March for Life

The annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. will take place on January 22, 2010. Visit the March for Life Web site for more information.

Late in October 1973, grassroots prolife leaders became concerned that January 22, 1974, might come and go without properly memorializing the Supreme Court's infamous abortion decisions and without petitioning Congress for redress.

No established right-to-life organization was prepared to undertake the planning, financial and operational responsibilities for a high impact prolife March on the U.S. Capitol. But, grassroots prolifers wanted to march! About thirty prolife veterans resolved themselves into a committee and began making plans for the first March for Life.

On January 22, 1974, the first March for Life was held on the West Steps of the Capitol. An estimated 20,000 committed prolife Americans rallied that day on behalf of our preborn brothers and sisters.

In 1974, the March for Life was incorporated as a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization.

Our numbers have gradually risen through the years despite reduced numbers from the snow in 2000 and the terrible 9/11 attacks just months before the March 2002. These growing numbers give testimony to the increasing ranks of prolife Americans and to the importance of the March's work.

Today, in addition to the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., there is a corresponding West Coast event--the Walk for Life which is held in San Francisco, CA. This year the sixth annual Walk for Life will be held on January 23, 2010. More information about the Walk for Life can be found on the Walk for Life Web site.

From March for Life

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The 2010 March for Life is on Friday, January 22

The annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. is this Friday. This event has taken place annually since 1974 in order to encourage our nation and her political leaders to support a culture of life rather than embracing a culture of death. The march occurs on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade (1973) which decriminalized abortion throughout the United States.

People from all walks of life, political views, and religious beliefs come together in solidarity in our nation's capitol in order to peacefully promote the protection of human life from conception to natural death. This year, our Bishop will be a concelebrant at the March for Life Youth Mass at 10:00 a.m. on the day of the march. For more information about all of the events surrounding this year's march, visit the March for Life Web site.

Parishioners from Charlottesville are invited to participate in the march. A bus will be traveling from Charlottesville to Washington, D.C. on the morning of January 22nd. The bus will leave at 8:00 a.m. from the Church of the Incarnation, and the bus is scheduled to return at 8:00 p.m. the same day. For more information, contact contact Robbie Gibson (434-963-7952 or robbie_oc_gibson@yahoo.com ).

Prayer for our Nation's Health Care Reform

Lord Jesus, you are the Divine Physician,
And the source of all life and health.

Guide our nation at this critical moment,
As our government seeks health care reforms.

Give our elected officials the humility to know
That they are servants, not masters.
Give them the wisdom to realize
That every life has equal value.
Give them the strength to resist the idea
That some lives can be sacrificed to save others
Or that killing the unborn is part of health care.

Give your people the courage to speak up
And to hold public officials accountable for their actions.

Save us, Lord Jesus, from a culture of death,
And let every reform in our public policy
Be based on the reform of our hearts and minds
In the light of your Gospel,
For you are Lord forever and ever. Amen.

by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life

Tomorrow, November 3rd, is election day in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In this year's election, we are voting for a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General in the statewide elections. In addition, all seats in the House of Delegates are up for election. Finally, there are many local elections that are being contested. Be sure to get out and vote in order to exercise this precious right and to fulfill your duty to others.

Part of our responsibility to love God and our neighbor includes our faithful participation in the political process. We are called to bring the Gospel, including the beautiful moral and social teaching of the Church, to bear in our daily lives. That means that we must vote with a conscience informed by Christ through His Church.

To assist us in being informed, our Bishop, through the Virginia Catholic Conference, has provided the following resources:

• A pre-election letter issued by Bishops DiLorenzo and Loverde (Participating Faithfully in the Political Process: A Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Virginia to the Faithful of Their Dioceses).


• A five-part issue series on Catholic social teaching and current state issues (Faithful Citizenship in Virginia: Issues for the 2009 Elections).


• Responses to a questionnaire sent to all candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and contested House of Delegates seats (click here for charts for our diocese which is the Diocese of Richmond. For anyone in the other diocese in Virginia, which is the Diocese of Arlington, click here.)

