sacrifice. These are qualities we also admire in so many women, especially our own moms (Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms!), but there is something we typically think of as particularly masculine about the willingness to face danger and take a huge risk for others. Men were designed by God to be protectors. They are called to protect their family and protect their communities. They are designed by God to overcome the fear of danger, because sometimes real life is dangerous. Sometimes risk is necessary for really important things.

Daniel Phillips follows as Mariah Phillips holds tightly to her father. (AP Photo/The Burlington Free Press, Alison Redlich)

Imitating Christ

Jesus Christ was a real man. He overcame his fear of danger. He put our safety above his own. Christ, by his life and death, helps men discover what it means to be a man. Let’s ask Christ to raise up more real men today.

For those of us who are guys, we can make a resolution to learn to love others so much that we are willing to sacrifice for them.

For girls, let’s start thanking some of the real men in our lives for what they do for us, starting with our own dads, or those other men who help keep us safe. And let’s show the guys that we also know how to sacrifice with courage, putting our hearts and lives at the service of goodness and love. The world will be a better, safer place.

Christ wants us to help him do this. It’s part of the call to love that he makes to each of us.

Bible Blurbs

“I am the good shepherd… and I will lay down my life for the sheep… No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.”
John 10:14,15, & 18

Jesus answered, “…if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
John 18:8

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 16:25

Catechism Clips

618: …He calls his disciples to “take up [their] cross and follow (him)”, for “Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example so that (we) should follow in his steps…”

616: It is love “to the end” that confers on Christ’s sacrifice its value… He knew and loved us all when he offered his life…

609: …Indeed, out of love for his Father and for men, whom the Father wants to save, Jesus freely accepted his Passion and death…

610: Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself… [when he] transformed this Last Supper… into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father…

Pope Quotes

Every witness of faith lives this “greater love” and, after the example of the Divine Teacher, is ready to sacrifice his life for the Kingdom.
Pope Benedict XVI, April 7, 2008, St. Bartholomew’s, Rome

“Only the commandment of love, a love that becomes a total gift of life, is the secret of the Resurrection. “
Pope John Paul II, February 6, 1997

“No one can take [Jesus’] life from him: he lays it down by his own free decision… He gives his life and he takes it [up] again in the resurrection, so as to be able to share it for ever. “
Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Thursday, April 9, 2009

Saints and Heroes

willing to lose her head for her people…

Esther, Queen of Persia

(Lived and died around 500-450 BC)

The Jewish people had been captured and brought to Babylon as slaves. The Persians conquered Babylon and freed the Jews, but the Jews were still not treated as equals.

Xerxes. the Persian king, was a fierce man and demanded complete respect from all of his subjects, even his wife. The Persian people also had very strict laws about women’s roles in society which were very oppressive. In fact, Xerxes banished his own wife for not allowing him to use her and show her off like a trophy.

He demanded that all the most beautiful women in his kingdom be brought to him. If he liked one of them, he would make her his new queen.

Hadassah was brought to the king because she was beautiful. She told no one of her Jewish heritage, and changed her name to Esther, the Persian word for star. The king instantly fell in love with Esther because she was not only beautiful, but also intelligent and brave. He made her his new queen.

Not long after, Esther’s uncle Mordecai heard that someone was plotting to kill the king. He sent word to Esther to warn the king. The king made a record that Mordecai should be rewarded one day.

At this same time, one of the Persian princes who hated the Jews was gaining favor with Xerxes. His name was Haman. Xerxes liked Haman so much, he gave him complete rule to do whatever he wanted in the kingdom. Haman decided to plot with his friends and use this new authority to exterminate all the Jews in Babylon, and all of Persia.

Esther and her people were terrified. She wanted to ask the king for help. But she knew that because of the laws restricting women in this place and time, if she went to the king without being invited, she could be killed for disrespect.

The Jewish people all fasted and prayed. Three days later, even with the possibility of being executed, Esther went before the king. Xerxes was so happy to see her that he welcomed her instead of having her beheaded. She asked if she could prepare two banquets for the king and his friend Haman. The king accepted.

At the second banquet, Esther bravely spoke out of turn, announcing that she was a Jew, as was Mordecai, the man who saved the king. She also told Xerxes of Haman’s plan to execute them along with all of her people. Xerxes was outraged that Haman would plot against the queen and her uncle. He ordered Haman to be hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.

Esther offered herself, her own life, to save her people out of love for them and love for God and his covenant with them. She is remembered by the Jewish people, as well as Catholics as a great heroine of the Old Testament.

(See the Bible for the Book of Esther. The picture is Tiffany Dumont playing Esther in the movie: “One Night with the King”)

The first saint with his own radio station

St. Maximillian Kolbe

(entered Heaven August 14,1941)

Baptized Raymond Kolbe in 1894, he was the second son of a very poor family.

In 1907, both Raymond and his brother entered studies at the Franciscan Junior Seminary. Here he would be taught and also have the possibility of becoming a priest. As he studied his professors found that he had a tremendous ability in science, military history, and strategy. He thought about leaving the seminary to join the army to fight for his country.

While Raymond knew how much his earthly mother wanted him to be a priest, he also realized he had a special call from his Heavenly mother to fight for her, and for her Son. So he decided to stay in the seminary and join the Franciscan Order. When he took his habit (the robe Franciscan Friars wear is called a habit) he also took a new name: Maximillian.

He always had an intense devotion to Mary, especially devoted to her under the name “The Immaculate”. He founded some of the largest friaries and seminaries in the world, both in Poland, and Japan. He published a magazine called “Knight of the Immaculate,” devoted to teaching people about truth and faith. He publicly denounced groups and societies that were attacking the beliefs of the Church. He founded radio stations dedicated to spreading the Gospel through words and music.

Even though he was still young his health failed; but he persisted in his rigorous work for the Church.

When the Nazis began to invade Poland, he spoke out against them, encouraging his readers and listeners to hold on to the truth. He helped Jewish refugees and others displaced by Nazi cruelty. Because of this, he was arrested and sent to a concentration camp.

While a prisoner, he was a shining light of hope in an otherwise dismal place. Every one who saw him in the prison camps was impressed by him, and he heard confessions and gave sacraments secretly.

This made his captors even more violent towards him, and they eventually moved him to one of the most infamous death camps: Auschwitz, Poland. Because of his faith, peace, love, and positive effect on the other prisoners, he was treated most harshly there.

Then one day three prisoners escaped. In retaliation, the Nazi commander decided that ten men would be starved to death. One of the men picked had a wife and family. Fr. Kolbe told the commander that he would go to the starvation bunker in this man’s place. The guards and commanders all hated Fr. Kolbe, so they were happy to make the switch to get rid of him.

From the bunker, the sounds of hymns being sung and the rosary being prayed were heard. After two weeks, Fr Kolbe was the only one left alive, so one of the criminal henchmen injected him with poison.

After his death, word of his herosim spread all over. He gave hope to a nation under siege and oppression.

(source: www.ewtn.org/saintsholy. The photo is L. Difilipis as St. Kolbe in the play: “Maximillian, Saint of Auschwitz”))

Study Guide

CNS photo/Disney)

Virtuous Verbiage Verification:

Holy Week – the week right before Easter, when we celebrate the time that Jesus gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper, was betrayed, gave himself over to death, and brought the just souls waiting for Heaven into God’s presence.
Peace – a fruit of of the Holy Spirit. Inner peace is a calmness of soul and reliance on God. External or worldly peace, is both the absence of war or unrest AND the active pursuit of justice and charity for all.
Piracy – traditionally, hijacking a ship in the open sea by force, and stealing it or the goods on board. Often the passengers of the ship are harmed or killed. Piracy has always been considered one of the worst forms of robbery.
Ransom – the price paid to ensure someone’s life or safety.
Sacrifice – offering something one owns or holds dear to give honor to someone else, or for the good of someone else.
SEALs – stands for SEa Air Land… a group in the US Navy specializing in secret or dangerous operations. They have become well known for their rigorous training, near-perfect execution, and daring rescue mission.
Surrender – to give oneself freely and without a fight.

Discussion questions:

1. Do you think what Captain Phillips did was extraordinary? Is it something many people would have done? What might you have done differently?
2. Often times in today’s world we see leaders, in governments, companies, etc…, who are selfish and use their position for their own gain. Can you find any examples of this? How do you think these individuals might have done better if they acted like Capt. Phillips? Do you think Capt. Phillips’ example can help to change the hearts of leaders around the world?
3. The news media chooses to focus on Capt. Phillips’ courage rather than his self-sacrifice. Why is that? Does our society like to talk about sacrifice? Is it a popular idea? Do you think people in our society avoid sacrifice? Why? Why would people focus on one aspect, his bravery, but want to leave out focusing on his willingness to give of himself?

US Navy photo - Public Domain

Journal Writing:

Imagine there are pirates or kidnappers looking to capture you. Someone you know offers themselves to the kidnappers in your place. Write about what might be going through your mind at this time. What do you feel? What do you think about this person? How might this change you? Would you act any differently, or treat people any differently, now that you have been treated with such amazing love?

Debate:

Divide in two teams. One team argue that to be a real “man” Capt. Phillips should have attacked the pirates and started a brawl. The other team argue that what he did, peacefully surrendering himself, actually took more strength and courage. Email us at info@ourfaithinaction.net and tell us who wins and what their arguments were.

Activity:

Write a letter to someone who you feel has laid down their life for you or made sacrifices for you, especially someone like a father or grandfather. If you like, email it to info@ourfaithinaction.net and we may publish it on our website!

The United States has reasons to be proud after the Beijing Olympics. The 2008 Summer Games treated us to many amazing stories and showcased the finest qualities of our country. In this lesson we will look at one of our Olympic athletes, Lopez Lomong. He and his family have shown that faith and love can triumph over tragedy.

Option of faith

Robert and Barbara Rogers live in Ostico Lake, a town near Syracuse, New York. About fifteen years ago this family began a faith journey that would lead them to touch the heart of the whole world.

A business investment had turned sour. The Rogers were bankrupt. In the midst of this difficult situation the Rogers began to ask themselves how deeply they trusted God. They began to pray more and to act on their faith more boldly.

As part of this faith journey, Robert and his wife Barbara made an option to be more generous with God. They started by being more generous their money, even though they had very little at the time. They began giving 10% of their money to their parish and to charitable causes.

Generosity opens doors

Amazingly, after a year their economic situation began to improve dramatically. They decided to become more generous with their time and their lives. This eventually led them to open their home to others.

In the last eight years the Rogers family has welcomed six teenage refugee boys from Sudan into their home as foster children. They heard about the need of these boys when the “Lost Boys of Sudan” program of Catholic Charities was highlighted at their parish.

Love pays off

Lopez Lomong was the first boy who arrived to their home. This summer he not only qualified for the USA Olympic team this summer, but was chosen by his teammates to carry America’s flag. Let’s look at Lopez’s story.

Lopez’ Loss

Lopez comes from southern Sudan, a region of Africa. One day in 1991, when he was only six years old, he was attending Mass with his parents. Suddenly, armed soldiers entered the church. Lopez and all the other children in his church were kidnapped at gunpoint and taken away.

War on southern Sudan

From 1983 to 2005 the government of Sudan (based in the northern city of Khartoum) waged a merciless war on the Christians and animists of southern Sudan where Lopez lived with his parents.

