Dear Parish Pro-Life Coordinator,
Greetings! I hope your Lenten journey is giving you time for reflection in anticipation of Easter renewal.
March is already upon us and w
e are quickly approaching our
25th Annual Bishop's Pro-Life Dinner
on April 21. Please note: The name of our venue will be changing on March 15 from Intercontinental Dallas to Renaissance Dallas Galleria. Don't be confused when you start seeing promotion materials with the new name. It's the same hotel just a new name.
Kevin represents a rare quality in today's culture -- a courageous, Christian voice in Hollywood who is pro-life without apology. Also joining us will be emcee John Rhadigan from FOX Sports Southwest, plus a live band at the new After-Party following the dinner!
Help to Spread the Word
In addition to organizing your parish table(s), we greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word about this special event.
By now, you should have received a promotional packet for the Bishop's Dinner via email. Posters and yard signs were distributed at the last Parish Pro-Life Coordinators meeting. If your parish has not received yard signs, please contact
CPLC
. Below are links to electronic copies of all the promotional materials as well:
And check out our contest for high school students for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card by helping promote the dinner!
Prayerfully Experience Holy Week
I hope you can join us on Good Friday to prayerfully experience Holy Week together. On March 30, over the noon hour, we will unite our sufferings and the sufferings of those injured by abortion to Christ at the Pro-Life Stations of the Cross.
**In addition to this important opportunity to pray as a community, we are also in
urgent need of prayer partners to support our sidewalk counselors. Please
share the flyer here (
en español) with the open times when the need is most critical to
help SAVE LIVES!**
Educate the Educators
On April 7, we will be hosting a new and expanded Teach for Life Seminar for catechists, school teachers, administrators, counselors and youth ministers. The seminar will empower educators with counter-cultural information based on the Word of God, including a keynote presentation by Fr. Philip Bochanski, Executive Director of Courage International, a Catholic ministry for men and women who experience same-sex attractions and those who love them. For more information and registration, visit prolifedallas.org/teach. All presentations will be offered in English and Spanish.
Help Moms Choose life
Help expectant parents choose life. Shop, volunteer, donate at Birth Choice's new Save More Resale Store. Clothes, toys, decorations and more are available and needed.
On March 17, we celebrate, St. Patrick's Day. Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble, and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God's instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.
At 16, he and a large number of his father's slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.
After six years Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the good news to the Irish.
In a dream vision it seemed "all the children of Ireland from their mothers' wombs were stretching out their hands" to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north -- where the faith had never been preached -- obtained the protection of local kings, and made numerous converts.
Because of the island's pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.
He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission.
In a relatively short time, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.
Let us continue in our efforts to promote life as a gift of God with the same zeal that Patrick had.
Thank you for all you do for life.
