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Dear Friends For Life,
The Missionaries of Charity were established in 1950 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. After she came to Japan in 1980, she opened four houses across Japan including a monastery. One of the houses is in Ama City, Aichi prefecture. Sisters from India, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Japan undertake community service, wearing the same kind of sari with white and blue stripes which mother Teresa wore. Sisters run soup kitchens for homeless people three times a week at parks. Before the kitchens start, people pray together. The tables which sisters prepare become the places where people exchange information and catch up with each other.
When Mother Teresa came to Japan, she was shocked and worried that the rate of abortion in Japan was high while not so many people died of hunger. She said that a country which had a high abortion rate was not a truly rich country. That's why sisters of the Missionaries of Charity focus on support service for unmarried women, such as providing shelters in convents. Sisters pray every day for unborn babies especially those who are in danger of being aborted. One of the sisters has a replica of ten-month old baby's finger on her rosary. Its size is less than 1 centimeter. At any moment, it could be that a little life is being buried. Looking at the replica of a baby's little finger, I wondered what kind of life these babies would have had if they had been born.
Mother Teresa said, "it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving". Her followers, sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, continue to put her words into actions every day.
God Bless,
Jerry Novotny, OMI
(The Difference is LIFE) "The big, blazing truth about man is that he has a heaven-sized hole in his heart, and nothing else can fill it. We pass our lives trying to fill the Grand Canyon with marbles. As Augustine said: "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee". - Peter Kreeft
*---*(Due to volume of spam received, do not reply to this message but instead send all emails to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Thank you!)
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Lifeissues.net Newsletter #596
October 7, 2012
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(TABLE OF CONTENTS):
1. A lonely end to life for more South Koreans
2. Open Letter to Priests by Young Catholics
3. The Dangers of Abortion: New Studies Reveal Risks
4. Pope: Same-sex marriage threatens the future of human nature and society
5. Pressure on Japan for stronger laws on child pornography
6. Wrong diagnosis, wrong medicine won't cure bullying
7. Rape, pregnancy and a woman's freedom
8. The Family: A Communion of Persons
9. Planned Parenthood's war on the family
10. (Korea) Building a diverse and fair society
11. Life in China's countryside worse than under Mao
12. God Loves Marriage and Children: The 27th Week of Ordinary Time
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(Contraception): "You Deserve to Know the Truth: Contraception" - Excellent 13.5 minute video.
(Post Abortion): "Aaron" - One of the best pro-life short films in recent memory. Powerful, touching and deep! It reveals so much in so little time.
(Life): "Mommy I'm Yours" - Must listen: family band with 10 children spreading culture of life with powerful pro-life song.
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ITEM #1: A lonely end to life for more South Koreans
Number of elderly Koreans living alone has quadrupled.
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ITEM #2: Open Letter to Priests by Young Catholics
We are writing this letter to you today because we have some things we want to say to you. Some things are easier to say than others, but here you go. Before that, though, a HUGE thank you. Thank you for having the courage to say yes to your counter-cultural vocation. We are forever grateful and will never be able to repay you. We're also grateful for your energy and enthusiasm you have for us as young Catholics. There are few people that value us for who we are and encourage us toward greatness and holiness as you do.
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ITEM #3: The Dangers of Abortion: New Studies Reveal Risks
Advocates of abortion often insist that it needs to be legal and readily available so as to reduce health risks for women. Some recent studies show, however, that abortion brings with it considerable risks.
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ITEM #4: Pope: Same-sex marriage threatens the future of human nature and society
The Pope has defended the traditional definition of marriage, saying it must be "promoted and defended" from changes such as allowing gay couples to marry.
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ITEM #5: Pressure on Japan for stronger laws on child pornography
A booklet entitled, "Violence Against Children in Cyberspace," is pictured at an office of Keiji Goto, a police officer-turned lawyer in Tokyo August 10, 2012. "The average citizen is against child pornography, but I feel they don't act strongly on those beliefs. Whenever they face strong opposition, they tend to back down easily," says Goto, who in 2005 left the police force's cybercrime unit and became a lawyer, who now works with crime victims.
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ITEM #6: Wrong diagnosis, wrong medicine won't cure bullying
Why medical school anti-bullying policies are failing.
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ITEM #7 Rape, pregnancy and a woman's freedom
Rape does not have to take the joy out of bringing a new life into the world.
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ITEM #8: The Family: A Communion of Persons
The first portion of this paper presents in a sketchy form some of the philosophical principles that undergird John Paul II's thought on the family. A brief history of competing views of the family and of the human person will serve to set those views in high relief. The second portion of the paper lays out John Paul II's particular vision of the Catholic understanding of the family.
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ITEM #9: Planned Parenthood's war on the family
Behind Planned Parenthood's favorite slogan, "Every child a wanted child," is a sinister agenda that strikes with deadly force at the child-the very heart of the family. The late 1960s was a time when our brothers and best friends were disappearing from our ranks as they headed to Vietnam. Many never came back; others were forever horribly wounded - physically, spiritually, and emotionally. The war was front and center in the news every day, and we watched the horrors of war live and in color on our televisions.
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ITEM #10: (Korea) Building a diverse and fair society
Migrant workers must be better integrated into national life.
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ITEM #11: Life in China's countryside worse than under Mao
Research by a Chinese historian sheds light on the situation in China's rural areas, still under heavy-handed Communist rule. The Great Leap Forward might be past history, but peasants still live with its legacy at the bottom of the social heap. Data confirm that rural populations have lower wages and lack adequate health care or education as their land is seized and given over to capitalists.
****************************************ITEM #12: God Loves Marriage and Children: The 27th Week of Ordinary Time
The Readings for this Sunday provide the homilist with an ideal opportunity to teach Christian doctrine concerning marriage and children. The opportunity is timely, too, as one of our political parties has taken an official stand supporting "same-sex marriage," an arrangement that is not intrinsically related to the birth and rearing of children, does not provide the same benefit to society as true marriage, and can never be as optimal for the well-being of children as to be raised by their own biological father and mother. In the midst of the confusion about the very nature of marriage and its purpose, these Readings shed the light of God's revelation on how we should live this most intimate aspect of our lives.
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YOU CAN CHANGE SOCIETY:
1. BE INFORMED: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net. Access to all prior Newsletters is located in the Archives on main page.
2. PRAY DAILY: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
3. BECOME INVOLVED: Several years ago Fr. Jerry created a project entitled, "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia". The project appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is centered on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures place emphasis on "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Life Issues, Trends and Challenges".
For information about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp.
To become a supportive Missionary participant for this Asian project, kindly send your donations to:
** Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI
** LifeIssues.net, Editor
** Akebono-cho 1-15-9
** Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072
(or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824)
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Contact EDITOR:
Jerry Novotny, OMI
Akebono-cho 1-15-9
Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072
[tel/fax: 088-843-0406]
[email: jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp]
["Due to volume of spam received, we're asking you not to reply to this message but instead send all correspondence to jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp. Thank you! Editor"]
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Websites by Editor:
English LifeIssues Site: http://www.lifeissues.net,
Japanese LifeIssues Site: http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,
HIV/AIDS Site: http://capcha.org
OMI Japan/Korea Site: http://omijapankorea.net/
