A holy virgin who suffered martyrdom in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians previous to the persecution of Decius (248-249).
During the festivities commemorative of the first millenary of the Roman Empire, the populace committed bloody outrages on the Christians whom the authorities made no effort to protect. The great Dionysius, then Bishop of Alexandria (247-265), relates the sufferings of Apollonia. These men seized her also and by repeated blows broke all her teeth. They then erected outside the city gates a pile of fagots and threatened to burn her alive if she refused to repeat after them impious words (either a blasphemy against Christ, or an invocation of the heathen gods). Given, at her own request, a little freedom, she sprang quickly into the fire and was burned to death." Apollonia belongs, therefore, to that class of early Christian martyrs who did not await the death they were threatened with, but either to preserve their chastity, or because confronted with the alternative of renouncing their faith or suffering death, voluntarily embraced the latter in the form prepared for them. The Roman Church celebrates her memory on 9 February, and she is popularly invoked against the toothache because of the torments she had to endure. She is represented in art with pincers in which a tooth is held.
Unbelieveable...it couldn't be more clear that Americans do NOT want government-run healthcare, but Barry keeps pushing it. Personally, I don't think Republicans have anything to gain by participating in this charade.
President Barack Obama is planning a televised health care summit later this month in an effort to salvage the pro-abortion government-run health care bill. The plan is an effort to revive his sagging polling numbers and that of the legislation that has seen just one Republican support it in Congress.
White House officials say the February 25 meeting is not an attempt to start over on the health care bill but is ostensibly a lobbying and public relations effort.
“I want to come back [after the Presidents Day congressional recess] and have a large meeting — Republicans and Democrats — to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward,” Obama told CBS anchor Katie Couric in a Sunday interview.
Obama claimed he wants to "look at the Republican ideas that are out there.”
Gimme a break...these pro-aborts are furious about a pro-life message, so they're "scraping the "bottom" to bash the message. And abortion IS the worst domestic violence.
Unable to gain any tradition by calling the Focus on the Family Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad extremist or over the top, pro-abortion groups today are offering a new dig on the commercial. The president of NOW and other abortion advocates claim the ad promotes domestic violence.
The Super Bowl ad has won praise from pro-life advocates who have hailed its heartwarming storyline and the helpful impact of the ad on the abortion debate over the last several weeks.
The ad features Pam Tebow sharing her story of how Tim Tebow "almost didn't make it into this world" because of her tough pregnancy.
In an attempt to fall in line with the humorous nature of most Super Bowl commercials, the Focus on the Family in-game ad shows Tebow tackling his mom and his mother playfully scolding him for interrupting her.
In remarks that are raising eyebrows from pro-life advocates, NOW president Terry O'Neill said that bit of the ad glorified violence against women. ROFLOL!
National Marriage Week USA announces a new initiative for the week leading up to Valentine's Day 2010, and is putting forth a call to mobilize hundreds of organizations to plan and prepare for awareness and activities for February 7 to 14, 2010. The goal is to elevate national attention on the need to strengthen marriage and ways to do it, and initiate new efforts to reduce the divorce rate and build a stronger marriage culture which in turn helps curtail poverty and benefits children.
St. Jerome Emiliani was born in Venice in 1486. He converted to Christianity after a rather dissolute youth, and dedicated himself to the service of the poor, the sick, and abandoned children. He founded a congregation (Somaschi) which looked after the education of children, especially orphans. He died of the plague while serving the afflicted.
Saint Josephine was a young Sudanese girl sold into slavery and brought to Italy where, while serving as a nanny, she was sent to live with the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice. There she was baptized, and, having reached majority age, was granted her freedom by Italian law. In 1896 she joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity where she served humbly for the next twenty five years. She died after a long and painful illness, during which she would cry out to the Lord: "Please loosen the chains... they are so heavy!" Her dying words were "Our Lady! Our Lady!"
St. Jerome Emiliani A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood.
In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital.
Around 1532 Jerome and two other priests established a congregation dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928 Pius XI named him the universal patron of orphans and abandoned children.
St. Josephine Bakhita For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave, but her spirit was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed. Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of seven, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. She was resold several times, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan.
Two years later he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Soon Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice's Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine.
When the Michielis returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case, the Canossian sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine's behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885.
Josephine entered the Institute of Saint Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters' school and the local citizens. She once said, "Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!"
The first steps toward her beatification began in 1959. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.
Archbishop Buechlein has declared Super Bowl Monday, February 8, 2010, as an official day off for all archdiocesan Catholic Schools and the Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center .
The abortion clinic that we pray in front of each week is owned by Susan Hill. We found out today that she died January 30 of breast cancer. Her obituary is here. I found it quite offensive, because whoever wrote it tried to make her sound like a heroine for killing babies. It seemed like the staff expected some type of reaction from us, because we were greeted by this flat-bed truck loaded with bricks. The only reaction we had was to offer a rosary decade for the repose of her soul.
But the truck didn't stop us...this being the first Saturday of the month, we also had a rosary procession around the clinic...with 2 priests :)
Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, killing hundreds of thousands. Three and a half centuries before, twenty-six martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his church.
Brother Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: "The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ's example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain."
When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.
