October 5, 2008
Dear Parishioners,
October is the month of the Holy Rosary. I hope that you are praying the Rosary daily in your homes. Today we will have a “Living Rosary”. Our children will lead us at 9:15 in praying the Rosary. Thanks to all who worked to put this together: our children and the catechists and our Faith Formation Secretary, Theresa Webster. Let us pray to St. Dominic to whom our Lady gave the Rosary and instructed us to pray it. The Rosary is an entire catechism as we meditate on the 20 mysteries of our salvation. This is a good teaching and praying event. October 7 is the Feast of the Holy Rosary. Have your family look up the history of this Feast and the Battle of Lepanto.
This month is Respect Life month also. We will have displays, bulletin inserts and activities to help us build a culture of life. Key to this is the respect given to each individual because of the dignity of the human person created by God. We must protect and reverence human life at every stage and every condition. A basic and fundamental moral law is that we may never take the life of an innocent person. Therefore, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, infanticide and euthanasia are always morally wrong; they are all intrinsically evil and so there is never a situation or reason in which a Christian or anyone should ever participate in these horrible crimes against humanity and against God Himself. We are called to actively oppose these evils in every way we are able and must never cooperate in making them available or legal.
Respect Life Month is a chance for us to focus on the inherent value of human life. It is a biological, scientific fact that human life begins at conception. If anyone has a doubt, then the presumption must be given to the existence of life. In either case, we must not allow or support the taking of innocent human life.
Our Bishops have given us a pro-life plan. The elements of this plan are: prayer, education, legislation and direct services to protect life. Let us work in all these areas. Pray for our Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats for post-abortion healing. I hope you will sign up to go with us to Washington, D.C. for the March For Life on January 22. Let’s fill the streets of our capital to witness to the truth of the value of human life which must be protected by our laws if we are to be a just society. If we do not create a culture of life, we will be handing our children and theirs a world which has decided that some people are not as worthy as others; where will we draw the line? Thanks to our Respect Life Committee for all their work.
Thanks to all who were at the Eucharistic Congress and all who helped in any way. Let us pray for the continued blessing of our Diocese and every soul in the Diocese. The Priests of the Diocese will be on Retreat this week, so there will not be any daily Masses here. The Abbey will have daily Mass. Please pray for all of us.
God bless and may our Lady keep you in her care.With my prayers,
-Fr. Arnsparger