Pro Life Mass, St. Gabriel Parish, Sat Aug 27, 2016 at 11:00 am

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Hymne a Notre Dame de Guadalupe - Isabelle O'Connor

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Pro Life Mass, Divine Infant Catholic Church Ottawa Ontario, November 24, 2012

Homily of Rev. Hezuk Shroff

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Martyrs Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions. This feast day celebrates all those Vietnamese Catholics who were martyred in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. I think that it is rather providential that our monthly Pro-Life Mass falls this month on the feast day of these martyrs, for what we are doing in the Pro-Life movement today is in itself a type of spiritual martyrdom, in the original sense of the word.

What exactly is a martyr? The word “martyr” means “witness”. The martyrs are those who bore witness to Christ, the supreme witness that man can give to God: the witness of allowing one’s own blood to be shed, giving up one’s own life in order to remain faithful to the Lord. The witness of the martyrs is a heroic witness. Martyrdom is a heroic type of fidelity. Saint Paul tells us that Our Lord Jesus Christ was faithful: faithful to the very end, faithful unto death on the Cross. Our Lord could have made his life “easier” in a certain way, by either denying the truth of who he was, or even remaining silent in regard to that truth. He was crucified because he chose to bear witness to that truth, the truth of his identity as the Son of God, and instead of telling his persecutors what they wanted to hear (and thus probably sparing himself the ignominy of the Cross), Our Lord told them what they needed to hear.

In the Pro-Life movement, we need to have the courage to do the same. Telling people what they want to hear, watering down the message of the Catholic Faith and the inviolable dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God …. watering that down in order to please the world is a compromise that we and the Catholic Church can never make. The world needs to hear the truth, and true charity means that we have the obligation to bring that truth to the world -- whatever the cost may be.

The holy Vietnamese martyrs, whose feast day we celebrate today, attest to Christ’s lordship over their whole lives by freely giving up for him the most fundamental gift that God had given them: the gift of life itself. They faithfully bore witness to the truth that is found in the words of Our Lord to his disciples, “No greater love is there than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and the holy Vietnamese martyrs did just that: they laid down their lives for their greatest Friend: their Lord and their Saviour, Jesus Christ! They laid down their life also for their own people, so that the sacrifice of their blood being shed in union with Christ’s own Precious Blood, may bring about the graces needed for the conversion for their people.

The readings at today’s Mass are proper to the feast of the holy Vietnamese martyrs. But in a certain way, these readings correspond fortuitously to our Pro-Life theme at this Mass. The first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, tells us that the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. It tells us that no torment will every touch them, and that in the eyes of the world, they are destroyed, but in reality they are at peace. Their hope is filled with immortality, though in the sight of the world, they were somehow punished. Their lives were offered up to God and accepted by him as a sacrificial burnt offering.

Who can read these words, in the context of this Pro-Life Mass, without thinking of the unborn? To the eyes of many, they are useless; they have no “rights” until they have come forth fully from the womb. Until they are fully born, to many, they are just a part of their mother’s body, and so their mother can dispose of them as she chooses, much like she would dispose of a wart, or a cancerous group of cells -- as if to be pregnant were some sort of a contagious disease. How can today’s so-called “sophisticated” world look at the unborn in this way? When science has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a foetus is indeed a living, human being, the forces that be insist that it is nothing but a group of cells, with no rights in the eyes of the law, and no rights from a moral perspective either. If they are only a part of the mother’s body, then surely the mother can do with them as she wills.

Such ideas defy human logic, human reason, human compassion. In the name of freedom, our society says that a mother can choose to kill her own child. Is this what “freedom” truly is? Is freedom the right to choose evil? Is freedom the right to kill? Am I more free when I choose to murder, to steal, to do what is morally unacceptable? If so, then there would be no one more free in our Western society than the murderer, the rapist, the thief. Does the power to do evil make man free? That is the fundamental question that must be answered.

The modern notion of freedom equates freedom with licence. Licence is about me being able to do what I want, how I want, whenever I want -- regardless of the consequences. But is that what authentic freedom is? Is that what makes a man truly free?

