HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE: A New Look at the Annunciation

A wonderful article by Kathy Schiffer 

On March 25—exactly nine months before Christmas—the Catholic Church commemorates the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to a young Jewish girl and told her that God would like her to be the mother of the Savior.  “How can this be,” Mary responded, “since I know not man?”

Contemporary artist John Collier tells the story of the Annunciation in a fresh way in this painting, which can be found in the narthex of St. Gabriel Catholic Church in McKinney, Texas.

In Collier’s “Annunciation,” Mary is a young schoolgirl dressed in blue and white.  When the angel Gabriel comes to her, she is reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 7 verse 14, where the prophet proclaims the sign that God will give:  “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”

Some of the traditional elements can be found in the painting:  The lilies are a recognizable symbol of Mary’s purity.  The intact glass pane next to the door typifies Mary’s perpetual virginity.  And look closely:  A dove, representing the Holy Spirit, rests on a nearby house—not presuming Mary’s response but awaiting it.

You Know You Are in Texas When . . . .

An email from my daughter's apartment complex the other night:

"Earlier today, there was an alligator spotted on the property near buildings 14 and 8. Residents near the northwest side of the property need to use caution when walking your dogs."

It begs the question,

"Why did I leave the northeast again . . .

and, uhhm, has anyone seen the dog?"

Planned Parenthood Pushes Abortion for Profit

Ex-Abortion Facility Director Says, "They really wanted to increase the number of abortions so that they could increase their income."   LifeSiteNews.comBy James Tillman
BRYAN, TX, November 5, 2009


Abby Johnson, the ex-director of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility who recently made national headlines after converting to the pro-life position, has revealed that Planned Parenthood pushes employees to strive for more abortions to boost profits.
"There are definitely client goals," Johnson told WorldNetDaily. "We'd have a goal every month for abortion clients and for family planning clients."
Abby Johnson had worked at Bryan's Planned Parenthood facility for eight years and been its director for two when she resigned on October 6th, near the beginning of Bryan's sixth annual 40 Days for Life Campaign.
She said that she grew uncomfortable with Planned Parenthood when they told her to try to bring more abortions through the door because of the economic downturn.
"Every meeting that we had was, 'We don't have enough money, we don't have enough money - we've got to keep these abortions coming,' " Johnson said in an interview with Fox News. "It's a very lucrative business and that's why they want to increase numbers."
The latest financial report Planned Parenthood, for the year 2006-2007, shows that the abortion behemoth increased the number of abortions it committed from 264,943 in 2005 to 289,650 in 2006.  Total revenue amounted to over $1 billion dollars, with the organization's profit margin - "excess of revenue over expenses" - soaring from $55.7 million in 2005 to $112 million in 2006. The organization typically receives over $300 million in taxpayer funds every year.
Johnson said she became involved with the clinic "to help women and ... [do] the right thing."  The idea of increasing abortion numbers to increase revenue was repugnant to her. She said that ideally the facility's director would provide "so much family planning and so much education that there is not a demand for abortion."
But this ideal was not shared by the rest of Planned Parenthood, she said, because "abortion is the most lucrative part of Planned Parenthood's operations."
"With the family planning corporation really suffering," Johnson said, "they depend on the abortion corporation to balance their budget, help get them out of the hole and help make income for the company."
She continued, "They really wanted to increase the number of abortions so that they could increase their income."
Johnson said that the Planned Parenthood facility performed surgical abortions every other Saturday, but also began expanding access to abortion by other means.
"One of the ways they were able to up the number of patients that they saw was they started doing the RU-486 chemical abortions all throughout the week," she said.
Although Planned Parenthood's policies of pushing for abortion made her uncomfortable, Johnson said that at first she just kept "pushing down the guilt." 
"I struggled with it for a long time," she told CBN.com. "But you learn to justify it somehow and I've learned over the years and through this conversion that if you're doing the right thing, you shouldn't have to justify it."
She said that she reached her "breaking point after witnessing a particular kind of abortion on an ultrasound," according to 40 Days for Life.
"I could actually see it was a 13 week old baby and I could actually see the side profile of the baby on the ultrasound," she said.  "And I could see the cannula going into the uterus. And I could see the baby moving away from the cannula, trying to get away from the probe."
"I saw the baby crumple during the procedure, and that was just life-changing for me.  I'd never seen that done before."
Since Abby's resignation, Planned Parenthood has retaliated by filing a restraining order against her.  The injunction temporarily prevents her from releasing information until after a hearing scheduled for November 10th in the 85th district court.
Johnson has said that she is not sure why Planned Parenthood is concerned.
"Planned Parenthood is an organization that really runs on fear. If somebody crosses them, they are quick to threaten that person.  I've worked for them for a long time and seen them threaten lawsuits multiple times," she said.
"I'm not sure what they're scared of. When I first got the restraining order, I was so surprised. My initial response was, what do they think I know? What are they feeling guilty about?"
Johnson is one of eight abortion industry workers who left their jobs during the 40 Days for Life campaign that concluded on November 1st; she was the highest ranking of the eight.  40 Days for Life has also received at least 534 reports of mothers who turned away from abortion appointments.

