Meditations For The "Via Crucis" On Good Friday In Rome

Meditations For The "Via Crucis" In Rome - Cardinal Camillo Ruini - from ZENIT

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 1, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the meditations Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar for Rome, prepared for Good Friday's Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum. Benedict XVI will preside over the event.

Wednesday Night Screening: The Passion of the Christ

OLOP|YA will be gathering on Holy Wednesday Night, March 31st for a private screening of "The Passion of The Christ."

We wil be viewing it in a "Private Theater Room" at the Mansion Grove Apartments. Come as early as 6pm; the movie will start at 7pm and will last until 9:15pm.

Watching "The Passion" can be a powerful way to prepare to enter into the Easter Triduum, and to help make more salient the reality of Our Lord's sacrifice for us.

Enter through the left side door of the Leasing Office at 502 Mansion Park Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Parking may be limited but you can easily park at the Rivermark Shopping Center parking lot (off of Moreland Way) and walk to Mansion Grove.

We look forward to seeing you there.

"We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. By Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world."

The fight has been lost; the battle continues.

On the heels of the announcement that Stupak has decided to endorse a Healthcare Bill which, in many ways, degrades and demeans the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life, due to an alleged "promise" by pro abortion President Obama, the pro-life community finds itself with a sense of false hope and a reality of true disappointment.

The facts are many, but they are clear. To understand the effects that this piece of legislation will have for our Country, is essential. Take a few minutes to do so.

To state things clearly: though the battle is not yet over, in this fight, we have lost. The casualties will be countless.

In a nutshell, the outcome can be surmised from one quote, released early this morning, by America's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, delivered by their President (who was pleased with the outcome) : "The healthcare passage will significantly increase access to [abortions]. The Executive Order is simply a symbolic gesture."

Read the full article here.

A symbolic gesture. And, one which may be disregarded by President Obama, himself, at any time. As he is the most pro abortion president in the history of the United States, I would think it irrational to believe he will uphold an order which will defend the rights of the unborn, most especially after he has pledged and proved his support to Planned Parenthood unfailingly.

However, we must still understand the consequences of this legislation. To neglect to do so, would be a serious fault.

First, the "good" of the Healthcare outcome. It, unfortunately, does not outweigh the evil:

• The final bill is not the outrageously anti-life bill originally concocted by the Democrat leadership (though it is still significantly detrimental to the pro life cause).

• The final bill did not pass last July as the Democrat leadership had originally hoped it would.

• By placing the onus on President Obama to sign an executive order which may mollify the abortion funding problems in this legislation, he will have the opportunity to demonstrate to those who remain unconvinced (as most of us do) in his habitual tendency to betray pro-life interests and the promises he has made to them.

• The health care battle has made clear the sharp divide between Catholics when it comes to the prudent application of the Church’s social teaching on the most important issues of our day. These groups, leaders and pockets of dissent are now out in the open. They have played their hand. We know where their fox holes lie.

Now, the bad:

• The Democrat leadership, on the whole, harassed their own caucus to get their way. This bill is not good for Americans, will not achieve what it claims to do, and will, both in the short and long run, hurt the quality of health care in America, and gravely endanger the vulnerable unborn.

• Stupak betrayed the pro life cause. His final vote constituted 100% of his “value” to the pro-life cause on this issue. And that vote was 100% for a bill he claimed for weeks was written in a way he could not support without violating his pro-life principles. Even if the Executive Order were to accomplish what he claims it will accomplish (which is doubtful and is yet to be seen), it does not exonerate him from the choice he made to vote this bill into law.
  
  
  
  
  
• "Liberal" and heterodox Catholics and isolated leaders of liberal religious women’s orders betrayed the bishops of the United States and smashed the possibility of a unified Catholic witness to the world on this paramount issue. Just like these organizations, leaders and their “brand” of Catholic thinking delivered to President Obama a majority of Catholic voters in this country during the presidential election, they helped him deliver – perhaps to a higher degree than any other group – the President’s “signature” legislation. If Catholics are to positively shape the world according to Catholic principles as revealed by Christ and his Church, we must set our own house in order first.

• The strong possibility of an authentic pro-life coalition emerging in the Democrat party suffered a serious, if not insurmountable setback. This pro-life coalition has destroyed its credibility as any threat to the Democrat leadership’s agenda. When the chips were down, Pelosi and her friends browbeat the pro-life Democrats into submission. Read the full article here.

For those who still believe the "Executive Order" will provide significant protection for the unborn, these facts are impossible to ignore.

The question is: does President Obama’s executive order, which obtained the votes of the Stupak coalition, change anything about the outcome? Unfortunately, it changes very little, and will have no ultimate effect.

The pro-life movement had and has several specific concerns about this health reform Act, irrespective of the Executive Order's efficacy.

• First, the Act funds abortion-covering insurance, it therefore makes abortion insurance available to thousands of women who don’t now have abortions due to lack of insurance, and it changes 32 states from ones that have laws against administering abortion insurance and turns them all into states that do administer abortion insurance.
  

• Second, the Act fails to restrict $11 Billion in funding to “community health centers” from going for abortion.

• Third, the Act vastly expands government power and funding without including a corresponding limit to stop that power and funding from making and facilitating conscience violations against pro-life health providers.

• Fourth, the Act allows HHS to define abortion into various elements of health care, like “ambulatory patient services,” “prescription drugs,” and “preventive” services.

• On the first point of funding abortion insurance and initially forcing states to assist, the Executive Order changes nothing at all. By its terms, it repeats exactly the abortion-insurance funding scheme in the Act. There’s simply no change.

