Just in case anyone has been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, the United States is being graced by the presence of two of the most well known spiritual leaders in the world, the Dalai Lama and His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
Living in Seattle, it seems that "compassion" has been quite the buzz word. The Dalai Lama, exiled spritual leader of Tibetan buddhism, was brought to Seattle by for the Seeds of Compassion conference ending earlier this week. Now as those of you who know me surely know, I am not Buddhist, however I think that the Dalai Lama said some very important things that should be heeded by everyone regardless of their religious beliefs. He spoke very candidly about forgiveness and reconciliation and many times about the importance of performing acts of charity, kindness, respect and justice for others...in short, treating them with compassion. Coming at this issue from my Christian understanding, I have to agree. Jesus, through his acts in the Gospels, exemplified a compassionate interaction with those around him. We only need look at the stories of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), the woman at the well (John 4:1-42),countless miracles and stories of faith presented in the bible. While Jesus never condoned acts that were sinful and evil, he treated all those he interacted with as children of God, and thus, His own brothers and sisters. We are called to that same kind of love! While not easy, we have the stories of saints, the teachings of the Church and the Word of God to guide us. How easy is it to look to someone like Mother Teresa, now Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, to see an example of someone who worked so hard to emulate Christ. I hope that the Dalai Lama's words will not soon be forgotten, and I really hope it is listened to by people who feel wary of other organized religion and wouldn't hear it there. While I still hope and pray that they might reconsider their stance on Christianity, maybe this is a way for them to really hear what a compassionate life should look like.
Onto other religious leaders, His Holiness Pope Bendict XVI has arrived in the U.S.! Being a young Catholic today, this is very exciting, especially since this is his first U.S. visit. I have been very pleased with His Papacy thus far, and am really excited by the focus he has placed on love. In fact, I am hoping to read his first encyclical (I know, I know, I'm a little behind!) Deus Caritas Est, or simply, God is Love very soon. He will be visiting Washington D.C. and New York and taking advantage of the hugeness of baseball stadiums to celebrate Mass for a very large group of people. I pray for his safety while he is here, as well as all those who are traveling to see him, and hope that people might be open to hearing what he has to say. Sadly the horrible actions by a few priests in the sex abuse scandals have shattered lives and made many turn from listening to the vast majority of good faithful priests and the wisdom passed down through the Church over 2000 years. Pope Benedict has much to give and many things to say that our country desperately needs to hear. Christ is our hope, may we open our ears to hear His word in our society today.
Okay, enough editorializing, I should go study for my Kinesiology exam :)
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Dear Blogger:
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, recently posted two videos on YouTube in which he describes and demonstrates the two most common abortion procedures, using plastic fetal models, the actual instruments of abortion, and the words found in medical textbooks and court testimony.
You can view these videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA (Dismemberment abortion)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0 (Suction abortion).
These videos are part of a new project called, "Is This What You Mean?" It aims to educate the public about the nature of abortion and to challenge public officials and candidates who support the legality of abortion to admit what it is. A full description of the project is at www.priestsforlife.org/action/abortion-procedure-revealed.htm.
I am requesting that you post links on your blog to these two videos and/or to the full explanation of this powerful project.
We in the pro-life community have been fed up for a long time with “public servants” who can’t seem to tell the difference between serving the public and killing the public. This election season, it’s time for that to change. No matter what politicians or voters or Church officials are or are not going to do, it’s time that we who know what abortion is, draw a line in the sand and give candidates and office-holders alike this challenge.
If you will help spread the word by posting these links please email webmaster@priestsforlife.org.
Thank you,
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