Ongoing Pro-Life Prayer Gatherings at Abortion Mills in Oregon and Washington

Summer is the right time to get our children involved in the pro-life movement.  The world is trying to take them from Christ.  Praying for Life fortifies them for the fight.  Take them once, it could start a lifetime of rewards and memories.

Beaverton:

Planned Parenthood Beaverton Center  12220 SW First St., two blocks North of SW Hall Blvd., one block South of SW Farmington Rd., near the Beaverton Library. Nearby school: Beaverton High School. Sponsored by St. Cecelia Catholic Church.
 Contact : Marie Barzen : barzenm@frontier.com

Fridays – 8:00 to 10:30 AM

Every Saturday Pro Life Rosary at 8:50 AM

Portland:
Lovejoy Abortion Facility    
922 NW 25th Ave. at Lovejoy St. Park on the neighborhood streets. Three blocks from Good Samaritan Hospital. Nearest church: St. Mary’s Cathedral.

2^nd Saturday of the month— 9:00  3-4 people

4^th Saturday of the month—around 9:00  1 person

Some/most Thursdays and Fridays, 6:30 to 10-ish. Let me know if you want to be contacted about these (somewhat random) days.

·         Currently, all 40 Days for Life campaigns are held at this location.

·         40 DFL occurs twice/year. Once in late Sept (~23^rd) and again during Lent

·         Contact: Therese Ruesink 503 997 1884

Planned Parenthood SE 50^th:
3231 SE 50th Ave., two blocks north of SE Powell Blvd. Nearby school: Franklin High School. Nearest churches: St. Ignatius Catholic Church; St. Stephen’s Catholic Church; Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.
                        Wednesdays – 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
                       Sunday mornings – 9 a.m. Hispanic rosaries and prayers

Contact: Janice Donahue  503 475 3646

Planned Parenthood  N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd   
 3727 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Cross street NE Beech St., one block North of NE Fremont St. Nearby school: Jefferson High School. Closest Churches: Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church; Holy Rosary Catholic Church; Life Change Christian Church.

Wednesdays – 7:30 am – 11:30 am and 1:00 to 5:00 PM

Contact:  Therese Ruesink 503 997 1884

** Planned Parenthood in Vancouvar Center, Vancouvar Washington

5500 NE 109^th Court, Suite A

 Vancouvar Washington, 98662

 Larry (?) is at PP in Vancouver Monday through Friday from 8am to ~ 5pm.

On Thursday the prayer group takes turns from 7:30am to 5 pm.

On Saturday from 10:15am to 11 am.

Peggy Girard heads the prayer group. She doesn't have email. Her phone number is (360) 696-2940. 

** This info might not be current. 


SALEM AREA 

From David:

 I would like to add the following (excerpted from the bulletin of St. Joseph Church in Salem): 

PRO-LIFE PRAYER for an end to abortion (outside Planned Parenthood facility,corner of Coral and Wolverine NE) every Friday, 9:00 a.m. and 2nd Saturdays 8:00 a.m.(Prayer Group), as well as 1st Saturdays 9:00 a.m.(Knights).

If you know of other opportunities to Stand for Life please let us know.

Catholic dioceses nationwide hold teachers to faith and moral standards.

Good news.  Look at the West Coast Archbishop/Bishops who are standing for the Church.  God Bless them.  They need our prayers.

June 26, 2015 (CardinalNewmanSociety) -- In two eye-opening reports, education reform experts at The Cardinal Newman Society have compiled and analyzed employment documents from more than 125 Catholic dioceses in the United States, showing evidence in the Church of a broad and substantial movement toward high standards for Catholic school teachers with regard to faith and morals.

In the past year, several dioceses have announced new “morality clauses” and other improvements to teacher contracts, handbooks and other employment documents, ensuring that teachers are aware of expectations that they model Catholic values and beliefs both inside and outside the classroom. A firestorm of criticism has engulfed Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in San Francisco, who proposed similar changes to local teacher agreements.

