As very important as prayer is to the Pro-Life Movement, there are many other ways to be active in your community:

* attend pro-life banquets and other fundraisers

* donate financially to pro-life organizations

* donate your time through volunteer opportunities at your local pro-life centers

* study up on the common arguments for abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, etc. so you can clearly explain how they are violations against human life

* attend the annual March for Life, Walk for Life and/or Life Chain

* pray outside local abortion clinics

What are your favorite ways to support the Pro-Life Movement?

Related Links:

• What is Euthanasia?

• Official Web Site of the March for Life

• Official Web Site of the Walk for Life

• Official Web Site of the Life Chain

On my way to work each day, I pass by this church, which is blocked off in front by heavy road construction that’s been going on for the last month or so.

I don’t know if the church intended the sign to mean more than that there’s an entrance on the other side of the building, but I found the sign worth reflecting upon.

When we are weighed down by our sins, faults and imperfections, it’s important to remember that God is patient and merciful, never giving up on us. He’s there through the construction that is happening right in our own heart and soul.

While the term “Catholic college” seems self-explanatory, that isn’t always the case. More often than not, it isn’t the case.

If a college includes religious order faculty members, was started by an order or has a saint’s name attached to the title, it’s typically called a “Catholic college.”

But those two words together may give a school a far higher standard than it lives up to. Many colleges started out as truly Catholic, faithful to the Magisterium, but have since been bought by independent secular organizations and have become secular institutions. Their mission statements might still mention the schools are Catholic in tradition. Many wouldn’t see a difference and would send their children there, expecting just the same faithful education as parents who send their children to colleges that have professed fidelity to the Magisterium.

As one school year closes, it’s time to consider college choices for the near future. A little research, word of mouth recommendations and school visitations can help prospective parents and students separate out the Catholic from the “Catholic” colleges.

Related Links:

• Best Catholic Colleges

• Magisterium-Friendly Catholic Colleges See Largest Enrollment Ever

• What is the Magisterium?

The 61st annual observance of the National Day of Prayer will be held Thursday, May 3rd. But you don’t have to wait until then to pray for our nation (I’m sure many of you pray every day). The following prayer is from the home page of the official Web site for the National Day of Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Every good gift and perfect gift comes from You. You are a faithful God and Your mercy endures forever.

You have promised to bless the nation that trusts in You.  Our currency proclaims “In God We Trust,” but in our culture we are far from You.

In the words of the prophet Daniel, “We have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.”

We come before You once more, seeking Your forgiveness and mercy.  You, O God, are our only hope… Hear our prayer and, for Your honor’s sake, shine Your face upon this nation.

Give our leaders the desire to seek Your wisdom and the courage to follow Your guidance… and watch over the men and women of our armed forces as they sacrifice for the cause of freedom.

We give You thanks for all You have done for us, and we earnestly pray that You will help us become, once again, a nation whose God is the Lord.

In the name of Your Son, and our Savior, we pray this prayer.

Amen

Related Links:

• 2012 National Prayer

• About the National Day of Prayer

On my recent posting on The Forge by St. Josemaria Escriva I received the following comment by John:

I love the priests I know from opus dei but I must admit I have a really hard time understanding the difference between an Order and a Personal Prelature.

Below you’ll find a brief explanation by Fr. Marty Moleski, a Jesuit priest and professor at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. I have the privilege of sharing the airwaves with him each Friday on the Calling All Catholics radio program, produced by The Station of the Cross.

I thank him for contributing this week to Media Musings:

Religious orders are voluntary associations of the faithful characterized by taking vows and following a common rule of life. Their roots lie in the religious communities founded by Sts. Basil, Augustine, Benedict, Scholastica, Francis, Clare, Ignatius, Angela de Merici, John Baptist de la Salle, and a host of other great saints. The key to the life of religious orders is the vow of obedience to the superiors of that religious community. This allows the members of the order to share a common life and to act together as one body.

The canonical organization of Opus Dei (personal prelature) bears a greater resemblance to the structure of a diocese rather than to that of a religious order. Under the guidance of a bishop (the “prelate”), other bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity, married or unmarried, may each follow their particular vocations, with the vows or promises proper to their different states in life, just as we find in any diocese of the Church. Unlike a diocese, a prelature is united by dedication to an apostolate rather than presence in a geographic region.

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Related Links:

• The Forge Blog Entry

• Official Web Site of Fr. Marty Moleski

• Calling All Catholics Podcasts

• The Station of the Cross Catholic Radio Network

• Opus Dei

• An Opus Dei Explanation of Personal Prelature