Finally, some basic, but very important information:

• If you are not sure where you need to go to vote, click here to find your polling place.


• Not sure what your House of Delegate district is? Use this form to find out your House of Delegate district.

One More Soul (OMS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the truth about the blessings of children and the harms of contraception. Their website is a large part of their efforts to disseminate information and thus contains many resources. Of special note is their directory of NFP only, pro-life doctors. Also, their database of online publications includes English pamphlets, Spanish resources, booklets, and PowerPoint presentations, all available to view and download. This is an excellent pro-life resource well worth an extended visit. From Catholic Culture.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

Our Blessed Mother is Patroness of the United States. On this Election Day, we offer up to her our prayers for this great nation of ours.

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection. Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.

Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life. Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God's law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life.

From EWTN.

EWTN's Web site includes a portion devoted to A Guide to Catholic Teaching and Voting. The site includes links to many documents including Catechetical References. There are also a number of links to audio and video archives of programs related to Catholic teaching and voting which have aired on EWTN television and radio. In addition, the site includes links to other resources related to Catholic teaching and voting including books and DVDs.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The 2009 Fall Assembly for IMPACT is tonight at 6:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas parish.

Please plan to attend in order to participate in the voting on a new justice issue to be addressed from among the general categories of education, youth, and jobs/wages. Child care is available and carpooling is advised.

Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together (IMPACT) is a grassroots initiative bringing a diverse group of congregations together to live out our religious traditions' call for justice in our local community of Charlottesville & Albemarle County, VA.

"Our faith requires us to oppose abortion on demand and to provide help to mothers facing challenging pregnancies," Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., said in an October 21 statement. The bishops urged Catholics to study the teaching of the Church, rather than rely on statements and materials from outside groups and individuals.

Cardinal Rigali and Bishop Murphy made the joint statement in response to arguments that the Church should accept the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision on abortion as a "permanent fixture of constitutional law" and should concede that the only way to reduce abortions is to provide more government support for pregnant women. At the same time the two bishops also responded to those who argue that the Church's efforts against abortion should focus solely on restoring recognition for unborn children's human rights and that proposals to provide social and economic support for pregnant women distract from that effort.

Cardinal Rigali chairs of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Bishop Murphy chairs the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

"Providing support for pregnant women so they choose to have their babies is a necessary but not sufficient response to abortion. Similarly, reversal of Roe is a necessary but not sufficient condition for restoring an order of justice in our society's treatment of defenseless human life," they said.

The bishops also noted that "in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision knocked down laws against abortion in all 50 states, fabricating a constitutional 'right' to abortion that continues to haunt and divide our society....Roe v. Wade is a clear case of an 'intrinsically unjust law' we are morally obliged to oppose. Reversing it is not a mere political tactic, but a moral imperative for Catholics and others who respect human life," they said.

Read the full statement here.

From USCCB Office of Media Relations

Faithful Citizenship is a Web site presented by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in order to assist U.S. Catholics in exercising their moral obligation to participate in the political life of the United States. The site provides Bishops' statements and additional information to help Catholics in forming a conscience that will enable them to fully participate in political life as a Catholic Christian. The site also includes information to assist pastors, parish leaders, teachers, and parents in their duty to teach Catholics how to apply the truths of the faith to political life.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

Election Day in the United States is Tuesday, November 4th which is exactly two weeks away from today. Over the next two weeks, posts will be made which address Catholics and voting.

As Catholics living in the U.S., we are called to participate in the political process in order to promote the common good. In our political system in which we are governed by elected representatives who are elected by popular vote, at a minimum, we must participate by voting. Several paragraphs in the Catechism speak to this duty to be involved in politics:

2239 It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. The love and service of one's country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community.

2240 Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country [Rom 13:7]:

Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. [Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as foreigners.... They obey the established laws and their way of life surpasses the laws.... So noble is the position to which God has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it. [Ad Diognetum 5: 5, 10]

For more information, see the document, Participation of Catholics in Political Life, which was promulgated by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the last day to register to vote to be eligible for the November 4, 2008 General Election is Close of Business October 6, 2008. Applications must be in the voter registration office or posted marked by that date. Normal processing time is about thirty (30) days.

