Card. Canizares: The future of humanity is in the liturgy

Father Z. provides his usual commentary, this time on an interview of Cardinal Canizares (prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments). Father Z. gently corrects a couple generalizations made by the Cardinal, but primarily offers a great analysis of how the Cardinal's words are related to Pope Benedict's ongoing reform and restoration of Catholic identity.

Who interviewed the Cardinal? LifeSiteNews, "a non-profit Internet service dedicated to issues of culture, life, and family." The interview is about the relationship between the Mass (and other liturgy) and the duty we have to love and respect human life.

"[T]here is no new humanity and there is no hope for man that is not grounded in God that would come from God and would return everything to God as His glory. The future of humanity is in the liturgy."

Sisters of Life

The Sisters of Life are a relatively young (18 years) religious order of Catholic women. They were founded in 1991 by Archbishop John Cardinal O'Connor (+ 2000). They are dedicated to the "protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life." They have two apostolates right now: ministry to pregnant women (including a house of holy respite and post-abortion healing for women and men).

I met two of them — Sr. Mary Gabriel and Sr. Miriam (Mariam?) — this evening at Princeton University's Aquinas House graduate student fellowship. These two women are filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit for the protection of the precious lives created every second by our almighty and merciful and loving Creator, the Most Holy Trinity.

They have about 64 sisters throughout New York, as well as a mission in Toronto, Ontario. These two sisters I met are praying for me and the success of my personal liturgical undertakings, so please join me in praying for them and their order and apostolate.

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Blessed Lord, Author of Life,
grant your faithful servants, the Sisters of Life,
a spirit of fortitude and of counsel
that they may courageously and faithfully
carry out your saving work
by ministering to pregnant women and those affected by abortion.

We ask this in your Most Holy Name, Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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News flash: embryos are fertilized

Update: (3/16) I did a Google search this morning for clinton embryos fertilized (and various other permutations of terms), and did not find a single hit for Reuters, CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, etc. The Catholic News Agency has covered it, though.

Update: (3/12) Creative Minority Report has a fuller transcript. Clinton repeated the "embryos aren't fertilized yet" error over and over!

Perhaps this could have been mentioned in the conversation between Dr. Sanjay Gupta and former president Bill Clinton?

"If it's obvious that we're not taking embryos that under any conceivable scenario would be used for a process that would allow them to be fertilized and become a p... little babies. ... These committees need to make it clear that they're not going to fool with any embryos where there is any possibility, even if it's somewhat remote, that they could be fertilized and become human beings."

Yes, he almost said "a person".

What does he think an embryo is?

Perhaps he meant "implanted"? Let's see if the main-stream media calls attention to this, or if it allows the public to be slowly (?) tricked into thinking that human embryos are somehow unfertilized.

January 18 - National Sanctity of Life Day

One of the last things President Bush did in office was proclaim January 18th to be National Sanctity of Life Day. The use of the word "sanctity" (rather than merely "protection") speaks volumes. Here is an excerpt from his proclamation:

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

...

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

It falls only a few days before the anniversary of Roe v. Wade (January 22). For National Sanctity of Life Day to be moved or suspended would speak volumes as well... but not loud enough to drown out the outcry, I think.

Life: The hypocrisy of embryonic stem cell research

From Fr. Z's blog, WDTPRS, I share with you this gem. The text is from Bishop Edward J. Slattery (Tulsa), in a statement regarding the recent public comments made by Pelosi and Biden regarding abortion and the beginning of human life, as it pertains to the teachings of the Catholic Church:

Modern science clearly proves that human life begins at conception. At the moment when DNA from the mother and the father combine, a new, unique human being, who will develop continuously until death, is created. From then on, the early zygote functions as a human being. It has specifically human enzymes and proteins, and, over time, it develops complex human tissues and organs. After this genetic transfer, it can never develop into any other kind of being. Even as it develops through the process of pregnancy, the human nature of the zygote, embryo, fetus, or baby never changes. It is this nature that directs and causes the miraculous physical transformation that takes place during the pregnancy. [Good paragraph. He shows the continuity of the human person, at different stages, from conception to natural death.]

In fact, the desire of some persons to destroy embryos in order to harvest stem cells is dependent upon the reality that they are already biologically human. [Excellent point!]

Excellent point indeed!

Life: Responses to Certain Questions Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration

Fr. Z has it (and I don't see it anywhere else online yet): a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), dated August 1, 2007 entitled Responsa ad quaestiones ab episcopali conferentia foederatorum americae statuum propositas circa cibum et potum artificialiter praebenda. That is, "Responses to Certain Questions of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration".

The two questions and their answers, simply put, are:

1. Is administration of food and water (naturally or artificially) to a patient in a "vegetative state" morally required, so long as the patient's body can process them and they cause no harm to the patient? Yes.
2. Can the artificial administration of food and water to a patient in a "persistent vegetative state" be stopped when competent physicians judge with moral certainty that the patient will never regain consciousness? No.

Thank you, CDF. Requiescat in pace, Terri Schaivo.