Letter from the Pontifical Academy for Life

Letter from the Pontifical Academy for Life on the question of using vaccinations derived from aborted fetal tissue. It has been translated from Italian by the Academy.

On Vaccines Made From Cells of Aborted Fetuses

Ethical Vaccines

There has been a great deal of unrest with regards to vaccines in recent years. As a nurse, I'm supposed to push people to get their children vaccinated...and I cannot deny that vaccines have probably done some good since their inception during the last century. However, as a Catholic and a nurse who is concerned with the holistic good of others I cannot in good conscience remain silent on this issue.

Unknown to most of the public is the fact that the cell lines from aborted fetuses are used to grow or become the substance of vaccines. Basically, this means that tissues taken from aborted fetuses are used as the cells to grow vaccines in/on. They can be grown on other substances (chicken embroys for example) so there is no conceivable reason to use those of aborted fetuses. Using the fetal cell lines is faster because new eggs must be gotten each time and cultivated, whereas the fetal cell line, called PER C6, is always handy.

The link below contains a list of the vaccines that contain aborted fetal cell lines and gives moral alternatives. Some vaccines, like the They also have the sources of their information listed, and individuals can call or go online to see the ingredients of their vaccines because these things are public. MDCK is a moral line ingredient name. You can request any of these from your physician. Any vaccines not listed do not contain the immoral lines.

COG for Life

Reflection on Tolerance

Today we have arrived in a state of total ambiguity, or at least so it would seem. Virtues are no longer practiced in public, nor are they acceptable. Chastity is looked upon with scorn and disdain, fertility which was once a blessing is now a curse and must be "controlled;" Children, once a blessing, are now a "right" so that if you are unable to conceive in the natural there are means by which a child may be manufactured, as opposed to being the fruit of a loving act between father and mother; Justice and mercy seem to be a dicotomy, and therefore cannot really exist in todays world of logic and constistency, thus we adopt the attitude of "fairness" because of course this is the purified form of justice; Love is acceptable at all times and in all places, in any form and for any person, so that any atrocity can be committed as long as it is done for love; kindness is permitted so long as it does not inconvenience the giver in any way; patience has gone by the wayside, for you can even skip the few seconds of silence in between songs; self-sacrifice, meekness and humility are silly and stupid. Faithlessness in marriage is forgivable under nearly every circumstance, and divorce always acceptable. Temperance is good, but if you want to do everything to excess no one will say boo. Peace is simply the lack of virtue. Liberality has become a virtue instead of a trait. What is the only virtue left us?

Frankly, it isn't a virtue at all. It is tolerance. Virtue has become obsolete, for everything is relative to location, time, person, situation, etc. As Chesterton pointed out, "Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions," Some even believe that cold blooded murder, the worst of crimes, is acceptable if the victim is a "bad" person, though what constitutes bad these days I have no idea. It may be acceptable if they are suffering, or no longer productive (fulfilling their place in society), or perhaps unwanted, "for it is better they not live at all than to live a life as an unwanted person." Life, we must conclude from this, is no longer worth living if conditions are not optimal. Thus we join Margaret Sanger in her crusade against "retarded" life, blacks; Hitler and his band which supported only the perfect race, a race of demi-gods made of genetically perfect individuals; Peter Singer in his view that parents have sway over the life or death of their offspring until age 12.

So what is this new virtue, this standard? Tolerance is "to bear with, to not interfere with, to allow, to permit," in the grammatical world. In the medical world it refers to the body's ability to grow numb to the effects of certain drugs so that there must be more drug given to cause the same effect. Tolerance itself is a neutral thing and can become either good or evil by way of the essential matter tolerated. However, in our day one must tolerate everything, good and evil, no matter how atrocious...one is absolutely compelled to do so. In the land of free speech it is now a crime to take an unpopular stance or to speak an unpopular sentiment. Tolerance is the gospel of the people.

As for me, I will tolerate other opinions, the fact that you like scary movies, that Mr. Jones only cuts his lawn every two weeks, that my roommate plays loud music I dislike. Such things are not moral issues. However, under no circumstances should one ever condone sins, silence his own voice or the voices of others in speaking against evil, nor should we ever be silent in the face of policies, legalities, or opinions which are offensive to the right. We must have convictions, that there is truth, and that life is indeed worth living.

"All the Pretty Little Horses"

Lullabies are exactly that, a song which is supposed to lull the listener into sleep. They are repetitive, often with simple appealing intervals, and are usually seem about nothing of consequence. However, nearly every lullaby tells a tragic or dramatic story. This one seems to be a negro/southern song. The very last verse is obviously very different than the refrain or the other verse, and is thought to indicated the sorrow of the black slave ladies who nursed their white charges having been compelled to abandon their own families. However, since the song has been handed down by oral tradition, the real meaning of the song may remain a mystery. I recently heard "All the Pretty Little Horses" at a music student recital, and fell in love with it.


Hushaby, don' you cry
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you awake you shall have cake
And all the pretty little horses.

Blacks and Bays, Dapples and Grays
Coach, and a six a little horses.
Blacks and Bays, Dapples and Grays
Coach, and a six a little horses.
So Hushaby...etc.

Way down yonda', down in the medder
There's a poor little lambie.
Bees an' the butterflies peckin' out his eyes
Poor lambie cried fo' his mammy

To listen on youtube

Homilies

The Fraternity of Saint Peter, an order of secular priests who say only the Extraordinary form of the Latin Rite Mass, have a website with some of the most excellent homilies and Lenten missions then have done. It's pretty cool, you can find them by category, by date, and others.

