Let people see Jesus within us
In our Catholic faith, there is a very strong belief in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This strong belief is emphasized in the article on eucharistic miracles (Catholic Virginian, April 19).
Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist is what we believe as central to our faith, and this foundational belief leads to why we believe in Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist.
We receive Jesus in the Eucharist so that we can become the body of Jesus to others in life around us. St. Augustine said it centuries ago, “become what you receive.”
Our lives as Christians have to bear witness to the life of Jesus living within us so that Jesus within us can change the world around us to reflect the presence of Jesus in a world of peace, justice and love.
If people do not see Jesus really present within us, will they believe in Jesus really present in the Eucharist? – Father Louis R. Benoit, Roanoke
Don’t sow doubt about COVID vaccine
I am deeply concerned with the front-page piece, “Bishops to vaccine developers: ‘Stop using abortion-derived cell lines”’ (Catholic Virginian, April 19).
As this pandemic continues to spread throughout the world, another sensationalized headline which might dissuade some from a COVID-19 vaccination is reckless, especially when the, “however, what’s most important is that people get vaccinated,” isn’t stated until page 10.
Choosing the manufacturer of which vaccine we received was not an option for many of us. Those of us who do not have a choice to stay at home and work remotely are grateful to receive the vaccine at all. Let’s not sow doubt when it’s important for everyone to get vaccinated. – Sheila Franco, Mechanicsville
Is Church’s message being lost?
After reading the letters to the editor (Catholic Virginian, May 3), I was impressed by the profoundly negative effect that secular society and the media have on the Catholic faithful. The pro-life stance of the Church was described as “clearly an obsession with abortion among some.”
The organization, Black Lives Matter, whose founders self-describe as trained Marxists, and have proclaimed to be anti-nuclear family, anti-heterosexual privilege and anti-traditional marriage, was presented in a most affirming way.
There was a rather rabid rant against President Trump which clearly demonstrated that the writer had no love for this neighbor.
It all read more like the op-ed section of a secular newspaper rather than a Catholic publication. Is the Church’s message being lost or am I over-reacting? – Marilyn Stevens, Norfolk
Disappointed in readers’ opinions
You talk about disappointing. I just finished reading the opinion of some Catholics (Catholic Virginian, May 4) regarding Joe Biden’s “single issue,” and that somehow abortion is now an “obsession.” This single issue and obsession are in regard to life — the most precious gift God has so mercifully given to us.
How do we justify that this is a passing issue? The CDC estimates more than 600,000 babies were aborted in the U.S. from 2018-2020; the Guttmacher Institute estimates more than 800,000 during that same span. Most are performed by Planned Parenthood, which is funded by our federal government, which in turn is funded by us, the tax paying citizens. All Catholics and Christians should be outraged over this and many are, e.g., the annual March for Life in DC.
Roe vs. Wade is a bad law because it was decided by nine non-elected people in black coats instead of our representatives in Congress. The law needs to go away and let the states decide what should be done.
Faith in God is a discipline, and disciplines have specific doctrines to assist us in leading a life of dignity and respect for others. The 10 Commandments are the basis of our Catholic doctrine and act as an excellent pathway to loving one another, with “Thou shalt not kill” being one of those commandments. If you follow the science, abortion is just that. – John Aaron, Short Pump
Church should establish ‘Unplanned Parenthood’
I am a pro-life Catholic who is deeply disappointed in the Church’s apparent inability or unwillingness to create a compassionate, affordable, smooth pipeline between young women embroiled in the excruciating dilemma of completing or terminating a pregnancy and those who would desperately love to adopt those babies.
There are thousands of couples struggling with infertility or simply interested in expanding their own families but either give up or spend endless time and money for babies from other countries because the process here is so complex, expensive and bureaucratically prohibitive.
I’ve seen the heartbreaking notebooks hospital social workers show pregnant women who are considering giving their babies up for adoption – filled with pictures and bios of couples yearning for children.
I’ve had friends who honestly felt they had no choice but to abort and others who were exasperated by agencies that could not guide them through a simple and humane adoption process.
According to iFoster, there are more than 400,000 unwanted American foster kids who would give anything for a “forever family,” and according to the CDC, from 2018-2020, more than 600,000 abortions were performed.
I would rather know that the perfect souls of all those aborted babies go straight back into the arms of Jesus than have them born into a world where they’ll be tossed around like street litter. Are we pro-life or simply pro-birth?
Perhaps the Catholic Church should start an organization called “Unplanned Parenthood” whose mission would be to lovingly guide those with unplanned pregnancies toward safe, loving homes for their babies. – Cecilia Thomas, Mechanicsville
Thank you from Msgr. Golden
I want to thank everyone for your many prayers and cards at the passing of my father and now for my mother. Please know that your kindness in writing me is deeply appreciated and that your words were very consoling. Thank you all so very much. God bless. – Msgr. Patrick Golden, Roanoke