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How Would Jesus Vote?

Voting as a Christian

As Christians, we do not leave our faith behind when we enter the voting booth. We understand that politics, like every other part of life, must be illuminated by God’s light or we will stumble in the dark and lose our way. A generation ago, a large majority of Americans shared this view. Call it the Classical Christian worldview. It was the common foundation for our social and political life; we assumed it like the ground beneath our feet. Today, however, that foundation is under attack from another worldview, one that rejects God, or at least ignores him, as it makes the self supreme. Let’s call it the Radical Selfist worldview.

The Classical Christian Worldview

The Classical Christian worldview holds that we have received our lives as a gift from a God who loves us, and that we are accountable to him. It believes in moral laws that God has written on our hearts and clarified through his revelation – from the Ten Commandments given through Moses, to the Sermon on the Mount proclaimed by his only Son, Jesus Christ. This is his blueprint for us, his design for our happiness and fulfillment.

This blueprint reveals to us certain foundational moral principles. Among them, we see:

That every human life, of every race and nation, born and unborn, is sacred and has equal rights and dignity;
That we are created male or female according to God’s plan;
That sexual relations are meant for marriage between one man and one woman;
That the free exercise of religion is a sacred right.

Though we are imperfect human beings, we work to build our lives on foundational principles such as these, as we raise our families and shape our social and civic communities.

The Radical Selfist Worldview

The Radical Selfist worldview opposes everything we have just described, rejecting the idea of a God-given blueprint. Everything is up to personal ‘choice.’ We can choose our own gender, our preferred exercise of sexuality, our definition of marriage, and even whether a child in the womb shall live or die. Radical Selfism preaches tolerance until it gains power, at which point it seeks to silence and to punish those who disagree with it. Unfortunately, this worldview has been promoted and amplified by many in Hollywood, the mass media and even public education.

Political Consequences

The current political landscape essentially forces us to choose between these two worldviews. This choice has weighty consequences at every level of government, from the White House and Congress to state and local officials. Since Supreme Court and other federal judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, presidential and senatorial elections are especially critical; all the more so because Radical Selfism has relied on the courts to produce outcomes unattainable by popular vote, such as legalized abortion and same-sex marriage.

The most telling indicator of Radical Selfism is advocacy of abortion, by which man wrests from God the very power over life and death. By far the most grave human rights violation of our time, abortion has already cost the lives of more than 60 million unborn babies in the U.S. since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Moreover, where we find abortion advocacy, we invariably find it clustered with other positions characteristic of the Radical Selfist worldview.

What is a Christian voter to do?

While we cannot expect perfection from any political candidate, it is vital that Christians support those most closely aligned with the Classical Christian worldview, and oppose those aligned with the Radical Selfist worldview. For Radical Selfism, with its worship of ‘choice’ in place of God, inevitably produces bitter fruits: moral and civil breakdown, destruction, and death. It is simply impossible to achieve lasting harmony and peace without adhering to the foundational principles of God’s plan. Therefore, let us intensify our prayers and our efforts to elect candidates who stand up for the God-given principles and rights on which our nation was founded. Our future, and the future of our children and our grandchildren, is at stake.

Christopher Ruff
Director of the Office for Ministries and Social Concerns
Diocese of La Crosse

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WINNERS 2020 Contest Announced Press

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Grand Prize of $1000 courtesy of My Pillow and CEO Mike Lindell was awarded to Mr. James Glynn

Third Prize of $500 courtesy of Proverbs Media Group, LLC was awarded to Mr. Leif Arvidson

The $750 Second Prize courtesy of Delmarva Educational Association was awarded to Mr. Scott Fowler

The Fourth Prize of $150 from Hosea Initiative was given to Quentin Christopher Smith

On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21st 2020, Hosea Initiative announced the winners of their Joseph’s Heart Video Contest which showcased outstanding men across the country. Contestants nominated their super-hero man with a Joseph’s Heart via a 60-second video. Adjudication was based on creativity, content, and compliance to contest rules.

“It was really hard to narrow to the top four finalists,” said Terry Beatley, President of Hosea Initiative which established the video contest as part of their educational outreach. “We wanted to emulate men who step-up-to-the-plate and sacrifice for the good of their families and communities,” Beatley said. “JOSEPH’S HEART project is a platform for men to mentor other men on how to be courageous protectors of women and children as was St. Joseph, the foster father and guardian of Jesus Christ.

The contestant’s videos were posted for online voting after the top finalist were selected.
LIFE SITE NEWS gave the contest widespread coverage in this spotlight article. Based on the shares, likes and written comments, the four prize winners were announced by ZOOM conference call on Father’s Day.

Grand Prize of $1000 courtesy of My Pillow and CEO Mike Lindell was awarded to Mr. James Glenn, a Navy veteran who, with his wife, Madeline, raised five daughters in Burlington, MA. One of their daughters, Kathy Parsons, had attended a fundraising event several years earlier for a local pregnancy care center with Terry Beatley as the keynote speaker. Kathy bought Terry’s book, What If We’ve Been Wrong? Keeping My Promise to America’s Abortion King and searched for the Hosea Initiative Facebook page and “Liked” it. That played a pivotal role in Kathy entering the contest. “I saw your announcement [on Facebook] for the Father’s Day video contest, and then reached out to my sisters.” She read the qualities described in the contest rules of a man with Joseph’s Heart and immediately identified those with her dad. “He fulfilled that role so well!” Kathy added, “Dad has worked so hard for our family for so many years!” Now 85, James stepped into the role of protector even as a young man, defending his mother and sisters against an alcoholic father. He worked hard as an insurance agent for over 50 years providing for his family and putting all the girls through college. When it came to dating, Jim held high standards and would routinely inspect the car of any young men who came courting. One date was cancelled because a car headlight was not functioning. He earned the reputation of holding “Jim’s Inspection Station.” When wedding bells rang for each of his five girls, he underscored family values with his familiar twinkle of wit and humor, “No refunds!” he would say before walking a daughter down the aisle. As provider and protector of his family throughout the years, Jim didn’t retire until age 82. “More importantly,” Kathy shared, “he’s a man of faith! He and mother always put God first; then, came family. Their children and all 13 of their grandchildren see this lived out in daily life.” “Dad’s a great role model!” she concluded. When asked what might be shared about her father that didn’t fit into their 60-second contest video, Kathy offered, “Dad’s very funny and keeps everyone laughing. He’s always the life of the party.” James seemed surprised when his name was announced as 2020 Joseph’s Heart Award recipient. “I’m very grateful. What an honor. Thank you, everyone,” he said.