But an important study by The Cardinal Newman Society’s Dr. Jamie Arthur, released a couple days ago, shows that Archbishop Cordileone and his fellow bishops have only been implementing standards that the Vatican has required for several decades, wholly consistent with the Church’s vision for Catholic education.

And now two new reports from the Newman Society—authored by Dr. Denise Donohue and Dr. Dan Guernsey, deputy director and director respectively of the Society’s K-12 education programs—clearly demonstrate that the several bishops whose updated teacher standards have been reported by news media are not alone in their efforts. Instead, there appears to be a national consensus among Catholic bishops that faith and morals clauses are needed in teacher agreements.

Archbishop Cordileone, San Francisco

“The work of these researchers provides valuable support to Archbishop Cordileone and the whole Church,” said Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society. “Not only do these reports dispel false claims that the bishops who are implementing strong teacher standards are out of touch with the rest of the Church, but these reports also will help bishops and school leaders engage in a national conversation about the essential role of faithful Catholic teachers and collaborate in strengthening the Catholic identity of America’s Catholic schools.”

In their reports, Drs. Donohue and Guernsey find much diversity in how dioceses articulate their faith and morals standards, and with what sort of employment documents the standards are presented to current and prospective employees in Catholic schools. But some dioceses have been collaborating on specific language, and there are clear themes that run through the standards, with apparent concern for hot-button moral issues that are most likely to cause friction between Catholic schools and teachers who do not fully embrace Catholic values.

The Newman Society authors identify and analyze several outstanding examples of diocesan policies in their paper, Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: Best Practices Brief. “Best practice in invoking a faith or morals clause involves ensuring the teacher understands and participates in the school’s religious mission and is aware of areas of potential moral concern,” write Drs. Donohue and Guernsey.

The “best practices brief” draws upon a much longer, 67-page compilation of sample language from more than 125 dioceses in the United States.


Among the model documents is the “pre-application statement” for teachers in the Diocese of Sacramento, chosen because it includes “a narrative on the mission of the Church and the expectation of employees to share in that mission and give public witness to the Catholic faith through their life choices,” the authors explain.

Provided to prospective teachers before they even apply for a Catholic school position, the Sacramento statement is very specific about Church teaching on issues like marriage—an especially important point given the redefinition of marriage in California and the Supreme Court ruling on marriage expected tomorrow or Monday.

The Diocese informs applicants that “the notion of ‘gay marriage’, and the adoption or placement of children in anything other than a traditional family setting, secularism, the paring back of religious freedom rights, or the restriction of… liberty of conscience, anti-Catholicism, or anti-Catholic biases, [and] the abuse of alcohol or the use of illegal narcotics or other controlled substances” are opposed to Catholic morality and faith. Anyone who is unwilling to “authentically witness the Catholic faith by their lives may wish to reflect and seek pastoral guidance before applying for employment or ministry in the Church,” the Diocese warns.

Other examples of teacher employment documents include stand-alone faith and morals statements, witness statements, belief statements and oaths, employee handbook policies and “safe environment” policies that protect against child abuse but also require teachers’ moral behavior in other respects.
Drs. Donohue and Guernsey note that in addition to explaining particular points of moral concern for the Church, many dioceses will also instruct teachers to consult the Vatican-approved Catechism of the Catholic Church on all moral and faith questions.

“Direct reference to the entire Catechism is a best practice, because it not only solves the potential legal question of where to find authoritative, clearly articulated, and binding theological and moral norms for use in adjudication, but also has the added benefit of addressing a much broader scope of possible flashpoints in a deeper context than can be addressed in an employment document,” the authors advise.

“This helps clarify two important legal questions in a termination related to morality clauses,” they write. “Was the employee aware of what was expected (did they know that their behavior violated expectations), and how is immorality defined or understood in particular instances so as to avoid an arbitrary enactment of the clause by the employer?”

Bishop Vasa, Santa Rosa

The Newman Society authors also have praise for the Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School issued by Bishop Robert Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, because while it is necessary that such documents be “legalistic,” Bishop Vasa takes great care to also ensure “pastoral sensitivity, instruction and clarity.”

