The Vaccine War

If you are a parent, you'll want to have all of the available information out there to educate yourself about the possibility of childhood immunizations being linked to autism and neurological disorders and health concerns like asthma. The Vaccine War will be on tonight (4/27/10) and I recommend watching PBS Frontline for this reason. In Denver it will air at 9pm, but check your local listing to be sure, or it seems you can also view it online as of today.  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist

From the preview available at that link, it looks like the parents might not get a fair shake in the report, but we shall see. There may not be any discussion about the cells of aborted babies that have been used in the creations of vaccines, either. http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/vaccine-components/human-fetal-links-some-vaccines In the meantime, here are just the initial arguments for and against the vaccinations that have been given in the debate.

Fathers and mothers experience having a child without any characteristics of autism, yet following the administration of childhood immunizations, the child presents as though a different person, withdrawn, flapping hands, lack of social interaction, non-verbal communication, and other autistic descriptions.

Many scientists and doctors claim that there are no conclusive studies to prove that autism is linked to vaccines.

Parents have sued and won big money in court over autism that they claim resulted from vaccinations.

Pharmaceutical companies have a lucrative stake in the vaccines.

There are also concerns by society, including living amongst those without childhood immunizations.

Some important questions are:

Why isn't the government studying the possibility, rather than dismissing any possible connection with mercury and other potentially harmful substances? What is causing this explosion in numbers accounting for 1 in 150 births being on the autism spectrum? What are the results and the conclusions of studies that have been done, who did them, what is the significance, and who funded them? Is this another case similar to the global warming hoax that liberals imposed upon us world-wide while silencing honest scientists with valid views that differed from theirs? What are the risks and benefits of childhood vaccinations concerning my own children? Are there alternatives to those shots in question?

That's just a starting point for me. I know I'll be watching The Vaccine War tonight for some answers. From what I've been reading, even the flu shots are suspect. Let's get to the truth, I have no agenda, I have kids.

Vaccinations, abortion & fetal tissue--cause of autism?

Blogger The Badger Catholic posted something extremely important and upsetting that I want all parents to read about, since most of us take our children to the doctor to have them vaccinated. If I didn't know about this, I doubt a lot of other parents have heard this information. I appreciate this horrifying info and I'm passing it on:  http://badgercatholic.blogspot.com/2010/04/which-vaccines-contain-aborted-babies.html

Having worked for several years as an assistant teacher of students with severe and profound special needs, autism is one area of the field that has been of special interest to me. Tens of thousands of parents have suspected that childhood shots are responsible for the cause of autism. This has to do with mercury and the video included in my post explains more. There are about 1 in 150 kids who have been diagnosed with autism. There have been some investigations, but my experience is that generally doctors assure us that they doubt the vaccines are causing autism. At this point, that is a matter of pure opinion.

The parents just might be right. Human body parts, mercury, or a combination of both very well could have an adverse effect on children. Something is causing the numbers to skyrocket. We may soon discover that abortion doesn't end at killing preborn children, but is also the ingredient for disabilities in the little ones who have escaped legal murder in the wombs of their mothers.

Michigan Right to Life brings us the details on the research and some available pro-life vaccine alternatives...

Vaccines, Abortion & Fetal Tissue

For several years now, information has circulated among prolife groups and individuals regarding the development of very common vaccines through the use of tissue taken from aborted babies. While initially the reports and information were not conclusively documented, further detailed research by several prolife groups has provided direct proof of a connection between aborted fetal tissue and most vaccines. That connection, and its implications for whether prolife citizens should consider using the vaccines, raises some complicated issues. In sorting through those issues, this LifeNotes will address the basic science involved, the documentation of the abortion-vaccine connection, the moral/ethical questions about using abortion-tainted vaccines, and information about available alternative vaccines.

