Celebrate Life

January Birthday Girls!

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward." – Psalm 127:3

You know what's great about January? It's the first month of the year! ...And a new year means new beginnings. It also happens to be my birthday month, which I share with a couple of other good friends. It's a wonderful time of year when my friends and I get to celebrate the gift of life together.

When you think about a person's birthday you think of the day they came into this world. It's only the very beginning of their existence. From that day forward they are given the gift to live each and everyday until God calls them home. Life is a beautiful thing, which is why we celebrate it every year on our own special day. Life is precious. Life is God's own creation. Life is the most valuable aspect of the entire universe, which is why it should always be respected and protected.

However, many people these days have forgotten the value of life. People ignore the fact that the gift of life is what has given them the opportunity to be here today. At one point, all of us were formed in our mother's womb as a tiny fetus. As the days grew into months so did we grow into beautiful babies. But if someone had objected to our life and decided to abort us we wouldn't be here. In fact, we wouldn't have had a birthday because we would have never been born. How sad!?

Not only would we have never existed...but none of our friends would have been given the chance to know us. None of our teachers would have had the opportunity to teach us. Nobody would've had the chance to invite us to special events, like parties, dances, or sports games. Nobody would've given us hugs or kisses. And nobody would have known our kindness or felt the love from our heart that we share with others in the most generous way.

Recently, this month, thousands of pro-life people gathered in Washington DC for the March for Life. It was so amazing to watch all of those people stand up for the those who cannot speak for themselves. Even though I could not attend the event I had the opportunity to watch it live on EWTN.

As of now, it's been 40 years since the Roe vs. Wade abortion law was put into effect. Can you imagine!? That means for the last 40 years hundreds of thousands of babies have been murdered legally! These murders take place every day. In fact, the total estimate of deaths by abortion in the United States since then has risen to the total of 55 million. Fifty-five million!!! Do you realize how much that is? That is almost the same number of people that live in either France or Italy. And to top if off, the current president has included abortion as a part of woman's health care according to his HHS mandate that will take effect in August. How sick!

Although we can't change the fact that our own country has destroyed the lives of so many innocent children, we can stick up for what we believe in and celebrate life itself. As those wonderful people participated in the March for Life, we too, can participate in expressing our concern for those who have yet to see the light of day. I hope and pray that more women will realize how inhuman and barbaric abortion really is. Not only does it hurt the child, but it also hurts the mother in unimaginable ways. This, my friends, is not health care. More and more woman come out of an abortion depressed, feeling terrible remorse, regret, and heartache after the realization sets in. The womb of a mother should be the safest place for her child to grow. Let's keep praying for those women who have already had an abortion and those who are pondering it at this time. May they realize how precious and beautiful life truly is!

I encourage you to celebrate life each and every day. Life is a gift! As you can see, we are so blessed to be living and breathing right now. Although some are not so lucky, we can be the voice for them in this war on life. God has a plan for each of us, so let's make the most of it. As for those who are pro-choice here is the choice I'm asking you to make: choose LIFE!

The following video shows groups of Catholics gathered at the March for Life 2013 in Washington DC. Check it out! :)

         

Resist Temptations and Believe in America

One Nation Under God

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7

In today's world, being a good Catholic can be a really hard thing. You have all sorts of temptations trying to pull you down, away from your faith, and essentially away from God. When other people see that you are living a happy life and you are counter-cultural, they are not going to like that. In fact, they may be jealous of you since you are so in touch with your faith. They see that you are aware of something so far beyond the realm of this universe. This is when people, who have been influenced by the evil one, will try to make you question your faith and why you practice it. They will ask you all sorts of things to make you doubt yourself. And of course, relying on faith means that we, as Catholics, will not have all the answers. But that is what faith is! Like St. Augustine said, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."

In America, I see that our country has been slipping away from God over time. Our government is currently not being run by someone who leads with values and integrity. There has been a shift in society of what is acceptable as morally right and wrong. What has happen to the America my grandfather fought for in the military? I cannot imagine that God is please with the decisions our president has made in the last four years. Especially with the decisions to fund abortions.

Last week the RNC came to my hometown, in Tampa. It was wonderful to see all the amazing people here who have the love of God in their hearts. These politicians spoke with enthusiasm of how our country will get back on the right path as one nation under God. Even the Vice Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, attended Mass in St. Petersburg during that week. Radio station, Spirit FM 90.5, informed us that Cardinal Dolan was there to celebrate the liturgy at St. Mary's Catholic Church. The Cardinal even gave the final benediction for the closing of the RNC. It is so important that we pray for our country in these times ahead. Through prayer we will be able to resist all of the evilness that wants to overcome us in this nation.

Like I said before, just living a normal day to day life as a good Catholic-American can have its ups and downs. Many of us are spiritually attacked on a regular basis because we are following God. The devil is aware of this, so he targets us more often. If we are to live in a country that is far from God it will be much harder to resist these temptations. People will label you. You will not be the most liked. But who cares? Why does it matter what these people think anyways? They do not have the best interest for you. They do not want what you want. So it is best to ignore these people and just pray for them. Try not to start a discussion with them that will lead to a political/religious argument. God does not want strife among His people. He wants us to live in harmony, even with our differences.

It is important to note that God does not pick political sides. We as people, involved in politics, chose to be on God's side. If we are on God's side, then we want what He wants. If you hear the voice of God coming through any of these politicians then you know what they are saying is what He wants. If you have a relationship with Jesus then you'll know He wants us to chose life. He wants us to have religious freedom. He wants us to value the sacrament of marriage. And He wants us to have a good economy that will help foster the hope of living the "American Dream."

This election will truly put us to the test. The way we vote is not something to be taken lightly. Voting is not just filling in a bubble with black pen on a page. It is something that each and every person will be held accountable for, according to his/her own measure.

In the follow YouTube video this well-spoken young lady explains her thoughts about being a Catholic in this day and age. Even though we go through many temptations on a daily basis we can overcome those with prayer and fasting. Making sacrifices for God will demonstrate your submission to His Holy Will. Praying for those people who have hurt you is what God means when He tells us to love our enemies. They might be completely unaware of the blessings you are bestowing upon them. However, God knows, and He will bless them according to your petitions.

So go out into the world and resist all kind of temptations the evil one may be throwing at you. And believe in your country, believe in America! We must believe together as one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you for reading my blog post. Take care. God bless you and God bless America!