How do we live out the message of Christmas in the New Year, rather than pack it away with the ornaments?

One way to live out the message of Christmas and follow Our Lady’s example all through 2019 is to start with 9 Days for Life, a novena for the respect of all human life.

Join thousands of Catholics nationwide in prayer from Monday, January 14, through Tuesday, January 22.

To sign up for the novena, just click on the button below.

9 Days 4 Life novena list

Reprinted and adapted with permission from "9 Days for Life", copyright © 2018, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

ST. ANTHONY / ST. PAUL HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY GROUP

The human life and dignity group seeks to promote and protect the dignity of human life - and indeed of all God's handiwork - in faithfulness to the program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for parish pro-life activities and in faithfulness to the spirit of Pope Francis, especially as proclaimed in the encyclical Laudato si (2015).

Our HLD Group is also directly inspired by the spirit and work of the Conventual Franciscan Order, as founded by Saint Francis of Assisi.

Since 2016, the HLD Group has been organized using the concepts of semi-autonomous workgroups. Each workgroup has anywhere from one to dozens of members. Each workgroup gets busy and pursues their topic in harmony with the other groups but on their own schedule. In this way, we spend less time holding meetings and more time doing things. Each workgroup is asked to choose between one and three activities each school year, publish those goals and concentrate their efforts on them all year.

The full Human Life and Dignity Group holds two large assemblies each year. The Full Assemblies help us inspire each other, harmonize our efforts, examine our focus and determine our overall priorities each year. The Assemblies are open meetings and we invite ANYONE who is interested in promoting the dignity of human life in any fashion to attend.

Friar Bob Showers
4th of July, 2016


HERE ARE THE EIGHT WORKGROUPS AS OF JANUARY 2017 AND THEIR CURRENT PROJECTS:

1. PREGNANCY CARE

• Cooperation with Compassion Pregnancy Center in Angola
  
• Cooperation with Women's Pregnancy Center in Auburn
• Other activities to encourage birth instead of abortion

2. ABORTION PREVENTION WORKGROUP

• March on Washington - January 27, 2017 (http://marchforlife.org/)
• Cooperation with the Human Life Action Center (https://www.humanlifeactioncenter.org/)
• Other activities to promote legal changes in the U.S. and world

3. POST-ABORTION HEALING

• Cooperation with Project Rachel (http://sites.diocesefwsb.org/projectrachel/index.html)

4. DIGNITY OF WOMEN

• Cooperation with TLC Angola (http://www.tlchouseindiana.org/)
• Participation in Trine University's "Take Back the Night" - April 2017 (http://www.trine.edu/news/trine-take-back-night.aspx)
• Cooperation with Community Anti-Violence Alliance of Angola

5. WORKGROUP AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY

• Plan a Parish Workshop on this topic - we must find a new date

6. CARE OF THE EARTH

• Read and celebrate the anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato si"
• Participate in the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Environmental Justice Program, part of the USCCB Human Life & Dignity Program: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/environment/
• Join Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light (http://www.hoosieripl.org/)

7. PRAYER AND LITURGY

• Make plans for observing Respect Life Month in October 2016

8. CONCERNING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• Arrange an open discussion on this topic with parishioners

This is an ambitious program! But we are many hands and many hearts. We are asking each member just to do a little. If you have not already done so, look at the list of existing workgroups and pick one or perhaps two that you would like to get involved with.

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JUSTICE, PEACE AND THE
SAFEGUARDING OF CREATION
IN THE FRANCISCAN TRADITION

Friar Joseph Blay, OFM Conv.
General Delegate of the Conventual Franciscan Order for Peace, Justice and the Safeguarding of Creation
St. Anthony of Padua Friary, Accra, Ghana

 …All praise be yours, my Lord,
through Sister Earth, our mother,
Who feeds us in her sovereignity
And produces various fruits
With colored flowers and herbs…

Justice, peace, and the safeguarding creation are basic tenets of Franciscan spirituality. St. Francis may have been the first environmentalist, recognizing the value in all of God’s creation as reflected in his Canticle of the Creatures. He praised God with Sister Cricket and with the birds in the forest.
The Conventual Friars of Our Lady of Consolation Province have formed a commission to foster social consciousness through the dissemination of information and other appropriate means. You can read about it here.

HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
IN THE PROGRAM OF THE U.S. BISHOPS

For the Roman Catholic Church, there is no distinction between defending human life and promoting the dignity of the human person. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published the document "The Life and Dignity of the Human Person: priority plan" in 2010 to guide the efforts of parish Human Life and Dignity Groups. You can read about it at the USCCB website.

Here is the online version of the Pastoral Plan for Parish Pro-Life Activities.

Some Vatican statements on human life and dignity.

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The

Human Life and Dignity Group

Fall Assembly

will take place on

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

at 7:00 p.m.

in the Parish Center.

CAMPAIGN TO END THE DEATH PENALTY

In the spring of 2017, the U.S. bishops asked the parishes to pray for an end to assisted suicides (euthanasia). Justifications for assisted suicide are related to arguments in favor of both abortion and suidice in general. See the spring program here. Here is a link to a blog entry about Thirteen Reasons Why.

For the summer of 2017, the bishops are asking us to participate in the campaign to end the death penalty.