Pro Life Video & A Talk In London

Do watch this Michael Voris Catholic Pro Life video and then came and see him live in London.

"Living the Catholic Faith Radically!" by Michael Voris, Wednesday 24 August, at Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street, London W1C 2DJ. Doors open 7pm. The closest tube station is Oxford Circus. Bond Street and Marble Arch are also within walking distance. All tickets are £5 and will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. You can purchase them via paypal at http://smeatonscorner.blogspot.com/2011/08/michael-voris-speaking-in-london-in.html

Do please try to attend and to spread the word.

Deerstalker tip to John Smeaton for the link to the video.

Stuart McCullough

Kneel Down Next To Me, at World Youth Day

Last Saturday morning Mass for Seminarians, as part of World Youth Day, in the Cathedral of La Almundena Spain, with the Pope. A lot of future Priests kneel to receive Holy Communion on the tongue from The Holy Father, while an Acolyte holds a Communion Patten under the chins. Take the hint, take the hint!

[Photo, Spanish Crown Prince Felipe receives Holy Communion during the Papal Mass in Santiago de Compostela, northern Spain, last year]

Stuart McCullough

The Pope's Unheard Homily - Saturday Night's Homily World Youth Day Madrid.

Good Counsel Volunteers at WYD Madrid

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI



Prepared for Saturday's
PRAYER VIGIL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE



Cuatro Vientos Air Base, Madrid
but not given due to torrential rain and gale force winds

Dear Young Friends,

I greet all of you, especially the young people who have asked me their questions, and I thank them for the sincerity with which they set forth their concerns, that express the longing which all of you have to achieve something great in life, something which can bring you fulfilment and happiness.

How can a young person be true to the faith and yet continue to aspire to high ideals in today’s society? In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus gives us an answer to this urgent question: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love” (Jn 15:9).

Yes, dear friends, God loves us. This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful. We are not the product of blind chance or absurdity; instead our life originates as part of a loving plan of God. To abide in his love, then, means living a life rooted in faith, since faith is more than the mere acceptance of certain abstract truths: it is an intimate relationship with Christ, who enables us to open our hearts to this mystery of love and to live as men and women conscious of being loved by God.

If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true happiness and joy. Faith does not run counter to your highest ideals; on the contrary, it elevates and perfects those ideals. Dear young people, do not be satisfied with anything less than Truth and Love, do not be content with anything less than Christ.

Nowadays, although the dominant culture of relativism all around us has given up on the search for truth, even if it is the highest aspiration of the human spirit, we need to speak with courage and humility of the universal significance of Christ as the Saviour of humanity and the source of hope for our lives. He who took upon himself our afflictions, is well acquainted with the mystery of human suffering and manifests his loving presence in those who suffer. They in their turn, united to the passion of Christ, share closely in his work of redemption. Furthermore, our disinterested attention towards the sick and the forgotten will always be a humble and warm testimony of God’s compassionate regard.

Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world.

During this prayer vigil, I urge you to ask God to help you find your vocation in society and in the Church, and to persevere in that vocation with joy and fidelity. It is a good thing to open our hearts to Christ’s call and to follow with courage and generosity the path he maps out for us.

The Lord calls many people to marriage, in which a man and a woman, in becoming one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24), find fulfilment in a profound life of communion. It is a prospect that is both bright and demanding. It is a project for true love which is daily renewed and deepened by sharing joys and sorrows, one marked by complete self-giving. For this reason, to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of marriage is to realize that only a setting of fidelity and indissolubility, along with openness to God’s gift of life, is adequate to the grandeur and dignity of marital love.

Christ calls others to follow him more closely in the priesthood or in consecrated life. It is hard to put into words the happiness you feel when you know that Jesus seeks you, trusts in you, and with his unmistakable voice also says to you: “Follow me!” (cf. Mk 2:14).

