Why is Rachel Weeping?
|
| '
Thus says the Lord: |
In Ramah is heard the
sound
of moaning,
of bitter weeping! |
Rachel mourns her
children,
she refuses to be consoled,
because her children
are no more.' |
| - Jeremiah 31:15 |
|
The
Babylonians used a small town near Jerusalem, Ramah, as a place to
collect the captives they were about to exile. Rachel, the "mother of
Israel" is buried near Ramah, and is portrayed as weeping over her
children, the exiles of Israel. But the Lord answers her, offering hope
for their return:
|
| ' Thus says
the Lord: |
Cease your
cries of mourning,
wipe the tears from your
eyes. |
The sorrow you
have shown
shall have its reward,
says the Lord,
they shall return from the
enemy's land. ' |
| - Jeremiah 31:16 |
|
Later, in
the New Testament, St. Matthew reflects on Herod's killing of the Holy
Innocents and relates it to Rachel's lament:
|
| ' Once Herod
realized that he had been deceived by the astrologers, he became
furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys two years old
and under in Bethlehem and its environs, making his calculation
on the basis of the date he had learned from the astrologers.
What was said through Jeremiah the prophet was then fulfilled: |
"A cry was heard at Ramah,
sobbing and loud
lamentation: |
Rachel bewailing her children;
no comfort for her, since
they are no more." ' |
| - Matthew 2:16-18 |
|
The
American Holocaust
a modern day 'exile':
|
| Since January 22, 1973, over
39,000,000 children have been legally aborted in the United States. This
huge number represents approximately 15% of our country's current
population - three out of every twenty people. All have had their life
terminated by their natural parents. |
One hundred, seventy-one children per hour,
one child killed every twenty-one seconds.
|
 |
| We, too, pray and hope that
the Lord, in his infinite mercy and kindness, will turn the hearts of
all Americans, that we may see the evil of our ways. Rachel now weeps
for the present day children who are forever exiled from this land of
ours. |
| The biblical Rachel herself
died in childbirth. What an example of love that is, and in stark
contrast to those who take their own child's life: |
| ' Then they
moved on from Bethel. |
While they
were still some distance form Ephrath,
Rachel began to give birth
and had great difficulty. |
And as she was
having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her,
"Don't be afraid, for you
have another son." |
As she
breathed her last - for she was dying - she named her son
Ben-Oni.
But his father named him
Benjamin. |
| So Rachel died
and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). |
Over her tomb
Jacob set up a pillar,
and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's
tomb. ' |
| - Genesis 35:16-19 |
|
|
Let us,
instead, reject this Culture of Death,
and Celebrate Life!
|
|
' For you created my
inmost being;
you knit me together in
my mother's womb. ' |
| - Psalm 139:13 |
|
' As
you do not know
the path of the wind,
or how the body is
formed in a mother's
womb,
so you cannot understand
the work of God,
the maker of all things. ' |
| - Ecc 11:5 |
|
Photograph taken on the Loyola Marymount
University campus,
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
' Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born
the Lord called me; ' |
| - Isaiah 49:1 |
|
|
' Mary said:
"I am the servant of the Lord.
Let it be done to me as you say."
' |
| - Luke 1:38 |
|
| |
Photograph taken on the
Loyola Marymount University campus,
Los Angeles, CA |
What can YOU do?
|
 |
As a testimony to their
commitment to Life, the Monrovia Knights of Columbus, council #1242,
erected this statue of Rachel Mourning.
The statue was erected on October 12, 1997, and is prominently displayed
in front of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Monrovia,
California. |
Educate Yourself About Pro Life-Life
Issues!
- Read Pro-Life Books:
Abortion:
The Silent Holocaust by Fr. John Powell, S.J.
Pro-Life
Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments by Randy Alcorn
Handbook
on Abortion & Questions and Answers by Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Wilke
- Watch Pro-Life Videos
- Subscribe To Pro-Life Publications
|
Spread the Message!
- Wear a Precious Feet lapel pin
- Put Pro-Life Bumper Stickers on your car,
and Pro-Life Envelope Stickers on your mail
- Make Pro-Life books, literature, stickers,
videos, fetal models, Precious Feet pins, and posters available in
your parish.
|
| Get Involved in Major Pro-Life
Organizations!
|
Pray and March!
- Arrange Prayer Vigils and other religious
activities
- Participate in the annual Holy Innocents
Reparation Procession and Mass on December 28th at St. Therese
Church in Alhambra
- Join the March For Life in Washington DC
each year on January 22nd
- Participate in, and / or organize a Life
Chain in your area
|
Counsel and Speak!
- Pray, Sidewalk Counsel, Picket or Hand out
Literature at abortion mills
- Counsel at a Right to Life League
Pregnancy Help Center
- Invite Pro-Life Speakers to give
presentations at your parish or school
|
Write to Leaders!
- Know where your Senators & Representatives
stand on Life and Family Issues
- Write Letters to editors of newspapers,
magazines, et.
|
Talk to your Doctor!
- Urge him or her to put Pro-Life literature
in the waiting room
- Contact your hospitals to do the same
|
Help UNWED Mothers!
- Open your home to a pregnant mother
- Volunteer Time and Money to support homes
for UNWED Mothers
|
| Remember the Babies!
|
Support the Church!
- Commend Your Bishop when he defends unborn
Babies
|
Hear the Truth!
- Listen to Radio Shows that feature
Pro-Life News & Leaders
Saint Joseph Radio
Sat 5:30-6:30 PM, KGER 1390 AM
Rich Buhler, weekdays 1-3 PM, KGER 1390 AM
Dr. James Dobson, DBRT 740 AM & KKLA 99.5 FM
|
In
Germany they came first for the Communists;
I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
|
Then
they came for the Jews;
I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
|
Then
they came to fetch the workers,
members of the trade unions;
I did not speak because I was not a trade unionist.
|
Afterward, they came for the Catholics;
I did not speak because I was a Protestant.
|
Eventually they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak...
|
-
Martin Niemoller
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