Anecdotes # 1: A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five- and six-year olds. After explaining the commandment "Honor thy father and thy mother," she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill." This is the main message for “Respect for Life Sunday.”
#2: Two dark days in American history: March 6, 1857, was a very dark day in American history. By a 7-2 vote, the United States Supreme Court declared that Afro-Americans were not legal persons. Rather, they were property. They could be used, sold, beaten, and even killed. Slavery was upheld. Fortunately, in 1868 the 14th Amendment to the Constitution secured the rights of blacks to full personhood. Slavery was overturned, and the equality of all people before the law was upheld. Notice, the law did not GIVE blacks this equality. They always had it! God made them equal. What happened in the 14th Amendment was that the law recognized the rights the slaves had from God; human law was brought into line with God's law. But another dark day came on January 22, 1973. By another 7-2 vote, the United States Supreme Court said that this 14th Amendment DOES NOT APPLY to children in the first nine months of life, that is, the nine months they live in their mother's wombs. Therefore, during this time - that is, during ALL the nine months of pregnancy - the court said that a mother might end the life of her child by abortion. By this "Roe vs. Wade" decision, abortion was made legal in all 50 states.
Facts: a) Abortion: The number of unborn children slaughtered in the wombs of their mothers in the last 25 years is 1200 million in the world and 37 million in the U.S.A. (4400 per day in the U.S.).
b) Euthanasia: Hundreds of old or terminally ill people are killed in advanced countries, under the names “mercy killing” or euthanasia.
c) Suicides and Physician-Assisted Suicides: Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all U.S. men. It took the lives of 30,622 people in U.S.A. in 2001. It is the third leading cause of death for 15-19 year old youngsters (19 adolescents each day) and only 5% of suicides are attributed to mental illness. d) Homicides
e) Embryo destruction for scientific experiments.
Why should we respect life?
1) The Bible teaches that life is a gift of God and hence we have to respect it from womb to tomb. Based on the word of God, the Church teaches that an unborn child from the moment of its conception in its mother’s womb is precious because it carries an immortal soul. (a) Psalm 139: 13-16: You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.). (b) Jeremiah 1: 5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
2) It is God’s commandment that we shall not kill. (Exodus 20: 13: “You shall not kill.”). The circumstances of HOW the baby was conceived do not change the evil of abortion: it is still a baby who is killed. Any tiny embryo can grow into a child and modern medical technology enables it to survive outside its mother’s womb after five and a half months. The embryo’s heart starts beating from the 25th day and its brain starts functioning on the 40th day.
3) International Law forbids the killing of innocent, defenseless people. Abortion is the killing of a defenseless child in its safest abode by its own mother, mostly for selfish motives.
4) Abortion harms women physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially and spiritually.
5) Advocates of pro-choice follow a dangerous principle of far-reaching consequences in the society. If it is justifiable to kill unwanted children by abortion, then the old, the sick, the handicapped, the mentally ill, and the retarded can also be killed.
Messages
1) We need to respect and protect all forms of human life from conception to natural death; we need to work and pray vigorously to end the culture of death.
2) We need to speak and act against abortion in private and public forums. Protecting human life is no more a sectarian creed than the Declaration of Independence is a sectarian document. Because all rights depend on life, the right to life is the most fundamental issue of all; if that is eliminated, the rest will follow.
3) We need to work to have the government enact anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia and anti-Physician-assisted suicide laws; these killings violate justice, and therefore the command of God to love one another.
4) We need to give real care, support and assistance to mothers with unwanted pregnancies, contemplating abortion. Helping a woman choose life affirms and empowers her.
5) We need to teach the Church’s doctrines on abortion. The Church cares about the women who have had abortions, forgives them, heals them, brings them peace with God, with their lost children and with themselves. The Church promises any woman who has had an abortion that if she truly repents of her sin, she will find welcome and forgiveness. However, she has to understand the fact that abortion is a mortal sin, and it brings an automatic excommunication upon those who procure it, perform it, or cooperate in it.