Dear young people, if you wish to discover and to live faithfully the form of life to which the Lord is calling each of you, you must remain in his love as his friends. And how do we preserve friendship except through frequent contact, conversation, being together in good times and bad? Saint Teresa of Jesus used to say that prayer is just such “friendly contact, often spending time alone with the one who we know loves us” (cf. Autobiography, 8).

And so I now ask you to “abide” in the adoration of Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. I ask you to enter into conversation with him, to bring before him your questions and to listen to his voice. Dear friends, I pray for you with all my heart. And I ask you to pray for me. Tonight let us ask the Lord to grant that, attracted by the beauty of his love, we may always live faithfully as his disciples. Amen.

[French] Dear young French-speakers, be proud of the gift of faith which you have received, as it will illumine your life at every moment. Draw strength from the faith of your neighbours, from the faith of the Church! Through faith we are grounded in Christ. Gather with others to deepen it, be faithful to the celebration of the Eucharist, the mystery of faith par excellence. Christ alone can respond to your aspirations. Let yourselves be seized by God, so that your presence in the Church will give her new life!

[English] Dear young people, in these moments of silence before the Blessed Sacrament, let us raise our minds and hearts to Jesus Christ, the Lord of our lives and of the future. May he pour out his Spirit upon us and upon the whole Church, that we may be a beacon of freedom, reconciliation and peace for the whole world.

[German] Dear young Christians from the German-speaking countries! Deep in our hearts we yearn for what is grand and beautiful in life. Do not let your desires and aspirations dissipate, but ground them in Jesus Christ. He himself is the sure foundation, the point of reference, for building up your life.

[Italian] I now turn to the Italian-speaking young people. Dear friends, this vigil will remain as an unforgettable experience in your lives. Guard the flame which God has lit in your hearts tonight. Never let it go out, renew it each day, share it with your contemporaries who live in darkness and who are seeking a light for their way. Thank you! Until tomorrow morning!

[Portuguese] My dear friends, I invite each of you to enter into a personal dialogue with Christ, sharing with him your hesitations and above all listening to his voice. The Lord is here and he is calling you! Young friends, it is good to hear within us the word of Jesus and to follow in his footsteps. Ask the Lord to help you to discover your vocation in life and in the Church, and to persevere in it with joy and fidelity, knowing that he never abandons you or betrays you! He remains with us until the end of the world.

[Polish] Dear young friends from Poland! This prayer vigil is filled with the presence of Christ. Grounded in his love, draw near to him with the flame of your faith. He will fill your hearts with his life. Build your lives on Christ and on his Gospel. I willingly bless all of you.

* * *
Final greeting of the Holy Father

Dear Young Friends,

Before I leave you, let me say good night to all of you. Rest well. Thank you for the sacrifice you are making and which I know you are offering generously to the Lord. We will meet again, God willing, at the celebration of Mass tomorrow. I will see all of you there. Thank you very much.

Pope Benedict XVI

And Then It Rained On Our Pro-Life Pilgrims, And Everyone Else

So, the already weary travellers begin their journey. With our flawless Spanish and engaging personalities, locals have been jumping at the chance to guide us on our desperate quest for cheapish food, er I mean to get to see the Pope. After some hopeless bumbling around the Plaza Del Sol, asking for about an hour, we decided to set off and gloriously begin the pilgrims march to the aerodrome to see the Pope.

Despite being suffocated with WYD volunteers, no one was able to tell us which direction we could walk to the aerodrome, and so we ended up taking train.

After hours of wearisome travel , we finally arrived, only to be booted to the back of the field as our spaces were full. Nonetheless, the excitement in the air is evidence enough to show that no matter what is thrown in the way, the love for Papa and for the Church, the Body of Christ, conquers all.

[Just after we recieved this it started to rain and rain and rain at Cuatro Vientos, which I'm told means Four Winds! Still look out for the wet Good Counsel Network postcards for the chance to win a dry copy of the Holy Father's book]

Johanna Hendrickx

Pilgrims on fire with the Faith!

Good Counsel T-Shirt spotted in Madrid! If you see him ask for a Good Counsel postcard and you could win a book by the Holy Father!

