Reclaiming Our Children

March 28-Lenten Meditation-Men

Today’s Readings

 

My child is doing this work,

 

Margaret Hannah is the vessel that God is using for this work. She is helping God heal her father’s heart, and mother’s heart. The wound of abortion is layered, and the process of healing is an agony of love into the arms of the Father and Mary Immaculate. A Dad can only develop this relationship with his child through heaven, I cannot raise her physically, but I can find her in heaven, in the arms of Mama and Papa. I have an identity as a husband, father, and missionary. To know my identity is most necessary to do the work of God. One layer of my identity, and a man’s deepest mission is being the protector of the heart; this is the place that God has touched me with Margaret’s hands. He showed me my misery. Without God and my child, this wound would not have become a lifegiving wound; it would have become sterile. God started the work cleaning and revealing the infection of anger, impatience, and revenge.

Oh, Margaret is doing mighty work! Daddy’s heart is healing! God is allowing me the opportunity to form a relationship with my daughter in the most intimate way. The Lord is expanding the tent of my heart, but also revealing my child’s dignity, her mission, and her identity.

 

No matter the age, Margaret has an identity and these words are flowing from her heart into mine; this is her work. Jesus is giving me the grace to stand in the wound of abortion (He suffered her death in the moment) and the Lord is bringing me deeper into the heart of my child; but also giving me the opportunity to raise my child, spiritually. God is raising me to her, in a way, she is raising me. Margaret is closer to heaven than I am, and my heart is being formed through the true love between a child and her father.

The knowledge of forgiveness is a grace and it allows me to love my daughter with a clean heart; but also gives me a deeper awareness of God’s mercy. In reality, my daughter is a saint because she is in heaven. I could not be more proud of her, my daughter became a saint!

 

But the righteous one, though he died early, shall be at rest. For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time, nor can it be measured in terms of years. The one who pleased God was loved, living among sinners, was transported. Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for his soul was pleasing to the LORD, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness. ~Wisdom 4:7-8, 10, 13-14

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/4

Micah Parsons

The Two Wars

This is my talk for the Personhood Walk on March 25th - The Feast of the Annunciation

 

Good morning- What a beautiful day to be speaking about the dignity of life-the feast of the biggest “yes” to life, the annunciation!

Life, the ultimate gift of love- and yet in our world so much is going on that is a rejection of that very gift.

For weeks now many of us have been riveted to our TV’s. We are horrified with the scenes coming out of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis the war has created.

We have seen pictures of mothers fleeing their country and their homes with their children in an effort to keep them safe from the violence of war in their homeland.

In countries they are fleeing to, like Poland, other mothers have left their carriages for the refugees coming off the trains, knowing that they have been travelling for days carrying their children. We have been watching the plight of mothers who will do anything to protect her children from harm.

It is in our nature. Each one of us can relate to that.

Yet, here in America we have a very different war the war of abortion, that people seem to be blind to because it is not projected by the media on our TV screens. We pass these places of violence every day without a thought. In fact, it is covered up as if not seeing it makes it less of a reality.

Here, we have mothers proclaiming their right to abortion, the right to kill their unborn children, because that is what abortion is, the right to kill them in their words: “at any time, for any reason without exception or apology.” The ultimate rejection of love

Both mothers with two very different objectives, one protecting children at any cost, the other wanting to ensure the ability of their destruction at any cost.

Sadly, many who succumb to abortion because of pressures or believing the lies, find out way too late the consequences of their decision. In both cases we are speaking of human life that should be treated with dignity and worth, each one a unique gift of God.

I have recently often found myself deep in thought about these two wars. They are very personal to me. They have also created a special bond with one of my sons.  A bond that very much speaks to the dignity of human life, or the lack of it, and the impact it has not only on those lives lost, but all who encounter the violence and the trauma of these experiences, and that is every single one of us whether we realize it or not

You see, my son was a recon marine who served at the height of the Iraq war. He knows what it is like to see the life snuffed out of someone through violence. He has felt deeply its loss not only as it was happening in the death and injury of friends, but years after, as he watched some of those, he served with commit suicide or become incapable of resuming life as before because of what they had experienced. He also happens to presently have been living in Kyiv Ukraine, watching the violence, humanitarian crisis and the destruction and attacks on human life.

