"To be a mother is a great treasure. Mothers, in their unconditional and sacrificial love for their children, are the antidote to individualism." - Pope Francis
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A Prayer for Mothers All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old. We pray for young mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy. We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; May they continue to guide in strong and gentle ways. We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict; May they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away. We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion. We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great -grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love. Amen.
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Prayers
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Amoris Laetitia - The Joy of Love
WASHINGTON-Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, welcomed Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, on love in the family. Pope Francis' "love letter to families" invites everyone to grow as members of the family of God.
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TAKE ACTION TO
STOP ASSISTED SUICIDE IN NYS
The State Legislature returns to Albany this week for two final months of the 2016 Session. An urgent priority is to defeat legislation that would legalize doctor-assisted suicide. Proponents of assisted suicide have targeted our state and hope to have lawmakers voting on this before the end of June.
Please send a message to your elected representatives now to let them know that directly causing death is not an acceptable answer to terminal illness, aging, or disability.
Go here for an easily editable message you can send to your lawmakers with just a few clicks. And please share with your friends and family and urge them to take action as well.
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URGE SUPPORT FOR THE CONSCIENCE PROTECTION ACT OF 2016!
Now is the moment to contact your representatives to urge them to co-sponsor and work to enact H.R. 4828, the Conscience Protection Act of 2016. Please tell your member of the House of Representatives that you expect him or her to uphold the right of conscientious objection to abortion by enacting this much-needed legislation.
The bill, introduced on March 22 by Rep. John Fleming, MD (R-LA) and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), contains the policy of what in past years has been called the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA). Read MoreSend emails through Human Life Action Center here or Contact your Representative by phone. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
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LIFE ISSUES FORUM
Surprised By Coffee
By Anne McGuire
A couple years ago, I lived with my friend Jenna*, who often prayed outside a local abortion facility. During her visits, she frequently saw a man who escorted women into the facility. Although Jenna didn't initially speak with him, they eventually found themselves standing next to each other during their respective "shifts." Upon arrival, she would ask him how he was.
Eventually the pleasantries evolved into bigger conversations - never to do with abortion, though. We just talked about his passion for YouTube, visiting his friends on vacations, our jobs, etc. I even ended up learning his childhood nickname and when his birthday was. He usually took a pause from his duties as an escort for a coffee break, so on his birthday, I offered to go get it for him... I just wanted to get a guy coffee for his birthday. I remember when I asked him, he looked kind of shell-shocked, as though he were thinking, "Wait a minute; you're not supposed to want to do that..." I was reminded of Jenna's story by Pope Francis's recent apostolic exhortation The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia). In it, the Holy Father explains, "Love opens our eyes and enables us to see, beyond all else, the great worth of a human being" (AL 128). Jenna's encounter with this man illustrates the heart of the Gospel of Life. We are created to behold all people with the gaze of Christ, loving them for their own sake. Remembering that St. John Paul II called us to a "civilization of love and life" (EV 27), we recognize that this gaze is meant for each and every person. Pope Francis also reminds us that Jesus "never failed to show compassion and closeness to the frailty of individuals" who had fallen (AL 38). Read More
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Gianna of Long Island
Center for Women's Health & Fertility
Comprehensive, Cooperative: A Unique New Approach to Women's Health and Wellness
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Our highly skilled team is delighted to offer an exciting approach to women's health care. We provide preventive and specialized obstetrical and gynecologic care to women, honoring their dignity and the sanctity of human life. While we are successfully able to address male infertility as well, we are uniquely qualified to care for women of all ages and at all stages of life.
