40 Years Ago

40 years ago the decision of Roe v. Wade made abortion legal.  Since then it is estimated that over 55 million abortions have taken place.

A few months ago, I saw a post on Facebook by someone in support of abortion and a women's right to choose to have an abortion.  I read through some of her comments and was shocked when she said that a fetus wasn't human life, it was only the "potential" for human life.  I wasn't really sure what to say at that point in time, or how to rationally get my point across so I knew it would be a good topic for a blog post.

As someone who us ultimately pro-life because of my Catholic faith and beliefs, I am also a scientist.  I'm inquisitive by nature, I want to know the how and why of things and how to explain them using logic, even secular logic.  While it is passion behind personal beliefs that is usually an impetus to speak-out on things, I fear it sometimes gets me in trouble when trying to defend my beliefs.  I know I can get a little worked up.  I'm going to use very secular terms in the next part of my post to show things in as plain language as possible.

Let's go back to the basics: from the moment when a sperm and egg combine during the biological process of fertilization, a new human has been created.  Now, is this life or is this the potential for life?  It is life!  It is a human life with it's very own unique DNA.

Now the to crux of the issue that was posted on Facebook: it is only the "potential" for human life.  I do not disagree that the newly created human life can not survive outside of the woman's body.  But how would the situation surrounding how a life is being supported or sheltered make it less of a human?

Take another biological example: developing from egg to tadpole to frog.  A tadpole would not survive outside of water during stages of it's development.  It is still a frog that is living, growing and developing in an environment that is different from the environment it will need to survive when it reaches the next stage of development.

Let's take this a step further, a human life that has been born/exited the womb of the biological mother.  I think most people would be hard-pressed to find someone who said that it would be acceptable or a choice to kill that human life.  The only change is that it is no longer living inside another human being.  The recently born human life can now breathe air and consume food.  Is this new human life all of the sudden not dependent on another human as it was approximately 38 weeks before it exited the mother?  No, this life still needs to be fed and sheltered and can not accomplish those things on it's own.  Is this still only "potential" human life because it can not survive without support of another?  Should this new life be able to be legally killed simply because another chooses not to support this life?  No.  Although it is possible that there are those who believe this should be an option, which I know is not necessarily a "mainstream" belief as abortion unfortunately is seen.

Abortion is the killing of human life during a stage of development because a woman chooses not to support that life.  Does pregnancy and birth affect a woman and her life?  Absolutely, there is no doubt about that fact.  I believe there needs to be support women who choose to have babies regardless of circumstances.  I know there are support programs out there with the potential to grow to support more pregnant women.  Perhaps I will try to gather those things into a future post.

Maybe it also needs to be clearly stated that I am pro-life, not just against abortion.  I do not believe in or support the death penalty or euthanasia.

On this tragic anniversary of Roe v. Wade please feel free to check out some other well done posts marking the passing of 40 years or on the topic of abortion/pro-life.

• GoDark4Life at NFP & Me
• The Deafening Silence at Endless Strength
• 180 Movie (some parts of this video are graphic)

I hope this post has made sense to those who are reading and that everyone can take the time to reflect on it.  I hope and pray everyday that abortion becomes a thing of the past.  I also am asking for a prayer request for the 55 million or more lives that have been lost due to abortion in the past 40 years.

I welcome any and all comments/questions to this post.  I only ask that everyone keeps their comments respectful.  Open debate/discussion is never a bad thing in my opinion.

30 Days of Giving Thanks: Day 24

Today I am very thankful for being Catholic.  I was born and raised Catholic and I think some people attribute to me still being Catholic to "not knowing any better".  That could not be further from the truth.  Throughout my relatively short life I have been blessed to experience many different ideas/belief systems and cultures (most of them through Catholic schools) and I continue to find that my Catholic faith is where I belong.

