SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

Featured Article:

The Pro-Life Lessons of St. Peter Claver: by Henry Niemeyer

On the 9th of September we celebrate the feast of St. Peter Claver. Born in 1521, he entered the Society of Jesus as a novice, where his calling was revealed: to minister to the slaves in Central and South America. He spent the rest of his life tirelessly ministering to and advocating for the slaves, fighting against the great powers in the society of his day.

St. Peter Claver’s work with the slaves is an excellent example of defending human life even outside of abortion and other cases of homicidal scale, because in truth, defending the unborn is only one facet of being Pro-life, albeit of a gravity and urgency rather greater than most.

Are we truly Pro-Life when we go home and treat the lives of those in our family like they matter less than ours? When we pass by the helpless and turn away those in need?

As St. Francis of Assisi said, "Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society." This isn’t just about politicians, “doctors,” and laws, or even about abortion in particular. In the end, all of this is fundamentally about people. You, me, everyone we encounter. All equally valuable, all to be treated with the same reverence.

We must do all that is in our power to stop the slaughter of millions of unborn children, but how can we expect to change the world if we can’t change the same mindset in ourselves?

Prayers:

Prayer for the People in Afghanistan

Lord, we lift up the people of Afghanistan to you right now. We pray that you would take hold of them and help them walk through this fearful time. Protect them under your wing and help them feel the comfort and peace that only comes from your powerful presence. So many people who have called this place their home have been displaced because of this event. Remind them, Lord, that their true home is in Heaven with you. Give those who believe in you the courage to stand strong in their faith and be a strong witness for you. Also, be with those who do not believe in you – help them to see the peace in your followers and allow the Holy Spirit to stir in their hearts as they witness this. Amen.

Prayer for the Baptism of Aborted Babies

Heavenly Father, Your love is eternal. In Your ocean of love, You saved the world through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Now look at Your only Son on the Cross Who is constantly bleeding for love of His people, and forgive Your world. Purify and baptize the aborted children with the Precious Blood and Water from the Sacred Side of Your Son, Who hung dead on the Cross for their salvation, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May they, through the Holy Death of Jesus Christ gain everlasting life, through His Wounds be healed, and through His Precious Blood be freed. There to rejoice with the Saints in Heaven. Amen.

Thank you to Gracie Mae Gross for contributing this prayer!

Pro-Life Quotes:

The Parish Priest

A good man there was of religioun,

And was a povre Parson of a town;

But rich he was of a holy thought and work.

He was also a learned man, a clerk,

That Christes gospel truly woulde preach;

His parishfolk devoutly would he teach.

Benign he was, and wonder diligent,

And in adversity full patient;

And such he was y-proved often times.

Full loth were him to cursen for his tythes,

But rather would he give, out of doubt,

Un-to his povre parishfolk about

Of his offering, and eke of his substance.

He could in little thing have suffisance.

Wide was his parish, and houses far a-sunder,

But he neglected not, for rain or thunder,

In sickness or in mischief, to visit

The furthest in his parish, great and little,

Upon his feet, and and in his hand a staff.

This noble example to his sheep he gave,

That first he wrought, and afterward he taught

Out of the gospel he these wordes caught;

And this figure he addes eke there-to,

That if gold ruste, what shall iron do?

For if a priest be foul, on whom we trust,

No wonder is a lewed man to rust;

And shame it is, if a priest take keep,

A dirty shepherd and a clean sheep.

Well ought a priest example for to give,

By his cleanness, how that his sheep should live.

He did not set his benefice to hire,

Nor left his sheep encumbered in the mire,

And ran to London, un-to Sainte Paul's,

To seeken him a chantery for souls,

Or with a brotherhed to be enrolled;

But dwelt at home, and kepte well his fold,

So that the wolf might make it not miscarry;

He was a shepherd and no mercenary.

And though he holy were, and virtuous,

He was to sinful man not despitous,

Not of his speeche dangerous nor digne,

But his teaching discreet and benign.