The $750 Second Prize courtesy of Delmarva Educational Association was awarded to Mr. Scott Fowler, a middle school teacher of Health and Physical Education from Kenosha, WI. Together with his wife Kristie, Scott welcomed into their home 21 foster children over the past decade, formally adopting four of those children into their own family. Two of Scott and Christie’s children, Megan and Collin, entered their dad in the contest. “I wanted to do it for [dad,] to get him recognized for all the good he does for others,” Collin explained. “Dad is more than someone who just helps out in the family. It goes way beyond that,” Megan shared. “Dad also helped a teen-age boy whose dad had died. Our dad helped him continue to grow.” As one of those whose life was transformed by Scott’s generosity and love, Megan summed it up this way, “I want the whole world to recognize our amazing dad!”

Third Prize of $500 courtesy of Proverbs Media Group, LLC was awarded to Mr. Leif Arvidson, from La Crosse, WI, a father of 10 children. His wife Karen shared, “My husband is very humble, selfless, and so very honest. He gives his best in everything he does.” The fifth born of the Arvidson children, Augustine, orchestrated a team effort with three of his siblings to prepare the contest video. In it the boys highlighted some of their dad’s special Joseph-like qualities: “Our dad never passes a homeless person without giving him something, and he prays every night on his knees. He’s always telling my mom how amazing she is.”

“I thought [the contest] was a super cool idea and a great Father’s Day gift,” Gus said. “We have a fishing trip planned this summer to Alaska where my dad was born. I thought this could be some great spending money for our trip!” Asked what Gus most admired about his dad, he said, “My dad is REALLY, really kind and understanding! He’s taught us boys to hunt and fish and how to change oil in a car. Now, he’s teaching me to drive, too. He’s a great father because he’s always teaching me to be a better person.”

The Fourth Prize of $150 from Hosea Initiative was given to Quentin Christopher Smith who works as a CPA in New Mexico. His fiancée, Caroline Landiss, nominated him because she and others recognize his exceptional qualities. “Quentin is one of those guys who truly has Joseph’s Heart. He’s really humble, selfless, and doesn’t look for praise, or ask for recognition. His ACTIONS speak louder than words.” she said. “Quentin is a spiritual GIANT who just happens to look like a banker on the outside!” said Landiss. “I really enjoyed making this video because I love him so much. He’s my soulmate,” she added. “Like St. Joseph, Quentin is accepting a child not biologically his; he is a man of principle, who does what is right. He has an amazing faith. Quentin knows that on a spiritual plain, my child IS his. The day he asked me to marry him he asked to adopt my little girl, too. Our wedding ceremony will include formal signing of the adoption papers as well as the marriage certificate. I didn’t have to ask him for any of this. He offered this as a gift from his loving and generous heart.” The prize money from the Joseph’s Heart contest will be applied towards purchase of the couples’ wedding rings.

Terry Beatley summed up the Joseph’s Heart video contest in this way, “We were in awe of the amazing men that were nominated. So many told us how much they enjoyed watching the videos, voting, and the contest in general. It’s was exciting, and we’re so glad that Hosea Initiative recognized and honored men for the good they do every day for their families, communities, and country.”

It’s not too early to start thinking about NEXT year’s contest! Capture family moments on film, assemble photos, and make of list of ways your “he-hero” resembles Joseph’s Heart, and you’ll be on the way to earning next years’ coveted title!

Congratulations again to all Joseph’s Heart 2020 contestants and finalists. You make the world a better place with your witness of sacrificial love.

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Schlafly Versus The Feminists

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Phyllis Schlafly - Photo: The Imaginative Conservative

"By Michael Lewis, MA

Over the past several weeks, the American chattering class has been rehashing the debate over the Women’s Movement since Hulu released its miniseries about the Equal Rights Amendment, “Mrs. America.” The release of “Mrs. America” comes as Virginia became the 38th state to pass the ERA earlier this spring, though a Justice Department memo said the deadline to ratify the ERA has long since passed.

Perhaps the most misleading thing about “Mrs. America” is its portrayal of the feminist movement as a fight for equality when, as Mallory Millett attests, it was actually about the demonization of men, the destruction of the family, and anarchic sexual freedom. Millett’s older sister Kate was the author of a 1970 feminist manifesto, Sexual Politics, which the New York Times calls “the Bible of Women’s Liberation.” TIME magazine dubbed Millett “the Mao Tse-tung of Women’s Liberation” in their August 31, 1970 edition. Many credit Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics with the proliferation of women’s studies departments at most universities, which are to this day nothing more than Marxist therapy sessions cloaked with the aura of academia and scholarship.

Mallory Millett wrote about her sister’s radical Marxism in a 2014 article entitled, “Marxist Feminism’s Ruined Lives.” To illustrate her sister’s radicalism, she recounts as an eye-witness a gathering at her sister’s house with noted feminists like Lila Karp, where the group chanted, almost as if professing a religious creed,

"Why are we here today?” Kate asked.
“To make revolution,” they answered.
“What kind of revolution?” she replied.
“The Cultural Revolution,” they chanted.
“And how do we make Cultural Revolution?” she demanded.
“By destroying the American family!” they answered.
“How do we destroy the family?” she came back.
“By destroying the American Patriarch,” they cried exuberantly.
“And how do we destroy the American Patriarch?” she replied.
“By taking away his power!”
“How do we do that?”
“By destroying monogamy!” they shouted.
“How can we destroy monogamy?”
“By promoting promiscuity, eroticism, prostitution and homosexuality!” they resounded.

If nothing else, “Mrs. America” is true to form. In one episode, former Ford administration aide Jill Ruckleshaus remarks, “We don’t want the housewives thinking that we’re against them,” to which feminist lawyer Brenda Feigen-Fasteau snaps, “but we ARE against them!”