See related stories on LifeSiteNews.com:
Director of Planned Parenthood at 40 Days for Life Birthplace Resigns after Watching Abortion Ultrasound
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09110204.html

Why Bother to Call Yourself Catholic

This is post from Adam's Ale. I have copied and pasted it here, in its entirety, so that my middle school students can read it. They are NOT allowed to roam the web and getting a site approved takes more time than I have since this information is very timely!
A big H/T to A Cleveland Priest

You do not join the Catholic Church. People who do so do not know what they are doing. You do not join. Joining is for health clubs. You become part of the Catholic Church. It is part of who you are. It is a lens from which we view the world like being male or female. Being Catholic cannot help but inform what you do because it is part of who you are.

Tomorrow is voting day here in the great state of Ohio (and Texas) and some people have mentioned being part of conversations in which someone says, “The Catholic Church is not going to tell me how to vote.” This is an utterly ridiculous statement for someone who wants to be called Catholic. We cannot put ourselves outside of the Church because we are the Church. We might as well say, “My body is not going to inform me how to live in this world!”

Being Catholic brings with it certain standards in morals. It is a high bar and even if we do not always measure up to it, it is there for us to aspire to. There is not office or group of “Church officials” that are sitting around trying to decide how they want to make you vote. However we all are to remind each other (and it is the duty of those charged with the care of souls to do so in a special way) that we have these standards: that there are good ways of living and there are evil ways of living. There are things that will bring life and dignity and worth to the human cause and that which will degrade and harm us. It is an act of forming a conscience in the fashion that Jesus Christ taught us which we do in the community of the Church that He established.

Once again, to say that the “Church is not going to tell me how to vote,” is not saying that I am not aligning my vote with something some ecclesial overlord is telling me I must do, it is saying that I am making a firm break with the faith and morals with which I have been entrusted.

True, on issues from time to time we may vote differently than a recommendation from, say, a council of bishops. But for a Catholic it is not because we are making a break with Church (The Church won’t tell ME how to vote) but rather it is (or should be) that we are using the same information concerning faith and morals as someone who makes a recommendation and have made an educated, informed, and well thought out decision that is at odds with said recommendation. But one only acts on it because of the belief that it is closer in keeping with the will of Christ and what He wants of us as Church.

Obviously then this person is not putting himself outside of the “power” of the Church but acting fully as a member therein. To simply say, “The Church is not going to tell me how to vote” then is either pure laziness, ignorance, or an indirect denial of the faith the way we believe Christ established it and this should leave others scratching their heads as to why such a person would even bother calling themselves Catholic.

Ode to the Lost Trees

I think that I shall never see

A billboard lovely as a tree.

Indeed, unless the billboards fall

I'll never see a tree at all.

Ogden Nash

San Antonio School Trip

Last Wednesday and Thursday I traveled to San Antonio with
~~6 of my 7th grade Texas History students
~~2 wonderful faculty co-workers and
~~ an awesome parent.

We made it into town just in time for Mass at San Fernando Cathedral.

There is some significant Texas History connected to that cathedral and it is beautiful to boot. Smallish for a "Cathedral" if you are comparing to say, St Patrick's Cathedral in NYC, but rich in history and character. The cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that our Mass was bilingual. Over half the students in my class are native Spanish speakers.

The next step of our journey was my absolute favorite part of our trip. We went to Archdiocesan Chancery for a private meeting with Bishop Thomas Flanagan. When Bishop Flanagan shook my hand he radiated love and generosity and goodness. I don't care if this sounds hokey . . . there is no other way to explain it. He took his time meeting each student, put us all at ease and told us a few stories about his journey.

Here's a photo of our visit: June 10th marks Bishops Flanagan's 51st year as a priest! His eyes were young and lively with that wonderful Irish twinkle that we all hear about. . . (think "Father Connolly" played by Pat O'Brien in the classic Cagney movie, Angels With Dirty Faces).


The trip moved on to include the customary visits to the Alamo, 2 missions, the River Walk, El Mercado and a water taxi ride down the river.

I hope as my students get older they remember their time with Bishop Flanagan and realize what a privilege it was. I was VERY pleased that they were so respectful and well behaved. (So, if you guys are reading this - consider that a very big compliment!)

New Bishop in Dallas!

We are excited in my Texas History class . . . we are experiencing a bit of history in the making!

source: Zenit.org
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Farrell of Washington, D.C., as bishop of Dallas. The 59-year-old prelate succeeds Bishop Charles Grahmann, 75, who stepped down for reasons of age.

Kevin Farrell was born in Dublin, Ireland, and joined the Legionaries of Christ in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1978. He obtained degrees from the Gregorian University and the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, in Rome, as well as a master's degree in business and administration from the University of Notre Dame.

After joining the Archdiocese of Washington in 1984, Father Farrell served in various positions. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of that archdiocese in 2001 and received episcopal ordination two months later. The Diocese of Dallas has 955,000 Catholics. It has 197 priests, 152 permanent deacons and 225 religious.