The Baby Gianna Story

Matthew and Patrick Archbold at Creative Minority Report are running a series about baby Gianna. The first part is quite compelling...

Rebecca didn’t keep the appointment at the Planned Parenthood clinic that Friday. And finally Rebecca told Jessica that she chose to keep the baby. “We all breathed a sigh of relief,” she said. “It had been such a long process but she made a decision for life.”

But the relief would be short lived. When Rebecca's boyfriend learned of her decision he repeatedly and savagely kicked her in the stomach. While examining her, hospital doctors said they saw something alarming in the baby. There was no amniotic fluid which would likely cause the baby's lungs to not develop properly.

Please go read the whole thing, and go back every day this week for further installments of this story.

Prayers, please

Scott's dad was diagnosed with ocular melanoma a few years ago and eventually lost one eye to the cancer. He has had clean scans for about 2 years now, but today he went for another round of tests and they found more melanoma behind his other eye. He's going for radiation on Thursday, so prayers to Sts. Lucy and Peregrine would be greatly appreciated. Grazie.

re-cap

We've hosted Thanksgiving almost every year since 2000 (we took '06 off since Scott's family was coming up from NC and his mom wanted to do the honors for her brother and fam. With a 3 month old at the time, I was most happy to pass the baton for a year.) I have to say that this was the least stressful Thanksgiving I have ever hosted. I even got to sit down and talk for a little while-even with not having an automatic dishwasher to help out! I was bummed out that no one stayed past six, though, especially since no one got to the house until 1:30. We ate around 2:30 and then it seemed like everyone just left. Which makes me wonder if my family nad I stay at other people's houses too long. Aimee, do we stay too long? You're the only one I know IRL whose house we may have overstayed at. Be honest.Tonight, we had Scott's friend D. over for supper. I made a ziti because we all have had enough turkey for now. D. works in Washington DC so we don't get to see him often, which is a shame 'cause he's a super guy. He got here at 4:30 and was gone by 7:30. Why do people only want to stay at my house for 4 hours? It's CLEAN (now). We're fun. At least we used to be fun. What's up?!

Also, I wanted to ask your prayers that God's will be done and made clear to us. Scott's applying for a new job and we just want to do God's will. Thanks!

Hope you all have a groovy weekend!

Fight FOCA

Here's a great post by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about our changing times and what we as Catholics have to do to stand up for what we believe in. President-elect Obama has promised to make the Freedom of Choice Act law. If you don't know, FOCA would strike down any state laws restricting abortion. This website, Fight FOCA, has a petition online that you can sign, but all of us must contact our representatives and senators in Washington to tell them that we do not want this bill to become law.

It's a sad fact that most American support abortion rights, but the majority of Americans want some restrictions on this evil practice. FOCA will wipe away any restrictions, even ones that the Supreme Court has found constitutional, including parental notification laws.

I'm not a great pray-er. I have a load of excuses for why I don't pray the rosary. But I watched the video in Fr. Z's post and I have to do something. I mean, how am I supposed to stand before the LORD at my judgment and justify my inaction about this? I can't. So tonight, I commit to praying the rosary (with my family) daily to pray for the president-elect's conversion on FOCA. You have to, also. Let's get together on this one, people, millions of lives are at stake.

Did you hear?

It's election day! You can thank me later for reminding you. I thought you might have forgotten.


It's also the feast of St. Charles Borromeo. I think that's it's pretty apt that Election day happened to fall on his feast this year. The only way it could have been better is if we had Election day on the feast of St. Thomas More.



St. Charles Borromeo

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He refused the headship of the Borromeo family on the death of Count Frederick Borromeo, was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, was most generous in his help to the English college at Douai, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times. His feast day is November 4th. I wish I weren't too lazy to take out all of those weird hyperlinks. I'll bet you do, too.


So, as you can see, St. Charles was an instrumental figure in the Counter-Reformation. He re-convened the Council of Trent and was a reformer. One order he tried to reform (and was eventually supressed) had 4 members that tried to assassinate him!