U.S. Produced Vaccines from Aborted Cell Lines

Disease	Vaccine Name	Manufacturer	Cell line (fetal)
Polio	Poliovax	Aventis-Pasteur	MRC-5
Rabies	Imovax	Aventis-Pasteur	MRC-5
Hepatitis A	Havrix	Merck & Co.	MRC-5
Hepatitis A	Vaqta	Glaxo/SmithKline	MRC-5
Hepatitis A-B Combo	Twinrix	Glaxo/SmithKline	MRC-5
Smallpox	Acambis 1000	Acambis	MRC-5
Chickenpox	Varivax	Merck & Co.	MRC-5/WI-38
Measles, Mumps, Rubella	MMR II	Merck & Co	WI-38
Mumps-Rubella	Biavax II	Merck & Co	WI-38
Measles-Rubella	MR-VAX	Merck & Co	WI-38
Rubella only	Meruvax II	Merck & Co	WI-38

 U.S. Produced Alternative Vaccines
(There are no U.S. alternatives for Chickenpox, Rubella, Hepatitis-A)

Disease	Vaccine Name	Manufacturer	Cell line
Polio	IPOL	Aventis-Pasteur	Monkey kidney
Mumps	Mumpsvax	Merck & Co.	Chick embryo
Measles	Attenuvax	Merck & Co.	Chick embryo
Rabies	RabAvert	Chiron Therapeutics	Chick embryo
Smallpox Hepatitis B	Acambis 2000 Engerix, Comvax	Acambis-Baxter Glaxo/Smith/Kline, Merck	Monkey kidney Yeast

http://www.rtl.org/prolife_issues/LifeNotes/VaccinesAbortion_FetalTissue.html

Here's a little plug for Mother Angelica's birthday

Mother Angelica has done a great service for Catholics world-wide by creating EWTN. April 20th is her birthday, so I just couldn't let this day end and get any sleep before giving her this special birthday gift. Enjoy...and be transformed...

 There are so many wonderful programs on EWTN that help to build your faith. Faith formation is something that every single one of us needs and with the variety of programming on this channel, you are sure to find several programs that are not just rich in Catholic teaching, but are personally interesting and appealing to you. If you haven't yet forced yourself to be a viewer there, you are really missing some excellent opportunities to grow in your faith.

The Daily Mass is repeated several times from early in the morning until late at night, so you can be a part of it sometime each day, at least turn the volume up while you wash the dishes to hear the Liturgy of the Word and the homily. Regularly there are programs on that teach the Catholic faith by way of interviews with converts who recount their research and experiences, through faithful Catholic priests and theologians who share what they have studied, and with reruns of the ever-humorous Mother Angelica taking questions from callers and explaining practical and heavenly things from God's perspective from the Holy Word of God and our Catholic Catechism as naturally as it is to have a bite to eat.

One thing that was a huge help for me to begin to gather the family together to pray the Rosary together daily is that twice a day Mother Angelica leads the devotion to our Blessed Virgin Mother praying along with her nuns. In fact, this is where I learned how to pray the Rosary, and so can you. Don't worry if you don't have a rosary yet, I didn't have one when I first prayed the Rosary. You may also enjoy praying the devotion in a different context, perhaps from the Holy Land, they've got it, too, EWTN Holy Land Rosary with Father Mitch. The Holy Rosary and The Divine Mercy Chaplet are wonderful devotions and please our Lord and our Lady of the Trinity very much. Most of us know that we should be praying more. Having EWTN on encourages the viewer to have a life of prayer and to better reflect Jesus in our lives.

Bob and Penny Lord feature the lives of the saints while traveling to historical places and presenting their wealth of research just as if they are friends with each of them. And why not? I've found that saints are some of my best friends. Why not find out about them. They will enrich your life tremendously in so many ways.

Saturday mornings are a great treat for children. Tune in and see why. It wasn't an easy change for my kids at first to have EWTN on Saturday morning, but several months later they were asking me to wake them up to see their shows if they didn't wake up on their own. I confess I love a couple of those programs, especially The Knights of St. Michael.

Dramatic presentations and musical talent are included in the lineup, along with programming directed toward our youth, combining the serious with fun. Raymond Arroyo never fails to provide vital interviews while providing news that is of importance to faithful Catholics. Programming for women is smart, intelligent, warm, and informative. Watch a couple of these and you'll be quite surprised that strong women of faith are not dull and brainless. And yes, there is great programming that is geared toward men. Young or old there is something on EWTN for you. So check it out.


If you already enjoy EWTN and learn a lot, please remember them with some funds. Thanks.

Happy birthday, Mother Angelica :) Thank you for your obedience to God and love for souls.

The Rosary held in the hands of my dead mother

Yesterday while praying the Rosary along with Mother Angelica and the nuns on EWTN, at the end of the Mystery of the Transfiguration, as I contemplated on being transformed into the image of Christ, I remembered something from long ago. I'd like to share it here.