The Church’s answer is a categorical “No!” How does the Church, then, see freedom? The Church views freedom in the same way in which Our Lord sees it. In St. John’s Gospel, ch. 8., Our Lord is speaking to those who believe in him. When asked how to be a true disciple of his, Jesus replies, “If you continue in my word, then you shall be my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:31-32) “The truth shall make you free.” Ever since those words were uttered, Jesus has made it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt what authentic freedom really is. Freedom and truth are inseparable. One is only authentically free when one is living in accordance with the truth. That is Christ’s definition of freedom; and so too it has become the Church’s. The Catholic Church emphatically states that freedom and truth can never be separated. To live in a way that is not in conformity with the truth is not to be “free from the truth”, but to be “a slave to untruth”. In fact, that is exactly what Our Lord says to his disciples. “Whoever sins,” he says, “is a slave of sin.” (Jn 8:34-36). And so we see very clearly that there can be no such thing as the “freedom to sin” or the “freedom to do evil”. Sin and evil, by their very nature, turn us away from God. They are anti-God, and because all freedom comes from God and from his truth, whenever we sin or do evil, we do the exact opposite of becoming free: we become slaves.

The Church is unconditionally and unabashedly pro-life. How can she be anything else? All life comes from God: that is a central truth of our Faith. If God therefore is the author of all human life, then he alone has absolute power over life. The great temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden was the temptation to “be like God”: to usurp the power and authority that God alone possesses. Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve with the false notion of freedom that reigns in today’s world. He tempted Eve with the ultimate temptation: “You shall be like God.” In other words, “you will be the one to determine what is good and evil. You will be the norm of truth.” Isn’t this what many in today’s society wish for? Do not many today seek to be the norm of all truth? “If I believe something, then it is true. Don’t tell me that I don’t have the right to do this or that: if I believe it is good for me, then it is good -- regardless of what you say.”

This attitude is what leads to the desire, in our modern Western culture, to re-define anything and everything according to our own “convenient truths.” We want to re-define marriage, to re-define life, to re-define even what it means to be human. And in doing so, we become less human. That is the great irony of it all. Ultimately, when man rejects God and the truths given to him by God, he does not become more of a man, but less. We see this very clearly in the movement that calls itself “Pro-Choice.” In reality, as we all know, it is not a movement that is pro-choice, but one that is pro-abortion, that is: pro-the-choice-to-kill. The pro-death or anti-life movement is founded on this false notion that somehow we are more free when we can choose evil. But in choosing evil, not only do we lose our freedom: we also lose our humanity. Man was created for God. He was thus created for the Good and for Truth. He was created for the Supreme Good, the Supreme Truth, and it is only insofar as he pursues that Good and follows that Truth that he will become truly free, and truly human. The Pro-Life movement, therefore, is a movement that is Pro-Truth, Pro-Goodness, and ultimately, Pro-God. One cannot be for God and against Life, just like one cannot be for God and against Truth. This is why the Pro-Life movement is not just an action of Social Justice. It is much deeper than that. It is a fight for all that is good, noble, just and true -- because it is a fight for the primacy of God. Life and Truth always lead us to God, for he is their very Author and Source. How many people, for example, begin in the Pro-Life movement, who are Pro-Life but not necessarily Catholic, and who end up through their service to Life by ultimately finding God and finding Christ in his Catholic Church? This is not a sheer coincidence. It is the Truth of God active and alive in their hearts.

 Last week, I went to a showing of a beautiful movie on the life of St. Augustine, and in that movie, the great bishop Ambrose confronts the early Augustine (before his conversion). And what he says to Augustine resonates in his heart, and eventually leads to the conversion of that great saint. In the movie, Augustine is speaking about truth and man’s search for the truth. He speaks about it in philosophical and abstract terms. “Man was made to search for the truth,” Augustine says. Saint Ambrose listens to him charitably, and then simply says these words: “Man does not search for the Truth; man allows the Truth to find him.” These words were one of the highlights of the film. How true they are! Yes, we do seek the truth, but ultimately it is the Truth that seeks us. Why? Because the Truth is not an abstract concept; the Truth is not a thought, an intellectual reasoning: the Truth is a Person, and that Person is Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity! This is why truth always leads us to Christ, who said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life!” To be pro-Christ means therefore to be pro-Truth and pro-Life!