The war was partly due to religious hatred: the government of Sudan is controlled by Muslims. The Muslims of Sudan are often very cruel to non-Muslims.

Another motive of the war was economical. Large quantities of oil had been discovered in southern Sudan, and the Sudanese government wanted total control of that oil.

Lopez and his friends were victims of that war.

New war: genocide in Darfur

Later, in 2003, the government of Sudan also turned on the Muslims of Darfur, a western region of Sudan. Many experts believe that once the Khartoum regime completes its genocide in Darfur it will turn again on the Christians and animists of southern Sudan, becoming even crueler.

Death sandwiches

That day in 1991 Lopez and the other boys in his group were taken in a truck to an unknown place and then thrown into a one-room prison.

Apparently the plan was to kill them slowly. As food they were given sandwiches which were laced with sand. The sand made the food impossible to digest. One by one, the boys started to die.

A few of the older boys from his town figured out what was happening and told Lopez to eat very little of the sandwiches. Then they waited for an opportunity to escape.

Escape

After three weeks the boys discovered a hole in the fence. They waited until midnight, then, bringing Lopez with them, they crawled silently towards the hole. Once they made it through the hole, they ran, hardly ever stopping for three days and nights.

Because Lopez was so young, the older boys took turns holding Lopez’s hands as they ran, in order to help him keep up with them.

Somehow, the boys made it out of Sudan. As they entered Kenya, they were detained and questioned. Then they were put in a refugee camp. The camp was run by Catholic Charities.

Life in camp

Lopez lived at the camp from when he was 6 years old until he was 16. The camp was poor, and there was little food: only one small meal a day. But he was alive, and the people who ran the camp were nice to him and the other boys.

Strength in faith

Experts estimate that about 40,000 boys tried to escape the soldiers. Only 20,000 made it out of Sudan alive: some were killed by wild animals, others drowned in rivers, and others were killed by the soldiers. The girls who had been kidnapped also suffered a terrible fate: many were raped and killed or sold as slaves.

In spite of the tragedy, Lopez was convinced that God had a plan for his life. As he said, “That faith was never far away from me. You just have to look high and say thank you for the day… I thought my family was dead, but in the camp I became happy again.”

Discovering a dream

In the relative safety of the camp, Lopez loved to run and play soccer with his friends. One day (when he was 15 years old) he had a rare chance to see television. He saw a race in which American track star Michael Johnson won a gold medal during the 2000 Summer Olympics. Lopez saw Johnson cry on the award platform as the American anthem was played.

Lopez, like any young man, began to dream: “One day I will compete in the Olympics, and I will wear that uniform.”

And like any person of faith, he began to talk to God about his dream.

Opportunity

A year later, Catholic Charities, the organization running the refugee camp, received the OK from the U.S. government to send 3,50“Lost Boys of Sudan” to be placed with foster families in the United States. Lopez was one of the boys chosen.

Surprised by love

When he first arrived to live with the Rogers family, Lopez could not believe it. It was too good to be true. Robert and Barbara were only kind and helpful to him. He couldn’t believe this was going to last. He thought a mistake had been made. He thought he was going to be sent away or be treated as a servant.

Home for the heart

As the permanence of the charity and concern of his new family began to sink in, Lopez cautiously started to think, “Maybe this is a house. Maybe this is home. This is somebody who will take care of me.”

“One night I decided to tell them my story, how I was separated from my family and things like that. That was the day I was able to open my heart and say, ‘These are the people I trust. This is my parents, the people who will take care of me here.’”

Drive to show thankfulness

Lopez was enrolled at the local high school. He immediately loved it there. It seemed as if everyone wanted to help him. He resolved to show his thankfulness for all he was receiving.

Lopez joined the track team at his new high school. He was so dedicated that he was quickly made team captain. During the next three years he led Tully High School to state titles in several individual events and in team competition.

Coach Jim Paccia saw how Lomong’s drive inspired his teammates. “Lopez’s drive was internal. All the other guys on the team realized that and they stepped it up…”

In fact, his high school friends nicknamed him “Booker”, because his intensity reminded them of WWE wrestler Booker T.

On the Olympic chase

In college Lopez continued training hard, impressing his college coach as well. In 2007, Lomong became division I NCAA indoor champion at 3000 meters and the outdoor champion at 1500 meters.

This summer his times improved even more, and he was able to qualify for the Olympics.

He immediately called his foster parents, Robert and Barbara Rogers, to celebrate and to thank them. He especially wanted to thank them for their prayers and their witness of faith. He told them, “When you put God first in your life, anything is possible.”

The flag

In the months leading to his qualifying, Lopez had also become a member of Team Darfur, a coalition of athletes who want to raise awareness about the genocide being committed by the government of Sudan.

The U.S athletes had been advised not to make political statements in Bejiing, but a few days before the start of the Olympics they found out that China had revoked the visa of Joey Cheek, the head of Team Darfur. When word got out that Lopez Lomong was interested in carrying the flag, the other athletes voted for him unanimously.

Celebrating faith, family, and freedom

As Lopez’s story became known throughout the world, it became obvious that the U.S. athletes had chosen a true hero. Here was someone who had been deprived of everything, and yet had triumphed through faith, family, and freedom.

Lopez Lomong did not win a medal in the Olympics, but he did symbolize the greatest values of our country and our faith. These are values that can help our world. We have every reason to celebrate them.

Bible Blurbs

“For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth.”

(Psalm 71:5)

“You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.”

(Genesis 50:20)

“Hide me in the shadow of your wings”

(Psalm 17:8)

Pope Quotes

“The source of Christian joy is the certainty of being loved by God, loved personally by our Creator.”

(June 5, 2006)

“Christian faith deserves the historical merit of having inspired in men and women, in a new way and with new depth, the capacity for sharing also inwardly the suffering of others.”

(June 9, 2008)

“The prayerful person is never totally alone for God is the One who in every situation and in any trial is always able to listen to and help him or her.”

(June 9, 2008)

Catechism Clips

309: There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.

312: In time we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures.

2204: The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of communion, and for this reason it can and should be called a domestic church. It is a community of faith, hope, and charity.

1818: The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; …it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment.

Saints and Heroes

St. Josephine Bakhita

(Entered heaven in 1947)

Josephine Bakhita was born in Darfur, Sudan in 1867, during another time of strife and violence. When she was only nine years old, she was kidnapped and sold into slavery. She was beaten and whipped many times during those years. Then an Italian businessman took her in, intending to free her eventually. He was a good man, and she began to experience a peaceful life working for the family. When they returned to Italy, they took her with them. During a time when the family was out of Italy, Bakhita and the man’s young daughter went to live as boarders at the Canossian Sister’s Institute in Venice.

There they were taught the Catechism, and Bakhita learned it well. She was amazed to have finally met the God she had long believed in, the one she “had experienced in my heart without knowing who He was” ever since she was a child. “Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: Who could be the Master of these beautiful things? And I felt a great desire to see Him, to know Him and to pay Him homage…” She was received for baptism, the happiest day of her life. Afterwards she could often be seen kissing the baptismal fount and saying, “Here I became a daughter of God.” Her love grew so much that she decided to stay with the Canossian Sisters and dedicate her life to serving the God whom she had come to love.

She spent the remaining fifty years of her life as a religious sister. There she edified and encouraged everyone by her inextinguishable joy and her eagerness to serve always and everywhere. She also loved to promote the missions to Africa, desiring that many of her countrymen come to know the goodness of God’s love. (Source: CollegeCompass.org)

St Charles Lwanga and Companions, The Martyrs of Uganda

(Entered heaven in 1886)

Charles and his friends died for their fidelity to Christ. Most of them were members of King Mwanga’s royal court in what is now part of Uganda, in East-Cantral Africa. Charles and his friends had become Christians under the influence of missionaries to sub-Saharan Africa. Even when the missionaries had to leave the area, the Christians continued living and spreading their faith. But King Mwanga noticed that, although the Christians were faithful subjects and servants, they didn’t fear him as much as the non-Christians did, and they refused to be victims of his lewd parties. He and his henchmen tried to entice some of the Christians to abandon their faith, but they wouldn’t. That’s when the executions started. And they snowballed until twenty-two of them were arrested, tortured, and hideously executed.

These Ugandan martyrs were so dedicated to prayer that they were known not as “Christians” but as “Those-who-pray.” And such was the title by which King Mwanga condemned them. Today the Catholic faith is flourishing in Uganda and many other parts of Africa, thanks in part to the power of these martyrs. (Source: CollegeCompass.org)

Virtue Verification

Animism – A non-Christian belief system that attributes souls or spirits not only to human beings but also to animals, plants and other things (from the Latin word “anima” which means soul or life).

Charity – 1) A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; kindness, respect, and generosity towards others. 2) God’s tender regard and concern for all human beings. 3) Devotion to and desire for God as our supreme good.

Foster child – Child having the standing of a specified member of the family, though not by birth or adoption, and receiving the care appropriate to that standing.

Freedom – 1) Being able to act, move, use, etc. without hindrance or restraint, confinement, or repression. 2) Spiritual capacity to choose the most noble option.

Generosity – 1) Willingness to give or share; unselfishness. 2) Generosity is also one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is sharing God’s goodness with others and responding to God’s love with the gift of self.

Genocide – The systematic killing of, or a program of action intended to destroy, a whole national or ethnic group.

Hope – Trust in God; confidence in God’s goodness; confidence in the future.

Love – 1) Kindness, respect, and generosity towards others. 2) God’s tender regard and concern for all human beings. 3) Devotion to and desire for God as our supreme good.

Trust – 1) Confidence in the goodness of God and in the goodness of his plans for us; faith. 2) Reliance; confident expectation, anticipation, or hope.

Discussion questions

1. What problem started the Rogers on their faith journey? Can difficulties always lead to a closer relationship with God? What is necessary for a difficulty to lead us to God?
2. Is it easy to trust God when there are difficulties and suffering? What do difficulties teach us about our lives?
3. Both the Rogers and Lopez Lomong showed trust in God in the midst of suffering. Is trust in God, Christian hope, just a mind game or is it based on something real? What do you think it is based on?
4. In what ways does Christian hope help us to deal with suffering? In what ways does Christian charity help us to deal with suffering?
5. After his first couple of months in the United States, one of the boys whom the Rogers took into their home was asked what he found the most amazing in the United States (He had already visited Disney World and several important cities). He answered, “Parents.” Do you agree with this statement? Why do you think it might be true? What other things do you think are amazing about our country?  Do you think parents get enough credit in our country for the good that they do?
6. Can you think of any other examples of the power of family that was highlighted in the Olympics? How can having a strong family help someone be a better athlete and a better person?
7. Can you think of any other examples of faith shown by Olympic athletes?
8. What do you think of the decision by the U.S. athletes to choose Lopez Lomong as the flag bearer? What virtues does this decision show? Does it highlight some of the Olympic values? Which ones?
9. Is there anything you can do to help draw attention to the plight of the people of Darfur and of southern Sudan? What might you like to do?

Debate (Choose a theme.)

• Should teenagers give 10% of their money to Catholic and charitable causes?
• Why does God allow evil in the world, such as the genocide in Darfur?
• Are Christians whimps? Why does Christ ask us to turn the other cheek? Is it right for a Christian to fight a war against evil?