(“Script. Homilies” supplement to O. T. XXVII Sunday Homily. Fr. Tony)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Retiro espiritual de los sacerdotes/Spiritual Retreat for Priests
La semana pasada, los sacerdotes de la diócesis de Boise tuvimos nuestro retiro espiritual. Estuvimos presentes 60 sacerdotes junto con nuestro obispo. Estar juntos, celebrar la Eucaristía junto con nuestro obispo, orar juntos, comer juntos, reflexionar juntos, compartir nuestras experiencia pastorales, fue una experiencia de amor fraterno y de comunidad de fe. Guiados por el director del retiro, reflexionamos sobre los retos de nuestra vocación sacerdotal en estos tiempos de confusión e inseguridad. Venimos de distintos países y hemos sido formados en distintos seminarios. Sin embargo, nuestra misión es común: servir al pueblo de Dios que vive y peregrina en Idaho y que cada vez es más diverso. Salimos de ahí renovados en nuestro espíritu y en nuestra decisión; y alimentados con la certeza de que nuestro trabajo es un instrumento necesario para el cumplimiento de la voluntad de nuestro Salvador. Agradezco a todos ustedes su apoyo y sus oraciones. Gracias.
Su amigo y servidor
Padre Jesús Camacho
Last week, the priests of the Diocese of Boise had their annual spiritual retreat. There were 60 priests present together with the Bishop. Being together, celebrating the Eucharist with our Bishop, praying together, eating together, reflecting together, sharing our pastoral experiences was a strong brotherhood and faith community experience. Guided by the retreat director, we reflected on the challenges of our priestly vocation in these times of confusion and insecurity. We come from different countries and we have been trained in various seminaries. However, our mission is common: serving the people of God who live in Idaho, which is becoming more diverse. We left our retreat renewed in our spirit, stronger in our decisions, and fueled with the certainty that our work is a necessary instrument for the fulfillment of the will of our Lord and Savior. Thank you for all your support and prayers.
Your friend and servant,
Father Jesús Camacho
Su amigo y servidor
Padre Jesús Camacho
Last week, the priests of the Diocese of Boise had their annual spiritual retreat. There were 60 priests present together with the Bishop. Being together, celebrating the Eucharist with our Bishop, praying together, eating together, reflecting together, sharing our pastoral experiences was a strong brotherhood and faith community experience. Guided by the retreat director, we reflected on the challenges of our priestly vocation in these times of confusion and insecurity. We come from different countries and we have been trained in various seminaries. However, our mission is common: serving the people of God who live in Idaho, which is becoming more diverse. We left our retreat renewed in our spirit, stronger in our decisions, and fueled with the certainty that our work is a necessary instrument for the fulfillment of the will of our Lord and Savior. Thank you for all your support and prayers.
Your friend and servant,
Father Jesús Camacho
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Dios No Acepta la Injusticia
Domingo 19 de septiembre de 2010, Vigésimo-Quinto Domingo del tiempo ordinario
Amós 8:4-7, Salmo 113:1-2, 4-8, I Timoteo 2:1-8, Lucas 16:1-13
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Amós 8:4-7, Salmo 113:1-2, 4-8, I Timoteo 2:1-8, Lucas 16:1-13
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Thursday, September 9, 2010
Today's Meditation: Lk 6:27-38
Homily of the Day: Is Your Heart Shrinking Your Life?
September 9th, 2010 by Monsignor Dennis Clark
Some years after the Civil War was over, the famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee went to visit a friend’s plantation in Kentucky. Out in front of the mansion were the sad remains of a grand old magnolia tree whose limbs had been blown away by the artillery of the Union Army. Despite the passage of years, the lady of the house was still bitter and she wept angry tears as she showed Lee the scarred and blackened tree trunk. Then she paused, waiting expectantly for him to denounce those hated Yankees. The general was silent for awhile and then, looking at the tree, he said, “Cut it down, dear lady, and forget it!”
For years that woman had been poisoning and shrinking her life by clinging to bitter memories, and it was long past time to stop. But stopping would take a profound change of heart. For it is with our heart that we see the world, and take its measure, and decide how to react to it.