The Code explains that “as human beings, we are called by God to a life of holiness. We recognize that, without diminishing our freedom, this call orients us to heed God in our thoughts, words and deeds. We further recognize that this call is all the more compelling for us since, in our lives and vocations as teacher/administrators in a Catholic school, we have been entrusted with the task of helping students ‘arrive at the fullness of the Christian life’ (Canon 794, § 1).”

Therefore, the Code states, it is essential that Catholic school teachers and leaders model an “exemplary life both personally and professionally”—words that also appear in the Diocese’s employment contracts. “Thus, whether we are at school or outside of school, our public behavior is to be in conformity with Church teaching as expounded in The Catechism of the Catholic Church.”
While teaching in a Catholic school can be an extraordinary experience for the faithful Catholic teacher, the authors note that disputes with teachers who run afoul of diocesan standards can be “painful, emotionally and socially charges, and potentially litigious.”

Bishop Barber, Oakland

“Charity, clarity, humility, and justice will all need to come into play in aiming for a peaceful resolution with the employee,” the authors advise, citing the Diocese of Davenport’s termination policies as exemplary in their avoidance of scandal and promotion of “mutual respect, personal integrity and freedom of conscience.”

What the two reports demonstrate, the authors conclude, is that:

…there are different options for Catholic leadership to approach the presentation and enforcement of faith and morals clauses for Catholic school teachers. In seeking to implement faith and morals clauses, it is prudent for the school to ensure that 1) it has properly highlighted the fundamental religious nature of all of its efforts, 2) it has made all teachers aware of their responsibility to advance the religious mission of Catholic education, and 3) it seeks to ensure that the teachers understand the scope of faith and morals transgressions that might result in termination of employment.

Both reports—the best practices brief and the full compilation of diocesan materials—are posted online at The Cardinal Newman Society website.
The Cardinal Newman Society. 

The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ was a feast included in the General Roman Calendar from 1849 to 1969.
 
In 1933, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the rank of Double of the 1st Class to mark the 1900th anniversary of Jesus' death.


In Pope John XXIII's 1960 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the feast was classified as of the first class (see General Roman Calendar of 1960).

The feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, "because the Most Precious Blood of Christ the Redeemer is already venerated in the solemnities of the Passion, of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and in the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. But the Mass of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is placed among the votive Masses".

There can never be too many prayers.

Following are various prayers regarding the Precious Blood.  But first, here's the address of a cloistered contemplative order of nuns established in 1861 called the Sisters of the Precious Blood.  You may send prayer intentions, or you may request devotionals such as an awesome prayer book, a chaplet, and a Precious Blood cord, which is a sacramental especially for the sick. 

ADDRESS:

  Sisters of the Precious Blood
  700 Bridge Street
  Manchester, NH  03104-9962
  (603) 623-4264

AND NOW SOME PRAYERS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES:
When blessing yourself with Holy Water:
"By this Holy Water and by Your Precious Blood, Lord Jesus, wash away all my sins."
When entering or leaving your house:
Precious Blood of Jesus, shed on the Cross for us, bless this house.  Take it under Thy protection.
A Powerful Prayer to be Said Before Praying
Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.
               -  St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi
Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy:  Flow upon us!
Precious Blood, most pure offering:  Procure us every grace!
Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners:  Atone for us!
Precious Blood, delight of holy souls:  Draw us!  Amen.

