But that’s not what I want to write about.  Well, not really.

You see I became involved with Mr. Cain’s campaign because I decided that something needed to happen in this country of ours to put us back on the right track.  The words of Blessed John Paul II kept turning over in my mind, “True holiness does not mean a flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in the family, at school and at work, and social and political involvement.”  I was beginning to get scared for my children and their future and I knew I had DO something -  just as the late Pope suggested.  By the Grace of God I ended up supporting Mr. Cain and eventually working for him.  While being on the National Stage and riding freight elevators with the potential next President of the United States and his Staff is heady stuff, and it has the potential to make one’s ego inflate, I was not in it for me.  I was doing this for my kids,  for my country, and because I believe God led me to it.

Now here I am, newly unemployed, and yet at peace, because I am still pursuing the same goal: Renewing the Culture; putting God BACK into the culture of America, where He belongs, and reclaiming our land and its people for Christ.  My mission has not changed, God has just seen fit to change my landscape and mission field a bit.

So where do we go from here?  Well, for one thing, I will hopefully by able to post more often and share with you my thoughts on how we as women accomplish this incredible task of renewal, re-evangelization, and reclamation.  I am also planning on developing Daughters of the Heavenly King further and am hoping to launch some groups “on the ground” sometime in the coming year.   I hope you will join me in that endeavor!

For the immediate moment, though, this moment that you and I are sharing together, I want to talk about how crucial culture and history are to the renewal and reclamation of America.

I have been reading George Weigel’s Biography on Pope John Paul II, A Witness to Hope.  As I read through the different areas and aspects of the Late Pontiff’s life I have been repeatedly struck by the importance John Paul II placed on the Culture of a Nation.  Not just Pop-Culture, but the historical, deep-rooted culture that defines a Nation as it ages.  A culture that becomes richer because it recognizes from where it came.  It was through a cultural renewal that Poland defeated the Soviet Iron grip.  It was through a cultural renewal – a renewal based on the Truth that Christ is at the center of every culture, because culture is for man, and Christ is THE MAN and is living in each of us – that the Soviet Satellites were able to throw off the yoke of tyranny.  A culture that embraces Christ is a culture that MUST embrace Freedom and Truth, for Christ IS Truth, and one must have the Freedom to acknowledge that Truth.

America is in danger of LOSING her cultural identity.  THIS is the greatest threat to our Nation.  Not the economy, not the War on Terror, not the overspending, the  elitism or the “establishment politics.”  The greatest threat to America is the cultural decline that she is experiencing because everything else is a “symptom” of it.  A Nation with a strong cultural identity is a Nation with citizens who are secure in their ability to work hard and prosper.  A country with strong ties to its history and cultural past is a country that will fight to preserve those ties and to protect its culture and citizens from those who would destroy that way of life.  A Nation that recognizes Christ as the center of society, and in doing so, recognizes that man is not created for society, but that society exists for man, will have policies and laws that reflect the dignity of life, the dignity of persons, and will protect the just due of those persons.   You see, it all comes back to culture and history - rooted in Christ.

Our task is to advance our society towards Jesus.  What a great thing to focus on during Advent!  Just as the Magi kept pressing on until they found Christ, so too must we keep pressing forward, bringing our Nation back along the path of a Christo-centric Culture. Just as St. John the Baptist cried out in the desert so too must we cry out in the cultural desert, “Make straight a highway for God!”  We must be the ones who restore and renew our culture.  We do this, as Pope John Paul II suggested , in everyday life.  Living the Gospel.  Speaking the Truth.  Not being afraid to witness to that Truth.  THAT is how we start.  The time is now.  We cannot afford to wait or to hope someone else will do the work for us.  God has called each of us to this time and place so that we may Proclaim Him and His Truth.  It is through Him and His Truth that we will be free.  It is through Christ that we will reclaim our culture.

Let us not be complacent!  Let us “Open wide the doors to Christ” in our homes, our schools and our offices!  Lets us welcome Him into the realms of politics and enertainment.   Lets us “Put out into the Deep, and open our nets for a catch” as we proclaim the Truth of our history and our culture!

May God Bless your beautiful feminine hearts.  Its good to be back!!

**Disclaimer: For the purposes of this blog post “Islamo-facism” refers to Islamic extremism – which is practiced by Muslims who believe in and support violent ”jihad” against non-muslims, and Shariah law and its supremacy – even to the laws of other nations. It does NOT refer to those Muslims who believe theirs is a religion of peace and practice it as such.**

I want to propose something that may seem a little bold, maybe a little crazy, and I welcome your comments.

Twenty-something years ago Pope John Paul II worked to bring a peaceful end to Communism in Europe and throughout the world. Simultaneously, President Ronald Reagan worked to the same end. While there was no USA-Vatican conspiracy to bring down the Iron Curtain, there WAS, according to Papal Biographer George Weigel, a mutual understanding and respect, and a willingness to support each other’s efforts between John Paul II and Reagan. Both men understood that their cooperation and faith-based efforts on the world stage would eventually accomplish what many thought was impossible: The virtual end of Communisms’ reach and stronghold in the Eastern Bloc of Europe, and in many other nations. Sure, communism in some form still limps lamely along in the world – most notably in small nations like Cuba and in some South American countries, but the width and breadth of Communism’s grip is no where even close to what it was before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and lifting of the Iron Curtain. Even in countries where communism still exists it is not the same “brand” of totalitarian control that it was back when the Soviet Socialist Republic was in power, and its days are numbered as it is slowly being eroded and replaced by freedom.

I think it is safe to say (and many historians would agree – both secular and Catholic) that the Communist threat, that Communism’s “religion” of the State, was effectively brought to its knees and ended by the mutual respect, understanding, and sometimes cooperation of a Pope and a President.

Let us look now at today. While communism was the threat of the later 20th Century, it is Islamic Extremism that is the threat of 21st. Theocrats who wish to convert or exterminate all but those who profess Allah as he is described in the Koran are determined to take the world by violent force – and are driven by their belief that this is their “divine calling.” These individuals believe that their own form of law must replace the civil laws of society. Laws that require honor killings, beheadings, and burqas. To think that we are immune to this theocratic madness is naive and dangerous. Already we have seen here in the US an effort to bring Shariah Law into our land. Already we have been attacked on our own soil for being “infidels” (non-believers). My friends, this is the global threat of our time.

Why do I bring this up here? Because throughout history it has been the Catholic Church who has stood for freedom and Truth. In the face of persecution, heresy, globalism, communism, fascism, and now, Islamic Extremism. The Church has unabashedly professed that true Freedom is only available if the person is able to choose it. Freedom, John Paul II reminded us, isn’t freedom if one’s dignity is not respected. Freedom means having the ability to worship God as He would have us worship Him. Islamic extremism, Shariah law, are the antithesis of freedom. This brand of Islam does not respect the dignity of its own followers. Women are treated as objects whose only mission is to bear more Muslim boys, and who are at fault for the sins of men. Burqas and headscarves are not worn out of respect. They are imposed on women because women’s bodies are seen as vile and sinful. The Catholic Church has a very different message for women: The Truth of their God-given dignity as persons created in His image!