Signing in at the site, where the Pope will be tonight (6.30-9.30pm), and where he will offer Mass on Sunday morning at 7.45am. You can watch it all live on EWTN (sky 589), but you will need your own hose pipe!

Pilgrims on fire with the Faith at World Youth Day, get hosed down by local firemen!

Stuart McCullough

Three Pro-Life Pilgrims Lost In Madrid!

The news at the start of today from Gaelle, Eddie & Johanna, Good Counsel Pilgims in Madrid for World Youth Day, was clear "We're lost".

But don't worry they found a crowd and followed them! If you see them ask for a postcard to win the Pope's book.

"Arrival in Aluche to start walking to the aerodrome, after we stock up on food" (Real Hobbits!)

Stuart McCullough

World Youth Day Can Start Now, We're Here!

Well here we are in Madrid, at last! We had a long wait, and a delayed flight,
but we are alive, and going to see the Pope tomorrow. I can't wait! We will be with over a million other young people, gathering as a witness to the Catholic Faith, showing the secular world that we, the young people, can and do stand up for what we believe in.

We have collected our postcards from the wrong belt(!), and we are on route to our accommodation. We are armed with Our Lady's prayers and lots of courage to battle against the atrocity that is abortion and especially 'Catholics for choice'.

(Photos, Gaelle, Johanna & Eddie awaiting delayed plane and Midnight dinner in Madrid. Do see the post below for details of how to win a copy of Light of the World)

See the World Youth Day Website here and watch the eventsy of WYD on EWTN

Gaelle Hendrickx

World Youth Day, Book Prize

These three Musketeers are on their way to Madrid now for World Youth Day. On Saturday they will start handing out Pro-Life postcards from the Good Counsel Network to anyone from the UK. So, if you are in Madrid, find Gaelle, Eddie or Johanna, ask them for a postcard, fill it in, hand it back to them or post it in and you could win a copy of Light of the World by The Holy Father.

Please re-blog, retweet, Facebook, etc this.

700 Million People Could Watch Conor of Good Counsel Play Football Tonight!

Today at 7.30pm (English time) Wembley Football Club will play some other team in the first round of the FA Cup. You can watch the game live on Facebook, by searching for Budweiser UK.

My Nephew, Conor who works for Good Counsel, should be playing as number 4. When I asked him why his match was being shown, when the first round is never normally shown he said, "I think it is news worthy this year as we are favourites to win the FA Cup." So there you have it!
As 700 Million people use Facebook, and Cardiff City are not playing today, quite a few people may watch the game!

Stuart McCullough

Pro-Life Vigil, London Saturday 20th August

Are you pro-life? Would you like the opportunity to help stop abortions taking place in London? Could you give up a few hours this Saturday to help spread awareness in East London?

SPUC OUTREACH IN STRATFORD

Newham Borough in East London has the highest abortion rate in the U.K. (39.9 per 1000 women) and has the sixth highest number in Europe, with 2,341 abortions taking place every year. BPAS have recently opened a new abortion centre in the area, and so the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children will be doing a pro-life outreach there on Saturday 20th August. We aim to inform the local public about the positive pro-life services available, raise awareness about exactly what is happening in the area, and campaign against the new opening. Join SPUC this Saturday as help is needed to man the stall, distribute pro-life literature and engage with the public.

Meet outside Stratford Tube Station at 10.30am. We will finish no later than 2pm. Other details are on our facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147099005375311&view=wall¬if_t=event_wall

Hope to see you there!

Any queries please contact: 02078203140

Daniel Blackman – danielblackman@spuc.org.uk

Very happy to let you all know about this, if you cannot be there please pray and see here for other vigils. Photo is of John Smeaton of SPUC praying at a Good Counsel Vigil.