In today’s world, we have the obligation to bring the message of that Truth to all those who have ears to hear. We must always do so with great Charity, of course, but we must never allow a false charity to lead us to watering down the Truth. And neither should we allow fear to turn us away from proclaiming the Truth. Remember Our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel: Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves. They will hand you over to councils; they will flog you in their synagogues; you will be dragged to bear witness before governors and kings because of me. But when they hand you over, do not worry about what you will say or how you should speak, for it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in Heaven speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child [and today, we should add: And a mother, the unborn infant she carries in her womb]. You will be hated by all because of my name. But do not fear, for the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

  In other words, brothers and sisters, Our Lord is telling us that we have the obligation to proclaim the Truth -- charitably, but with boldness -- and that we should never fear the consequences, for it is God himself who will be our strength, and God himself who will be speaking and converting human hearts through our words. God is Truth, and God is Love. That is the heart of the message of the Catholic Church. And that is also the core of the Pro-Life message. We are Pro-Life because we are pro-Truth and pro-Love, and ultimately, because we are pro-God!

May God bless each and every one of you as you continue bearing witness to the Truth about the dignity of all human life, from the moment of natural conception to natural death. May the holy Vietnamese martyrs give you the courage to bear witness to the inherent sacredness of human life, even in the face of adversity and suffering. And may Our Blessed Mother intercede for you and for your ministry, may she lead you and guide you as you work unceasingly for the cause of Life. Our Lady will reward you greatly for what you do (you can be sure of it), for she is the Mother of the Pro-Life movement. Eve, whose name means “Mother of all the Living” sadly brought sin and death into this world. But Mary is the New Eve, the true Mother of all the Living. She brought Life into the world, by conceiving and giving birth to the Son of God. May God bless you all through the intercession of His Blessed Mother. And may the Holy Angels and Saints strengthen you in your resolve to be authentic witnesses to the very end, witnesses to the Gospel of Life, witnesses to the Gospel of the One who said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Hezuk Shroff is the Associate Pastor: of Divine Infant Parish
6658 Bilberry Drive
Orleans ON K1C 2S9

Homily by Fr. Tony Van Hee, Pro Life Mass, Assumption Parish, January 8, 2011

The Pilgrimage of Masses, January 8, 2011, 10 a.m., Assumption Parish


Homily by Fr. Tony Van Hee

As I see it, worldwide abortion, is the greatest single evil, in all of human history, apart from the death of Christ. Not this abortion, or that abortion, or many abortions, but worldwide abortion. And the greatest external force we are fighting against in this struggle, on the human level, in my opinion, is the mainstream media, which forms public opinion, for good or ill.

In regard to worldwide Christianity, and Western Civilization, the greatest threat seems to be, a lack of faith, a lack of belief in God, atheism in all its forms. But neither the mainstream media, with its lies and propaganda, nor atheists with their unbelief, and their hatred of the God they say does not exist, are the real enemy. The real enemy is Satan, “a murderer from the beginning …[a deceiver] … a liar and the father of lies” (8:44), and with him a whole host of fallen angels.

“For”, as St Paul says, “we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).

The mainstream media, the unbelievers, and all others who are fighting against us, are not the enemy. They are only misguided and deceived pawns, in the hands of Satan and his fallen angels.

So we have to use discernment. We want to encourage and cooperate with all that is good in the mainstream media, and in unbelievers, but firmly oppose and reject all that is not good.

Because this is a cosmic struggle far beyond our very limited capacities, we must remember the greatness of our God, who only allows evil, in order to bring about a greater good. We don’t always see the greater good, so we have to have faith and trust. In order to encourage this faith and trust in God, we must keep in mind the greatness of our God, who created the whole universe, which I am told, has a hundred billion galaxies, such as our Milky Way Galaxy, and in each of these galaxies, a hundred billion stars.

In each of our bodies, I am told, we have a hundred trillion cells, and the Bible tells us, that this great God of ours has numbered the hairs on our head, and the sands on the sea shore.

Yet, God is greater than all of His creation, the whole of the universe, angels and mankind included, so we have nothing to fear, if we have faith and trust in Him. It is His household, so to speak, that is all messed up, and as head of His household, He is not losing sleep over it. He has it all in hand.

He grieves because of our suffering, and our stupidity, and our sinfulness, but He is bringing good out of it all. He has it all in hand. If He can keep an ever expanding universe, a hundred billion galaxies, each with a hundred billion stars, swirling around in space, in mathematical precision, and number the hairs on our head and the sands on the seashore, He can surely bring about good in all that is happening to us here and now, to us, the Mystical Body and Beloved Bride of His Son.

If He allowed the crucifixion of His own Son, the greatest evil in all of human history,in order to bring about the greatest good in all of human history, our redemption and our salvation, He can surely bring good out of “this present darkness”.

