Divorcing Pharma

My latest at Crisis Magazine…⁣⁣
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“It is a fact that without Christ at the heart of the healthcare industry, every manner of atrocity is not only possible, but probable. Modern medicine can, of course, be a great good when rightly ordered. But a dependency on an industry that no longer serves the Lord can only lead to diminishing health.”⁣⁣
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Stop Pharming Out Your Health
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I expect that my strong wording at various places in this piece will draw some criticism. What a privilege it is to have the freedom to vigorously engage in such discussions!⁣⁣
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I’m grateful to Crisis for the opportunity and for their ongoing efforts to keep discussion alive about the most important things. From their website…⁣⁣
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“Every generation has its moment of crisis—the moment when it must decide. And each generation is tasked with articulating these timeless truths of the Faith to guide its decisions.”

"I will dare and dare and dare..."

“COURAGE! DO NOT FALL BACK.”

St. Joan of Arc was martyred because she was politically inconvenient. She wasn’t an expert, theologian, politician, or notable figure. She didn’t know how to read. She gave simple, radical fidelity and devotion to God. Then she led an army. And testified before the world.⁣⁣

We are not called to less than Joan, though our “army” may not look like hers. It’s for Him to say and for us to surrender. The gauge of success is only His will, His time, for His purpose.⁣⁣

May we be so simple in our own times. Free to be holy and even political according to His desire. Faith and reason are consistent. Our faith is integrated. In our own times, we know...⁣⁣

• It defies reason to think that people who dissect children alive and use them in research are trustworthy in any other matter.⁣⁣

• It defies reason to believe that people who reject Christian moral teachings will be honest about anything.⁣⁣

• It defies reason to place health and children in the care of wicked people and expect a good outcome.⁣⁣

There are many who dare to give us permission to step away from Natural and Divine Law in pursuit of something deemed safer.⁣⁣..

But God will not bless it.

We know this from all of Salvation History and the story of every soul who got impatient waiting for Him to act. Our answers never work out.⁣⁣

Direct abuse of the Sacred cannot call down blessing. Breaking with His holy design can only result in temporal and spiritual death.⁣⁣

Think times are confusing? They are. But Joan was born during a time of a pope and 2 anti-popes. During a time of war. She was mystical and political. She led an army in support of a weak monarch. A Bishop and a cadre of theologians condemned her as a heretic and subjected her to painful death.⁣⁣

What is our excuse? Fear of death? Let us ask the great saint whether she had fear of politicians, clerics, or illness… and we will get an uncomfortable answer:

“Even though I saw the executioner and the fire, I could not say anything but what I have said.”⁣⁣

“It is better to be alone with God... In His strength, I will dare and dare and dare until I die.”⁣⁣

Amen.

(My sweatshirt is from veritascaritaslibertas.com and I love it.⁣⁣)

For love of the poor...

I had the privilege yesterday of spending time with the founders of Urban Encounter Ministries and I walked away changed.⁣⁣⁣
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Jesus calling again. Metanoia.⁣⁣⁣
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It wasn’t a profound emotional moment like one might experience on a retreat or in sacrament…⁣⁣⁣
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But an encounter with Christians who speak belief and then live it with fervor. I thought often of Ephesians 5 and the simple powerful model of Church. I thought of the purity childhood and of the aching of adult conversion.⁣⁣⁣
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I grew up in the city until I was in middle school; outside the full comforts of suburbia but still happy. I didn’t know what I didn’t have. I never felt deprived of anything material (except an intact family). I knew there were rich and poor people… yet I never felt poor.⁣⁣⁣
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My eyes weren’t trained that way and I was loved and cared for. I didn’t know what burdens the adults carried.⁣⁣
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Years later, we had moved out of the city into more comfortable suburbia, but I was in abject spiritual poverty and depression… until someone broke though with the light of Christ.⁣⁣⁣
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As I sat in the company of Christ’s servants yesterday, I was reminded of early youth; living a measure of shabbiness, but with childlike vision only for what is delightful and permanent. The memory was a respite.⁣⁣⁣
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As Christians, we are compelled to step into the physical and spiritual poverty of others with the delight and Presence of Jesus Christ. Not to fix everything but to encounter precious souls and share His love…⁣⁣⁣
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I am here.⁣⁣⁣
I want to know your name.⁣⁣⁣
I can only offer you this small comfort.⁣⁣⁣
But I come with Jesus and He can give you everything.⁣⁣⁣
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In a culture where the idol of social justice leads many away from Truth, this ministry starts with Christ as its source and summit and invites Him in…⁣⁣⁣
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To the street.⁣
To those who haven’t heard their own name spoken to them in months…⁣
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Where He changes everything.⁣⁣⁣
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Lord, grant me the eyes of childhood that never fades. So that I may not shrink from bringing Your light into the world, wherever I am called to love.⁣⁣⁣
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Please contact me if you want to support a street missionary (my daughter) with any size gift. ❤️