Shariah Law is directly opposed to our Faith by the very fact that it excludes all other faiths but itself – and requires those who do not profess Islam to be killed. This is a fundamental heresy – the Gospel of Christ is about proclaiming the Truth and about Christ’s Redemption – and about the free will of people to choose or reject the Truth.  This Truth is available and should be proclaimed to all. Shariah Law is in direct opposition to the Gospel of Christ!

Much like its twisted cousin, Communism, Islamic Extremism is the enemy of Freedom and dignity. Islamo-fascism is the newest form of totalitarianism to rear its head on the world stage.

Consider this excerpt from Witness to Hope, the biography of John Paul II:
” To carry out its primary task, the Church asked the world for the freedom in which to make its evangelical proposal, and the Church asked that the world consider the possibility of its redemption. That was all the Church asked, but the very asking had public implications, for only a certain kind of state could grant what the Church asked. The Church’s basic evangelical mission made the Church anti-totalitarian, because the things the Church asked of the world set boundaries on the reach and pretensions of Government.
The Church that evangelizes is always a public Church, for evangelization is always a public proposal and both the making of the proposal and its content have public consequences. Yet the Church engages the world not as another contestant for power, but as a witness to the truth about the human person, human community, human history, and human destiny…This was the kind of “public Church” envisioned by the Second Vatican Council,…and the kind of public Church John Paul II …intended to foster.
John paul II’s evangelically focused view of history and politics helps get into focus his relationship with another salient actor on the world stage in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States,
The Pope and the president held certain common convictions. They both believed that communism was a moral evil, not simply wrongheaded economics. They were both confident of the capacity of free people to meet the communist challenge. Both were convinced that, in the contest with communism, victory, not mere accommodation, was possible. Both had a sense of the drama of late twentieth-century history, and both were confident that the spoken word of truth could cut through the static of communism’s lies and rouse people from their acquiescence to servitude.“

I bring all this up because I want to propose that we may be on the cusp of another great alliance of Pope and President. Another instance where the Truth universally proclaimed by Christ’s Church on earth – the Church militant – is also supported by a wise and faithful President yet to be elected. This time though, it would be to fight the creeping influence of Islamic-Extremism and the totalitarianism of Extremist Regimes by a bold proclamation of the Truth.

It is no secret how Herman Cain feels about Islamic Extremists and Shariah law. It should also not be a shock that Pope Benedict the XVI has had some very pointed things to say about certain factions of Islam, and that he refuses to categorize it as a “religion of peace.” When asked by a reporter if he would describe it as such, he replied, “”I would not like to use big words to apply generic labels,” he replied. “It certainly contains elements that can favor peace, it also has other elements: We must always seek the best elements.” (13 Sept 2006).

Could it be that once again, in the drama of Divine Providence, that the stage is being set for Christ’s Church on earth, and the “shining City on a Hill” to confront the evil of our time?  Could it be that this upcoming election is much more than “just another election cycle?”  Maybe I sound crazy, but I think that it is.

God never imposes His Divine Will on His people – individually or collectively.  It truly is up to US to Trust His Will and follow where He leads.  I am confident in Mr Cain’s sincerity when he says he made the decision to run for President on his knees.  I am also confident that he has the absolute best chance at succeeding.  Above all, I KNOW he will not succeed without the support and the prayers of people like you and me.

At this juncture in history – with so much at stake - I am not willing to sit idly by and watch our country slowly erode away. Not from the threat of a moral decline, an economic decline, or a decline in National Security and Vigilance.  I ask  you to join me in praying for our nation and if you so choose, in praying for Mr Herman Cain as well.

I do not know what the future holds, but with a President Herman Cain in the White House, I am confident in the possibilities, and if that day does indeed come, I am also confident that a friendship between a Pope and President would once again be an anecdote for our world.

My children and I were able to speak with and take this picture with Mr Herman Cain in Washington DC at the end of July.

In the past I have refrained from supporting one candidate over another, and from commenting on anything political that would require a endorsement or the like.  I have come to the decision, after much prayer, and after learning as much as I could about the candidates, their platforms, positions, and morals, that Herman Cain is the best Candidate for a Catholic to support.  Many of you may be wondering why I do not say the same of Mr. Santorum, who is himself a Catholic.  I am sure he is a fine man, and I LOVE his stories about his daughter Bella.  The fact is that he does not have a chance at winning the nomination.  He may be a moral bulwark, (although I am not convinced, as he has supported some pro-choice candidates in the past), but he is not a leader.  Our nation needs a leader who is also a moral stalwart.  That person is Mr. Herman Cain.

His platform is solid and does not contradict any Catholic Social or Individual Teaching that I can find (and I’ve been doing a lot of research!).  He is a man of Faith who has very prayerfully considered his run for the White House.  I admire his Faith and Humility.  I admire his leadership, and his Common Sense approach to Problem Solving that has proven to work.  I believe he can and will bring our country both back to God and back to greatness.

I invite you to learn more about this man, Herman Cain.  You can find more at his website http://hermancain.com and you can learn a little more about why he is a good choice for a Conscientious Catholic Voter at http://catholics4cain.forumstopic.com .   I know politics can be divisive and it is not my goal here to begin a tedious or long political debate.  I welcome differing opinions, but I do urge you to learn more about his man, because I have complete confidence that the more you learn about him, the more you listen to him, the more you will become convinced that he is the “last best hope for America.”

As always, may God Bless your beautiful feminine hearts,

Laura Ricketts

Sweet Jesus, humbly with us in the guise of Bread and Wine, Pray for us!

Thank you for the Incredible Gift of Your Eucharistic Body and Blood!

My young son broke his leg 4 weeks ago and it really threw me off!!  Even though it was terrible for him, we have had an incredible blessing! I will share with you what I wrote to some of my family and friends -such a wonderful story!  Then we shall resume a better and more frequent posting schedule, starting next week with “Cultural Revolution” – so stay tuned!

This is what I wrote 2 weeks ago to my some of my friends and family:

Noah had his 2 week check up for his leg today.  The doctor was somewhat flabbergasted when she looked at today’s Xrays and saw that the 2 breaks are completely healed.  “I’ve never seen this type of  break heal so quickly – even in a small child,” she said, “I don’t know what to do!”  and she stared at the XRays some more.  I, however, was not as surprised, simply because when Noah broke his leg (he had a good crack in his tibia and a spidery fracture and some bowing in his fibula)  I began praying to Bl John Paul II to heal it quickly.  I had a prayer card that was blessed by him when I saw him in Rome in 2000.  I placed it over his break inside his cast at night.  Today I was practically giddy as we waited for the XRay results because I  knew it would be good news!  Since the Doc was so confused as to what she should do and all I could do was laugh as Noah swung his “broken” leg around she decided to take off his big cast and look at it.  When she came in the room after it was removed she started examining the wrong leg saying, “Hmm there is some bruising.”  When I pointed out that she was examining the wrong leg and that the bruising was an ink smudge and an old black and blue mark, she took a look at the “broken” leg and said, “Oh my, it looks perfectly fine!”  She asked him if it hurt to which he responded by kicking it, laughing, and trying to jump on it. Ultimately she decided to put him in a short leg cast “because that’s what I would normally do, and I’ve never encountered this situation before.”  She admitted though that the short leg cast doesn’t even cover the part that was broken (!) and that its really for “insurance and malpractice purposes” more than anything else, “because his leg looks completely healed even though it shouldn’t.” 

