Campus Ministry
Online
MAY 2013
How to Pray the
Rosary
The Mysteries of
the Rosary
Joyful Mysteries
1. The annunciation to
Mary that she is to be
Mother of the Savior
2. The visitation of Mary
to her cousin Elizabeth
3. The nativity of our Lord
Jesus Christ
4. The presentation of the
Infant Jesus in the
Temple
5. The finding of the Child
Jesus in the Temple
Sorrowful
Mysteries
1. The agony of Christ in
the garden
2. The scourging of Jesus
at the pillar
3. The crowning with
thorns
4. The carrying of the
cross
5. The crucifixion and
death of Jesus
Volume 4, Number 9
Call to prayer
for Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty
In this Year of Faith, the Catholic Bishops of the United States have called for a nationwide
effort to advance a movement for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty through prayer,
penance, and sacrifice. Catholics across the nation are being encouraged to pray for
rebuilding a culture favorable to life and marriage and for increased protections of religious
liberty. This call to prayer is prompted by unprecedented challenges to the Church and the
nation, particularly the HHS Mandate and current trends in government and culture toward
redefining marriage.
The goal of this call to prayer is twofold: (1) to increase awareness of these challenges and
(2) to build spiritual stamina and fortitude among the faithful so that we can be effective and
joyful witnesses of faith, hope, and charity and agents of the New Evangelization.
The Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty has five components:
1) Monthly Eucharistic Holy Hours in cathedrals and parishes
2) Daily Rosary by families and individuals
3) Special Prayers of the Faithful at all Masses
4) Fasting and abstinence from meat on Fridays
5) A Fortnight for Freedom in June/July 2013
Join the movement! Pray for our nation. Pray for life, marriage and religious liberty.
_________________________________________________________________________
HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
For the Church, there is no distinction between defending human life and promoting
the dignity of the human person. Pope Benedict XVI writes in Caritas in
Veritate.that "The Church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social
ethics, fully aware that a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it
asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the
other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways
in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or
marginalized.'" (no. 15).
As a gift from God, every human life is sacred from conception to natural death.
The life and dignity of every person must be respected and protected at every stage
and in every condition. The right to life is the first and most fundamental principle of
human rights that leads Catholics to actively work for a world of greater respect for
human life and greater commitment to justice and peace. The bishops pledged to
affirm the intrinsic value of human life and the dignity of every human being in a way
that transforms the culture. To achieve this goal, the priority plan includes ongoing
education, prayer, policy, and advocacy efforts to mobilize the Catholic community
on issues of life, justice, and peace. In this way, the Catholic community celebrates
the gift of human life and witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Glorious Mysteries
1. The resurrection of
Jesus
2. The ascension of Jesus
into heaven
3. The coming of the Holy
Spirit
4. The assumption of
Mary into heaven
5. The coronation of
Mary
.
These newsletters
are a service of Mater
Dei Campus Ministry
in an attempt to:
1. Share information
about our Catholic
faith to keep our
community aware
of some of the
teachings of our
tradition.
2. Update our
community of
changes in
understandings and
rituals
3. Assist parents with
the faith formation
of their youth.
4. Provide links to
sites with helpful
information on faith
and parenting.
Mater Dei
Campus Ministry
900 Mater Dei Dr.
Breese, IL 62230
May: Mary’s month!
May has traditionally been the month when we honor the Mother of Jesus. In the past,
families often made “May altars” in their living rooms to remind them of this. Families
gathered to pray the rosary together. This might be a good practice to begin again and
especially to pray for peace in our time.
May is the month in which we celebrate Mother’s Day honoring our mothers, living and
deceased, who gave us life and nurturing. We need to always remember the special role
that Mary plays in our lives as our spiritual mother; always ready to listen and intercede for
us.
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Past and Present
In 1634, a mix of Catholic and Protestant settlers arrived in Southern Maryland from England
aboard the Ark and the Dove. They had come at the invitation of the Catholic Lord Baltimore, who
had been granted the land by the Protestant King Charles I of England. While Catholics and
Protestants were killing each other in Europe, Lord Baltimore imagined Maryland as a society
where people of different faiths could live together peacefully. This vision was soon codified in
Maryland’s 1649 Act Concerning Religion (also called the “Toleration Act”), which was the first
law in our nation’s history to protect an individual’s right to freedom of conscience.
Maryland’s early history teaches us that, like any freedom, religious liberty requires constant
vigilance and protection, or it will disappear. Maryland’s experiment in religious toleration ended
within a few decades. The colony was placed under royal control and the Church of England
became the established religion. Discriminatory laws, including the loss of political rights, were
enacted against those who refused to conform. Catholic chapels were closed and Catholics were
restricted to practicing their faith in their homes. The Catholic community lived under this coercion
until the American Revolution.
By the end of the 18th century our nation’s founders embraced freedom of religion as an
essential condition of a free and democratic society. So when the Bill of Rights was ratified,
religious freedom had the distinction of being the First Amendment. Religious liberty is indeed the
first liberty.
This is our American heritage, our most cherished freedom. If we are not free in our conscience
and our practice of religion, all other freedoms are fragile. If our obligations and duties to God are
impeded, or even worse, contradicted by the government, then we can no longer claim to be a
land of the free.
Is our most cherished freedom truly under threat? Among many current challenges, consider the
recent Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring almost all private
health plans to cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. For the first time in
our history, the federal government will force religious institutions to facilitate drugs and
procedures contrary to our moral teaching, and purport to define which religious institutions are
“religious enough” to merit an exemption. This is not a matter of whether contraception may be
prohibited by the government. It is not even a matter of whether contraception may be supported
by the government. It is a matter of whether religious people and institutions may be forced by
the government to provide coverage for contraception and sterilization, even when it violates our
religious beliefs.
What can you do to ensure the protection of religious freedom? To learn more about our first
freedom, and to send your message to HHS and Congress telling them to stand up for religious
liberty and conscience rights, go to www.usccb.org/conscience today! Thank you for joining the
effort to end this unprecedented government coercion of conscience and intrusion in religious
affairs.
(From the United States Council of Catholic Bishops)