Please remember all those Marching for Life in Washington today.  It wasn’t that many years ago that all the Builders would venture down to DC from Princeton to march and pray for an end to abortion.

I confess that as a busy mother I am often willfully ignorant about the horror of abortion and the frequency of this crime in our nation.  I often joke that I make my own pro-life statement every other January, giving birth to another baby!

I am always reminded of the horror of abortion at this time of year, and never more poignantly so than yesterday, when I had to explain the evil of abortion to my oldest two children.  My body temperature began to rise with rage as I looked at their innocent faces, slowly losing that innocence as their own mother explained that doctors and mommies and daddies choose to kill innocent babies.  I nodded in agreement as Gianna vehemently argued that people should give their babies up for adoption if they don’t want them.  “Why do they have to kill them”, she asked?  My only response was that the world can be a very evil and cruel place, and people can be very misguided, making poor choices because they are confused.  I felt a lump in my throat as Charlie was concerned that someone would try to kill Josie.  We explained that we would never let that happen, but it was really a sad, horrible conversation.  I felt angry that the laws of our nation strip my children of their innocence and make their own parents talk to them about the killing of infants in the womb.

So please take some time today to pray for an end to abortion.  Please pray for all those marching, and please, please pray for the leaders of our nation.  Pray their eyes will be opened to the horror of abortion, and pray their hearts will be changed.

And speaking of the leaders of our nation, the White House and President Obama announced last week that they will not be allowing a conscience objection on the HHS regulations for Catholic or Religious institutions.  In practical terms, what this means is that in a years time, all medical insurance plans will be required to distribute contraception and provide other unethical family planning services–for free–to all women.  The Catholic Church will be forced, against its own religious beliefs, to distribute contraception.  There will be no religious exemption for Catholic Institutions.

In the weeks and months ahead, it will be interesting to see how the Catholic Bishops handle this declaration of war against our Church.  Will they shut down Catholic Hospitals?  Will they refuse to comply?  Will they negotiate and/or will with President change his anti-Catholic position, it is an election year after all?

I don’t have extensive time to write on this today, but I am horrified by Obama’s extreme violation of our religious liberty.  For more thoughts, please read the following two links–

The National Catholic Reporter

Professor Robert George at Mirror of Justice

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation for my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my inclinations; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God; work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without ever recoiling before weariness or difficulties; to work, above all, with purity of intention, and with detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, O Patriarch Joseph. Such shall be my watchword in life and death. Amen. (prayer found here)