I never gave him homeopathy to promote bone growth because I couldn’t find it, and was confident that Bl. Papa JP2 would fix him.  He never had or needed pain relievers after the day the break occurred.  I gave him Arnica for the first 2 days (before his big cast was put on) to reduce swelling, and that was it.  I am completely convinced that through the intercession of Papa John Paul II, Noah’s leg is perfectly fine, and he has to deal with the short cast purely as a formality and to appease a very confused doctor. 

Another interesting thing is that the whole time we were at the Orthopedist Noah kept asking to go to Church!  He told all the nurses he was going to church and kept asking me to go.  He NEVER asks to go to church. Ever.  I promised him we’d go when we were done.  When we left the Orthopedist we went to our Church and into the Adoration Chapel.  Noah was very quiet and content (also rare).  He blessed himself with Holy Water, blew Jesus a kiss and I asked him if we should say thank you.  He nodded so we said, I love you Jesus, thank you John Paul ‘second’.  Then he blew Jesus another kiss, and looked at me whispering , “OK, go home now.”  I smiled at him and that’s just what we did!  Perhaps his little heart understands…I’d like to think so.

Thank you, Bl. John Paul II!!! We Love you!

I went to bed feeling perturbed.  I read some more of George Weigel’s biography of John Paul II, Witness to Hope, and fell asleep.   I woke up this morning feeling a little better.  I was even able to make some “72 Virgins” jokes on Facebook (and then felt slightly guilty about them).  Still, I couldnt shake this nagging perturbation.  Why can’t I just be like every other American and be happy about this!?  Afterall, I am glad that he wont be able to spread his ilk anymore.  I am proud of our miltary for a job very well done, and a mission accomplished without any loss of American life.  I was satisfied to learn that Bin Laden was given a chance to surrender, and that his body was buried with respect – complete with the reading of scripture in Arabic.  So what was wrong?  Then it hit me; an image of John Paul II sitting forehead to forehead with Mehmet Ali Agca – the man who tried to kill him.  John Paul II met with him two years after the attempted assassinaion that sent the Pontiff to the hospital in critical condition.  He met with Agca to forgive him.  After that it was a rapid fire slideshow of events from John Paul’s life that flashed through my mind.  The young Karol Wojtyla performing in an outlawed, clandestine cultural Theatrical group,  coming face to face daily with the reality of living in a land occupied by the Nazis, becoming an underground seminarian, going head to head with the Soviets by saying Mass in the field of Nowa Huta, preaching Solidarity in Poland as a newly elected Pope, standing in public squares of various communist-oppresssed countries, confronting their governments by boldly proclaiming that the Church is the protector of true freedom, fearlessly declaring that freedom comes from a true understanding of the God Given Dignity of each and every human person, and that humans find freedom by making themselves a gift to others.

Why was I having a hard time coming to grips with  what I felt my patrotism demanded of me?  Because John Paul II taught me that my Catholicism, my Faith, demands more.  John Paul II taught us that culture – that ideas, that the proclamation of the Truth of Human Freedom, found in Christ, does more to topple evil empires, and negate the influence of men with evil designs than a constant barrage of bullets can.  He proved this in Poland, he proved it again with the partnership of Ronald Regan, in the toppling of  the Berlin Wall, and the peaceful end of Soviet Russia’s dominance.  He brought Catholicism out of the shadows in Communist Cuba, and empowered Catholics in African Nations.  He has shown us that there is indeed a recipe for peace, and a way to proclaim Freedom without the use of force.  Having grown up under the Nazis and behind the iron curtain it is remarkable in a way that he was not one to preach retaliation or violent vindication.  He saw firsthand what unbridled, unchecked violence can do.

Now, let me take a break here and say that I am not an anti-war pacifist.  I am a proud military wife who misses being “active duty” every so often.  I believe that because we live in a post-Eden world, where evil acts and evil men are a reality, that a military – a good, strong, moral military is imperative.  The Church herself is not a strict pacifist either – in fact the Catechism says that being a member of the armed forces is one of the highest callings of the laity!  The Holy Catholic Church also has a “recipe” for determining if a war should be waged.  This “Just War Doctrine” is a guideline, a basis for helping us to decide whether violent force is truly necessary and good.  Recently, the War in Afghanistan was said to be one such war.  So the Church, in Her Wisdom, understands that sometimes “bad men” with evil intentions will only stop if they are stopped by someone stronger than they are.  I certainly don’t dispute that.  But its not the only answer.  This is what John Paul II taught us.  He showed us that even while a war is being waged militarily, another type of war must be waged as well – one of culture and ideas.  Truth and Freedom.

So why did Osama Bin Laden’s death make me so melancholy?  Because it brought forward that which I think is missing in this “War on Terror.”  Mercy.  The proclamation of Truth, and forgiveness. I know he was given a chance to surrender, and that he was shot in the midst of a firefight.  But it still makes me a little sad.  Osama Bin Laden died denying the Truth.  He died ignorant of the true worth of all human beings.   He died much the same way many of his victims did.  Some would call this justice.  I call it sad.  For he died in ignorance, clouded by evil.  How much better, how much more dramatic would it have been if he had grasped the Truth?  If he had repented and sought forgiveness?  He will never have that chance, and now it is God alone who knows his true and Eternal fate.  Yes, I admit to feeling a little satisfied – a little relieved, but I am also a little sad.   So I feel this sadness begs a question – what can we do better?  What can we, as a Catholic Church, do to help fight this War on Terror?

Well, first and foremost we must pray.  Too often we underestimate the enormous power of prayer.  Sure, its not as splashy as “shock and awe” but prayer most certainly is the most powerful weapon against Evil.  Secondly, we must fearlessly proclaim the Truth.  Especially to those living under the tight fist of extremist Islam.  Yes, I said it, we must evangelize the Muslim world.  It has long amazed me that “women’s rights” groups who are otherwise vocal (and sometimes obnoxiously so) here in the U.S. are virtually silent when it comes to the treatment of women in much of the Arab World.  The Catholic Church has always upheld the dignity of women.  Its time that the women underneath their burkas and full-black robes heard the message.  Most Islamo-extremist dicatorships are just like their evil cousins – communist and fascist dictatorships.  Those in power oppressing their people and ruling with fear and violence.  If  building a culture of life and Truth can topple communist dictatorships, as it did in Poland, surely it could do it in a place like Iran.   This is where the Church shines.  Proclaiming the Truth has been Her forté since Christ “gave Peter the keys.”  I know its dangerous – already numerous Christians have paid with their lives the price of proclaiming the Gospel.   Yet, as a people of Truth, the Church Militant, we musn’t rest until we have proclaimed that Truth to every people – especially those who are oppressed and abused.  I invite you to join me in praying for God to send courageous missionaries to the Middle East, men and women willing to risk all to begin a cultural revolution based on Christ’s Truth.  In the meantime, we pray also for our troops – charged with the duty of protecting us and waging a war that some evil men understand as their only language.

