Heavenly Help for Our Children and Schools

Dear All, Here is a prayer for all our students in and out of Catholic education. Please remember Ecce Veritas, the new independent Catholic school in Portland, in these prayers as they start this new endeavor. For those of you not in the Portland area, another independent traditional Catholic school, the Marian Latin School, in Mount Angel is welcoming new students for high school. Also, in the Mount Angel area, Holy Family Academy is available for children from first to sixth grade. Let's not forget the Home schoolers. If you're interested in Traditional Catholic Home Schooling, there is a group at Holy Rosary with over 160 Catholic Home Schooling families. Home School meetings are on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m.. Parents with toddlers are welcome to join the group, even before having school age children being Home Schooled. For membership information, please contact: dndhurley@netzero.net No matter where our children are educated they need the intercession of the Church Triumphant and the dear Saints who want to help them Keep the Faith. Prayer to St. Thomas Aquinas Patron of Students, wonderful theologian and Doctor of the Church, you learned more from the Crucifix than from books. Combining both sources, you left us the marvelous Summa of theology, broadcasting most glorious enlightenment to all. You always sought for true light and studied for God¹s honor and glory. Help us all to study our religion as well as all other subjects needed for life, without ambition and pride in imitation of you. Novena to St. Thomas Aquinas Novena prayer St. Thomas Aquinas, patron of students and Catholic schools, I thank God for the gifts of light and knowledge he bestowed on you, which you used to build up the Church in love. I thank God, too, for the wealth and richness of theological teaching you left in your writings. Not only were you a great teacher, you lived a life of virtue and you made holiness the desire of your heart. If I cannot imitate you in the brilliance of your academic pursuits, I can follow you in the humility and charity which marked your life. As St. Paul said, charity is the greatest gift, and it is open to all. Pray for me that I might grow in holiness and charity. Pray also for Catholic schools, and for all students. In particular, please obtain the favor I ask during this novena (mention your request). Amen. First Day St. Thomas, called by God "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Mt 10:37) St. Thomas, as a young man you became convinced that God was calling you to religious life. Although your family was opposed to it, you were determined to follow God's call. Even when your brothers kidnapped you and forced you to remain a prisoner in your own house, you did not give up but waited patiently for God's hour. St. Thomas, pray for all young people who are considering their vocation in life. Help them to be open to the call of God. Inspire them to make choices motivated by love for God and an unselfish love for other people. Whatever their state in life, help them to see their chosen path as a call to service. May all married couples, single persons, priests and religious build up the Church through lives of unselfish devotion and love. Second Day St. Thomas, lover of purity "For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness" (1 Thes 4:7). St. Thomas, you had a great esteem for the virtue of purity. When your family tried to deter you from entering the Dominicans by sending a woman to lead you into sin, you resisted the temptation and deter mined to consecrate your chastity to God forever. Today we are immersed in a culture that degrades the gift of human sexuality. Human persons are viewed as objects of pleasure and their human dignity is devalued. As a consequence, society tolerates abortion, disregarding human life at the very outset. Children suffer abuse and families are damaged by infidelity. Pray that our society may once again value the virtue of chastity. Pray that those in the media will work to promote a Christian view of marriage and family life. May the plague of pornography in all its forms be eliminated. May Christian moral standards act as a leaven in society and bring about a greater respect for human life. (Recite the novena prayer.) Third Day St. Thomas, example of humility "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted" (Mt 23:12). St. Thomas, when you were a young student some of your classmen called you the "dumb ox." Although you were more intelligent than all of them, you bore their insults patiently without retaliating. You were endowed with a keen mind but recognized that God is the source of all gifts. You humbly acknowledged your dependence on God, and begged him to enlighten you so that you would act only for his glory. St. Thomas, pray for me that I too learn to act out of humility and never from the empty desire for esteem in the sight of others. Help me to seek only God's glory and to act with a right intention. May I seek to humble myself now, so that in heaven I will shine like the stars for all eternity. (Recite the novena prayer.) Fourth Day St. Thomas, devoted to truth "But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ" (Eph 4:15) St. Thomas, you devoted your life to seeking the truth and explaining it to others. You dedicated your mind to God, and used it to probe the Word of God more deeply. Your gifts as a theologian and philosopher make you stand out as one of the greatest doctors of the Church. In your discussions, you made truth your primary aim, while treating respectfully anyone who differed with you. Obtain for me too a great love of truth. Help me to ponder God's word so as to draw from it the light I need to nourish myself spiritually. Keep me firmly rooted in the truth, and never let me be swayed by false teachings. I pray also for those who are lost in darkness; please bring them into the light of truth. (Recite the novena prayer.) Fifth Day St. Thomas, afire with love for the Blessed Sacrament "So Jesus said to them, 'Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"' (Jn 6:53). St. Thomas, you had a great love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and spent many hours in adoration be fore the Blessed Sacrament. You once said that you learned more from prayer before the tabernacle than from many hours of study. The Church owes you a debt of gratitude for the beautiful Eucharistic hymns you wrote at the request of Pope Urban IV, for the newly-established feast of Corpus Christi. Pray that I too might be inflamed with an ardent love for the Holy Eucharist. Help me to always esteem and reverence this wonderful sacrament. Pray for me that I might always participate devoutly in Mass, receive Holy Communion with great fervor, and often visit Jesus in the tabernacle. Through con tact with the Eucharistic Lord, may my heart overflow with love for God and for my neighbor. (Recite the novena prayer.) Sixth Day St. Thomas, filled with charity "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth" (1 Cor 1 3 :4-6) St. Thomas, you were noted during your life for the charity you showed to others. During debates at the university, you did not ridicule those who argued with you but treated them with respect and love. You showed consideration for the needs of other people. Help me also to be more deeply rooted in love of God and neighbor, keeping in mind Jesus' words, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35). Help me to practice this same charity in a concrete way that does not stop at words, but is shown with sacrifice. May it begin first of all in my family, and then radiate to everyone I meet. (Recite the novena prayer.) Seventh Day St. Thomas, defender of the Church "...the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15). St. Thomas, from your youth you learned to love the Church, your spiritual home. In your teaching, you sought to explain and defend the doctrine of the Church, making it known through your writings. You understood that true wisdom means to let oneself be instructed by the Church, for Jesus guaranteed that the Holy Spirit would always be with the Church, to lead it into all truth. At the end of your life you said, "I have taught and written much...according to my faith in Christ and in the holy Roman Church, to whose judgment I submit all my teaching." Intercede for the Church today, that it might grow stronger and more spiritually fruitful in the world. Raise up holy priests, religious and laity, that they may all be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Bless the pope in his efforts to guide the Church, witnessing to the power of the Gospel to renew the face of the earth. May all theologians work to explore the richness of Catholic teaching so as to show forth its truth and benefit the faithful. Pray for missionaries as they work to spread the Gospel. May the whole Church be renewed by the power of the Spirit to more effectively witness to Christ in the world today. (Recite the novena prayer.) Eighth Day St. Thomas, teacher of prayer "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving" (Col 4:2) St. Thomas, you knew that prayer is the source of wisdom and you spent long hours in conversation with God. Prayer became your very life. Whenever you pondered over a problem in theology, you turned to prayer to seek God's enlightenment. Now in heaven you see God face to face. Pray for me, too, that I might become a person of profound prayer. Obtain for me the grace that I might always pray with humility, confidence and perseverance. Help me to grow more and more in the spirit of prayer, so that my whole life may become a prayer. May I always seek the face of the living God. (Recite the novena prayer.) Ninth Day St. Thomas, patron of students "For in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind" (1 Cor 1:5). St. Thomas, God called you to spend most of your life in academic pursuits, first as a student, and then as a professor of theology. In your work as a teacher, you desired to help your students apply what they learned to their lives, in order to grow in holiness. You realized that knowledge is meant to draw people closer to God. In your teaching you sought to communicate the truth, desiring to help your students become better Christians. Pray for all students. Pray for those who may have difficulty in their studies, as