Greetings and blessings! I hope you are enjoying the beginning days of summer. We have a special opportunity this month for you and your parish:
The CPLC is hosting its annual
Day of Reflectionon
on June 26 from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Joseph in Richardson. This special event just for CPLC volunteers, board and staff is a much-needed opportunity for renewal and rejuvenation. We are so excited that Fr. Alan McDonald from Redemptoris Mater Seminary will be leading multiple talks this year. A continental breakfast and light lunch will be provided. RSVP to
splatt@prolifedallas.org
or 214-392-7545 by
June 21.
We hope you can join us for all or part of the day!
Also this month is the annual Fortnight for Freedom observance, from
June 21 to July 4, 2017, a time when our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power such as St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher.
Parishes are encouraged to hold special events to show the importance of defending religious freedom during the Fortnight. Currently scheduled local events include:
If your parish is planning a Fortnight observance, please let us know. Free prayer and educational materials are provided in multiple languages at
www.fortnightforfreedom.org.
Please also mark your calendars for the following summer events:
Also coming up in July are two events just for men:
Our Healing after Abortion ministry is also hosting a Clergy Seminar with a great lineup of speakers (including Bishop Kelly!) on August 18 at St. Monica Family Center. Please be sure to share this important opportunity with your parish priests who can attend for free with one lay-ministry leader as their guest. More information and registration (required) is available at www.prolifedallas.org/seminar.
Finally be sure to also save the dates for our annual
Please note: The Remembrance Mass is the same day as the Parish Pro-Life Coordinators Meeting which will precede the Mass from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick.
As we look forward to Fortnight for Freedom this month, it is an apt time to remember the example of St. Thomas More who believed to his death that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ.
Described as "a man for all seasons," More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children, and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church in England, breaking with Rome and the pope.
Upon being convicted and sentenced to die, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.
Let us all imitate St. Thomas More in being true to our conscience all our lives.
