Blue Letter: October 24th, 2008

St. Anthony Mary Claret

St. Augustine Academy’s Annual
St. John Bosco Jog-A-Thon
Final Winners 2008

(Nota bene: At the beginning of this morning’s assembly, I apologized for raising the goal for this year’s jog-a-thon. It was an especially impossible time, given the economy, to try to reach previous goals, much less a new goal, $5,000 higher. I was setting myself up for hopefully achieving $15-$17K, since I do not know until the kids find out what our totals are. (Mrs. S and Mrs. M are more secretive than the keeper of the Fort Knox Vault.) I should have known! Look what these great students did! They EXCEEDED THE GOAL!)

Total amount brought in
$25,819.35

Two rich nuggets for you today. (Announcements on a separate blue page)

1. Fr. Paul gave us another great charge at Mass on Tuesday. Following a rousing re-enactment of a growling lion, seeking to devour, he called everyone of us to the fewest of essentials for success in life - meaning, we attain eternal beatitude. Sunday Mass and DAILY evening prayer. With rich elucidation, he showed us how easy it was to utter a few words of prayer, on our knees, before bed, every night. He also showed us how easy it is to also roll out of bed onto the floor each morning, move to a kneeling position, and utter a 20 second morning offering. These few habits will have a lifetime, no, an eternity of benefits. Start the habit TODAY! (He also threw in the importance of regular Confession.) This habit is our best life-long protection against the devil, who lurks like a lion, seeking us! (See how this sermon resonates with the ending of the bishops article, following.)

2. Bishop Robert Herrmann of St. Louis can be added to the growing list of bishops who are making public statements about the election. How terrific, a bishop calling us to action and holiness. (From the diocesan paper, The St. Louis Review, October 10, 2008)
I Thought You Should Know: Save Our Children
Save our children! More than anything else, this election is about saving our children or killing our children. This life issue is the overriding issue facing each of us in this coming election. All other issues, including the economy, have to take second place to the issue of life.
Save our children! Many people in Germany supported Hitler for economic reasons even though, as his programs advanced, he put to death millions of Jewish people. He ended up wrecking the economy together with the country of Germany. How are we different if we vote for pro-abortion candidates for office? How can we help change our political and legal situation to protect innocent children and support a culture of life?
Save our children! When I speak to some so-called good Catholics, I am shocked that they are quite ready to vote for a pro-abortion candidate under almost any circumstance. I find this hard to understand. We have heard the word “abortion” so often that perhaps we no longer associate procured abortion with the killing of children, yet that is what it is. The term itself can be misleading. The dictionary tells us that it comes from a Latin word that means “to disappear or to miscarry.” Sometimes abortions simply happen because of natural causes. That is why this word abortion, for many people, apparently does not really connote the destruction of children. When a human agent induces an abortion, that human agent is taking the life of one of our children.
Save our children! How can a so-called good Catholic vote for a candidate that supports laws that take the life of innocent children, when there is an alternative? If there were two candidates who supported abortion, but not equally, we would have the obligation to mitigate the evil by voting for the less-permissive candidate.
Save our children! How can a so-called good Catholic vote for a candidate that supports laws that justify the killing of a child that survived a botched abortion? How can such a so-called good Catholic receive the Holy Eucharist? In Chapter 10 of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he states: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? … You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.”
Save our children! Have some of our so-called good Catholics become so hardened against the Gospel of Life that they believe that other issues outweigh the Gospel of Life? Have some of our so-called good Catholics put politics ahead of the Fifth Commandment, in which God states: “Thou shalt not kill”? Do some of our so-called good Catholics, who may go to Mass every Sunday and receive the Holy Eucharist, really believe that voting for a pro-abortion candidate, when there is a clear alternative and therefore no justifiable reason for so doing, is really not voting to have children killed? This election is all about saving our children!
Save our children! I have no doubt that there may be some so-called good Catholics who are reading this column and who may be really angry about now. I ask the question “Why would such a person be angry?” If we do good deeds, then our conscience is at peace. If we do evil deeds, then our conscience bothers us. It is my hope that this column will lead some of our so-called good Catholics to study the Catholic Catechism.
Save our children! Some of our so-called good Catholics may have hardened their hearts against the real understanding of induced abortions, that they can no longer see that this involves the destruction of our children. “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts!”
Save our children! Supporting induced abortions is not the greatest sin in the world. A greater sin is the refusal to repent of such a serious crime or the denial that this involves the killing of innocent children.
Save our children! I have used this terminology again and again penetrate the defenses of anyone who in the past may have put personal, economic or political interests above the issue of saving our children. The right to life is our most fundamental right, and to defend this right on behalf of the most vulnerable is a great privilege and is worth giving one’s life for. Policemen and firemen always risk their lives to save human life. Why should we not risk our own reputation to save our children?
Save our children! You can see by now that I do not believe that this column by itself will change hearts. The issue of abortion involves serious sin, and to overcome serious patterns of sin requires grace. If you are still with me, may I suggest that you join me and many others in praying the daily Rosary from now until election day for the sake of life. Why not pray the family Rosary every night between now and the general election. The Rosary brought down the Iron Curtain. It can also help us turn around the culture of death to a culture of life. Save our so-called good Catholics who ignore Catholic moral principles when applied to our political life. Pray the family Rosary daily. Pray the family Rosary for our so-called good Catholics who could use your love and your charity. Pray for our so-called good Catholics who ignore serious Catholic moral teachings and still receive Holy Communion. Love them by praying the family Rosary for them. Don’t debate with them. Intercede for them. Praying for them is more fun than fighting with them.
Save our children and save our so-called good Catholics who have abandoned Church teachings in favor of personal gain. Pray the Rosary. Pray it every day. Get the whole family to pray the Rosary daily. Prayer is more powerful than contentious arguments. Spread the word to other families. In praying the Rosary, children’s votes count as much as adult votes. Sometimes they pray with purer hearts than we do. If you are disgusted with the TV news, then turn it off and turn on the prayer Internet. What we hear in prayer leaves us in peace. When we pray for our country and for our fellow citizens, we are filled with peace. St. Paul tells us that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers and the spirits of darkness.
Prayer is our protection. Let it also be a protection for our country. If you want to make Satan angry, pray the Rosary for the sake of Life. Pray that as a nation we will choose leaders that will say “no” to the culture of death and say “yes” to the culture of life. Save our children! Pray the Rosary!