well as for those who can study with ease. Pray that they may all be open to the truth, and always seek to better under stand it. May they grow in knowledge so as to know God better and to be able to serve their brothers and sisters as the Lord desires. St. Thomas, pray especially for theologians, that in their studies and research they may come to a deeper knowledge of revealed doctrine in keeping with the mind of the Church. May their lives reflect the holiness of the Word of God which they seek to more fully understand. (Recite the novena prayer.) May God Bless and protect our children and help us to be able to provide the means to keep them always able to hear Your Voice, for You shall come again in Glory. Carolyn God our Father, you made Thomas Aquinas known for his holiness and learning. Help us to grow in wisdom by his teaching, and in holiness by imitating his faith. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. From the Roman Missal VOCAL Voice of Catholics Advocating Life PO Box 458 Sublimity, OR 97385 Member of Catholic Media Coalition "Inline with the Church, online with the world"

"..and a Little Child Shall Lead Them - "Walk With Laurie" - Cancer Research

"..and a Little Child Shall Lead Them - "Walk With Laurie" - Cancer Research Fundraiser - Tomorrow - Sunday Dear All, Isaiah 11:6 prophesied, "... and a little child shall lead them." As a family in the Body of Christ we share the joys and pains of one another. Let's join together, young and old, in thankfulness for each other and gain strength from this awesome family the Millers, who lead by their dear daughter Laurie will walk for Life. Come to Regis High School in Stayton the walk starts at noon. Take Highway 22 from Salem to the Stayton/Sublimity exit, turn right and go just into Salem, Regis is on the right just before Safeway. If you cannot attend, please make a donation, none is too small, to benefit OHSU and Doernbecher Children's Hospital. Call Mary for more information or to donate 503-845-3025. Here is an article from the Stayton Mail. Coping with courage Photo by Angelina Morgan Laurie Miller, left, watches as her sisters Karen, 6, and Dora, 3, play with her father, Tom Miller. Laurie, 11, who has a cancerous tumor on her brainstem, is raising money for cancer research at Oregon Health & Science University and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Marion’s Laurie Miller, her mom, dad and seven brothers and sisters battle Laurie’s brain cancer BY TERESA WILLIAMS The Stayton Mail August 17 Laurie Miller sleeps through her MRIs now. The first time she entered the cave-like device was scary, but the 11-year-old girl from Marion has had almost two years to get used to the machine that takes pictures of the tumor on her brainstem. Laurie was diagnosed with cancer in December of 2003. She started her first round of radiation therapy at the same time her uncle, Ernie Kuenzi, was going through his last round. They saw each other nearly every day at the hospital. Kuenzi died in 2004, the second uncle Laurie lost to cancer. Her father’s brother, Rob Miller, died of leukemia in 1995. On Aug. 28, Laurie will lead a walk to raise money for cancer research at Oregon Health & Science University and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. “Walk With Laurie” starts at noon at Regis High School and goes as long as people show up, her father, Tom Miller, said. Donations will be taken, and no donation is too small. All ages are welcome. The walk is in honor of her uncles; both were treated at OHSU, and Laurie receives treatment at Doernbecher’s. “Up at Doernbecher, they’re really supportive,” Laurie said. “They’re always willing to help with anything you need.” Walk With Laurie isn’t the first project Laurie has done to raise money for cancer research. Last year she was one of five Doernbecher patients chosen to design a Nike tennis shoe. Laurie’s shoe is turquoise with a magenta Nike swoosh, shoelaces and fish. The shoe, which was made in children’s sizes only, is sold out, but all the girls in Laurie’s class got a pair. And when seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong comes to Oregon for the LiveStrong Ride in Portland on Sept. 25, one of the riders will be riding in honor of Laurie. The ride will support activities for cancer survivors at OHSU Cancer Institute. After Laurie was first diagnosed, she spent 48 days undergoing chemotherapy and radiation at the same time, her mother, Christy Miller, said. She had to wear a mask made of mesh that was attached to the table so that she couldn’t move. Red lights pinpointed marks on the mask, and a large machine like a dental X-ray moved around the room. “It scared me, but I got used to it pretty quick,” Laurie said. Following radiation, Laurie had to go to Doernbecher every month for five days of chemotherapy at a time. “For a long time that stabilized the tumor,” Christy said. But in March, the tumor started growing again. Laurie had to begin a new, experimental chemotherapy. During the month-long waiting period between treatments, the Make a Wish Foundation sent Laurie, her parents and her three brothers and four sisters to South Padre Island, Texas. Laurie wanted to go to Hawaii, she