I have been on the front lines of the abortion war for over thirty years both as someone who has had an abortion and saw the horror of my dead son and hence the truth of what abortion is. I suffered for years what many who have had abortions suffer, shame, guilt, depression, anxiety, and no, it was not because of my religious beliefs – it was because I participated in taking the life of my child. I also am someone who has ministered to thousands suffering because of abortion over the years. Women, men and even siblings who interiorly feel the loss in their souls, of innocent unborn babies who often are silently suffering because of abortion.

This disregard for the dignity of human life, whether it is in the violence of the Ukrainian war or the violence of abortion damages not only those who have died, but those who have been touched by these grievous losses.

Imagine being the mother or father who finally face the fact that they have participated in the death of their child or being the sibling who deals with the conflict within of distress over the loss of a sibling while at the same time wondering if they would even be here if the abortion had not occurred.

These are experiences that shape a person, which shape their lives, which shapes our world. Experiences that attack the value and dignity of the beauty of human life, both those of the unborn and those abortion touches, experiences of that my son and I will carry with us forever in this earthly life.

In many ways it has brought us closer together because we both recognize the depths of the loss, a depth that also reflects the value of each life by the emptiness felt inside.

Human life is sacred, from conception to natural death. It is not our place to interrupt it.by abortion or by war.

President Zelensky of Ukraine recently said: “If the world becomes aside, it will lose itself. Forever and ever. For there are unconditional values. For everyone, the same. This is life first and foremost. The right to life for everyone. Exactly what we fight for in Ukraine. Exactly what these weak invaders want to deprive us of. Exactly what the world needs to be protected,” (

I wrote this talk before anything was said about consecrating Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate hearts of Mary. On this beautiful Feast of the Annunciation we are reminded of the self-giving love of Mary, of her “yes” to the plan of redemption from our sins

I believe both war and abortion are the ultimate rejection of love, but all is not lost. Amid the horror of both wars, we see the beauty of humanity by the generosity of people. People like you out here this morning to remind the world what abortion really is. My son has also told me more than once how impressed he is with those helping the refugees, especially in Poland where they have taken into their homes over a million.

The Polish people know the horror of war firsthand. They have experienced the rejection of love. But love conquers sin and death whether it is in Ukraine or an abortion. Jesus, conquered it on Calvary.

"He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." (1John 2:2)

May Mary the mother of us all, on this beautiful feast day of the annunciation, hold each one of us under her mantle. May she hear our prayers today, end the violence and lead us safely to her Son, Mercy Itself who is waiting to heal each one of us.

Theresa Bonopartis

Prodigal Som March 27

Link to Todays Readings

"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.!"

Amazing, the Lord eats with sinners ! In fact, the Lord desires to eat with sinners, he came from heaven to eat with sinners, he came from heaven to forgive sinners, he came from heaven to lead sinners to heaven!!!

I n today's Gospel from Luke the familiar story of the Prodigal Son in some ways is a story of a man who could not believe that after what he had done that is Father could forgive him! Not only forgive him but welcome him back with love and rejoicing, with celebration and great mercy.

This gospel is so needed today l especially for those who cannot believe in God's Great mercy and forgiveness. In the gospel the Father not only waits for his son with anticipation but runs out to greet him... Embraces him and carries him back home! This Is the Love he wants each of us to experience, especially those who return to God with repentance and carry the guilt of their sin!

This Is the Love the God reveals to us in the sacrament of reconciliation! And this is the joy that is for us a window into heaven where God's love will be revealed completely... and those who have experienced his Mercy will rejoice forever in the Kingdom prepared for them from the creation of the world.               How often have we said to God "I no longer deserve to be called your son....your daughter!"... And OUR HEAVENLY Father catches sight of us in our pain and is filled with compassion!!   "This child of mine was dead and has come back to life again; my child was lost, and has been found!"

