In This Issue
- As the Beast Morphs: No Cowardly Spirit When the Marian Blue Wave Surges
- A Homily to Inspire You to Holy Action because Lives Depend on It
- Rockland County Is Bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood through Mary During 40 Days for Life
As the Beast Morphs: No Cowardly Spirit When the Marian Blue Wave Surges
By Rita Diller
It is finally October, the month of Mary. It is also Respect Life Month in the Catholic Church. But sadly, we don’t hear much about that anymore, at least not in the area where I live and worship.
We have seen the downfall of Roe v. Wade this year, and for that and every child who is saved because abortion was not available at every doorstep, we are forever grateful.
However, what we see in the wake of the Dobbs decision is not peace and justice and safety for the preborn. Rather, unsurprisingly, we watch Planned Parenthood morph into a new beast that adapts to its inability to kill babies unabated wherever and whenever it wants. Licking its wounds as it prowls for more innocent blood to shed, it directs women to abortion funds and travel funds as it retreats to neighboring states that do not have laws against abortion, hawking abortion pills at every corner on its way. Even in states that have strong laws against abortion, there are the seemingly inevitable legal exceptions to abortion bans that strip the right to life from some babies, ostensibly to save the rest. Someone, wake me up from this nightmare. It is the apex of “cancel culture.”
Thanks be to God, hope is always there for the Christian. And as we continue to fight the battle for an end to Planned Parenthood and an end to abortion, it becomes even clearer that this is a spiritual battle that will not be won by politics and laws that are not morally constructed. Yes, our hope is in Christ!
How timely that the first Sunday in October we hear these words ring out from the Book of Habakkuk:
How long, O LORD? I cry for help
but you do not listen!
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not intervene.
Why do you let me see ruin;
why must I look at misery?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and clamorous discord.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash one has no integrity;
but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
Then in the second reading, St. Paul hits us with this—from his letter from prison to Timothy, whom he was mentoring in the faith:
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began.
Once again, we are called to boldly persevere with power, love, and the self-control that must be the hallmark of Christians.
As we look out across the landscape of America, what is our vision? What do we see? We see people recommitting to the battle for the most basic human right of all—the right to life. We see a major shift from reliance upon corrupt politicians and morally bereft laws and a recentering and focus on prayer and the spiritual life. We see recommitment to the spiritual life, the Holy Eucharist, and the rosary—all the spiritual gifts that have been given us to fight and win this battle. And we see Mary, calling the Church away from a spirit of cowardice and into full engagement at the very gates of hell, the forsaken sidewalks at Planned Parenthood, where the most horrifying, violent acts against tiny children take place day in and day out, year after year.
We see workers leaving Planned Parenthood because they can feel the prayers of the faithful through the walls. We see babies being saved and families being restored. We see innocence being preserved. We see demons fleeing and Planned Parenthood shutting its doors because without the demonic influence, there is nothing left to fuel its evil business model.
We see a stronghold in the Marian Blue Wave that is rolling across our land. We see a surge of peaceful, prayerful activity at the very doors of hell at Planned Parenthood, where goodness, peace, love, and hope would not be able to exist if good Christian people, armed with rosaries and images of Our Lady, were not there. We see hope and a new day.
The Marian Blue Wave is a strong, ever-growing army of spiritual warriors across America and in over 31 countries, now 10,000 strong, committed to praying the rosary to close Planned Parenthood and to end abortion, with some very big news to share over the next few days. Are you ready to help end abortion once and for all? Join us today. You can sign up here.
A Homily to Inspire You to Holy Action because Lives Depend on It
Father Jerzy Popieluszko, pray for us!
How long since you heard a homily that literally brought you to your feet and pushed you out the door to get to the work that God has called you to? For me, this is that homily. And it is based on this week’s scriptural readings.
Today I learned about a courageous, modern-day Polish priest martyr, a man described as “shy” and even “mousey” who arose in the 1980s to be among the greatest defenders of human rights. He was a great example of someone who rebuked any spirit of cowardice, faced down the enemies of God, became the boots-on-the-ground spiritual leader of one of the greatest human rights social uprisings in history, and through that became the impetus for extreme social change. Listen to his story here.
Together we can bear our share of the hardships that the gospel entails.
“When one stands courageously, with wisdom, with love, with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then one is able to face down the powers of the world. When we try to fight them on their own terms, when we try to conquer evil with evil, we make no progress toward the Kingdom of God. But when this courageous spirit is stirred up and coupled with wisdom and love? Now we make a difference. Now we move toward the Kingdom.” – Bishop Robert Barron
Rockland County Is Bringing Jesus to Planned Parenthood through Mary During 40 Days for Life
We close this week’s edition of the Wednesday STOPP Report with some of the beautiful pictures we have received from Rockland County, New York, as they commence their thirty-first 40 Days for Life campaign under the banner of Our Lady. Thanks to Eileen for the wonderful daily, faith-filled, and uplifting updates. The Church in Rockland County is truly showing up for Life Chain and at Planned Parenthood to stand in truth and peace against the horrors of abortion.