Activities

1. Investigate about some of the charitable initiatives created by former “Lost Boys of Sudan”. Choose one and hold a fundraiser for that charity.
2. Organize a “Fast for Sudan” overnight with your friends (just guys or just girls!). Get sponsors for every hour you will fast. Fast for 24 hours. Have games, competitions, and activities during the fast to make it fun for everyone. Give the money raised to one of the above charities.
3. Email or write to your congressional representatives. Encourage them to do all they can to bring pressure on Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur.
4. Find out about the refugee camp that Lopez lived in. See if you can sponsor a child or adult there.

Resources used for this lesson

Lopez Lomong website

Lost Boys websites:

• Website of Jok Kuol, former Lost Boy of Sudan.
• Website of John Dau, former Lost Boy.
• Alliance for the Lost Boys.
• Documentary film.

Caritas Internationalis web site (Official charitable organization overseen by the Vatican).

Stories about Lopez Lomong

• “Family and Faith Helped Lomong Endure,” USA Today, August 19, 2008
• “Out of the War and Into Their Hearts,” Syracuse Post-Standard, July 28, 2008
• “Where Once He Was Lost, Now He is Found” Washington Post, August 8, 2008
• “Meet Lopez Lomong’s Foster Parents” July 28, 2008

A dream can be powerful. It can turn enthusiasm into success. For one, humble young man, his dream is gradually becoming his reality. Yet it would not have happened without his family, without their love and faith. In fact, his family saved his life. In this lesson we will look at how Tim Tebow’s family helped him put a solid foundation on his life, and how he has also found a model of faith and charity in someone else in his life.

Heisman History

Tim Tebow made football history at the end of this college season by becoming the first underclassman (freshman or sophomore) ever to win the Heisman trophy. After a solid start as a freshman, Tebow became a starting quarterback for the Florida Gators’ his sophomore year and has broken Southeastern Conference records for rushing touchdowns.  Tebow finished the regular season with 3,132 passing yards and 29 touchdowns.  He also ran for 838 yards and 22 touchdowns, becoming the first player in Division I-A football history to both pass and rush over 20 touchdowns in a season.

“It’s something I used to dream about,” Tebow says of his Heisman win on the Florida Gators’ website.  “For it to come true, it’s unbelievable.  It’s special.”

Character from the clan

Not only is his win special, the humble and soft-spoken Tebow brings character to the game. A solid family life and faith in God is what led a high-school-aged Tebow to proclaim in an interview with The Baptist Press, “Just because you play football you’re no more important than anyone else.”

The youngest of five children, Tebow could not recite his own stats during interviews when asked about his play.  Growing up in a family of homeschoolers, he was allowed to play ball with the local high school when the state of Florida passed a law allowing homeschoolers to play high school sports.

As a boy, he had always been very enthusiastic about sports. As his successes on the field mounted, his parents would remind him of a Bible verse to keep him humble: Proverbs 27:2 “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”

Survivor, thanks to mom and dad

Tim began beating the odds long before he ever picked up a football. Before he was born, doctors strongly urged his parents to abort the pregnancy. The physicians believed the unborn baby had been severely, maybe even fatally, harmed in the womb by medications they’d given his mom to fight off an infection.

The details of the discussions between the doctors and Tim’s parents are an inspiring story all their own, and we’ve asked Pam and Bob to tell us exactly how everything happened. They were unavailable at press time, but have promised to fill us in for our next lesson.

In the meantime, suffice it to say that their courage to stand up to the doctors and trust in the Great Physician — Jesus — paid off: Timmy was born underweight but otherwise healthy.

“We were concerned at first because he was so malnourished,” recalls Pam, “but he definitely made up for it.”

And how. Today, Tim stands 6’3” and weighs 235 pounds.

“I really have a heart to encourage moms and women to trust the Lord with all their heart for all their lives,” says Pam about the challenges of motherhood.

Missionary man

Brought up with this solid faith, Tim Tebow heeds his call as an evangelizer and role model in society very seriously.  He regularly shares his Christian faith in talks to youth around the country.

Tim’s father, Bob, has spent years sharing his Christian faith with people in the Philippines, has helped to build an orphanage there and has also organized medical help for the poor. Every summer Bob brings young people from the United States to help him on his work there. His son Tim has been a regular participant in these youth missions and really loves it.

Says Tim, “Its been a great experience. We go into medical clinics, hospitals, prisons, market places and schools. You preach and help out. We go to the orphanage and a lot of things like that. It’s a great experience. I love going every year and I can’t wait until I go back. Every time you go you learn something different, and it changes your life even more.”

Tim Tebow acknowledges that working with people so disadvantaged has changed the way he looks at the world.

Finding family spirit

It is no wonder that Tim Tebow chose the University of Florida to pursue his career and football aspirations.  Majoring in Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Tebow has found another family of his own in his teammates and Gators’ coach, Urban Meyer.  Coach Meyer, a Catholic and another solid family man has said of Tim Tebow, “He’s such a positive influence.  He’s such an unselfish guy.”  Coach Meyer acknowledges that Tim Tebow is the kind of role model young people can look up to.

Coach’s favorite team

Coach Meyer and his wife, Shelley, maintain a strong family life.  Shelley credits her husband in part, for always keeping his family in the know about his schedule.  The schedule of a famous college football coach is demanding, but, like football, teamwork is the name of the game.  Shelley is a stay-at-home mother who spends her time attending to her three children and volunteering in the community.

For Coach Meyer, devoting time to his family is as important to him as it is to them. He once found himself with some time after his football commitments were completed, so he took advantage of a police escort to catch a few minutes of his son’s baseball game.    Coach Meyer makes time to spend weekends away with his son.  He also has set aside “date nights” to spend individual time with his teen daughters.

Faith: part of the program

Faith is an important aspect of the Meyers lives as well. “Spiritual health is very important to our kids and our players.  It’s very important to us,” Shelley Meyer said in an interview with The Gainsville Sun.  “Faith is the only thing that can get you through the hard times.”

The Meyers family attends Queen of Peace parish where their two teen daughters are preparing to make their confirmation.  Shelley herself was raised Protestant and she and her husband, have also taken their children to Protestant churches in the area so they can be familiar with their mother’s Christian background as well.

Fatherhood and football

Like Tim Tebow, Coach Urban Meyer takes his position as a role model very seriously.  Recruiting is one of the things any college coach must be good at.  Coach Meyer treats his recruits like family – they spend time at the Meyer family home and he has been known to text message them almost daily, just to check in and see how they are doing.

Relationship building is an important part of the coach’s recruiting process in that both the coach and his players see their Gators’ team as an extended family.  The difference that Coach Meyer brings to the lives of these athletes is his sincere concern for them.  Many recruits often comment that he truly makes himself available to them, and, when he wants to know how things are, it is because he means it.

Tim Tebow admires these qualities in his coach. As he said in an interview with The New York Times,”That’s one thing that’s so great about Coach Meyer is that he does realize that there’s things more important than football. Helping guys out, changing their lives. There’s countless guys on the team … that he’s totally changed their lives, did a 180. … He’s so much more than a football coach, he’s like a fatherto a lot of guys. He’s one of the best coaches in college football, but he’s more than that. He’s interested in helping people and doing the right thing.”

Success in selflessness

Shelley Meyer credits the team’s successes to this close-knit family feeling.  “That’s why they win,” she said.  “That’s exactly why they win.  Egos are left somewhere else.  That’s just a really special thing about our team.”  Sounds like a place called home for a young, humble football star named Tim Tebow.

Forming for fatherhood

There is always talk that successful collegiate athletes and coaches will one day find their way to the pros.  Perhaps that dream will also become a reality in the future for Tim Tebow or Coach Urban Meyer.  Shelley Meyer is quick to remark, “Urban’s calling is really to mentorand role model and teach these college guys how to be good dads and good husbands.”  That is the preparation for real life that Coach Urban Meyer brings to his team.

In the player of Tim Tebow, Coach Meyer’s example is just one more person modeling behavior that his family has instilled in him since he was a child.  For the world of football and for the world outside of football, these two men have become shining examples of what it means to live faith in every day life.

Bible Blurbs

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2)

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.” (Ephesians 3: 14-15)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Hoy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age.” (Matthew 28: 19-20)

“And the King will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these brethren, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Pope Quotes

“The natural family, as an intimate communion of life and love, based on marriage between a man and a woman, constitutes “the primary place of ‘humanization’ for the person and society,” and a “cradle of life and love.”(Benedict XVI, Message for World Day of Peace 2008, no. 2)

“This point merits special reflection: everything that serves to weaken the family … constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace.”(Benedict XVI, Message for World Day of Peace 2008, no. 5)

“Today, too, there is a need for disciples of Christ who give unstintingly of their time and energy to serve the Gospel. There is a need for young people who will allow God’s love to burn within them and who will respond generously to his urgent call.” (Benedict XVI, July 20, 2007)

“Do not be afraid to become holy missionaries like Saint Francis Xavier …  or like Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus … Be prepared to put your life on the line in order to enlighten the world with the truth of Christ; to respond with love to hatred and disregard for life; to proclaim the hope of the risen Christ in every corner of the earth.”(Benedict XVI, July 20, 2007)

Catechism Clips

2205 The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit.

2207 The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom.

2210 The importance of the family for the life and well-being of society entails a particular responsibility for society to support and strengthen marriage and the family.

2472 The duty of Christians impels them to act as witness of the Gospel.  This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds.

2272 The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy (by condemning abortion). Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

Saints and Heroes

Priest Dedicated to Educating Young People in the Philippines

Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda, OMI

(Gave his life on January 15, 2008)

Fr. Reynaldo Roda was a member of a Catholic missionary community, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He dedicated his life to helping the poor, youth, and families in the Philipines. For the past ten years he ran a missionary station and Notre Dame High School –which has about 30 students- on the island township of Tabawan, Philipines, in the southern part of the Philippine islands.

Most of the Philippines is generally peaceful, and is predominantly Catholic, but in the southern islands, about 650 miles from Manila, Muslim extremists have waged a decades-long insurgency. Priests and missionaries have often been the target of Muslim extremists.

Father Roda had received death threats from the al-Queda linked Abu Sayyaf group, which has gained notoriety for bomb attacks, kidnappings and hostage beheadings. However, Father refused to abandon the young people who attended his mission and school. On Tuesday, January 15, about 10 gunmen believed to be from the al-Qaeda-linked group seized Father Roda while he was praying in the chapel to take him captive and shot him dead when he resisted. According to a witness, Fr. Roda said that he preferred to be killed right there and then rather than be taken hostage and used for ransom. Father Roda was the third Catholic missionary killed in this southern area of the Philipines in recent years.