In typical Hollywood fashion, “Mrs. America” is more left-wing fiction than history. It portrays Phyllis Schlafly, an Illinois housewife who mobilized millions against the proposed ERA, as a cold, distant mother in addition to being a racist, homophobic, right-wing monster in a contentious marriage full of jealousy. In contradistinction, feminist icons like Brenda Feigen-Fasteau, Gloria Steinem, and others are portrayed as progressive heroines and doting mothers, even as Feigen-Fasteau admits a lesbian affair to her husband in episode 5 after making love to him. How progressive and enlightened!

The media class has seized on “Mrs. America” as an opportunity to slander Schlafly and blame her for everything they view as wrong with America today, up to and including the election of Donald Trump. In a Washington Post column, Max Boot slanders Schlafly as a fearmonger and a racist that played loose with the facts and was the forerunner of Trumpian politics. In truth, Schlafly was an honest debater, and her foes were the ones who played fast and loose with the facts. In real life, Schlafly was ever the happy warrior, concerned that the ERA would overturn ALL abortion restrictions, require women to register for the draft, and eviscerate protections for homemakers in divorce proceedings. A devout Catholic and doting mother, Phyllis Schlafly’s advocacy was motivated by love for her six children and for her nation.

In the almost 50 years since Phyllis Schlafly mobilized the silent majority against Kate Millett and her feminist soldiers, little has changed. During the contentious confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, I happened to stumble upon a feminist rally against Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill where the speakers inveighed against “white women who hide behind and vote to protect their husband’s white male privilege and allow men like Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh to access the reins of power.” That my homemaker wife and I were white supremacists came as news to me. Yet, as Stephen Baskerville notes in his book, The New Politics of Sex, Kate Millett and her soldiers have succeeded wildly in spreading government control into every aspect of life through sexual Marxism, putting their stamp on the sex education of America’s schoolchildren through the normalization of sexual practices most American adults would find perverse, let alone suitable for children.

Yet, among the carnage are signs of hope. Over the past four years, radical feminists have raged against their perceived “traitors,” berating suburban women for Trump’s election, pro-life laws, and the decline in the number of women who describe themselves as feminists. Moreover, research shows increasing numbers of millennial women choose to stay at home to mother their children, millennials are embracing traditional views on relationships, and the happiest marriages are those between a man and a woman committed for life.

Perhaps, as former Cosmopolitan writer Sue Ellen Browder confessed, the radical feminist vision is a fictional illusion and a fabricated lie. A feminized version of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy lifestyle, epitomized by the “Cosmo girl”, is as unrealistic as the male counterpart. No one finds happiness in a “who needs men?” mindset of sleeping with your married boss, having multiple abortions, and getting the next promotion, as Browder admitted was the very ideal Cosmopolitan promulgated to proselytize a nation when she was a writer for the magazine. Despite Hollywood’s best efforts, there’s no greater truth than lived experience, which is why 50 years after Phyllis Schlafly awakened a movement, many women agree—through experience—that Mrs. America was also “Mrs. Right.“

Phyllis Schlafly’s Daughter Tells Story Hulu’s ‘Mrs. America’ Chose to Ignore

Phyllis Schlafly - Photo: VOX.com

Phyllis Schlafly - Photo: theatlantic.com

Phyllis Schlafly Quote: Pinterest

Phyllis Schlafly - Photo: The Toronto Star

Michael Lewis has a Master's in Political Theory and lives in Virginia with his wife and three children. He is a member of the Hosea Initiative Advisory Board.

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The So-Called Equality Act

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Hon. Bob Marshall - Photo: Picsofcelebrities.com

Hon. Bob Marshall - Photo: The Christian Post

The following article by Honorable Robert Marshall was originally published in total by the Lepanto Institute on September 18, 2019 under the title: If Christians Don’t Personally Engage in Politics, It’s All Over for America. The following excerpt is reprinted with permission of the Lepanto Institute and the author. To date, the article has received greater than 1.45 million views on Facebook.

The So-Called Equality Act
On October 30, 2008, Barack Obama said, "We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America." The legal policy changes wrought under the Obama Administration paved the way for the so-called Equality Act, HR 5, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 17, 2019 by a vote of 236 to 173. The Equality Act would fundamentally and radically alter Civil Rights Law to prohibit "discrimination" on the basis of "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," in the same way racial discrimination is prohibited.

Analysis by pro-life and pro-family organizations, as well as the U.S. Catholic Bishops, have warned that the Equality Act would:

Require faith-based hospitals, doctors and nurses to participate in and/or to perform or assist with abortions or lose their medical licenses;
Require tax funding of all abortions without restrictions;
Mandate that any entity that provides health care for pregnancy and childbirth be required to provide abortion as a "related medical condition";
Force women to share private, intimate spaces with men who "identify" as female including in bathrooms, lockers, schools, hospitals, prisons, gyms, military barracks and homeless shelters;
Disallow private school single sex sports teams from competing against public school sports teams, which will no longer be permitted to have "discriminatory" single sex teams;
Decertify Catholic and Christian schools from satisfying state compulsory attendance laws if they refuse to adopt LGBTQ policies, treating religious schools as "hate groups" comparable to the Ku Klux Klan;
Forbid groups like the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Charities and Christian non-profits from receiving community block grants from local governments for housing for the disabled or seniors unless they accommodate the LGBTQ agenda including hiring those who identify as homosexual or transgender;
Prohibit private schools and churches from obtaining construction loans from federally chartered banks or savings institutions unless the schools and churches implement the LGBTQ agenda including hiring active homosexual and transgender teachers in same sex "marriages";
Remove children from the legal custody of their parents if they try to prevent their minor children from taking cancer-causing, puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones recommended by school counselors or provided by social welfare agencies;
End women-only or men-only shelters serving drug addicts, the battered, and the homeless;
Decertify foster care and adoption agencies which do not place children with homosexual partners;
Require small businesses owned to promote and affirm LGBTQ sexual behavior or face fines and/or loss of their business licenses;
Remove the tax-exempt status of churches and agencies if they fail to "celebrate" same-sex "weddings." The Equality Act would classify churches as "public accommodations" (like hotels and restaurants), prohibited from denying services on account of sexual orientation, in the same manner services cannot now be denied on account of race.