said, but the foundation has had problems sending children there. The Millers looked at Florida, but it’s always booked up in the spring. So they found the island. Laurie got to go horseback riding on the beach, and she went fishing and watched dolphins. She also worked as a chef twice. Once was in a fancy restaurant where she made crawfish linguine and peanut butter shrimp. South Padre Island hadn’t hosted a Make a Wish trip for 10 years, so the family’s itinerary wasn’t full when they arrived. But by the end of the trip, word had spread and the Millers had plenty of activity. “It was just really, really special to do that as a family,” Christy said. And it was the perfect time. Laurie was able to do everything without any trouble. During the first part of April, Laurie started the new chemotherapy. Then the tumor started growing faster, Christy said. She started yet another type of experimental chemotherapy, and since May her MRIs have shown that the tumor has stabilized. The tumor’s growth has affected Laurie physically. She has double vision, and the left side of her body doesn’t respond the way it used to. The tumor is squeezing out the messages to the left side of the brain, Christy said. Laurie can walk, but on uneven or rough terrain, she uses a wheelchair. She gets headaches, too. But the hardest thing about having cancer is not knowing what’s going to happen, she said. Christy said it’s hard not to think about what the next MRI will show. The family has been told that Laurie’s current treatment is the last option. “It’s hard for her not to think about that,” Christy said. “Some days I never think about having cancer, but some days I think about it a lot,” Laurie said. “I can’t imagine going through the stuff she’s gone through myself,” Tom said. Laurie has had to take medications not knowing what they would do to her body. “She just all the way through has been very courageous,” Tom said. Laurie knows that the experimental treatment she receives now may pave the way for better treatments for others down the line. “Knowing that you may be helping someone else in the future is a good feeling,” Laurie said. Someone had to try the first chemotherapy, Christy said, and the family has seen the progress that has been made with leukemia since 1995. “There were people before us that took risks with experimental treatments,” Christy said. At home, the family tries to have fun, and they joke about things others can’t. Laurie got a new pink sticker eye patch with ice cream sundaes and hamburger stickers on it. It was her third patch covering her left eye. She lost the first one in the swimming pool, and the second got dusty when she went four-wheeling. “She’s the kind of girl that can give the boys a run for their money,” Christy said. And with eight children in the family, she has a chance to prove it. Laurie and her oldest brother, Lee, used to be at each other’s throats fighting, Christy said. They just didn’t get along. But now Lee, who is 14, stops himself when he starts to do something to Laurie. He sees how hard things are for his sister, Christy said. As Laurie’s appearance started to change, people began to treat her differently. They were well meaning, but some simply didn’t know what to say, Christy said. “She reached a real acceptance of people and how they react,” Christy said. “Most people that know her will always know how incredibly intelligent she is, how beautiful she is, how happy she is,” Christy said. Even when Laurie was a baby, her eyes would light up. The family has appreciated the help they have been offered. Friends and relatives have been supportive, and people from St. Mary Elementary School, where Laurie and several of her siblings attend, have brought food, Tom said. St. Thomas Catholic Church in Jefferson and St. Bernard’s in Scio have helped, too. “People understand because a lot of people have been through a similar thing with a spouse, a parent,” Christy said. God Bless Laurie and her family Dear Lord. Carolyn "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 VOCAL Voice of Catholics Advocating Life PO Box 458 Sublimity, OR 97385 Member of Catholic Media Coalition "Inline with the Church, online with the world"

New Independent Private Catholic School Option

Dear All, For those of you how would like their children to be schooled with an orthodox Catholic classical curriculum in smaller classroom settings, by Roman Catholic instructors who love and live their faith, it's NOT TOO LATE. One new option for parents interested in sending their students to an independent private Catholic school for grades 7-12 is ECCE VERITAS. With a classical curriculm at its core, students will also go to daily Mass and on Mondays, they will help run an organic farm south of Portland. ECCE VERITAS is located next to Holy Rosary Parish in NE Portland. Our children are our most precious gifts. If they are not homeschooled, the environment they are surrounded by during most of their waking hours does effect them. We need make sure that what they learn and where they learn it complements our Roman Catholic faith and doesn't work against it. If you don't have any students, but would like to support this effort to evangelize and educate Roman Catholic children, ECCE VERITAS is a great place for your donations. All gifts are tax-deductable, but most importantly, you can trust that every penny will be used well and for a most worthy cause: to build up the Body of Christ and save Souls. For more information please contact David Wendell, Headmaster at 503-302-9936 or 502-678-6228. To send donations or to contact by mail please send correspondence to 8383 Champoeg, St. Paul OR 97137. Carolyn "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 VOCAL Voice of Catholics Advocating Life PO Box 458 Sublimity, OR 97385 Member of Catholic Media Coalition "Inline with the Church, online with the world"