Pope Benedict XVI heard of the news and immediately sent a telegram to the bishops of the Philipines, praising the courage and faithfulness of Fr. Roda. The pope also commended Fr. Roda’s example to priests and people throughout the region, and especially to the young.  (Source: Associated Press January 18, 2008 and other sources)

From Self-fascination to Love for Others

St Maria de Mattias

Virgin and Foundress of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ
(entered heaven August 20th, 1866)

Maria was born in the early 1800’s in central Italy.  Her family was comfortable and aristocratic, and she spent her youth close to her father, who read to her from the Bible and even gave her the rudiments of an education (girls didn’t receive formal studies at that time in that place).  She developed sensitivity for spiritual things, and an appreciation for the Scriptures, but in her teenage years, living in the relative isolation that her social class required, she became self-absorbed.  She spent more and more time admiring her own beauty and fantasizing about the wonderful life it would bring her.  Somehow, though, when she was about 17, her daydreams turned sour.  She experienced a kind of existential crisis, which must have been the fruit of grace, because when she turned to prayer and to her dad in order to get out of it, seeking from those sources light and wisdom about the true meaning of life, God granted her a mystical vision of Christ crucified, in which she perceived the beauty of God’s love in the blood spilled by Our Savior.  She found in Christ the burning, higher love that her heart had been vainly searching for in worldly dreams, and she found it in the beauty of Christ’s blood.

That experience, matured in prayer, moved her to take to the streets of Italy, which were stained by the blood of countless feuds and civil wars in those years, to preach what she had experienced.  She wanted to help others see Christ’s love as he had helped her see it.  She received another boost that same year when a holy preacher (Saint Gaspar del Bufalo) led a mission in her home town.  He preached so effectively that she could see the change in the lives of her fellow townspeople.  This gave her confidence.  It showed her that God could use human words to do in others what he had done directly in her.

Soon her zeal made her known, and the bishop asked her to take over a house for poor girls, where she cared for them, taught them their faith and some trades, and even the basics of academics (she had taught herself to read and write).  Her teaching was amazingly effective.  Soon the mothers started coming to listen as well.  And then they brought their sons too (not just their daughters).  And even though the social mores forbade her to speak to men, groups of men started gathering outside the windows to listen in.  The local shepherds, dodging the rules of etiquette, sneaked into town at night and begged her to teach them about Christ.

She attracted a following and formed a religious Congregation of women dedicated to preaching the love of Christ, so as to transform every heart and thereby change all of society.  By the time of her death when she was 61, she had founded 70 communities, usually in small, out-of-the-way towns.  By the time of her beatification almost 100 years later, the number had soared to 400. Her feast day is February 4.
(Source:www.collegecompass.org)

Virtue Verification

Acceptance – approving reception; approval

Aspiration – strong desire or ambition

Calling – an inner urging toward some profession or activity; vocation

Character – moral strength; self-discipline, fortitude, determination

Concern – interest in or regard for a person or thing; charity

Evangelize – to preach the gospel (the good news)

Faith – belief and trust in God

Humility – being simple; honesty in recognizing that one’s good qualities come from God’s generosity; unpretentiousness; having or showing a consciousness of one’s defects or shortcomings; not proud; not self-assertive; modest

Love –1. a deep and tender attachment or devotion to a person or persons
2. God’s tender regard and concern for all human beings
3. devotion to and desire for God as the supreme good

Mentor – a wise, loyal advisor

Selflessness – devoted to others’ welfare or interests and not one’s own; unselfish; altruistic

Steadfastness – firm, fixed, settled, or established; not changing, fickle or wavering; constant

Strength – the power to resist strain, stress, etc.; toughness; durability

Support – to give courage, faith, or confidence to; help or comfort

Trust – 1. firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing; faith 2. confident expectation, anticipation, or hope

Discussion Questions

1. Tim Tebow’s parents had to put their trust in God rather than in the doctors who advised abortion. Do you think this was an easy time in their life? Where do you think they found the strength to be steadfast in their love for God’s gift of life? Do you think their strength helps Tim today? In what ways might it help?
2. According to researchers, doctors are frequently telling women they should consider abortion when confronted with various medical situations affecting their health. Yet, as prominent researcher Joel Brind notes,  and as Tim Tebow’s story shows, doctors can successfully treat both mother and child without suggesting the baby be killed to spare the mother’s life. Why do you think this pressure for abortion is a common practice in society today? Can you think of any ways we can change this mentality? How can Tim Tebow’s story help to affect this change?
3. Why did Tim Tebow’s parents teach him to follow the verse from Proverbs 27:2 – Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips?
4. How might Tim Tebow be different if he was raised in a family without such strong values?
5. In what ways do good marriages and families help children become good members of society? What difficulties in life can strong families and strong marriages help children and young people overcome?
6. Do you think Tim Tebow’s effort to witness to his faith and share it with others is something worth imitating? Do you think this world would be a better place if more people knew and loved Jesus Christ? In what ways might it be better? Do you think Catholics do enough to share their faith with others?
7. Why does Coach Meyer’s personal attention make such a difference to his team both on and off the field? Can you give any other examples of professions where concern for others can be a key to success?
8. Coach Meyer spends individual time with his children.  Do you think this is important as children become teenagers?  If so, why?
9. Sports can help in the formation of character and virtue. List some virtues that can be lived in sports. List some that Tim Tebow has displayed.

Journal Writing

• List the talents that God has given you and write about which ones you might be able to develop into a career.  Are there talents that you have been given that make you uncomfortable but that you think God would like for you to work on?  (examples: public speaking, helping small children or the elderly, being a peacemaker)
• Write about a time that was difficult for you.  Looking back on it now, write about why you believe God allowed this difficulty to happen in your life.

Activities

• Have a debate about question two of the discussion questions: Are doctors too likely to advise abortion in difficult pregnancies? Why or why not is this so? Do you think this can be changed, and if so, how?
• Have a debate about this question: Should homeschooled students be allowed to play on high school sports teams?  Why or why not?
• Research your real life role models.  Is their public life a reflection of their personal convictions?
• Check out the Catholic organization Missionary Youth (www.youth4missions.com)  for the possibility of participating in a mission or organize your own mission:  break into small groups, list people that you would like to invite to church for Easter Sunday and then visit them together to invite them to Mass.

Resources

• Official Heisman website: www.heisman.com
• Unofficial Tim Tebow fansite: www.timtebowfans.org
• ESPN’s Tim Tebow profile: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=183484
• UF football website: www.gatorzone.com/football
• UF’s first lady of football: http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/SUNFRONT/704090328
• Top quarterback recruit aims to stay grounded in Christ: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=22513

Building networks of friends on the Internet has become a way of life for millions of American teenagers. In this lesson we will look at the dangers, opportunities, challenges, and best strategies for social networking on the Web.  We will start our lesson with something tragic, but we hope it can teach us something.

A tragic deception

Megan Meier thought she was talking to a boy who understood and cared about her. A 13-year-old who had struggled with depression, Megan met Josh Evans ― or so she thought ― on MySpace in September 2006. From her home in Dardenne Prairie, Mo., Megan shared her life with Josh for several weeks, believing she had discovered a soul mate.

But one day in October 2006 the notes from Josh started to turn nasty. Josh told her that she was a terrible friend and sent a series of disturbing messages. The next day, Josh ended the friendship. Megan, already dealing with difficult personal issues, was devastated. That night, she killed herself.

Megan never knew that Josh wasn’t real. Apparently, Josh was the invention of Lori Drew, the mother of a girl who lived on Megan’s block. Mrs. Drew pretended to be Josh because she wanted to gain Megan’s trust. Reportedly, Mrs. Drew’s daughter and Megan had been arguing and Mrs. Drew wanted confidential information from Megan.

A time for reflection

Megan’s story ― though unique in some ways ― highlights some of the dangers of Internet use. Yet it can also teach us something positive. It can teach us to be promoters of good, not evil on the Internet.  While we pray for Megan and her family, we can also reflect on the need for each of us to become responsible and charitable in our dealings on the Internet. We also recognize the need to be prudent in whom we give our trust on the internet.

Facilitating friendships

Surveys consistently find that most teenage users of the Internet aren’t there to communicate in a negative way with strangers. Teens usually use social networking sites simply to keep in contact with friends they have outside of the Internet.  “It’s a great way for friends to share information and experiences,” says Sherry Raspa of DisciplesNow.com.

People usually form communities and friendships around others who share their values, beliefs and interests. Churches, social clubs, and sports teams are a few examples of this. We can do the same thing on the Internet by carefully discerning which virtual communities to sign up for and spend time in.

Some good news for the Internet

DisciplesNow.com is a positive example of one of the Web sites and social networking communities available to Catholic teenagers. It was started in 1999 by a group of youth ministers in the Baltimore area, working with the support of the Division of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. DisciplesNow.com was among the first major, moderated Catholic Web sites for teenagers in the United States.

Beginning this month, January 2008, DisciplesNow.com will offer social networking with all the lastest technologies to make it a professional alternative to MySpace and Facebook.

“You can create groups and network within the Catholic youth community,” says Mrs. Raspa, who manages DisciplesNow.com. “Youth ministers will be able to go in and set up groups and invite people into the group. … You can set up a profile, upload your pictures, have friends, accept and decline friends, upload video… all the things you can do on MySpace.

“We have created a safer space for teenagers to network. Most people using our site will be Catholic, some will be non-Catholic Christians. But our moderators decide who has access and who doesn’t.”

Reality check

Though DisciplesNow.com seeks to create a safer, more Catholic environment for teenagers, Mrs. Raspa warns that no place is entirely safe. And no place, she says, eliminates the need for Internet users to protect themselves.

“There is no program, no Web site, no gadget, that will keep a young person 100 percent safe on the Internet,” Mrs. Raspa says. “The best program you can have for safety is communication with your parents about what you’re doing on the Internet. Show them your favorite sites. It’s not about having your privacy invaded, it’s about acknowledging their love for you.

As a young person, you want to trust your parents and their love for you enough to give them some access to your life on the Web. You don’t want them over your shoulder all the time, but you do want their advice and guidance.

“If your parents are concerned about your MySpace account, then give them the password to your page. Show them there’s no reason to be worried. Earn their trust. Despite the sensational stories, you know that most teenagers aren’t online to meet strangers and do bad things.”

Spreading good news

In fact, the Web offers amazing opportunities to do good and to spread good news. Take a look at two teens who are seizing those opportunities.

This past November, 16-year-old Danielle MacInnes, an active Catholic from Minnesota, decided to post a slideshow on the Internet that she had made to go with a popular song “Christmas with a Capital C.” The song is by the Christian band The Go Fish Guys. Danielle thought it would be fun to share some of the inspiration she had felt as she listened to the song. She didn’t know how popular her new slide show would be. Since being posted on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/user/ZackMaddie4Ever), the slide show has received more than 4 million hits.

The grateful Go Fish Guys band says that the work of this “very creative fan” has sparked “more e-mails, phone calls, and visits to our Web site than ever before, and all because of this video.”

By a simple effort to communicate something positive  faith-driven, Danielle has helped millions of people to reflect on the true meaningof Christmas.

Letting them know we care

Another teen using the Web to promote a positive message is Shauna Fleming. Now a freshman in college, Shauna started the organization A Million Thanks (www.amillionthanks.org) with her friends at Lutheran High School in Orange, California, when she was 14. Their original goal was to send a million letters, e-mails, cards, prayers, and thoughts to U.S. military men and women to show their appreciation for the sacrifices, dedication, and service of these people who are risking their lives to protect us.

Through the support of many others and also by networking on the web, Shauna and her friends reached their goal. They continue helping the troops today. A Million Thanks has collected and distributed over 3 million thank-you letters and cards to U.S. military members since March 2004. Shauna and her friends are an example of communicating a positive message and letting others know they are loved and appreciated.

