Saturday, May 02, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
Pray for us
I have this stupid habit of thinking in the abstract. Or... maybe it's just writing my thoughts that way. So sometimes I feel strange commenting on these things, but this is just so... compelling.
I am not really much of a social or political critic. There are things that upset and provoke me and I will surely mention them, especially as concerns my faith. But I'm not very good at keeping up with important issues or commenting on them, definitely not on a par with some bloggers out there (additionally, for my art senior seminar we've been putting together "art blogs" via wordpress -- which to me is kind of stupid, as wordpress is WORDpress, not a site necessarily built for displaying artwork -- and apparently I'm the only one in the class who has ever blogged before, as I discovered when the question was asked and there was my solo and timid hand raise... is it just me, or is that REALLY weird for my generation? I thought we were supposed to be the children of the digital age or whatever...) Well, in any case,
I've been keeping an eye on the whole "Obama invited to give commencement speech & receive honorary degree" thing at Notre Dame, which has stimulated quite a bit of controversy from Catholics (both what people deem as "traditional" i.e. observant Catholics, and the "cafeterias" or unobservant Catholics) on account of Obama's incredibly frightening support of all things abortion. More than fifty bishops have stated that they will not support this invitation, and Bishop D'Arcy has refused to attend the commencement because of the Prez's stance on abortion.
So that led me (through the American Papist) to an article by an alumna of Notre Dame, a young woman commenting on Fr. Jenkin's (University prez.) decision to invite our rock-star pro-choice president. The article is called, "Notre Dame, My Mother" by Lacy Dodd and she writes about her pregnancy experience as a senior on the verge of graduating from the University. She states her very firm pro-life stance and her bewilderment at being told from variousnesses that she had "other options" -- abortion.
What really touched me (it made me tear, actually) was what she wrote in her article about turning to Mary in her time of need, and that Our Mother "did not disappoint."
This somehow makes the whole Obama-at-Notre-Dame situation so much more disheartening; a University specifically dedicated (it's in the name for heaven's sake) to "Our Lady," to a woman whom God chose to carry His Son inside of her, a woman brave and holy enough to accept something so incredible and so frightening, is honoring a man who upholds this "other option." It honestly makes my skin crawl.
And there is also something very thought-provoking about Lacy Dodd's article; she writes about her pro-"choice" boyfriend who was unwilling to support her. At the end of the article she says, "I’d like to ask this of Fr. John Jenkins, the Notre Dame president: Who draws support from your decision to honor President Obama—the young, pregnant Notre Dame woman sitting in that graduating class who wants desperately to keep her baby, or the Notre Dame man who believes that the Catholic teaching on the intrinsic evil of abortion is just dining-room talk?"
What a smasher. Here we are with young men claiming a pro-choice stance thinking they're supporting a woman's "right to choose" when the only choice (as Dodd states) they won't support is the choice to embrace an innocent life.
Why are the beginning stages of life (completely helpless, completely in their mother's hands) so disposable? Why are we raging and ranting about other forms of genocide and closing our eyes and stopping our ears to this? Why? Because there are no victim voices to cry out? They can't use their vocal cords, is that it?
Oh, Fr. Jenkins. Oh, our beloved Obama (Aaak! Car Bomb!) God help you. I have a feeling that on your day of judgement -- whenever or however that will be -- you will need especial intercession from Our Lady. You're so lucky you have her for a Mother.
I am not really much of a social or political critic. There are things that upset and provoke me and I will surely mention them, especially as concerns my faith. But I'm not very good at keeping up with important issues or commenting on them, definitely not on a par with some bloggers out there (additionally, for my art senior seminar we've been putting together "art blogs" via wordpress -- which to me is kind of stupid, as wordpress is WORDpress, not a site necessarily built for displaying artwork -- and apparently I'm the only one in the class who has ever blogged before, as I discovered when the question was asked and there was my solo and timid hand raise... is it just me, or is that REALLY weird for my generation? I thought we were supposed to be the children of the digital age or whatever...) Well, in any case,
I've been keeping an eye on the whole "Obama invited to give commencement speech & receive honorary degree" thing at Notre Dame, which has stimulated quite a bit of controversy from Catholics (both what people deem as "traditional" i.e. observant Catholics, and the "cafeterias" or unobservant Catholics) on account of Obama's incredibly frightening support of all things abortion. More than fifty bishops have stated that they will not support this invitation, and Bishop D'Arcy has refused to attend the commencement because of the Prez's stance on abortion.
So that led me (through the American Papist) to an article by an alumna of Notre Dame, a young woman commenting on Fr. Jenkin's (University prez.) decision to invite our rock-star pro-choice president.
What really touched me (it made me tear, actually) was what she wrote in her article about turning to Mary in her time of need, and that Our Mother "did not disappoint."
This somehow makes the whole Obama-at-Notre-Dame situation so much more disheartening; a University specifically dedicated (it's in the name for heaven's sake) to "Our Lady," to a woman whom God chose to carry His Son inside of her, a woman brave and holy enough to accept something so incredible and so frightening, is honoring a man who upholds this "other option." It honestly makes my skin crawl.
And there is also something very thought-provoking about Lacy Dodd's article; she writes about her pro-"choice" boyfriend who was unwilling to support her. At the end of the article she says, "I’d like to ask this of Fr. John Jenkins, the Notre Dame president: Who draws support from your decision to honor President Obama—the young, pregnant Notre Dame woman sitting in that graduating class who wants desperately to keep her baby, or the Notre Dame man who believes that the Catholic teaching on the intrinsic evil of abortion is just dining-room talk?"
What a smasher. Here we are with young men claiming a pro-choice stance thinking they're supporting a woman's "right to choose" when the only choice (as Dodd states) they won't support is the choice to embrace an innocent life.
Why are the beginning stages of life (completely helpless, completely in their mother's hands) so disposable? Why are we raging and ranting about other forms of genocide and closing our eyes and stopping our ears to this? Why? Because there are no victim voices to cry out? They can't use their vocal cords, is that it?
Oh, Fr. Jenkins. Oh, our beloved Obama (Aaak! Car Bomb!) God help you. I have a feeling that on your day of judgement -- whenever or however that will be -- you will need especial intercession from Our Lady. You're so lucky you have her for a Mother.
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