So, where does this leave me as far as Osama Bin Laden?  I’m still a little miffed that he hijacked the news cycle from the Beatification of John Paul II, but at the same time, it was this that caught me well enough off guard to force me to examine my Faith, despite my Patriotitsm.  As a Catholic in America, this is an examination that must regularily take place.    So I suppose in a way I am thankful.  I am thankful for the opportunity to confront my conflict between being patriotic and faithful, and to put some of what I have learned from Blessed John Paul II into practice.  He was, afterall, a fiercely pariotic Pole, and an explemplary Faith-filled Catholic who lived through  the greatest war of his time.  So I suppose there’s hope for me!

“He’s dead.”

“Wait, here comes Jesus!”

“Get alive again!” (in a deep ‘Jesus Voice’)

“He’s alive, He is ‘risened’ from the dead!”

 This may sound like a reenactment of Jesus raising Lazarus, or maybe the Easter Story.  But its not.  It is my children playing with their dinosaurs and Thomas trains.  And a Jesus doll.  Or maybe its a GI Joe in Barbie’s nightgown….

This is the beginning of Holy Week.  Random toys being “Raised from the dead” is a pretty good  indication that Easter will soon be upon us.

 There was a time in my life when Holy Week was spent in quiet solitude.  Intense meditation.  Contemplative sadness and melancholy.  I would spend Holy Thursday reading all the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, watch Jesus of Nazareth, and silently mediate on the Eucharist and Christ’s sacrificial suffering – knowing what was to come.  Then on Good Friday I would spend the hours of noon to 3 completely silent.  I would walk the Stations of the Cross at Church.  At Franciscan University I loved their woodsy Station Walk on the hill.  I would read all the Gospels again – this time the Passion of Christ.  Next would be the Revelations of St. Bridget.  I concentrated on Christ’s account of His Passion and Death.  The  day would continue in quiet melancholy.  Saturday would be much the same, until the evening when the Vigil Mass began.  Seeing the candles lighting the darkened Church, and then the Beautiful moment when the Lights come on – He is Risen!  Alleluia!

 I sigh wistfully at the memories.  I am sure someday I will once again have the luxury of immersing myself completely in Holy Week.  I hope so.  For now, though, my “Easter Experience” is far different.  This is because I am raising small children.  Holy Week has taken on a whole new dimension of “sacrificial suffering.”  While I would love to mope and meditate, completely lose myself in the awesome Scandal of the Cross, I can’t.  Not when there are diapers to change, children to school, Band-Aids to be put on with a kiss, meals to cook, lessons to drive to, and young hearts to train up in Holiness.  So more often than not, its a prayer and a wistful look at my bookshelf full of great texts by Holy men and women.  A sidelong glance at my prayer corner, and back to reality as the little one tries to crawl all the way into the Wood Stove (again), dumping a box of cereal all over the floor on his way.

 At first I was tempted to get frustrated.  After all, this is Holy Week, don’t I deserve the “time off” to do the things I like to during this unique week in the Liturgical Year?  Then that thought came back and smacked me in the face.  How selfish of me!  Of course this is Holy Week, and yes there are things that would be meaningful to me, but some of them are not practical with small ones underfoot.  THIS, right now is my path to Holiness.  How can I best unite myself to Christ’s Passion this week?  By embracing the crosses of Motherhood.  By putting aside what I want to be doing, and instead taking the opportunity to teach my children why we call this week “Holy.”  There will be times for prayer, and contemplation.  They may not be when I would choose, but I can recognize an opportunity and take it.  I may not have the luxury of planning out my own personal Holy Week schedule, but I will have the chance to enter into the great Mystery – the Holy Scandal of Christ’s suffering, death, and Resurrection.  It may be while I am vacuuming up spilled cheerios, or mopping up a gallon of dumped water, but I can take this quiet time to prayerfully “multitask.”

 I can accept the added humility of having my littlest one melt down at the Penance Service in front of all the praying people, only to have him accompany me  - clutching my neck lest I put him down – into the confessional and repeat everything I say – loudly.  I can suffer through another viewing of Veggie Tales’ Easter Story (it gets a little old after continuous viewing for 4 years strait!)  I can tell and retell the story of Christ’s Passion – paying special attention to St. Peter cutting off the Servant’s ear, because that’s my 3 year old’s “Favorite part,” and only to be interrupted every few words with questions and comments.

 ”Well, how many thorns were there?”

“I think ‘Punchless Pilate’ needed to take Martial Arts. Then he would know how to punch.”

“I think Simon of Cyrene was called “Si-Cy”like a nickname.” (Um, OK?),

“Mommy, what’s a cock and why does it crow?”

“Mommy why does it say “ass” in the Bible? Why did Jesus ride on one? Isn’t that a fresh word? What was Jesus thinking?”

“When He made the first miracle with bread turning into His body, did a part of His body come off?” “Did they drop Jesus when they took Him off the cross?”

“Did they put only one nail in His feet because they ran out?” and so on, and so on.

This is my Holy Week.  It may have its frustrating times, but honestly, all that pales when I see my kids “raising their trains and dinosaurs from the dead.”  On some level they are beginning to understand.  I am thankful that its not all “Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs.”  While that infamous oversized rodent will be making his way to our house this Sunday, its not the only thing in their minds.  When I glance into the toyroom and see them pretending to wait outside “Jesus’ Tomb,”  When they begin to clap at the “Miracle” during Mass (Transubstantiation) and proclaim  (albeit loudly) that “It happened! The Miracle Happened! Its Jesus’ Body!  Just like the Last Supper!!” I know that in their own way, they are entering into the Paschal Mystery too.

 Maybe I don’t get to experience Holy Week the way I would choose to, but I do get to experience it through the eyes of my children; and in all honestly, that can be good enough for me.

May you have a Truly Holy Week, and Joyous Easter!

Lately abortion and sex trafficking have been getting a lot of attention in the media – especially in the more conservative media circles.  It’s hard for me to check my email or hop on Facebook without reading a headline from one group or another decrying the latest Planned Parenthood Scandal, or the newest Abortion Industry outrage.  While keeping myself informed and engaged in the new momentum that is sweeping the Pro-Life Movement, I have been continuing to follow the work of an amazing group of Modern Day Missionaries –  The Pink Cross Foundation.  Pink Cross is dedicated to rescuing men and women both from the porn industry and porn addiction.  It was founded by Shelley Lubben, a zealous Christian whose past includes acting in porn films – in other words, she is a former porn star who also “worked” turning tricks and dancing in other areas of the “adult world.”  Now though, she is on fire for Christ, and for exposing the real Truth about pornography and the industry that creates it.  Her book, The Truth Behind the Fantasy of Porn rips off the facade of sexy glamour and seduction, and shows the ugly, awful Truth about pornography.  I’ve also become even more impressed with the expanding (with a newly updated) The King’s Men – a men’s ministry whose website describes its Mission as “Under Christ the King’s universal call to serve, we as men, pledge to unite and build up other men in the mold of leader, protector, and provider through education, formation and action.”  A large component of the King’s Men Ministry is combating pornography, the “adult” industry and lust.   Through The King’s Men, men are finding freedom and Truth.