He led the Church in times of uncertainty and controversy. How excellent for us to have our election day fall on his feast day, when our country is going through a time of uncertainty and controversy! This is what my Magnificat says about him: "As both a civil and a canon lawyer, as well as a bishop, St. Charles understood the pastoral work of law-giving according to the model of Christ. His unflagging efforts to promote a Christian life and Church reform were prompted by a profoundly self-sacrificing love of Christ living in the Church."


Please pray that the people who are elected today also understand "the pastoral work of law-giving according to the model of Christ."


O, Blessed Mother! The United States is entrusted to you in your Immaculate Conception. Please intercede for us at the feet of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. May His Will be done in our elections today. May we as a nation be able to go forth walking in His Light. Heavenly Father, please send the Holy Spirit upon all of us who are voting that we may be inspired to vote according to Your Will. Please send the Spirit upon those who are elected that they may do Your Will while they hold office. Keep our nation in Your Protection. Amen.

She understands

The Novena to St. Monica starts today. Her feast day is August 27, the day after her son, St. Augustine. Monica's life was hard. Her husband had a violent temper, her mother-in-law lived with her and constantly belittled her and her children wouldn't listen. Her son Augustine, became a heretic (he was a too smart for his own good), but he eventually came around.

St. Monica is a patron saint of wives and mothers, but she is also the one to ask for help when your family and friends have lapsed from the church. My original post about good St. Monica is here (also accessible from the sidebar). In the last two years, several people, mostly women with worries about their husbands and children, have stopped by this page and have left a comment asking for prayers. Please take a minute to go a read those comments. Please keep them in mind while you ask for the intercession of the woman whose tears were finally dried when he husband and son came to the Church. Maybe you are reading this today and you are so blessed not to have any particular person in mind to ask the intercession of St. Monica. Please remember the women who have posted here before and pray for their intentions.

Novena To Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
You perseveringly pursued your wayward son
Not with wild threats
But with prayerful cries to heaven.

Intercede for all mothers in our day
So that they may learn
To draw their children to God.

Teach them how to remain
Close to their children,
Even the prodigal sons and daughters
Who have sadly gone astray.

Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother,
Many sorrows pierced your heart
During your lifetime.
Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith,
You prayed daily for the conversion
Of your beloved husband, Patricius
And your beloved son, Augustine.

Grant me that same fortitude,
Patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
That God may favorably hear my plea
For (mention your petition here)
And grant me the grace
To accept his will in all things,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer bleg

For those of you who don't know, my mom has MS. Thursday she started an exacerbation. He muscles got really weak and she couldn't get up off the floor. Her neurologist prescribed her a huge amount of oral steroids (a common treatment-the steroids reduce the inflammation of the brain and spinal tissue during the attack), but by Sunday night, Mom was having headaches so severe that we went to the ER. She's now in the hospital getting the steroids intravenously since the oral treatment wasn't working. She'll be there for 5 days.

So, please remember my mom in your prayers. Her condition isn't life threatening and the only reason that she's in the hospital is that Medicare won't pay for this treatment to be done in-home like many private insurance plans will (Strikes me that the at-home treatment would be cheaper, but that's government for you. Our tax dollars at work!). She doesn't want to be there and as is typical of my mom, she's more worried about me than she is about herself. Thanks in advance for all of your prayers.

Writers strike!

Ok everyone, here's the deal: I am (generally) a pro-labor person. The Screen writers Guild is on Strike right now. They want a larger revenue share in DVDs and other residuals. I think they should get what's fair (so Producers, pony up!). Everyone, start praying for an ned to the strike. You know why? I'll tell you why. Because I am NOT going to get to see the Colbert Report in NYC on the 15th if the strike is still on. I've been waiting MONTHS, people! And they won't guarantee my ticket for another show. Come on! Get praying!

My mom has a website

My mom has started a website to be a forum for those with MS. It's called MS Talkline and we would love it if you'd stop in for a visit and give the info to anyone you know who has MS.