Reasons to register to vote include:

• You have never registered to vote.


• You relocated to the Commonwealth of Virginia and have not yet registered to vote.


• You have moved within the Commonwealth since you last registered to vote.

For more information, including a voter registration application, visit the Virginia State Board of Elections.

On Sunday, September 14, 2008 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., there will be a Faithful Citizenship workshop at St. Thomas Aquinas. The workshop, which is entitled "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States", will be presented by the Virginia Catholic Conference. Attendance is free and open to all. For more information about the workshop on September 14th, contact Bridget Davis (434) 964-1127. And for more information about Faithful Citizenship, click here.

For information about the IMPACT Nehemiah Action which took place on Monday, March 10th, you can read reports at the Daily Progress and the Charlottesville Tomorrow Web site. On the Charlottesville Tomorrow Web site, you can listen to a recording (podcast) of the meeting.

The action drew approximately 1,900 people to U-Hall from 28 congregations. The invited guests included representatives of organizations which provide dental services and members of the Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. IMPACT asked the public officials to make a commitment to two requests.

The first request to commit to provide dental services to low-earning adults in the community and to have a plan in place to address their dental needs by March 2009 received the support of all six organizations which were represented.

The second request to commit $500,000 from both the city and the county in next year's budgets for rental initiatives for low-income adults met with strong support from the members of the City Council (4 of 5 councilors committed to the request) and weaker support from the Board of Supervisors (2 of 6 supervisor committed to the request).

Thanks to the commenter who noted that the Charlottesville Tomorrow Web site had posted the audio recording of the meeting.

Help make a difference in our community by participating in the IMPACT Nehemiah Assembly scheduled for Monday, March 10th at 6:15 p.m. at U-Hall. At the assembly, we will continue to press for much needed change in two important areas.

The first area of concern is affordable housing for low-wage earners. There is an estimated shortage of 4,000 housing units for those who earn less than $20,000 per year. Typically, the income earners in this income category work in service areas including teachers' aides, cashiers, cleaners, and landscapers.

The second area that is being addressed is dental care for over 700 poor adults who need immediate dental care.

The purpose of the assembly is to bring together the many people who represent the community and local faith congregations who have expressed a commitment to working for justice in order to express their desire to have these issues addressed by men and women, including public officials, who are able to assist in bringing about the change. In addition, the assembly seeks to get a firm commitment from the decision makers that the issues will indeed be addressed. Finally, the assembly celebrates the decisions and commitments made.

Of course, the larger the group, the more seriously will the concerns be taken by the public officials. The assembly has been moved to U-Hall this year in order to provide adequate room for all those who will gather.

Note that child care will be provided and plenty of free parking will be available at U-Hall because there is no event scheduled at the John Paul Jones Arena.

For more information, view the IMPACT Web site.

The IMPACT Rally is tonight at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Park Street. At the rally, there will be updates on the two identified issues which IMPACT is addressing this year: increasing the number of affordable housing units for those in the area who earn less than $20,000 per year and assisting the same population in getting much needed dental care. In addition, there will be testimonies given by people from the area whom IMPACT is seeking to help.

Please plan to attend and help us to make a difference in our community by reaching out to assist someone who needs our help.

For more information, visit the IMPACT Web site.

Today is the last day in the Haiti Solidarity Week which is sponsored by our diocese. According to the Haiti Outreach office, "This week gives us the opportunity to celebrate our relationships with the people of Haiti; increase our awareness of the people; culture and issues of Haiti; deepen our commitment to our twinning programs; pray for our brothers and sisters who live there; and advocate here for the changes necessary to bring justice to the people of Haiti." (For general information about Haiti click here to view a Haiti fact sheet.)

