May 20^th; Seventh Sunday of Easter

That all who are struggling to overcome addictions-

whether to alcohol, drugs, pornography or gambling-

may find healing, forgiveness, and the strength to break free;

We pray to the Lord:

Respect Life

Today we begin the last week of the Easter Season. Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, is next Sunday. Our readings tell of Peter taking charge, and leading, by prayer, the selection of Matthias to replace Judas as one of the twelve. St. Johns letter exhorts us to love one another because God is love; so that when we love, God is with us. His Gospel records Jesus prayer to the Father, after the last supper, for His disciples; they, and we too, are sent forth to confirm the message of salvation. How do our words and deeds reflect our unity with the Church and zealous commitment to His message?

On April 12^th, the USCCB, in Our First, Most Cherished Liberty said: Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith? Without religious liberty properly understood, all Americans suffer, deprived of the essential contribution in education, health care, feeding the hungry, civil rights, and social services that religious Americans make every day. Notice the contrast between Religious Liberty and the much narrower Freedom to Worship, which envisions a naked public square devoid of religious influence. The HHS contraception mandate and re-definition of religious institutions, recently augmented by support for same-sex marriage, serve to marginalize the Church and its influence.

Here is one action you can take right now: Write to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and Congressman Steve Israel and ask them pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467). The Administrations decision to mandate coverage of sterilization and contraceptives, including drugs that can cause an abortion, makes passage of this measure especially urgent. The March 21 HHS notice of additional rulemaking does not change the coercive mandate itself or its extremely narrow exception for religious employers. This Act will ensure that the religious liberty and conscience rights of all participants in our nations health care system are respected. You can find their e-mail and USPS addresses at http://www.nyscatholic.org , select Contact Your Legislators.

Next month you can join a Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally at their local offices; noon, Friday, June 8^th. Visit http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com/ for more information.

Meanwhile, our local struggle against the Culture of Death continues. Tomorrow, Monday, May 21^st, our own Leticia Crafa Velasquez will be guest speaker at the LICL http://www.prolifeli.org General Meeting,7:45 PM, at the St Regis KofC Hall, Pond Rd @ Rosevale Ave, Ronkonkoma. She is a prolific blogger and writer; she will talk about her new book: A Special Mother is Born, stories from parents of special needs children. She founded KIDS, Keep Infants with Down Syndrome in 2008 in response to the 92% abortion rate of these babies.

The proponents of abortion as an easy fix are never around to pick up the pieces. If you know someone suffering from post- abortion syndrome, urge them to attend a Rachels Vineyard  www.RachelsVineyard.org Healing Retreat, a Friday to Sunday weekend, May 25-27, at the Seminary in Huntington. Call Deacon Frank Gariboldi 516-523-0586 fgariboldi@optonline.net  for reservations asap.

If youve ever wanted to hear Dr. Alveda King (niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), http://www.priestsforlife.org/staff/alvedaking.htm ,we invite you to a $25 fundraiser at Cure of Ars parish on Tuesday, June 19^th, 7:30-9 PM, at 2323 Merrick Ave, Merrick. Contact Anthony Gentile at 516-798-8746 agentile@lifecenterli.org for reservations.

We continue to vigil regularly at our local Planned Parenthood office on 755 New York Ave., Huntington: 2^nd Sat. 11:30-12:30, 3^rd Tue. 2:30-4:30, 4^th Thu. 6:30-8:30. Call 875-2245 for information.

The LICL will sponsor another Lobby for Life visit to Albany June 12 (new date!). We described our May visit last week. Contact maryannedumas@yahoo.com for more information.

The Life Issues are heating up as we approach Election Day; we invite you to join the parish Respect Life committee to become active in this great Civil Rights movement; call Joan & John Peters on 754-4522.

May 13^th; Sixth Sunday of Easter

For all mothers:

that their children will honor their many sacrifices by lives of service and virtue;

We pray to the Lord:

Respect Life

Happy Mothers Day!! This first reading records the descent of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of a Gentile, the Roman Centurion Cornelius, and his household, the forerunner of us non-Jews in Faith. Johns Epistle and Gospel speak of love, calling on us to love one-another just as God has loved us. So we are called to love especially the least of our brothers and sisters, the pre-born humans, by saving them from abortion and lethal experimentation. 

