Dear Parish Pro-Life Coordinator:
Happy New Year! With joyous anticipation of Epiphany, I pray for a new year enriched with God's blessings.
On Saturday, January 16, we will mark the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion in America and leading to the death of over 60 million unborn children. A bilingual memorial Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Edward Burns with Bishop Greg Kelly and Pastor of the Cathedral, Fr. Stephen Bierschenk. This year, due to health concerns, we will not have a youth rally, March, or Rally at the federal courthouse. Instead, as part of Walking with Moms in Need, we are coordinating a diaper/baby wipes drive benefiting Project Gabriel, and Birth Choice and White Rose pregnancy resource centers. Parish and individual donations may be dropped off at the Cathedral before Mass, or accepted at the CPLC office for anyone who cannot make the Mass.
Here is the schedule for the day:
Roe Memorial Health Notice
- At church and the prayer vigils, bring a mask to wear and remember to maintain social distancing (6 feet) from other people who are not from your own household.
USCCB ISSUES STATEMENT ON COVID-19 VACCINES
The USCCB issued this statement in December regarding COVID vaccines. Additional sources are linked below:
 GRAMMY AWARD WINNER TO HEADLINE BISHOP'S DINNER
This year's event will be like no other. Make plans to join Bishop Burns for the 2021 Bishop's Pro-Life Dinner at the Renaissance Dallas Addison on March 20, 2021. You'll be entertained by Grammy award-winning Artist Francesca Battistelli. You'll also hear a powerful testimony from National Pro-Life Activist Christina Bennett. This year we will not be distributing yard signs to parishes, however, we will be mailing posters, flyers, and a packet of information to your home. Please post at your parishes as soon as possible. You'll learn more at the Feb. 13 meeting. For more information and reservations, click here.
PREPARATIONS FOR PHASE 2 OF A YEAR OF SERVICE
PHASE 2: January 2021
- Parish leader has first meeting with core team (Virtual is fine!) (Are you the parish leader?)
- Resources and information from your diocese. (Have you completed and submitted the survey sent to your parish?) The Diocese of Dallas has completed its own inventory of resources and has provided this list to pastors in the Diocese.
- Review the inventory tool. An Inventory of Local Pregnancy Help Resources will help your parish identify various resources for pregnant and parenting moms who need assistance.
- Participate in the Walking with Moms in Need diaper/baby wipe drive by collecting donations at your parish, if possible. Drop off individual and parish donations before the Roe Memorial Mass at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 at the Cathedral. (Mass is at 10:30 a.m.)
- Begin the inventory process. Find out what resources are available in your area and where the gaps are.
Aren't ready for Phase 2? No worries. Remember this is a process and we are here to help you. Even if you haven't completed Phase 1, it's not too late to start. Your smallest step will make a big difference in the lives of these pregnant and parenting moms. The most important contribution we all can make right now is Step 6 -pray for pregnant mothers in need. And if you have any questions, please reach out to Susan Platt at splatt@prolifedallas.org.
NEXT PARISH PRO-LIFE COORDINATORS MEETING
Other upcoming events:
- CPLC Executive Director: reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director, synonymously the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization and the Respect Life Director for the Diocese of Dallas, is the keeper of the culture of the Catholic Pro-Life Community. For a more detailed job description and information on how to apply, please click here.
- CPLC Sidewalk Counselor: provides one-on-one counseling intervention and prayer support on the front lines outside an abortion facility. More details here.
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THE THOMAS AQUINAS STORY
By universal consent, Thomas Aquinas is the preeminent spokesman of the Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor.
At five he was given to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in his parents' hopes that he would choose that way of life and eventually become abbot. In 1239, he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to Aristotle's philosophy. By 1243, Thomas abandoned his family's plans for him and joined the Dominicans, much to his mother's dismay. On her order, Thomas was captured by his brother and kept at home for over a year. Once free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with Albert the Great. He held two professorships at Paris, lived at the court of Pope Urban IV, directed the Dominican schools at Rome and Viterbo, combated adversaries of the mendicants, as well as the Averroists, and argued with some Franciscans about Aristotelianism.
His greatest contribution to the Catholic Church is his writings. The unity, harmony, and continuity of faith and reason, of revealed and natural human knowledge, pervades his writings. One might expect Thomas, as a man of the gospel, to be an ardent defender of revealed truth. But he was broad enough, deep enough, to see the whole natural order as coming from God the Creator, and to see reason as a divine gift to be highly cherished.
The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, "I cannot go on.... All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me." He died March 7, 1274. Saint Thomas Aquinas is the Patron Saint of Catholic Schools, Colleges, Schools, and Students.
We can look to Thomas Aquinas as a towering example of Catholicism in the sense of broadness, universality, and inclusiveness. We should be determined anew to exercise the divine gift of reason in us, our power to know, learn, and understand. At the same time we should thank God for the gift of his revelation, especially in Jesus Christ.
Happy New Year and thank you for continuing to be a towering example for pro-life!
Hector Carrasco
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