Sal – Page 52 – Catholic Light

Bill Cosby has more harsh words for black community

v.cosby.jpg If you think Cosby is wrong, or that this is solely a problem of the supposed appeal of victimhood in the black community, think again. Clearly our expectations of any youngster are too low if the Worcester, Mass. school system thinks it’s ok to put Tupac Shakur’s “poetry” on the summer reading list: Rap Lyrics on Students’ Summer Reading List

The appeal of victimhood is quite paradoxical, because while for a child it may be based in fact rather than imagination, it leads the adult to be a victim of his own sloth, neglect for duties to self, to family, and to community. It’s reinforced by the diminished expectations of students in the public schools and the culture in general. When have you ever heard a rapper laud the virtue of getting his homework done, doing his chores, saying his prayers, and going to sleep early? That simply doesn’t sell music or movies. Indeed the appeal of victimhood is fueled by the entertainment industry. Cosby is right. Whether or not anything will come of his tirades is another matter. I’m glad Jesse Jackson is behind him on this now, though he has made a career of convincing his brothers and sisters believe they are victims of forces outside their own community.

Appeals court: Schiavo parents cannot intervene

“Terri’s Law,” passed in October, allowed Gov. Jeb Bush to order the reinsertion of a feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo alive. She has been in a persistent vegetative state for 14 years after collapsing from a chemical imbalance.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird’s ruling denying an attempt by Bob and Mary Schindler to join the fight over the law’s constitutionality.
The appeals court didn’t issue an opinion with the ruling.
Terri Schiavo’s husband, Michael Schiavo, is suing the governor to have the law overturned. Bush is defending the law and the Schindlers wanted to join him as a party to the lawsuit.

BECAUSE IT’S A HUMAN PERSON

Scans uncover secrets of the womb

A new type of ultrasound scan has produced the vivid pictures of a 12 week-old foetus “walking” in the womb.
The new images also show foetuses apparently yawning and rubbing its eyes.
The scans, pioneered by Professor Stuart Campbell at London’s Create Health Clinic, are much more detailed than conventional ultrasound.
Professor Campbell has previously released images of unborn babies appearing to smile.
He has compiled a book of the images called Watch Me Grow.

Respect life Mass today at Parishes in Arlington

Masses were offered today for the protection of the unborn and an end to abortion in some parishes in Arlington. The readings of are providentially, perhaps even hauntingly, appropriate for the occasion. Excerpts appear below.

Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19

18 Cry aloud to the Lord! O daughter of Zion! Let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!
19 Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.

Psalm 74:1-7, 20-21

3 Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place; they set up their own signs for signs.
5 At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes.
6 And then all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They set thy sanctuary on fire; to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name.
20 Have regard for thy covenant; for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise thy name.

Is the womb not a sanctuary of human life, the result of God sharing His creative power with humanity? If only it were treated as such always.

After the Masses a group of the faithful prayed all four mysteries of the Rosary in front of an abortion clinic in Alexandria. I spoke with a man who had been praying with the group for years. He said the worst thing is to see a father drive his teenage daughter to the clinic to procure an abortion. “What kind of sicko would do that?” he asked. “The man who gave his little girl life is taking her to kill her own baby.” It reminds me of one of the many things Mother Teresa said about abortion:

“Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child, and be loved by the child. From our children’s home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3,000 children from abortions. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents, and have grown up so full of love and joy!”

The spirituality of Opus Dei

Reflecting on the beautiful quote I posted below and what I’ve read of and by St. Josemaria Escriva, I’m convinced that the spirituality of Opus Dei is the antidote for the pathologies of modernity: atheism, secularism, hedonism, spiritualism, and whatever other “isms” I’ve neglected to mention. The tendency in the West to remove any mention of the Christian God or religion from public discourse is countered by the Opus Dei, which seeks to sanctify everyday life in a practical manner, thus giving its members a means to answer the universal call to holiness of Lumen Gentium and providing the world with an authentic witness of Christ.