Positive change

These stories can invite us to be protagonists in a positive change on the Internet. We are more aware of our responsibility to work for this change, and this can commit us to be true Christians, to show our faith by living heroic charity. Let’s commit to be real friends to others by respecting them at all times. Let’s learn to protect our hearts by being open with our parents and prudent in the way we deal with others on the Web. A Christian is someone who brings Christ’s love to others. Let’s ask Christ to make us messengers of his love to others in this new frontier.

Internet Do’s and Don’ts

DO be open with your parents

They are your best Internet allies. Show them your favorite sites and keep them updated on your Internet activities. Earn their trust and acknowledge their love.

DO be prudent with others.

Don’t talk on the Internet with people that you wouldn’t want your parents to meet. Don’t say things on the Internet that you would be ashamed to let your parents hear.

DO be brave enough to show respect.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” You wouldn’t want others talking trash about you or someone you love, so don’t do it to them.

DO be positive at all times.

Talk only about other people’s positive points, never the negative. The Internet already has enough mud on it – you don’t need to sling some more.

DON’T forget the reason for being positive:

Christian charity and forgiveness always pay off; positive talk is more powerful and attractive in the long run; positive talk wins real friends; true Christians learn how to overcome evil with good.

DON’T write when you are upset.

Instead, distract yourself for awhile; give yourself time to calm down so you don’t write something you will regret later. Get offline. Take a walk, listen to some music, talk with someone who has a good heart, and get some advice from someone who is wise about relationships.

DON’T send a critical e-mail right away.

If you have to write something that is critical of others, let it wait in your draft folder for a few days before sending it. Then review it. Once you are sure that it is objective and respectful (ask yourself: Would I like someone to publish that about me?), you can send it.

DON’T forget to be a real Christian.

Tell Christ what is going on in your heart and ask him for advice. When dealing with resentment and anger, remember where to find peace: in Christ. Be quiet for a while; remind yourself that you are definitively loved by Christ, and that whatever happens, love never abandons you. So your life is good.

Bible Blurbs

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:30)

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 12-13)

“If I speak … but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13: 1-2)

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous … it is not rude … it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)

Pope Quotes

“For you, as I know well, friendship and contact with others, especially with your peers, are an important part of everyday life.” (Benedict XVI, April 10, 2006)

“The personal encounter with the divine Teacher who calls you friends can be the beginning of an extraordinary adventure:  that of becoming apostles among your peers.” (Benedict XVI, April 10, 2006)

“Above all, the Church desires to share a vision of human dignity that is central to all worthy human communication. Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave.” (Benedict XVI, January 24, 2007)

Catechism Clips

1829 The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity … fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion.

1931 Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that “everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as ‘another self’.

2479 Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus, detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity.

2496 Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.

Saints and Heroes

Tireless Communicator of Good News

St John Francis Regis, S.J., Priest (entered heaven on December 29th, 1640)

John Francis Regis came from a well-to-do family, received a good education, was tall, athletic, good-looking, and extremely personable.

He felt called to serve God as a priest, and he was received into the Jesuit novitiate when he was 18.  When he was first ordained he worked in a hospital, caring for the sick, a type of work he loved. A little while later, he was sent to northern France where he began ten years as a traveling preacher through northern France, single-handedly repairing the social and religious destruction wrought by the recently ended (and soon to begin again) religious wars.

The poor flocked to him.  In the summers he would preach, teach, and serve them in the cities, involving the wealthy in his work as well.  In the winters, when the farmers had more time, he would travel from village to village.  He slept only three hours a night, and ate little more than apples and bread, but his energy, his dynamism, his devotion to the confessional, his supernatural eloquence, his active charity – in short, his whole Christian, apostolic being flourished all the same.

John Francis Regis died at the young age of 43, during Christmas week, from pneumonia, which he had contracted due to his unrelenting work to bring Christ to those most in need.

Communicating the beauty of truth

St Clelia Barbieri, Virgin, Foundress of the Congregation of Minims of the Sorrowful Mother (entered heaven in 1870)

Clelia was born on the outskirts of Bologna (northern Italy). As a child, she had to learn the hard trade of weaving and spinning hemp – the only industry which kept food on the meager tables of the town.  But she also learned the catechism.  As a teenager, she felt a growing desire to serve God exclusively, and finally she left home to join the Christian Catechism Workers, a small group (mostly of men) that taught the faith to farmers and other laborers who fell through the cracks of normal church structures.  She started out as an assistant, but soon, in spite of her young age, she became the heart and soul and leader of a small group of other women and girls who completely revived the smoldering work.

Clelia was a beautiful girl, and with more exposure to the public eye she soon received a barrage of marriage proposals, all of which she rejected.  Her group then got the idea of forming a small religious community dedicated both to prayer and to the apostolate of teaching and serving the poor and abandoned social classes.  As soon as they started, Clelia began to experience physical and moral suffering, not the least of which included calumny and humiliating insults.  But she persevered, and only two years after the foundation, while she was just 23 years old, she passed from this life to the Father’s House.

She only lived till she was 23, but her spirit lives on in the Congregation of the Minims of the Sorrowful Mother, and in the souls of the thousands of people who have found truth, meaning and purpose through their ministry.

Lord, help us to grow in your ways, to be upright and faithful in following your paths so that we will reach eternal happiness with you. Amen.

Slavery: Well over 100 years after the American Civil War ended, this terrible injustice is in the news again. Here are some very recent examples:

• On March 26 the United Nations, working with a large group of governments and social relief organizations, launched the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.
• In the last two months the state Legislatures of Virginia and Maryland voted to approve a public apology expressing the states’ “profound regret” for their role in slavery.
• In February, Amazing Grace, the movie biography of anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce, opened in movie theaters across the country. For many viewers, it was the first time they had ever heard the name of the man responsible for abolishing the slave trade in Great Britain and its colonies in 1807, well before Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

So why all this discussion now? Isn’t slavery a dead issue? Ask a young boy named Nizam. He lives with his elderly great-uncle in a small and poor village in northern India. One day, a woman slave-broker approached Nizam and offered him sweets and promises of a better life. Before he knew what was happening, Nizam found himself being transported with other children ages 8 through 14 to work at a rug-weaving job. Once he arrived at the workplace, Nizam was forced to work 12 to 15 hours a day, locked in, fed only what was necessary to keep him alive, and kept in constant fear of the consequences if he tried to escape, and not being paid fairly. His great-uncle had no idea where he had gone. He contacted local police but Nizam was not heard from for two years. Finally his great-uncle heard from the Bal Vikas Ashram, a Catholic center that specializes in rescuing children who have been forced into slave labor. During 2002, the Ashram carried out 10 raids in this area and freed 78 child captives. Nizam was among those freed. After being freed, Nizam stayed for a while at the Catholic center, where he returned to school and began to learn the business of tailoring. He has also learned that children too have human rights and dignity. They cannot be forced into slavery and denied the education every child needs today. Nizam is now back with his family.

More Slaves Today than Ever Before in History

Nizam’s situation, unfortunately, is far from unique. Some official estimates say that 27 million people live in slavery worldwide today. Ten million are in India alone. In fact, there are more people in slavery today — in 2007 — than in any time in recorded history! Slavery today, usually called “human trafficking,” refers to the buying and selling of human beings (including children) for the profit of other people. Victims of trafficking are usually recruited with promises, transported to another place, and then exploited. Oftentimes, victims are threatened with harm either to themselves or to their families if they try to run away. Typically they have no money, no official papers, and do not speak the local language. Most of the victims of trafficking are women or girls, many of whom are forced into slave labor, prostitution, or forced marriages.

The Profile of the Slavery Today

• 

  Debt slavery (Also called bonded labor): occurs when someone takes a loan of money (often in a family emergency) in exchange for a guarantee to work for a period of time. The work is for long hours, every day, but the loan takes years to pay off or can never be paid off entirely. This is a common form of slavery in India.

• Early/forced marriage: women and girls married without their consent and forced into lives of slavery.
• Forced labor: Victims are offered paying jobs and then put into conditions of slavery instead.
• Child labor: Children 8-17 are forced to work 12- to 18-hour days with little or no compensation.
• Sex slavery: Unfortunately, this is the most common form of slavery today. The victims are sold into prostitution. The victims are often young girls aged 14-18. Today’s culture of impurity and sexual obsession has created an atmosphere where this type of abuse is growing.
• Combatant slavery: The victims, often children, are forced into an army and made to kill.

Why would anyone put themselves at risk of becoming a trafficking victim? The main reasons are:

• false and deceptive promises by trafficking “brokers”;
• poverty and lack of any other available jobs;
• the hope for finding a better standard of living elsewhere;
• civil wars or armed conflict in the home country.

And who would want to keep human beings — including children — in such bad conditions? Answer: persons who want to exploit other people in order to get money. Traffickers are usually breaking the laws of one or more countries when they do business. But governments do not prosecute these exploiters very vigorously, sometimes letting them off with a “slap on the wrist.”

Who’s Working to Stop Slavery Today?

Thankfully, there are organizations working to publicize this growing tragedy and to give a voice to the voiceless. As mentioned above, the United Nations has begun a highly visible campaign to end human trafficking and slavery. First, the U.N. wants to raise public awareness of the problem. It also would like to encourage collaboration among different groups already working in different countries. The U.N. has also created a legal document called a protocol, an agreement that 120 countries have signed, pledging to eliminate this exploitative activity. But these governments have not done much thus far to actually implement the agreement.

Another organization that is working to overcome modern slavery is the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II denounced the crime of human exploitation many times. Pope Benedict XVI has also condemned human trafficking repeatedly. Moreover, the Holy See (or the Vatican) has sponsored several international conferences in recent years on the problem of human trafficking.

The Power of One

One remarkable individual working within the Church on this issue is Poor Clare Sister Eugenia Bonetti. Since 1991 she has dedicated her efforts toward rescuing “street women” in Italy. Many of the women and girls she works with are from foreign countries. Sister Eugenia also coordinates the work of many other nuns who help her in this project. The U.S. State Department recognized Sister Eugenia as one of six Heroes Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery in their annual report on the subject. Sister Eugenia and the Poor Clare Missionaries show great fortitude in taking risks to help these young women get away from their captors. They go out into the streets at night to meet with the young girls and persuade them that help is available. They offer the girls escape and shelter at their convents. Sister Bonetti’s organization has shown great resourcefulness in helping some 5,000 get certificates to stay and work at decent jobs in Italy. Even though Sister Eugenia runs the risk of retaliation from the women’s exploiters, she says, “I have never worried about my security. My life has been given totally.”

What can we do to stop human trafficking?

Some products (such as rugs) are produced with a certification that identifies them as child labor-free goods, which means that buying them does not support the trafficking industry. We can choose to buy products made without child labor, thus not creating additional demand for child slavery. We can also support effective non-governmental organizations that are already focusing their efforts to end slavery. Examples are found at freetheslaves.net, rugmark.org, and Catholic Relief Services (crs.org). An initiative that has come out of the making of the movie Amazing Grace is the “Amazing Change” campaign (theamazingchange.com), a coalition of several different groups working toward abolishing modern-day slavery. We can also write to our congressmen expressing our concern for human trafficking, and asking these legislators to effectively address the issue. U.S. Sen. Paul Simon D-Ill., who died in 2003, spoke to the importance of reaching out to our elected officials. In speaking about the Rwanda genocide, Simon said “If every member of the House and Senate received 100 letters from people back home saying that we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response to the crisis would have been different.”