I've been to Catholic schools most of my life (with a small exception of part of kindergarten through 3rd grade) and I think that has been a huge part of my faith in the Church.  Throughout my many years of formal and informal faith education I have questioned and continued to learn more about the Church and her teachings.  I've been taught the history of the Church, the meaning behind the sacraments, and been an RCIA (Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults) sponsor... all of these have shown me more reasons why I continue to belong to the Catholic Church.  There are several unpopular beliefs and stances that the Church takes, and I know it is not easy to stick to these beliefs and it is even more difficult

Here's my top 10 things I love about my Catholic faith in no particular order (because everyone has favorites):

1. Eucharist: I mean it is Jesus!  Who doesn't love that?
2. Baptism: This sacrament took on a whole new meaning when Jack was baptized... it is truly a beautiful moment in a person's life (infant to adult).
3. Confirmation: Okay, so I love the smell of chrism oil :-)
4. Natural Family Planning: I know it's not technically part of the Catholic Church, but the Church definitely supports it and it has been a great blessing to our family!
5. Mass: While right now it can be quite difficult with our kids to fully participate in Mass, I love all parts of the Mass (see #1, the music, the people, the readings).
6. The Church's history: This might be the only history lesson I really enjoy to continue to hear and learn more about!
7. My friends: I've been involved in Church activities for as long as I can remember and I have gained some amazing friends along the way!
8. Reconciliation: Although I honestly don't go often enough, I always get a lot out of it.
9. Community support:  Catholic charities help so many people throughout the world for a number of different things, and I love the amount of reach and support provides to the world!
10. Vocations: This is a bit generic, but when I was part of a NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference) discussion on vocations, I realized how important it is and powerful it can be to discern your true vocation!

On a completely unrelated note, please go out and support a small business today (or this weekend or this holiday season)!  I know a number of people who own or work for a small business so it is very important to me to support this part of our economy.

Prayer Request for our Pastor

The pastor of our parish passed away sometime overnight Friday-Saturday this past weekend.  He was a very vibrant personality who had a passion for preaching and enjoyed taking care of his alpacas.  This past weekend was also the weekend of our parish festival, we were lucky enough to get to see him there Friday night.

We are very lucky to be a part of a parish that did not have a shortage of priests, but this will truly have a large impact on our parish family.  Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers for the repose of Fr. Rod's soul!

If you are a local reader, you can view his obituary here.

2011 Natural Family Planning Week

I know this post comes as NFP awareness week is actually wrapped up, but better late than never!

My husband and I started practicing Natural Family Planning after the birth of our first son (he was about 7 months old and I was still nursing).  We took a course through our Roman Catholic diocese and haven't looked back!  Here are the posts I did as we went through our classes:
Class number 1
Class number 2
Final class

Marquette University (yes, a Catholic university) is actually conducting federally (not religiously) funded scientific research on the effectiveness of Natural Family Planning.  You can read things like definitions, different methods, instructions/guidelines and read more about their research here and here.  The reason I emphasize that their research was federally funded is because so often NFP is looked upon as something for people with faith-based reasons, but this is something that is based on the natural biorhythms of a woman's reproductive system.

Also, the Couple to Couple League has many resources for every stage in life, as well as a home course!  Their bookstore is an excellent resource to reference throughout the different stages of life (postpartum, menopausal, etc.).



Some other entries I've really enjoyed reading from other bloggers about NFP are:
Part of a Conversion to Catholicism Story (she's linked Part 1 and 2 in this entry if you're in her conversion to Catholicism)
Interesting Correlations between Breast Cancer and Contraception (with references)
Trust & NFP (last year's theme of NFP awareness week was Trust: God has a Plan for Your Marriage)
NFP from a Husband's Perspective (a Top Ten list)

Thank you to these writers for eloquently expressing their NFP experience and perspectives!

Whether for religious or other personal convictions, NFP really is something for everyone.  While it is something that has helped us postpone pregnancy for reasons my husband and I decided with God's guidance, when the time was right we have also been blessed to conceive our 2nd child easily!

Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  A special thank you to all of those serving in our armed forces.  My cousin and his wife are both in the military as well as a number of family friends who serve our country.  Thank you for all that you do for us!

We've had a fun, very full, long weekend!  I'm so thankful my company [usually] gives us an early release before a big holiday weekend. 