The kingdom of heaven is like a Petunia

My parish is nestled in the heart of a concrete jungle, a small David against the encroaching mechanization of man. She was built by immigrants. Her classrooms now empty. Her abundant flower gardens tended by just two feminine hands.⁣⁣
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I’ve never met the gardener but I see how she adorns the church. And tucked a potted flower in that one hidden nook.⁣⁣ Beyond the gardens, the flowers seem to go where they will and we search every week for new signs of petunias in hard places.⁣⁣
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These little flowers are joy opportunists. Easily plucked and crushed, yet finding a way.⁣⁣
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I had an image in my mind of the small church property and the shining tabernacle within. And it seemed to me that the delight of Jesus Christ was seeping through the doors, through the ground, and out of every opening of that building.⁣⁣..
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And it was rising up through the cracks in the sidewalk as petunias.⁣⁣
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Back at home, I noticed a plant growing straight up through the asphalt at the end of our street. No sidewalk crack required. It simply grew and poked a perfect hole through that hard surface. My fingers can crush this plant and yet it rises up through what my hands could never penetrate. Mystery.⁣⁣
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How does it rise?⁣⁣
How do we?⁣⁣
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Sometimes I have trouble understanding Church. I see the broken people. I see my own sins. I see institutional failures that challenge me with doubt and anger and grief.⁣⁣ And I think of the flowers, the leaven, the mustard seed (Mt 13)…⁣⁣
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The kingdom of heaven is like smallest seed that transforms into a tree so large that the birds make a home there.⁣⁣
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The kingdom is like leaven which loses itself in the meal until it rises and nourishes.⁣⁣
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Where is the seed? Where is leaven? Where is Church? And when will we see that the Eucharistic feast is not contained… but alive like the mighty petunia in a heart disposed to grace?⁣⁣
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Some day…⁣⁣
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“The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire…Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father...”⁣⁣
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And the flowers will be gathered and grow forever.

Hold the line, men.

A study of siblings. When Miss Sassy and Z strike a pose, they are not the same. Hilarious.⁣
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I have been reading about the early Church and apostles and this pic made me think of the 12 and all their messy zeal. They surely smelled more like fish and woodsmoke than incense.⁣
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I've also noticed a recent increase in prayer requests from those whose husbands are struggling with their faith.⁣
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Times are difficult. On top of scandals, we now have the 2020 abandonment by spiritual fathers. New divisions and wounds, questions and pressure. Good men are struggling.⁣
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As I contemplate the apostles as real men (truly my brothers and fathers in faith), I sometimes imagine them walking into the room just as my husband would. Sandals scuffing. Water running over rough hands.⁣
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Real men. Not storybook characters. Their hands made fires, built shelters, and were bound by enemies. Their mouths proclaimed the Word. Their eyes fell upon the Messiah. Their hearts knew both fear, courage, grief, and joy.⁣
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It makes me think of the men of my own domestic church...⁣
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Of calluses and axes, debates and wrestling matches, night prayer, service at the altar, meal time, division and reunion.⁣
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These thoughts help me to connect with the Church when heartache sets me adrift. Every time I hear about another McCarrick, I also hear the words of my brother, Paul...⁣
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"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel...Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!" Gal. 1⁣
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What is foul and false walks among what is holy. I pray that our men will be steadfast in holding the line against that evil, and will be restored to fidelity and clarity...⁣
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We need you, gentleman. The enemy is in the gates. Stand strong for Christ.

What Confirmation is... and what it is not.

