feminine-genius

True Devotion

VIS offers our Holy Father's Angelus message from Mexico:

Vatican City, 25 March 2012 (VIS) - "As we now pray the Angelus and remember the Annunciation of the Lord, our eyes too turn spiritually towards the hill of Tepeyac, to the place where the Mother of God, under the title of “the Ever-Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe” has been fervently honoured for centuries as a sign of reconciliation and of God’s infinite goodness towards the world", said the Holy Father this morning before the Marian prayer.

"Do not forget", he went on, "that true devotion to the Virgin Mary always takes us to Jesus, and “consists neither in sterile nor transitory feelings, nor in an empty credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to recognise the excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to filial love towards our Mother and to the imitation of her virtues”. To love her means being committed to listening to her Son, to venerate the Guadalupana means living in accordance with the words of the blessed fruit of her womb.

"At this time, when so many families are separated or forced to emigrate, when so many are suffering due to poverty, corruption, domestic violence, drug trafficking, the crisis of values and increased crime, we come to Mary in search of consolation, strength and hope. She is the Mother of the true God, who invites us to stay with faith and charity beneath her mantle, so as to overcome in this way all evil and to establish a more just and fraternal society.

"With these sentiments, I place once again this country, all Latin America and the Caribbean before the gentle gaze of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I entrust all their sons and daughters to the Star of both the original and the new evangelisation; she has inspired with her maternal love their Christian history, has given particular expression to their national achievements, to their communal and social initiatives, to family life, to personal devotion and to the continental mission which is now taking place across these noble lands. In times of trial and sorrow she was invoked by many martyrs who, in crying out “Long live Christ the King and Mary of Guadalupe” bore unyielding witness of fidelity to the Gospel and devotion to the Church. I now ask that her presence in this nation may continue to serve as a summons to defence and respect for human life. May it promote fraternity, setting aside futile acts of revenge and banishing all divisive hatred", the Pope concluded.

After the Angelus, Benedict XVI prayed for a few moments in silence before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As he imparted the final blessing, he also blessed ninety-one images of the Virgin of Guadalupe which are destined to be displayed in all the dioceses of Mexico.

Prayers for all of you making your Act of Consecration today. At Mass this morning, we were sad to see our lovely statue (of Our Lady of Mercy) shrouded in fabric in preparation for Passiontide, so we will have to hold her image in our hearts.

We've anathematised the anathema

This is a wonderful piece by Dr Alice vonHildebrand, which should reorient those who have been bowled over by the constant calls to compassion.

Pharisaism, one possible response to sin, is a perennial temptation for believers; the ruthless condemnation of the sinner because of his sin. (Alas, there are diseases, whether intellectual or moral, that are chronic, and even though they seem to be eliminated, they usually remain dormant, until the next epidemic catches us unprepared.)  

Yet on the other hand – and in reaction to Pharisaism – the later half of the 20th century will go down in history as a period when even some elect fell into confusion. The word “compassion” became the alfa et omega of authentic Christianity. Condemnation under any form was condemned as harsh and unloving. The anathema was anathematized.

But thanks to the “baptized genius” of St. Augustine – one of the great treasures of Christianity – we are given a key that helps us to combine an ardent love for God’s truth and a loving attitude toward heretics who reject dogmas and sinners who  are affected by deadly moral diseases.

The saint wrote “Interficere errorem; diligere errantem” which means, “kill the error; love the one who errs.” Kill is not an equivocal word. It cannot possibly be misread: it means war until the enemy is dead.

Such is our call to denounce that which degrades women and to promote what is in her best interest, for when women are doing what they're called to do, the whole culture is enriched. It was gratifying to see so many stand up for religious liberty this week. It is interesting that the critical work of the Church will hinge on whether her stand on human dignity, authentic love and marriage will be allowed a place in the public square. If She is silenced, we will have to carry on that work solely in our lives. Big task!

I thought my subscription had lapsed...

The title to the email in my inbox was ""Au revoir, mademoiselle,"  and although I'm not single, I thought they were using a conventional form of flattery to remind me that it was time to renew my commitment to their excellent language site. Alas, non!

The decision comes after months of campaigning by two French feminist groups, Osez le féminisme! (Dare To Be Feminist!) and Les Chiennes de garde (The Watchdogs), who argue that the term places an unfair emphasis on a woman's marital status. Mademoiselle literally means "my young lady" (ma + demoiselle), just as madame comes from "my lady" and monsieur "my lord." Monsieur has long been used to identify both single and married men, as the archaic male equivalent of mademoiselle, mon damoiseau, never became an honorific title. Now madame will be used for all women, whether single or married, and is thus best translated as "Ms." instead of "Mrs."
  The Prime Minister's order will also replace nom de jeune fille (maiden name) and nom patronymique (patronymic) with nom de famille (family name), and nom d'époux/nom d'épouse (married name) with nom d'usage (used name).

Well, there you have it. Just as in English, the differentiation will be erased in official realms, though "Miss" is still used as a form of courtesy to those who look like they won't scowl at its kindliness.
Another victory for those with an axe to grind against sex differences and marriage itself. And although "au revoir" technically means "until we see each other again," we might not see this term restored in our lifetimes.

Mother and baby not fine

Found at LifeSiteNews:

A new study of post-abortive women in China found a high correlation between induced abortion and depression among pregnant women, adding to the growing body of evidence that links abortion with negative mental health outcomes.

The findings were reached by a team of Chinese researchers from Anhui Medical College who analyzed data that had been previously collected as part of an on-going study on child development.

