TINY MIRACLES-Premature Babies Attest to the Dignity of Life

Hi all, I could not resist sharing this article from the NCR, June 9, with you.

He weighed less than 10 ounces when he was delivered by emergency cesarean at 24 weeks and five days. /when he was released from a Japanese hospital six months after his birth, he had grown to more than 7 pounds. According to a registry maintained by the University of Iowa, this micropreemie holds the record for the smallest newborn boy to be discharged from a hospital in good health.

Now anotoher baby has been recognized by the registry. “The smallest surviving baby in the world was released this month from a San Diago hospital after being born at just 8.6.” Fox 5 San Diego reported May 29.  Saybie, born at 23 weeks and three days in December, weighed 5.6 pounds when released from the neonatal intensive care unit.

These tiny babies reflect a study published in THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE that found that there are premature babies surviving outside the womb earlier than doctors once thought possible.

“Now, 90% of babies born at 28 weeks will survive.” Dr. William Stigall, a Catholic pediatric intensive at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Forth Worth, Texas, to the Register. “Now 23-24 weeks is the age of viability, meaning 50% of those babies will survive.”

Linda Raleigh’s youngest two children (no. 6&7) were born prematurely, one four weeks early and the other five.  Both premature babies spent weeks in the NICU, but now that they are 15 and 11 years old, it’s clear that being born early did not negatively impact them in mind or body.   “It really made me trust God a lot,” she added.  “He wants these little people born. They’re willed into existence by God.”

Giving a preemie required treatment is not always simple-or inexpensive. That’s where the line of viability can come into play, with some health care providers declining to treat infants born at an earlier stage. That NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE STUDY, for instance, found that hospitals vary widely in their approach to 22 week-olds: A few offered no active medical treatment, and at the other end of the spectrum, a handful offered assertive treatments.  Stigall explains that there are differences between ordinary and extraordinary interventions–something one must do and something one can do.  —-What doesn’t change is the infinite worth of that person.” he said. “The primary concern is the patient.

For Jessica Spradlin, that seemed obvious when she went into preterm labor and her son Kailor Dean was born at 22 weeks and four days, at the local hospital-closer than the facility where her specialist worked,  But the local hospital’s policy was to provide care for babies born at 23 weeks – and Kailor was a few days younger than that. So he received no medical assistance, and he died 51 minutes after being born.

“This is a baby that was prayed for, wanted and loved from the beginning.” recalled Spradlin. “They could have tried and failed, but at least they would have know every effort was made.”

Now Spradlin is focused on raising awareness of the fact that hospitals can have different policies for providing care to preemies – a fact that could literally make the difference between life and death. Even with assertive treatment and care, not every prematurely born baby will survive, but the miracle of life is clear, no mater how short its span.

She was just 21 years old when she gave birth to her fist son, Joshua, at 33 weeks and five days. —-now 16 years old, that prematurely born baby is a driving, piano playing, potential future law student. “  “I think the argument that it’s just a ‘clump of cells’ should be unraveling,” his mother said. 

by: Elisabeth Deffner

There you have it, the value of an unborn child, created by God, is unlimited. I know when a woman become unexpectedly pregnant, it can be frightening. The question, “What am I going to do now?” is definitely a problem. However, there are free clinics that will help her through the 9 months and beyond. If you know someone or if it happens to you, please call Catholic Charities or look in the phone book or call the birthing section of a hospital. Someone will know where there is a clinic and help, even a home for unwed mothers if you need that help, don’t go to Planned Parenthood or another abortion provider. Abortion is not the answer. If you can’t care for your child, someone else can and you can get back to your life.  Please act Responsibly.

 

 

MOTHER OF GOD, THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

I have been wanting to do a blog on the Blessed Virgin Mary for some time and just came across some meditations in the “Magnificat” that explains the Catholic Churches view of Mary very well.