*A reclamation of feminine dignity, finding freedom from a pornified culture, and discovering that one CAN be happy and whole despite a loved one’s addiction are some aspects of the Daughters of the Heavenly King Ministry that I feel called to really grow and develop.  I ask for your prayers as I seek to follow God’s Will in this.*

But back to our question: what do abortion, pornography, and a Pope all have in common?

Human Dignity. The answer to the question, “What are we as humans worth? And why?”

It struck me as I was reading Witness to Hope.  Weigel explains that as a humanist, and as a phenomenologist whose Catholic Faith infused Truth into every aspect of his life and philosophy, Pope John Paul II identified the great danger facing our world not as one single issue but as a crisis of ideas.  In other (more simple) words (the late Holy Father was incredibly profound and deep!)  instead of identifying one issue as the most pressing or horrible, or naming one crisis as the most important to face, John Paul II believed that the crisis and question facing humanity at this point in history is one of ideas.  One of understanding.  Get it wrong, and everything else falls apart too.  The beginning of all problems, crises, and  controversial issues is at its root – an idea – either a faulty idea and understanding , or one rightly based in God’s Truth.

This is what abortion and pornography have in common.  A faulty idea.  An idea that is corroding our very

culture.  The idea that some human lives do not have dignity.  That some humans are expendable – that they can be discarded or objectified.  That people can be murdered, degraded, made to suffer and even die to serve the whims and pleasures of others.  It’s the same faulty idea that made slavery a booming business.  It’s the same faulty idea that fuels the human trafficking (modern-day slavery) black market.  It’s the false idea that allows a mother to convince herself that she has a right to kill her child, and pornographers to exploit the women and men they’ve coerced into “working” for them.    It’s the false idea about just what the worth of a human person is.  What the dignity of the human person is.

Pope John Paul II tirelessly proclaimed that each and every human person has a worth and a dignity that is completely independent of utility. He declared that a person has an intrinsic worth simply because they are a person – created by God.  What a bold declaration in this day and age; especially coming from a man who grew up behind the “Iron Curtain.”   Yet, it is this idea that John Paul II so desperately wanted to communicate to us!   Why?  Because John Paul II was a man of Hope!  What gives us hope?  The idea that God loved us so much that He created us in HIS OWN Image, and sent to us His Incarnated Son!  John Paul II had this to say about hope to the United Nations, “Hope and trust are the premise of responsible activity and are nurtured in that inner sanctuary of conscience where “man is alone with God” and thus perceives that he is not alone amid the enigmas of existence, for he is surrounded by the love of the Creator!”  How do we know that he is indeed surrounded by the love of the creator?  Because that creator loved man enough to stamp on him His Own image.  This act of creating man in His Image is what, according to the late Holy Father, infuses man with a dignity that is independent of anything else.

The theme of individual dignity runs through much of what John Paul II preached and wrote about.  One of the greatest works to consider the God-given dignity of the human person is his Theology of the Body. Originally a series of talks given at his general audiences, the Theology of the Body is a compilation of  the late Pope’s thoughts on his exegesis of Genesis 1:27, God created man in his Image, in the Divine Image He created him; male and female He created them.

It is this declaration that answers the great question at the root of our discussion.  What do abortion, pornography, and a Pope have in common?  The pope understood that the foundational idea behind abortion and pornography is the same.  They are two manifestations of the same warped concept of human dignity.  They illustrate that on some level there is a social acceptance of the idea that some humans can be used or discarded at the whim of others.

This dangerous thought process is seen in play in the debates revolving around euthanasia, eugenics, and the infamous “death panel” discussion.  Most recently we saw this mentality being challenged by the story of Baby Joseph, and we were reminded of Terri Schiavo’s terrible ordeal and death at the hands of her husband just last week, as the anniversary of her passing was remembered.

Every year  1.2 million children are trafficked around the globe – most of them into the sex industry.  Pornography continues to net more profit than the combined revenues of all the major sports franchises, and abortion is Planned Parenthood’s most profitable revenue source.  Why? Because there is a great disparity between the dignity a person has, and whether or not that dignity is regarded as being intrinsic to their very being.

So what do we do with this information?  What do we, what can we, as women, do?  How do you stop abortion, pornography, and all the other atrocities committed against the very dignity of our fellow men?  We must change the idea. We must challenge the very understanding that has been born of the faulty idea that all persons do not have an intrinsic, God-given dignity, as such.   Then we must replace this very misled understanding with the Truth.  God’s Truth.  We do this one person at a time, starting with ourselves.  THAT is the mission of Daughters of the Heavenly King.  To reclaim the dignity we have as God’s Daughters.  The dignity we have as females, created in the Image and Likeness of our loving Father of Lights.  Once we have truly reclaimed our dignity for ourselves, we can reclaim and reshape the entire culture!  Our witness alone sheds light on the areas of the cultural understanding that need to be infused with God’s Truth.  By building up one another, by encouraging one another, and by challenging head-on the evil ideas that have created the injustices of abortion, pornography, human trafficking, euthanasia…we create a new community that will discard the old and evil ideas and replace them with the Love and Truth of God’s plan for us as His people.  John Paul II had such hope!  He knew that as our understanding of our true dignity as persons, created in God’s Own Image, grew, that the Truth could not be contained, and the very culture of the world could be transformed!  It is up to you and I to accomplish this.  It is our prayer-filled example, our boldness in proclaiming the Truth, our fearless witness to the true dignity of all persons that will bring about this transformation.  As John Paul II so often proclaimed, “Do not be afraid!”  Your beautiful, strong, tender, feminine hearts are more than up to the task!  The Truth is already on our side!  John Paul II, pray for us!

This Post is dedicated in Memory of John Paul II, in honor of his Beatification which will take place on

May 1, 2011.

But this post is not about St. Patrick.  It’s about St. Joseph.  St. Joseph?  Why him?  Well, because 2 days after St. Patrick’s Day there is another great Feast in the Church.  St. Joseph’s.  Actually this isn’t just a Feast Day, it’s a Solemnity – a BIG Feast Day.  In simple terms – “bigger” than St. Patrick’s Day.  What is ironically fitting is that even though these two Saints have Feasts just days apart from each other, one is so popular that it has its own color code, and the other is very often overlooked.  Why ironically fitting?  Because St. Joseph, the most humble of men, remains humble even as his Solemnity is often overshadowed by  St. Patrick’s Day.  Now let me take a moment to say that I am not implying that there is some sort of Heavenly row brewing.  I doubt that in the Presence of Almighty God St. Patrick and St. Joseph are duking it out over who is more popular.  I am pointing out that even the situation of his Feast Day tells us something about St. Joseph, the foster Father of Jesus, and one of the most misunderstood of the Catholic Saints:

Humility.