       - The "Constant" Prayer of St. Catherine of Siena

Jesus Lord, kind Pelican,
Cleanse my filth with Thy Blood,
One drop of which can save
The whole world from all its sin.
               - St. Thomas Aquinas
Offering of the Precious Blood
Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in atonement for my sins, and in supplication for the holy souls in Purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church.
                - The Raccolta
Precious Blood Prayer in Response to Requests from Our Lord
Dear Jesus, moved by an impulse of love, and with purity of intention, I wish to cover my humble labors with Your merits and bathe them in the supernatural gold of Your Precious Blood.  I desire to consecrate my life to the saving of souls and the extension of Your glory, and I beg the Heavenly Father for as many souls as You shed drops of Blood during Your Passion.
               - Sr. Josefa Menendez
Prayer of St. Faustina
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a Fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.
Pleading the Blood of Jesus
Father in heaven, may we all be cleansed by the saving Blood of Jesus; may our consciences be purged of dead works.  Scripture says that evil is defeated by the Blood of the Lamb, so we ask that the Blood of Jesus cover all who are in need of protection (all civil, religious and lay leaders, our families, friends, enemies, all those for whom we have promised to pray, and ourselves).  We mark the borders of our nation and the doorposts of our churches, homes, schools and places of employment with the Precious Blood of Jesus.  Also, we cover our vehicles that no one may ever be injured through them.  Thank You, Lord, for shedding Your Blood for us.

May the Water and Blood that came from the side of Jesus create a protecting fountain of grace, one which flows directly from the throne of God to us.  Come, Lord, and fill us with Your Holy Spirit.
Testimony to the Precious Blood
We overcome Satan when we testify personally to what the Word of God says that the Blood of Jesus does for us (Revelation 12:11).
Ephesians 1:7     Through the Blood of Jesus I am redeemed out of 

Psalm 107:2        the hand of the devil.
Ephesians 1:7     Through the Blood of Jesus all my sins are forgiven.
1 John 1:7          The Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses me from all sin.
Romans 5:9         Through the Blood of Jesus I am justified and
                          saved from God's wrath.
Hebrews 13:12     Through the Blood of Jesus I am sanctified,
                           made holy, set apart to God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20   My body is a temple for the Holy Spirit,
                            redeemed, cleansed, sanctified by the Blood of Jesus.Therefore, the devil has no place in me, and no power over me, through the Blood of Jesus.
LITANY TO THE PRECIOUS BLOOD
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father,
save us. *

( * "Save us" is repeated after each invocation.)

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God,
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament,
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony,
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging,
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns,
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross,
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation,
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness,
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls,
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy,
Blood of Christ, Victor over demons,
Blood of Christ, courage of martyrs,
Blood of Christ, strength of confessors,
Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins,
Blood of Christ, help of those in peril,
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened,
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow,
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent,
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying,
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts,
Blood of Christ, pledge of Eternal Life,
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from Purgatory,
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

You have redeemed us, O Lord, in your Blood,
And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

LET US PRAY:

Almighty and Eternal God, You have appointed Your only begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood.  Grant, we beg of You, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of this present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven.  Through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen.
Chaplet of the Precious Blood
Each bead of the Precious Blood Chaplet is, as it were, a chalice filled with the Divine Blood of Jesus, uplifted by Our Lady to the Eternal Father, imploring every grace necessary for your soul and body.

This Chaplet is divided into seven groups, containing 33 "Our Fathers" in honor of the 33 years during which the Precious Blood flowed in the veins of Jesus, before it was poured out on the Cross for our salvation.

After each group, the "Glory be to the Father" is recited in thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity for this great gift of the Precious Blood.

While reciting these prayers, you are asked to meditate on each of the 7 bloodsheddings of Jesus.

The "Our Father" is Christ's own prayer. It is a complete prayer, including every possible desire for the glory of God and the needs of soul and body. Its 7 petitions unite in a very practical way with each of the bloodsheddings, making up 7 chapters in the gospel of Christ's love for me: "He loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

V. O God, come to my assistance.R. Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, etc.
R. As it was in the beginning, etc.
1st Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the Circumcision.

Let us ask for chastity of soul and body. 

Our Father five times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your Precious Blood.

2nd Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood while praying in the Garden of Olives.

Let us ask for the spirit of prayer.

Our Father five times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your

Precious Blood.

3rd Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the scourging.

Let us ask for the grace of mortification.

Our Father five times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your

Precious Blood

4th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the crowning with thorns.

Let us ask for contempt of worldly honors.

Our Father five times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your

Precious Blood.

5th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood while carrying the Cross.