Stuart McCullough

"Very Mary" - Rescuing those being dragged to death in Canada

Proverbs 24:10-12 is clear, "Rescue those who are being dragged to death"

The radiant Mary Wagner, a Toronto pro-lifer has been arrested (again) for going inside an abortuary to counsel women seeking abortion. You can read her story here on LifeSite news.

I love her friend's comment when asked what she looked like when being arrested, “she looked very ‘Mary,’ just saintly.”

Clare McCullough

Catholic Convert Steve Ray to speak in Westminster on Saturday

Spread the word: This SaturdayFamily of Faith UK Conference
13 August 2011 - 9.30am - Westminster Cathedral Hall, SW1P 1QJ Former Protestant Evangelist and now World Renowned Catholic Convert Steve Ray will be in the UK and speaking at a Day Conference at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday 13 August from 9.30-5.30. Come and hear Steve's story and his unique and lively presentation of the beauty of the Catholic Faith.

Tickets £10 in advance, £15 on the door. Contact Family of Faith Tel: 020 3286 7989 E-mail: familyoffaithuk@gmail.com. For details about the conference programme see website: www.familyoffaithuk.wordpress.com.
The Good Counsel Network will have a stall at the Conference.

Steve's website is www.catholic-convert.com.
familyoffaithuk@gmail.com

Learn more about Steve Ray here

Saturday the 13th August is a National Day of Prayer and Fasting for Life

There is little doubt that when something which is as widespread and as evil as Abortion and has such a powerful grip on our society, good works alone will not rid us of this scourge. Therefore, there is a great need to increase our personal penance with prayer and fasting.

Saturday the 13th August is a National Day of Prayer and Fasting for Life (See our poster link). It is the vigil of the Assumtion and St Maximillian Kolbe, thus making this date doubly appropriate for such a day of prayer and fasting. We would ask you on that day to;

A great prayer for Life is urgently needed. - Pope John Paul II

And He said to them; This kind (of demon) can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

(Gospel of Mark 9:29)

On Saturday 13th August please pray and fast for the end of abortion and euthanasia.
Your prayer and fasting is urgently needed. Join us each month in Prayer and Fasting:
Fasting
Fast from all food except bread and water for the day
Or Fast from a particular food or luxury, e.g. chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes, TV.
Fast from whatever you can given your state of health etc, but make sure it is something that involves a sacrifice to yourself.
Prayer
We are asking people to say a Rosary (or an extra Rosary if you say it daily already). You could also offer an extra effort such as going to Mass (or an extra Mass) on the day, or going to Adoration. You can even pray before a closed tabernacle if Adoration is not available near you.

For information on the days of Prayer and Fasting contact The Good Counsel Network on 020 7723 1740.
Download a Poster about the Fast Day here

And the people of Ninevah believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and puton sackcloth, from the greatest to the least…God saw their efforts to renounce their evil ways. And God relented about the disaster which He had threatened to bring on them, and He did not bring it.

(Jonah 3:5,10)

Stuart McCullough

Mass for Good Counsel, on the Old Rite Feast of St Clare

There will be an Old Rite Mass organised by the Latin Mass Society, on Friday 12th August at 6.30pm at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, London. This Mass is offered for the work of the Good Counsel Network.

Stuart McCullough

Pro-Life Vigil in the rain, with the Bishop

Bishop McMahon of Brentwood, pictured just before the start of the Pro-Life vigil in Buckhurst Hill, Saturday 16th July. He was thanked, as this is his 7th year of attending this vigil!


It rained and it rained and it rained! Do contact the Helpers for information about other vigils and to get a recording of the Bishop's Homily.


And lastly, as this was the 7th anniversary of the funeral of Louisa, who was well known for Reduced to clear food here are the crisps I had.

Stuart McCullough

Pro-Life Bishop, Michael Evans RIP

On Wednesday 13th of July The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass was offered, in the Good Counsel Network's chapel, for the repose of the soul of Bishop Evans, who died on Monday. Here follows some information about the Bishop from John Smeaton's blog.

