Hopefully you’re enjoying a wonderful and blessed Easter with your families, and you’re busy planning your summer activities and vacations. During the month of May, we celebrate Mother’s Day. If your mom is still alive, make the effort to spoil your mom, because nothing is too good for her!
In February, our family suffered the loss of a cousin, who was 66, and was under the care of her 91-year-old retired nurse mother for the last several years of her too short life. Cancer is a horrible disease that attacks without prejudice and frequently forces very difficult end-of-life decisions and situations. The relationship between my cousin and her mother, who is also my Godmother, was nothing short of miraculous, especially in the last weeks of my cousin’s life. My aunt moved with the strength and stamina of a woman one-third her age, even if her face was soaked with tears, as she tended to my cousin’s needs. As I witnessed this act of love, I gained a new appreciation for the powerful bond between mother and child. As sad as the situation was, my aunt and cousin were relieved, and so very happy, when Fr. Tom Burke came to their house and heard my cousin’s last confession, presented her with the Holy Eucharist, and anointed her with the Holy Chrism. They both felt blessed and fortunate to be Catholic and fully supported by their parish, pastor and the sacraments, as end of life became imminent. Although cut too short by cancer, and ending in sadness, my cousin had a full life from conception to natural death.
While my aunt is amazing, there are many more mothers like her, with powerful stories of their motherhood and how faith pulled them through impossible situations. Many of these mothers fill the ranks of volunteers for 40 Days for Life. These moms show up on the sidewalks around their neighborhood abortion facilities to pray and urge new mothers to avoid abortion and look to other options for their pregnancy, as they, like my Godmother, carry the intense pain of losing a child in their heart.
The AOH National Pro-Life Committee meets once a month by Zoom, usually the Monday or Tuesday before the First Friday of each month, which is when the Pro-Life Newsletter is published. We are gaining new attendees every month, usually Brothers who hold a Pro-Life Chair at the State, County or Division level, but also there are many brothers who are not Pro-Life Chairs but have a vested interest in Pro-Life activities. If you would like to join the Pro-Life Committee, please send me an email at lspittcmf@gmail.com. If you’re a State, County or Division President, and you need some assistance with filling a Chair, or wondering what’s involved in the office, send me an email, and we’ll schedule a call and get your Pro-Life Chair up and running! — May God bless you! In Our Motto! Larry Squires
As we start a New Year, we ask God that our Pro-Life Committee continues to be productive and a source of encouragement, enthusiasm and excitement for 2025 and beyond. As many of you know, the Pro-Life Committee meets on Zoom every month, on the Monday or Tuesday ahead of the monthly Pro-Life newsletter. If you would like to join the committee, or you’re not receiving the Newsletter or Meeting Invites, please send me an email at lspittcmf@gmail.com and I’ll add you to the list. We did have a few disappointments last year, as I learned through trial and error that gmail doesn’t like more than 50 addressees on emails. That caused a big problem in November and December, as the committee members received links to the Zoom meeting that weren’t correct, while gmail reported to me that the messages weren’t sent. It wasn’t until meeting night that I learned of this, as I just assumed that the committee members didn’t receive the invitation with the deleted Zoom link. Despite the confusion, we were still able to get the meetings together and plan the next Newsletter. Hopefully, that’s all behind us, and we continue to gain active members on the Zoom meetings.
One of the main purposes of the Zoom meetings is to bring all Pro-Life Committee Chairs up to date on how the AOH addresses Pro-Life Issues that are intrinsically political and destructivelydivisive. Simply put, our committee focuses on official teachings of the Holy Catholic Church, as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Holy Scripture, and the writings, lectures and activities of Catholic Bishops, commentators and clergy. We also like to shine a light on the good works our Hibernian Brothers engage in across the nation, for instance the PICKUPANDDROPOFF project in North Carolina, facilitated by our brother Jim Furman, the Statewide AOH-LAOH Pro-Life Mass facilitated by New York Pro-Life Chairman Ed Wallace, and the dedication of a Pro-Life monument in New Jersey, facilitated by New Jersey Pro-Life Chairman John Hughes. Many of our brothers also volunteer at 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigils and organize Pro-Life activities, like diaper drives and clothing drives for women’s centers in their hometowns. In January, many of you participated in the AOH National March for Life Breakfast, Mass and March in Washington, D.C. Consequently, Paeder Toibin, TD, from West Meath, Ireland, sent his regrets that he couldn’t be with us in D.C. but has promised to be there in 2026! There are dozens of other examples of our brothers engaging in Pro-Life activities, and our committee hopes that you will join in the monthly Zoom meetings and tell us what your Division, County or State is doing to promote the Pro-Life cause.
]]>
The AOH National Board, led by Worthy President Sean Pender and Washington, DC State President Don Connolly, led the Hibernians in the following activities on Thursday, January 23rd, and Friday, January 24th.
