Fortnight for Freedom

The Catholic bishops of America have called for a "Fortnight for Freedom," a time of prayer, action, and witness.  We are asked to focus on the continuing struggle for religious liberty.

Click here to view an inspirational video from catholicvote.org.

And here is what the bishops have said, "The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom”—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country have scheduled special events that support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty."

Our parish is sponsoring Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction, and prayer for the next two Friday evenings.  In addition, the rosary will be recited in the church before EVERY mass for two weeks:  our 3 dailies, plus the weekend services.

Tonight our family will decide how we will participate.

Sometimes I don't believe this mandate will last or ever be enforced.  Then I think about how entrenched Roe vs. Wade is, and how few people probably realized 40 years ago that it could even happen or where it would lead.

Frustrated?

Is media coverage of the HHS mandate driving you crazy?  After the first few days, the mainstream message (okay, I mostly listen to public radio . . .) has become, "the bishops don't want women to have the right to use contraception." 

HELLO--many Catholics don't want to be forced to pay for abortion-causing drugs and sterilizations.  It's about our freedom of religion!  Anyway, Americans United for Life is trying to get the word out.  This reasoned, non-strident little video is from AUL:

In Context: Martin Luther King, Jr.

We're studying American history this year, and finished up the Civil War last week. Inspired by a fifth grade teacher, I borrowed all 5 discs of Ken Burns' PBS series from the library. Joseph, Marianna, and I spent weeks (the series is over eleven hours long!) watching, listening, and learning. With pauses for discussion and review, we all absorbed a lot of information.

Anyway, when we finished the dvds, we covered the era of Reconstruction. Then instead of moving on chronologically, we jumped ahead to the Civil Rights era and Martin Luther King, Jr. The Civil War and Reconstruction should have given all races equality in America, but that's not how it turned out. One hundred years later, the fight was active again.

Our library has an audiotape of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. It's stirring and poetic and inspiring, and I can't wait to listen to it again.

In preparation, the three of us are reading a biography of MLK. I'm not patient enough to read it aloud (it's too long, and I want to keep moving), so we're sharing the book for our quiet time (the homeschoolers have a minimum of 30 minutes of approved/school topic reading each day).

Together, we're reading another book (Becca, too): I Have a Dream by Scholastic Press. It contains the entire text of the speech, along with paintings by 15 different artists. I highly recommend this book! We covered the first half today, analyzing and explaining

• the meaning (the promissory note and the bank of justice),
• the poetry (Why does he repeat "one hundred years later" four times in one long sentence?),
• the context (explaining his urging of nonviolence with the picture of ketchup being poured on people sitting-in at a lunch counter),
• the Biblical references ("I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places shall be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."),
• and the symbolism (Why does he begin with "Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation."?)

We'll finish up tomorrow and then Friday listen to the speech while reading along (as I remember it, the tape is scratchy). Reading and analyzing is educational, but actually hearing that preacher proclaiming will touch our hearts.

I know lots of folks study MLK in January, around his birthday, but his life and efforts will make more sense to my students right now, when the Civil War and its aftermath are still fresh in their minds.

Will You Please Just Listen to Yourself?

"But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know."

Barack Obama
February 5, 2009
National Prayer Breakfast

Star Spangled Banner

While in DC for the March for Life, we spent some time in the newly renovated American History Museum. We wanted to see the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812, inspiring our national anthem.

We arrived just in time for an impromptu recital by the Boys Choir of Kenya. In town for the inauguration, they sang The Star Spangled Banner (right outside the flag exhibit), America the Beautiful, and an upbeat African song. They were fantastic! It was very moving to hear them sing our patriotic songs so beautifully.

Near the end of the exhibit there is a montage of photos and recordings of the anthem. Included is a bit of my all time favorite rendition--Whitney Houston singing at Super Bowl 25 in 1991, when we were involved in another Middle East conflict. Thanks to the wonders of today's internet, I can enjoy her talent once again.

March Views

We marched for life on Thursday. Some of us spent time in the natural history and American history museums with another family, then met Len, David and Daniel at the rally on the mall. It took a long time to funnel so many people onto the street, but then the walking was steady.

An event like this one leaves my thoughts and feelings bouncing all over the place. It was exhilirating to be part of such a large, enthusiastic group. It was discouraging to think that it may not effect real change. I was close to happy tears seeing how many young people care about life--this crowd is mostly young! Yet I know many people don't understand how damaging abortion is to women (let alone their babies), and are so vehemently opposed to ending it.

-

Some quotes from the day:

-

From a sign:

Abortion

Quick

Easy way out

...for men

(so true--so many women are pressured into it by fathers and families)

-

From another sign (you can just see it on the edge of the above picture):

And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." President Obama's inauguration address

-

While I was feeling discouraged, someone mentioned Mother Teresa, and I remembered something she once said, "God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try."

Words of Hope

Or perhaps irony. We shall see, as actions speak louder than words.

From President Obama's inaugural address:

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

This line was met with applause. Just who does Mr. Obama mean by "all"? So far it doesn't look like he means humans in the womb, no matter how close they are to being born. But we can always hope. And pray.

Time Again for Prayer and Fasting

I've received a couple of emails urging nine days of prayer (like in the upper room) and fasting for the intention of stopping the "Freedom of Choice Act". Barack Obama has promised to sign it into law if/when Congress passes it, which could happen as early as next week.

From the Fight FOCA website:

FOCA Would Wipe Away Every Restriction on Abortion Nationwide
This would eradicate state and federal laws that the majority of Americans support, such as:
--Bans on Partial Birth Abortion
--Requirements that women be given information about the risks of getting an abortion
--Only licensed physicians can perform abortions
--Parents must be informed and give consent to their minor daughter's abortion

FOCA would erase these laws and prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.