Friday I got off work at 2... okay didn't leave until 2:30 pm, but that's still way earlier than 5!  We had my little brother's high school graduation Baccalaureate Mass that evening, so instead of wrestling him throughout Mass, he went to our friend's house to hang with them and their little girls.  Mass was really nice for all of the graduates!  That evening we didn't get home until after 10... Jack luckily fell asleep on the way home, so it was straight into bed for him!  (See previous post on his new fight to go to sleep at night)

Saturday was a little more low key, but relatively productive!  We got some family time in that morning and, when Jack went down for a nap, I got to run a few errands while my amazing husband mowed grass and did some laundry!  I got to get a birthday gift for a party later that day, and had fun picking out items for my friend's baby shower gift!  Jack & I are going down in a week & a half to visit and attend her baby shower... she's planning on cloth diapering her little guy so it was a LOT of fun to buy for a new baby!  (That will have to be another post on what I chose to get her.)  Saturday evening, we attended the birthday party for the first of our "baby crew" who turned two!  (Baby crew = there are 4 of our friends' kids all born within 3-4 weeks of each other; 3 boys and 1 girl) It was a blast of course!  Jack had a cupcake and even "jumped" on their full-sized trampoline!

Jumping doesn't quite involve both feet off the ground at the same time, but it still got lots of giggles!

My son eating a cupcake... not only did he get icing on his face, but he smeared it up by his eyes using his hands.  Hence, why I had to take over holding the cupcake!

Sunday was my baby brother's high school graduation!  He's the 4th, and final, of all of us to have graduated from a Catholic high school!  I was the only one who attended public school during my K-12 education, simply because there wasn't a Catholic school in one town in which we lived.  A big thanks to my mom & dad for putting us all through Catholic schools... Matt and I hope to be able to share that experience with our children when they reach school age, because we both loved our Catholic school experiences!  It was really neat at the graduation to hear of the family who had their 11 or 12th (and youngest) child graduating Catholic school, for a grand total of 30 years of Catholic education amongst their kids!  Amazing!  But anyway, congrats to my baby brother on his high school graduation and good luck in college!  We all know you'll do great!  We went out to lunch to celebrate, and of course Jack wouldn't sit down at the table for more than 5 minutes, and even begged Daddy to do a few laps outside Olive Garden.  But he did ask the waitress for milk very politely by saying "malk peese"... who can resist that?

You can tell it was a hot couple of laps around Olive Garden... sucked about half of that milk down without taking his mouth off the straw!

Mommy got some snuggles with her baby boy that evening!  Is it just me or does my belly look huge in this picture?  Only about 18 & a half weeks along...

Today has been very full, and we did it by our choosing!  We went to the zoo for about an hour & a half this morning.  Yup, only an hour & a half, but we have passes and it was HOT.  This pregnant mama and her toddler got really hot, pretty quickly!  Oh well, that is why we'll always get passes to the zoo... no need to fit everything in during one visit!  After Jack's afternoon nap, we made an appearance at Matt's boss' annual Memorial Day cookout.  Jack and I went swimming... and he LOVED it!

Point to the (grizzly?) bear!  I love how close he can get to the animals at our zoo!

Enjoying the pool... the water was the perfect temperature for me!

Playing some pool basketball!  Much to Jack's disappointment, I could only life 30 pounds above my head a handful of times so he could put the ball through the hoop.

The conclusion after this weekend: it is going to be one fun summer!

Lenten Sacrifice

As someone who has grown up being asked "What are you giving up for Lent?" it is hard for me to not make that part of my focus of Lent.  This year, Matt and I (and by default, Jack) are giving up going out to eat/getting take out.  Matt and I did this before Jack was around and we behaved well... now, we've slipped back into bad habits.

I'm looking forward to this Lenten sacrifice, because I know it is something we need to do for our family.  Not just the saving money part, but the part where we sit down for dinner together as much as possible and eat our home cooked meals and really use all of our leftovers.

I also want to be more proactive in my faith, I haven't decided what form that might manifest itself in (i.e. praying the rosary daily or doing a novena, or two), but for me those details aren't critical to line out.  While this isn't a sacrifice, part of becoming more faithful can involve giving up time you might spend doing other things!

I am most looking forward to the celebration of the woman I'm sponsoring through RCIA as she becomes Catholic this Easter Vigil.  I know it will be a beautiful celebration of faith and I'm so glad to get to be a part of it!