In summary then, President Obama’s executive order changes almost nothing to alleviate pro-life concerns over this Act. It fully allows federal funding for abortion insurance, it cannot change the fact that CHC funds will be used for abortion, it follows HHS policy against conscience rights by utterly failing to do anything on the issue, and it does not change any of HHS’s ability under the Act to define abortion as health care.

Any pro-lifer concerned about the Act would, objectively, have the same concerns against the Act with or without this executive order." Read the full article here.

It's time to pray for our country, and make reparation for the lives that will be taken. It's also time to make our voices heard, and to stand for the voiceless.

Do not be silent. The cost of silence is already millions of lives.

Demonic Distortion

Pro-Abortion Pelosi dares to invoke the intercession of St. Joseph (the Worker) on this Solemnity of St. Joseph (Husband of Mary) to pass the anti-life and pro-death Health Care Bill.

As American Papist writes: "When I first heard about this I thought it was a joke. But Nancy Pelosi’s callous way of twisting her faith to suit her politics is beyond parody" :

Tonight: Cold Stone and Peet's Coffee at 8:30. Stations of the Cross at 7:30.

Tonight, OLOP|YA will be meeting up at Cold Stone Ice Cream and Peet's Coffee at the Rivermark in Santa Clara, at 8:30 p.m.

We'll be celebrating the Solemnity of St. Joseph, and we'd love to have you join us!

Every Friday night during Lent, OLOP|YA will be meeting at 7:15 p.m. in Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church.

We'll sit in the last two pews of the church on the left side (if you are facing the altar.) A priest from Our Lady of Peace will lead us in the Stations of the Cross. We'll have booklets for everyone, with all the responses.

If you haven't made the Stations of the Cross before, or if you do it every year, come and join us in building up the young adult community within this culture of death by being part of the Culture of Life. There's no better way to start, then by remembering Christ and His Passion.

After the Stations of the Cross, we'll go to Peet's Coffee at the Rivermark for fellowship, discussion, and great coffee. Meet us there at 8:30 p.m., even if you can't make it to the Stations of the Cross.

Come and join us for one or both events on Friday night!

"We adore you, O Christ, and we praise You. By Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world."

This Saturday Abortion Clinic Prayer

OLOP|YA will be at the local Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic this Saturday from 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. The directions and details are on the sidebar of the blog.

We'll be using our new Cherish Women "billboard campaign".

If you haven't come to pray with us at Planned Parenthood before, come pray with us now. It is a peaceful and prayerful time, which takes place on the front lines of the culture of death.

It is our responsibility and our duty to stand for life in this culture of death, and to spread the joy, peace, and contentment there is in upholding the dignity of the human person; women and the unborn, most especially.

These signs were designed by the young adults of OLOP|YA to not only reach the hearts of those women and mothers entering the mill, but also to witness to those driving and walking, during our two hour presence each third Saturday of the month.

The time for complacency has passed. If we won't stand for life, the dignity of women, and the rights of the unborn, what will we stand for?

Join us this Saturday. Stand with us for life.

Witness to the culture of death that the dignity of the human person is something we will never be silent on.

Throughout human history, hate has grown to such a degree that a part of the population is viewed as less than human. One time is now. Those degraded and discarded are the unborn.

This is our time. How will history remember us?

What will we have stood for? Do not let it be nothing.

After our time at the Abortion Clinic, we'll be going as a group to a local Starbucks for good coffee, good conversation, and good people.

Even if you can only join us for a few minutes at the clinic ... come. And, then come with us to coffee.

None of us are in this fight alone. It's time we know those we're fighting with, shoulder to shoulder, for the Culture of Life.

03.19.10 Friday Night Coffee After Stations of the Cross

Every Friday night during Lent, OLOP|YA will be meeting at 7:15 p.m. in Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church.

We'll sit in the last two pews of the church on the left side (if you are facing the altar.) A priest from Our Lady of Peace will lead us in the Stations of the Cross. We'll have booklets for everyone, with all the responses.

If you haven't made the Stations of the Cross before, or if you do it every year, come and join us in building up the young adult community within this culture of death by being part of the Culture of Life. There's no better way to start, then by remembering Christ and His Passion.

After the Stations of the Cross, we'll go to Peet's Coffee at the Rivermark for fellowship, discussion, and great coffee. Meet us there at 8:30 p.m., even if you can't make it to the Stations of the Cross.

Come and join us for one or both events on Friday night!

"We adore you, O Christ, and we praise You. By Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world."

03.13.10 In N Out and "Charity in Truth"

Join us on Saturday night for burgers, fries, and shakes at In N Out at the Mercado, following our Young Adult Meeting.

The Our Lady of Peace Young Adult Group will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night. Our meeting will take place in the Gym of Our Lady of Peace (upstairs) in room #1201.

If you can't make the meeting, come join us at IN N Out at 9:00 p.m.!

This week, our topic is: "Charity in Truth" by Guest Speaker James Kovacs

Schedule for the night:

6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Adoration in the Church

7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. Study on "Charity in Truth"

8:15 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Hanging Out

9:00 p.m. Burgers, fries, and shakes at In N Out

Each week, we'll be looking at one teaching of the Catholic Church and breaking it down. We'll give a basic catechesis (teaching), points for evangelization and apologetics, and draw from the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, Sacred Scripture, the Saints, the Church Fathers, and current events.

Venerable Pope John Paul the Great, pray for us!