Imagine being told by an angel that you were to be the father of God’s Son, yet have nothing to do with His conception, that your future wife was completely sinless, and that oh, yeah, after you marry her, you are to protect and honor her virginity.  What is a poor, hard-working, faithful man to do?  Humble himself and trust in His God.  St. Joseph did this his whole life.  He was the defender, protector, and provider for his family, the teacher and father of Jesus, and the faithful husband of Mary.  It was from Joseph that Jesus learned about being a man  and about work.  It was Joseph who introduced Jesus to the scriptures and who took him to the synagogue.  It was Joseph who taught Christ how to work and how to play.  In His complete humanity, Jesus needed the love and instruction, guidance and discipline of an earthly father.  That man was Joseph.  What an awesome task!  What an incredible man!   Yet, Joseph barely gets mentioned twice in the Bible, and whenever we see a statue of the man, he is demurely holding a Lily.  Poor St. Joseph!  Now, I know, I know, lilies are symbols for virginity and purity, but come on!  The man was a carpenter for crying out loud!  He knew how to work and get dirty!  His hands were callused and his fingernails probably all chipped – with dirt underneath them.  He had splinters in his skin and sawdust in his hair.  He was a real man!  Yet he was also incredibly humble.

This is why we look to St. Joseph as a great Saint – not just because he was the Foster Father of Jesus, but because he was man enough to be the Foster Father of Jesus, and pure and chaste enough to be the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  He was faithful and humble enough to be the Head of the Holy Family.

This week as we anticipate the frivolity of St. Patrick’s Day, let us not forget the very special Solemnity of St. Joseph, a mere two days later.  **Oh, and by the way, I bet you didn’t know that St. Josephs Day has its own color – just like St. Patrick’s Day!  Read below to find out what it is!!

For some ideas on how to celebrate St. Joseph’s Solemnity, check out these links:

http://www.fisheaters.com/customslent5.html

http://www.bulin.com/stjoe/

From eHow:

How to Celebrate St. Joseph’s Solemnity:

Instructions

1. • 1

     Abstain from eating meat. Although avoiding meat isn’t forbidden by the church, many Catholic families still observe this tradition. Fava beans, pasta, fish and stuffed artichokes replace meat at dinner tables on St. Joseph’s Day. Many families consider giving food to the homeless and needy on this holiday.

   • 2

     Wear red. Italians and Sicilians break out the red clothing on St. Joseph’s Day, just like the Irish do on St. Patrick’s Day.

   • 3

     Erect an altar to St. Joseph. A tradition started in Italy and Sicily, many families offer flowers, cakes, cookies and limes to St. Joseph. Catholics place a pastry called Zeppole on altars in some Italian and Italian-American communities. Formal St. Joseph altars, such as those placed in churches, contain three tiers to signify the Trinity.

   • 4

     Attend a St. Joseph’s Day parade. In the United States, the Italian residents of New Orleans conduct St. Joseph’s parades and build altars to the Saint, publicly and privately. Chicago, Boston and New York City also sponsor official St. Joseph’s Day parades and celebrations.

   • 5

     Go to church. Celebrate St. Joseph’s Day by attending mass and saying the Novena to St. Joseph. Known as the Patron Saint of workers, parishioners may also honor St. Joseph’s memory on May 1st, or May Day.

Read more: How to Celebrate St. Joseph’s Day | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2125593_celebrate-st-josephs-day.html#ixzz1GjQYPyTG

The Pro-Life blogosphere has erupted over the past week with the release of Live Action’s videos showing Planned Parenthood “aiding and abetting” sex traffickers.  Pro-Life news agencies have covered the stories, relentlessly reporting the videos, their transcripts, and Planned Parenthood’s various frenzied reactions.   All the hubbub has got me thinking.  I’ve been puzzling over the release of the videos, the tactics used to make them, and the reactions of both Planned Parenthood and the Pro-Life Movement as a whole.

Planned Parenthood has taken it on the chin as of late.  First it was the release of Abby Johnson’s bombshell book “Unplanned.”  I read it in two days – staying up way too late and devouring every page.  If you haven’t read it yet, I urge you to put it on your “must read list.” – whether you are pro-life, pro-choice, or ambivalent, it is an insightful, thoughtful, and compelling read – with an honest look at an organization that has been both glorified and demonized.

Next Live Action Media, founded by Ms. Lila Rose, a twenty-something pro-life advocate, began releasing videos of undercover operatives seeking advice and help from Planned Parenthood for underage “sex workers.”  Planned Parenthood has yet to give a consistent answer to why its employees in seven Planned Parenthood clinics have, of late, given advice to people they believed to be sex traffickers on how to get care for their underage “workers,” without properly and immediately notifying authorities.  In fact in most cases Planned Parenthood seemed more upset about being “stung” by Live Action and trying to discredit the video footage than they were about the fact that their employees were willing to assist and stand silently by when confronted with the illegal sex trafficking of minors.  Now Planned Parenthood finds itself embroiled in a scandal that is threatening to pull its Government Funding out from under them.  Is it any wonder that they are lashing out somewhat irrationally?

But where does this all leave us as a Pro-Life people?  What does the Movement stand to gain from the videos released, and the story told both by Live Action and Abby Johnson?  Moreover, do the actions of Lila and her intrepid undercover camera crew deserve scrutiny for carrying out what some are calling a “deception?”  I think these questions deserve to be given a good hard look.  For my part, I offer my own thoughts and insights as to where we go from here, some of the dangers we must be wary of, and the morality of Live Action’s “Sting” Operations.

I have been doing a lot of reading on this topic – there seems to be no shortage of opinion on Live Action’s latest project.  What surprised me though, were the number of pro-life people who have begun to decry Live Action as being deceptive and immoral.  Some have gone so far as to say that the actions of Lila and her gang are “from the father of lies” (ie: the devil.).  In more than one  place I’ve seen heated debate about whether or not Live Action’s tactics were justifiable, and whether or not the “ends justify the means.”  This is dangerous territory.  Already I am seeing the discord that Abby Johnson warned about in her book that too often rips apart and weakens the fabric of the Pro-Life Movement.  Instead of talking about the real issue at hand – the fact that Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the US, and has blood on its hands from the deaths of millions of innocent babies, the fact that women’s lives have been altered forever as they struggle with the pain and grief of having had an abortion, the fact that while providing for the premeditated manslaughter of innocent pre-born humans, Planned Parenthood showed itself to be a willing accessory to illegal sex trafficking…THESE are the pressing issues!  Instead, well-meaning, but distracted members of the Pro-Life Movement have turned the discussion to “was Lila acting within her moral boundaries?”  ”was Live Action stooping to the level of Planned Parenthood?”  ”can we really use what these videos have shown because of how they were obtained in the first place?”  Do you see what is happening?  Rifts are popping up as pro-lifers get more mad at each other rather than at Planned Parenthood!  Now, this type of divisiveness serves only one purpose, and it’s not one that you should want to serve.  Divide and conquer is the oldest battle plan in the book – it was first used in the Garden of Eden, and that slippery serpent has been using it effectively ever since.

So lets all get on the same page here. It is not a bad thing to scrutinize and question.  We must be vigilant and alert – this is war after all.  Not a war with armies and guns, but a war nonetheless – a war, literally, between life and death, good and evil.  So its good to be on our guard, to make sure that our actions as a Pro-Life people reflect our morality and serve to bring about a revelation of Truth.  What is not good is judgement.  What is not good is calumny.  What is not good is presumption.  In the case of reactions to Live Action’s videos I am seeing more than I am comfortable with of those things in the responses of some in the Pro-Life cause.