Let us ask for patience.

Our Father five times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your

Precious Blood.

6th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood in the Crucifixion.

Let us ask for contrition for our sins.

Our Father five times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your

Precious Blood.

7th Mystery - Jesus shed His Blood and water when His side was pierced.

Let us ask for the grace of perseverance.

Our Father three times.
Glory be to the Father, etc.
We pray You, Lord, help Your people whom You have redeemed with Your Precious Blood.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in atonement for my sins, in supplication for the holy souls in Purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church. Amen

Where you can see Pope Francis in the US in September.

(RNS) The Vatican on Tuesday (June 30) released details of Pope Francis’ itinerary for his Sept. 22-27 visit to the U.S., his first to this country.
He will be arriving from Cuba, where he will spend three full days (he arrives there Sept. 19) visiting Havana as well as the country’s main shrine in Santiago.
In the U.S., he will arrive in Washington, then visit New York and Philadelphia.

Here are details on the stops, via the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other sources. The best chance of seeing the pope live is at his final Mass in Philadelphia, though motorcade routes have not been announced.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 22 (WASHINGTON, D.C.)

• 4 p.m. Arrival from Cuba at Joint Base Andrews

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23 (WASHINGTON, D.C.)

• 9:15 a.m. Welcoming ceremony on South Lawn of the White House; brief remarks from Pope Francis and President Obama followed by a private meeting with the president
• 11:30 a.m. Midday prayer with the bishops of the United States, St. Matthew’s Cathedral
• 4:15 p.m. Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, on the east portico of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the University Mall at The Catholic University of America (capacity: 25,000, with tickets distributed through parishes)

THURSDAY, SEPT. 24 (WASHINGTON, D.C., NEW YORK CITY)

• 9:20 a.m. Address to joint session of the United States Congress
• 10:15 a.m. (approximately) May wave to (but not bless) crowd on the Mall from the Capitol’s West Front
• 11:15 a.m. Visit to St. Patrick in the City and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington; to meet with several people served by Catholic Charities
• Noon (approximately) Blessing and brief remarks to the clients gathered at lunchtime for the St. Maria Meals Program of Catholic Charities
• 4 p.m. Depart from Joint Base Andrews
• 5 p.m. Arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport
• 6:45 p.m. Evening Prayer (Vespers) at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 (NEW YORK CITY)

• 8:30 a.m. Visit to the United Nations and address to the United Nations General Assembly
• 11:30 a.m. Multireligious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center
• 4 p.m. Visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School, East Harlem
• 6 p.m. Mass at Madison Square Garden (capacity: 18,000)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 26 (NEW YORK CITY, PHILADELPHIA)

• 8:40 a.m. Departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport
• 9:30 a.m. Private arrival (no official ceremony) at Atlantic Aviation, Philadelphia
• 10:30 a.m. Mass at Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
• 4:45 p.m. Visit to Independence Mall, and address to immigrants from the historic site on the themes of religious liberty and immigration
• 7:30 p.m. Visit to the Festival of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway (decisions regarding which events will require passes are still to be determined. The Festival of Families and the Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway are open to the public).

SUNDAY, SEPT. 27 (PHILADELPHIA)

• 9:15 a.m. Meeting with bishops and cardinals at at St. Martin’s Chapel, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
• 11 a.m. Visit to prisoners and some of their families at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility
• 4 p.m. Mass for the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families, Benjamin Franklin Parkway (more than 1 million expected)
• 7 p.m. Visit with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of the World Meeting of Families, Atlantic Aviation
• 8 p.m. Departure for Rome

'Simply wrong' Archbishop Alexander Sample responds to decision by Supreme Court legalizing same-sex "marriage"

