Friday - March 7, 2025

"Lent" Edition

Pope Francis kneels for confession at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

Psalm 51 for Holy Mass on Ash Wednesday

Responsorial Psalm- Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:

"Against you only have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight."

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

Cast me not out from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,

and a willing spirit sustain in me.

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

From Reflections on the Seven Penitential Psalms: Psalm 51 - USCCB.org

And then there’s David. Nathan presents David’s own story to him as a hypothetical, asking the king’s judgment. The ploy works and David unwittingly declares his own crimes to be worthy of death. But when he’s identified as the guilty party, David readily admits his guilt and accepts responsibility. And instead of falling on his sword, David falls to his knees and begs God’s mercy. Saul and David both shed light on one of the great truths of Christian faith: God will forgive any sin for which we’re truly sorry.

40 Days for Life Launches Spring Campaign!

Father Chris Donley led the Eucharistic Procession to Planned Parenthood in Pittsburgh, to begin the 40 Days for Life Spring Campaign that runs through Palm Sunday.

Poster outside Pittsburgh Planned Parenthood shows lives saved by the efforts of 40 Days for Life Paryer Vigils and Sidewalk Advocates.

40 Days for Life is an internationally coordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses.

Click on the image above to access the Map and see the status of Pro-Life laws in your home state!

March for Life in Your Home State!

Click Buttons for more information and save the date!

If your March is not posted, please send information about your March to lspittcmf@gmail.com.

Saint from Pennsylvania showed heroic virtue in practicing charity among forgotten and abandoned children.

In May 1889, Katharine, whose feast day we just celebrated on Monday, became a postulant at a Sisters of Mercy (from County Carlow, Ireland) convent in Pittsburgh. Two years later, she took her first vows. A year after that, she opened the first Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament convent in suburban Philadelphia, with a boarding school for African American children on the property. There was a bomb threat, but Katharine soldiered on. In the next thirty-seven years, she and the other Blessed Sacrament sisters continued to persevere despite arson, threats from the Ku Klux Klan, and more. They established missions and schools for Native American and African American children as well as Xavier University in New Orleans, the United States’ only historically black Catholic college.

North Carolina AOH to participate in local

March for Life

North Carolina Brothers take part in Wilmington March for Life on February 8.

From Frank Reck, North Carolina AOH Pro Life Chairman

Here are some pictures that were taken at the March in Wilmington, NC. I am one of the two men in KofC Regalia leading the parade. The flag holder is Mike Maccalupo from Hampstead, NC, originally from Buffalo, NY. The woman with the blue jacket and hat is Mary Trybuskiewicz who leads the committee that runs the March. The speaker with the cap is Dr. Bill Pincus, Chairman of NC Right to Life. The speaker with the beard is Dr. John Bruchalski, author of Two Patients (See additional story below). The minster is Dr. Tony McGhee, Pastor of Liberty Bible Church in Wilmington. The woman speaker is Dot Campagna, a longtime participant in the Pro Life movement in Wilmington. She was honored and presented with flowers by Mary Trybuskiewicz as a “Hometown Hero.”

From Mary Trybuskiewicz:

Back in the summer of 2021, people from several different parishes in Eastern North Carolina, were all calling Deacon Joshua Klickman asking for more: more for our youth and more for our Pro-Life community. Deacon Josh connected this group to each other, and together they birthed the Wilmington March for Life which had its fourth consecutive event this past February at Long Leaf Park in Wilmington.

The purpose of the event is to energize and enlighten the local Pro-Life community. Judi Paparozzi, from Wilmington Catholic Radio, the emcee for the March, opened the Program and introduced John Clyatt to lead the group in singing the Star-Spangled Banner. Dorothy Campagna, a longtime participant in the Pro-life movement in Wilmington was honored and presented with flowers as a “Hometown Hero”.

This year’s speaker line-up was diverse. Dr. John Bruchalski from Divine Mercy Care in Virginia shared his journey from abortionist to Pro-Life physician. Then pastor Tony McGhee, talk show host and Pastor of Liberty Bible Church Wilmington, gave us a pep talk and some action items to promote the Pro-life agenda locally. The third speaker was Dr. Bill Pincus, President of NCRTL, who talked about the evils of partial birth abortion, NC as an abortion destination state due to the lack of a heartbeat bill and updated us on current and pending legislation efforts. He encouraged us to take a survey available on the NCRTL website, and to support the organization in its on-going fight for Life. After the speakers concluded, a Knights of Columbus Color Guard led the March around the park.

The Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Daughters of America, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Respect Life groups from local parishes donate their time, talent, and treasure to make this event possible.

Readings for Holy Mass February, 27, 2025

All of the following readings are packed with solid advice to consider when making tough decisions about life. Spend a half hour meditating on these readings and how they can be properly applied to situations involving abortion, assisted suicide, and capital punishment. Share these readings with your family, loved ones, friends, workmates, and classmates. Let them know how they have impacted your opinion on controversial Pro Life issues.

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 344

Reading 1 - Sirarch 5:1-8

Rely not on your wealth;

say not: "I have the power."

Rely not on your strength

in following the desires of your heart.

Say not: "Who can prevail against me?"

or, "Who will subdue me for my deeds?"

for God will surely exact the punishment.

Say not: "I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?"

for the Most High bides his time.

Of forgiveness be not overconfident,

adding sin upon sin.

Say not: "Great is his mercy;

my many sins he will forgive."

For mercy and anger alike are with him;

upon the wicked alights his wrath.

Delay not your conversion to the LORD,

put it not off from day to day.

For suddenly his wrath flames forth;

at the time of vengeance you will be destroyed.

Rely not upon deceitful wealth,

for it will be no help on the day of wrath.

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 1:1-4, 6

R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not

the counsel of the wicked

Nor walks in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the company of the insolent,

But delights in the law of the LORD

and meditates on his law day and night.

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

He is like a tree

planted near running water,

That yields its fruit in due season,

and whose leaves never fade.

Whatever he does, prospers.

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Not so the wicked, not so;

they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

For the LORD watches over the way of the just,

but the way of the wicked vanishes.

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Alleluia - 1 Thessalonians 2:13

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,

but as it truly is, the word of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel - Mark 9:41-50

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink

because you belong to Christ,

amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,  

it would be better for him if a great millstone

were put around his neck

and he were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed  

than with two hands to go into Gehenna,

into the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life crippled  

than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye

than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,

where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 

"Everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,

with what will you restore its flavor?

Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another."

My Conversion from Abortion to

Life-Affirming Medicine

Two Patients is the story of how a physician who practiced abortion came to question the medical status quo and to pioneer an approach to reproductive medicine that respects female fertility, honors the dignity of unborn children, and offers care to patients regardless of their financial situation. Such health care, writes Dr. John Bruchalski, is merciful medicine, and his memoir gives a glimpse of just how merciful the relationship between a doctor and his two patients—mother and child—can be.

Dagger John Hughes, called the AOH in America to Order in 1836.

In addition to Extreme Anti-Catholicism, Church and Home Burnings, and organizing the Catholic School System, Bishop Hughes also became a major player in the Civil War. Showing his true pro-life position, Bishop Hughes opposed the war and sought a peaceful end to slavery. Consequently the Civil War claimed 620,000 lives, which is, to date, the deadliest war in which the United States has been involved.

From the hardcover Jacket Notes:

Acclaimed biographer John Loughery tells the story of John Hughes, son of Ireland, friend of William Seward and James Buchanan, founder of St. John's College (now Fordham University), builder of Saint Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, pioneer of parochial-school education, and American diplomat. As archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York in the 1840 and 1850s and the most famous Roman Catholic in America, Hughes defended Catholic institutions in a time of nativist bigotry and church burnings and worked tirelessly to help Irish Catholic immigrants find acceptance in their new homeland. His galvanizing and protecting work and pugnacious style earned him the epithet Dagger John. When the interests of his church and ethnic community were at stake, Hughes acted with purpose and clarity.

In Dagger John, Loughery reveals Hughes's life as it unfolded amid turbulent times for the religious and ethnic minority he represented. Hughes the public figure comes to the fore, illuminated by Loughery's retelling of his interactions with, and responses to, every major figure of his era, including his critics (Walt Whitman, James Gordon Bennett, and Horace Greeley) and his admirers (Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln). Loughery peels back the layers of the public life of this complicated man, showing how he reveled in the controversies he provoked and believed he had lived to see many of his goals achieved until his dreams came crashing down during the Draft Riots of 1863 when violence set Manhattan ablaze.

To know "Dagger" John Hughes is to understand the United States during a painful period of growth as the nation headed toward civil war. Dagger John's successes and failures, his public relationships and private trials, and his legacy in the Irish Catholic community and beyond provide context and layers of detail for the larger history of a modern culture unfolding in his wake.