VIGILANT WITH OUR LADY: In one of her antiphons, the Church solemnly tells us that “the fullness of time has come upon us at last.”  None of us in this room knows when the fullness of time will come for us. God grant we can meet it with courtesy. The fullness of time, in a deep spiritual sense, comes each day, a day which will never be again. Today is the absolute fullness of today. Let us be drawn to love and to give and to spread joy all about us.  We are not promised tomorrow, and we cannot do anything much about yesterday, except to regret what was wrong about it. But we have today!…

God expects that he will find us watching in prayer. This is where he found out Lady at the Annunciation. This is where he found her at Bethlehem. This is where he found her beneath the cross.   This is where he found her on Resurrection morning. This is where he found her in all the incidents of her life. This is where he found her at the moment of her death: watching in prayer. WILL HE FIND US WATCHING IN PRAYER?  We hope so, but we must will so.  We need to ask ourselves some very forthright questions.  Does he perhaps find us not watching in prayer but chafing under some circumstance, thrashing about in this situation, this thing that is asked of me, THIS SACRIFICE? It is up to us. HE WANTS TO FIND US WHERE HE FOUND OUR LADY, WATCHING IN PRAYER.   by Mother Mary Francis,P.C.C.

Keep in mind, all you who are talking about Respect for Women, Women Rights, etc. do you realize that Mary is the Mother of God, Jesus wants her to be respected and loved for who she is.

 

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Prayer to Mary, asking her to pray for us. This words all come from scripture

HAIL MARY, Full of Grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of the womb. Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen

 

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN

Hi folks, I meant to write this just after the March for Life in Washington DC but didn’t get a chance. Monday, Jan. 22, 2018 was the National Day of Prayer for Catholics all over this Country and any other Christian that wanted to take part. There were Masses and prayer groups gathered in many places. This is the Meditation of the Day in the Magnificat Magazine.

WHEN we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities–to offer just a few examples–it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected. Once the human being declares independence from reality and behaves with absolute dominion, the very foundations of our life begin to crumble, for “instead of carrying out his role as a cooperator with God in the work of creation, man sets himself up in place of God and thus ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of nature”  (Pope John Paul ll, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, May 1, 1991)….

When the human person is considered as simply one being among others, the product of chance or physical determinism, then “our overall sense of responsibility wanes” (Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the 2010 World Day of Peace)

Human beings cannot be expected to feel responsibility for the world unless, at the same time, their unique capacities of knowledge, will, freedom, and responsibility are recognized and valued..

Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties?  If personal and social sensitivity toward the acceptance of the new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away” (Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, June 20, 2009).

WE NEED TO DEVELOP A NEW SYNTHESIS CAPABLE OF OVERCOMING THE FALSE ARGUMENTS OF RECENT CENTURIES.  From Pope Francis’ 2015 Encyclical Laudato Si’.

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AMAC ADVANTAGE magazine (The Asso. of Mature American Citizens) came out with a cover on their Winter 2018 Magazine of an unborn child and the heading: “PROTECTING THE MIRACLE OF LIFE. This is a very popular national magazine. I am so happy to see an organization accepting and protecting the unborn. It also says, ” The gift of life has been under attack for decades in the United States. AMAC is taking a stand to expose the institutions that demean the sacred blessing of life, including Planned Parenthood and the Roe v. Wade ruling. We must give a voice to those who cannot speak.  Among the articles; Planned Parenthood: The Ugly Truth; Roe v. Wade: A case of Deadly Deception, Protecting the Unborn: The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.  Unfortunately the SENATE OF THE U.S. vote down this bill this week, which would have protected unborn children over 5 months old except in the case of rape and the life of the mother. The Senate should be so ashamed of themselves for allowing Partial Birth Abortion of fully formed babies to continue.

According to Dan Weber President of AMAC, Mother Teresa said about abortion: “America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v Wade has deformed a great nation.” and “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love but to use any violence to get what they want.”

