Holy Innocents

Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, the day we remember and honor all the innocent babies that lost their lives not only for the Newborn King, but in His place.  The Church calls these sweet babies the Flowers of the Martyrs.

While traveling in search of their King, the Three Wise Men, stopped to pay a respectful visit to King Herod, as they passed through his kingdom. King Herod might have been embarrassed, humiliated, jealous or offended that these Wise Men from afar were aware of the Newborn King in his kingdom and yet he was not. He may have asked many questions in an effort to find out exactly where they were going and whom they were going to see.

We know that the Three Wise Men made their visit to the Newborn King and presented their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh (St. Matt, chap 2, v 11). We know that an angel appeared to St. Joseph (St. Matt, chap 2, v 13-15) in his sleep, saying: 

"Arise, and take the Child and his Mother, and fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee. For it shall come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy him. Who arose, and took the Child and his Mother by night, and retired into Egypt, and he was there until the death of Herod;"

We know that King Herod (St. Matt, chap 2, v 16) sent his men and 

"killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under,".

In Herod we see how blind and how cruel ambition is.  It begs the question, what is the driving force behind the loss of the innocent lives from abortion?  I'm ashamed to even try to guess at some of the reasons a person may choose to end their baby's life.  Any reason I conjure up seems inadequate and inappropriate . . . timing?  finances?  health?  fear? 

It's always devastating to hear of the death of a child, always.  Can you imagine the pain and suffering in Bethlehem on that day? Can you imagine soldiers coming down the streets and into homes on a mission to massacre babies and leaving them to die in their wake?  Why is it so unbearable to even think of losing our babies against our will and yet we should have the "choice" of abortion?  It's inherently wrong, and we know it.  It can not be wrong for someone else to kill our babies and at the same time "a right" for us to kill them.

Holy Innocents, Flowers of the Martyrs, please pray for us to be as brave as your parents had to be so that we have the courage to end abortion!

Mama Bear's Christmas Message

Mama Bear loves, loves, loves the movie "It's a Wonderful Life".  The Story of George Bailey, who never got to follow his dream.  George finds himself one Christmas Eve in despair because of his company's apparent financial doom.  God sends a guardian angel, second class, Clarence, to help George through this difficult time.  Clarence shows George what a different place his corner of the world would be if George had never been born.  George discovers that despite the fact that life didn't go the way he wanted he's really had a wonderful life and we get to see an example of what a difference ONE person can make in so many other's lives.

Panda Bear received the book, "Horton Hears a Who" for Christmas.  The message ~ a person's a person no matter how small.  Appropriately the smallest Who in Whoville makes the difference that saves all of Whoville.  Never under estimate the power of one, a person's a person no matter how small.

Our three bears also received the movie "Wall-E", from their aunt and uncle.  Even Wall-E knew to protect life.

Today we celebrate the birth of One who is Our Newborn King, the Savior of the World.  Who would have believed that He would choose to come as a baby to such a humble couple in such a lowly place surrounded by the night air, the stable animals, with only hay for his bed.  Who can say how One can make such a difference in the world for over 2000 years to all on earth, even those that don't  believe.

For those of us who do believe in Him and know the importance of His example and our duty to follow Him . . . His choice to become Life, to come as a baby, to live as we live, to walk the earth, to have relationships, to work and struggle and suffer, to die ~ this is the choice we are to follow . . . Life!  We must choose Life ~ always!  No matter how difficult, no matter the surprise or unexpectedness, no matter how small, no matter how seemingly hopeless, no matter.

His gift to us is always Life.  He's given us His Life and our own life; the gift of the lives of the ones we love; the gift of the lives of the ones that we don't love ~ to teach us; to bring us to Him.

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Life!

    

Happy Matrimony

Today is my wedding anniversary, the day we received the sacrament of Matrimony.  The literal translation of matrimony is "mother-making".  I think that's beautiful, or as Panda Bear says, "oooh, bue-a-foe"!

The only thing I ever knew I wanted to be was a mother.  When I was little I said I wanted eight children.  It's one of the reasons I fell in love with my husband ~ he comes from a family of ten children.  There is something about the energy in a house full of children that has always attracted me.  By the time my husband and I started dating I thought four children sounded pretty good and he thought six was a nice round number (which he doesn't recall ever saying).  It was the first time I had ever been out 'numbered' by a prospective mate.

I especially remember a conversation we had while we were engaged when I was worrying about what we were going to do if the children came too fast and furious.  My fiance assured me that God knew best.  I chuckle at that memory for a couple of reasons ~ one, because it's a great example of how worthless it is to worry about our future; two, because my husband was right and I don't admit that too often. 

God had His own plans for us and, it never ceases to amaze us!  I have said before that with each of our sons we were twice blessed ~ once by God and once by their birth mother.  We did get what we wanted . . . six blessings . . . just not exactly the way we ever thought or planned.

