Pope Benedict Blesses Huge Crowd of 150,000

Pope Benedict XVI welcomes the crowd. He blessed 150,000 for one of his last public appearances during the Angelus on Sunday Feb. 17, 2013. Sunday evening he was beginning a week-long spiritual lenten retreat.

                                          CNS/ Paul Haring

He said, “In this Year of Faith, Lent is a favorable time to rediscover the faith in God as the basic criterion of our life and the life of the Church.”

Of course the news media might show you this picture or the one above or one totally unrelated, but few showed the huge crowds or if they did they had to include snide remarks or weird commentary.

"Today we contemplate Christ in the desert, fasting, praying, and being tempted. As we begin our Lenten journey, we join him and we ask him to give us strength to fight our weaknesses. Let me also thank you for the prayers and support you have shown me in these days. May God bless all of you!"

For more of the text, you can find it at Catholic World Report

More pictures here

 For the complete text on video.

                                         Pope Benedict XVI blesses us

                                          Photo of him blessing us.

Promote a Culture of Life in the Year of Faith

During the Year of Faith, I am embarking on a special project to promote a Culture of Life. Not only is this an opportunity to transform the culture by stating, "life is beautiful," but it is also a spiritual act of mercy, instructing the ignorant--not to mention spreading the faith.

I like to think big! In this case, very big! -- As big as a huge billboard that has 60,000 viewers per day. Multiply that by 4 weeks and that is 1,680,000! Not bad. This is not just any billboard. It is on Odgen and Farwell across the street from the only abortion clinic in Milwaukee. One of the benefits of this billboard is that there is a stoplight on Farwell, so that people will be looking right at the billboard when stopped. Unfortunately, because of the number of viewers and size of the billboard--very large--it is not cheap.

I would like to engage as many people as possible in this project. The response so far has been phenomenal! I have sent an e-mail out to our homeschool group, the local 40 Days for Life group, friends, relatives, and other Catholic groups. But I am sure there are many other people, who would be interested in supporting this project.

The goal is $8,175. Now I realize for most families that is a hardship during these difficult economic times. If I can just get 100 people who would pledge $82.00 we would reach our goal in a snap! You may not have $82.00, but if you know friends, relatives, or acquaintances in the neighborhood or church, the $82.00 would add up quickly. For example, if your own family contributed $12.00 all you would need would be 7 more people to contribute $10.00.

If relatives can contribute to softball and other endeavors they may be more than willing to contribute to this. If you know any church pro-life groups, youth groups, or Knights of Columbus groups that would like to contribute please pass it on. I already have some donors lined up, but I have far to go! Please write all checks to Prolife Across America. Prolife Across America is a 501 (c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible. As soon as I receive the full amount, I will let you know the status of the billboard. At the present time, the billboard is open.

The picture on the billboard will be "It's a Black and White Issue Our Hearts Were Beating 18 Days from Conception." You can view it at Prolife Across America

For those who have asked, the cost of the billboard runs for 4 weeks. I am confident by the overwhelming enthusiastic response I will be able to raise the amount, and if we can top the amount we can continue to rent the billboard.


God Bless,
Elizabeth Yank

Year of Faith Idea

One of my husband's favorite apps is http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/. It combines the daily reading with music. Although it is designed for the commuter, anyone would enjoy listening to the readings and benefit from the thought provoking questions.

Year of Faith Idea

For the Year of Faith, some members of our homeschool group are attempting to read the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church in one year. To subscribe to read 2 pages a day, visit

here.

The Year of Faith: Helpful Hints for Catholic Parents

Lay Witness magazine has devoted their September/October issue to the Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict. If you go to page 18, you will find some "Helpful Hints for Catholic Parents" based on the writings of St. Teresa of Avila written by yours truly. If you would like to read the whole article, you can subscribe at Laywitness.

In her autobiography, St. Teresa of Avila attributed her parents to laying down the foundation of her faith through their pious example. What did they do? Can we imitate their example? Read the article to find out more.