If our hearts are bitter, mean or small, they’ll project their own narrow, ugly image on the world. We’ll find there exactly what we expect to find — nothing good. We’ll shrink friends into enemies and shrink opportunities into problems. And in the process our hearts themselves will shrink smaller and narrower, with less and less room to take in the friendship and love that people want to give us. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “The measure you measure with will be measured back to you.” Our own hearts do the measuring — in both directions, out-going and in-coming.
But what if our hearts aren’t cold, hard and small? What if instead our hearts are warm, open, and hopeful? What will we see then? A very different world, a world filled with good people who just aren’t done yet, a world of people who are struggling to get life right, people who will get it right if we lend them a hand instead of turning away. Large hearts can see that, and they can turn enemies into friends and can love people into wholeness, just the way that God does.
And in the process of searching for the goodness in others and helping it grow, those large and open hearts will themselves grow larger and larger. And we’ll find ourselves with a whole new capacity for receiving and taking in the joy, love and friendship that people want to give us. “The measure we measure with will be measured back to us” by the hearts we have built.
What kind of world do we want to live in? A hostile one full of enemies and empty of joy? or a peaceful world filled with brothers and sisters? The choice is ours. And whether we know it or not, our hearts are creating the world of our choosing at this very moment.
With God’s help, may it be a bright and spacious world with room enough for all God’s children.
September 9th, 2010 by Monsignor Dennis Clark
Some years after the Civil War was over, the famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee went to visit a friend’s plantation in Kentucky. Out in front of the mansion were the sad remains of a grand old magnolia tree whose limbs had been blown away by the artillery of the Union Army. Despite the passage of years, the lady of the house was still bitter and she wept angry tears as she showed Lee the scarred and blackened tree trunk. Then she paused, waiting expectantly for him to denounce those hated Yankees. The general was silent for awhile and then, looking at the tree, he said, “Cut it down, dear lady, and forget it!”
For years that woman had been poisoning and shrinking her life by clinging to bitter memories, and it was long past time to stop. But stopping would take a profound change of heart. For it is with our heart that we see the world, and take its measure, and decide how to react to it.
If our hearts are bitter, mean or small, they’ll project their own narrow, ugly image on the world. We’ll find there exactly what we expect to find — nothing good. We’ll shrink friends into enemies and shrink opportunities into problems. And in the process our hearts themselves will shrink smaller and narrower, with less and less room to take in the friendship and love that people want to give us. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, “The measure you measure with will be measured back to you.” Our own hearts do the measuring — in both directions, out-going and in-coming.
But what if our hearts aren’t cold, hard and small? What if instead our hearts are warm, open, and hopeful? What will we see then? A very different world, a world filled with good people who just aren’t done yet, a world of people who are struggling to get life right, people who will get it right if we lend them a hand instead of turning away. Large hearts can see that, and they can turn enemies into friends and can love people into wholeness, just the way that God does.
And in the process of searching for the goodness in others and helping it grow, those large and open hearts will themselves grow larger and larger. And we’ll find ourselves with a whole new capacity for receiving and taking in the joy, love and friendship that people want to give us. “The measure we measure with will be measured back to us” by the hearts we have built.
What kind of world do we want to live in? A hostile one full of enemies and empty of joy? or a peaceful world filled with brothers and sisters? The choice is ours. And whether we know it or not, our hearts are creating the world of our choosing at this very moment.
With God’s help, may it be a bright and spacious world with room enough for all God’s children.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Ser Discípulo de Cristo
Domingo 5 de septiembre de 2010: Twenty-Tercer Domingo del tiempo ordinario
Sabiduría 9:13-18, Salmo 90:3-6, 12-13, 14-17, Filemon 1:9-10, 12-17, Lucas 14:25-33
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Sabiduría 9:13-18, Salmo 90:3-6, 12-13, 14-17, Filemon 1:9-10, 12-17, Lucas 14:25-33
Oprima el botón de abajo para escuchar mi homilía.
Click play icon below to listen to my homily.
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