6/29/2015 10:00:00 AM Catholic Sentinel Catholic News Service The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. Most Rev. Alexander Sample Archbishop of Portland I am deeply saddened by the narrow majority decision of the Supreme Court requiring all states to license and recognize same-sex “marriage.” It is indeed a tragic ruling that will negatively affect the common good of our society, especially the future generations of children. The Court is simply wrong, as the minority opinions state. Our Constitution does not require states to redefine marriage. A Court ruling cannot make what is intrinsically false to be somehow true. Marriage, by its very nature, can only be between one man and one woman. No human decision can trump the natural law which is inscribed in the very nature of man and woman as we come from the hand of the Creator. Just as the Roe vs. Wade decision did not end the debate over the right to life of the unborn, so this decision by the Supreme Court will not silence those of us who will continue to advocate for a just and proper understanding of the very nature of marriage itself based on the natural differentiation of the sexes. I am especially concerned with the impact that this decision will have on children. Marriage is the one institution that connects children to both their mothers and fathers. All children have the natural right to know their mothers and fathers wherever and whenever possible. This disturbing ruling will make that much more difficult for future generations of children. For them, it is an injustice. I am deeply concerned that this ruling will have a chilling effect on the protection of the religious rights and liberties enjoyed by citizens of this great land. It is not at all unreasonable to think that those who will uphold the true nature of marriage as between one man and one woman are going to be in for very difficult days ahead. As I stated when same-sex “marriage” became legal in the State of Oregon: “From the beginning, our efforts to prevent this from happening were never about demeaning or attacking the dignity of persons who happen to be homosexual. Their dignity as human persons must never be called into question or denied. This has always been about upholding and protecting the unique institution in our society that we call marriage.” We will move forward with hope and determination to protect and honor the sacred institution of marriage as given to us from our Creator. For us, marriage can and will always be what it is, i.e. the union of one man and one woman. We will pray for all those negatively impacted by this decision, especially children." May God help us, and may God bless America.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger: Prophesy on What the Church Will Look Like. From 2000

"From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge—a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning.

She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so will she lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, she will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision.

As a small society, she will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly she will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion.

Alongside this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly.

But in all of the changes at which one might guess, the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world.

In faith and prayer she will again recognize her true center and experience the sacraments again as the worship of God and not as a subject for liturgical scholarship. 

The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right.

It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystalization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek.

The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed.

One may predict that all of this will take time. The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism of the eve of the French Revolution—when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain—to the renewal of the nineteenth century.

But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church.

Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times.

The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already with Gobel, but the Church of faith.

She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death."

From 2013: G. K. Chesterton: It’s Not Gay, and It’s Not Marriage

by Dale Alquist, The Amerian Chesterton Society

One of the pressing issues of Chesterton’s time was “birth control.” He not only objected to the idea, he objected to the very term because it meant the opposite of what it said. It meant no birth and no control. I can only imagine he would have the same objections about “gay marriage.” The idea is wrong, but so is the name. It is not gay and it is not marriage.

Chesterton was so consistently right in his pronouncements and prophecies because he understood that anything that attacked the family was bad for society. That is why he spoke out against eugenics and contraception, against divorce and “free love” (another term he disliked because of its dishonesty), but also against wage slavery and compulsory state-sponsored education and mothers hiring other people to do what mothers were designed to do themselves.

It is safe to say that Chesterton stood up against every trend and fad that plagues us today because every one of those trends and fads undermines the family. Big Government tries to replace the family’s authority, and Big Business tries to replace the family’s autonomy. There is a constant commercial and cultural pressure on father, mother, and child. They are minimized and marginalized and, yes, mocked. But as Chesterton says, “This triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.”

This latest attack on the family is neither the latest nor the worst. But it has a shock value to it, in spite of the process of de-sensitization that the information and entertainment industries have been putting us through the past several years. Those who have tried to speak out against the normalization of the abnormal have been met with “either slanging or silence,” as Chesterton was when he attempted to argue against the faddish philosophies that were promoted by the major newspapers in his day.

In 1926, he warned, “The next great heresy will be an attack on morality, especially sexual morality.” His warning has gone unheeded, and sexual morality has decayed progressively. But let us remember that it began with birth control, which is an attempt to create sex for sex’s sake, changing the act of love into an act of selfishness. The promotion and acceptance of lifeless, barren, selfish sex has logically progressed to homosexuality.