For many years, Holy Comforter Parish has had a twinning relationship with the parish of St. Michael's in Saltadère, Haiti. Over those years, our parish has had the opportunity of getting to know a little bit more about our brothers and sisters in Saltadère through visits to Haiti as well as visits from the priest of St. Michael's. In addition, we have had the opportunity to help our brothers and sisters through our prayer and monetary support. Very recently, through the generosity of parishoners at Holy Comforter and other parishes, the parish in Saltadère was able to build a much needed new school building.

Another important way that we can help is by sponsoring the children of St. Michael's parish. For only $12 a month, you can help one of the children in Saltadère by supporting his or her education at St. Michael's School. The money goes to cover school costs, such as basic supplies, clothes, teacher pay, and school lunch. You can exchange letters (in French) with your student and learn about your child's life in Haiti. For more information including a FAQ on the sponsorship program, and information about who to contact in order to participate as a sponsor, click here.

Late in October 1973, grassroots prolife leaders became concerned that January 22, 1974, might come and go without properly memorializing the Supreme Court's infamous abortion decisions and without petitioning Congress for redress.

No established right-to-life organization was prepared to undertake the planning, financial and operational responsibilities for a high impact prolife March on the U.S. Capitol. But, grassroots prolifers wanted to march! About thirty prolife veterans resolved themselves into a committee and began making plans for the first March for Life.

On January 22, 1974, the first March for Life was held on the West Steps of the Capitol. An estimated 20,000 committed prolife Americans rallied that day on behalf of our preborn brothers and sisters.

In 1974, the March for Life was incorporated as a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization.

(From the March to Life Web site)

On March 22nd, the 35th annual March for Life will take place in Washington, D.C. The theme for this year's march is "Build Unity on the Life Principles throughout America. No Exception! No Compromise!" You can participate by joining a group from Charlottesville who will be heading up on the 22nd to march with thousands of others in support of a culture of life.

On Tuesday, January 22nd a bus will go to DC for the March for Life. The bus will leave the Church of the Incarnation at 8 AM and return at 6 PM. Cost is $15 adults/$10 children. Wear clothing according to the weather and bring drink and food. E-mail Diane G-Baltz at cvillerespectlife@gmail.com for more info or to sign up.

Monday, January 28th is Catholic Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly hosted by the Virginia Catholic Conference. The day is an opportunity to practice faithful citizenship especially for the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

The events of the day will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church and at Capitol Square in Richmond. Both Bishop Paul Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of the Diocese of Richmond will speak. In addition, there will be many opportunities to meet with your legislators and their assistants in order to discuss with them regarding pro-life, social justice, and education issues.

There is a $10 fee to cover lunch and materials. Parking is separate.

You are asked to register by January 22nd. However, if you register by January 10th, the Conference will assist in setting up meetings between your legislators and you.

Click here to view the flyer and access the registration form.

The Virginia Catholic Conference engages in legislative advocacy on behalf of Virginia's two bishops and their dioceses. All those who would like to stay informed about issues of peace and justice which are addressed by our elected officials should sign up to receive regular alerts and updates from the Virginia Catholic Conference.

The alerts and updates provide information about legislation related to respect life, social justice, family, and education issues on both the state and federal level. In order to receive these alerts, simply click here and sign up to receive the email notifications.

Sunday, January 6th has been designated as "Virginia Catholic Conference Sign-up Sunday" in order to help expand the network of Virginians who are informed of legislative activity that helps "build a culture of life, providing for the poorest and most vulnerable in our midst and enhancing family life."

Your free membership will enable you to communicate directly with legislators without having to look up their addresses or compose time-consuming letters. The alerts which you receive will include pre-drafted messages which you can then send to elected representatives. Note, your contact information will not be shared with others.

For more information about the Virginia Catholic Conference, click here.

The parish will again participate with the Salvation Army to provide a Christmas basket and gifts for families in our community.

The Angel Tree has been placed in the Commons and decorated with gift tags and turkey envelopes. This is your opportunity to take a gift tag or a turkey (donation) envelope and share your bounty with those who are less fortunate.

On December 15, we will distribute your donated gifts, a Christmas food basket, and a Turkey to each of the families that we have "adopted". Thank you in advance for your generous support of this very worthy effort.