Terri Schiavo has passed away. May God comfort her family and bring her soul into eternal peace. This has all been such a sad situation, and many people across the world are grieving right now, including myself.
Today is the great feast of Easter (called Pascha or some variant in non-English speaking countries). Easter commemorates the bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead, the cornerstone of Christian doctrine and experience. A blessed Easter / Pascha to all of you!
Christ is Risen: The world below lies desolate
Christ is Risen: The spirits of evil are fallen
Christ is Risen: The angels of God are rejoicing
Christ is Risen: The tombs of the dead are empty
Christ is Risen indeed from the dead,
the first of the sleepers,
Glory and power are his forever and ever
St. Hippolytus of Rome, (AD 190-236)
Image from: http://www.st-ann-melkite.org.
Good Friday is coming to a close, and Holy Saturday is approaching. These are more somber days for liturgical Christians as we recall and observe Christ’s death and burial. Today I fasted, watched Mel Gibson’s "Passion of the Christ," and attended services at my local parish. These included the Veneration of the Cross, the reading of the Passion story from St. John’s gospel, and Communion from the reserved Holy Thursday sacrament.
Thank God (literally) that the story does not end here, but ends in Christ’s glorious resurrection. However, those present in this story did not know this, and their agony must have been immeasurable. A blessed Good Friday and Holy Saturday to all of you.
According to the Miami Herald, hours after her feeding tube was removed, State agents came to Terri’s room to reinsert the tube. However, they were met with resistance from local deputies, who refused to allow the state agents to pass because of judicial order. You may view the article here (you may need to register).
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
By Horatius Bonar
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done.
As I sang this hymn last night at the Maundy Thursday I could not help but be moved in many ways. I really enjoyed the hymn. The whole hymn made me think about Terri Schiavo, especially the bolded second stanza. Check out the MIDI version.
As many of you know, I read many sources from the left and the right. I was watching MSNBC show "Hardball" with Chris Matthews the other day, and they were discussing Terri Schiavo for the entire show. Pat Buchanan and Katrina Vanden Heuval were debating the issue. Pat came on and was straight and to the point, and sounded very passionate. I was quite impressed. Here is the exchange (from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7286474/):
MATTHEWS: We’re short of time here. An ABC poll shows two-thirds of the American people think this is all politics.
PAT BUCHANAN: Well, I think they‘re dead wrong with regard to the president of the United States.
What
George Bush ought to do right now is send federal marshals in and pick
up Terri Schiavo and put that breathing tube back into her—excuse me,
the food and hydration tube back into her, as this is taken up to the
United States Supreme Court. He took an oath, Chris, to defend the
Constitution of the United States. He has got an obligation, as well
as these judges do, to defend that Constitution. And that means to
protect this woman‘s life.
MATTHEWS: What happened to the 10th Amendment?
BUCHANAN: Look, the 10th Amendment has been dead as a door nail, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Well, it‘s our Constitution.
BUCHANAN:
The point is, the president of the United States—there‘s a woman dying,
sentenced to death because she‘s brain-damaged. She‘s committed no
crime. She‘s having food and water denied to her. That is a violation
of human rights and the president of the United States has an
opportunity, as does the governor of Florida, to step in as executives
and act.
MATTHEWS: Should the president
of the United States reviews every case in which a family is deciding
when to stop feeding a beleaguered, dying family member and bring in
federal marshals in such cases?
(CROSSTALK)
BUCHANAN: If a husband and a judge have conspired to kill a woman who is simply brain-damaged.
MATTHEWS: Conspiring?
BUCHANAN: Exactly. They‘ve worked together on this thing.
MATTHEWS: Pat, I thought you were a strict constructionist. What happened to the 10th Amendment?
(CROSSTALK)
BUCHANAN: I‘m in favor of human life, if innocent life is being taken, Chris.
MATTHEWS: What does the 10th Amendment say?
(CROSSTALK)
BUCHANAN: The 10th Amendment said the rest of the rights belong to the states and the people.
VANDEN HEUVEL: But this case has been litigated for seven years. It has been heard by 19 judges in six courts.
(CROSSTALK)
VANDEN HEUVEL: It has gone to the Supreme Court three times.
BUCHANAN: It is irrelevant.
VANDEN HEUVEL: But, you know, Pat, what is happening is, you‘re seeing the implosion of your party.
BUCHANAN: I don‘t give a damn about the Republican Party. I care about a woman being put to death.
VANDEN
HEUVEL: You are seeing the violation—but you‘re seeing the
violation—these—these people can never be called conservatives again.
BUCHANAN: Well, let them call them what they want.
VANDEN
HEUVEL: They have violated every conservative principle of limited
government, of the sanctity of marriage, of states’ rights.
BUCHANAN: We appreciate your defining conservatism for us.
VANDEN HEUVEL: No, but it is—but—you should be concerned about…this is a personal tragedy. It has—but—but—but the other…
BUCHANAN: Oh, it is a personal tragedy all right.
VANDEN HEUVEL: But the other factor—two factors, Pat.
One is that George Bush, when he was governor, signed a right-to-die law. He—maybe you believe he violated his oath then.
BUCHANAN: Look…
VANDEN
HEUVEL: And, secondly, if you believe in morality, Pat, what about
those Congress people who sat idly by while 40 million go without
health insurance in this country or they cut the Medicaid that has
helped Terri Schiavo stay alive?