I can not put into words, even in my own head, what a gift it is to mother another's child.  It's the added miracle that our boys have another mother and she has blessed us with her child.  Doesn't that just ooze G I F T ?!

On this day, only two days until the gift of His Son, I thank the Dear Lord for my husband, our children, our birth mothers and His amazing gift of my matrimony!

 

Baby Making Rhyme

We've been reading a LOT of Dr. Seuss lately, it's Panda Bear's favorite!  With all of the Dr. Seuss rhymes running through my  head I've come up with a rendition of my own to be read to the rhythm of Dr. Seuss.  To get you in the mood here's a little Fox in Socks ...

"When tweetle beetles fight,

it's called

a tweetle beetle battle.

And when they

battle in a puddle,

it's a tweetle

beetle puddle battle.

AND when tweetle beetles

battle with paddles in a puddle,

they call it a tweetle

beetle puddle paddle battle.

AND...

When beetles battle beetles

in a puddle paddle battle

and the beetle battle puddle

is a puddle in a bottle ...

...They call this

a tweetle beetle

bottle puddle

paddle battle muddle."

Here's what I've come up with...

When people choose to act

in a way that makes a baby

then those people who

make babies

should be ready

for a baby

If people don't want

babies then those acts

that make babies

can be postponed

and avoided so as not to 

make a baby

If people don't want babies but

can't wait for

the baby making act

then there's always

contraception

If these people don't want babies

and choose to use contraception

then the people need to 

know that despite their contraception

that a baby may be made

So . . . when people choose to act in a way that

makes a baby then those

people who make babies

should be ready for a baby

And . . . If people R-E-A-L-L-Y

don't want babies

then those acts that

make babies

can be postponed and avoided

so as not to make a baby

If people know this all

and choose the act

that makes a baby

and a baby is made

then the baby is a fact

and will never go away

despite what you've been told

So . . . let babies be considered

for the baby making act

and the people will be

ready for their babies

The Journey

As we get closer to Christmas, while we await Life Himself, my thoughts turn to the journey.  It's a difficult journey, to be sure.  There will be anxiety, discomfort, pain, work, responsibility, fatigue, rejection, and in the end Joy.

When we try to take such control of our life, believing we make every decision at every turn OR that we must fix the situation that we didn't choose, we miss out on the unknown, the untapped, the unimaginable gifts that lie within AND without ~ the benefit of a cross sent straight from God.

We've all heard, "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger".  There's a heck-of-a-lot to say for that inner strength, that self confidence, that lesson learned that all comes from bearing our crosses.

When I think of the greatest trials in my life I'm reminded of the pain and the struggle to get through each of these situations, sometimes years later or once again.  I would never have chosen any of these trials.  BUT, they have each led me to the most treasured gifts in my life.

We all know someone who's been laid off from their job and it's led to their dream job; someone who's boyfriend broke up with them which led to them meeting their spouse; someone who's had to deal with a life threatening illness which led them to reconnect with a family member or maybe even God.  Which is really where life is supposed to lead us ... that's why He sends our crosses ... to lead us to Him. 

Of course, hindsight (a blessing in itself) is to thank for the understanding I have as I sit here and type.  As we grow and mature we learn the benefit of our crosses.  We learn that our crosses are gifts of suffering on earth, from God.  They truly are gifts!  As St. Francis de Sales wrote: 

 

"The everlasting God has, in His wisdom, foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you, as a gift from His inmost heart.  This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with His loving arms, and weighed with His own hands, to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.  He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God."

 So, as we journey let us consider ~ ~ ~ 

Life is a gift.

There are no accidents.

Nothing is unplanned.

Good can come from difficulty.

In LIFE there is joy!

Prince of Peace Award

A spiritual mentor of mine has recognized my blog with this award.  I have no idea how many people stop to read my thoughts, but I am touched that Lisa, at Are We There Yet?, has passed this on to me.  Thank you, Lisa!

Here is a link to View From The Pews where this special honor started. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The image at the top of this blog is a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  On the right is a picture of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.   As we celebrate Her feast today I'd like to share Her story ~

In 1531, in the part of Mexico that is now Mexico City, the bishop prayed to Our Blessed Mother to bring peace between the Spanish rule and the natives, and for a stop to the human sacrifices.  On December 9th, 10th and 12th of that year Our Lady appeared, near Tepayac Hill, to a peasant named Juan Diego.  She appeared pregnant with Her Divine Son. Our Lady requested that a church be built there on Tepayac Hill.  When Juan Diego took this message to the bishop, the bishop asked for a sign.

Juan Diego returned with an undeniable sign.  Although it was December, Our Lady had him pick Castilian roses that were native to the bishop's home in Spain.  He put the roses in his tilma (a poncho like cloak made of cactus fiber).  When he opened his tilma to reveal the roses there was a miraculous image of Our Lady just as Juan Diego had described Her to the bishop.