Audio Sancto

You Were Born to Fly by Sara Evens

I heard this song by Sara Evens on the radio this evening, and it is one of those songs that just strikes a chord within you and you know that you have felt that. Wanting so much that which you think will fulfill or which is most possibly your vocation. Kinda silly though, the part about the desire for love being a sin. There is no sin in attempting to fill that whole left in our being by original sin, ever since the fall, whereby we seek love, happiness, and fulfillment to be found in Christ by means of our vocation. It is that search for something deeper which effects our salvation...that we look into ourselves and eventually to God for the truth. Truth is end, the goal, of our lives and our being, the end and the means by which we find our way into paradise and happiness.

You Were Born to Fly

I've been telling my dreams to the scarecrow
About the places that I'd like to see
I say, "friend do you think I'll ever get there?"
Oh, but he just stands there smilin' back at me
So I confessed my sins to the preacher
About the love I've been prayin' to find
Is there a brown-eyed boy in my future, yeah
And he says, "girl, you've got nothin' but time."

But how do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know that you were born,
You were born to fly

My daddy he is grounded like the oak tree
My momma she is steady as the sun
Oh, you know I love my folks
But I keep starin' down the road
Just lookin' for my one chance to run
Hey, cause I will soar away like a blackbird
I will blow in the wind like a seed
I will plant my heart in the garden of my dreams
And I will grow up where I wander wild and free

Oh, How do you wait for heaven?
And who has that much time?
And how do you keep your feet on the ground
When you know, that you were born?
You were born, yeah, you were born to fly

Coffee and Diapers

I recently found this site, made by three young mothers. I have met Sia and esteem her as a gifted artist and a lovely woman. The site is artistic (something I wish I were), funny, gives advice, and anything else that might possibly go with the diaper-coffee theme. Check it out for yourself.

Coffee and Diapers

"This site is devoted to the discussion of the Holy and Sacred vocation of Motherhood: Imitation of Our Lady of Nazareth and becoming the heart of the home. Diaper by diaper, dish by dish, we are asked to grow in holiness. As responsible Catholics, we also hope to remind our readers about the nature of our calling. Motherhood is such a dignified and important task... something that is forgotten in today's world. May this blog serve to inspire and encourage women everywhere:"

"Like the sun rising over the mountains of the Lord, such is the beauty of a good wife in a well-run house."
Ecclesiasticus 26:16

Reflections on Truth

What is Truth? According to Chesterton.

1) Truth will always be true. It's veracity does not rest on what day it is or what age in which we live. What was true in 1398 B.C. was true in Mexico in 1600, in China in 400 A.D., in Rome in 66A.D., in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., in the United States in 1775, in Ireland in 1916, England in 1940, in Georgia in 1864, in Germany in 1987.
2) Truth is consistent.
3) Truth is whole. Anything less than the whole is a heresy, a lie, a half-truth or perhaps even less. If you are missing a piece of the truth, you cannot be said to know the truth.
4) Truth is good, never evil. Truth always coincides with virtue, as a lack of truth always coincides with vice. Though we all love the truth, it makes us uncomfortable. A lack of truth lives with evil.

Fiction Vs. Truth.
Truth is stranger than fiction because we have made fiction to fit ourselves. Truth is real whereas fiction is realistic. Truth is holy, superior, and high and fiction low, debase, and evil.

Other than the fact that truth makes us uncomfortable is the fact that speaking the truth can get you into a fight. Every person knows that they are to love truth and to hate evil. If this were not the case, people would not spend so much time, effort, wind, and energy to make evil appear true. One should always defend what you love. Therefore, though perhaps unpleasant, a fight for truth is an act of love.

Truth is muddy, which encourages doubt and a lack of faith. Doubt is reactionary and prejudicial. Tolerance is preferred nowadays to truth. Those who denounce intolerance have no theory to denounce it. The idea is that it doesn't matter what you believe now so long as you don't hurt anybody else. The logic of that statement is debatable. However, on the flip side is that everyone is concerned with what everyone else believes. People are never so hypocritical and intolerant as when they are being impartial. Tolerance refuses to fight, to act for the truth, and if it is not true, it must needs be a lie.

An Old Fashioned Girl and Work

Everybody loves an old fashioned girl, that is unless she's a prude. She is generally regarded with honor if the term is applied brightly. I flatter myself that I could be considered an old fashioned girl myself. Why? Well, if I cannot talk with a person face-to-face I would rather write letters than email or even phone someone. My favorite mode of travel is by train, or maybe by car, something that is slow enough to take in all of the country between stops. Therefore, planes are not agreeable to this "old fashioned" world view. Furthermore, there are usually too many people in airports. Washing dishes is much more fun that a dishwasher, which doesn't save much time in the long run. You can hang out with your family, discuss things, and get it all done in record time. Then there is no accidental forgetting to run it and having no spoon at breakfast...in which case you have to wash the thing all the same. Raking leaves provides much more exercise and joy than blowing 'em around. Besides, one doesn't use any gasoline or electricity.

All the benefits are not on the side of being conservative. For example, sweeping is great for your arms but horrid for your back, and it took me an entire hour to sweep the grass out of the gutter in front of the yard. Most folks just use a blower and have done with it, or one of those lawn vacuums. Nevertheless, those blowers do joggle one's joints and contribute to premature deafness. Also, while I was sweeping up, I was able to talk with my Daddy while he worked on the car. Time savers which pollute the nice quiet world with noise often interrupt our ability to converse, to talk with each other, and to just spend quality time. It was pretty nice, spending time with Daddy, cause with 6 younger siblings at home and a talkative mother, I hardly ever get to talk with Daddy.

I would encourage everyone out there to take some time and do it the old way. Otherwise, use your time saved by modern conveniences to spend with family and friends as opposed to getting more modern conveniences.