Abortion

I have thought about writing on the current news of the abortion industry and have hesitated because I don’t want my blog to be political. However, I have felt a push several times and after reading Isaiah 66:1-4, I felt it was time to write.

Isaiah 66:1-4 New International Version (NIV)

Judgment and Hope

66 This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
3 But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”

When I hear the new stories that are broadcasted daily about the barbaric acts that compound an already murderous society that kills it’s most vulnerable citizens (the pre-born), I can’t help but wonder, when judgement day is coming. Throughout the bible God has ended this evil by wiping out the evil people involved with killing. Here we are a modern and much uncivilized society that sets up institutions of murder on street corners of our cities next door to schools, churches, and our homes. As a nation many have become desensitized to the horrendous acts being performed in our communities. People watch the news and are outraged (rightly so) at the injustices happening around the world, yet they condone the murder of the God’s creation in our country. Who are we to judge others when this country allows that most horrific acts imaginable to be performed daily with our government’s stamp of approval and funded by our tax dollars?

I pray for the healing of mothers who have suffered from abortions and for them to know their babies are with Jesus. I pray for the hearts of those in the abortion industry to be turned to God and that they escape the hell they are in and receive God’s forgiveness and mercy. 

Saint Anne's Shrine

For an extra special birthday weekend my husband and I took a road trip to Sainte Anne’s Shrine in Isle La Motte, Vermont. Isle La Motte is one of three islands on Lake Champlain in Northern Vermont close to the Canadian border. We took off early Friday morning and managed to get there in time for morning mass. Mass was held in an outdoor chapel. It was such a beautiful road trip and the island is gorgeous. It’s quaint and quiet, not at all touristy. Getting there we passed farms and windmills and more solar panels than I have ever seen in one day. Go green Vermont! The shrine owns a stretch of waterfront beach and it’s free and open to the public. After mass and lunch we parked ourselves on a grassy knoll and relaxed for the afternoon. I also took some time to pray the Stations of the Cross at an outdoor sort of park area they have set up with the stations. We both loved it so much we can’t wait to go back and stay for two nights next time.

The shrine is dedicated in honor of Saint Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The shrine is nestled among pines and bordering Lake Champlain. I went there once before with my dad when I was a young girl. I never forgot how beautiful it was and I always wanted to go back to see it again. Thanks to my sweet husband, I made it back, 48 years later.

My birthday is the feast day of Saint Ignatius Loyola who is also the founder of the Society of Jesus, ie, “Jesuits”. I adopted St. Ignatius as my patron saint not only because his feast day is on my birthday, but also because his story of conversion sounds so familiar to me. Basically, St. Ignatius was a man of the world and only converted after he was recuperating from a war injury and had nothing to read except the bible and some other religious books. The Word of God softened his hard heart and he was on fire for the faith. His path was not an easy one and he made mistakes and learned from those mistakes. Eventually he started the Society of Jesus (16^th century). I am currently reading his spiritual writings and will surely write about that eventually.

See my pictures below. The pictures at Saint Anne’s Shrine website are even better. 

beach in front of the Shrine

Statue of "Our Lady of Lourdes" overlooking Lake Champlain at St. Anne's Shrine