Chesterton shows that the problem of homosexuality as an enemy of civilization is quite old. In The Everlasting Man, he describes the nature-worship and “mere mythology” that produced a perversion among the Greeks. “Just as they became unnatural by worshiping nature, so they actually became unmanly by worshiping man.” Any young man, he says, “who has the luck to grow up sane and simple” is naturally repulsed by homosexuality because “it is not true to human nature or to common sense.” He argues that if we attempt to act indifferent about it, we are fooling ourselves. It is “the illusion of familiarity,” when “a perversion become[s] a convention.”

In Heretics, Chesterton almost makes a prophecy of the misuse of the word “gay.” He writes of “the very powerful and very desolate philosophy of Oscar Wilde. It is the carpe diem religion.” Carpe diem means “seize the day,” do whatever you want and don’t think about the consequences, live only for the moment. “But the carpe diem religion is not the religion of happy people, but of very unhappy people.” There is a hopelessness as well as a haplessness to it.

When sex is only a momentary pleasure, when it offers nothing beyond itself, it brings no fulfillment. It is literally lifeless. And as Chesterton writes in his book St. Francis of Assisi, the minute sex ceases to be a servant, it becomes a tyrant. This is perhaps the most profound analysis of the problem of homosexuals: they are slaves to sex. They are trying to “pervert the future and unmake the past.” They need to be set free.

Sin has consequences. Yet Chesterton always maintains that we must condemn the sin and not the sinner. And no one shows more compassion for the fallen than G.K. Chesterton. Of Oscar Wilde, whom he calls “the Chief of the Decadents,” he says that Wilde committed “a monstrous wrong” but also suffered monstrously for it, going to an awful prison, where he was forgotten by all the people who had earlier toasted his cavalier rebelliousness. “His was a complete life, in that awful sense in which your life and mine are incomplete; since we have not yet paid for our sins. In that sense one might call it a perfect life, as one speaks of a perfect equation; it cancels out. On the one hand we have the healthy horror of the evil; on the other the healthy horror of the punishment.”

Chesterton referred to Wilde’s homosexual behavior as a “highly civilized” sin, something that was a worse affliction among the wealthy and cultured classes. It was a sin that was never a temptation for Chesterton, and he says that it is no great virtue for us never to commit a sin for which we are not tempted. That is another reason we must treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with compassion.

We know our own sins and weaknesses well enough. Philo of Alexandria said, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a terrible battle.” But compassion must never compromise with evil. Chesterton points out that balance that our truth must not be pitiless, but neither can our pity be untruthful.

Homosexuality is a disorder. It is contrary to order. Homosexual acts are sinful, that is, they are contrary to God’s order. They can never be normal. And worse yet, they can never even be even. As Chesterton’s great detective Father Brown says:  “Men may keep a sort of level of good, but no man has ever been able to keep on one level of evil. That road goes down and down.”

Marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the order. And the Catholic Church teaches that it is a sacramental order, with divine implications. The world has made a mockery of marriage that has now culminated with homosexual unions.

But it was heterosexual men and women who paved the way to this decay. Divorce, which is an abnormal thing, is now treated as normal. Contraception, another abnormal thing, is now treated as normal. Abortion is still not normal, but it is legal. Making homosexual “marriage” legal will not make it normal, but it will add to the confusion of the times. And it will add to the downward spiral of our civilization.

But Chesterton’s prophecy remains: We will not be able to destroy the family. We will merely destroy ourselves by disregarding the family.