Named after St. Gianna Beretta Molla, the Gianna of Long Island Center for Women's Health & Fertility is pleased to feature two unique women's health services-the Creighton Model FertilityCare™ System and NaProTECHNOLOGY™, both of which allow us to provide women with a natural, restorative, scientifically-based approach to improving health and respecting fertility. Our mission is simple-to acknowledge dignity and to provide women with exceptional medical care. Listening and offering genuine medical advice are our goals. Treatments are holistic and include nutritional, sleep-related, weight-related, endocrinological, behavioral, spiritual and medical components. |
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| | St. Gianna Beretta Molla - Lover of Life |
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| | New Natural and Personal Approach to Fertility and Health |
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Project Rachel Hope After Abortion
I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion... do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope...the Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation." (Evangelium Vitae no. 99, John Paul II)
Project Rachel Hope After Abortion website or call the Respect Life Office's confidential hotline: 1-888-456-HOPE (se habla espanol) to begin healing after abortion loss. |
Post-Abortion Retreats
Prayer and Healing Retreats, help those suffering the effects of abortion. We offer a safe place, a way out of the pain, in a non-judgmental atmosphere. All retreats are led by the Sisters of Life and women who have experienced both the suffering of abortion and the joy of healing in Christ. For more information visit our website |
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Entering Canaan
DAYS OF PRAYER & HEALING
for women
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
(Long Island)
Saturday, October 29, 2016
(Long Island)
Entering Canaan
DAY OF PRAYER & HEALING
for Men
TBA
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For more information or to register contact
Sisters of Life
or
Theresa Bonopartis
877.586.4621 (toll free)
Entering Canaan
DAY OF PRAYER & HEALING for Men
Contact Lumina
877.586.4621 (toll free)
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Joint Letter to Congress: 26 Organizations Urge Passage of Conscience Protection Act of 2016
April 19, 2016
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) joined twenty-five other major pro-life, religious, and health care organizations on April 19 urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (H.R. 4828). Signatories include ten medical groups representing tens of thousands of health care professionals who object to abortion and are seeking legal protection to serve their patients in good conscience. "Federal laws protecting conscientious objection to abortion have been approved for decades by Congresses and Presidents of both parties. Even many 'pro-choice' Americans realize that the logic of their position requires them to respect a choice not to be involved in abortion," they wrote. "Yet it is increasingly clear that the current laws offer far less protection in practice than in theory." The Conscience Protection Act (H.R. 4828), introduced on March 22 by Reps. John Fleming, M.D. (R-LA) and Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), addresses several "loopholes" in current federal laws that have allowed violations of conscience rights to continue. The letter cites a recent California mandate for almost all health plans in the state to pay for elective abortions, and the government's failure to vindicate the rights of New York nurse Cathy DeCarlo after she was pressured to assist at a late-term abortion.
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Building Up Life Through Encounter
by Kimberly Baker
Español
Life too often moves at a breakneck pace. Technology is always at our fingertips to help us achieve more and do more-and with greater speed. When this continuous, fast-paced lifestyle overwhelms us, we risk losing our human touch with others. In contrast, Pope Francis often speaks of creating a "culture of encounter," which not only transforms the way we live in the world but also beautifully affirms and facilitates a culture of life:
To be called by Jesus, to be called to evangelize, and third: to be called to promote the culture of encounter. In many places . . . the culture of exclusion, of rejection, is spreading. There is no place for the elderly or for the unwanted child; there is no time for that poor person in the street. At times, it seems that for some people, human relations are regulated by two modern "dogmas": efficiency and pragmatism.... Have the courage to go against the tide of this culture of efficiency, this culture of waste. (World Youth Day Homily, July 27, 2013)
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Now He said to them, " These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. Luke 24:44-53
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Pentecost Sunday
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The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
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When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
ACTS 2:1-4
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Thus says the wisdom of God:
"When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
when he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;
when he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race." PRV 8:22-31
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SAVE THE DATE! The Culture Project is Coming to the Diocese
The missionaries are available to present inspiring talks on Human Dignity and Chastity to programs and schools in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
For Religious Education Programs, High Schools, Youth Ministry, College Campuses, Parish Communities, Ministries and Catholic Schools.
The Culture Project International is an initiative of young people set out to restore culture through the experience of virtue. Members of the team enter into a program where they live and pray in community, receive formation and are sent out on mission nationally and internationally, giving presentations to youth about dignity and sexual integrity.
We are anticipating the Culture project will provide Parent Sessions this year along with their presentations on human dignity and sexual integrity for Students and Catechistis.
When: October 1 - October 15, 2016 more information to follow.
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Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
Merciful Like the Father - December 8, 2015 - November 20, 2016
As we continue into this Year of Mercy, let us show to others the mercy that God has shown on us so that our actions can authentically reflect God's mercy. Below are a few different ways that you can live out that mercy every day!
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Suggested New Year Spring Reading From The Respect Life Office
As we await the spring season, pick up a great book with our recommended list for spring reading. View List
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UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR
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WORD OF LIFE | PALABRA DE VIDA
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Please include these in your Sunday Bulletin. |
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BULLETIN INSERTS - FOR PARISH RESPECT LIFE
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Additional Respect Life Informational Websites
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DEUS CARITAS EST ... GOD IS LOVE
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Allison O'Brien, Director
S. Elizabeth A. Geraghty, CSJ Project Rachel Ministry Coordinator
Diana Tellis, Ministry/Dept. Assistant
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Ashley Foster, Media Specialist
Lea Green, Respect Life Office Intern
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CONTACT US
RESPECT LIFE OFFICE
50 North Park Ave.
F: (516) 536-3473
Rockville Ctr., NY 11570
P: (516) 678-5800
Exts.626 & 381
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED MISSION TO SERVE LIFE!
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