Someone had placed a rosary into the dead hands of my mother for a proper Catholic funeral, an adornment that I had never seen her pray with. The whole family and friends of my mother came to the funeral home to pray the rosary. That is the first time I ever heard that prayer. I doubt I was the only one who did not even know to contemplate on the mysteries as we prayed the prayers over and over. I assumed this was to help my dead mother in some Catholic funeral ritual of some superstitious nature. Before my mother's burial, I believe I was given that rosary. I did not know it was anything other than a token for remembrance of my dead mother.

After Mom was buried, I never saw anyone in my family ever pray the Rosary again, either. Nor did any priest or nun tell me to pray the Rosary even though I was searching for God, had a lot of questions, and was even ripe for becoming a nun myself. Neither did they suggest this devotion to me for myself or for my deceased parent even as I questioned them about where my mother might be since she had killed herself.

There are so many ironies connected to that memory that I experienced yesterday that I am not going to get into here. But there is something very important that I want to say.

Like many other Catholics, I have a rosary hanging from my rear-view mirror in my car. Yet a rosary is not a decoration. It is not meant to be put into a corpse's hands. It is meant to be for the living to run to and use as a holy weapon of spiritual warfare. Better still, it should be always handy in a pocket, ever ready, as a knight is not w/o his sword nor a soldier w/o his weapon on the battlefield. Use that rosary, pray the Rosary, and pray it often, every day.

If you would like me to help you to learn about the Holy Rosary please contact me or leave me a comment and I will help you. How many years has my mother been suffering in purgatory because there was nobody to pray for her? I do not know. Pray for the poor souls in purgatory. Like me, you may have never been told that you can pray for your deceased loved ones. Now you know. So pray for them.

I sought a close-up picture of a rosary in the hands of a corpse to go with this post. And can you believe it, out of 365 days, this post and the first and best photo that I could find is this one that accompanies this entry. It is a picture of St. Bernadette. And as I looked for information about who is in the picture, I read that today is also her feast day. Yes, it just "happens" to also be her feast day on the very day I publish this entry. And you don't believe in miracles? What, do you think that this is a coincidence?  Think again.

Prayers for Kayleah Wilson's safe return

"Kayleah is described as 5-foot-1, 145 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white and pink shirt over a white tank top, blue jeans, and white and red shoes. Kayleah has been missing since March 28,2010 3:40 PM

"The 12-year-old girl left her home Sunday afternoon to go to a friend's birthday party and never arrived. She didn't show up at the pick-up location, and she hasn't come back home..." It has now been 2 weeks since her disappearance from Greeley, Colorado.

Michelle Thompson of Greeley, created a cause group at http://www.facebook.com/ called "Prayers for Kayleah Wilson's Safe Return". It is here that the world-wide community has come together to help find missing Kayleah Wilson. The photo and the information about Kayleah as quoted above is available at the facebook group page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=110710275614207

At this point, there are over 4000 members who belong to this group. People have joined the group from all across the country and from Canada. Posts include information, news, updates, hopeful possible clues or tips, and a whole lot of support and prayer. There are now 54 helpful links included, with one being from The Greeley Tribune, which has been regularly reporting on missing Kayleah.

At the present time (Saturday, April 10, 2010) there is an active community search being led by The Friendswood Texas-based Laura Recovery Center for Missing Children. If you are at least 18 years of age, you can still participate, as this event will continue again tomorrow, Sunday, April 11th. Details can be found on the facebook group site.

Anyone with information about Kayleah's whereabouts is asked to call 1-800 225-5324. 

More info on the Kayleah Wilson case here: http://www.amw.com/missing_children/case.cfm?id=72088

A prayer vigil was held last night. Those who attended did so not out of a sense of loss, but in prayerful hope and expectation for Kayleah Wilson's safe return home. In reading the posts on the group wall, the message is clearly positive and collectively encouraging and affirming. Please pray for Kayleah and her family. Along with the many other courageous and prayerful voices, this examiner says: Kayleah, your family loves and misses you, and we want you home safely soon. 

For Kayleah and her family, here is a song with a message of hope... "there's a light at the end of this tunnel, hold on."

This post is an exception to my blog posts and my column posts not being identical. The reason I have done this is because the article is important, we need to pray for and find this missing child. The original is here: http://www.examiner.com/x-4317-Denver-Roman-Catholic-Examiner~y2010m4d10-Prayers-for-Kayleah-Wilsons-safe-return 

Make your faith an active faith

The Acts of the Apostles is about some of the recorded activity, through their faith in Christ, of those who first followed Jesus. Today, we who know our Lord are also called to an active faith. Some of these things we do as His disciples, we are called to do daily, like praying. Other things come upon us suddenly, like helping others in times of need. And then there is a special call for each of us...