Fr Mariusz Koch, CFR

Today spend some time in prayer imagining God the Father running out t meet you. He is there waiting!

March 26- Jesus forgives

“I think God hates me!” I blurted out to the newly ordained priest assigned to our parish.  I was in RCIA, not yet a Catholic, but I knew that I couldn’t enter the Church with this stain on my soul.

I often think back to that conversation, it was the first time I told a priest what I had done. I expected confirmation that I had indeed committed an unforgivable sin but what I received was my first real experience of God’s mercy. This young priest assured me that God didn’t hate me, and even offered that it was clear God was calling me back to Him.

Wait……. what? Was that possible?

O come, let us return to the Lord, He will heal us, He will bind our wounds.

A few years later I felt moved to attend a Post Abortion Day of Reflection.  If I’m honest, that day was one of the worst in my life.  Even though it had been more than 15 years since my abortion, I hadn’t yet faced the gravity of what I had done. The messages of love, encouragement, and mercy that surrounded me that day were so overwhelming I couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

As awful as the day was for me, it was a necessary first step. It allowed me to see how deep my wounds were, and how broken I was as a result of my abortion.  I have since taken a few more steps down my path to healing. Some steps have been easy and others quite painful, but one thing is clear; He never stopped loving me and He never stopped calling to me to come back to Him. I am His beloved daughter and He wants me to be healed.

Today a brave group of women in our Diocese are attending a similar Day of Reflection and for some this may be their first step toward healing.  Please join me in praying that, through this ministry, they experience God’s mercy today and know that God is indeed calling them back to Him.

Helen

The Annunciation- MArch 25

Today's Readings

When I ponder the reading for today for the Feast of the Annunciation, I cannot help but reflect on what I as a therapist call the biggest “Reframe” of the entire world.

The angel said to Mary, “Hail full of Grace.”
I see Mary full of Grace, full of God. That defines what being pregnant is, being full of the gift of life. The word goes on, “and Mary was troubled at the angel’s greeting as he says to her, “do not be afraid Mary.”

I remember being pregnant when I was sixteen and being afraid. Mary was given the grace to be able to participate in the act of God coming into the world through her yes and became the new Eve- her yes is what reframed Eve’s no. She had been prepared for this, but still afraid. I re call how I was prepared to be vulnerable to abortion through sexual abuse and being raised in an alcoholic family system. Yes, I was afraid. My yes to abortion changed me and I decided I no longer deserved love, which led down a spiral of self-hatred, shame, and loneliness.

The fear continued to the point of resisting and fearing God could ever forgive me. I was unable to reach to Him. Jesus knew, and He sought me out, He was always there, I just needed a reframe!

Today the Feast of the Annunciation, I am renewing my consecration to Jesus through Mary, the biggest reframe of my life! Living the consecration means letting go of the shame of my abortions. Sure, I repented a long time ago. But the consecration restored me to the truth of who I am and was meant to be from all eternity.

Essentially it is living with Mary in Her Yes to bringing Jesus into the world. This privilege affords a life of holiness in the truth that I am forgiven, and God is not finished re-writing my story, reframing my mind in truth, restoring me to wholeness. Abortion fragments the mind, steals the truth from a person’s soul, extinguishes dignity, value and the beloved ness we were all created for. Saying yes to Jesus day by day as Mary did, reframes my mind to the truth with the idea that I am God’s beloved daughter. Through the consecration I have all the support I need to bring forth Jesus into the world just like Mary did. “Hail full of Grace, the Lord is with You.” By giving myself to Mary as a slave of God’s love, I hide myself in Her. There is no greater abode than the arms of Our mother. Totus Tuus!

Jesus living in Mary prayer comes to mind.

O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness, in the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways, in the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries. Rule over every adverse power, in your Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.

Eileen

Forgive Yourself Lent March 24

Today’s Readings

“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, for I am gracious and merciful.”