Michael Evans, the Catholic bishop of East Anglia, died earlier this week after a long period with cancer. I wish to put on record my gratitude for Bishop Evans' defence of the unborn when Amnesty International decided to campaign for the decriminalisation of abortion and access to abortion worldwide. Below are some extracts from the statement Bishop Evans issued announcing his decision to leave Amnesty International after 31 years of active membership. May he rest in peace.

"...[O]ur proper indignation regarding pervasive violence against women should not cloud our judgement about our duty to protect the most vulnerable and defenceless form of human life. The International Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, and became a binding treaty for those countries which ratified it. Its Preamble quotes from the 1959 Declaration on the Rights of the Child, that 'the child, by reason of his or her physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth'. This must surely be part of the body of international human rights law to which Amnesty International is committed.

The Catholic Church shares Amnesty's strong commitment to oppose violence against women (for example, rape, sexual assault and incest), but such appalling violence must not be answered by violence against the most vulnerable and defenceless form of human life in a woman's womb. Catholics would want to show practical compassion for such women, and ensure for them all the medical and spiritual care and support they need. But there is no human right to access to abortion, and Amnesty should not involve itself even in such extreme cases...

To support access to abortion even in dire situations compromises Amnesty's mandate to 'Protect the Human'. In time Amnesty may seek to develop this policy further, but even this current limited decision makes it very difficult for Catholics to remain members of Amnesty or to give it any financial support. Very regretfully, I will be ending my 31 year membership of Amnesty International, which included in the 1980s several years on the British Section Council and its Religious Bodies Liaison Panel...

[Amnesty's] regretable decision will almost certainly divide Amnesty's membership and thereby undermine its vital work. Among all human rights, the right to life is fundamental. Commitment to work to 'Protect the Human' can only be deeply compromised by any support for access to abortion..."

Stuart McCullough

NINE babies saved from abortion at one London abortuary during June! Support the Vigil so we can offer help to many more.

Our vigil at marie stopes abortuary, 108 Whitfield St, London W1T 5EA (nearest tube Warren st or Great Portland St) is just over seven months old now and God is blessing this type of work and witness because in June alone there have been sixteen turn arounds from abortuaries across London, nine of these have been at the daliy Vigil at Whitfield St. These women chose life for their children after speaking to a person and witnessing people praying outside the modern day Calvary of the abortuary . These woman would have just walked in and aborted their child if there had had been no prayer supporters or counsellor present at the abortuary.
One couple changed their mind by just seeing the supporters praying, they went into the "clinic" after less than five minutes they came back out and came over an shook each of the supporters hands, thanked them and told to keep up the good work. the couple both had tears in their eyes and left very happy.
It was a moving experince. It is essential that type of peaceful Pro-life Vigil continues. We are managing to do this with the help of a small number prayer supporters who come regulary. But it would really help if we could get more people to commit to some slots between 9am-1.30pm Mon-Fri even if it was only for fifteen minutes (approx. the time to say one Rosary) once a week this would really help. If you cannot commit to anything but are in central London between 9-1.30 you would be more than welcome to join us, even if it's only to say a decade of the Rosary. Also, could you pray that we get enough people to continue the vigil. Please tell all your friends and family. Here is a link that has contact details, address etc. of the vigil.
Thank you,God bless, Eddie Bauer

Louisa Staunton RIP, 7th anniversary Mass

This article was written a number of years ago, but is well worth reading again and has been added to at the end;

You gave me shelter….
….Louisa Staunton RIP

Miss Louisa Staunton, a deceased benefactor of The Good Counsel Network, saved a lot of time and money as well as saving a lot of lives by her generous response to an appeal for housing.

Louisa originally came to The Good Counsel Network, a Catholic Pro-Life organisation, to attend the Counsellor Training Course we run. One day when attending one of the sessions, she overheard one of us phoning around trying to find accommodation for a woman who was turned around outside an abortion clinic and who wanted to keep her baby, but could not go home as her boyfriend had threatened both her and her baby. Louisa immediately said, “she can stay with me!”.