Let us look at the facts, and then let us look at what the Catholic Church has to say about “deception.”

Even before Live Action released its latest videos it has been common knowledge within the Pro-Life movement (and common denial in the Pro-choice community) that Planned Parenthood had a tendency to act in ways that protected its own interests, and increased it own bottom line, even above helping the women they purported to serve.  In fact according to Jill Stanek, a nurse, and Pro-Life stalwart who operates a successful pro-life blog, Planned Parenthood is seeking to put on a “Sham trial” to silence Mr. Phill Kline. “Phill Kline is the first US prosecutor to ever bring criminal charges against a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. PP not only wants to silence Kline, it wants to make an example of him so other prosecutors around the country will back away. Really it’s not surprising.”  At its core the organization is corrupted simply because they were founded with evil intentions – namely with eugenics, racism, and death in mind.  Now, I don’t want to hijack this post with talking about Margaret Sanger and her agenda.  I’ve covered that before in earlier posts and invite you to take a look if you care to.  (The “CONdom” of Contraception, Birth Control, Breast Cancer, and the Exploitation of Women).   You can also find a very compelling and interesting article about that here blackgenocide.org .  What I am saying is, how can you expect an organization that sustains itself by killing innocent children to be anything but corrupt?  Really, how can we be truly surprised that they were willing to assist Sex Traffickers?  They are willing to commit murder, and to coerce and counsel women into killing their own children!  When you objectify and trivialize one segment of the population (the pre-born) its not that far of a leap to objectifying and trivializing other segments of the population as well (sex workers, trafficked children and adolescents,  rape victims…).

In her book, Unplanned, Abby Johnson comments on how she noticed that there was a disparity between what she thought her role was as a Planned Parenthood employee (helping women) and what she was being told to do as a Planned Parenthood Employee (raise the abortion quotas).   Her journey to understanding the sad, but very real Truth about Planned Parenthood should be a very real wake up call to everyone who thinks that the organization is woman’s best friend.  In fact, on February 16th Abby Johnson and Live Action announced that Mrs. Johnson will be joining Live Action as a Chief Strategist.  With her inside knowledge of Planned Parenthood, she all but confirmed what the videos Live Action filmed have shown.  She had this to say,

“I can tell you from experience that Planned Parenthood often turns a blind eye to sexual abuse and trafficking – what you see in Live Action’s videos is not a rare occurrence. [emphasis added] But ignorance is no defense, especially when it has turned their clinics into a safe haven for those who sexually exploit women and girls. This is not a training problem so much as it is an ideology problem.  I am humbled and eager to begin this partnership with Live Action so that together we can expose the serious harm Planned Parenthood poses to the most vulnerable among us.”

Knowing this, hearing Mrs. Johnson’s direct acknowledgement of Planned Parenthood’s institutionalized attitude towards explicit illegal sexual exploitation, knowing that there have been past incidences of Planned Parenthood “looking the other way” when confronted  with a rape victim, statutory rape victim, and possible victims of sexual trafficking, , knowing that they continuously try to fly under the radar getting their “sex education” “curriculums” into grade schools for younger and younger children in order to hook young “customers,”  knowing that they engage in smear campaigns against innocent pro-life activists, knowing that they will do almost anything to protect their image as the bastion of Feminism, Woman’s Champion , can you honestly say that you would expect them to tell the Truth about all the practices and “unofficial policies” that they employ in order to “up the abortion numbers?”    Put this together, along with the fact that Planned Parenthood is, by its nature, funded on corrupted principles.  Now ask yourself if you think its reasonable to assume that they may have a tendency to avoid revealing the whole Truth about their organization and its practices.

Why am I asking you this?  Why am I making this case?  Because Catholic Moral Teaching, and Pastoral Practice asserts that “a person is not necessarily obligated to reveal the meaning of one’s words or gestures every time one communicates to another, especially if some great good must be protected by the withholding of some truth” (1).  Furthermore, the First Edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states in Article 2483, “To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth….’ (emphasis added). Article 2488 states: ‘The right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional… This requires us in concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.’  Article 2489 states: ‘No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have a right to know it.’ Article 2469 says ’The virtue of truth gives another his just due.” ‘  According to moral theologian Monica M. Miller, this article can be “interpreted to mean that truth may be withheld when the person engaged in evil, to whom you are communicating, is thus not entitled to such a “just due.”’  ”There is a long-standing moral tradition in the Catholic Church that accepts the use of mental reservation—and also the idea that one is not obligated to reveal the truth to those who commit injustice and moral wrong-doing” (1)

This understanding is what allowed Pope Pius XII to forge birth certificates for Jews during the Holocaust.  It is why Catholic Police Officers who go under cover are not living in sin.  It is what allows an Army General to be in a State of Grace even as he orders a maneuver that is designed to deceive the enemy.  It is why St. Augustine (who had many harsh things to say about lying)  praised the biblical Jacob for lying to his father – assuming a false identity as his brother, Esau, and thus fulfilling part of God’s Plan for Salvation.   It is also this pastoral understanding and Catholic Teaching that leads me to believe that Lila Rose and Live Action did not commit a grave sin when they made the videos of Planned Parenthood.   Notice the emphasis above.  Would you consider Planned Parenthood to be among those who institutionally “commit injustice and wrong doing?”  I would.  Live Action would too.

Jacob deceiving Esau's to obtain his Birthright

I have been somewhat surprised by the moral high horses that some of my fellow bloggers have climbed on.  It is disheartening to me to read such round condemnations of Live Action.  It smacks of judgementalism, and for those who are decrying Live Action’s “deception” as immoral and unacceptable, I would ask, “Is your self-righteous judgement any better?”  Christ admonished us not to judge.  Let us not forget that in this discussion.  You see, one of the problems is that none of us knows what was in the hearts and minds of the Live Action actors, and in this case, that can make the difference between sinful and sinless behavior.  Some of the Catholic teaching on lying that we just discussed is founded largely on what is interiorly happening with the one carrying out the deception.   You see, paramount in this discussion is that God knows the hearts and intentions of Live Action’s people.  We do not, nor should we assume that we do.  Scripture holds for us many examples of God’s people carrying out deceptions in order to accomplish God’s Will – it was done most often to save innocent lives, and in battle.  Consider these instances in Scripture:

When Saul’s men pursue David to his wife Michal’s house, he secretly flees, and Michal deceives Saul’s men with a mock body in David’s bed (I Sam. 19:12-17). David life is thus spared from unjust aggressors. David also deceives Achish king of Gath by feigning insanity (I Sam. 21:13). The ploy works and Achish’s servants fail in their efforts to aggress against David.

In another classic case, we find that God Himself directs Samuel to deceive Saul’s informants. The Lord calls Samuel to go and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king in the place of Saul. Samuel openly expresses his fear that Saul will kill him if he discovers what his mission is, and so the Lord directs Samuel to deceive the informants by concealing his true mission: “And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord’” (I Sam. 16:2). Samuel does this and spares his own life.

