FACTS
FOR LIFE
A Canadian Students Pro-Life Paper
"Assisting and Encouraging Canadian Students in the Facts For Life"
FACTS
FOR LIFE
fight
with prayer
-OR
PERISH-
"Prayer
Saves Lives"
BISHOP FULTON SHEEN'S TEACHING ON HOLY HOURS
WHAT YOU AND YOUR SCHOOL CAN DO
WHAT DO THE SAINTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT PRAYER
Some
questions require more attention than others. How’s life? How’s your prayer
life? Prayer is as necessary to us as breathing. Prayer is the lifting
of the mind and heart to God, seeking a total loving relationship.
If we are not praying we are not really living. It should be a priority
in our lives as it involves us and the greatest V.I.P.’s in our lives,
the three divine persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To ignore
them or their role in our lives is to separate ourselves from our source
of life, our food of life and our sanctity of life.
As Catholics, we are called by Pope John Paul II to resist the Culture of Death and build a Culture of Life. This means becoming above all Pro-Life Prayer Warriors, excelling in spiritual exercises that give us direction, strength and wisdom to protect and defend life at all stages. This is a decision, a conviction to get serious about our faith, our relationships and our responsibilities regarding life in this world and the next. To love the most vulnerable neighbours, the unborn, the handicapped, the elderly and the chronically ill requires that prayer be a priority in our lives. To love even the enemy as expected of Christians requires prayer combined with sacrifice and mercy.
We have a choice here to be satisfied with minimums or to live fully and seek maximums. It is not enough to participate in Mass, although that is a good beginning. Prayer involves speaking and listening, a dialogue. Most of us speak but few have learned to listen with our whole minds and hearts, or to be patient and wait for answers and direction. To be realistic we must acknowledge the need we have for prayer. “Without me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Jesus tells it as it is: “Pray Constantly” (Lk 21:36). We can pray always by a Morning Offering of our whole day and night, so everything we think, say or do can be a prayer or by doing everything we think or say or do with and for Jesus.
Give priority to family and friends in your intentions but also remember what is first in the mind of God, at this time, according to Mother Teresa: the lives of women and children. (Over 55 million abortions in the world each year) The New Catholic Catechism states what will help us to defend life: “We must battle to gain humility, trust and perseverance” (2728).
There are many examples of prayer in Scripture: the Father, the Magnificat;
the Beatitudes. 
There
are prayers of Thanksgiving, Praise, Forgiveness, Offering and Petition.
The greatest of all prayers is the Mass. There is the prayer request by
Our Lady at Fatima and Lourdes for the Rosary. Some prefer praying before
the Blessed Sacrament in Holy Hours or the Stations of the Cross. There
are vocal, meditative or contemplative ways of prayer. The important realization
is that we should each have our own daily prayer life. Keeping a spiritual
diary is very helpful in developing a prayer lifestyle.
Consecration to Jesus through Mary is a proven and sure way taught to us by St Louis de Montfort “I am all yours and all that I have is yours dear Jesus through Mary”. Can we choose a better way to go to Jesus than the way He came to us? Pope John Paul II and many others have chosen this way. Mary can teach us as she taught her Son all about prayer. Going to Joseph is a sure way as well. Calling on our patron saints as well as archangels and martyrs definitely increases our prayer power.
We all have a duty to pray for ourselves, parents, and family. We are bound to pray for the conversion of sinners, unbelievers, enemies, the suffering and the souls in purgatory. Many include all or some of the following in their daily prayer life: Morning Offering; Mass; Prayer to our Guardian Angel; Scripture, Rosary; Prayers before and after meals; Examination of Conscience: Acts of Faith, Hope, Love and Contrition; Prayers to protect and defend life at all stages, from conception to natural death.
If you want to get really serious about your prayer life, there is the prayer of surrender, of Mary, giving God permission daily to carry out His will in your life: “Be it done to me according to your word”.
Pope John Paul II points out how prayer transforms our lives and the
life of the world:
“My dear young people, it is through prayer Jesus leads us to the Father.
It is in prayer that the Holy Spirit transforms our lives. It is in prayer
we come to know God, to detect His presence in our souls, to hear His voice
speaking through our consciences and to treasure this gift to us of personal
responsibility for our lives and for our world. It is through prayer we
can focus our attention on the person of Jesus Christ and see the total
relevance of His teaching for our lives. We begin to see things His Way”
(Prayer
and Devotions, Pope John Paul II, edit by Bishop Peter Johannes Van Lierde,
1984, pp. 261-262).
“By means of prayer all the blessed have attained heaven”.
“Nothing good can be
expected from a man who does not pray”.
“God bestows the favour of perseverance only
to those who pray”.
“To enter heaven continual
prayer is necessary after Baptism”.
“By prayer is obtained the possession of
every good and deliverance from every evil”.
“It is through prayer
that all the faithful have made it to heaven”.
“Some favours such as perseverance are granted
only to those who pray”.
“We should all pray
for four graces: forgiveness of our sins; love of God; Love of prayer;
and final perseverance”.
“When you pray, ask for great things, for
what is lasting”.