Without regard for her own safety or comfort, Louisa took this lady home with her and there began her new work of looking after vulnerable expectant mums. Louisa turned her whole house over to us, having as many as 3 members of our staff/volunteers living with her at any time as well as up to 4 mothers-to-be. She hated to accept any money from the mothers who stayed with her and was regarded as a grandmotherly figure by them all. The last Friday before she died, I brought another girl to stay with Louisa. “Mary” had spent the previous night sleeping on various London buses, after being made homeless by her employer because of her pregnancy. We had tried to find her a place wherever we could and Louisa was the first to say yes, even though there were already 4 other women staying with her. When we arrived she made Mary very welcome and cheered her up no end by her friendliness. The last time I saw Louisa conscious she was blowing bubbles in the living room to entertain Mary. “Its Our Lady’s house” she told us as we thanked her for taking Mary in.

Louisa went to bed that night but could not be woken in the morning. She was taken to hospital where she remained unconscious until Monday. Doctors found she had had bleeding around the brain during Friday night. On Monday a Priest came to the hospital to say Mass in her room. The gospel that day was the cure of the woman with a hemorrhage. Louisa died immediately after the Mass, having never regained consciousness.

During her life Louisa worked as a nurse, later a psychiatric nurse and also an assistant to the blind. She was involved in many Catholic organisations, especially the Legion of Mary. Even at the age of 75, she did the shopping for many ill and housebound neighbours and was known well by all who lived near her. She gave away anything that was asked of her to others, including on one occasion where she gave her car to a family she had just met whose car had broken down!

Louisa was involved in the Justice and Peace movement throughout her life and regarded justice and peace for the unborn as a priority. She had supported various pro-life causes over the years and while working with us she housed over 20 mothers and many babies, who may not otherwise have come into he world.

She did not confine herself to providing a roof for these girls but really loved them and took and interest in their lives. From serving ice cream to them at midnight to helping them repair their relationships with their families, she was always there for them. The more difficult the girl, the more she loved.

She was a special friend to the lonely and depressed. She loved Our Lord and had a strong devotion to Our Lady, particularly Our Lady of Good Counsel and Our Lady of All Nations.

Louisa had spent a long period of her life wanting to become a religious sister. Speaking at her funeral, one of her brothers pointed out that although she had not been able to achieve this she made her world a kind of convent where she could serve God through prayer and through her actions to those around her.

Through a strange series of events she was buried wearing a Carmelite habit and was buried on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
May God rest your soul Louisa, our great pro-life friend and sister in Christ.

Please pray for the repose of her soul, and also ask her prayers for your intentions.

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand. ‘Come, O Blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me”. Matt 25 v34-36

Due to the generosity of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, we have been allowed to continue housing pregnant women at Louisa’s house.

Last year Louisa's house was sold and a new one purchased. It was nice at the Mass today to have one of the Mums-to-be, in attendance who are still being housed by Louisa!

By the Babe Unborn, GK Chesterton

"By the Babe Unborn"

by G.K. Chesterton

If trees were tall and grasses short,
As in some crazy tale,
If here and there a sea were blue
Beyond the breaking pale,

If a fixed fire hung in the air
To warm me one day through,
If deep green hair grew on great hills,
I know what I should do.

In dark I lie; dreaming that there
Are great eyes cold or kind,
And twisted streets and silent doors,
And living men behind.

Let storm clouds come: better an hour,
And leave to weep and fight,
Than all the ages I have ruled
The empires of the night.

I think that if they gave me leave
Within the world to stand,
I would be good through all the day
I spent in fairyland.

They should not hear a word from me
Of selfishness or scorn,
If only I could find the door,
If only I were born.

There will be a Chesterton Conference in Oxford on Saturday 2nd July. Chesterton Prayercards can be printed from here.

Stuart McCullough

A Tweet From Pope Benedict XVI

H/t to American Papist Today the Vatican published www.News.Va. To celebrate, Pope Benedict sent out his first tweet