DAY FIVE PRAYER
Saint John Neumann,
as a loyal son, a faithful priest, and a tireless Bishop,
you worked to support and defend life in all its wonder.
Intercede for the Church you loved with all your heart
that we may be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Missionary to America;
Pray for the leaders of our country.
Tireless servant of the cross;
Make our hearts to love Christ suffering in those who have grown very old.
Model of self sacrifice;
Help us not to count the cost in proclaiming the Gospel of Life.
Faithful unto death;
Guide unwed fathers, that they may be true to the Faith.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory to the Father…
Check back tomorrow for our Day Six Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
[If you’re able, join us on December 7th at 10:30AM in the Polk County Courthouse for a show of support on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters. Thank-you.]
The Heartbeat Bill goes to court on December 7th
As a reminder, the Heartbeat Bill goes to court on December 7th as referenced in an earlier blogpost. We are praying a Novena for a successful outcome. Our Novena comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who encourage us to invoke three powerful pro-life witnesses on behalf of the cause.
We invoked Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton the first three days of our Novena. Now we ask for intercession by Saint John Neumann for the next three days. According to the USCCB:
“Saint John Nepimucene Neumann came to the United States as one of 36 priests to serve the 200,000 Catholics of New York and New Jersey in 1836. As a priest in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, and as Bishop of Philadelphia, he was tireless in his love for the people of the United States. He died in 1860, while on his way to mail a chalice to a missionary priest..”
DAY FOUR PRAYER
Saint John Neumann,
as a loyal son, a faithful priest, and a tireless Bishop,
you worked to support and defend life in all its wonder.
Intercede for the Church you loved with all your heart
that we may be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Faithful son of faithful parents;
Teach us to honor our parents when they grow old.
Immigrant and stranger;
Inspire us to welcome the rejected of the world.
Protector of the young;
Inspire us to work for the safety of all children.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Five Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
[If you’re able, join us on December 7th at 10:30AM in the Polk County Courthouse for a show of support on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters. Thank-you.]
DAY THREE PRAYER
Saint Elizabeth Seton,
you knew the beauty of all human life
when you carried a child in your womb
and when, as a young widow,
a teacher, and founder of the Sisters of Charity,
you sought to live the Gospel of Life.
Inspire us, intercede for us, and be with us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You know the loneliness of the orphan;
Consecrate us to the protection of children.
You know of the vocation of the teacher;
Inspire us to teach the Gospel of Life.
You know the vows of religious life;
Pray that we might be faithful to the Gospel of Life.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Four Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
[If you’re able, join us on December 7th at 10:30AM in the Polk County Courthouse for a show of support on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters. Thank-you.]
DAY TWO PRAYER
Saint Elizabeth Seton,
you knew the beauty of all human life
when you carried a child in your womb
and when, as a young widow,
a teacher, and founder of the Sisters of Charity,
you sought to live the Gospel of Life.
Inspire us, intercede for us, and be with us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You know the cry of a little child;
Inspire us to protect the littlest and most vulnerable.
You known the searching of the adolescent;
Open our eyes to the wonder of their lives.
You know the journey of the dying;
Be with us as we journey toward death with those whom we love.
You know the pain of the widow;
Inspire to us to seek out those who are most in need.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Three Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
[If you’re able, join us on December 7th at 10:30AM in the Polk County Courthouse for a show of support on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters. Thank-you.]
The pro-life movement is powerless without prayer. In fact, the movement is driven by people of faith who pray unrelentingly on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our society, the unborn.
Iowans for LIFE asks you to join us in praying a Novena on behalf of a crucial court hearing coming up in 9 days.
The Heartbeat Bill goes to court on December 7th
The Heartbeat Bill goes to court on December 7th as referenced in an earlier blogpost. IFL encourages you to reread it for details. Our Novena comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who encourage us to invoke three powerful pro-life witnesses on behalf of the cause.
So for the first three days, we shall ask Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton to pray with us on behalf of a successful court date on December 7th. According to the USCCB:
“Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, a prominent New York aristocrat, had five children with her husband, William, a shipping merchant. Before she turned 30, the Setons went bankrupt and William died. Within five years of his death, Elizabeth had converted to Catholicism, formed New York city’s first charity (the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children), established the first Catholic school and the founded the first religious community of women in the United States of America.”