This miracle took place 477 years ago today and the image is still visible on the tilma that is miraculously still in tact.  Since Our Lady's appearance human sacrifices have ended.  I've read that 6 - 9 million conversions took place over the next 6 - 9 years.

My prayer for Our Blessed Mother today (and everyday) is that She will intervene for the unborn and help to put a stop to the human sacrifice that today we call abortion.

Until then, may Her words to Juan Diego be their comfort ~

"Do not be distressed, my littlest son.  Am I not here with you who am your Mother?  Are you not under my shadow and protection?" 

*Please click on the title of this post if you'd like to read more detail about the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Unknown

It doesn't matter how old I am there are still monsters in the dark.  The unknown is scary!  It's only human to be afraid of the unknown or unplanned.  That's where faith comes in.  We can't, I repeat ... we can't do "it" on our own.  When we look at life through the eyes of faith and accept the unknown or unplanned as coming from God we open ourselves up to His plan vs. ours.

Have you ever heard this? ~ "If you want to make God laugh, make plans."  His ways are always best!

Birthmothers seem to get this in a special way and cooperate with God's plan in a courageous manner.  I worry about the negative image that people have of birth mothers: they're cold and heartless; they don't love their children; they're selfish, careless and irresponsible.

Consider that birth mothers are women of all ages; they are women from all walks of life; they're in a difficult situation or they're having a hard time at this point in life; they love their children as much as anyone; they have incredible self awareness admitting that they can't give their child what they want them to have; they are unimaginably selfless in their ability to let go of a part of themselves, with no guarantee - but hope, that their child will have a better life; they live with a hole in their heart because of this sacrifice; that they are brave.

Each birth mother has her own individual story.  And because the adoption process has changed in the last generation, she can now make choices that she wouldn't have been able to make in the past.  Choices that take away some of the unknown and thus quell some of her fears.  A birth mother can specify the exact family she would want to love her baby.  She can choose the race, religion, pets, number of children, yearly income, anything that's important to her.

I've heard negative comments about this, as well.  If we stop to really think about what a birth mother is sacrificing then it makes all the sense in the world that she should have the ability to make choices for her baby that she is comfortable with.  She will have plenty of the unknown to wonder about in the future and giving her this peace of mind in the beginning isn't too much to ask.

Respect

As a mother raising three boys it seems that daily life is an ongoing lesson in respect.  We need to learn to respect our property, each other, God, special qualities or talents, a person's feelings, boundaries, rules & laws.  There are undoubtedly things worthy of respect that I'm leaving out ~ ~ ~

With the evolution of political correctness it's become expected that we respect *differences* and even sin.  I have a friend that often speaks in awe of how backward things seem.  Her concluding comment, with a touch of sarcasm, is, "What's right is wrong and what's wrong is right."  This always reminds me of Isaias 5:20, 

"Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil:"

The pro-abortion agenda is a perfect example of this twisted, backward, evil.  How can we respect choosing to kill your unborn child?  Where is the respect for God given life?

If we respect something we take care of it.

If we respect someone we care for and honor them.  We may even aspire to be like them.

Choosing abortion is seen as taking care of one person; honoring one person's rights.  The fact that another person is not being taken care of, but is destroyed, is ignored.  The fact that one person not only has no right to choose, but also has their right to live taken away, is ignored.  There is nothing respectful about taking advantage of our authority or control over another life, especially one that is dependent on us.  That's usually called abuse.

Devastating But True

As I was doing some reading on the web the other night I came across a quote, a devastating quote in my opinion.

"Life is a sexually transmitted disease."

 ~ R. D. Laing

I googled Mr. Laing and it turns out he was a psychiatrist.  I really just wanted to know who said such a thing.  The more I thought about it the more I thought that this must be how some see "it".  They must think of their pregnancy as a disease, or an infection, and an abortion as the treatment.  Isn't that devastating?

It reminds me of the phrase "unwanted pregnancy".  Maybe the person who's pregnant doesn't want to be pregnant  or to have a baby, but there's someone out there that wants both more than words can say.  There isn't anything as valuable or as important as a person's life yet some would rather throw it away than give it away.  Isn't that devastating?

We live in a large city.  Unfortunately home break ins and random acts of violence are not rare.  I'm not a worrier by nature but I do have thoughts about what I'd do if something were to happen to us.  I, like most mothers, would die for my children ~ literally.  In the name of "women's rights" and "choice" it's the children (with no rights or choice) who die for their mothers.  Isn't that devastating?

Planned Parenthood of Indiana is selling gift certificates for the holidays.  According to an AP article "the Indiana branch is among a handful of its 99 affiliates that currently offer gift certificates or have done so in the past."  Isn't that pathetic?  Merry Christmas.

It's really too bad that Planned Parenthood doesn't like the word "life", because they could put the above quote to some devastating use.