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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

ABORTION IS IRRATIONAL, and Destroys the Foundation of Society

by Lawrence Fox


When confronted with a picture of a dismembered, bleeding, and perfectly formed little person, progressives say, "It only looks like a child and looks can be deceiving."

Aristotle argued that something was living (animated) when moving, taking nourishment, and developing. From the moment of conception, a little person (fetus) moves, takes nourishment, and develops towards his/her intended state of maturity. 

This development is not becoming human, but the ability to flourish, mature and eventually generate its own human likeness in union with another human.

Reason and faith tells us the substance (the thing in itself) of the little person, which moves, takes nourishment, and develops is humanity, and humanity exists at conception. 

Humans generate humans, not frogs. And at conception the human moves, takes nourishment, and develops toward adulthood. Yes! I repeated myself.

The argument that “only a person reaching a cognitive state with all recognizable features and existing outside the womb of the mother deserves protection” is satanic doublespeak. 

Humans acting out of fear gleefully terminate the lives of other humans at all stages of their development. All that is needed to implement termination is technology and a little irrationality. The fact the little person is tiny and helpless enables irrational humans to  terminate little persons with indifference.Yes, humans have progressively developed into technical terminators.

Less fear and more love  is required in this growing age of spiritual  destitution.

Abortion (termination of little people) occurs when humans act irrationally. Their violent acts are rooted in ignorance, moral weakness, and indifference. 

Such irrationality is expressed by slogans like, “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries.” Now that really explains the situation. An unfertilized egg emerges from the woman’s ovary and simultaneously the praying of the Rosary forces her to have sexual relations and conceive a child. She is angry that she -- as a consequence of her actions -- conceived a child. She is furious seeing the Rosary since it reminds her that she did conceive a child.  So goes the irrational train of thought and behavior.

Or consider another slogan, “A woman has the right to control her own body!” Those who pray the Rosary actually agree that a woman should control her own body and not ignorantly place herself in such irrational situations.

Then there are politicians, judges, and religious leaders who promote irrationality. They sanctify rulings which uphold the right of humans to be utterly irrational -- even to the point of terminating little persons, who move, take nourishment, and develop as humans naturally do. Such rulings are meant to bind society to a collective state of irrationality. Irrationality has become easy to accept, easy to defend, and easy to implement thanks to technology, which profits from irrationality.

America has declined so fast since 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion.  I shiver when I hear people mindlessly mutter, “Hope and Change.” 

“We're building a brighter tomorrow” makes me nauseous as I watch America collectively heave with its own irrationally. 


There may be bright spots in America where common sense reigns, but more and more Americans are living the nursery rhyme: “Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”

With 57 million little people missing in action since 1973,  the Ponzi schemes of progressive America (Welfare, Food Stamps, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Public Education, Healthcare) are collapsing, while the National Debt is rising to the tune of $2.37 billion per day to $18.1 Trillion on Feb. 5, 2015.

With 57 million people missing, America now is running across the border to find a surplus population  to pay taxes to keep the various Ponzi schemes afloat, but the opposite takes place. So much for welcoming your tired and your poor. We want your money. 

The vast majority of those who run across borders to pay off our debt depend heavily upon the very same Ponzi schemes which are rapidly coming to an end in the United States. 

The Psalmist wrote, “Foundations once destroyed, what can the just man do?” Pray that God expedites a merciful cleansing so the foundations of sanity can be once again restored.


 


Monday, February 2, 2015

To be Human or Not to Be: That is the Question About Abortion

by Christopher Ziegler

New Jersey Pro-Life Witness
Twitter Handle @CZWriting
reprinted from Times of Trenton with author’s permission

(Editor’s Note: Mr. Ziegler wrote this piece in response to several articles marking the 42nd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Jan. 22, 1973, that legalized abortion.)


This is the question I believe a person should answer when deciding his or her position on abortion: Is the fetus human or something less than human?

That is, does a fetus, existing in utero, constitute a human life? If our answer to this question is “no,” we have very little cause to say abortion is wrong and should be illegal. But if our answer is “yes,” then it would be heartless not to say abortion is wrong and should be illegal.

I found it curious that most discussions about abortion avoid asking this vital question. Instead, they focus on a series of peripheral issues, such as the passage of recent state laws meant to limit access to abortion. But before we can address the rightness or wrongness of these laws, we must first determine the rightness or wrongness of abortion. And we cannot do that until we decide whether the fetus constitutes a human life.


Many pro-choice advocates dodge this question by recasting the issue as pertaining solely to women. When I was pro-choice, I would defend my position by claiming that the issue was really about women’s reproductive rights. I told myself that because it sounded a lot better than the truth, which was that I wanted to do certain things without having to face certain consequences. Saying that I supported women’s rights made me feel deep, when in reality my position was cowardly.

The Achilles’ heel to such arguments is this: What about the baby girl in the womb? Wouldn’t she have rights, too? For, surely, at least half of all the aborted would have grown to be women. To deny their rights, merely because they cannot plead their case, would be unfair. Hence, this invocation of women’s rights is simply a dodge to avoid the real question.


If the fetus is not human, there is no need to invoke women’s rights. But if it is human, then no one’s reproductive rights can trump someone else’s right to life.

Some men prefer to say, “It's a woman’s choice,” because this is an easy way to absolve themselves of responsibility. It unfairly puts the burden on the woman whether or not to abort. But there has never been an abortion where a man was not at least half responsible.

If these men were willing to consider their share of responsibility, there probably would be fewer unwanted pregnancies in the first place.

I do not mind the fact that many Americans are pro-choice. I used to be one of them, and it would be foolish to expect unanimity on all issues. But I do very much mind the fact that those who call themselves pro-choice do not more honestly state their position. They should be more open about what they honestly believe — that a fetus is not a human life. And then they should have to defend that position.