Several Republican members of the Judiciary Committee tried to blunt the coercive effects of HR 5, by proposing amendments that would have prevented biological females from being forced to compete against biological males in any sporting event; protected health care providers from being forced to affirm the self-professed gender identity of an individual; protected parental rights to direct the medical care of their children against efforts to facilitate changing the sexual identity of their children; and restored the Religious Freedom Restoration Act's conscience and religious liberty protections. All of these amendments were defeated on straight party line votes, proving that proponents of the Equality Act intend to require every policy the amendments sought to prohibit.

The "Equality Act" is one egregious example of sexual progressives stepping up efforts to exclude from the public square those who live by the moral teachings of Moses and Jesus. Anyone who disagrees or questions the LGBTQ agenda, abortion and "reproductive rights" is described as guilty of depravity, bigotry and hatred, despite our following a faith based on loving God and loving our neighbor.

LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer) advocates preach "tolerance" but one prominent homosexual advocate, Frank Bruni, wrote in the April 3, 2015, NY Times: "... debate about religious freedom should include a conversation about freeing religions and religious people from prejudices ... Mitchell Gold, a prominent ... gay philanthropist ... told me that church leaders must be made 'to take homosexuality off the sin list.' ..."

Multi-millionaire leftist donor Tim Gill, who developed Quark Express, a desktop publishing program, announced his jarring diktat, "We're going to punish the wicked," in the June 2017 Rolling Stone magazine. Gill considers anyone, including Christians, who disagrees with LGBTQ policies "the wicked." Mary Bonauto, the attorney, "married" to a woman, who argued the Obergefell same-sex "marriage" case, said, "We would not be where we are without Tim Gill and the Gill Foundation."

…..The window of opportunity for implementing successful civic action will not remain open forever, especially if Leftists have their way and succeed in pushing atheistic socialism and curbs on religious liberty. If we truly love our neighbors, and care enough to protect our families and communities from the ever-encroaching and growing persecution of Christians and others who embrace natural law values, then we must become the salt, the light and the leaven of society. If we fail to act in the public square, more immoral policies will spread and harm those we love. Pray, and like the Good Samaritan, also act. The story of Cain and Abel makes clear that we are our "brother's keeper."

The book of Hosea reminds us that, "My people are destroyed for lack of Knowledge." We must have knowledge of the Word of God, as well as knowledge of the civil world. St. Paul appealed to Caesar on the grounds that he, as a Roman citizen, should not be turned over to the Sanhedrin to be silenced, and Moses grew up in Pharaoh's household learning the ropes of government so God could rely on him to help the Jewish people.

Likewise, we need to become more knowledgeable about civic affairs and understand that each one of us has an important role to play during this particular time in history. Let us be motivated and remain hopeful, courageous, and persistent in the age-old fight between good and evil playing out today.

Full article available HERE.

Robert Marshall served 26 years as a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 13th District. He authored two books: Blessed are the Barren [Ignatius Press, 1991] and Reclaiming the Republic: How Grassroots Christians (and other Conservatives) Can Win Back America [Tan Books, 2018].
He and his wife reside in Manassas, Va.

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Moms are Front-line Heroes, too!

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By Clare Ruff

It was fall of 1973. I still remember doing homework one late afternoon at our kitchen table in northern Virginia. Abortion updates filled the news reels much like coronavirus does today. It prompted me to repeat some feministic slogan like “Women have a right to Choose” which I had picked up at public middle school. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I’ll never forget mom’s response. She wasn’t angry at me, but her passion was unlike anything I had seen before.

“STOP!” she said emphatically, as if I were reaching for a fiery stove. “You don’t know what you are saying!” she continued. “I carried you--inside my body! I loved you for nine months before you were born, not just after you were born. Life is a gift! It is always sacred!”

It was probably one of the best life lessons a mother could give a daughter.

My mom was born into a working class family, earned her high school education, and studied Voice Performance at the Peabody Preparatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. She relinquished a future in opera to marry her childhood sweetheart at the age of 19. Her only sibling arrived almost a decade after her, so Mom always dreamed of having a large family with children close together in age. Six years and seven months later there were five of us depending on her heroic love. Mom lacked the modern conveniences of disposable diapers and powdered formula, and, until she was 27-years old, a driver’s license. But, children placed first in her priorities; family ranked highest in her heart. “I have 60 people in my family,” she proudly shares today. Creating a circle of love defines my mom; it always has.

We lived just outside Washington, DC, the epicenter of the historic legal earthquake resulting from the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. It wasn’t long before Roe’s ticking time-bomb hit close to home. One summer afternoon in 1974, a 16-year-old neighbor friend of my eldest sister came running into our house. The screen door slammed behind her and in a rather shrill, hysterical voice she cried, “I killed my baby. I really do love babies.” Instantaneously, my aunt set about gently ushering all of the children out of the kitchen, and I stood outside the closed door wondering the meaning of my mom and aunt’s inaudible words and hushed tones interrupted by soulful sobs. Years later, I assembled the mosaic pieces of this memory and realized abortion had touched my life at an early age.

Mom volunteered for the prolife effort after our move to coastal Texas. For almost a decade, she worked alongside the Director of Respect Life for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and counseled women with crisis pregnancies. In addition, she and my dad sheltered expectant mothers who lacked support, resources or safe housing. She was also the grandmotherly voice that stood before middle and high school religion classes delivering information on human sexuality rooted in Christian anthropology and respect for self, others, and God’s sacred gift of life. She welcomed any question, understood a child’s natural curiosity, and provided calm, unvarnished answers. She possessed a matter-of-factness combined with homespun wisdom rooted in God’s Truth and a passion for the mystery of life.

In 2004, Mom combined her passion for life with another interest in children’s literature, and authored a prolife novel, Who Would Know? [target audience early to late teens] about a 16-year-old who navigates the challenges of unwed pregnancy. In the closing chapter, the young heroine writes a heartfelt letter to her unborn baby expressing that adoption is the gift of her deepest maternal love. My mother keeps a scrapbook of letters she has received from fans who read her book, including a touching one from the inmates at the women’s correctional facility in Harris County, TX, where it’s reported the book never stays on the shelf. [If interested, the book is available on Amazon or post a message at the end of this article].

