Hosted this week at Betty Beguiles

1 
As I am sure you have heard, the Church, Orthodox Christian leadership, the Jewish leadership, and other Christian organizations are in an uproar over the administration's refusal to honor the rights of conscience in the Health and Human Services mandate requiring birth control, abortifacients, and abortion services in healthcare coverage by Catholic and other Pro-Life employers. Here is a handy link that sums up the problem Catholics have with the mandate in 6 easily readable points: Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate.

2  
If you have a beef with the Church (and please inform your beef--otherwise you come off very badly) about Her teaching on birth control, here is a secular source looking at our teachings honestly. It begins with the lines: Painting the Catholic Church as "out of touch" is like shooting fish in a barrel, what with the funny hats and gilded churches. And nothing makes it easier than the Church's stance against contraception. Keep reading...http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-08/politics/31036663_1_sexual-revolution-moral-standards-marriage#ixzz1lyqlTCca

3  

My grandmother is 94 and is slipping away from us. Yesterday my great nephew was born. In each day there are sorrows and joys. Your Grace is sufficient, O Lord.

4 

I wrote a Letter to the Editor that was published in my local paper in response to the usual "ProLife people only care about the babies" meme. Here is the link to it: We Care for the Children. Funny how the Comments on the Life Issues always run in the same direction eventually.

5

Speaking of caring for women and their children after they have chosen Life, here's a chance to let you know about these Sisters. They are The Sisters of Life, "a contemplative/active religious community of women founded in 1991 by John Cardinal O’Connor for the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life." If you know of anyone in a seemingly hopeless situation, these are one of the many places holding out hope. You can always contact me, too, leave a comment and I'll give you my email. The best thing about hopelessness, is that there is no such thing.

6 

Take a break from all the angst of the week and watch this movie. The scene where the dad is talking to his teenage daughter is priceless. If only...if only...

7
Sometimes it's simple: After a 17 hour day, your faithful blogger slogged in from a meeting to a house full of sleeping people. In the quiet I fired up the computer to check various accounts, see pictures of the newest family member on Facebook, and check for comments on the blog. After a few minutes I sent up a quiet complaint, "I'm tired, Lord." A thought popped up in answer, "Go to bed, silly girl." That thought brought a laugh. "Is it really that simple?" I thought back to myself and shut down the computer. "Almost always," I thought. Then I paused and wondered if I was really tired enough to have a conversation with myself. "Was that You, Lord?" I asked and received only peace in the quiet.