In the verse before today’s Gospel, the Lord invites us to return to Him, no matter where we have been, no matter what we have done. It’s almost incomprehensible that God could love us so much that there is no sin He would not forgive if we just turned back to Him with humble and contrite hearts.

Just like the people in the first reading today, with my hardened heart, I turned not just my face, but my back to God as well. Perhaps my biggest struggle in healing from my abortions has been finding the faith to believe that God could really forgive me. It is easy to wrap your mind around the fact that God is love and God is mercy. However, it is not so easy to understand this on the level of the heart. Yes, I get it God, but how could you forgive me for taking the lives of my children and going against everything I was created to be: a caregiver, a mother, and a nurturer? I know that you can forgive other sins, by my sin is worse…I don’t deserve it. This thought never left me when I finally turned back to God and asked Him to forgive my sins from so long ago.

Thanks be to God for placing good and holy people in my path, especially a young priest and the amazing women of Project Rachel who helped me to find the faith to really believe that no sin is bigger than God. It took me years to understand this, and I’ve finally been given the gift of knowing deep in my heart that it’s really true.

God saw me in every moment of all those years that I was too afraid to turn back to Him. He saw my shattered heart, counted all my tears, and knows that if I could go back and choose again, I would make another choice. He knows everything about me, and despite it all, He wanted me to be healed and to be whole again so I could discover His plan for my life and become the woman he created me to be. He loved me in spite of my disbelief and waited patiently for me to learn this truth.

God has a plan for each of us. None us are a mistake. None of us are beyond His mercy. Today, spend some time with Jesus and ask Him to reveal to you God’s perfect plan for your life. Each of has a purpose and a gift to share with others by living out God’s plan for our lives. Spend some time in prayer and find out what God’s perfect plan for your life is.

JKB

 

Lent March 23

For so many years, I struggled with feelings of shame, anger and sadness I heard Theresa Bonopartis speak at a mother and daughter breakfast about her abortion. Afterward, I told my husband, ”I don’t have problems like that.” Well, I called the Lumina hotline and I felt relief. The woman on the phone was so reassuring.

 

I attended my first Entering Canaan Day of Prayer & Healing. I learned of God’s love for me as His child worthy of love. As in the reading from Isaiah 49:8-15,” For the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted.”

 

The depth of the mercy of Jesus gave me peace. I continued with the Entering Canaan Ministry I emerged out of my darkness into the light of Christ’s love.

 

In the Gospel according to John 5:17-30, Jesus said, ”Whoever believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.”

My faith continues to be my joy and my strength.

SC

The Promised Land- Lenten Meditation March 20

The Exodus, the passing of the chosen people from slavery to freedom, is a major theme in Lent.  In the First Reading today we hear God ask Moses to say, “Yes” to leading His people out of Egypt, the place of bondage.  God constantly wants to free us from the places where we experience being stuck – bound – enslaved.  Abortion creates a space of slavery like this in the heart of men and women connected to it.

The chosen people wandered for 40 years in the desert before they entered the promised land.  This desert pilgrimage of the Hebrew people is what St. Paul alludes to in the Second Reading today.   But he mentions a line that might initially strike us as odd: “…and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ.”

In the Bible it tells us God provided mana (the bread like substance appearing daily) and he also provided water from a rock so the people could drink.  But how did they continue to drink as they wandered in the desert?  A Jewish tradition says that the rock followed them and they were able to continue to drink from it.  And Paul now identifies the rock as Jesus Christ.

The wounds we bear – shame, fear, emptiness, feelings of rejection, abandonment, and profound failure, as well as hidden grief and numbness of heart – all of this can be like walking in the desert.  The evil one often speaks to us, “You are all alone.  You’re totally messed up and all alone.”  But, true to his style, it’s a bold-faced black lie.  Like the rock St. Paul refers to, Jesus follows us, moment by moment, day by day, ready to give us relief as we turn and ask.  He is with you now…and now again….and now – always now.