DAY ONE PRAYER
Saint Elizabeth Seton,
you knew the beauty of all human life
when you carried a child in your womb
and when, as a young widow,
a teacher, and founder of the Sisters of Charity,
you sought to live the Gospel of Life.
Inspire us, intercede for us, and be with us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You know the sacrament of Holy Matrimony;
Teach us to support all families with faith and truth.
You know the love of a good spouse;
Intercede for all newly married couples.
You know the stirring of the child in your womb;
Intercede for every unborn child.
You know the miracle of giving birth;
Pray for mothers tempted by abortion.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Two Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
[If you’re able, join us on December 7th at 10:30AM in the Polk County Courthouse for a show of support on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters. Thank-you.]
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By Maggie DeWitte
Are you tired of the news? Life have you down? Ready for a pick-me-up? I have the perfect prescription: the SILENT NIGHT Christmas Gala.
Our friends at Holy Trinity’s Respect Life Group are hosting their 6th annual Christmas Gala this weekend in their event center. They donate the proceeds to Iowans for LIFE.
They raised $1000 for IFL the first year, and it ballooned to $15,000 last year.
A sit-down dinner AND a musical feast!
This is simply one of the most fun and fulfilling events of the year for us. Saturday night features a wine bar and sit-down dinner. As if that’s not enough, it’s followed by a musical feast featuring 6 show-stopping soloists backed by a 20 voice choir, 17 piece orchestra and handbell choir!
Amy Leonard sings “What Child is This?”
One of the highlights of last year’s show was a beautiful rendition of “What Child is This” with a unique blend of instruments, including classical guitar, accordion, clarinet, and cello. Amy Leonard sang it with great passion, backed by a men’s choir. The audience reacted with such fervor that it will be performed again this year.
This song is so fitting for a pro-life Christmas Gala
“What Child is This?” proclaims the magnificence of the Christ child.
It reminds us that we are all children of God, created in His image, under the protection of Christ the King, from fertilization until natural death.
Amy will be back to sing this year, along with her fellow soloists Gina Gedler, Renée Davenport, Craig Ferguson, Katherine Bourne, and Cathy Jordan.
Get ready to experience an evening of beauty at the same time you support Iowans for LIFE.
Shows this Saturday AND Sunday
You have two opportunities to experience this musical feast: this Saturday, December 1st, followed by a Sunday matinee the next day.
The Saturday show goes for $38 per person and includes the dinner and wine bar I mentioned above. Doors open at 5:30PM with dinner at 6 and the show at 7. Reservations required for the Saturday dinner and show.
The Sunday show includes a dessert bar only, and doors open at 1:15PM with the show at 2PM. Sunday tickets are $19 each, and families with kids can get a family ticket for $50. Tickets can be purchased at the door for the Sunday matinee.
This is event is simply beautiful, and it will be even more beautiful if you can be there.
[Order tickets today right here.]
By Maggie DeWitte
Maggie DeWitte gives a Heartbeat Bill update at the IFL banquet. PHOTO CREDIT: Lisa Bourne
[Here is an excerpt from IFL Executive Director Maggie DeWitte’s remarks at the recent Iowans for LIFE fundraising banquet]:
IFL spent a considerable amount of time at the Capitol this last session, along with our friends from the Coalition of Pro-life Leaders. We had an amazing session. We were successful in passing a bill that bans the sale of baby body parts in our state!
Legislative successes
As we learned from the horrific videos from The Center for Medical Progress, selling baby body parts was a huge money-maker for Planned Parenthood across the country. We in Iowa have now confirmed that won’t happen here.
In more good news, the legislature passed the ‘wrongful birth’ bill. This would have allowed couples to sue doctors for a birth that they deemed unworthy of life. Such a sad commentary of our society, but one we were able to stop.
Biggest success
And the most notable bill that passed, and Governor Reynold’s signed into law in May, was the Heartbeat Legislation. I can’t tell you the JOY the pro-life leaders felt at the signing of that bill!
Heartbeat Bill update
We knew that Planned Parenthood would not let a minute pass before filing a lawsuit stopping the bill. So here is the Heartbeat Bill update: They filed an injunction to halt the bill from becoming law in July. They were able to secure an injunction and now the bill is not able to be enforced until the case moves through the judicial system.