I have never been more excited about the upcoming feast of Pentacost. The recent Confirmation of my beautiful daughter added fuel to that fire of desire. Such a simple rite… with so much power.⁣
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It has long been my hope that our diocese would lower the age of Confirmation. Many erroneously think of the sacrament as a “rite of passage” to mature faith. The passing of a test.⁣
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That is all wrong.⁣
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The gift of the Holy Spirit is unmerited and ageless. It can be given to an infant or the elderly. It does not testify to the belief of the individual as much as to the truth of the faith and the power of the Spirit.⁣
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From the Rite of Confirmation:⁣
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“This giving of the Holy Spirit conforms believers more perfectly to Christ and strengthens them so that they may bear witness to Christ for the building up of his body of faith and love.”⁣
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In this culture, when young children are exposed to porn, unbridled secularism, hatred of Christ, and to evil presenting itself like every happiness…⁣
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I hope that more children can receive this unmerited gift of God prior to the loss of faith.⁣
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In the Catechism, St. Thomas is quoted:⁣

“Age of body does not determine age of soul. Even in childhood man can attain spiritual maturity… Many children, through the strength of the Holy Spirit they have received, have bravely fought for Christ even to the shedding of their blood.” ⁣

Confirmation has sometimes jokingly been referred to as “the sacrament of farewell” as teens are already closed off to the graces and leave the Church shortly after…⁣
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What can we do to change this? Especially now in this secular age of growing persecution?⁣
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Parents and sponsors… now is the time to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives with a bold and desperate faith. It is time to pray the scary prayers. The ones that open us to living fully in imitation in Christ and change everything.⁣
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On the birthday of Pope St. John Paul II, it is fitting to say…

“Be not afraid! Come, Holy Spirit, Come!” 🔥

Making Mistakes. Lighting fires.

It hardly ever happens to me as a creative that I have a vision for something and it works out concretely. My problem is that I am usually not proficient in the medium I choose to adventure with. For example...⁣
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Edibles confound me.⁣
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However, I call this attempt a success. Super fun. Lots of mistakes. But the overall effect was just as imagined.⁣
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Full disclosure... This is not a healthy cake. Not at all. 😁⁣
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I blogged about what I used along with some other Confirmation/Pentecost ideas. Go to my profile link to see more.⁣
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It is the lightest post I have written in a long time... and that was kind of nice for a change.⁣
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I’m feeling a little tired in mind and spirit and this diversion was needed. Working creatively on a project is, for me, a lot like exercising. It is a fruitful respite. I can work in a focused way with great effort... but it is uncomplicated. The resting is in the effort.⁣
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The Confirmation itself was wonderful. I can’t wait for Pentecost!⁣
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Also, Instagram isn’t going to direct you to a government organization in a flag on this post. And that’s a bit of a respite as well.⁣
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My stories this week prompted hundreds of dm’s. It was good to hear from so many of you. You really aren’t alone. There was some negativity but most was constructive with very little real ugliness. But the Confirmation post is a relief today. It certainly is.⁣
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Come, Holy Spirit. Heal Your people. Restore us to life. Fill us with your joy. 🔥

From terror to intimacy...

Throwback to our quarantined Easter 2020. I came upon this memory of praying with my family and the word that came to me was “intimacy.”⁣
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I have done so many things wrong as a mother and wife. As I approach 25 years with my husband, I am finally starting to understand one thing…⁣
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My power as a parent does not come from my ability to manage my home, but in my surrender to Jesus Christ.⁣
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My husband’s witness has taught me that. This photo reminds me. His strength in his duties is admirable. But nothing moves me to goodness and repentance like his humility in service and love of the Lord.⁣
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It is that quality which first brought me to Christ and inspired me to enter into relationship with Him. It is that quality which helps me stay steady in faith when I otherwise might run.⁣
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One of the greatest gifts God has allowed me to receive is the gift of sickness. He permitted me to lose control. To experience profound humiliation and confusion. To be stripped of identity in the world so that I could no longer hide from Him.⁣
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I found Him in the darkness. And He replaced my terror with Intimacy.⁣
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I know that my household does not look like my musings on Instagram. We are sinners. I fail daily in my living testimony. But perhaps somewhere in all the busyness and disorder, my kids will be moved to surrender.⁣
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Dear Jesus, capture me. Capture the hearts of my family. Draw us constantly into intimacy with You.

Exult!

“Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!⁣⁣
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Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness.⁣⁣
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Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice, arrayed with the lightning of his glory, let this holy building shake with joy, filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.⁣”⁣
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* Excerpt from the Exultet, the hymn in praise of the paschal candle sung in the liturgy of Holy Saturday.⁣⁣

Lots to share tomorrow... from engagements (life moves quickly, friends) to the “Easter potato.”⁣
Until then...⁣
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Happy Easter, friends! He is risen indeed! 🔥

Am I changed?

Last Easter was the most transformative of my life. Separated from the sacraments and community during the holiest week of the liturgical year, we observed and celebrated in our own way...⁣
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* Lighting our Paschal fire like St. Patrick did in defiance of the pagan darkness. His Paschal fire illuminated and changed Ireland... and the world. We prayed to be like Patrick.⁣
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* Diving into the Scriptures and taking consolation there. Making our home a true Domestica Ecclesiae.⁣
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* Treasuring the presence of family. My response to the world’s perpetual “Are they all yours?” is now the deep consolation of that Easter Vigil night. I will not forget.⁣
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I grieved in the darkness and the Lord consoled me. And I vowed to never take another Easter for granted.⁣ Now here we are a year later and our church doors have been opened while so many are still closed. And I examine my heart...⁣
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Am I changed?⁣
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I am still the same foolish sinner I was last year. I still managed to waste much of Lent. I am tired and lazy. I have already forgotten lessons learned even though the grief lingers. But still...⁣
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There is a fire that remains. And He has taught me many things about worship.⁣
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As we head into the darkness of Holy Week, I feel the memory of last year’s transformation start to change me again. Because our faith memories are not just stories... they are His Presence.⁣
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Enter in. It is time to be changed again...⁣
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Draw us back, Lord. Renew us again. 🔥⁣
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God gave me a choice: All or nothing

Yesterday, I had the privilege of sharing part of my conversion story with @jimhavens@the_simple_truth_show . As usual, I can’t recall much of what I said (nerves will do that) but I do know that the Eucharist is at the center of everything.⁣
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There have been times when my faith in the institution has been rocked and I’ve been forced to examine, from every angle, my belief and what holds me in that belief.⁣
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If I ever left Catholicism, I couldn’t become a Protestant. I would have to leave Christ completely... because the pivotal transformation of my life happened at the invitation of our Eucharistic Lord Himself.⁣
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And if I left Him, my departure would be a shout of “Non Serviam!”— like Lucifer — instead of the squishy fading away into unbelief.⁣
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The human face of the Church is broken, hardened, hypocritical, abusive, and even in the service of the enemy at times. There have been moments when my heart has been broken and I have been tempted to conflate the promises of Christ with those imposters who defile the sanctuary and fool the faithful by wearing robes of Christ. But...⁣
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When I was 18 years old, our Lord gave me a choice. Between belief and unbelief. Between the glitter of the world and the miraculous of the mundane presented in a tiny white host.⁣
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In the Scriptures, Jesus asks his disciples, “Will you also go away?” (John 6: 22-71). And when He asked me, I answered...⁣
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I’ll stay, Lord. I will worship my God, present in the Holy Eucharist, fully believing and embracing the consequences of that belief.⁣
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It is a time of great evil and of great miracles. My own testimony is a great miracle—an impossible rescue—brought about in the silence of a soul and the little details of one life.⁣
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Ask for your miracle.⁣
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Ask Him today to give you the gift of desire. Of fidelity. Of passion. Of vision. Ask Him to bring you the miracle that you need to stay with Him forever.⁣
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Then arrange everything in your life to allow for that miracle to happen.⁣
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“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thes. 5: 16-18)

The difference between Peter and Judas

Fulton Sheen on the difference between the failures of Peter and Judas... and on the reason that people leave Christ...⁣
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“It is interesting to make a comparison of Peter and Judas. Our Lord warned both that they would fail. They both failed, they both denied or betrayed the Lord and they both repented. But the difference in the word repent is that Judas repented unto himself and Peter repented unto the Lord. They were the same up to that point. St. Paul therefore says there are two kinds of sorrow, the sorrow of the world and the sorrow of true faith...”⁣
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“... We do know the reason of the fall (of Judas) and may that reason sharpen the resolution of our will so that we will not fail the Eucharist. If we could read the hearts of those who have left, faith broke, it snapped somewhere making light of the Eucharist, anything at all but no longer the sense of the invisible and the beautiful presence of Christ.”⁣
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Save us, Lord, from the sins of both Peter and Judas. Grant us the grace to cling to Your Eucharistic beauty and throw ourselves on your unfathomable Mercy. Amen.