We're going to talk to the children tonight about this novena. Right now I'm thinking of commiting to a family rosary every day, along with fasting (probably giving up sweets--a biggie for most of us) and a pro-life prayer. Many Americans are starting on Sunday (ending on January 19th), but I'm thinking of starting Monday and continuing up through the inauguration on the 20th.

Soon it will be time to call our legislators, but for now let's pray together.

Romans 12:12

"Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer."

Election 2008 Meditations

This morning I started my rosary on the walk to the polls. Tuesday is the sorrowful mysteries, providing food for thought on God's mercy and love and just how far He'll go for us. The line that stood out the most to me, though, was from the Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from evil."

I suppose that sounds dramatic, but making it easier to abort babies only hurts women and society, and of course the children. We don't allow people to choose to steal or stalk or abuse. Why should we allow them to choose to kill children? It's not about the woman choosing what to do with her body--she's deciding what to do with someone else's body. That baby is not her mother.

Today is the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, schooled in both civil and canon law. The meditation in Magnificat included these words from Deuteronomy 4:5-8,

"Therefore, I teach you the statues and decrees as the Lord, my God, has
commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to
occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your
wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and
say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.' For what
great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to
us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and
decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you
today?"

I'm praying our nation's laws will come closer to God's law in all areas of truth and justice.

One last quote! Deuteronomy contains statutes for Israel as well as history relating to the tribes' entrance into the Promised Land. I can't read quotes like those above without being reminded of Chapter 30, verse 19,

"I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before
you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life,then,
that you and your descendants may live."

Election 2008

Maybe my guardian angel woke me up this morning.

I needed to vote, but today's schedule is tricky. Turnout is supposed to be lighter mid-day, but I'm teaching the art co-op at 1:00. And we're carving a plaster/sawdust mix, which needs to mixed ahead, but not too far ahead. And then there's school--how much do I give up or how much can we do while standing in line? I considered going early, but I've been in line then during off years, and today would be slow.

Well, I woke up plenty early, even for this self-professed morning person: I was out of bed by 5:20! Dusty and I set out for a walk, and I was at the school by 5:47 a.m. (polls open at 6:00 here). There were already about 70 people in line!

I tied Dusty to a tree once the line started moving. All went smoothly; he waited about 15 minutes for me. We took the path home through the woods to let off some steam (I was jumpy, too), and made it back before I usually do from our morning walk.

I feel like I just got two hours of my life back. :-) Now it's time for shower and school and art and carpool and...

Just Tell Us the Truth

That's the title of this powerful video I found today. If you are thinking of voting for Barack Obama, please consider this carefully:

Pro-Life Politics

There is much more to being pro-life than politics, but politics does matter. Here are some interesting links. (Thanks, Elizabeth.)

The first is more inspirational, the others scarier. There is very little being said on the national scene about Barack Obama's plans to eliminate abortion restrictions, or about his record so far. And when it came up in the last debate, he smiled and lied.

Women must be helped and valued before abortion will end. Hearts must change before abortion will end. In the meantime, laws can save lives.

Pray.

Civics Lesson

Today Len, the homeschoolers, and I attended our FIRST EVER political rally. We went to Fairfax (along with 10,000-20,000 others, depending on which estimate you believe!) to see John McCain and Sarah Palin.

We were on a hill (in the shade--yes!) far from the podium but with a clear view.Here's a better photo showing the size of the rally.

I don't think I've ever found a candidate with whom I agree on every issue. Certainly no major party platform matches my beliefs. I vote every year, but sometimes with discouragement about my "choices". This year I feel hopeful.

It was more exciting/interesting than I expected to be at the rally. There was lots of enthusiasm and not too much trash-talking (certainly not from McCain or Palin).

As we were walking back to the car, the motorcade went right by us. Actually it almost went by, then stopped, then almost went by, then stopped again before finally driving past. Apparently John McCain got off his bus TWICE to mingle with the crowd--I could hear the walkie-talkies of the motorcycle escort. He didn't stop to shake our hands, but Joseph did get a shield decal from one of the police officers (who beckoned him into the street to give it to him).

The children are following this election more closely than I ever did at their age. They saw commercials for both candidates during the Olympics (we don't watch much tv) and have heard us discuss issues. Today we talked about Virginia as a battleground state and how the electoral college makes each state "all or nothing" for the candidates. They saw and heard politicians, protesters, and supporters. Some of the protesters were rude. Len told Joe that,"He who shouts loses the argument," only to hear someone on our side of the street yell something about "socialists and communists" and "voting for Muslims". Sigh. (Most people on both sides were adamant but civil.)

Altogether a day they're not likely to forget.

Virginia Voting

I don't check my calendar before walking Dusty, so I forgot that yesterday was an election day until I approached my polling place, the local elementary school. It was just a primary for our local Congressional district, so turnout was expected to be very low, giving every vote even more weight than usual.

After just a little internal debate I decided to vote right then rather than postponing until a less convenient moment. So for the second time in a row I tied Dusty outside and went to the polls pre-shower, in grungy clothes, and without my picture id. In Virginia we're supposed to present identification, but there is a provision for those who don't. I was able to sign a form certifying, essentially, that I am who I say I am. Last time the poll workers were a bit flustered by this, but yesterday all went smoothly.

Yesterday there was no one in line (did I mention low turnout?), so only 4 people got to see the unadorned morning me. Last time I ended up in line right behind one of my court neighbors (!), chatting about our daughters and colleges. He was dressed for work, as was the rest of the early morning crowd. Special...

I checked online a few minutes ago, and found out that my guy won the nomination. Hurrah!