The prestigious Thomas More Society represents the Heartbeat Bill in our upcoming court battles. They have successfully litigated pro-life and pro-family legislation across the country.
Planned Parenthood has filed for a summary judgement in an effort to stop a full trial, which will be heard by a judge on December 7th at 10:30AM in the Polk County Courthouse. Some background is in order.
Judicial setback
Earlier this summer, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the 72 hour waiting period unduly burdened women, as we predicted they would. But they did something much more diabolical. In one fell swoop of a pen, they created a law that currently didn’t exist in our Iowa Constitution.
In the worst-case of judicial overreach in the country, 5 unelected judges stated that we now have a fundamental right to abortion in Iowa. They did the job of our elected legislators in creating law. And, unfortunately, this ruling has the potential to impact our heartbeat bill and all the other pro-life legislation that has been passed in Iowa.
Devastating impact
I cannot overstate the devastating impact this ruling could have in our state. Our moment of joy turned to anger, frustration, hopelessness, and despair.
The Court based this motion on the 72 hour ruling as the reason.
While the upcoming December 7th hearing is not a trial, our attorney, Martin Cannon and team, will be able to argue on behalf of the state and provide testimony in an effort to convince the judge that the case merits a full trial. And his arguments are brilliant.
So despite the setbacks of this summer, the pro-life movement licked our wounds, we put our big-girl and big-boy pants on and said, lets get ‘er done.
To quote GK Chesterton:
GK Chesterton
“The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God’s paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle and not lose it.”
We are not going to lose this battle!
We are going to fight for life with every breath we have in us, and we are not going to stop, or let up, or give up or give in. IFL and our pro-life allies are going to push, and pull, and talk, and pray, occasionally yell, and we are going to finish this race. We are not going to let this go, and you can’t either. WE NEED YOU!
You can start by giving your life as a ransom. I am going to share with you some wise words from St. Louis De Montfort, because quoting other people makes me look smart, and I can use all the help I can get. And secondly, as usual, someone has already said what I want to say, only better. He says:
St. Louis De Montfort
“You are having to bear a large, weighty cross. But what a great happiness for you!
Have confidence. For if God, who is all goodness, continues to make you suffer, he will not test you more than you can bear.”
“The cross is a sure sign that he loves you.”
“I can assure you of this, that the greatest proof that we are loved by God is when we are despised by the world and burdened with crosses, i.e., when we are made to endure, when our holiest wishes meet with opposition; when we are afflicted with distressing and hurtful insults; when we are subjected to persecution, to having our actions misinterpreted by good people and by those are our best friends.
If Christians only knew the value of the cross, they would walk a hundred miles to obtain it, because enclosed in the beloved cross is true wisdom, and that is what I am looking for night and day more eagerly than ever.
O good cross come to us for God’s greater glory! This should be our frequent prayer of our heart- despite our weakness.”
[ATTN Pro-Lifers: We need you to pack the Polk County Courthouse on December 7th at 10:30AM. Mark your calendars!]
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Something happened halfway between Herbert Hoover’s presidency and Donald Trump’s that scarred our nation. To this day, it is the elephant in the voting booth.
The wound manifests itself in a variety of ways, most recently on display in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.
Consider the 90 year sweep since the Hoover presidency. Ninety-seven percent of judges put forward for the Supreme Court received an affirmative vote in the first half of this sweep.
97% verses 75%
Something strange happened in the second half: judges on average received but a 75% affirmative vote rate.
Let that soak in: 97% verses 75%.
Something profound happened to alter the way judges were confirmed midway between Hoover and Trump.
And consider this: a voice vote was used 17 times to confirm judges in the first half of this ninety year sweep, and none since.
A voice vote is essentially unanimous approval.
A gash in history
A gash in history on January 22nd, 1973 altered the political landscape which made it more difficult to confirm judges who affirmed the original intent of the Constitution.
Of course, Iowans for LIFE refers to the Roe v Wade decision and the even more insidious Doe v. Bolton decision, decided the same day. They opened the door to human abortion for the entire nine month sweep of a pregnancy.