And what is our part in all of this? Well, pretty small, but absolutely essential. We, ourselves, are pawns in this cosmic struggle between Satan and his fallen angels, and St Michael and his good angels, including each of our guardian angels. Our part in this cosmic struggle is, as it were, merely to show up for work each day, whatever that work may be, trusting that God will use us and our works, keeping in mind that each and every one of our least thoughts, words and actions, when united with His Son’s, is of infinite value, and will live on eternally, whether it be gathered up in an eternal symphony of love and praise, or whether it be included and preserved insome other magnificent way, eternally.

Nothing is lost to God. Nothing is wasted. And nothing can alter the victory that has already been won for us, over all these evil forces,

Pro Life Mass December 11, 2010, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish

Fourth in a series of Pro Life Masses

( the Pilgrimage of Masses)

to pray for the opening of a Pro Life Medical Centre in Ottawa Ontario Canada. The proposed Centre would be staffed with pro life medical professionals. The main celebrant was His Grace Archbishop Terrence Prendergast

The Mount Carmel Choir directed by organist Irene Dooling led the music. And it was fabulous!

There was a beautiful reception following the mass which was held in the Parish Hall and was hosted by the Sisters of the Queenship of Mary.

During the reception Jennifer and Anastasia gave a wonderful presentation of the Adoption in Canada Campaign. For More Information on the adoption campaign please go to this link
http://adoptionincanada.ca/

As well, approximately another 30 people signed the Roxanne's Law Petition which was made available.
There has been a strong endorsement of Roxanne's law, from Catholic Church leaders
Fr. Tom Lynch and Fr. John Lemire of Priests for Life Canada (PFLC), conducted a one-hour interview with Rod Bruinooge about Roxanne's Law, which aired on Tuesday, Dec. 7. PFLC gave a ringing endorsement of Roxanne's Law (Bill C-510) and referenced Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins' strong support for the bill. They urged all Catholics to support this bill. Priests for Life Canada is calling upon all Catholics to encourage MPs to vote in favour of the bill on Dec. 15. Roxanne's Law is the first bill related to abortion that has come to a vote in our Canadian Parliament in two decades and is probably the biggest pro Life News Story of the Year.


For more on the Pilgrimage of Masses go to this link on my website
http://sites.google.com/site/faithfulcatholics/Home/monthly-pro-life-mass-in-ottawa

Mass to Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe




Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Pray for us

Mass to Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe 

As we continue on our PIlgrimage of Masses to pray for the opening of a Pro Life Medical Centre in Ottawa and for an end to abortion, we invite you to join  us for the next mass on our journey which also coincides with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Date: Dec.11, 2010

Chief Celebrant: His Grace, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast
Location; Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
400 St. Laurent Blvd
Time 9:00 AM
Refreshments to follow the mass

For more information on the pilgrimage of masses see the page on my blog at this link
http://teresa-httpsitesgooglecomsitefaithful.blogspot.com/p/pilgrimage-of-masses.html


There is a new book titled 'Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of The Civilization of Love' It is co-authored by Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of The Knights of Columbus, and Mgr. Eduardo Chavez, Postulator of the Cause of St. Juan Diego.
On Pages 47 and 48 they discuss the four-petaled Jasmine flower on the gown of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To the tribe of Indians to which St. Juan Diego belonged, this four-petaled Jasmine flower represented the 'unknown deity'. Some of the titles attributed to this 'unknown deity' were: 'Him for whom one lives', 'Creator of people', 'Owner of the near and close' and 'Lord of heaven and earth'.
The authors remark that "in a special way this harks back to St. Paul's address at the Areopagus, where he spoke to the Athenians about their worship of the 'unknown God', whom they detected but did not understand".There is only ONE four-petaled Jasmine flower on the gown of Our Lady of Guadalupe and this is situated over her pregnant womb. So Our Lady through this flower, strategically placed on her gown by The Great Creator, may be said to paraphrase both St. Paul and the Gospel of St. John by indicating in a poignant way "My son, The Word, is The True God”; He has come to dwell among you; He IS with you".

Truly, the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is pregnant with meaning. Or we can say 'pregnant with Meaning'. That is, she is pregnant with Him who means everything!

Directions to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
By car:
Go North on St. Laurent Blvd. and cross over Montreal Road. You will pass Notre Dame Cemetery on your left. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church is is less than one km. away on the left side of the Boulevard.

By Bus:
For information re Bus from your Home to the St. Laurent Bus Station, kindly call 613-741-4390.

From upstairs at the St. Laurent Station take either a #5 or a #7 bus from bus stop 3A