Their study, titled, “The Impact of Prior Abortion on Anxiety and Depression Symptoms During a Subsequent Pregnancy: Data From a Population-Based Cohort Study in China,” was published recently in the Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

The mothers suffered, and the babies conceived subsequently suffered not to mention those killed in the procedures, of course). With 6,887 women participating in the study, it's hard to dispute the firm evidence of both anxiety and depression, which go hand in hand with attendant physical harms; and the data is completely in line with previous studies. Unfortunately, our health care system--held hostage to the Planned Parenthood lobby--will not consider this dimension of women's well-being. But be armed with the information, so that you can help the women in your life.

Sin and the body politic

I have a new piece over at Catholic Lane:

Ultimately, that classic American icon—the rugged individual—reigns supreme, and sadly, that individual has determined that sexual libertinism is his right. Not only has he resolved that he has the right to be promiscuous, but his promiscuity must be barren and uncomplicated. The supreme irony is lost on this principled individual, of course, that other rugged souls—the Catholic’s—have their own principles which proscribe them from subsidizing his behavior, and in light of this brazen thick-headedness, we must ask why...

 

Feminine genius in action

CatholicMom offers this lovely testament to the Maryknoll Sisters, written by Dr. Carolyn Woo, who was taught by them when she was a child in China.

The most valuable gift I received from the sisters, though, was faith. We had catechism lessons, but, more importantly, we saw faith in action. Somewhere along the line, I concluded that God must be very real for the sisters. Otherwise, why would they leave home, family and security to go to some foreign land to live in hardship, speak a new language, adjust to a new culture, face such risks? Why would they choose to serve us girls when they did not even know us? How did they know they would succeed? They not only did this, but they exuded so much joy and humor, grace and adventure.

“Can’t be done” was not part of their vocabulary. By their examples, I learned to fight and to love—two sides of the same coin when it comes to serving poor and marginalized people. I learned to trust God because they did.

Do read it all. While many of us will not travel to distant lands as missionaries, remember the impact your steady, joyful faith can have even here in your own community, your own family. Stability and hope are very much needed at present, and women can easily build their lives around them -- and don't think they won't be noticed by a world careening towards darkness. Believe, love, smile!

Brilliant essay on hormones

Anthony Esolen knocks it out of the park, comparing the widespread rejection of synthetic hormones for men in sports and the obsessive demand that they be available to women in everyday life.

Moreover, estrogen, like testosterone, is a tissue-growing hormone, and therefore subjects the woman who ingests it to a much higher risk of developing cancer, not to mention other serious medical troubles. Indeed, if it were not dangerous, drug companies would not be struggling to keep the dosage as low as possible. So the widespread use of estrogen actually involves widespread and grave medical harm. In a country as large as ours, with breast cancer as common as it is, even a smallish increase in the risk of cancer would mean thousands of deaths; and the increase in risk is not small.

And this brings us to the heart of the matter. The argument for the use of this drug is not medical (since it does not remedy anything, it does not shield against communicable disease, and it actually subjects the user to medical risk). It is social. It is simply this: Without the drug, many millions of sexually active women would become pregnant who do not wish to be so. But now we are not in the realm of individual choices alone. We must address the whole of society. We must address the common good.

He has written in a clinical way that will clarify the points for those who don't want to hear about God, encyclicals or morality. One can conclude, of course, that faith and reason are in sync, that science and theology are revealing the same truths, but that takes faith. For those who's faith is in common sense, health and human integrity, this article is an excellent tool. Highly recommended!

Mortal elixers, key to utopia

Two recent stories show the absurdity surrounding the defense of abortion, for those who are entirely honest admit that killing in the womb is no different than killing outside the womb. Denial of personhood is subjective and utilitarian, and powerful in the hands who have no fundamental respect for the sanctity of life.

In Britain’s “Journal of Medical Ethics,” two writers defend infanticide, arguing that “newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons … [because] individuals who are not in the condition of attributing any value to their own existence are not persons.” The authors elaborate further, noting that if babies cannot explain themselves, then they’ll hardly understand their own loss of life.

Britain, of course, is enduring a health care crisis with soaring costs and limited revenues -- so killing the defective babies is merely an exercise in fiscal prudence. A newborn is only days apart from a nine-month old fetus, so these "ethicists" are right in saying that birth is an arbitrary line in making such a choice. They are not the first to seriously propose killing infants on the basis of their health, and other countries have already embraced "physician assisted suicide" with and without the consent of the victim. The voices are simply given more volume in more "prestigious" platforms.

And then there is this heartbreaking account of a "reduction" (abstract term which means killing the extra babies in utero so that only one survives). To his credit, the father tries hard to defend them and then will not turn away when the mother insists that the procedure goes on.

[L]et nobody fool you.  It is not painless for the child, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.  Abortion is not an excision of a featureless bunch of cells; it is infanticide.  We have revived the practice of child sacrifice to the new deities of casual sex and convenience.  We rationalize the reality of murder by altering our perspective of the nascent life through euphemisms like "fetus" or descriptions of "a clump of cells"...just like the Nazis convinced themselves that the people screaming as they were shot or gassed were "Untermenchen," subhuman, and therefore guiltlessly exterminated.

This is how every perpetrator of genocide has always rationalized his or her actions.  By doing likewise, we condemn our own souls

He prays that his remaining child survives. I pray that their marriage survives -- for most unions cannot endure when death comes between them. The grace is there, but every step of the journey will be bittersweet, as the father already knows.

He has the courage to call abortion what it is, although it indicts him personally, and particulary as a Jew whose own people have been targeted in the same chilling manner over the centuries. He is contrite and knows he needs God's forgiveness -- what about the rest of us? How dare we make moral judgements on other cultures and eras, when our own is built on materialistic indifference to legalised murder? As Fr Longanecker points out, our transformation into darkness isn't going to come at the point of a sword, but a pen, with laws that turn our sterile halls of medicine into well-scrubbed citadels of death, where the cries of patients are dulled with mortal elixers, and those outside relieved of anxious burdens.