**quote excerpt from Conference # 10 given by Archbishop Sheen for the Priests of the Archdiocese of Washington at Loyola on Potomac Retreat House during their annual Priest’s Retreat, 1974.

What you need to know before seminary...

"My son was in seminary." When people hear that, it seems simple enough. But when I say it, the recollection is of a life-changing event... like a car accident or a bad breakup. An experience that you survived but with complicated emotions, some scars, some residual pain, a different perspective on life, and some beautiful and powerful manifestations of God's grace.⁣⁣
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Since I wasn't in seminary, that part isn't my story to tell. But as a parent, I have a perspective that I believe is important. Not because I'm special or unique... but because God allowed me to experience it and it is part of my testimony. It has become part of my personal call to serve the Church.⁣⁣
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Perhaps my words can help a future priest navigate difficulties.⁣⁣ Perhaps some parents can be better equipped to assist.⁣⁣
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The Church is clearly in crisis. We cannot wish that away. What we can do is apply intellect to faith (as it should be) and start to reclaim ground and heal what is broken.⁣⁣
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When a man enters the seminary doors, he walks onto a battlefield. He is giving his assent to be fitted with the future crown of martyrdom. Like the Apostles before Him. Like Christ.⁣⁣
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Before entering, he should already be a man, with a healthy spiritual, mental, and physical formation. He must be open to learning while, at the same time, prepared for the possibility of having to navigate wrong teaching and complicated peer and formator relationships.⁣⁣
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Our rosaries and the hours on our knees on behalf of our children may be enough in the end but, then again, they may not. Prayer moves mountains, but bad formation is not undone simply by a mother’s fervent desire. If we throw our kids into a den of hungry wolves and then pray a rosary for their safety…well…we shouldn’t be surprised to see their bodies torn to shreds.⁣⁣
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How can we prepare our sons to answer the call BEFORE they get to seminary? I try to answer that (in part) in an article called "What Catholic Parents Need to Know Before a Son Enters Seminary."⁣⁣ I'd be grateful if you would give it a read. This topic is critically important to all the faithful. AMDG

"Sit down and shut up" (the crutch of false charity)

Before I was a Christian, I was a pro-abort feminist. And the truth made me angry. I had no compassion for unborn babies because I could not see them. I was blinded with an anger and irritation that was irrational and fierce… a deep spiritual darkness which covered my intellect and emotions.⁣
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It was ultimately that anger which drove me to the point of grace and conversion. And I thank God for people who were willing to be hated for the sake of my soul and the lives of the vulnerable.⁣
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Do not be afraid of upsetting people with the truth. Their passion indicates that their soul is still alive and can be awakened to fullness in Christ. It is persistent apathy and numbness which are the more deadly.⁣
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“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16)⁣
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It is often the angry ones who are still alive enough to be uncomfortable and willing to grapple. (That was me.) Even if their actions are upsetting and evil, it means they have to fight THAT hard to guard themselves from beliefs that threaten their attachments.⁣
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Christian women are naturally sensitive to the reactions and feelings of others. That is as it should be. But we should remember that we cannot control others’ reactions and that we can’t minister to all hearts at the same time. The order of love for a soul is specific and personal.⁣
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It is the Lord who does the work and He works in His time. When a soul is ready, we pray to be made useful in some way. But for the most part, we will never know how we have impacted others.⁣
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There are Christians to whom I was accusatory before my conversion (and almost certainly after). And I hope that my emotion and error didn’t shake their confidence in Truth.⁣
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It is possible that I led people away from Christ, and I thank God for others who opposed me even when I tried to shame them.⁣ Then there were the “peacemakers”who wanted all of the uncomfortable people to be quiet... and lukewarm.⁣
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True charity comes in many forms. An emotional crutch for those attached to sin, error, or comfort is not one of them. Be not afraid. 🔥