Jesus is also the gardener in the Gospel today who doesn’t give up on the tree.  My sister, my brother, Jesus looks upon you and says, “No there’s life there still!  No, I see the goodness within!  There is still a wonderful possibility of this one bearing good fruit.”  He’s right there.  He follows you – gazes on you – longs for you to look back.

Today, ask God to help you recognize how close He is to you.  Even if you don’t feel it, can you trust that it’s true?  Trust it and ask, “Jesus let me know your love.  Jesus, give me to drink.  Jesus, wake me up to the reality of Your Presence and Your profound desire to work on me still.”

And remember, the only failure in the Christian life is to despair and not to persevere in believing this truth: you are loved by Him just like this.

Fr Francis Mary Roaldi, CFR

Men's Lenten Meditation - March 19 Feast of St Joseph

 

Meditation:

Today is the feast of St. Joseph, someone who lived in Palestine around the 1st century from our era, a Jewish man, righteous in the eyes of God, betrothed to a woman who we know gave birth to a child. The stories about him come to us from the tradition of the Gospels, which make up an important part of the collection of books we know as the Bible.  But, who was Joseph?, and how is his life, so long ago, and of which we know so little from the Gospels account, of use and service to us and our healing today.

Well, the answer is faith.

One might ask then, what is faith? According to the Catechism, faith is an adherence to God. An adherence, which in itself means an attachment or a commitment to a person, cause or belief. This word is also defined as the quality of sticking fast to an object. So, again, how does this man's life, or what's more, his faith, affect or influence us today? Who did St. Joseph stick fast to? Who did he attach himself to, and commit his life to, while living in Nazareth? The answer to these questions is a Person, and that Person the source of yours and my salvation and of our healing.

St. Joseph’s life on earth saw him witness, on a daily basis and in as close a proximity as anyone else besides his beloved wife, the tender and powerful love growing in front of him, the child, the boy, and the man Jesus. His life as a working man, a protective husband, and a loving father, was his vocation, or in other words, how The Almighty of Israel called him personally to serve Him in the world. Nothing less than protecting God’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus, the one who came to fulfil the Messianic hope of Israel, protect him by providing a safe and loving home, one where the faith of his people would be taught, and where the values of a loving and tight-knit family would be lived. And so he did! That's one reason why God called him, because he would protect the Holy Family, listening faithfully to God's callings to escape to Egypt, and become a guardian of his wife, the Virgin Mary, and her child.

So, again, how can we, today, almost 2000 years later, connect with with this same Joseph who lived with Jesus in Nazareth, who witnessed his holy birth in Bethlehem, who protected him from the evils that threatened the child’s life, and who committed his life to this adopted son The answer continues to be in the realm of faith. Now a saint in Heaven listening to yours and my prayers, St. Joseph hugged, talked to, fed, and saw everyday in front of him that same Jesus "growing in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour" (LK 2:52). He saw grow that same God who we now know, thanks to Revelation, is a Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. St. Joseph's faith led him to accept the mission to protect a God who became a vulnerable child, and Incarnated God. St. Joseph, through his sense faith and of fatherhood, became the guardian of that family that became the Holy Family, a family where you and me can now rest, trustingly. St. Joseph, guided by God and his Angels, guarded his beloved wife, Mary ever Virgin, and his adopted son, so that you and me can have peace in our hearts. St. Joseph is thus the protector of the Church, the Body where you and I find salvation.

This reality of regular men acting in the plan of God's salvation applies to everyone, to you and me. Definitely not at the level of this powerful spiritual guardian, but nonetheless powerfully, because you and I have been called to repentance, to mercy, and to salvation. As post-abortive men we are being called also to a special kind of healing, a healing that finds in St. Joseph a most powerful protector, a father of fathers, who knows we are broken men and thus intercedes for us with his adopted son and Lord, Jesus, so that we are restored, so that we know and trust in Him who he himself listened to.