(The Rosary is a great weapon. So are other prayers, if your family enjoys other traditions, like the
Divine Mercy Chaplet, or prayer and fasting. Another “prayer” for the same purpose was proposed
by a middle school in Kansas. Some of our families are already doing this:)

A Crucial Pillow Fight
The St. Johns Catholic Middle School in Beloit , Kansas has taken the fight against abortion and this year’s Presidential Election to the comfort of their homes. In the spirit of St. Paul in Colossians 1:24 (”Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church”), the entire class has pledged to make a difference in this election
through the sacrifice of sleeping without their pillows until election night for the sake of the Pro-Life candidates.

The goal is to obtain 50,000 participants in the U.S. If you or your church group would like to join them in this crucial pillow fight, please email pillowfight4life [at] yahoo [dot] com to notify us of your participation!

ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE
REPORT CARDS - In Today’s Blue Envelope.
Courses which have only semester grades will not include a grade for this quarter. These are usually classes which only meet one or two times weekly.

JOG-A-THON - Great Job ALL! See enclosed flyer for a list of winners. And yet, we are all winners in this!

PICTURE RE-TAKE DAY - If you were absent, or would like to retake because you just don’t think your first picture was perfect, pick up a form in the office and be ready for your re-take on Tuesday morning, November 4th.

VOLLEYBALL - Great Job Girls! 4 wins, 1 loss! Upcoming Games:

  • Tuesday, Oct. 28th @ Home v St. Mary Magdalen at 3:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, Oct. 30th @ College Heights at 3:30 p.m.

Oktoberfest! Thanks to Phil S, the yearbook committee and everyone who helped put on this event, and of course, all those who attended. It was another great feast!

ALL SAINTS DAY CELEBRATION - Next Friday we will celebrate All Saints Day in the usual tradition. The morning will be filled with stories and plays of our brothers and sisters who have already fought the good fight. Annually, we are inspired by the stories of ordinary and extraordinary people who have all given their lives to what really matters, the great two commandments; Love God and Love your neighbor. Princes and paupers alike have taken this common cause, and found happiness. We, too, are all called to join them, regardless of our states in life. Here is the schedule:

  • 8:25 Gather in homerooms (K-3 will gather on the front patio with their teachers)
  • 8:30 Gather in St. Augustine Hall for Presentation of Saints
  • 9:30ish Break
  • 9:45 Final Saint Presentations, including the 7th Grade Play on Saint Paul.
  • 10:30 All Saints Party run by the Student Council
  • NOON DISMISSAL

Dress Code for All Saints Day - come in regular uniform and bring along your costume and free dress clothes. (If needed, you can arrive in costume, just bring your uniform along, too.) You can change into free dress for the party. Remember to follow the handbook’s Relaxed Dress code or they will put their school uniform back on.

Rally for Proposition 8 - Come show your support for Proposition 8 this Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Camarillo [1601 Temple Ave. Camarillo.] Let’s show the world that we support Traditional Marriage!! Please be there by 11:15 a.m. Invite all you know! “Catholics for Protect Marriage” is in need of volunteers to call voters in Ventura County. Choose how many you want to call from your own home. Please, call Ingrid (today) at 577-7522.

CALENDAR NOTES

  • Oct. 31st All Saints Presentations, Noon Dismissal, Parent/Teacher Conferences begin.
  • Nov. 3-4 Parent Teacher Conf.
  • Nov. 4th Picture Re-Take Day
  • Nov. 7th NOON DISMISSAL
  • Nov. 8th GALA AUCTION/DINNER
  • Nov. 26th-30th THANKSGIVING

Ora Pro Nobis:
For Anna on her birthday today. For Mrs L, Dr.G, Miss R’s continued recovery and for V.F., mother of J.W., who has been recently diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer. For SFMs mother who is experiencing heart trouble. For my friend, M.Fritz, who is dying of cancer. For all our intentions.