Roe and Doe weren’t subtle decisions. In an instant, they created a multi-billion dollar industry known as Big Abortion which seduced and coerced formerly pro life politicians to recant their sins and convert to a new, anti-life faith.
In an instant, it opened the door to not just a trickle of abortions, but a bloody gusher.
Sixty million abortions later, this single court decision remains the elephant in the voting booth. The vast majority of election match-ups pit a pro-life candidate against a pro-abortion candidate.
Is the term ‘pro-abortion’ fair?
Some readers of this blog will bristle at our use of the term ‘pro-abortion,’ and yet it is an apt term. A generation ago, a pro-choice president, Bill Clinton, said that “abortion is a fundamental Constitutional right” that should be “safe, legal … and rare.”
Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, reiterated her husband’s view in 2008 in even more passionate terms when she said she wanted abortion “safe, legal, and rare, and by rare, I mean rare.”
And yet this makes no sense.
If candidates like Mrs. Clinton believe human abortion is a “fundamental Constitutional right,” how could it ever be rare?
And it especially makes no sense when her party campaigns for taxpayer funded abortions for the full nine months of a pregnancy. This policy will enrich Big Abortion all the more, while making abortion more prevalent.
The more abortions, the more lucre for Big Abortion and the greater the campaign donations for ‘pro-choice’ politicians.
60 million abortions is not rare
Yes, ‘pro-abortion’ is really a more honest expression. It is acutely honest in light of 60 million abortions since Roe, a figure which is certainly not “rare.”
The last great social gash in our history was slavery, and the riches it bestowed upon the slaves’ oppressors. Writing in the National Review, historian Victor Davis Hanson described the slave issue this way:
“But by 1861, an array of other differences had magnified the great divide over slavery. The plantation class of the South had grown fabulously rich — and solely dependent — on King Cotton and by extension slave labor.”
Today, many issues divide us, but none like human abortion. As with slavery, the money is big for human abortionists. When the late-term abortion “doctor,” Kermit Gosnell was arrested in his home, the police found $240,000 in CASH under his bed.
Shouldn’t we vote on more than a single issue?
Some readers of this essay will demur and claim that other issues need to be considered when voting for a candidate, that single issue voting makes no sense.
Do you really believe that?
After all, you can’t talk about immigration if the immigrant was aborted.
After all, you can’t talk about the price of health insurance if you were aborted.
And after all, you can’t talk about gay marriage, or gender reassignment, or plastic straws if you’ve been aborted.
The life issue is foundational.
The only nation founded on a Creed
This nation was built upon a creed that acknowledged life (along with liberty and the pursuit of happiness) as a fundamental, immutable, God-given right.
A vote for a pro-abortion candidate is a denial of this divine right for the millions of unique individuals who will be aborted before the next election cycle.
Abortion is a blight on America. It is a laceration that bleeds the blood of the innocent by obscene bucketfuls day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.
It must stop.
Today, vote for candidates who affirm the dignity of the human person from fertilization to natural death.
By Maggie DeWitte
Many of you know that for the last few years we select an individual each year to receive the IFL Life Advocate Award. This award expresses gratitude to those who lead and impact education and advocacy regarding the dignity of human life at all stages—from fertilization to natural death.
The recipient of this award is someone who makes a significant difference either immediately or over the long term in changing society in support of the full spectrum of life and in creating a culture of life.
It is my privilege to introduce a woman that has changed the lives of so many in the state of Iowa. Her roots are in Iowa as a fifth-generation Iowan from a working-class family in St. Charles. She started her career path as a waitress, and then a checker at Hy-Vee, onto the County Treasurer, State Senator, Lieutenant- Governor and now the Governor of our great state, and future Governor after the November elections.
But even more important than her role as Governor, I would venture to guess, that she sees her most treasured roles as a wife of 36 years, a mother to three beautiful daughters, and grandmother to nine grandbabies!
As the first female Governor in the state of Iowa, its only fitting that as a woman, she advocates fiercely for women and families. What is so refreshing is that you never have to guess where she stands on the issue of life. She is unapologetically pro-life and proud of it! And, we are proud of her for taking that stand for life.
Tonight, we honor a true pro-life champion for the state of Iowa. Although Governor Reynolds could not be with us tonight, she prepared a special video message for us all.