Sometimes, we have to grow-up to fully process past experiences. This Mother’s Day, as you reconnect with the amazing woman who carried you until you entered the world, relive her stories, record her memories, give thanks for what is good, let go of what is not. And if my personal experience captured in this blog is any indicator, talk to your children and grandchildren about the consequences of abortion. Advertisements routinely warn parents of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, but are silent when it comes to warning them about abusing God’s law of life. If you find it hard to initiate the subject, imagine your son or daughter reaching for a fiery stove. Spare them the pain and suffering which often tortures post-abortive men and women until they find healing.

My mom wrapped up our recent visit with this statement, “I value children – and pregnancy! No one comes fully grow. Everyone starts in microscopic form, but there is as much a human life then as when it is born. It changes, but it is always a HUMAN LIFE!”

Thanks, Mom, for giving me life, but also for the wise and beautiful life lessons. I’m sharing them with the digital world!

Mom with two of her 24 grandchildren.

Clare Ruff earned her BA in Theology from University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
and serves as Director of Events and Outreach for the Hosea Initiative.
She writes from her home in southeastern Minnesota.

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Pandemic Exposes Culture of Death-Again

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Texas Governor, Gregg Abbott

By Michael Lewis, MA

After more than a month of coronavirus shutdowns that have killed thousands, driven unemployment to levels not seen in generations, and sent oil futures into negative territory, the debate over America’s economic recovery has begun.

However, the crisis has devolved into yet another war between the culture of life and the culture of death. While most states have been enforcing social distancing measures, some Democratic governors have used the crisis to issue draconian edicts. To wit, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has halted low-contact construction and landscaping businesses, prohibited the sale of garden seeds, all while declaring elective abortion “life-sustaining.”

Not to be outdone, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, warned of criminal penalties for holding church services, while going out of his way to notify the public that they can still get an elective abortion. Northam’s executive order suspending all elective surgeries on March 25 specifically exempted “the full suite of family planning services.” According to Northam, your knee replacement can wait; your abortion, vasectomy, or IUD implant cannot. Talk about priorities. In a pandemic, forget the First Amendment; only unenumerated rights hidden in the “emanations and penumbras” of the 14th amendment are protected.

As if exempting abortion from lockdown orders wasn’t enough, Governor Northam signed into law the most horrific, pro-abortion law in a generation on Good Friday, and proclaimed, “the Virginia Reproductive Health Protection Act will make women and families safer, and I am proud to sign it into law.” On a day on which the Christian world commemorates the death of Christ, Northam was “proud” to repeal 20 years of common sense pro-life protection laws including: informed consent and ultrasound requirements; parental consent for minors; provision of information about fetal development and abortion alternatives (such as adoption); and health and safety regulations for abortion clinics, including regulations requiring abortion clinics to meet the same building codes as hospitals.

While Northam and his fellow travelers are using a pandemic to expand the slaughter of innocents, other states have halted abortions along with other elective procedures. Like clockwork, Planned Parenthood teamed up with the ACLU to file suit against Arkansas, Ohio and Texas after governors Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Gregg Abbott (R-TX) deemed elective abortions well, elective, and subjected them to the same cessation order as other medical procedures. After a series of reversals by federal courts, the Texas ban on medication abortions was allowed to stand, and it is expected that the Supreme Court will take up the question, after refusing a request to do so a few weeks ago.

If the use of the pandemic to expand abortion wasn’t enough, private charities responding to the crisis have faced criticism from LGBTQ activists. Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian charity that partnered with Mount Sinai hospital in New York to operate a field hospital in Central Park, faced protests and charges of “anti-gay bigotry” while treating COVID-19 patients, simply because Samaritan’s Purse holds a biblical definition of marriage. It is worth noting that Mount Sinai affirmed that Samaritan’s Purse is abiding by the hospital’s non-discrimination policy.

Ironically, while the LGBTQ lobby was protesting Samaritan’s Purse for non-existent discrimination at their New York City field hospital, Disability Rights Pennsylvania was filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights after Pennsylvania’s Department of Health released eugenic guidelines that deprioritized individuals with disabilities for ventilators and other scarce medical resources during COVID-19. OCR recently announced that Pennsylvania’s Department of Health revised the guidelines to comply with federal disability law.

Look around at what is outright celebrated in modern society. God and religion are mocked as all manner of idolatry and perversion is celebrated. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) lit up the Empire State building and the Tappan Zee Bridge last year in celebration of a new law repealing all restrictions on abortion, and recently declared that the number of COVID-19 cases in New York had declined, adding, “God did not do that. Faith did not do that.” As tens of thousands die from COVID-19, the culture of death ensures even more death by dismissing the power and sovereignty of God.

The Bible is full of instances in which God purposefully corrects His children for their waywardness, idolatry, and blatant disobedience. In Africa, locust swarms have been documented in recent days, and every nation is facing a disease of apocryphal proportion. Our time, our society is not immune from the wrath of God. God is merciful yes, but God is also Just, and He will not be mocked. Use this time of pestilence to prepare your soul, to repent, to turn back to our loving Father. “Watch, therefore, for you know not the hour nor the day when the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 25:13).

Michael Lewis has a master's in political theory and lives in Virginia with his wife and three children. He is a member of the Hosea Initiative Advisory Board

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God Gives Everyone a Biography - Choose Life!

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By Julie Anderson
Member, Hosea Board of Advisors

While talking with a friend last week, she mentioned her weekend plans included a trip to our local blood bank. Her comment brought to mind a childhood memory.

When I was in grade school, Mom let me wander around the children’s section of the local library and choose an assortment of books to take home with us. When I finished, Mom reviewed my choices, making sure I was reading age-appropriate material. As my reading progressed, I remember being fascinated with biographies.

I still recall one of the first biographies I ever read. It was about Dr. Charles Richard Drew, an African-American surgeon and researcher born in 1904 who developed a method for storing blood plasma. His discoveries led to the establishment of blood banks. Today, he is known as “The Father of the Blood Bank.”