Connecting the Dots - Part 1 Changing the "Climate'

Dear Advocates for Life, Western Oregon Catholics are on the verge of possibly losing our churches, schools: properties bought and paid for with hard-working "Catholic" money. The "problem" was a climate that enabled an anti-Culture of Life and Family attitude. Although some priests acted out, the climate is still thriving and has to stop. When you're a parent it's important to separate your children from bad influences to keep them on the straight and narrow. The same holds true for relationships in adulthood and organizations. They too are affected by peer pressure and lose their way. On Monday, March 7th, I attended the Interfaith Advocacy Day put on by the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). Oregon Catholic Conference represented by Bob Castagna and Anthony Granados were there allegedly representing Oregon Catholics. (The head of EMO, Philip Kennedy-Wong, was at Oregon Catholic Conferences Advocacy Day on Feb 21st. and the latter Interfaith Advocacy Day.) EMO's Interfaith Advocacy Day reflected the member churches support for same-sex marriage. The listing on EMO's website includes homosexual churches : ie. Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches and all member churches seem to encourage same-sex marriage, some affliated with Basic Rights Oregon, with pro-activist homosexual organization. Connect these dots. http://emoregon go to EMO Home then EMO Denominations http://mccchurch.org http://basicrights.org Oregon Catholic Conference's legislative agenda has reflected the EMO agenda throughout the years. They have shied away from the Roman Catholic positions of supporting unborn life and monogamous heterosexuality. Even the packets distributed at both advocacy days were similar down to the color, identical font, spacing and same pages of some content. And remember the election? Targeted Catholic Churches had voter registration done by the EMO connected National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice out of Chicago using the name given by the U.S. Bishops: "Faithful Citizenship Program". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this climate, Catholic priests are feeling comfortable about speaking up for homosexual activity and use the term the judgmental and inaccuate term "homophobe" for those of us who support Roman Catholic Church teaching. (Catholic Sentinel March 11 Letters to the Editor) From the Vatican - "Homophobic" Cardinal Arinzi, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament states "The question arises; take the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It says it is not condemning a person for having homosexual tendency. We don't condemn anybody for that. But a person stands condemned for acting on it.” Our Holy Father suggested that the world-wide push for same-sex unions is part of an "ideology of evil". “It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man.” VOCAL was sent this information. It could connect more dots. Please judge for yourselves. Oregon Churches and organizations calling themselves Catholic have homosexual componants that are not in compliance with Roman Catholic Church teaching. GO TO http://catholiclesbians.org - Resources to Lesbian and Gay-Friendly parishes - click Oregon. Koinonia Catholic Community - http://koinoniacommunity.org Perform same-sex "marriages"(also a member of Basic Rights Oregon) A distubing note on this group. Click on music. Koinonia former directors include Tom Conry and Patrick Loomis do music for the OREGON CATHOLIC PRESS. Are we singing songs that could be indoctrinating us? Let's help the Climate of Oregon. We have to be good stewards of our money, time and talents. Over the years the value of the relationship between the Oregon Catholic Conference and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon has been questioned. In light of our bankruptcy, the lack of Roman Catholic teaching being understood and questioned, it is time for a real change. Silence implies consent of the support of anti-Catholic teachings. Can we afford spiritually and financially to continue as we have? Does this truly help us help others to serve the Living God, Jesus Christ? It is the Springtime of the Laity following Jesus Christ - The Way, the Truth and the Life. God Bless you, Carolyn Wendell "Facts are stubborn things...our wishes, the dictates of our passions...cannot alter the facts and evidence." John Adams VOCAL Voice of Catholics Advocating Life PO Box 458 Sublimity, OR 97385