Worship Director named for Archdiocese of Portland

Jesson Mata The Archdiocese of Portland has a new director for the Office of Divine Worship. Jesson Mata, former director of liturgy and music at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle, has accepted the position. “Divine worship is at the heart of everything we do as the People of God in western Oregon,” says Archbishop Alexander Sample. The archbishop calls Mata “an exceptional candidate” with the background, knowledge, talent and excellent communication skills needed to be successful. “His thorough knowledge of and passion for the sacred liturgy will be a tremendous support to me and our pastors and parishes,” the archbishop says, asking that people keep the office in their prayers. Mata will start work at the pastoral center on July 7.  A native of the Philippines, Mata was raised in a Catholic household and came to the United States with his family at age 9. He quickly learned English and became fascinated with American culture and politics. He studied political science and philosophy at Seattle University and later continued his studies in philosophy and theology at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Mata directed liturgy and music for 10 years at Blessed Sacrament, where he developed liturgical and musical programs aimed at centralizing the focus of worship on the Eucharist. He worked with hundreds of volunteers and taught and trained liturgical and music ministers. As a former seminarian with the Dominican Order, Mata developed a love for prayer and a devotion to the Eucharist. He focused study and prayer on the liturgy, particularly on the development of the celebration of the Mass as well as the Divine Office. He gives talks on the topics. Mata’s devotion to the Eucharist originated from his work with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, where he volunteered alongside the Sisters to attend to the poor, dying, and orphaned. He prayed the Mass with the sisters each morning and ended the day with adoration. He also spent many hours praying at Mother Teresa’s tomb. Mata says he is most excited to share his faith and pray with the people of the Archdiocese of Portland. He is looking forward to meeting clergy and the lay faithful and hopes to deepen their love of the sacred liturgy. Mata says he plans to hike and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. He is an avid gardener, a health and fitness enthusiast, and a photographer.

"Just who do we think we are?" How the Supreme Court’s conservatives explained their votes against "gay marriage".

 From Quartz.com an interesting article on why these Supreme Court Justices voted against this decision.  Their decisions on maintaining the status quo for the common good is excellent reading.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage throughout the US split along familiar lines, with the nine-member court’s four most conservative justices voting against a nationwide right to homosexual unions.

Chief justice John Roberts joined justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito in opposing the majority’s opinion on the case brought by Ohio resident James Obergefell, whose 2013 marriage to his now-deceased partner was not recognized by the state.

Here are excerpts from the four dissenting opinions (pdf) the naysaying justices filed.  From page 41 of this pdf you will find the complete arguments against this decision.

Go to page 41 of the pdf attachment for the whole text.  There's so much good reading.

Chief Justice John Roberts

Although the policy arguments for extending marriage to same-sex couples may be compelling, the legal arguments for requiring such an extension are not. The fundamental right to marry does not include a right to make a State change its definition of marriage. And a State’s decision to maintain the meaning of marriage that has persisted in every culture throughout human history can hardly be called irrational. In short, our Constitution does not enact any one theory of marriage. The people of a State are free to expand marriage to include same-sex couples, or to retain the historic definition.

Justice Antonin Scalia

It is not of special importance to me what the law says about marriage. It is of overwhelming importance, however, who it is that rules me. Today’s decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. The opinion in these cases is the furthest extension in fact— and the furthest extension one can even imagine—of the Court’s claimed power to create “liberties” that the Constitution and its Amendments neglect to mention.

Justice Clarence Thomas

The majority invokes our Constitution in the name of a “liberty” that the Framers would not have recognized, to the detriment of the liberty they sought to protect. Along the way, it rejects the idea—captured in our Declaration of Independence—that human dignity is innate and suggests instead that it comes from the Government. This distortion of our Constitution not only ignores the text, it inverts the relationship between the individual and the state in our Republic. I cannot agree with it.

Justice Samuel Alito

The Constitution says nothing about a right to same-sex marriage, but the Court holds that the term “liberty” in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment encompasses this right. Our Nation was founded upon the principle that every person has the unalienable right to liberty, but liberty is a term of many meanings. For classical liberals, it may include economic rights now limited by government regulation. For social democrats, it may include the right to a variety of government benefits. For today’s majority, it has a distinctively postmodern meaning. To prevent five unelected Justices from imposing their personal vision of liberty upon the American people, the Court has held that “liberty” under the Due Process Clause should be understood to protect only those rights that are “‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.’” … And it is beyond dispute that the right to same-sex marriage is not among those rights.