New Ulm Diocese Council of Catholic Women

“What will the year 2009 bring?”

……is a question many of us ask at this time. This is also the time of year we make resolutions for “change” in our lives. As I ponder about the Council of Catholic Women organizations, I ask myself, “What could we change” to make our parish CCW’s more inviting and viable? The structure of the Council of Catholic Women organization has tools available for our use in discerning growth of the organization at the local levels. These tools are the six Commissions and two Committees whose goals are:

Are we making good use of these instruments? Do our gatherings provide the women with more spiritual growth than business meeting? How can we be of assistance to struggling families? Do we participate in community activities, and donate to international projects? Do we portray Council of Catholic Women organization as a welcoming group-friendly and open to new ideas and methods of accomplishing activities?

I was recently told “I wish our local CCW would have speakers and more activities to learn about the Catholic faith.” Inquire and listen to the wants and needs of your parish women. Those of you who have unmet desires, please make your requests known so that we might better fulfill our mission statement: “CCW: Catholic The New Ulm Diocese Council of Catholic Women offers you a special day to refuel your spiritual tank, by listening to a great speaker, participation in the Holy Mass, time to socialize with your Christian sisters, enjoy a plentiful meal, and bring home a treasure from the Silent Auction.

“Be Steadfast in Faith”

is the theme for the 50th Annual NUDCCW Convention, to be held at St. RaphaelChurch, Springfield, MN, Saturday, April 25, 2009. Employees often attend motivational seminars-This isas a member of the Council of Catholic Women. Attendance at this special day is “your motivational seminar” one of your rewards for all of the “good works” you have done through the Council of Catholic Women organization. As Parish CCW President, you will soon be receiving more detailed information to share with the CCW members in your parish. I look forward to sharing this special day, April 25th, with you.

Mary, with your Loving Son, bless us each and everyone!

Jeane Appel
NUDCCW President

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
                                                             Galatians 2:20

“Freedom of Choice Act”
FOCA

POST CARD CAMPAIGN:

Please participate in the forthcoming USCCB Committee on Pro-life Activities postcard campaign to your U.S. senators and representatives in opposition to the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). FOCA would do away with state laws on abortion, including laws mandating parental involvement, or banning partial birth abortion. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities. The campaign will be promoted in the Diocese of New Ulm on the weekend of January 24-25, 2009. Post cards will be sent to each parish – look for them and be sure they get distributed.

NOVENA:

Friends, this novena is a good thing, as every prayer is a good thing. But it is proposed on the assumption that Congress will pass the FOCA before January 22, which is not certain. The novena then can be said for two intentions:
1) that Congress does not pass FOCA, and
2) if Congress does, President Obama will not sign it.
God bless you, Fr. Tom H.

If you are opposed to abortion, please read the information below and join us in prayer and fasting January 11-19, 2009.

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) will be signed into law if Congress passes it on January 21-22, 2009. The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If signed into law, all limitations on abortion will be
lifted, resulting in the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, will be required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens, Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals – more than 30% of all hospitals in the U.S.
2) Partial birth abortions will be legal and have no limitations.
3) All U.S. taxpayers will be funding abortions.
4) Parental notification of abortions on minors will no longer be required (regardless of age).
5) The estimated number of increase in abortions is 100,000 annually.

Just as important, the government will now have control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, Down Syndrome
babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are allowed to have.

Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly true. As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

PLEASE JOIN US IN saying a novena (9 days of prayer ) and fasting from January 11-19. The prayer of choice is the rosary for the special intention of stopping the FOCA. We hope and pray this will branch and blossom to become a global effort.

Please do the following 3 things:

1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people within 3 days or less (so as many as possible can start praying on
January 11)
2) Say a novena from January 11-19, asking God to prevent the FOCA from becoming law in the U.S.
3) Fast at least 2 days during this novena or perform some definite penance for this intention.

Remember that with God all things are possible and the power of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless killing of defenseless children, please join us in prayer and fasting. May God bless you abundantly.

“The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.” — Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007

Sign this petition in opposition to FOCA

______________________________________________________________________________

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Freedom of Choice Act (H.R. 3719/S. 2020) is a bill in the United States Congress which, if enacted, would abolish all restrictions and limitations on the right of women in the United States to have an abortion, whether at the State or Federal level.

Described by NARAL Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan as a bill to “codify Roe v. Wade,”[1] opponents of the bill assert that[2] that it would, if passed, invalidate every restriction on the abortion of a fetus before the stage of viability, even those previously found consistent with Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court, such as parental notification laws, waiting periods, requirements of full disclosure of the physical and emotional risks inherent in abortion, or restrictions on certain late-term abortion techniques. In addition, it would force the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts the use of Federal funding for abortions, and invalidate the ability of religiously-based hospitals or clinics to refuse to perform abortions based on the violation of their consciences.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the Democratic 2008 Presidential candidate, became a co-sponsor of the 2007 Senate version of the bill (S. 1173). Responding to a question regarding how he would preserve reproductive rights in a speech given to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on July 17, 2007, he declared “The first thing I’d do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.”[3]

Title: National Sanctity of Human Life Day
Date: 2009-01-18

NEWS BRIEFS Jan-15-2009

By Catholic News Service

U.S.

Bush proclaims Jan. 18 National Sanctity of Human Life Day

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Declaring that every life is “a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique and worthy of protection,” President George W. Bush proclaimed Jan. 18, the Sunday before the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. On this day “our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us,” he said in the proclamation issued Jan. 15. Bush urged Americans “to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.” On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion, and the Doe v. Bolton decision, which lifted state restrictions on abortion.

Dr. Edward Sri is professor of theology and Scripture at the Augustine Institute’s Master’s in Catechetics and Evangelization program in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of two Catholic best-selling books, including The New Rosary in Scripture: Biblical Insights for Praying the 20 Mysteries (Servant) and The Da Vinci Deception: 100 Questions About the Facts and Fiction of The Da Vinci Code (Ascension Press) (coauthored with Mark Shea).

He has a new book out on marriage and relationships called Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights on John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility (Servant, August 2007).

He also is the author of Mystery of the Kingdom: On the Gospel of Matthew (Emmaus Road), Queen Mother: A Biblical Theology of Mary’s Queenship (Emmaus Road) and Dawn of the Messiah: The Coming of Christ in Scripture (Servant) and a co-author of the popular apologetics series, Catholic for a Reason.

Edward is a founding leader with Curtis Martin of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). He appears on EWTN and regularly writes and speaks on Scripture, apologetics and the Catholic faith. He also serves as a visiting professor at Benedictine College, where he taught full-time for nine years. Edward holds a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He now resides with his wife Elizabeth and their four children in Littleton, Colorado.

            “I Chose You Out of the World”
                                  John 15:19

Sherry Johnson and Msgr. Lozinski

Sherry Johnson named NUDCCW Women of the Year
at the 49th Annual Convention Celebrating 50 Years of the New Ulm Diocese

New Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Officers Include
Jeane Appel, President
Chris Heiderscheidt, 1st Vice President
JoAnn Masters, 3rd Vice President
Carolyn Boerboom, Secretary

Thank You to Mary Karnitz
Past NUDCCW President