[This was Maggie DeWitte’s introduction of Governor Reynolds at Iowans for LIFE’S 8th annual fundraising banquet on October 24th at Prairie Meadows.]
Today is All Saints Day in the Catholic Church. Iowans for LIFE embraces St. Gianna Beretta Molla as our patron saint. A patron saint is a heavenly advocate, and Iowans for LIFE asks St. Gianna to pray for the health of pre-born babies and their mothers.
St. Gianna is a contemporary saint who understands the health of pre-born mothers and babies. She was born in 1922 in Italy. She became a doctor specializing in surgery and pediatrics at the University of Milan, with a special affinity for mothers, babies, the elderly, and the poor.
The pursuit of God
Her life was defined by a pursuit of God, medicine, and family.
Poor health prevented her from pursuing missionary work abroad, but when God closes a door, he always opens a window. God led her to her future husband, Pietro Molla, with whom she found fulfillment. Gianna wrote:
“Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.”
Complications
God quickly blessed the couple with three children in three years. But complications arose when Gianna became pregnant with their fourth child in 1961. She was diagnosed with a fibroma in her uterus. Doctors pretty much told her that an abortion was the only way to save her life.
Gianna said no. She directed doctors to remove the tumor without harming the child she carried. She was firm that her baby’s life came first.
Doctors successfully removed the tumor without harming the child. Gianna Emanuela Molla was delivered on April 21, 1962 by Caesarean section. But true to the doctors’ predictions, the mother didn’t survive, succumbing to septic peritonitis one week later.
Fast forward 42 years
Elizabeth Comparini with her daughter, Gianna Maria, named after her heavenly intercessor
Another mother-to-be found herself in dire straits. Elizabeth Comparini was sixteen weeks pregnant when she experienced a tear in her placenta. All amniotic fluid drained from her womb.
Doctors said the situation was hopeless, that the baby would die.
Ms. Comparini prayed to Gianna Molla to intercede on her behalf. Her prayers were answered, as she gave birth to a healthy child.
Pope John Paul II (IFL’s other Patron Saint!) canonized Gianna Molla a saint on May 16, 2004.
Saints are a big deal!
All Saints Day is a big deal, because saints are a big deal. Catholic philosopher, Dr. Peter Kreeft, captures the unique characteristics of saints in a beautiful essay. An excerpt:
“A saint’s heart is broken by every little sorrow and sin. A saint’s heart is also so strong that not even death can break it. It is indestructible because it’s so breakable.”
Saint Gianna exemplified the heart of a saint with her tender, but ferocious love for society’s most vulnerable: the unborn. She gave her life so her child could live.
Her prayer was that of a saint:
“0 Jesus, I promise You to submit myself to all that You permit to happen to me, make me only know Your Will”.
That’s a scary prayer, isn’t it? Dr. Kreeft paraphrases the prayer this way:
Dr. Peter Kreeft
“A saint takes his hands off the steering wheel of his life and lets God steer. That’s scary, for God is invisible. A saint also has hands that move the world. He has feet that move through the world with a sure step.”
On this All Saints Day, we can call on beautiful saints like St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who live in the presence of Almighty God, to pray for us.
St. Gianna lives among the “cloud of witnesses” to whom St. Paul referred in his letter to the Hebrews (12:1):
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
We’re not alone.
We are surrounded by a cloud of saints eager to pray on our behalf if we only ask, and their prayers are powerful.
So on this All Saints Day, November 1st, 2018, Iowans for LIFE asks St. Gianna Beretta Molla to pray for us:
St. Gianna, pray for the health and safety of unborn babies and their mothers.
St. Gianna, pray for the men, the fathers of the unborn, that the Holy Spirit cultivate a spirit of responsibility and pride of fatherhood in their hearts.
St. Gianna, pray for the legislators responsible for writing our laws, that they always keep in mind that laws, to be just, must protect each member of society from fertilization to natural death.
St. Gianna, pray that our politicians and national commentators understand that peace begins in the womb.
St. Gianna, pray that Christ’s Church be an instrument of peace in ending the scourge of human abortion that has so corrupted the United States of America.
St. Gianna, pray for us.
Pray for us.
Pray. For. Us.