APRIL 2023 NEWSLETTER

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Featured Article:

Resurrection: by Lydia Landry

There is something deeply wrong with death. It’s unnatural. It’s abhorrent. It’s frightening. We come into the world unaware that we will one day die. We come to understand the idea very gradually and are never reconciled to it until we are old—and many are still not even then. But when God chose to take on human life, he was fully aware that he was simultaneously accepting the fate of human death. We might think that He would judge this sacrifice—so wholly undeserved by the All-Loving God of creation—enough for redeeming our sins, and yet, in His Divine Wisdom, the Lord clearly desired that His sacrifice be greater still. Death on a‌‌ cross. Of all the modes of being put to death, which could be more unnatural, abhorrent, and frightening than that which the Son of God endured for our sake?‌‌

Holy Week always seems to me a bit like a pious game. We are like children, pretending not to know something so that we can experience the joy of being surprised by it. Of course, during Holy Week, we don’t pretend to be truly ignorant of what comes after. But it’s almost as though we try to forget it momentarily in order to immerse ourselves as much as possible in the emptiness, pain, and desolation of the days that lead up to the most glorious of all God’s works.‌‌Why do we do this? Varied answers might be given. But one wonders if the resurrection would have meant as much without the crucifixion. I don’t believe it would have. If Christ had not died, He would never have risen at all. Even if he had simply died peacefully in His sleep or died from some illness or injury, the resurrection would be still marvelous, of course, but not so dramatic and not nearly so impactful on those who experienced it first-hand, nor on those who‌‌have believed in it throughout the ages. And of course, since the resurrection was the glorious sequel to such profound sorrow, it teaches us what lies in wait after our earthly sorrow which culminates in death.

Fighting for the Pro-Life cause presents many difficulties, but one which goes often unspoken of is the pain in facing the gruesome reality of what abortion really is. With abortion, and indeed, with all death, it’s tempting to let our minds sugar-coat and soften the idea because if we are to be perfectly honest about it, the unnaturalness, the abhorrence, the fear, are very real, and painful for us even to acknowledge. Maybe this is why during Holy Week we enter into the sorrow so unreservedly—to teach our souls not to fear the sorrow, not to fear letting our spirits weep and ache for the reality of death, since Christ has endured it for us and redeemed it in the glory of His resurrection.

Prayers:

Prayer for Those Who have Lost a Child to Abortion: by Fr. Frank Pavone

Lord of all Life,
You have entrusted us to the care of one another,
And called us to be one Body in Christ.

You call us to rejoice with those who rejoice,
And to weep with those who weep.

Hear our prayer today
For our brothers and sisters who have lost children to abortion.
Help us to understand
The pain that is in their hearts,
And to be a living sign to them
Of your welcome, your mercy, and your healing.

Help them to undergo with courage
The process of grief and the journey of healing.
Never allow them to feel alone;
Always refresh them with the presence of Your Spirit
And of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Console them with the sure hope
That you love and care for their children.
Give them new strength,
That even while they grieve what they have lost,
They may look forward to all the good
That you still have in store for them.

Lord of healing and hope,
Give us all the forgiveness of our sins,
And the joy of your salvation.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Source: https://www.catholicdigest.com/amp/news/nationworld/pro-life-prayers/

Pro-Life Quotes:

“The "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" begins with "life", and "life" begins at conception.” ― A.E. Samaan

“If the unborn is not a human person, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human person, no justification for abortion is adequate.” ― Greg Kouki

“What terrible splashing!’ the elephant frowned. ‘I can’t let my very small persons get drowned. I’ve GOT to protect them. I’m bigger than they.” ― Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who!

News:‌

Heartwarming Bill Signed Into Law in Arkansas

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently signed into law a bill which will create a “monument to the unborn” on Capitol grounds. The memorial will mark the number of abortions which occurred during the near 50-year legal tyranny of Roe v. Wade, the fateful decision that blocked Arkansans from protecting their preborn citizens. The House sponsor for the law, Mary Bentley, said the purpose was to “remember those children we were not able to protect, and we will not be able to forget.”

Source: https://studentsforlife.org/2023/03/22/heartwarming-bill-signed-into-law-in-arkansas-for-creation-of-a-monument-to-the-unborn/

You May Be Surprised To Learn Pharmacies in These 12 States Sell Chemical Abortion Pills

SFLA’s Field Team recently surveyed pharmacies in 21 states which should not be selling Chemical Abortion Pills according to their pro-life laws. These states included Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. In each state, we called several pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS, and Rite-Aid. Upon speaking with pharmacy representatives, SFLA found that 12 of the 21 states had pharmacies which confirmed they could provide Chemical Abortion Pills with a prescription, despite their pro-life laws which said the contrary. These states included Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Source: https://studentsforlife.org/2023/03/16/you-may-be-surprised-to-learn-pharmacies-in-these-12-states-sell-chemical-abortion-pills/

Report Shows Abortion Way Down Since Dobbs

#WeCount project of the Society of Family Planning, a pro-abortion organization, produced a heartwarming report. It is worthwhile to note that these numbers are not coming from a pro-life source. Nevertheless, what are these numbers? By comparing abortion declines in states with pro-life laws with abortion increases in states lacking life-affirming policy, the #WeCount project estimates that 32,260 fewer abortions were committed in the United States in the first six months after the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling. That averages to 5,377 fewer abortions every month — or 5,377 babies saved every month.

Source: https://studentsforlife.org/2023/04/14/new-exciting-numbers-report-shows-abortion-way-down-since-dobbs/

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, April 25th at 7:00pm EST - SFL leadership election

If you've been thinking about applying to run for a position, there's still time to do so! Here's the form in case you missed it: https://forms.gle/AjpqjypdkLB4mG7z8. Even if you're not running for leadership, you are welcome to come to the election. We want our members to have a vote in who will be leading the group next year!

‌Submit Content:

This newsletter relies heavily on the contributions of group members. There are a number of items we are looking for:

1. Creative content: We have implemented a segment of the newsletter dedicated to the topically relevant artistic contributions of group members, regardless of medium. If you have anything to share, please send it in. We'll accept most mediums, including (pictures of) paintings, graphic design pieces, songs, videos, poems, etc.
2. Articles: We are accepting topically relevant articles from group members. Please note, however, that the newsletter editors reserve the right to modify articles in order to make them suitable for publication. Such modifications may include grammatical corrections and removal of potentially offensive content.
3. Quotes & Literary Passages: We are also looking for any topically relevant quotes or literary passages to fill a segment of the newsletter. Anything from a simple sentence spoken by a saint to a paragraph from a book can be accepted.

If you want to submit anything from the above categories, or you simply want to provide feedback or suggestions, please email us at hscstudentsforlife@gmail.com and we will get in touch with you shortly.