Instead, they typically raise issues that don’t help us answer the question one way or another. Planned Parenthood, for example, cites a study that claims 1.06 million abortions were performed in the U.S. in 2011, down from 1.21 million in 2008. I’m not sure what, if anything, this is supposed to prove.

18 weeks from conception
If the fetus is not human, it would not matter if there were 5 million abortions one year and five the next. Conversely, if the fetus is human, then one abortion, performed any year, is too many.

Many will say that a fetus is not a human life, but only a potential life. This argument is superficially convincing, because it is easy to fudge what we mean by “potential.”

However, what we mean by “human life” does have a precise scientific definition. According to National Geographic’s “In the Womb,” at the moment of conception, “an individual unique set of DNA is created — a human signature that never existed before and never will be repeated.”

Unfertilized eggs and unused sperm are potential life. But a fertilized egg, from the moment of conception onward, is no longer a potential life. It is an actual human life, already in progress. And what astonishing progress it makes in an unbelievably short span of time!

Some will admit that abortion ends life; yet argue that homicide is justifiable in certain circumstances, including cases of abortion. But anyone who has felt the softness of a newborn baby knows this is heartless.

Pretending the condition of a newborn is somehow radically different during the period of gestation is just wishful thinking.

Abortion is, in fact, the worst form of murder, because it involves dismembering the helpless and innocent. That is why I mark the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade  by considering the millions of men and women who have lost their chance at life.

Mr. Ziegler is celebrating The Feast of the Presentation, Feb. 2, 2015, by renewing his consecration to Jesus through Mary.

Woman of Gen: 3:15
 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed:
she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

Did you enjoy this piece? We have more on abortion: 




MARK'S GOSPEL: The Power and Authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

4th  Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb 1, 2015

Saints Peter & Paul Parish, Tucson, AZ

Fr. J.P. Shea 
"Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, 'What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.'" (Mark 1:26-27)



Today’s readings call us to acknowledge the power and authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

We heard in last week’s Gospel that our Lord began his ministry. He came proclaiming the Good News, saying, "
The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15) Our Lord then chose His 12 disciples whom He would use to proclaim His message of salvation.

Today’s Gospel is the very next scene after last week’s reading. While last week’s gospel emphasized the proclamation of the kingdom of heaven, today’s passage emphasizes the initiation of Our Lord’s kingdom. 

 We are reminded that Our Lord has come to initiate His authority and power over the darkness that has and is captivating our world. In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit. 

After choosing His disciples Our Lord goes into Capernaum where we hear that He teaches with great authority. "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority not as the scribes." (Mark 1:22) 

In the synagogue is a man who is possessed by an unclean spirit. He cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”And Jesus rebukes the spirit and it comes out of the man.

My brothers and sisters, today’s reading reminds us that the kingdom of God has come upon us and it has come through the power and authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ! 

Ever since the fall of humanity, our world has been under the influence of the evil one, and today’s Gospel reminds us that our Lord has come to break this power. 

Our Lord has come to conquer the powers and influence of the devil so that we can be led in the path of salvation. He has come to battle the spiritual dysfunction that is in each and every one of us -- in order to lead us into eternal life.

Each one of us has been baptized. Yet, our baptism does not free us from the influences of the evil spirits that surround us. Baptism gives us grace to be children of God, but we must accept this grace. We must continually make an effort to live out our baptismal call by renouncing sin. We must continually call upon the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Holy One of God! 

There are many bad spirits roaming around today who seek to destroy souls. Spiritual possession as we see in today’s Gospel is rare, but unclean spirits are always at work to influence us. 

Bad spirits lead us to shame, fear, stubbornness, hardness of heart, and disordered and uncontrolled sexual appetites. There are demons of pride, demons of addiction, demons of lust… you name the sin or the temptation, and you can bet there is an unclean spirit involved.

If we allow these spirits into our lives they can easily take hold of our will. One example I will give is unclean spirits associated with  pornography. When we view pornography we invite dirty spirits into our lives, and it becomes difficult to get rid of them. These filthy images and their spirits come back. They haunt us. They tempt us! And they easily take control of our souls if we do not continually and frequently call upon the name of Our Lord Jesus. 

As Our Lord rebukes the evil spirit in today’s Gospel, we too need to rebuke the evil spirits that roam our society and world! To the evils of our culture we need to say, “Get behind me satan!”

We need to strive to keep our love pure and holy because evil spirits can ruin the lives of any soul that is lukewarm. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we need to treat them as such. If we darken our bodies on earth through immorality, how can we expect to have a holy and glorified body in heaven? 

We must persevere in prayer, go to frequent confession, and receive Our Lord in the Eucharist. These are gifts that Our Lord has given to our Church to fight against evil until Our Lord comes again!

We should have our homes blessed with holy water and put blessed salt over our doors. We  should learn the Saint Michael prayer and say it daily. The devil is afraid of this prayer! In fact, the devil hates prayer. We should pray the Rosary. The Rosary is a weapon against evil.

My brothers and sisters, our world is in a spiritual battle, and this battle is rapidly intensifying in our lifetime.

It is a battle between the spirit of God and the spirit of the evil one. The spirit of evil was born into our world through original sin. But battle has already been won through Our Lord’s death on the cross. 

Yet, the struggle is not finished. Our Lord has handed on this striving to His Church until He comes again.

Until this day, may each one of us continually call upon the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus. He alone has power and authority because he is the holy one of God. For He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.

Don't miss Lawrence Fox's post on WHO IS JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK?

Maybe you'd enjoy a poem by Susan Fox on the subject of  battling evil spirits? RED and GREEN: A Poem about Temptation