Capturing God Without a Lens

Every time I walk into this church when the sun is shining, I see this stained glass window illuminated. It is breathtaking. And every time, I take out my phone and try to capture what I see.⁣
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I’ve never been able to do it with this device. Always just a blob of shining light. It’s like a private joke that the Lord shares with me, reminding me that I’m constantly disappointed by my ability to capture God, instead of resting in the delight of experiencing Him.⁣
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My daughter recently spoke to me about things of God and this image reminded me today of her words...⁣
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She talked about how dull life is without Christ. And how even the most beautiful song of praise can sound like grating noise when we are not attentive to His Presence. She said she didn’t want to live that deadly boring kind of life, behind a wall of sin or ignorance of Christ. And she prayed over me... and I rested.⁣
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I thought of my window and the clarity I desire. When I step into church and I catch my breath and stand in awe for a second just before I put the phone lens between me and the vision God created in me...⁣
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Life is stunning. Even grief reveals the shocking depth of love with which we are designed. Nothing would hurt if we didn’t first fall into love.⁣
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Repentance seems to begin with allowing the lens of dullness to be stripped.
No numbing agents.
No filters.
No blindness.
No crutch.⁣
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Terrifying.
Breathtaking.
And God willing, we will allow Him to make us strong enough to withstand His piercing light, flourish within it, and not seek to repackage it behind a comfortable lens.⁣
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Overcome me, Lord. I am not strong enough to will it. ❤️

Masking in Church (My Article in Crisis Magazine)

My article on masking in church is live this morning at Crisis. Please share it with your friends, family... and perhaps your pastor: The Audacity of Exhaling
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“In the parish church, the joyful and the anxious come together to exhale in exclamations of praise, thanksgiving, and lamentation. It is time to breathe again together, without anxiety, before the Throne of Grace, and to reveal, without shame, the delightful imprint of the Imago Dei in our beloved faces.”⁣
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Read my full piece at the Crisis Magazine website. Much gratitude to the bold and faithful editors for their willingness to host this important discussion... and for inviting me to the table.⁣
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Serviam. ❤️

Pro-life or Pro-Birth? Toppling the Straw Man

There’s an argument used against pro-life Christians that some Catholics have been carelessly throwing around lately. They think it’s a clever way of speaking about social justice. It’s not. And I’ll tell you why...⁣
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The phrase is: “You’re not pro-LIFE, you’re only pro-BIRTH.”⁣
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The implication is that pro-lifers don’t love the baby or mom beyond birth. After birth, they don’t care, don’t help, don’t support.⁣
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It’s ridiculous on its face. A straw man argument. A stale canard used primarily by people who are pro-abortion or by young pro-lifers who have been taken in by confusing rhetoric. And what most young Catholics don’t know is...⁣
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... that it was first used in 1994 by a heretical pro-abort religious sister named Joan Chittister. She didn’t use it because she’s pro-life from womb to tomb... she used it because she isn’t. It was an attempt to shame conservative Christians into supporting her preferred social programs. And to undermine the integrity of their anti-abortion work.⁣
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Sometimes her quote is shared online with a picture of her before she shed her habit. But you should know that she is no traditional nun. And she is pro-abortion.⁣
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How do I know? Because when I was a feminist pro-abort, she was one of my heroes. (Down with the patriarchy. Up with women priests. Forward with reproductive rights.)⁣
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I encourage Catholics to reject this “pro-birth” phrasing since it is designed to obscure truth and manipulate the conversation.⁣
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You don’t have to prove your pro-life commitment to anyone but the good Lord. And you don’t have to support specific social programs in order to be dynamically pro-life.⁣
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To those Christians who want to suppress the focused anti-abortion message in the name of “social justice”....⁣
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I have the authority to cry out against abortion even if I cannot help all those directly in need. I am only one woman and I do my best. But abortion is the torture and murder of children... and I am compelled by love to cry out against it. My authority to speak rests on Christ, not on my perfection. Not on my works.⁣
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I am pro-life. I am also pro-birth. There is no contradiction. And I will not be manipulated into silence.

Give them names. (I will not be complicit)

