Pro-life pilgrims are gathering in Washington DC from across the nation and beyond for the annual Walk for Live event. The purpose is clear, to convince our nation's leaders that abortion is murder. Our nation has had heinous laws before and lawful protest overturned those as well. Now as we move forward will we continue to be a nation that embraces the culture of death? Will we as a nation condone the senseless murder of innocent children? Will we rise up and show the world the city on a hill that President Reagan spoke of so often? Pray for the brave pilgrims who are representing us in our nation's capital. Pray that their devotion and peaceful, prayerful protest will change even the most hardened of hearts. If we continue to embrace murder as a way to deal with as some would say "life's inconveniences", we will not truly have peace. Spend some time each day this week to pray that the United States become a nation that embraces life!
The twelve apostles chosen by Jesus formed the bedrock of the early Church , and their Catholic identity is deeply rooted in their direct relationship with Christ and the mission He entrusted to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights this foundational role, stating that Jesus "instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy'" ( CCC 860 ). These men were not simply followers; they were handpicked by Jesus, lived intimately with Him, witnessed His miracles and teachings firsthand, and were specifically commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Their unique position as eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, established them as the authoritative leaders of the nascent Church, a reality echoed in the writings of early Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, who emphasized the apostles' authority as repre...