The Religious Institute

I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that there is a 'religious' organization that supports abortion.  But how, I wonder, do they not see the confusion in their statement on 'reproductive rights'?

Their website says:

Our religious traditions affirm that life is sacred. Our faiths celebrate the divinely bestowed blessings of generating life and assuring that life can be sustained and nurtured. We support responsible procreation, the widespread availability of contraception, prenatal care, access to abortion services and intentional parenting.  (My italics.)

How, I ask, does one affirm that life is sacred in one breath, and advocate the taking of it in the next? Seriously?

Daily readings from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022412.cfm

The litany of penitence from the Ash Wednesday service

Psalm 51    Miserere mei, Deus
  1     Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
                                      loving-kindness; *
           in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
  2     Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
           and cleanse me from my sin.
   3     For I know my transgressions, *
           and my sin is ever before me.
  4     Against you only have I sinned *
           and done what is evil in your sight.
  5     And so you are justified when you speak *
           and upright in your judgment
  6     Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
           a sinner from my mother's womb.
  7     For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
           and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
  8     Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
           wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
  9     Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
           that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10     Hide your face from my sins *
           and blot out all my iniquities.
11     Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
           and renew a right spirit within me.
12     Cast me not away from your presence *
           and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13     Give me the joy of your saving help again *
           and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14     I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
           and sinners shall return to you.
15     Deliver me from death, O God, *
           and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
           O God of my salvation.
16     Open my lips, O Lord, *
           and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
17     Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice; *
           but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.
18     The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
           a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Litany of Penitence
The Celebrant and People together, all kneeling
Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
The Celebrant continues
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and
strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We
have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved
your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the
pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation
of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those
more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and
our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.
Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to
commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:
for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our
indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.
For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our
neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those
who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.
For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of
concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.
Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.
Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Dry Bones

During the service last night, I imagined myself walking into the desert with Jesus.  He showed me some things.

Remember you are from dust, and to dust you shall return.

I saw bones.  Maybe my bones.  Lying on the sand, with bits of dried flesh and connective tissue twisting in the wind.  A bird lands on the rib cage to pick for food.

I saw fierce sun and dried earth.  I saw the sky, white hot and bright.

I saw Jesus beckoning me, holding out his hand.

You won't be alone.  You will never be alone.


Job 19:25-26 ESV

But I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand up at the last upon the earth:
And after my skin hath been thus destroyed, yet from my flesh shall I see God.