… the most prominent case is Rahab’s deception. Joshua sends spies to Jericho, and the king of Jericho calls on Rahab, who is harboring the spies, to “Bring out the men who have come to you” (Josh. 2:3). Though at that moment they were in fact in her home, she claims, contrary to fact, that “the men went out; I do not know where the men went.” (Josh. 2:5). When the potential aggressors left, Joshua’s spies made an oath to protect her and her family from the coming destruction “for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent” (Josh. 6:25). She is blessed for her deception. Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 continue to praise Rahab for her righteous work of deception. Hence, once again, deception is justified when one is protecting life against the threat of unjust aggressors.

And one that I feel is most relevant to our case here includes midwives who disobeyed Pharoah’s Direct Order (the Law of the Land) and spared the lives of baby boys at birth:  ”In Exodus 1:15 we learn that Pharaoh commands the Egyptian midwives to kill any sons born to Hebrew women. The midwives disobey, and when Pharaoh inquires why they failed to follow his command, they consciously distort the facts; they in fact “let the boys live” (Ex. 1:17), but they claim that they weren’t even at the births in time (Ex. 1:19). Immediately following this deception, we read “So God was good to the midwives…” (Ex. 1:20). The fruit of fearing God was deception. They too deceived in order to protect”(2).

One theme that these examples all share is that God knew the hearts of His people, and they knew His will – whether by His direct intervention as with Samuel, or as, with the midwives, by His Blessing.  Scripture shows us that throughout history God has used people in various circumstances to accomplish His plans.  Sometimes in our fallen world, that accomplishment has called for deception.  If the apple had never been eaten it’d be a different story.  If God called individuals to His service, and sometimes required them to deceive in order to accomplish His Will, why should He not do the same today?  Who are we to say that Lila Rose and Live Action are not carrying out a specific role in the fight to end abortion?   Shouldn’t they be given the benefit of the doubt?

One argument that I have read says that Live Action used “entrapment.”  This has been proven false – Live Action walks the line, but they are firmly on the right side of it, in none of the videos did the undercover operatives use language that “trapped” the employees of Planned Parenthood into apathy when faced with an illegal activity.  They weren’t tricked into divulging information, they freely offered it.  Another argument is from some moral theologians who say that any and all falsehoods and deceptions are evil, and mortal sins, regardless of the ends, regardless of what is interiorly taking place in the individual’s soul.  Black and White.  But the problem with these arguments is that they do not even allow for morally sanctioned, licit employment as an undercover officer, investigative journalist, or military officer – and being a military officer (or enlisted officer) is a vocation which the Catechism says can be of the “highest order,”  and although I didn’t cite all of them, there are numerous examples in scripture of God’s Military Commanders deceiving the enemy and saving God’s Chosen People from destruction. (Think of Gideon, the “Might Man of Valor” who was instructed by God to deceive the Midianites, and prove that God can use even deceptive circumstances to accomplish His purposes.).   Clearly these examples, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church acknowledge that some allowances must be made for some sorts of deception.  That is why the Catechism even states that “The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims.  If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity” (Article 2484).  I would consider it analogous to Operation Rescue’s peaceful civil disobedience.  We all know that the Church teaches us that the Fourth Commandment extends to Civil Authorities – that we are obligated to obey the rule of law and those who are charged with carrying out and protecting that law.  Yet, the Church also makes allowance and exception for laws that are unjust. As a rule are we compelled by the moral law to obey civil law?  Yes.  Are there circumstances and situations that are exceptions?  Yes.  Is it wrong to act on these exceptions, with a heart of Love,  when there is a greater good to be accomplished?  No. The Church, in her Wisdom has long recognized that in a fallen, imperfect world, there must sometimes be allowances to the moral “norm” in order for God’s Mercy and Justice to work among us.  This same principle extends to other areas of Catholic Moral thought as well, and maybe in the future we shall discuss those, but for now we are concerning ourselves with the present debate.  It is possible for an individual in certain circumstances to act outside the moral “norm” and not be acting sinfully.  These actions should not be taken lightly, and I would counsel Lila Rose, who is Catholic, to seek the guidance of a trusted Priest, if she is not already, so that she may receive guidance and counsel as she carries out her specific role in the fight to end abortion, and reveal the Truth about a corrupted organization.

Is it important to discuss these things?  I would say yes.  We should always seek to follow God’s Laws and His teachings, but in some cases even those who help us to understand the Truth disagree with each other.  It is in these cases, sometimes most especially, that we must make sure we approach everything with Love.  You see, Love can make all the difference.  If Live Action approaches its mission out of Love, Love for the misguided Planned Parenthood employees, Love for the innocent babies being slaughtered every day, and Love for the women who seek Planned Parenthood’s services, then there will be little room for evil in their hearts because Love and Evil, or malice cannot coexist.  And the difference between having Love and having malicious intent can be the difference between grave sin and no sin.  If we as a Pro-Life people seek to keep Love in our hearts we can approach this issue and this discussion with an open and understanding heart – not one filled with indignity and judgement, self-righteousness and contempt.  Love is the prism through which we can more clearly see the Truth.

And the Truth still remains that Planned Parenthood is an organization that uses tax money to carry out a holocaust on the pre-born.  In the process they have shown themselves to be institutionally conditioned to looking the other way when faced with illegal sex trafficking, and statuary rape.  THIS is where the focus of our just anger should be – not at Live Action Media.

The videos that Live Action released have started a big ugly ball rolling that could irreparably damage Planned Parenthood.  This would be a huge victory in the fight to end abortion.  If women begin to question or mistrust this organization (as they should) then the pro-choice movement will lose some of its credibility.  These chinks in the pro-choice armor weaken the entire cause.  Furthermore, the light that has been shed on the illegal actions of Planned Parenthood have greatly strengthened the move to end the funneling of tax dollars to their coffers.  This is the greatest surge on this front that we have seen for a long time.  Unfortunately, abortion is legal.  Sex trafficking, specifically of minors, is not.  Aiding and abetting said trafficking is not.  Live Action has provided concrete evidence that shows a widespread, systemic propensity towards illegal activity on the part of Planned Parenthood.  This is a tremendous advantage in the fight to end Government Funding for them.  It brings us a few steps closer to the goal of making abortion an abomination of the past.  It has also caused extra scrutiny to reveal more and more inappropriate and illegal activities on the part of Planned Parenthood – independent of Live Action.  I would urge all of you to not lose sight of the ultimate goal – the Freedom to Live for all humans – no matter how tiny they are, or how many cells they have.  With all the discussion raging around the “morality” of Live Action’s videos, let us not be distracted from the true, irrefutable evil before us – that of the killing of innocent pre-born children.

Works Consulted:

(1) http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=14015

(2) http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/antithesis/v1n3/ant_v1n3_issue.html

(3) http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pro-life-groups-video-stings-spark-ethical-debate/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+catholicnewsagency/dailynews+(CNA+Daily+News)

(4) http://liveaction.org/

(5) http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/02/stanek-weekend-question-is-lying-allowed/

(6) Unplanned by Abby Johnson. Kindle Edition.

(7) http://www.blackgenocide.org/sanger.html

(8)  http://www.lifenews.com/2011/02/15/planned-parenthood-advises-man-with-std-to-donate-blood/

(9) http://www.jillstanek.com/

(10) http://liveaction.org/blog/ex-planned-parenthood-director-joins-live-action/