(CROSSTALK)
BUCHANAN: For heaven‘s sake, Katrina, a judge has sentenced a woman to death.
VANDEN HEUVEL: It’s a tragedy. It’s a personal…
BUCHANAN: She is dying tonight. She is dying tonight. It can be stopped.
VANDEN HEUVEL: It’s a personal tragedy.
BUCHANAN: And the president ought to send…
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: I want Pat to back up what you suggested.
BUCHANAN: Sure.
MATTHEWS: If the president of the United States sends federal marshals into that town down there in Florida.
BUCHANAN: Takes her.
MATTHEWS: Grabs her, put her—takes control of her body, I guess, takes control of her, under what authority?
BUCHANAN: He does it. He’s a—look, a woman is…
MATTHEWS: Under what authority of the law?
BUCHANAN:
I’m president of the United States. I have got to upheld the
Constitution. An American citizen is being put to death by a judge in
a wrongful decision. I think it‘s wrong.
Jefferson
threw out—he put every—let everybody out of prison. Jefferson said,
I‘m not prosecuting anybody under the Alien and Sedition Act. Action,
Chris, creates consensus. What do you think Congress would do? They
would accept it. The president then should send a law to Congress
saying, look, when you have a case where parents, husband and a woman
who is simply brain-damaged, we do not put them to death in the United
States.
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: And, in other words, the president can do what he wants to do.
(CROSSTALK)
VANDEN
HEUVEL: There are millions of people sitting around their kitchens.
There are millions of people sitting around their kitchens in this
country today deciding how they want to end their lives, drawing up
living wills, because they don’t want Tom DeLay on their lawn. And
they don‘t want a circus that this tragedy has become.
MATTHEWS:
It—it just sounds to me like Richard Nixon says, go blow up the
Brookings Institution. It‘s outrageous use of the office.
BUCHANAN: If he said, go save a life, you would have a different opinion…
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: OK. OK. Thank you very much, Pat Buchanan, Katrina Vanden Heuvel.
The 11th Circuit Federal Court has refused to review the Terri Schiavo case. Now all that is left is the Supreme Court, and they have refused to hear the case in the past.
In addition, a child was arrested for trying to give Terri some water (photo on left). What is with our priorities? I am sure glad that hardened criminal is safe in cuffs. Is plaid a gang color now?
My brother and I recently visited Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, Ohio. Jonathan has some photos posted also, and will be posting a detailed diary of our pilgrimage. I thought I would post a few photos and a little bit about our trip.
First, we began the day by stopping at the bank (we had to have money to buy Catholic books and future sacramentals!), and then, of course, we stopped for some Speedway Coffee, since we were close to earning coffee using their Speedy Rewards program. Note: Despite what you may read here, stopping at Speedway is not an official part of the pilgrimage process!!
Anyway, Colombian coffee with Hazelnut creamer in hand, we began the drive to Bellevue. The drive was very peaceful, and fairly scenic and rural, taking us through plenty of small-towns with mom and pop stores. When we pulled into Bellevue, I was amazed what a nice, quiet rural shrine it was (see the left photo of part of the grounds). I think it will be great to visit again on a better day, when it isn’t so cold, and some of the green has returned to the face of the earth.
First, we went to the gift shop. I bought a few prayer books, a rose-scented rosary, and a holy water container for the shrine holy water. Then we walked to the various grottoes and places of the shrine. There were numerous areas, including an Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, and one dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. There were so many places to see that we got a lot of exercise just walking the grounds. A few of my favorite places were the memorial to the unborn (pictured right) and the Sepulcher, Christ’s tomb (below left). Note that some pious pilgrim has placed a jacket over Jesus’ body.
After visiting many of the grottoes and statues on the grounds, we ended the day prayer at the Chapel and completed the day with Mass. I prayed the Chaplet of the Precious Blood, and started a Novena to the Sorrowful Mother, in addition to offering other prayers before the Blessed Sacrament. The Chapel was beautiful, the homily excellent, and (as always) receiving the body and blood of Christ was amazing.
As dusk approached, we finished the day with some Speedway coffee and some fish sandwiches at McDonalds (since it was a self-imposed fast day for both of us). Pilgrimages are always meaningful, and I urge everyone to work one in. You need not travel to Rome or the Holy Land to take a pilgrimage. You may even find that there are many shrines near you. Many aren’t even very well-known, but they are there.
Terri Schiavo is still starving to death as her parents appeal the ruling of a federal judge who denied their petition to reinsert the feeding tube. Is Terri brain-dead and in a vegetative state? Listen to an interaction between her and her dad and decide. It seems to me like she is extremely mentally incapacitated, but not a "vegetable" by any means. I wonder if the problem is not her mental state, but that in an unencumbered and pragmatic society, she is an "inconvenience." Perhaps this is cynicism on my part, but disabled-rights activists have been protesting the removal of Terri’s feeding tube as well.
The Vatican has responded as well, comparing Schiavo’s case to Capital Punishment, which the Catholic Church also generally opposes.
Democrats blocked a voice vote of the bill to send the Terri Schiavo case to the federal courts. Republicans are hoping to get a quorum and vote at 12:01AM Monday morning. Also, Terri is sick with a high fever, possibly caused by improperly removing the feeding tube. Keep praying and writing letters.