Part of what I have been called to do in this life on earth is to teach children. At the present time, God is leading me in writing for children in order to share the Catholic faith with them. Honestly, I have learned some things from books written for children, myself. So I believe that what I am given to write from my Lord and my Lady, by the grace of God, will reach many more than children; parents, too, I'm sure.

I'm pretty much decided upon this artistic representation of "The Annunciation" for my first book. It is from the 1600s by Caravaggio. It is available in the public domain, which is a real blessing, as it is free for the taking. It pleases me to be able to use it in such a noble endeavor, that being the reaching others for God with His truth.

The daily scriptural reading from the Holy Gospel for today is about how after Jesus had risen from the dead, His disciples were walking and talking with Him, but they did not recognize Him.

They listened to Jesus explain the Holy Scriptures to them and they asked Him to stay with them. He stayed with them, and in the breaking of the bread is when they recognized Him as their Lord. It is my prayer that more Catholics will begin to see that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. He is present in the consecrated bread at Mass. (Thank you Lord, for our priests.)

It is also my desire to share the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for this prayer is the contemplation of the Gospel, and we know that the Word of God is Jesus. I'd like to think that whenever people open my book, they are in a spiritual way breaking open the truth of the Bread of Life, supping with Jesus, through Mary, as they learn of our Redeemer through the one who knew Him better than anybody--His Holy Mother.

The book I am speaking of is the first in a series of books that I am answering God's call to write. Simultaneously I am writing other books, a little here and there. But this is the gem that will be coming out first. I am very pleased with the progress. I'll write of "The Annunciation: The First Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary" from time to time as things move along through the grace of God and the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.

It is a true honor to be given this Holy task. It is a pleasure to work at crafting a masterpiece of God. I find it both humbling and fulfilling. The "Joyful" mysteries indeed :)

If you have an idea of some sort that you think might have been given to you by God, just step out in faith and do it. Go for it. This is active faith. Trust Jesus and take that first step of faith. Like a toddler, step by step, the Holy Spirit will lead you along. As you make progress, you can also sense our Heavenly Father saying that you are His child, and with you He is well pleased.

Understanding more of the Paschal Mystery

After going to St. Catherine's to participate in the Stations of the Cross, my children and I went downstairs to pray The Divine Mercy Chaplet together at the hour of great mercy on the day of great mercy, in the adoration chapel. The two doors were wide open. It struck me so strange. How wrong this was, not just odd, but as if something was really very wrong.

We looked inside the chapel. Then we went inside, yet the little golden tabernacle was also open, and there was no consecrated host, where Jesus should be present in the appearance of the bread, but was no where to be found. This was not what we had expected. We had anticipated praying there together with our Lord. But He had been taken from us. He was gone.

The emptiness in that room grew within my heart and it was a sad and heavy feeling, even though we all had realized that this absence of the Lord must be a part of our Catholic ritual that we hadn't known of prior to this Good Friday, for we have only been going to Adoration for about 4 months. Boy, talk about the impact of feeling like you are right there along with Mary Magdeline at the empty tomb!

Now the "coincidental" thing about this experience is that I had stayed up until 2 in the morning assisting my son with his new blog and his first post. He wrote about this exact same feeling. Yet I was not familiar with any of the things that he was referring to in his blog post. I marveled about how he felt, but I did not feel it myself--until we came upon our own empty tomb.

Here's an excerpt from Zjeng's new blog, Story Helix: http://storyhelix.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/the-end-of-lent-beginning-of-the-easter-triduum/

And finally, last year’s Easter Candle which has been the source of all the candle light in my Church for special events, was also destroyed. The Easter candle is the symbol of Christ in our world – the pillar of smoke by day, and a pillar of fire by night and it was smashed on the ground, with the final words: “For the light of the world has been shattered.”

With that, our pastor walked away in silence and I felt that empty Gethsemane feeling.

I really wish that every devout Catholic would experience this emptiness without our Blessed Savior. Perhaps it would cause us to better appreciate and love those who do not know God. Of course, atheists do not even know what they are missing. But all the same, we could understand them better. What would we do if we did not have our Lord? We would see things more like those who do not know God do, and some of us have come from that very place. Such an empty place.