On Thursday evening at 6:00 PM, the National Hibernian delegation including President Sean Pender, Vice President Liam McNabb, Secretary Ray Lynch, and Treasurer Dan Diviney traveled to St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families in Hyattsville, MD, just outside of Washington DC. The delegation met with Sister Nancy Downing, CEO of St. Ann’s Center, and Sue Flaherty, Vice President of Development. At a roundtable meeting, Sr. Nancy told the story of St. Ann’s Center that reaches back to 1860. The Hibernians in attendance listened with admiration and amazement as Sr. Nancy spoke about the wonderful programs supported by St. Anns that includes care for vulnerable children, mothers, and families and works to achieve lasting independence and stability by providing a safe and supportive home, childcare, education and employment assistance, as well as clinical and social work services within a Catholic community that welcomes all. Washington, DC President, Don Connolly also spoke about the relationship the AOH with St. Ann’s for the past five years. Don was also responsible for arranging the meeting with St. Ann’s. Sr. Nancy and Sue Flaherty then took the delegation on a brief tour of the facility that included rooms and dining areas used by families, day care areas that provide childcare for women who are working or attending classes to improve their employment opportunities. The tour concluded with the AOH presenting Sr. Nancy with a check in the amount of $5,000.00, which will establish the AOH as a major sponsor for St. Ann’s Spring Gala fundraiser in May. Other Hibernians present also included Keith Reynolds, National Director, PJ Morgan Pro Life Committee Chairman for Florida, Denny Parks National Oversight Committee Chairman, and Larry Squires National Pro Life Committee Chairman.
On Friday morning, The AOH held its annual March for Life Breakfast and Mass before heading to the AOH meeting place at Constitution Avenue N.W. and 7th Street N.W. to wait for the March for Life to begin. This year, the breakfast was held at the Irish Channel Restaurant and Pub at 500 H Street N.W. and featured Kristan Hawkins, CEO of Students for Life and Sr. Nancy Downing of St. Ann’s Center. Videos for both speakers are available at the AOH YouTube website. Worthy President Sean Pender began with a brief word about why the AOH supports Pro Life Efforts and underscored the AOH commitment the brave women who choose life and their babies by supporting multiple women and family homes, like St. Ann’s. across the country. President Pender also spoke out about the wonderful experience adoption has been for him and his family. Larry Squires, National AOH Chairman introduced Kristan Hawkins, after reading her impressive bio, and Don Connolly introduced St. Nancy Dowling, after a brief memorial and moment of silence for our late Brother Jack O’Brien, who was a pillar of support for the breakfast and was a model Hibernian. In attendance at the breakfast were representative Hibernians from Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. At 11:30 AM, all Hibernians and their guests attended the AOH March for Life Mass at St. Mary Mother of God Parish, across the street from the Irish Channel. Holy Mass was celebrated by Virginia AOH Chaplain Fr. Kevin Fields and New York Chaplain Fr. Henry Reid. The priests were assisted by chaplain Deacon Steve Mitchell.
After marching down Constitution Avenue and past the Supreme Court, the Hibernians circled up at the Dubliner Pub for refreshments and camaraderie. Next year, the Breakfast and March will be held on Friday, January 23rd , 2026. Please mark your calendar now, and join us in Washington, DC.
| Today, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the opinion was authored by Justice Alito. Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett joined Alito’s opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts did not join the majority opinion but filed a separate opinion agreeing with the Court’s decision to uphold the Mississippi law but also arguing that the Court should not have decided the question of whether the Constitution protects abortion. The three justices, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented against the ruling. |
| Please pray that in the days, weeks, months, and years to come, our Federal government and the states will do the right thing and vote to protect the most innocent and helpless lives among us, and that our communities continue to grow in love and support for families struggling with difficult pregnancies. |
As we celebrate with, or remember, our fathers on Sunday, June, 19, let us pray that, men everywhere understand that fatherhood bears the responsibility to protect and defend their families from all threats, physical and spiritual, so that they may share eternal happiness with them and all the saints and angels in heaven.
The Great Commandment.
]]>Hear, O Israel!
The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.
Take to heart these words which I command you today.
Keep repeating them to your children.