A very individual way we can help stop the slave trade today is by living the virtue of purity ourselves. As we have seen, sex slavery is the most common form of contemporary enslavement. It thrives in societies that promote a casual attitude to sex. The virtue of purity teaches us to respect others and never see them as objects for our selfish enjoyment. Purity frees a person from enslavement to his or her passions. By being pure ourselves and promoting a culture of purity we can help create a society where human beings will no longer be seen as things to be exploited but as persons deserving our care and protection. There is much to be done to overcome modern slavery. There are initiatives to help rid the world of this evil. We should do our part, knowing that whatever we do to help our brothers and sisters we are doing to Christ.

Bible Blurbs

But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones … would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone hung round his neck.

(Mark 9:42)

Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

(Luke 10:36-37)

They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

(Mark 15:10)

Catechism Clips

2414 The Seventh Commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason — selfish or ideological, commercial or totalitarian — lead to the enslavement of human beings, to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in disregard for their personal dignity. It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit.

2525 Christian purity requires a purification of the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of heart brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined to voyeurism and illusion.

Pope Quotes

“In this context it is necessary to mention trafficking in human beings. … It becomes easy for the trafficker to offer his own ‘services’ to the victims, who often do not even vaguely suspect what awaits them. In some cases there are women and girls who are destined to be exploited almost like slaves in their work, and not infrequently in the sex industry too.”
(Benedict XVI, “Migration: A Sign of the Times” Oct. 28, 2005)

“Who can deny that the victims of this crime are often the poorest and most defenseless members of the human family, the ‘least’ of our brothers and sisters?”
(John Paul II, Letter to Archbishop Jean-Louis Taran, May 15, 2002)

Saints and Heroes

A Servant of Slaves and Captives

St. Peter Nolasco (1189-1256) Peter lived in the 1200s, a time when the Muslims controlled a good part of Spain and had made slaves or captives of many Christians. Peter was a very fevent Christian living in a free part of Spain. One day he had a vision of Mary, who asked him to start a group of men who would be dedicated to helping free captive Christians. With the help of some other men, Peter began this group. The members were totally dedicated to God and used their work and resources to pay the ransom of slaves and captives. Sometimes, these men would themselves become slaves to take the place of others. Peter personally freed more than 400 slaves and captives in his life. His community, called the Mercedarians, still exists in the Church today. They carry out spiritual work in parishes, schools, prisons, hospitals, and missions. They are also active in working to overcome human trafficking.

Christian Slave Who Helped Convert a Country

St. Nina (Died around 320)
Nina (Also called Nino and Christiana) was a Christian slave girl who was brought to the country of Georgia (north of Turkey). At that time, the people of Georgia were not yet Christians. Nina practiced her faith heroically in difficult circumstances. Once she was asked to pray over a child who was dying and the child recovered miraculously. Later, the queen of the country became gravely ill and asked Nina to pray for her also. Nina prayed and the queen recovered. The king was also saved from death by the girl’s prayers. This prompted the king and queen to learn more about Christianity and to send for Christian missionaries. Eventually the whole country embraced the Christian faith.

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some of the reasons people become caught in human slavery today?
2. What types of slavery exist today?
3. Trafficking is linked to many other social problems. Can you name some of them?
4. Having an international protocol against human trafficking is a positive step. Why is it not enough? What other steps need to be taken by governments?
5. What are some ways to help stop human trafficking? Should we start by focusing on the victims? Or on the criminals? Or on both?
6. Someone said the greatest weapon against human trafficking is to have inquisitive neighbors. What do you think this means? Why would it help?
7. What does our faith tell us about human trafficking? What Christian and human virtues are needed to help stop this evil?

Activities

1. Human trafficking almost certainly occurs in the major city nearest to wherever you live. Are there social services groups in your area which deal with trafficking? Contact one of them and find out what kinds of problems they are aware of today in your community.
2. Invite someone from Catholic Relief Services or from a local social services organization to come speak to your class on the problem of human trafficking.

Journal Writing

• Imagine that you knew someone trapped in human trafficking. Write a letter a letter to this person, trying to give him or her comfort and reasons for hope.
• Imagine that you yourself were caught in some type of human slavery. Write a prayer to God in the name of human slaves.

Resources:

• U.N. site on human trafficking
• The Amazing Change
• Catholic Relief Services
• Free the Slaves
• Rugmark
• Book: Not for Sale, David Batstone (Harper Collins, 2007) True stories of the modern slave trade and strategies to fight it.
• Book: Be the Change, Zach Hunter (Zondervan, 2007). A teenage hero who organized other young people to work for the abolition of human trafficking.
• Renew America website (series on human trafficking):

We all learn that water is necessary for life. Nevertheless, a November 2006 report from the United Nations possibly surprised many readers when it revealed that a lack of access to clean water kills nearly two million children a year. The U.N.’s recent Human Development Report stated that nearly 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water and proper sanitation—a situation that claims more lives than more highly-publicized problems such as AIDS or violent political conflicts.
The report also explained that the problem is not due to any scarcity of this precious resource: it is due to a lack of political and social commitment to solving the problem. That is, the governments of the countries affected either cannot or will not take the crisis seriously.

A boy with a big heart

One boy has been trying to do something about this problem for some time now. It was almost exactly nine years ago that a first-grade student at Holy Cross School near Ottawa, Canada, heard his teacher talk about the sad conditions under which many children in Africa live. They lack food, medicine and many other things. She explained that a single penny would buy a pencil; 25 cents, 175 vitamins; 60 cents, a two-month supply of medicine for one child; “and $70 pays for a water well.”
Ryan Hreljac was surprised to hear about the scarcity of water wells in Africa and how that affects the everyday lives of children and families there. He went home that day and began thinking about how he could help these people so far away.

A determination

Although he didn’t know it, he was developing a sense of what the Church calls “solidarity.” Solidarity is a virtue related to responsibility and charity. It is born of the awareness that each of us shares responsibility for the dignity of our neighbor. But solidarity is not a vague feeling of sorrow that people are suffering. It is an active virtue. It is a determination to do something for the good of others. It is “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church)
Ryan’s determination was tested right away. He found out that the cost of digging one water well was about $70. So he asked his parents if he could do extra chores in order to earn that amount. Both Ryan’s parents work (his dad is a police officer), so there was no question of simply handing him the money. But his parents agreed to let him earn it, thinking he would get tired of the effort. It took Ryan four months but with a little help from some other family members and friends, he finally raked enough leaves and took out enough trash to reach the full amount.

Meeting the challenge

His mom had no idea what organization might use the money to dig a well. A friend alerted her to a group in Canada called WaterCan and she called them. A staff person informed Ryan’s mom that $70 would buy a small water pump but the cost of drilling and finishing a full water well was closer to $2,000.
Ryan was not discouraged. He discovered that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) would match WaterCan’s funds on a two-to-one basis (a good example of the first definition of solidarity), which meant that Ryan still had about $700 to go. He began emailing family friends and before long the $700 was pledged.

The power of one

Ryan went to a meeting of WaterCan officials to deliver his funds and a reporter from the Ottawa Citizen wrote a story on Ryan’s efforts, which started a wave of publicity and interest from around Canada and beyond. Before long, Ryan had gathered enough money for a second well to be dug in the African country of Uganda (where most of the population does not have access to clean water).
Ryan’s teacher realized that his ability to inspire other people to compassionate action was a rare quality. She decided to help Ryan organize efforts toward drilling another well in Uganda and even began a pen-pal project with a Ugandan school.
Ryan’s project was now drawing national media attention and more donations were rolling in. His entire school was now behind the project, hosting hike-a-thons and other activities to raise money.

Bridges of friendship

The Ugandan school sent a batch of pen-pal letters to Ryan’s school in January 1999. Ryan received one that read as follows: Dear Ryan, my name is Akana Jimmy. I am 8 years old. I like soccer. Our house is made of grass. How is America? Your friend, Akana Jimmy. With letter was a photo of Jimmy. Ryan immediately wrote Jimmy back and decided he would go meet him when they were both twelve.
Friends in the area continued to help publicize Ryan’s efforts and even helped contribute frequent flyer miles so that he could fly to Uganda to see his finished well in July 2000. His trip turned out to be a kind of celebration in the little Ugandan village of Angolo, where literally thousands of children met Ryan changing his name. Village elders led Ryan and his group to the new well located next to the village school. Ryan met his pen-pal Jimmy and cut the ribbon, after which there was several hours of dancing and festivities. A documentary filmmaker was along for the trip and recorded the event in a film called Ryan’s Well, broadcast on Canadian television and worldwide thereafter.
A photo of Ryan and his Ugandan friend Jimmy appeared on the cover of a January 2001 issue of Reader’s Digest. An update on the story appeared in the same magazine in 2005: Jimmy Akana had come to Canada to be a new member of Ryan’s family. It took three years of cutting through Ugandan red tape. At one point, Jimmy was even abducted by an enemy tribe and had to escape! But by adoption, the two pen-pals were now brothers.

The project continues

According to the latest numbers on the Ryan’s Well Foundation website (www.ryanswell.ca), Ryan and his supporters have now raised $1.5 million toward building clean water wells in Africa and elsewhere. Since Ryan’s first well, almost 250 more have now been built, in direct benefit to around 400,000 people in eleven countries.
“I’m just a normal boy,” Ryan says when anyone asks about his achievements. After all, he plays soccer, basketball and hockey. He enjoys reading, playing Nintendo and swimming as well.
Ryan’s entire family and numerous friends have now become involved in his relief activities. His project has inspired young people around the world and has earned him meetings with the Prince of Wales, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Oprah Winfrey, and numerous other famous names. He has traveled to Japan, Australia, Italy, South Africa and Uganda.

Focused on the mission

Celebrities don’t seem to make Ryan nervous, however. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a doctor, the president, or a seventh-grader,” he says. “God has given all people a chance to make a difference.” In fact, “Making a Difference in the World” is the slogan of Ryan’s foundation.
Perhaps Ryan’s greatest honor occurred in October 2003, during the late Pope John Paul II’s 25th anniversary Mass in Rome. Ryan was one of only fifteen people—and the only young person—to receive Communion from the Pope, the one celebrity before whom he has felt the jitters, he remarked.
Asked about his personal mission, Ryan recently told a newspaper reporter, “God doesn’t do anything without a reason. God put each of us on this earth for a reason. We’re all born with a piece of the puzzle: my piece of the puzzle is clean water…I dream of the day when everyone in Africa has clean water.”

Leadership in service

Sometimes we can be tempted to think that the problems of the world are too big for us to affect. Ryan’s example teaches us that one person can make a difference. He shows us that real leadership is exercised by personal commitment. When someone shows commitment and dedication he or she often inspires others to make an impact as well.
Our faith also tells us that every person we help has infinite value in the eyes of God. It is precisely this awareness of the value of every human being which has made Christianity such a powerful promoter of good in the world. It is the awareness of God’s personal love for each person that has inspired so many saints to be truly heroic in their charity.
The world today needs a fresh infusion of Christian charity. It needs new saints. We can be these saints. We can begin by drawing close to God’s love. We can continue by sharing that love with others. We all must look around us and find ways to bring that love to our fellow human beings.