I wish everyone a reflective and meaningful Lenten season!

Headcovering in the Catholic Church

I honestly don't know how this got on my radar screen... probably reading a blog on another (Catholic) topic and stumbled across another post.  I don't remember where it was though so I can't credit that person with the inspiration for my intrigue... (so to anyone out who there has written a post on this topic, thank you!)

The mantilla, or lace veil, or other head covering worn by most Catholic women and girls was previously required under Canon law from 1917.  When Canon law was revised in 1983, the topic was left out and since 1983 law essentially repealed the 1917 law the requirement no longer exists.  You can find an excellent summary of this topic on the EWTN website.  To sum up their summary, it basically points out that the requirement for women to cover their head while in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament was left out, not that it is no longer appropriate.

This is an interesting topic to me, because to wear a head covering in Church these days is usually pretty rare... at least in my diocese and the parishes at which I've attended Mass.  Head covering is still a sign of modesty in most cultures around the world and I don't think the US is that different.  If you were to see a Muslim woman walking down the street wearing her hijab, most people are aware that it is an outward sign of modesty, this belief in being modest comes from their faith.  If you see an Amish family (common in my area), the women and girls are wearing a head covering over their hair pulled into a bun.  It is said to be tradition that when a woman has a meeting with the Pope, she is to wear black with a head covering (except if she is a reigning Catholic monarch).  To clarify, the Vatican does not require women to cover their head.

The Catholic faith has never stopped teaching modesty, but in the US and most of Europe it has been, in my experience, less prominent of topics.  Some might argue that there are "bigger issues" plaguing our culture (i.e. culture of death, etc.) or that covering your head is demeaning to women.  I believe that if people start treating themselves with more respect physically, mentally and emotionally then it will translate directly into respect for all life.  For example, the more I learned about my body through NFP, the more respect I gained for it and all which it is capable.

Others say that head covering in general is demeaning to women, and I honestly am not sure why this assumption could be.  I think, there has to be some requirement by another person or organization for a woman to wear a head covering (or do anything) against her will, now that is demeaning.  But for a woman to cover her head because she chooses it to be an outward sign of modesty, can not be demeaning as it is her choice to do so.

As a Catholic woman, I try to be modest in the way that I dress out of respect to myself and to my husband, not because I am subservient to him, but because I respect our marriage.  (Who am I trying to impress?  Ha ha!)  For me, that doesn't mean floor length skirts and long sleeves.  For one, I can not wear dresses or skirts to work for safety concerns (loose clothing is a no-no in a lab).  One reason I love winter time is because fashion and weather makes it very easy to not show too much skin.  Honestly, I don't know what I think about head covering during Mass.  On one hand, I find it a beautiful way to show respect for ourselves in the presence of Jesus Christ.  On the other hand, I could see these things being distracting to others in Mass (not that I expect it, but it could be an unintended side effect).  

What are your thoughts or experiences with head covering in either the Catholic Church or any other situation?

Right of Christian Initiation for Adults

I was recently asked to become an RCIA sponsor!  When we joined our parish I checked a number of boxes on the "time commitment interest" sheet, one of them included being a sponsor for someone going through RCIA.

Late last week I got a voicemail saying there was a need and they hoped I would still be interested.  I called back and left a voicemail, but the woman who had called me only worked on Mondays & Tuesdays.  Monday afternoon I got an email mentioning that they had already started the "program" and that the teaching Mass was this Tuesday.  Luckily, my mom was able to stay late Tuesday, so I could make the meeting.

RCIA has a very special place in my heart as my Dad became Catholic when I was in junior high.  I am the oldest in my family, so my younger siblings may not have as much memory of when my Dad was not Catholic.  I remember the Easter Vigil when he became Catholic like it was yesterday.  His sponsor's family are still great family friends of my family because it is such a special experience.  To this day when RCIA candidates enter into the Church at Easter Vigil, it is such a beautiful moment that it brings tears to my eyes.

I unfortunately didn't get to meet my candidate Tuesday because she had a work event, but will hopefully get to meet her next week.  Please take a moment to say some prayers in support of all those considering becoming Catholic!  Please say a special little prayer for me as I enter into this journey in support of this person's faith development.