Recite them when you are at home and when you are away,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
– Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
| In the readings below, from Holy Mass for Wednesday, June, 1, 2022, we hear St. Paul warn the disciples about savage wolves that will come and not spare the flock and men perverting the truth to divide them and take them away from God. Again in John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus pray to his father for the unity of the Apostles. How can these readings of Scripture speak to us about politicians, celebrities, and news reports that divide us by repeating on a daily basis that abortion needs to be protected as a legal right. |
| Reading I Acts 20:28-38 At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that he acquired with his own Blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all. They were all weeping loudly as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him, for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship. Responsorial Psalm 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36abR. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. Show forth, O God, your power, the power, O God, with which you took our part; For your temple in Jerusalem let the kings bring you gifts. R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, chant praise to the Lord who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens. Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power: “Confess the power of God!” R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. Over Israel is his majesty; his power is in the skies. Awesome in his sanctuary is God, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. Alleluia See Jn 17:17b, 17a R. Alleluia, alleluia. Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 17:11b-19 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” |
By recognizing the unique role of fathers, we more effectively highlight the humanity of the unborn child. We also affirm marriage—what St. John Paul II called the “sanctuary of life” —that more effectively welcomes children into the world. And we bear witness to the crucial role of a father in raising children. Consideration of the father’s role is important to pro-life efforts.
]]>]]>“I call on all government leaders to work toward a budget that truly builds up the common good of all. This should include the many proposals in the President’s budget submission that seek to protect vulnerable people. And it must also preserve the Hyde Amendment and related provisions which have protected millions of unborn babies, and mothers in difficult circumstances, from the tragedy of abortion.”
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.
“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.
In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself,
and the wife should respect her husband.
Pope Francis has announced the Year of Saint Joseph, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church. The Year of St Joseph began on December 8, 2020 and concludes on December 8, 2021
Pope Francis also reminds us, God told Saint Joseph. “Get up, take the child and his mother” (Mt 2:13).
As Saint Joseph is the Protector of the Church and Holy Family, we are urging Hibernians to pray the Cloak of Saint Joseph Novena for the Protection of the Unborn. Begin the prayer on February 18th and conclude on March 19th, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph.
The Holy Cloak of Saint Joseph is a series of prayers meant to be prayed for 30 days, commemorating the earthly thirty years which St. Joseph spent in the company of our Lord. (You can pray along with a recording here)
St Teresa of Avila tells us, “As he himself [Jesus] was subject to St. Joseph while on earth, recognizing in him the authority of foster father and guardian, so now in heaven he is pleased to grant all his requests.” In the Year of St Joseph decree, the Apostolic Penitentiary said that, “to reaffirm the universality of St. Joseph’s patronage in the Church,” it would grant a plenary indulgence to Catholics who recite any approved prayer or act of piety in honor of St. Joseph, especially on March 19, the saint’s solemnity, and May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
]]>
MiraVia (“Miraculous Way”) is a Charlotte NC ProLife organization that supports women in crisis pregnancies. Our Brother, Very Reverend Christopher Roux, Rector of the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Charlotte, serves on the MiraVia Board of Directors.
Recently, MiraVia entered into a collaboration with Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina’s only Catholic College founded by Benedictine Monks in 1876, to create a unique residency program specifically designed for pregnant college students.
Belmont Abbey College , “ is honored to be the home of “MiraVia,” a residence for pregnant college students. The first of its kind in the United States, MiraVia provides alternative student housing and support for single, pregnant and parenting students.”
The Monks of Belmont Abbey Monastery donated the land for MiraVia’s 10,000 sqft facility and residents maintain their academic careers while living at MiraVia, either through classes at Belmont Abbey College or at another local or online college.
The College Maternity Residence for pregnant college students provides:
- Free room and board for a pregnant mother and her child(ren)
- Around-the-clock access to professional staff
- Material assistance (baby supplies, nursery furniture)
- Life skills classes, including but not limited to:
– Pregnancy health
– Labor and childbirth
– Adoption awareness
– Baby care and parenting
– Cooking / nutrition
– Finance / budgeting
– Career counseling / interview skills
– Natural family planning
– Healthy relationships
– Faith enrichment and Bible studies
In addition to the unique college residency program, MiraVia’s Outreach Center is a place for women to come and receive professional assistance and material donations both during pregnancy and after their baby is born. The Outreach Program provides pregnant women and mothers with individual and group support to address issues that may be causing stress and create plans for a successful future. The assistance provided includes baby clothing and supplies, referrals for financial & material assistance, referrals to adoption agencies and life-skills classes (e.g., Pregnancy health, Parenting, Finance & budgeting, Career counseling & interview skills and ESL Classes).
“The two AOH Mecklenburg County (Charlotte area) Divisions as well as the Mecklenburg County Board are proud to continue our long associations with MiraVia and to support this one-of-a-kind residential pro-life ministry for college aged women. Through the tireless work of many Hibernians over the years, these women and their children have been offered a viable alternative to abortion while continuing their education.” Bryan Somerville, President, Mecklenburg County Division 2, St. Brendan the Navigator.
The Mission of MiraVia
Respecting and affirming life from the moment of conception, MiraVia is a safe haven and source of hope for pregnant mothers and their children. Invoking a Christ-centered approach inspired by the examples of Mary and Joseph, MiraVia helps young families move toward a new life of hopeful, independent, and healthy living and educates the broader community on the importance of fostering a culture of life.