On May 13th Zacarias Moussaoui was sent to the “Alcatraz of the Rockies” prison, where the most dangerous federal criminals are kept. He narrowly escaped the death sentence for plotting to kill Americans in the September 11th terrorist attacks. In this lesson, we will look at the details of his court case and the controversies among the American people surrounding his trial, in the light of the principles of our Catholic faith.

The Reason for Suspicion

When the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took Moussaoui into custody on April 16, 2001, they suspected that a terrorist group was planning an attack using airplanes. The flight school in Eagan, Minnesota, tipped them off that one of their students was acting strangely in his attempt to get more information about the 747-400 model plane. Later, it was suggested that Moussaoui would have been a possible “20th hijacker” in the September 11th attacks. His path over the past years had been similar to the other hijackers, but there was difficulty proving that he actually knew about the 9/11 plot.

Less than responsible?

Some people tried to say that Moussaoui could not be blamed for the crimes he was accused of, because he had such a difficult life, especially in his childhood. His mother was married in Morocco at age 14, and endured violent abuse from her husband for many years. They moved to France, where Zacarias and three other children were born. After a time, the mother left the father and raised the children with the tiny income she received as a cleaning woman.

Due to the rascism against immigrants, the family suffered violence and theft, and were forced to move to different cities often. Zacarias loved sports, but could not be involved in any teams as he moved around so much. He experienced many disappointments in life, and had no religious education to support him.

This difficult background may seem to explain Moussaoui’s violent attitude, yet every person experiences sufferings in life, some very difficult, and still has a choice how he will react to this. Each human being has a responsibility for the choices that he makes. This is part of our dignity as men and women made in God’s image.

Introduction to Extremist Groups

Moussaoui received a master’s degree in International Business from South Bank University in London. It was here that he became more active in the Islamic faith, attending the Brixton Mosque. However, he became involved with extremists who favored a radical indoctrination, and he was expelled from the mosque when he showed up wearing combat fatigues and a backpack to pressure the cleric for information about joining the jihad. The word “Islam” means “submission”, and so the goal of the Muslim (a follower of Islam) is to submit one’s life to Allah, the God of Muslims, upon which he will give them a reward of salvation. Muslims believe that the jihad, or struggle, for total submission (islam) is necessary for total peace.

Violence and the Koran

Part of this struggle is to bring the whole world into conformity with Allah’s will, to recognize that Allah is God. Muslim extremists say that this must be done through Holy War, a jihad that involves bombing and acts of terrorism against anyone who is seen as a threat against Islam. They say the Koran, the holy book of Muslims, justifies their actions.

Most Christians find the Koran’s explanation of violence to be confusing and ambiguous. Unlike the New Testament, it does allow violence in defending or spreading of its faith. By contrast, Christ never allowed violence in defense of the faith, and taught us to love our enemies.

Yet at the same time the Islamic prophet Muhammad emphasizes that the most important jihad is the internal struggle each person must face in order to combat temptation and be faithful to Allah’s law.1 Thus it is not entirely true to say that the Islamic faith caused these terrorists to behave as they did, although it may have been a radical interpretation of these beliefs that led them to act as they did.

A Clash of Value Systems

In the United States, we are taught to be tolerant of people with other belief systems and different values than ours. We value the freedom to express ourselves in whatever way we want. However, this can also lead to a relativistic and false view that there is no objective good by which to judge some values as good and others as bad.

Yet freedom is not the right to kill, even if someone says that they believe in massacres. So the Moussaoui case reminds us that there is an objective right and wrong, and that sooner or later we have to make a choice about what is good and what is evil.

If Moussaoui were insane, it may have been easier to understand his case, but this possibility was ruled out after his psychological assessment during the trial. The fact is that he made his choices freely, according to the values of the group he wanted to connect himself with.

Making a Prudential Judgment

Moussaoui pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him on April 22, 2005, but the court did not accept his plea at first because they were suspicious of his motives. The complexity of the case was not only in the clash of value systems, but also in the subject matter. Moussaoui is the first person connected with the 9/11 attacks who has been tried in the United States, there was a concern that the emotional desire for revenge would cause the jury to forgo a just and reasonable judgment. 

The heightened sense of injury, and the intense emotions that surrounded the case made it a particular challenge to make an objective sentence. “Man is sometimes confronted by situations that make moral judgments less assured and decision difficult. But he must always seriously seek what is right and good … (CCC 1787).”

The jury took care to make sure that Moussaoui was not acting out of real insanity, that he had professional consultation to help him understand the court proceedings, and that he would not plead guilty in a hasty and unconsidered way. The care that they took in order to give Moussaoui a just trial shows a certain degree of forgiveness. The virtue of forgiveness does not mean letting a dangerous criminal go free, but it does mean to let go of the anger and hatred in order to make a rational decision about the best thing to do for the person and the general public. 

Considering the Death Penalty

France and Germany, assuming that America would give the death sentence, expressed their protest against this. Yet the case was not as clear-cut as many may have thought. Capital punishment requires that the jury come to a unanimous decision that the person “intentionally participated in an act…and the victim died as a direct result of the act.” Linking Moussaoui in a definitive way to the 9/11 attacks was difficult.

Some of the American public asked that he be absolved from the death sentence, because of a personal belief that this should not be an option. Others thought that it would give Moussaoui a glorious martyr’s death, when a life imprisonment would be a worse punishment. 

The Catholic Church does not prohibit the death penalty, especially if it is “the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor (CCC 2267). However, it clarifies that the punishment should be non-lethal if the authority has the means to protect the people in another way, such as imprisonment. John Paul II said that in modern times, with all of the means available, the cases in which the death sentence is a necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” (The Gospel of Life, 56).

No matter what the person has done, there is still an inherent dignity in that person due to the fact that he is a made in God’s image. God never stops loving him. If he has done serious evil he should be restrained, but to emphasize this dignity, and also to give the person a chance to convert his heart before he dies and faces eternal judgment, the Church seeks all other possibilities before execution.

Final Sentence

One of the 12 jurors reported that the panel voted 11-1, 10-2 and 10-2 in favor of the death penalty for each of the three charges that could have merited execution. Since the death penalty requires a unanimous vote, Moussaoui instead received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

As he left the court, he said “America, you lost and I won.” Even at this point he tried to go back on his testimony, and say that he really had not been involved with the attacks, but the sentence had already been executed. On May 13th, 2006, Moussaoui was flown to Colorado to begin his imprisonment.

Conclusion

Zacarias Mousaoui chose a path of hatred and violence. He will now have the rest of his life to think over his decisions. We do not know if he will eventually change his attitude, but his case illustrates the fact that our choices make us into a certain type of person. 

Both a saint and a terrorist make choices about the type of person they want to be. This is part of the drama of being human. This is why Christ came to show us the way to be truly human. The world needs more persons who show that real freedom lies in following the way of Christ, not the way of hatred and violence. The consequences can be tremendous for ourselves and for the world around us. Let us ask our Lord to help us make the right choices.

Catechism Clips

1740 The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything. … By deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth.

2306 Those who renounce violence and bloodshed  … bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. 

Bible blurbs

I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Then another scroll was opened, the book of life. The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls. (Revelation 20:12) 

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:52) 

Everyone is to obey the governing authorities, … Magistrates bring fear not to those who do good, but to those who do evil. … You must be obedient, therefore, not only because of this retribution, but also for conscience’s sake. (Romans 13:1,3,5)

Pope quotes

Under the guidance of Christ the Messiah, we must work together for this project of harmony and peace, stopping war’s destructive action of hatred and violence. It is necessary, however, to make a choice, choosing to be on the side of the God of love and justice. (General Audience January 25, 2006)

Its followers (Islam) worship the same God and willingly refer to the Patriarch Abraham. That is why I wanted to meet the representatives of some Muslim Communities, … in the hope that fanaticism and violence will be uprooted and that we will always be able to work together to defend human dignity and protect the fundamental rights of men and women. (General Audience August 24, 2005)

Saints and Heroes

Patron of Police Officers

St. Michael the Archangel  St. Michael the Archangel appears in both the Old and New Testament. He shows God’s power and justice. In the Old Testament he helps Israel do spiritual battle against the evil tyrant Antiochus. (Daniel 12:1) In the New Testament he appears fighting for the rights of God and as helper in God’s judgment. (Revelation 12:7)   Because St. Michael fights against evil Pope Pius XII named him patron of police officers in 1950. We can invoke him in our battles against temptation and in our efforts to bring justice to the world.

Doing Good in the Midst of Evil

St. Clotilda (475-545) A woman who suffered much, but who did great good. Clotilda’s parents were murdered by her uncle, King Gundobad, when she was a child. She was raised at the court of her parent’s murderer. Later, she was given in marriage to the pagan King Clovis, king of the Franks. She continually invited him to become a Christian. At first he mocked her faith, but eventually he became a Christian and with him many of his subjects. Clovis died eleven years later. The rest of her life was saddened by the deadly fighting between her three sons over their inheritance, but she dedicated her life to helping the sick and the poor.  

Vocabulary

Absolved – to pronounce free from guilt or blame; acquit

Ambiguous – having two or more possible meanings; not clear; uncertain

Convert – to change basic attitude or orientation

Forgiveness – giving up resentment against or the desire to punish; pardon

Inherent – existing in someone or something as a natural and inseparable quality, characteristic, or right; basic; inborn

Objective – unchangeable; not depending on how one feels

Relativistic – having no objective right and wrong; moral confusion

Responsibility – to be answerable for something; accountability

Tolerant – having understanding and acceptance of other people’s beliefs.

Discussion Questions:

1. What were the main issues surrounding the case of Moussaoui?
2. Why was it difficult to reach a verdict in his trial?
3. Do you think Moussaoui was given a fair trial for the crimes he had committed? Why or why not?
4. How can this idea of freedom for all, and tolerance of everyone in America, be misused or misunderstood? What are the dangers of believing that “everything goes”?
5. What kind of understanding of freedom do we have as Catholics that is different than just the governmental understanding?
6. Why should the death sentence be avoided if at all possible?

Journal Writing:

Are there any hard decisions you are debating in your life? Or, can you remember a time when you had to make a moral decision and you did not know the right thing to do? What helped you to figure it out? What are some things that we have in the Catholic Church to help us decide what is the prudent judgment?

What does it mean to you to forgive your enemies? Do you have any enemies, or anyone who it is hard for you to forgive? What should your forgiveness look like?

Activities:

Hold a class debate for or against the death penalty. Encourage students to think through the arguments, which may be different from a worldly perspective versus the perspective of the Catholic faith. 

Students choose a book about a famous person who had to overcome a difficult childhood or another traumatic experience. They write essays on how the person overcame that difficulty and brought something good out of a bad situation.

Alternatively, watch a movie in class that illustrates the virtuous choices a person makes faced to the difficult situations around them (i.e. for older students, “The Hiding Place”).