To draw his fold to heaven by fairness

By good example, was his business:

But if were any person obstinate,

What-so he were, of high or low estate,

Him would be snibben sharply for the nonce.

A better priest, I trow that nowhere none is.

He waited for no pomp and reverence,

Nor maked him a spiced conscience.

But Christes lore, and his apostles twelve,

He taught, and first he followed it himself.

Poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, submitted by Gracie Mae Gross

"This is the choice before us: either try to revolutionize the world and break under it or revolutionize ourselves and remake the world." - Fulton Sheen

News:

Airing of "Unplanned" on French TV Channel Causes Backlash

On August 16, 2021, the French TV Channel C8 broadcasted the pro-life film “Unplanned”, which exposes the lies of Planned Parenthood and chronicles former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson’s conversion story. The airing faced major backlash from the French public and government. In a tweet published by the Minister Delegate for Gender Equality Élisabeth Moreno, they “firmly condemned” the streaming of the movie as a “despicable anti-abortion propaganda tool”. She continued to say that the film “puts forward scientific untruths that inexorably misleads the viewer.” The French Audiovisual Superior Council (CSA) reportedly told the Huffington Post that its experts would investigate this matter after receiving several reports from viewers and would reach a verdict within a few weeks. However, they noted that their organization “does not intervene in the programming of channels” and that channels are “are free to choose their programs”, but could intervene afterward if they find there has been a possible breach of law.

To read the full story as reported by Solène Tadié from the National Catholic Register, see here: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/uproar-in-france-over-unplanned-movie

All in Christ for Pro-Life

In this culture of death, where abortions have become widely accepted, a Pro-Life group calledLife Runners has been evangelizing the worth of the unborn child. Founded by Patrick Castle, the group has jerseys that say, “REMEMBER THE UNBORN Jeremiah 1:5”. Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”.** They have events such as the A-Cross America Relay, which take place when a members of chapters log minutes walking or running in their jersey and work together to complete a goal. Life Runners also works together to assign members to a specific race, so the race is flooded with evangelization. For valid time to be obtained for the Relay, you must be wearing your jersey. Personal exercises on a treadmill in private do not count. You must be in public, even if in a gym. Before your workout, you must also pray the creed. The Life Runners Creed is as follows:
“We believe in the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. We run as a Prayer, to defend children in the womb, so that they may be born and united with ourChristian community. We run to build Endurance, for the race is long and we must keep our eyes fixed on You Lord. We run for Awareness, so our culture will view all human life as a reflection of Your glory Lord. We run for Charity, to provide support for mothers and fathers tempted to abort their child, and healing and support for post-abortion women, men and families. We run to End abortion, for Christ died so that all may live. Guard us all, born and unborn, with Your PEACE, Lord. For in You, life is victorious. We pray and run in Your name, Jesus Christ. Amen.”**

You can check out the Life Runners website at liferunners.org, and get signed up for the cause. The Life Runners' chant is “All in Christ For Pro-Life!” Please join our cause to save lives.

Photos and quotations with ** are from the Life Runners website.

Thanks to Maria Witkowski for contributing this article!

Creative Corner:

We are looking for artistic content to fill our Creative Corner! If you have something that you would like to contribute, please email us at hscstudentsforlife@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, September 4th at 2:00pm EST - Monthly pro-life rosary

Saturday, September 11th at 6:30pm EST - back to school game night! During this meeting, we will be discussing the event highlights for the upcoming year and play pro-life games to build community and celebrate the start of a new school year!

HSC Students for Life Logo Contest:

Rules:

• logo must be clearly identifiable and pro-life
• use SFL colors (purple, gold, and white)
• you may use text (including "HSC Students for Life", however the main part of the design must be graphic.)
• be designed using canva.com (there are logo templates to get ideas from on there! Using this system will allow us to easily edit and adapt the design for different uses.)

Notes:

If your design is chosen, we reserve the rights to edit it for multiple uses. You will be credited for the design, and it will be: 1. featured on social media platforms (including Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube) and our website, and 2.) used for merchandise and products.
Deadline: Monday, September 13th
Submit here: dropbox

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.