Because I have received transfusions, I am grateful for Dr. Drew’s work. Without his discoveries the first blood banks would not have been established in the 1940s. By the time I was born in the 1970s, blood transfusions had become routine. As my mind wandered, I started wondering if Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, had had her way earlier, whether Dr. Drew, an African-American, would have ever been born.

Planned Parenthood is responsible for the vast majority of abortions within the United States. According to multiple websites I checked, Planned Parenthood performs more than 332,000 annually. Although the number is staggering and should move all of us to action, just one abortion can affect the lives of so many. For example, what if Dr. Drew had been aborted? How many lives would have been lost without his lifesaving work?

As I sat with that unpleasant idea, I also thought about Sanger’s “Negro Project” and its effect on the African-American population. Started in 1939, the “Negro Project” was Sanger’s justification to promote eugenics in an effort to eliminate those she deemed unfit. Although the project didn’t start until the late 1930s, Sanger had long advocated for eugenics.

For example, in 1919 she wrote an article titled “Birth Control and Racial Betterment” which appeared in the Birth Control Review.

The article begins, “Before eugenicists and others who are laboring for racial betterment can succeed, they must first clear the way for Birth Control. Like the advocates of Birth Control, the eugenicists, for instance, are seeking to assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit. Both are seeking a single end but they lay emphasis upon different methods.”

Just whom did Sanger and others around her consider unfit?

An excerpt from a letter she wrote to Dr. Clarence Gamble might shed some light on her thoughts. (Dr. Gamble encouraged Sanger to merge the Clinical Birth Control Research Bureau with the American Birth Control League. In 1939, it became known as the Birth Control Federation of America. Today it is known as Planned Parenthood.)

“It seems to me from my experience … that while the colored Negroes have a great respect for white doctors they can get closer to their own members and more or less lay their cards on the table which means their ignorance, superstitions and doubts.

We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal.
We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out the idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”

It’s worth noting Sanger relied upon the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to promote her work. His niece, Dr. Alveda King, full-time director of Civil Rights for the Unborn, an outreach of Priests for Life, says she grows weary of the organization’s arguments.

In 2011, she wrote, “"Sometimes I wonder if Planned Parenthood will ever get tired of lying about my Uncle Martin, and then I remind myself that a business built on the lie that a baby isn’t a baby is a stranger to the truth. Just to be clear one more time, there’s no way Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were he alive today, would support an organization that has helped destroy one-quarter of the African-American population."

One man who might understand the impact of the “Negro Project” is Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. During an interview in 2015, he said, “And one of the reasons you find most of their clinics in black neighborhoods is so that you can find a way to control that population. I think people should go back and read about Margaret Sanger who founded this place.”

Maybe we should all heed Dr. Carson’s advice.

Julie Anderson is a member of the Hosea Board of Advisors, a freelance journalist of 20 years and a pro-life advocate. She writes from her home state of Kansas. For her full bio, see hosea4you.org.

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Poster Child of Divine Mercy

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Today’s Catholic.org

By Clare Ruff

Major Christian celebrations had octaves by the end of the fourth century. It seems rejoicing could not fit into one 24-hour period. So, octaves were established to prolong the festivities, first for Easter, then Pentecost, Christmas and Epiphany. The eighth day echoed the first day theme but with greater emphasis, just as an octave on the musical scale repeats the same note only one pitch higher.

On April 30, 2000, in the Jubilee Year of Redemption, Pope John Paul II declared that every Octave of Easter would be designated Divine Mercy Sunday. He was motivated by the true story of a Polish nun and Christian mystic named Faustina Kowalska who lived in Warsaw, Poland as a member of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She died on October 5, 1938, but warned her religious sisters to pray much for a terrible war that would start in their homeland. Nazi Germany invaded Poland September 1, 1939.

Sister Faustina was instructed by her superiors to record the appearances of Jesus Christ to her; she penned the mystical experiences in her diary called Divine Mercy in My Soul. Christ gave her a mission in these apparitions: remind the world of the truth revealed in Holy Scripture about God’s infinite Mercy, introduce a 3 o’clock prayer recalling Christ’s agony on the cross, promulgate the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and promote an annual liturgical feast of Divine Mercy. Sister Faustina was a contemporary of Pope John Paul II, once archbishop of Krakow, Poland; he established the Feast of Divine Mercy and greatly assisted the worldwide expansion of this devotion.

Mercy in the Old Testament is expressed by two basic words: Hesed and Rahamim. Hesed references a reciprocal, covenantal love, alluding to God’s nuptial relationship with his people. Rahamim is derived from the root rehem, which means literally “from the mother’s womb.” This kind of mercy recalls a love radical in bond and unity, the relationship between a mother and the child of her womb. This love is not earned, but one of pure gift. It invokes tenderness, patience, compassion, readiness to forgive -- a universal identification with maternity. Mercy, the Old Testament authors propose, comes closest in expression to a mother’s love.

That was then. This is now. In light of the abortion-on-demand culture, God offers, “Even should a woman forget her child, yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). These ancient, biblical texts emphasized relationships when describing Divine Mercy, the act of sparing someone’s guilt, wiping away transgressions, washing the slate clean.

Perhaps, no one more desperately needed his slate cleaned than Bernard N. Nathanson, MD. He is the poster child of Divine Mercy! The son of an emotionally sterile father and equally emotionally battered mother, the young Nathanson was extremely intelligent and desired to pursue medicine. When he attended his father’s alma mater for medical school, he lost more than faith in God.

Dr. Nathanson describes in his 1996 autobiography, The Hand of God, how he was introduced “into the satanic world of abortion.” In his third year of medical school, his girlfriend was about 16 weeks when Nathanson sent her via cab to a physician with $500 in her purse. “We lost our innocence that spring,” he said. Their trust in each other irrevocably broken by the brutal reality of abortion, they parted ways.

Years later, Nathanson crossed paths with Lawrence Lader and co-founded NARAL (National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, now NARAL Pro-Choice America). Together they plotted the extinction of legal protection for the unborn. Nathanson set records in the destruction of human life. He personally performed more than 5,000 abortions, trained abortionist on an additional 10,000, and supervised another 60,000 abortions during the two years he directed the Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health (CRASH) in Manhattan.

