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September 2007 |
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May the Lord give you His peace! Congratulations to our two new deacons, Rev. Br. Agostino and Rev. Br. Francis Mary [pics], and to our ten new postulants. This year is our twentieth anniversary, so I am writing about various aspects of the C.F.R. charism this year - hope it helps your discernment. This month our topic is on being pro-life. We chose Our Lady of Guadalupe as our patroness for the cause of the new evangelization and the cause of pro-life. Just as she ended the Aztec religion of human sacrifice, may she end the scourge of abortion. |
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 I remember seeing Fr. Groeschel give a stirring pro-life talk while standing on the ominous steps of the Capital Building in Washington D.C. He looked and sounded somewhat apocalyptic. He stated that the issue of abortion will be part of our judgment when we die and go before God. He was taking his cue from Matt 25:31-16, imagine "... I was voiceless in the womb, in danger of death, and you did not speak up for me..." |
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 He also quoted President Abraham Lincoln concerning the cost of ending slavery, "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether' " (Second Inaugural Address, Saturday, March 4, 1865). Fr. Benedict went on to pray that we will not have to atone for every drop of the millions of aborted babies. |
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God bless you,
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 Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR Saint Joseph Friary 523 W. 142nd Street New York, NY 10031 (212)281-4355 (212)234-8871 fax Archive eLetters |
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Needless to say, this talk made a huge impression. It confirmed what I had felt in my heart for many years. The C.F.R. vocation is actively pro-life. We do praying and side-walk counseling outside abortion mills. Some of us do post-abortion healing retreats. We do a lot of preaching about chastity, 
We are praying for you and your discernment everyday, especially on Wednesdays. Let us set our hands to the plow in the Lord's vineyard and not look back! "The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be
rewarded according to his own labor"