Marching on Washington DC and Storming Heaven

Here is a photo I took of a portion of the 30,000 people, mostly young people, at the Verizon Center. It was a great program with music, uplifting testimonies, the rosary and the greatest prayer of all--the Eucharist! It was a super experience. I hadn't been to the Verizon event previously. It has gotten so big that there was a parallel event at the DC Armory.

I am 42 now and have gotten discouraged at times wondering if things will really change regarding abortion. I hadn't been to the March for several years for various reasons and I was encouraged by changes that I saw. For one the Verizon event was so wrapped in prayer! When we got to the Mall, the talks by the politicians were "shout out"s to their states and encouraging words for all those involved. It wasn't a time to go on about every topic on the politicians agenda nor was it a time of bashing other people--at least all that I heard. Another difference I appreciated was the signs of life rather than death. The signage that people carried showed live babies within the womb and already born accompanied by a message. Only once did I see a gruesome picture and that was on the side of a truck. I think "40 Days for Life" through its events has tried to promote the signs showing life rather than death.

I was at a wonderful college student conference this past weekend (FOCUS-Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Many of the students were staying over for the March for Life on Monday. Others couldn't and felt bad. It was a good opportunity to remind them that there are many ways to advocate for the unborn and the March is just one of those ways.

Tonight at the State of the Union Address, there will be some Republicans sitting on the Democrat side and some Democrats sitting on the Republican side. An action I find very encouraging--a sign of hope. So, if our politicians can come together for the good of the citizens of the United States, then yes miracles can happen! We have a new wave of young people who are ready with fresh ways to advocate for the newborn and to give the rest of us renewed hope that the lives of the unborn will soon be protected by our law.

Let us continue to storm heaven!

State of the Union on Abortion

I received the information below in a recent email from Maryland Right to Life. It is so striking that I think it needs to be shared especially as many people head to Washington, DC on Monday.

"Maryland Abortion Rate Declines Slightly; Abortion Still Far from Rare
The infamous mantra since the 1990s has been “safe, legal, and rare.” However, recent statistics, even from pro-abortion sources, continue to disprove the mantra.

New York City made the headlines recently when it was announced that over 40 percent of all pregnancies in the city ends in induced abortion.

New data recently released by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, formerly the research arm of Planned Parenthood, show that in 2008, Maryland moved from third to fourth place in terms of abortion rate (the number of abortions per 1,000 women age 15 to 44). Maryland‘s abortion rate ranks fifth if Washington, D.C., is considered.

There were 34,290 abortions in Maryland in 2008 and a total of 34 abortion providers in Maryland. Its abortion rate was 29, about 48 percent higher than the national abortion rate of 19.6.

The number of abortions actually increased Maryland since 2005 (the year of the last Guttmacher report), but the abortion rate declined from 31.5 to 29. The number of abortion providers also declined; in 2005 there were 41.

The 2005 report howed only New York and New Jersey with higher abortion rates than Maryland. In the 2008 report, Delaware surpassed all three states as its abortion rate shot up 39 percent, from 28.8 to 40.

Maryland was one of 23 states with a declining abortion rate, possibly due in part to the decline in the number of abortion providers. The abortion rate increased in 26 states and remained the same on one.

Maryland‘s high abortion rate is not surprising considering the lack of protective laws in Maryland, where abortions can be performed on demand with no consideration for the impact on the life of the unborn or the woman.

Maryland also has a relatively dense population, so most women are able to obtain an abortion nearby. Maryland’s large racial minority population also is a factor in Maryland’s high abortion rate, as abortion rates tend to be significantly higher among Black and Hispanic women."

Check out this website to find out more about your state: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/ What are you doing to help protect the unborn?

Wisdom in the 'Hood

Wisdom is much sought out. We have people we seek out for advice regarding our studies or work. There are others we go to for relationship or spiritual issues. So, if you are considering the possibility of being a Sister, then seek wisdom from those who have experience.

Sr. Liz decided to share some wisdom from our Sisters-- advice that would be helpful to those beginning the journey of discerning a vocation as a Sister. This video is a small gathering of those voices of experience.

I invite you to check out our other videos on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/daughtersofcharityus

What dream did God give you?

Is this not the best t-shirt for vocations? January 9th-15th is National Vocation Awareness Week. These days, it is always national something day, week or month. So, how can this week be different? Can we encourage each baptized person--each child of God--to stop and ask the question that comes from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"? What is God's dream for me that was planted deep within me? Maybe it was planted just before my first cell split into 2. God's dream for me is inseparable from my own "finding myself", from my finding joy here on earth.

So often when we talk about vocation it is just about being a priest or being a sister or brother. But there are other lifestyle vocations in the Church! What about the vocation of marriage? Do we encourage young people to take their marriage decisions to prayer and to discern that choice? What about the vocation to the single life? I don't mean being single because a person can't find a date. I mean that conviction that one is meant to remain single to fully live out one's dream.

In society these days dreams are often lost except the dream of being rich and popular. Those are not dreams God plants within us. They may be by-products or means of God's dream, but not the core.

So, during this week, may we be dream-seekers. May we each seek the dream which God has given us and which is woven into our being through our gifts, skills, personality and faith.

My becoming a Daughter of Charity was not about choosing a job or roommates. I was following a dream that God was revealing to me in so many ways---a dream to grow in holiness through ministry, supported through faith-filled women and lifted daily in prayer. It is a dream for which I have no regrets for following--only joyful gratitude!

Models of the Path of Peace

What a week of feast days this is! January 1st-Mary Mother of God, January 2nd-Epiphany, January 3rd-Holy Name of Jesus, January 4th-our American foundress, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and others to follow the rest of the week! What an inspiring was to start a new year. As Daughters of Charity, throughout the world we are in retreat December 31st each year and on the 1st we have a special consecration. We consecrate this year to the glory of God as modeled by Blessed Mother. I will share just a couple of lines:


"Help us to move forward, during this year, along the pathway of poverty, purity and simplicity in the joy of community. Only then will we be able to witness to your Kingdom of justice, and collaborate in the building up of a world of love and peace."


January 1st was also the 25th World Day of Prayer for Peace. Pope Benedict XVI's message for the day was "Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace." In the last section of his message, he writes, "Peace is a gift of God and at the same time a task which is never fully completed...peace is the result of a process of purification and of cultural, moral and spiritual elevation involving each individual and people, a process in which human dignity is fully respected." That is a great challenge for each of us around the world--love God and respect others totally and selflessly. Hate and fear is stirred up so easily toward strangers. I suppose part of the process for creating the path to peace is to be willing to walk and talk with strangers or perceived enemies. That is where we can find the "common ground" encouraged and nurtured by Cardinal Bernardin. I suppose that saying about "walking a mile in someone else's shoes" is the way of understanding and compassion--the way to peace.

This is not a peace of luke-warmness and the least common-denominator, but of drawing each other to greater wholeness and holiness. How inspiring is my life and how I live it? How about yours? Is Christ shining through our broken humanity? I hope He is and that each day Christ's light might shine a little more brightly in your and my life.