Those numbers should shock you. That is the work of ONE man. Try to comprehend for a moment the bloodshed this represents. It’s staggering. I’ve met people in my pro-life work who find it hard to forgive Dr. Nathanson for what he initiated – even though he eventually converted to a prolife position. Thankfully, they are not God.

Jesus spoke to Sister Faustina and said, “My daughter, write that the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy; urge all souls to trust in the unfathomable abyss of My mercy, because I want to save them all.” (Diary, 1182)

After 10 years of spiritual blindness, what he called his “decade of darkness,” Dr. Nathanson discovered God’s abundant MERCY could encompass even a sinner responsible for the death of 75,000 little souls.

Cardinal John O’Connor baptized Bernard N. Nathanson on December 8, 1996, in the basement, the “catacombs,” of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Afterward, Dr. Nathanson handed out a memento card to the guests in attendance. It read: “God, who is rich in Mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive in Christ” (Ephesians 2:4).

Mercy doesn’t mean God is morally neutral or sin is irrelevant. If we betray the code of love, deviate from the path of righteousness, defile ourselves or another, we find wholeness only through humble repentance and God’s gratuitously gifted Mercy.

What’s the appropriate response to such ineffability? Gratitude!

Dr. Nathanson himself articulated it after his baptism:

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am, what an unrequitable debt I have to those who prayed for me all those years when I was publicly announcing my atheism and lack of faith. They stubbornly, lovingly, prayed for me. I am convinced beyond any doubt that those prayers were heard.”

“Who loves more?” Jesus questioned his Pharisee host. “The one for whom he canceled the greater debt,” came the reply (Luke 7:43). “You have judged rightly,” Jesus affirmed. And in that spirit and knowledge we rejoice this Octave of Easter, and remember the Poster Child of Mercy, Bernard Nathanson, because no one is beyond God’s pardon. And, if our “sins be like scarlet, they can be white as snow”(Isaiah 1:18). There is rejoicing in heaven over each repentant sinner because God is truly rich in mercy!

World Press.org

Bernard N. Nathanson: The Poster Child of Mercy

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St. Maria Faustina Posted by quotesgram.com

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Imitate the Angel at Christ’s Tomb: Be a Messenger of Truth

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Mary Magdalene and women at the empty tomb of Jesus on day of Resurrection, relief on the baptismal font, church of Saint Matthew in Stitar, Croatia

The photo depicts the Resurrection of Christ and was taken by my husband during a passion play in 2017.

By Julie Anderson
Member, Hosea Board of Advisors

Recently while researching the role of angels in the life of Christ, I stumbled across a lesser known celebration of the Easter season, that of Monday of the Angel. Curious, I took a few minutes to learn more about it.

Celebrated as what is known as “little Easter” in many European and South American countries, the day after Easter is a public holiday in countries such as Germany, Croatia and Italy. In Italy, the day is known as Lunedi dell’ Angelo and honors the angel’s role in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection.

St. Matthew writes, “After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,* Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples (Matthew 28:1-7).”

Did you catch that last part? The women ran from the tomb. They ran with joy in their hearts. They ran, announcing the good news of Christ’s resurrection as shared with them by the angel.

Of Greek origin, the word “angel” translates as “messenger” in English. The women who visited the tomb that first Easter morning heard the message of truth as heralded by the angel. Then, they ran to tell everyone around them. In doing so, they became messengers of truth and life.

In today’s world, we don’t necessarily think about messages in the same way. We send email messages and text messages to family and friends on a daily basis. In fact, most people get inundated with hundreds of messages every day. Still, I wonder if we received a message directly from an angel if we would give it our full attention? Would we rush to share the message with everyone around us?

The message of Christ’s resurrection is the single greatest message the world has ever been given throughout all of history. Christ conquered death, and because he died for us, we have the opportunity to live with Him forever in heaven!

As I reflected on Christ’s resurrection as a central tenet of the Christian faith, the words of St. Paul came to mind. He devoted an entire chapter of one of his epistles to Christ’s resurrection and what it will mean for everyone on the last day. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:58).”

To me, the verse implies trumpets will continue to herald a message of truth, life and love until Jesus comes again in glory. Yet, how?

The word “herald” can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it refers to official messengers or those who proclaim news. As a verb, herald means “to give notice of” or “announce” something.

Given the definition, it’s no surprise trumpets and similar-sounding instruments are often used to announce someone or something important. Take, for example, the United States Army Herald Trumpets who serve as the official fanfare ensemble for the president of the United States or the shofar, the Jewish horn used to awaken and inspire people to repentance and change on Jewish holy days such as Rosh Hashanah.

Getting back to St. Paul’s words about the last trumpet, I think believers everywhere are called to be messengers of truth and heralds of the Gospel of Life until the last day. We should all heed the words of the prophet Isaiah who instructs us to, “Raise your voice up like a trumpet (Isaiah 58:1).”

Here at Hosea Initiative we encourage all prolife-minded individuals to raise their voices up like trumpets in defense of the most precious gift God has ever given us-the gift of life, the very gift he gave us by virtue of His resurrection. In fact, Isaiah’s rallying cry served as the theme of Hosea Initiative’s first “Life is Beautiful” gala held this past December.

The gala reminded those in attendance this year is a pivotal one, especially here in the United States. As our nation prepares to elect a president and vice-president, it is important that we, as faithful believers in the resurrection of Christ, raise our voices up like trumpets for life each and every day leading up to the election.

How will you “raise your voice up like a trumpet” for the unborn? How will you serve as a messenger of truth and a herald of the Gospel of Life?

ACTION ITEM
Order your "Raise Up Your Voice Like a Trumpet" ornament HERE!!

Julie Anderson is a member of the Hosea Board of Advisors, a freelance journalist of 20 years and a prolife advocate. She writes from her home state of Kansas. For her full bio, see hosea4you.org.

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The Pieta – A Window onto Holy Week

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Cathedral St. Paul, St Paul, MN Photo by Clare Ruff

Photo source “ wga.hu” online.