On May 1^st we traveled to Albany for Lobby for Life day, sponsored by our Long Island Coalition for Life (LICL) www.proLifeLI.org and the NYS Right to Life Committee (NYS RTL) www.nysRightToLife.org . We were picked up by their bus at LIE Exit 49 parking lot at 5 AM and arrived at the Well in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) before 9 AM. We picked up more lobbying materials, socialized with familiar pro-lifers, and, at 10 AM, listened to a number of speakers; NYC RTL staffers, Burke Balch of the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics www.nrlc.org/medethics who spoke about the rationing dangers in Obamacare, and a number of pro-life Senators and Assemblymen. Our main purpose was to distribute the LICL Position Paper to every legislators staff on our assigned 7^th floor of the LOB. When we visited officials not from LI, we handed out the NYS RTL Position Paper too, since LICL is a member. Here are thumb nail summaries of the issues. We begin with legislation we OPPOSE:

Reproductive Health Act S.2524 (Klein), S.2844 (Stewart, Cousins), A.6112 (Glick) will make abortion a basic right, ensuring its legality throughout all nine months of pregnancy (think partial-birth abortion), allow post-viability abortions in out-patient clinics and non-physicians to perform them, and eliminate conscience protection for religious hospitals, ensuring NY is the countrys abortion capital.

Healthy Teens Act S.1532 (Oppenheimer), A.808 (Gottfried) sets up a new state-funded sex education grant program to enable groups like Planned Parenthood to go into classrooms promoting contraception and abortion. NY already had plenty of sex ed; another dedicated funding stream will encourage outside advocacy groups to promote their extreme agenda in our classrooms.

NYS RTL asks us to OPPOSE:

Organ Donation- Presumed Consent A.2952 (Ortiz) would make NY the first state in the US to harvest organs without explicit consent. Recall that now we are encouraged to donate our organs every time we renew our drivers license, etc. This Act requires us to explicitly opt out.

Conscience Rights of Pharmacists S.894 (Kruger) actually strips conscience protection from pharmacists who object to dispensing certain medications such as emergency contraception.

Here is legislation we SUPPORT:

Unborn Victims of Violence Act S.4347 (Ritchie) A.1673 (Cusick) protects wanted babies carried by pregnant women from acts of violence intended to destroy them. Currently there is no such protection in NYS law, in spite of increasing number of such assaults intended to harm the babies.

Sex Selection Abortion Ban S.50333 (Ball) A.7610 (Crespo) prohibits sex-selection abortion which is used to prevent the birth of a child of an unwanted sex.

Parental Notification S.4348 (Zeldin) A.2128 (Reilich) requires that at least one parent or legal guardian of a minor (under 18) receive written notification from a physician or their agent within 48 hours prior to the scheduled abortion. (you will appreciate the irony that the physician is usually the abortionist!)

The NYS RTL asks us to SUPPORT:

Pain Management Bill A.732 (Gottfried) directs health care professionals to provide pain-relieving meds, to the extent authorized by accepted professional guidelines. Studies show that unbearable pain and depression lead to active or passive euthanasia.

Unfortunately, we didnt have time to visit our local legislators, Senators John Flanagan and Carl Marcellino, on the 8^th floor, or Assemblyman Andrew Raia, on the 6^th. We strongly urge you to make your voice heard on these issues by telephoning, e-mailing, writing, or visiting them. Every contact represents the opinions of many more constituents, multiplying your influence! Background information, sample letters, office and e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers can be found at www.nysRightToLife.org and the NYS Bishops website www.nyscatholic.org .Our next LICL-sponsored Lobby Day is Tuesday, June 5^th; e-mail maryannedumas@yahoo.com if you can participate- the babies will thank you! We invite you to become active in this great Civil Rights movement: call Joan & John Peters on 754-4522 to join the parish Respect Life committee.