For a number of years now, pharmacists have been attempting to promote their profession by this catchy slogan. Pharmacists have a professional duty to know the drugs they are dispensing, including all side effects. Most (if not all) birth control pills and devices cause abortions to take place. Some pharmacists, recognizing the side effects, have lost their jobs because they refused to dispense abortion causing drugs and devices.
For Class Discussion: What
kind of birth control pills and CONTRACEPTIVE devices cause abortions?
Should pharmacists have a duty to explain the side effects of birth control
drugs that cause abortions? Should we be questioning our pharmacists on
the side effects of birth control pills and devices? Should we be asking
our pharmacists why they are involved in dispensing ‘death causing’ medications
and devices? Should our pharmacists have a legal right to refuse to dispense
birth control pills and devices?
For more information contact:
Situation #2: The body parts of unborn children that have been killed by abortion are often sold or used for experimentation.
For Class Discussion: Should the bodies or body parts of aborted children be used to benefit others?
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SCHOOL PASTORAL ANIMATOR OR CHAPLAIN TO SIT IN ON YOUR CLASS DISCUSSIONS. |
We all experience conflict in different forms in our lives. Many experience it from the beginning at conception, or after conception, when some seek to take the gift of life from us. The evils of contraception have been pointed out repeatedly by Pope John Paul II and the Church. Others are attacked in terms of practicing their faith, by the falsehoods in the media and massive propaganda campaigns by such groups as Planned Parenthood who tells us it is safe to take this or that Pill; it is safe to use contraceptives; it is safe to have an Abortion. It is your future, not theirs. Make informed and smart decisions. Practice your faith. Abstinence means No pregnancies outside of marriage, No need for birth control pills, No Abortions, No STD’s and No side-effect PROBLEMS. If you value yourself and others, choose chastity. Sexual goodness is for everyone. It means living the truth of human sexuality with courage and charity. It means valuing personal honour and sexual common sense and all relationships.
This challenges everyone to learn how to defend and protect the lives of the unborn, the family and our own lives as well. The outstanding weapons that can help us to conquer in this warfare are a holy fear or respect of God, and knowing and living according to the truth (humility). An essential principle in this battle is the determination to resist evil with suitable weapons. This includes being a person of prayer, using the living words of Scripture, and being watchful and avoiding proximate and voluntary occasions of sin. If we wish to be successful in Pro-Life Warfare, living in the state of grace is a good beginning. It is time to decide to be part of the Culture of Life, or else we will be part of the Culture of Death. St Alphonsus puts it this way: “There is no alternative. We must either fight or perish”. This means accepting self-disciple and self-control as the Pro-Life way, a way to save our lives and the lives of others. What we do with our time, how we use the gift of time to help others, is another part of the solution to conquer the evils of our day. St Jerome points out the great truth of useful employment of our energies: “Never let the devil find you idle”. So many people waste so much time needlessly.
Caring and sharing by visitation of the sick and elderly means so much to them. Organizing and managing a School Pro-Life Team is so beneficial and meaningful to all that participate.
The spiritual means of support for Pro-Life Witnessing through abstinence
and chastity are available in the great gifts of the Sacraments: Reconciliation
and Holy Communion at your local Catholic Church. Frequent Confession and
communion are indispensable in this present anti-life society. Jesus keeps
His word, His promises. His
prophet makes it clear to us: “Can a woman forget her infant, so as not
to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet I will
not forget you” (Is 49:15). The God of goodness, mercy and all Life will
not forget us when we are tempted or under attack.
Special appeals to Our Lady of Guadalupe, St Michael and St Joseph
are very effective as they are our patrons of Life. They can protect and
guide us.
Remember the words of Scripture. It was because of His mother, “being
moved with mercy toward her” (Lk 8:13), that Jesus raised the dead man
at the gate of Naim. She can make a difference in this Spiritual Battle
for Life. How can Jesus say NO to His mother? How can He say NO to His
foster father? How can He say NO to His mighty Archangel Michael (who is
Most like God)? Ask for the gifts of courage, charity and chastity.
These gifts from God are good for our bodies and souls. It means saving the gift of self for marriage. It is not always easy but it is always possible with God’s help, through prayer and effort. The conflicts between good and evil can be resolved. Through living a life of Courage, Charity and Chastity one can stay faithful to God and persevere in following Catholic teachings.
Left to ourselves, we can easily fall. Strengthened by God, we can conquer all.
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JESUS UNDERSTANDS AND JESUS FORGIVES |
To Main Index
for Facts for Life
"We
need prayer just like we need air. Without prayer, we can do nothing.
Every time we need to make a decision, we need to pray.... God is always
there, showing us that He never leaves our prayers unanswered. We
must join our prayer and our work. We do this by doing our work with
Jesus and for Jesus. He wants our will and our desire to be for Him,
for our family, for our children, for our brethren and for the poor.
There is no prayer without sacrifice and ther is no sacrifice without prayer.
That is what Jesus has shown us."
one Holy Hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament each day very seriously.
On one occasion when he was particularly tired, he fell asleep during his
daily Holy Hour. The story is told that when he woke up he asked the Lord
if it counted. The answer was yes, even the Apostles, Peter, James and
John did not stay awake in their Holy Hour with Him. “You could not stay
awake with me for even an hour. The spirit is willing but nature is weak”
(Matt 26: 40-41).