Here is URL to my homily from the naming service today. http://www.priestsforlife.org/audio/play.aspx?audio=gosnell-babies-naming-service-homily
This is also posted at www.PriestsForLife.org/audio/VariousHomlies.htm and at www.KermittGosnell.com.
Read more here: http://www.priestsforlife.org/library/4620-naming-the-gosnell-babies
View more pictures and the certificates of the babies here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.573172812723413.1073741828.100000920987112&type=1
On Ascension Thursday, May 9, 2013, a simple ceremony was held in the chapel at the headquarters of Priests for Life in Staten Island, NY. We heard the Word of God, prayed for these babies, their families, and those who participated in their deaths. And we then named them. I chose the name “Adam” for “Baby Boy A,” simply as a reminder that Adam, the first man ever created, reminds us that in each man — and in each child — all humanity is somehow represented, and that our response to that one person, whether acceptance or rejection, shapes our response to every person. I named “Baby Boy B” Michael, to remind us of the struggle between good and evil that rages in our culture and in our own mind and heart as we choose how we will respond to each person.
Most of the other names are gender-neutral, since we do not have information on the genders of most of the babies.
Moreover, the naming ceremony took place on this Feast of the Ascension, for on that day, the humanity that the Lord Jesus took to the heights of heaven is the same human nature shared by all of us — rich and poor, healthy and sick, born and unborn — and by all these babies. We remembered all the babies killed by Dr. Gosnell, well beyond those found in his clinic, as well as the over 50 million children killed across America since Roe vs. Wade declared they were not persons.
Read more here: http://www.priestsforlife.org/library/4620-naming-the-gosnell-babies
View more pictures and the certificates of the babies here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.573172812723413.1073741828.100000920987112&type=1
These reflections are taken from the book “Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day” by Fr. Frank Pavone which is available for purchase at: ProLifeReflectionsForEveryDay.org
“And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.” (Genesis 9:5)
Reflection: We are accountable to God for many things. The first is life itself. God does not say here that we are simply accountable for our own life, as if we were each an island. He says we are responsible for the lives of others. From the beginning, God makes us a community of persons, not simply a collection of persons. And nobody is to be excluded.
Prayer: Father, you have made us accountable to you. Turn our minds and hearts outward rather than inward, toward a ceaseless care of others. Amen.
These reflections are taken from the book “Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day” by Fr. Frank Pavone which is available for purchase at: ProLifeReflectionsForEveryDay.org
“It is I who bring both death and life” (Deuteronomy 32:39).
Reflection: Some in our society are using language about the right to die to disguise a right to kill — to get the burdensome and inconvenient out of our way, all the while making it look as though we are doing them a favor. No matter how frail they become, people are always children of God whose lives are valuable beyond measure.
Prayer: Lord, give us strength in our frailty, and compassion when we encounter the frailty of others. Give us patience in our sufferings, and a spirit of service when we encounter the sufferings of others. Amen.
STATEN ISLAND, NY — Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, released the following statement this morning:
“As we await the verdict in the trial of Kermit Gosnell, Priests for Life, which has requested from the Medical Examiner the bodies of the babies retrieved from Gosnell’s clinic so that a funeral and burial can be arranged, will take the step this week of giving names to those babies.”
Read more at: http://www.priestsforlife.org/pressreleases/4616-priests-for-life-to-name-the-babies-killed-in-gosnell-clinic
These reflections are taken from the book “Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day” by Fr. Frank Pavone which is available for purchase at: ProLifeReflectionsForEveryDay.org
“For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood” 2 Kings 24:4
Reflection: The difficulties God’s People encountered from the enemies around them were not the result of military or political flaws, but of moral flaws. Chief among them was the shedding of blood by child sacrifice. The strength of a people begins with its moral character, and that of its leaders, as well as its fidelity to the Lord’s Covenant.
Prayer: Lord, you hate the shedding of innocent blood. Protect and forgive your people and bring us to the Promised Land of eternal life. Amen.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/6/abortionists-manipulate-language/
Abortionists manipulate language
I applaud the Rev. Frank Pavone’s work (“The merciless mind of the abortionist,” Commentary, May 2). His exploration of the mind of the abortionist rings true — especially with regard to the abortionist’s stifling of conscience.
The abortion industry has manipulated language. Early on, it realized its interests were better served by the term “pro-choice” instead of “pro-abortion.” Of course, any logical person scrutinizing the term “pro-choice” can see that as the antithesis of “pro-life,” the term “pro-choice” must ultimately connote “pro-death.”
But the abortionists, like those in advertising, know that people are not so much logical as emotional. So they continuously fan the fires of emotion with terms like “rape,” “incest” and “back-alley abortions.” In keeping with Father Pavone’s analysis, the abortionist must distance himself from the carnage he wreaks; he rejects the term “unborn child,” preferring the emotionally neutral “fetus,” fallaciously described as a part of the mother’s body — and allegedly giving the mother carte blanche to destroy it. (The science of DNA is conveniently shunned.)
Sadly, the courts have acquiesced to this emotional Richter scale of popular sentiment and abdicated their responsibility to reason. In doing so, they have trampled upon the right to life and have unwittingly become accomplices of the abortion industry.
CHARLES BUTERA
Northport, N.Y.
Read my original article here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/2/the-merciless-mind-of-the-abortionist/
These reflections are taken from the book “Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day” by Fr. Frank Pavone which is available for purchase at: ProLifeReflectionsForEveryDay.org.
“A ‘new feminism’ … rejects the temptation of imitating models of “male domination”, in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation” – The Gospel of Life, 99.
Reflection: The early feminist leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton said, “When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit.” Authentic feminism is pro-life!
Prayer: Lord, renew our society with a deeper appreciation of the true genius of women, and of their role in a culture of life. Amen.
These reflections are taken from the book “Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day” by Fr. Frank Pavone which is available for purchase at: ProLifeReflectionsForEveryDay.org
“They stood still, their faces filled with sadness.” (Luke 24:16)
Reflection: On the first Easter Sunday afternoon, the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus failed to recognize Jesus when he started walking with them. Perhaps it was because they were looking downcast. Often we are too absorbed in our own disappointment to see that hope is right in front of us. For many who are pregnant, despair and fear can lead to the violence of abortion – unless we intervene and show that the Lord is walking with us.
Prayer: Lord, I pray for all whose sadness tempts them to abortion. Give me the opportunity to speak, and to reveal your presence. Amen!