St. Joseph was called by God, and he answered. I know we are being called by God, called to let Him in our hearts, so that we learn how to trust Him better, as Joseph did.  Called to have faith, to be adhered to Jesus. We need to remember St. Joseph was a regular man, an Israelite, a working man, vulnerable like all men, yet who said yes to God. Through his yes, Jesus, who many years later would reveal himself to the Apostles as the Messiah, die on a cross a gruesome death for yours and my sins, and be resurrected from the dead winning eternal life for you, me, and everyone who believes in Him, was protected from death by Herod's murderous campaign. As regular men, you and I are also being called to say yes, a big Yes to Jesus, Jesus on the Cross. On the cross His Mercy became available for eternity and for everyone. It washes away yours and my sins. His blood is here now, even more powerfully through St. Joseph's intercession, to cleanse us from our sins of abortion. Jesus' Mercy, Infinite and Divine, real and concrete, becomes a reality in our lives as we adhere ourselves to our Lord, as we commit ourselves to Him, attach ourselves to His Providence, as we stick closer and closer to Him, as we grow in faith, as our protector and father did, St. Joseph.

We are vulnerable men, our past has shown us that quite clearly, and we will continue being vulnerable, sinners, but it is through our weakness that our salvation is worked, and what's more, it is through our sin that many of us had to reach out to Him. God somehow has decided to work through our frailty, our weakness, and He has done this throughout history, it is what is called by learned theologians part of the economy of Salvation, the way God does things here on earth, where so much sin happens, yet where His grace works in us , ‘ My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor 12:7-9). 

Our calling is one of healing. We need to take this as seriously as St. Joseph took his calling. We need to know that, as he was vulnerable, frail, and surely many a time scared, so we too will be and feel all of these. We will then have to make decisions, and those will take us to forks in the road, forks where we either have faith in the God revealed in Christ, the One who is Mercy, or we allow the evil one, the accuser, to condemn our frailty. We will either accept tender love, be open to encounter God’s mercy, be humble enough to say Yes to Jesus Lord, or allow the one who only condemns to do his work of spreading despair. We already know despair, so we should be able to recognize it better. And one thing is sure,  in God there is no despair, but only Hope, Hope in Eternal life. God welcomes us, embraces us, and most importantly, forgives us. We must have faith in this, which is the same as having faith in Him.

As St. Joseph walked this earth with faith, may we also walk the rest of our days, which are short, in faith. Faith in God. The All Powerful God, who knows us better than we know ourselves, who understands us and our weaknesses better than we can ever understand them, and who has reconciled the world to Himself, forever, in the person of Jesus Christ, your Lord and mine.

We just need to trust in this.

May St. Joseph prayers intercede for us, and may they bring Jesus’ Peace to our souls, our homes, and the entire Church. -IP

*Painting of Heart of St Joseph by Michael Corsini  www.michaelcorsini.com

Lenten Meditation March 19

Todays Readings

 

The stone that the builders rejected

     has become the corner stone;

by the Lord has this been done,

     and it is wonderful in our eyes?

 

Rejection is powerful.  An ugly, self-serving tool.  Especially in light of my abortions.

 

I had been rejected by the fathers of my children.  They didn't want me and I didn't want any reminders of that.  So I made the "choice" to reject two of my children.

 

Abortion is an ultimate rejection.  It cannot be undone in this lifetime.  It left my children lifeless and me drowning in the consequences of my rejections.

 

Thankfully, God does not think like man.  He is not vengeful.  He did not let our rejection have the last word.  He conquered our rejection (all of our rejections - even our abortions) with forgiveness and love.

 

Do we trust God enough to believe that our children are in heaven?  That God, and our children, forgive us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation?  That Jesus died so we can have the hope of living together forever with our children and God?

 

Welcome Jesus into every dark place in your heart.  He is worthy of our trust.  He loves you and will never reject or forsake you!

 

Daily challenge: As often as you think of it or need it today repeat the mantra, Jesus I trust in you.  Listen to the song, Redeemed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSyLqbP8Z4I

LH