Dan Weber says:  We wonder why a government that gives millions of dollars to abortion facilities doesn’t instead provide funds to compensate women with an unwanted pregnancy so the unborn child can be brought to term, and then be adopted by a couple that will love and nurture a much wanted baby. And I wonder what is the matter with using the money given to Planned Parenthood to help the mother get a new start in life, a home to live in while they are pregnant, teaching them how to care for a baby, a high school education if needed and a new start in life, instead of leaving the mother to live with the horror of killing her own flesh and blood.

From me: think about school shootings and why they are happening. We are teaching children violence in this country not love. When will it end?

AMAC also encourages our Representatives in Washington to stop funding Planned Parenthood so that America is deserving of our continued blessings.

My suggestion is to vote and elect pro life candidates, Senators, Representatives, Governors and Presidents, Christian or not, and contact your Representatives and Senators in Washington and at the state level, also, your Governors to pass bill protecting the unborn. The 5 month and older bill was a good start, we can’t do it all at once, but partial birth abortion and abortion because it’s a girl and not a boy, or has a handicap, etc. would be a start. We may have to do it state by state.

Just so you know in Maine, Sen. Angus King voted no when it came to passing the bill stopping abortion over 5 months old. I don’t know yet about Sen. Collins. Please pray for him and the others that voted no since late term abortion now continues. Pray that they will soon come to realize that killing unborn babies is murder.

Here is a prayer you can say to Mary, to ask her to join us with her prayers to her son to stop abortion in this country.

MARY, MOTHER FOR LIFE

O Mary, Mother of the Life Within, all life we entrust to you: the life of every expectant mother, and the child within her womb, the life of every human body, the life of every human soul, the life of every newborn child and the life of all grown old. You held the Lord to Your own Heart and drew Him so close in. So draw us now in all our needs, O Mother of the Life Within.

MARY, MOTHER FOR LIFE

O Mary, Mother of the Life Within, all life we entrust to You: the life of every expectant mother and the child within her womb, the life of every human body, the life of every human soul, the life of every newborn child and the life of all grown olf. You held the Lord to Your own Heart and drew Him so close in. So draw us now in all our needs, O Mother of the Life Within.

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PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF HOPE

O Blessed virgin Mary, mother of grace, hope of the world. Hear us, your children, who cry to you.

Oh Mother of Mercy, have pity on me in my distress. You are all-powerful with your divine Son. He can refuse no request of your immaculate heart. Show yourself at true mother to me by being my advocate before His throne.

Above all I pray, O dearest mother, that through your most powerful intercession my heart may be filled with holy hope, so that in life’s darkest hour I may never fail to trust in God my Savior, but by walking in the way of His commandments I may be united with Him, and with you in the eternal joys of heaven.

Mary, our hope, have pity on us. Hope of the hopeless, pray for us.   (from the Novena to Our Lady of Hope.)

GOD BLESS YOU ALL, PRAY FOR OUR PREGNANT MOTHERS AND THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN, THAT THEY MAY IGNORE THE WORLD, SEEK HELP, AND BRING GOD’S BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN INTO THE WORLD.

 

 

PRO LIFE -MARCH FOR LIFE

FROM CONCEPTION TO NATURAL DEATH IS THE CRY OF EVERY CATHOLIC AND HOPEFULLY EVERY CHRISTIAN.

THE MARCH FOR LIFE ON FRIDAY, JAN 28, 2017 WAS AGAIN VERY SUCCESSFUL AND VERY ENERGETIC. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE ENTIRE 44 YEARS OF THE MARCH, SINCE THE YEAR AFTER ROE VS WADE WAS PASSED THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. SPOKE FROM THE STAGE. I DIDN’T HEAR HOW MANY WERE THERE, IT REALLY DOESN’T MATER, THEY MADE THEIR POINT. AND THERE WERE CHILDREN, TEENS, AND ALL AGES OF ADULTS. THERE ARE MORE EVERY YEARS AND THEY COME FROM EVERYWHERE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT ARE PRO LIFE.

A NEW SLOGAN:  ADOPTION NOT ABORTION.