By Clare Ruff

On August 27, 1498, a 23-year-old Italian artist was commissioned to create a life-sized rendition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For the next two years, the relatively unknown sculptor chiseled from a single slab of Carrara marble an artwork of unparalleled beauty. His mournful Madonna, co-mingling pity with piety, was unveiled in the Jubilee Year of 1500, and for the next 520 years has drawn millions of admirers to St. Peter's Basilica to be inspired by La Pietà.

When the masterpiece was first revealed, the author mingled incognito in the crowd and overheard spectators trying to identify the artist. His name was never suggested. In pride and anger, he carved front and center into the sash crossing the Madonna’s gown: MICHAEL ANGLEUS BONAROTUS FLORENT FACIEBAT, translated: “Michael Angelo Buonarroti of Florence made this”. He swore never again to sign a work of his art.

If you cannot travel to Rome to take in its grandeur, authentic replicas of the Pietà are displayed throughout the United States. The Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows, in Chicago, Illinois is home to a replica sculpted by Spartaco Palla from 6600 pounds of the same Carrara marble. The Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Corona, California have Vatican-approved exact replicas made of crushed marble dust cast in the official bronze mold made in 1931 of the original Pietà. When Christ the King Catholic Church in Topeka, Kansas was dedicated in 1985, it was gifted an exact replica of the Pietà by the parents of our own Julie Anderson, another Hosea Initiative Blog contributor.

Michelangelo immortalizes the drama of Holy Week in his Pietà. These are sacred days for both Christians and Jews. The Jewish people memorialize the first Passover in Egypt and exodus from slavery. Christians recall the events of the “new Passover” where the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is immolated on the wood of the cross to redeem humanity from sin.

Holy Week

Palm Sunday opens with triumphant cries from a fickle populace lining the road with branches to welcome the Messiah. Monday’s grand betrayal rewards Judas with 30 pieces of silver. Thursday’s sacred meal initiates a new manna and a new covenant. The disciples wonder: Why do we celebrate the Pasch a day earlier than Moses required? Where is the lamb for the feast? What did the Teacher say about going to prepare a place for us?

The new Adam is also in a garden; here, anguish and swords climax with a blasphemous kiss. Interrogations relent until the full moon sets, as chief priests and jeering soldiers demand, “Are you the Christ, Son of the Blessed?" (Mark 14:61) The civic authority, Pontius Pilate, cowardly washes his hands of Truth when history presents him a singular opportunity for courage and nobility. Scourged at a pillar of pain, then flanked by two criminals, the condemned man stumbles through the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem carrying the weight of a fallen world on his shoulders.

Outside the walls of David’s city, the Lamb of God is sacrificed; the torture is legal, according to civil law. Pierced and fixed to a tree, he utters astonishing words, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) Finally, beneath a total eclipse of the sun, Jesus whispers, “It is finished." (John 19:30)

Most Good Friday spectators stood at a distance, fearing the soldiers and contamination from the dying bodies and outpouring of blood. But, Mary stood near the cross on which her Son hung. Hardship was not new to her. She had endured false judgment and ridicule at Jesus’ conception, incarnating a mystery the town gossips could never image. She experienced persecution, homelessness, and exile. Perhaps, the sublimity of her motherhood is magnified precisely because of these sorrows.

From the moment of the angel’s greeting and her assent to God’s will, her DNA was part of His. Her blood nourished His body. Once, she sheltered His body and soul in the safety of her womb. Now, she wipes away the blood falling from his wounded limbs, and watches soldiers cast lots for garments she wove and mended. Simeon’s prophecy is fulfilled as an invisible sword pierces her own soul—“that the thoughts of many might be revealed." (Luke 2:35)

She cannot offer Him even a cup of water, but she offers the unique gift of her maternal love, and nourishes him with unmeasured compassion.

Nature prepares women to be life bearers, but she carried Life itself. “I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life," (John 14:6) Jesus told Martha and Mary before raising their brother Lazarus from the grave. The Life-bearer watches as shadows fall-- across the face of her Son as across the Israeli sky. When the trauma finally ends and Jesus is removed from the cross, tradition tells us His lifeless body is placed in the arms of His mother.

Is there any greater sorrow? Any mother losing her child suffers a tremendous loss, but this Mother parting from this Child? It is unimaginable.

Michelangelo captures the moment of the icon of maternity grieving the loss of her child. However, her face is serene in suffering, radiating acceptance, hinting at the surety of what will follow in three days. She epitomizes all who have ever lost a child, or suffered violence, sickness, or death. She embraces death with the same faith with which she welcomed His life.

What consolation it is that at least one sufficiently mourned the King of Calvary. Her tears are our tears. We pray: Holy Mother, weep for your Son, weep for us all. The Pietà.

Photo source: Oneonta.edu

Photo source: BLOGSPOT Pieta in St. Peter’s Basilica

Cathedral St. Paul, St Paul, MN Photo by Clare Ruff

Julie Andersonand her husband Marc at their Christ the King parish in Topeka, KS Photo by Larry Katsbulas

Clare Ruff earned her BA in Theology from University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
and serves as Director of Events and Outreach for the Hosea Initiative.
She writes from her home in southeastern Minnesota.

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Hosea Blog

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God Gives Everyone a Biography - Choose Life!

Poster Child of Divine Mercy

Imitate the Angel at Christ’s Tomb: Be a Messenger of Truth

Julie Anderson is a member of the Hosea Board of Advisors, a freelance journalist of 20 years and a prolife advocate. She writes from her home state of Kansas. For her full bio, see hosea4you.org.

The Pieta – A Window onto Holy Week

Clare Ruff earned her BA in Theology from University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
and serves as Director of Events and Outreach for the Hosea Initiative.
She writes from her home in southeastern Minnesota.

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Julie Anderson is a member of the Hosea Board of Advisors, a freelance journalist of 20 years and a prolife advocate. She writes from her home state of Kansas. For her full bio, see hosea4you.org.

Clare Ruff earned her BA in Theology from University of St. Thomas, Houston, TXand serves as Director of Events and Outreach for the Hosea Initiative.She writes from her home in southeastern Minnesota.

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Clare Ruff earned her BA in Theology from University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
and serves as Director of Events and Outreach for the Hosea Initiative.
She writes from her home in southeastern Minnesota.