Hold a prayer service in which the students can pray for their own enemies, for the enemies of the nation, and the enemies of the Catholic Church. Pray for them, as the first act of kindness that Christ asks of us in the Gospel. This can be done in a spontaneous manner, or can be prepared by having students think of one person/group in each of the three categories to pray specifically for.

Resources:

Moussaoui formally sentenced still defiant http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12615601/.

Moussaoui lies ‘let 9/11 happen’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4850988.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacarias_Moussaoui

“It’s the best reality show on the air.” That’s what one commentator called it. If we saw it ourselves, we got the impression that we were watching a championship fight. Yet it was a simple procedure in our United States Senate. And this procedure will be repeated again now.

The procedure was the confirmation of a person nominated to be Chief Justice of our Supreme Court. And the nominee was not even the one doing the verbal slugging. At first he simply answered questions. Then he was simply watching the debate, and waiting for the final decision.

But he will do a lot more than watch now that he is confirmed. He will have real power, and both sides know this. They know he will be a main protagonist in a struggle that is much bigger than him.

His name is John Roberts. The U.S. Senate has just approved him as the 19th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of this country.

Almost immediately after Judge Roberts was confirmed, the President nominated another person to fill a second opening on the Supreme Court: Ms. Harriet Miers. Let’s look at what was in play in the confirmation of Judge Roberts to see what may happen also with Ms. Meirs.

Hope and fear

It is not yet clear exactly where he stands on many issues, but some senators fearhim, while others have great hopes for him.

Generally, the senators who favor abortion and homosexual marriage, fear Judge Roberts. They believe he will overturn decisions that have led to the death of millions of unborn children.   The pro-life senators generally support judge Roberts, hoping he will protect human life and promote solid values.

Big stakes

But this was not just a question of personal preferences and intuitions of particular senators. The media, the Church, and many others also confirm that the stakes are high. They know that the basic moral direction of our country is in play here. They are right. Supreme Court judgments affect all Americans, for better or for worse.

Dreadful decision

About 150 years ago, there was a dramatic case brought before our Supreme Court. It was about slavery. A black slave from the southern United States (where slavery was legal at the time) had escaped to the North, and was therefore free. Nevertheless, his former owner found him, and demanded he be brought back into slavery. The case was brought before the Supreme Court. The slave’s name was Dred Scott. Mr. Scott lost that decision. He was made a slave again, by decision of the Supreme Court.

Changing dread to freedom

Most Christians in the North were horrified at the decision, even though the Court claimed it was done legally. These Christians, members of other faiths, and even those who did not believe in God insisted more tenaciously over the next years that the words of our Declaration of Independence “…that all men are created equal…” guaranteed the right of Mr. Scott and all slaves to be free. They helped to elect members of the government who agreed with these moral principles . A man named Abraham Lincoln, who favored freedom for all, was elected president. There was a terrible civil war. But the result was the Emancipation Proclamation , giving freedom to the slaves.

Protecting basic freedoms requires moral courage . Our court system also needs people who possess moral courage.

New drama

In 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States made another stunning decision. Its consequences were even more dreadful: the Court ruled that a mother has a right to kill her unborn child. This decision ( Roe vs. Wade ) has deeply divided our country ever since, and has been followed by a series of decisions that have made many Americans and the Catholic Church extremely worried about the moral direction of our country.

Life, death, and bottle deposits?

In the debate about present moral issues such as abortion, homosexual marriage and prayer in public, both sides claim to be protecting the basic rights of others. Some call for a middle ground or a series of concessions . Yet what is in play is so radical that a middle ground is not possible.

We can use the example of abortion. We find that one side (the pro-abortion side) says that a woman always has the right to an abortion. The other side (the pro-life side) says that a baby always has a right to life.  

Other issues, like whether a state may require cash deposits on bottles or how high to raise gas taxes, may be negotiable, and can be discussed in our legal system, but the life of a baby does not have a “middle-ground.” Once someone decides he or she can kill, we are all in danger. A society without basic moral values is in danger of killing itself.

Slogan slugging

We have seen a lot of slogans flying around in these hearings. But slogans can sometimes destroy serious thought. One slogan that was often heard is “a woman’s right to choose.”

The Church sees this phrase, “a woman’s right to choose,” as a slogan for selfishness. This is a way to say that unborn babies can be killed. No woman would really want to choose this. What would be needed is ways to help women accept their babies and be respected.

When protecting moral values, a society has to look to something other than selfishness. It has to look deeper. Selfishness made abortion possible.  

For those who go deeper than slogans, it is clear that the conflict between the culture of life and the culture of death is in play in our Supreme Court. As confusing as the debate may sometimes become, it must be clear to us that, in basic moral issues, there is a right and wrong.

Catholics need not apply

Mr. Roberts is a Catholic. Ms. Miers is a Protestant Christian. The Catholic Church has clearly and always stood in favor of life–not just now, but throughout history.

Many of the dramatic issues that the Supreme Court faces (abortion, euthanasia, protection of marriage) were things Christians faced 2,000 years ago. Little by little, and in spite of persecutions, Christians were able to change bad practices in society and help others see the value of solid moral principles. They eventually convinced their leaders to create laws that protected solid moral principles.   As a result, society became more humane.

Today there are loud voices in the Senate and in our culture that claim a Catholic or Protestant Christian who defends moral principles has no right to be a judge, because he or she will “impose their beliefs” on others. But the Catholic argument is simple. It is not a matter of making someone believe in the specific things of our religion. For example, we are not trying to make non-Catholics believe that Jesus in really present in the sacrament of the Eucharist. It is simply a matter of fundamental values, which all people of good will can appreciate.

We do not know if Judge Roberts will defend these moral principles by the means allowed to him as Chief Justice. Nor do we know what Ms. Miers will do if she too is confirmed. But we can hope and pray that they will do this. If they do, we can also make their work easier by increasing public awareness of the fundamental values that make our society stand firm.

Not there yet

Mr. Roberts has just been approved, in spite of this very dramatic debate.

If Judge Roberts does favor life in his decisions, there are still two more rounds to win, and round two has already begun.

The second nominee, Ms. Meirs, could be even more crucial in swinging the Court in favor of life. So far there is even less known about her stand on these issues. If Judge Roberts and Ms. Miers do hold that a child’s right to life is protected in our founding documents, a third pro-life judge would still be needed to overturn the 1973 abortion decision.

Jesus once said that “the children of darkness are more astute than the children of light.” He meant that the laziness and apathy of Christians can be the reason evil grows in the world. We must work peacefully but tenaciously to create a culture of life in our government and in our society. Many people are doing this. Will you join in?

Bible Blurbs

“Then the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He answered, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord then said: “What have you done! Listen: your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil!” Genesis 4:9-10

“…and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.” Genesis 9:5

“There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her…” Luke 8: 2-5

Pope Quotes

“…without an objective moral grounding not even democracy is capable of ensuring a stable peace, especially since peace which is not built upon the values of the dignity of every individual… frequently proves to be illusory…”
(Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, no. 70)
“ … we are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the “culture of death” and the “culture of life”. ..we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally prolife.
(Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, no. 27)

Other Church Teaching:

“Those who would view the moral duty of Christians as something that disqualifies them from political life … would be guilty of a form of intolerant secularism.”
(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Gift of Life, no. 7)

Saints and Heroes

A Lawyer Martyr

ANACLETO GONZALEZ FLORES:
Anacleto was a lawyer and a father. He was born in Mexico in 1888. He was the son of poor farmers who had a strong faith, and he worked his way through law school As an educated Catholic, he saw the need to help evangelize his fellow Catholics better and have them teach the faith to others. For this reason he founded the Popular Union, a movement of laborers, women, and farmers. As head of Popular Union, he activated these lay Catholics to be teachers of the faith. In the secular scene he helped to organize very large public gatherings which promoted faith and family values and protested against government abuses. From 1918 and during the 1920’s the Mexican government organized a fierce persecution of the Catholic faith. Anacleto repeatedly insisted that his organization and all fellow Catholics not use violence. Still, he was a marked man. On April 1, 1927 he was visiting two of his cousins. Government police erupted into the home and demanded to know where the archbishop of Guadalajara was hiding. (Anacleto and his cousins were good friends with the archbishop.) The three refused to collaborate. They were arrested and tortured, but they would not disclose the archbishop’s whereabouts. At the end, they were lined up at a wall and shot. Anacleto’s last words were, “I die. But God does not die! Long live Christ the King!” This November he will be officially declared “Blessed” by the Church in an Mass in Guadalajara, Mexico.

A Protectress of Faith and Rights

QUEEN ISABEL “THE CATHOLIC” OF SPAIN:
Born in 1451, Isabel was proclaimed queen of Castile in 1474. Along with her husband, King Ferdinand, she fought ardently to keep her courts and her country faithful to the faith. Like any political fi gure, some of her decisions were and are controversial, but she strove ardently to inform herself and do the right thing. She is called the “Evangelizer of the New World” because she strongly promoted and inspired many missionaries to bring Christianity to the newly discovered Americas. During this time of the discovery of the Americas she was also confronted with the desire of the adventurers (“conquistadores”) to make the Indians their servants and slaves. She strictly forbade the enslavement of the Indians. When Columbus himself gave an Indian as a personal servant to each of his men, Isabel intervened: “Who authorized my admiral to dispose of my subjects in this manner?” and she sent them all back home to America. She also promoted the legal document that recognized the rights of the Indians. Even though her indications were often ignored by the adventurers, she continued to do all in her power to defend the native Americans from exploitation.

Vocabulary

PROTAGONIST: Someone who is an active, important player in an event or competition
HOPE: looking forward to something good. Anticipation of something desirable.
MORAL DIRECTION: Way in which a society is headed in relation to right and wrong.
BELIEVE: Hold fast. Trust in something or someone.
TENACIOUSLY: Holding fast in spite of great diffi culties.
MORAL PRINCIPLES: basic right and wrong. Usually the Ten Commandments is the best example of moral principles.
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION: Legal decree made by President Abraham Lincoln which gave freedom to all slaves in the United States.
MORAL COURAGE: Bravery in living and defending good values.
RADICAL: Basic; at the very starting point; dramatic; no room for confusion
CONCESSION: Giving in
SELFISHNESS: Keeping things for yourself.
ASTUTE: Clever, smart
LAZINESS: Sickness that all teenagers have (according to their parents). Symptoms tend to become particularly acute when they have to clean up their room or do homework.
APATHY: Lack of interest; boredom

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is the nomination of new justices now so hotly contested in the U.S. Senate and in our country? What “hot topics” does the Supreme Court have to deal with today? Why are some of these so divisive for the country? Are some of these issues worth fighting for? Which ones? Why?
2. Are the reasons that the Catholic Church opposes abortion merely religious reasons? What are some of those reasons? Can people who are not Catholic also understand them?
3. One example of the difference between a specifically Catholic teaching and a teaching about basic right and wrong was mentioned. Do you remember what it was? Can you give other examples of some specific teachings that the Catholic Church does not demand that others follow?
4. What is the difference between proposing and imposing? Do Catholics and the Catholic Church impose its values on society?

Resources:

Power of the President to appoint Supreme Court Justices

The Judiciary: Article III of the U.S. Constitution

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Document highlighting the duties of Catholics in Political Life, June 2004

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the Participation in Political Life, November 2002

Podcast of Supreme Court Nomination hearings