IF ANYONE READING THIS NEEDS HELP OR KNOWS OF SOMEONE THAT NEEDS HELP TELL THEM TO CALL CATHOLIC CHARITIES. They are listed in the phone book. They will have names and addresses of safe places to go for help.  Most neighborhood clinics will have names and addresses.   There are places to get free mammograms. There are places to get free birth control and there are places that will help women to keep their babies, finish school, get a job, or help them put their babies up for adoption. They do not need Planned Parenthood.   I thought the meditation  and prayer below  from the  book: THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA apply.

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JESUS, HAVING CONQUERED LIFE WITH DEATH AND SIN WITH LOVE ,appears to the women and his followers at various times and in various ways to deliver a PRO LIFE MESSAGE that goes beyond what this finite existence is able to contain.  Christ’s power is over life and death in this world and in the next!  LOVE is more powerful than death;  LIFE reaches beyond the grave for those who believe. Suffering has saving power.  Penance, and remission of sins in Christ, saves souls.

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OH MARY, MOTHER OF THE LIFE WITHIN,  ALL LIFE WE ENTRUST TO YOU: THE LIFE OF EVERY EXPECTANT MOTHER, AND THE CHILD WITHING HER WOMB, THE LIFE OF EVERY HUMAN BODY, THE LIFE OF EVERY HUMAN SOUL, THE LIFE OF EVERY NEWBORN CHILD AND THE LIFE OF ALL GROWN OLD. YOU HELD THE LORD TO YOUR OWN HEART AND DREW HIM SO CLOSE IN.  SO DRAW US NOW IN ALL OUR NEEDS, OH MOTHER OF THE LIFE WITHIN.

 

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN

This was on Jan. 23, Monday, but I thought you would all like to know, since the Pro Life March is coming up soon.

In all the dioceses of the united States of America, Jan 22 (or Jan. 23, if the 22nd is on a Sunday), shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.

GOD, OUR CREATOR, WE GIVE THANKS TO YOU, who alone have the power to impart the breath of life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; grant, we pray, that we, whom you have made stewards of creation, may remain faithful to this sacred trust and constant ion safeguarding the dignity of every human life. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON.

WE VALUE LIFE THROUGH CONCEPTION TO NATURAL DEATH.

THE WOMEN WHO SERVED

“IN THE SOCIETY IN WHICH YOU WILL LIVE, you will have an intellectual duty to perform that is more important than ever. YOU OUGHT TO BE A WOMAN OF REAL WORTH, WELL EDUCATED, WITH YOUR MIND OPEN TO EVERY ARGUMENT FROM OUTSIDE. You ought to know how to discern among incoherent and varying ideas and systems that which is true or fruitful in each. The Fathers of the Church said that each of these systems contained ‘the soul of truth” that most never be allowed to die. Never be put off by words and always go beyond appearances. In this patient search for the truth and a habit of fairness that we ought to have toward others and their ideas, we need integrity of mind, clear judgment, and solid learning. You will gradually acquire these things, and you will do so more easily YOUR CONVICTIONS BECOME MORE CONSCIOUSLY DEVELOPED…..
DEVOTIONAL practices ought never to be anything other than the manifestation of what lies in one’s depths. We must first thoroughly grasp the truth that such practices help to enliven within. So, too, we must grasp the harmony of the Church as a whole, THE VITALITY AND POWER OF CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS, AND THE MORAL AND SOCIAL VALUE OF CATHOLIC DOCTRINE”.

Sound like this was written this year? Wouldn’t we love to tell our daughters to develop in this way? Ask them to develop integrity of mind, clear judgment, and solid learning? Protestant and non-denominational mothers might say “THE MORAL AND SOCIAL VALUE OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, but the thought is the same. Well, surprise, this was written by ELISABETH LESEUR, who died in 1914, and was a French married laywoman who is being considered for Sainthood. I believe she organized women to go out into society to help people and spread the word of Jesus Christ. Perhaps someone could look up her name and find out just what she did. So in 1914, women were asked to face the same thing our daughters and granddaughters are facing now.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY: GRACE, mercy, and peace be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son in truth and love. Amen (2 Jn 3)