Venting: Life, Media & Politics

By -

 

 

 

I'm hoping you will tolerate a little venting from me today that comes simply from observation. We'll start with the life issue of abortion, since it is a thread that runs through politics and media simultaneously. 

To begin, when you start paying close attention, you will notice that the main voices heard in interviews and reporting comes from mothers-in-crisis. 

Almost nowhere do you here any pro-life moms being interviewed. The "I-need-an-abortion" reports seem to prevail as top news stories. There isn't any balance. Where are the voices from the other side? They do exist, you know.

In the news yesterday a mom expressed her desperation in needing to abort her baby who had Trisomy 18 (look it up).  I knew someone who gave birth to a baby with T-18.  She and her husband (and sons) took their baby home and poured love into her throughout her very short life (I think it was a matter of weeks). I got to hold this beautiful little girl. 

Praise God she was given life.

Another mother on the news was talking about how she would only have a few hours with her baby if she continued her pregnancy, so she, too, desperately needed an abortion. I understand the pain and desperation, but this response just makes me sick.

Okay, so there's my condensed vent on life.

Media.  Well, that blends into the life issues because, as I said, where are the interviews with women who can speak of the amazing experience of loving your baby, if only for a brief time? 

Is the loss painful?  Almost unbearable?  Of course, but we need to hear their stories, too.  Let's hear from the moms who recognize the life of their baby as equal to their own, who bravely move forward, unwavering in their determination to bring life. 

Standing steadfast against fear, they face the first challenge of motherhood--accepting the unknown. We need to hear from them; they need to be giving media interviews.

Without them, one might think abortion is the only alternative.

Politics. This one's challenging, to say the least. Ahead of this week's first presidential debate, I am again sickened by our current President's willingness to toss aside what he surely knows by his faith (that abortion is wrong) in exchange for political votes and promoting a so-called women's agenda.

I am furthermore sickened by the former President, who also uses the life ticket as a means of garnering votes, wavering as he does, depending on the polls.

In my opinion, the bottom line is that neither of these men are worthy of the Office of the President, or our confidence. Their moral standing is severely weakened by their desire for presidential power.

So where does that leave us, the average citizen?  One thing I know for sure--as a Catholic, I don't have to vote for the former President just because he claims to be pro-life, and neither do I have to vote for the current President, just because I don't like the former. 

Through observation, it is easy to see that politics can usurp wisdom, good judgment and morality. I'll throw in decent behavior as well.

The Church teaches that we need to vote our informed conscious. We need to seriously pray about our vote. And, although I have focused primarily on abortion in this post, there are definitely additional things to be considered. 

Good leadership and decision-making arise from our wisdom, good judgment and morality, not apart from it. These speak of who we are.

For instance, how we treat others is important, whether we're talking about creating policies that impact the vulnerable, immoral behavior or violence against women.

Now is the time to get "prayed up" as they say, because we desperately need to prepare ourselves.  Pay close attention to the details and in them we will find our answer. Ask God for guidance. Call on the Holy Spirit.  Listen carefully.

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SAINT ELIZABETH, MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST- Feast: November 5

By -
Image
Elizabeth appears in the Gospel of Luke, where she is described as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly,”.  I imagine that she was warm, loving and obviously a safe harbour for young Mary, who was not married when she conceived.  When Mary came to visit her, Elizabeth was pregnant with St. John the Baptist and in her sixth month: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished.” 
Read more

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem...
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav...
Read more