Have I mentioned that I've become a HUGE Tebow fan? :)
If you think you have read all there is on the Focus on the Family commercial featuring Tim Tebow and his mother's decision not to have an abortion -- wait, there's more. Officials at the pro-life group announced today that they are unveiling a second ad that will air before the Super Bowl begins.
The second commercial plans to go further than the first and will reveal more details about Pam Tebow's decision not to have an abortion than CBS would allow in the first ad already planned for during the Super Bowl.
This Super Bowl surprise has Focus unveiling a second ad that will also feature him Tebow and his mother and it was filmed in Orlando at the same time last month as the ad that has garnered so much attention.
Can you tell which team I'm supporting in the Superbowl? :)
In a recent interview with CNA, Fr. Peter Gallagher, chaplain for the Indianapolis Colts, discussed his experience working with the team and explained that many of the members recognize their talent as “a gift from God” and play with gratitude for it.
“It's been my experience with the Colts that a lot of these fellows have a very strong spiritual life and a good, solid prayer life,” Fr. Gallagher explained on Wednesday. “They've come to realize that while they're professional athletes,” their accomplishments “really are a gift from God and in a sense, they are playing in gratitude for that gift.”
Fr. Gallagher spoke about his interaction with the players and said that “in a sense I sort of become their surrogate pastor during the season because during the season its hard for them to get to their parish and connect with their parish.”
In addition to offering Mass before games, Fr. Gallagher leads pre-game and post-game prayers along with providing “spiritual assistance for our Catholic players,” which can include marriage preparation, weddings and baptisms. Fr. Gallagher also told CNA that “there are 10 players that are regular Mass participants” and “the same number of support staff that, depending on their schedules, are at Mass.”
Pope Benedict XVI is headed to Scotland where he will urge members of the Scottish Parliament to oppose a bill that would legalize assisted suicide. The head of the Catholic Church told Scottish bishops today that euthanasia "strikes at the very heart" of Christianity.
The pope said assisted suicide a sign of "the increasing tide of secularism" in Scotland and he urged Catholics to take a more active stand in speaking out against it.
Pope Benedict will visit England, Wales and Scotland in mid-September and he said in a statement that "support for euthanasia strikes at the very heart of the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life."
"Recent developments in medical ethics and some of the practices advocated in the field of embryology give cause for great concern," he added.
Benedict XVI also encouraged Scottish bishops in his meeting with them today at the Vatican to make their voice heard in public society.
Planned Parenthood is so disgusting...and very hypocritical. If they are"pro-choice", why do they attack those who choose life?
Striking back at the pro-life Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has issued its own abortion-themed football video, claiming that the true lesson of Tebow's story is that society should "respect and trust women" to make the decision to abort their child. The Washington Post also added to the football-themed abortion debate this week, re-publishing a 1989 video of NFL players who condemned the destruction of unborn life for an American Life League video.
The Tebow spot, entitled “Celebrate family, celebrate life," is sponsored by Focus on the Family. Although details have not been released, the advertisement is expected to highlight Pam Tebow's decision not to abort her son Tim, now a top college football star, against the advice of doctors. A coalition of 30 pro-abortion groups, led by the National Organization for Women, the Women’s Media Center, and the Feminist Majority Foundation, have strenuously fought the advertisement, but Super Bowl host CBS has stood its ground in allowing the spot.
In recent weeks some pro-life leaders have taken heat for supporting the self-avowed "pro-choice" candidate, whose victory may have spelled the demise of the abortion-expanding federal health care reform bill. Two leaders responded this week to defend their endorsement, saying that they were up front with Brown's pro-choice identification, but charged ahead with their support to prevent the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade from passing the U.S. Senate.
Brown's swearing-in ceremony was originally scheduled a week from today, on February 11, but the popular candidate pushed for the earlier date, saying "it's time to get to work."
In the state's January 19 special election, Brown rode a surge of conservative ire against the runaway Democrat supermajority into Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Since then, Democrat leaders have been scrambling to find a way to pass the health care bill suddenly exposed to a GOP filibuster. No clear path has yet emerged to save the measure, which was poised to unleash government funding of abortion.
Meanwhile, Brown's rising persona as the "everyman's" champion has drawn enormous political attention. Questions even began to arise as to his presidential potential: Brown declined to rule out a 2010 run when questioned by Barbara Walters over the weekend.
But for all his conservative support, Brown has not assumed the "everyman" image for America's pro-life majority: he has repeatedly affirmed his "pro-choice" position, and said the decision to abort a child should be made between a woman and her doctor.
Several top pro-life leaders literally erupted in cheers when Brown's victory last month was announced, throwing a devastating wrench in the Democrats' pro-abortion health reform effort. Yet some pro-life and pro-family leaders, such as the American Life League and Mass Resistance, condemned the Brown support as ultimately detrimental to the cause.
In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) this week, Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL) President Anne Fox defended her organization's pro-Brown campaign on several fronts. Although Brown labels himself pro-choice, she argued, he has a more pro-life record than many self-avowed "pro-life" lawmakers coming to Washington from the state.I hope Bob Casey and Ben Nelson are paying attention :)
The Saint of the Day for February 9 is St. Apollonia Of Alexandria.