After hearing Bishop Strickland speak on the use of aborted children in vaccines, I have been trying to change my language when speaking about "fetal cells." He remarked that these children should have names. That their humanity should be acknowledged. By using medical terminology, we contribute to the dehumanization and loss of perspective.⁣
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We should have a clear and strong sense that we are using people to get what we desire. And that this is morally unacceptable.⁣
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They are children who should have names. So I have been changing "fetal" to "baby" and using "boy" or "girl" at times when the source of the cell line is known... and the response is interesting. Such a small shift and yet people notice. Even from fellow Catholics, the reaction is sometimes irritation that I'm using "sensational" language to try to elicit an emotional response.⁣
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But that's the point. Abortion SHOULD elicit an emotional response. It is alarming, horrifying, and almost unbelievable in its scope of evil targeted toward the living person of the child.⁣
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If you have a negative emotional reaction to the idea that children are being murdered, dissected, (sometimes dissected before death) and used for medical research and products, that's good news. Your conscience is still functioning. It is when you no longer have an appropriate emotional response to such horrific acts that you should be worried.⁣
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Remember when Christians were appalled that Pepsi was using babies to test their products? Where is that same outrage over pharma using babies to test and develop vaccines?⁣
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We are being acclimated to the boiling pot. We must restore our sensitivity to other people. We must be willing to be among the minority who say:⁣
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I will not be complicit.⁣
I will not use people.⁣
Not directly.⁣
Not remotely.⁣
Not for a can of pop.⁣
Not for the plague.⁣
Not for a high survival virus.⁣
Not if I have any knowledge of the abuse and the crime.

Run energetically towards Christ!

Run energetically towards Christ!⁣
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Americans are prone to depression at Christmas because we have made “the season” an idol. We have forgotten that the true joy of Advent is running energetically towards Christ.⁣
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He is the goal. And anything short of Christ leaves us feeling agitated and incomplete. This is why the Church describes Advent as a “little Lent”… because when our beloved seasonal emotion, beauty, and “magic” is separated from Christ, it does not satisfy. And it does us good to simplify rather than to multiply.⁣
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“Only one thing in life matters. Being worthy of the Light of the World in the hour of His visitation.” - Ven. Fulton Sheen⁣
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There’s a part of me that wants to make Christmas “extra” this year. To balance out the anxiety of the world with sparkly things. But I’m also wrestling with the thought that perhaps this is one of the greatest Christmas opportunities I’ve ever had…⁣
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To understand Christmas joy without all the props and consolations.⁣
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Certainly, my home will be decorated and my family will feast! But this idea (shared by a priest this weekend) of running energetically towards Christ is tugging at me. And causing me to withdraw a bit from the elaborate trappings of a world that has forgotten Christ. And which is seeking to replace Him with good feelings and purchases.⁣
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Are you running with me?⁣
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Come what may, let’s be His little children who hear the key rattling in the door and race to greet Him in the hall. No matter what… He comes! And how will we be disposed to greet Him?

Reclaiming our names. Leading armies.

One of my precious people turned 16 yesterday. She asked to make her own cake and it is beautiful.⁣⁣⁣
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I noticed that she didn’t write her name on the cake like I always try to do. Their names are so special to me and I missed it.⁣⁣⁣ Her name is long and difficult to write with icing. Perhaps it would not have fit very well with her pretty design. But I missed it.⁣⁣⁣
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My heart was heavy yesterday. My husband looked into my eyes and said “Are you feeling discouraged?” and I thought if we were somewhere private that I would have collapsed into his arms and wept.⁣⁣⁣
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We had both watched footage of violent activists assaulting peaceful people in DC. The elderly, the weak, with children around, with no compunction...⁣⁣⁣
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They have been overtaken by evil. They have lost the love they were born with. They erase our names. And their own. Empathy is dead.⁣⁣⁣
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My daughter’s cake is beautiful and so is her age. It just struck me on a heavy day that she has been born into a time calling for people to give their lives to defend the identity of other...⁣⁣⁣ and one of the signs of evil will always be the violence against the individual, the family, and God.⁣⁣⁣
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I can hear the complaints now... “why must everything be about politics?” It’s not about politics... but about the assault against Christ in us by those who have rejected Him.⁣⁣⁣
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My daughter is beautiful and bold. She is growing into a person I admire. She was made for these times.⁣⁣⁣
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St. Joan of Arc was 16 the first time she petitioned the garrison commander to take her to the royal court. She was 18 when she led her first army. My oldest two girls are 20 and 16.⁣⁣⁣
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If I make it into heaven, I will hug the girl named Joan. Thank her, love her, worship with her. And today I do some of those things, and also ask her to assist my daughters⁣⁣.⁣
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My girl’s name was not on the cake, but I keep placing it there in my mind. It is our role as mothers (of our own and of the world) to continually do so... and to place those names before the throne of God.⁣⁣⁣
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As the world abandons Christ, let us make Him known. And commit ourselves to defending the identity of every soul. 🔥