Two Weeks Until Race Day!

It's hard to believe it's already been a year since my last fundraiser as a Life Runner.  We will be driving from New England to Dayton, Ohio, (about 1,500 miles round trip) for the Air Force Marathon Races. I'm running a half marathon (my 5th), and my running partner is running a marathon (her first). We are raising funds for the Vitae Foundation and for a local crisis pregnancy center.

I hope my training has been sufficient, and that I can finish strong. Most importantly, I hope that my witness can help raise money for Vitae Foundation, and ultimately save lives.

If you would like to donate to my fundraiser, please visit my Razoo page.

I didn't give up Facebook this year, but everyone else did!

Last year at this time I was experiencing my first pangs of Facebook withdrawal. I gave up Facebook for Lent last year because I realized I had a problem. I wasted many hours "checking in" and "liking" things, not to mention watching important breaking news (links from the local TV station to sensational events on the other side of the country) and cute cat videos. Then, there were the recipes. Pictures of food pulled me in, then I'd read the recipe, then I'd check out five other things on the blog associated with the recipe. Finally, I'd wonder why I couldn't get my work done.

This year, lots of people made their Mardi Gras status, "See you on or after Easter--Fasting from Facebook this Lent."

I had considered fasting from Facebook again this year, but three things changed my mind. First, I maintain two "pages" in addition to my personal page, and this time of year there are many updates  for Western Mass Life Runners and Western Mass Faith-based Films. If I fasted from Facebook, my little, but growing pages would be neglected and I would not be able to communicate information about group runs or spring releases of movies to my viewers. No, it wouldn't be the end of the world, but it was something to consider. Second, I live far from most of my relatives, so Facebook keeps me up to date on their lives. Third, when I realized so many people on my friends list were fasting from Facebook, I realized that I wouldn't have as many notifications pulling me into interesting blogs and recipes. I might be able to limit myself to a quick morning and evening check-in and then go about my day--which was the result of last year's fast, at least for a few months.

So far, so good.  I had 4 notifications this morning compared to 15 yesterday. A quick scan of the Home feed showed a lot of what was already there yesterday. I had one personal message from someone important to me. I was glad I checked in and saw her note so I could respond. Then I logged out. I will be working to limit my social media time this Lent, but it's not my "big fast" this year.

If you gave up Facebook for Lent, don't simply switch to Twitter or another social media site!  The purpose of a fast is to deny ourselves in order to focus that attention on God. Listen prayerfully to what the Lord is asking of you each day, especially during this holy season of Lent.

I'm praying for you! Please pray for me, too, as we continue our journey to Easter.

Rosary Runner

“Running for Their Lives” (Columbia Magazine, December 2012), chronicles the founding and purpose of LIFE Runners, the largest international running group dedicated to Pro-Life causes.  The founders of the group are both members of the Knights of Columbus and Lt. Colonels in the United States Air Force. They began praying together as they were training for “Pikes Peak Ascent—dubbed ‘America’s Ultimate Challenge’—in 2006.” Out of that experience grew a daily devotional email that evolved into the LIFE Runners group which now has members across the United States and internationally.

I have enjoyed running since I was in college, but have begun more seriously training for races over the past four years.  My first official race was a local 5K trail race in a weekly summer series.  I wanted to quit for the last half-mile, but my best friend ran the race with me and encouraged me to repeat, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  I finished in last place, but I finished.  That moment transformed me.  My runs became opportunities for intercessory prayer. 

Since that first race, I have completed many shorter races as well as three half marathons (13.1 miles) and one 25K (15.5 miles) half-ultra trail race. Prayer has become a central focus for my training runs. In May of 2011, I was training for the Memorial Day Half Marathon in the Berkshires.  I had begun praying the rosary during my long training runs, and I regularly asked friends for intentions I could offer on the road.  One dear friend was 8 months pregnant and having complications requiring bed rest.  Our mutual friend called to tell me to pray for her, but I didn’t realize then that her situation was critical. She had been to the doctor on Friday of Mother’s Day weekend, and was expecting to go for her regular follow up the following Wednesday.

On Sunday, the doctor called to tell her she had been thinking of my friend all day and had decided to look more deeply at her history and charts. She was uncomfortable with waiting until Wednesday for the follow-up and wanted her to come to the hospital that day. She ultimately had a scheduled emergency C-section.  Her tiny baby arrived several weeks early and had Down syndrome.  Because my friend is unfalteringly Pro-Life, she had declined all prenatal testing that would have indicated any genetic concerns. She did not know the baby had Down syndrome until she was born.  The decision to go to the hospital and not wait until the Wednesday doctor’s appointment saved both of their lives. A few weeks later when I saw Baby Brigid for the first time, she was so tiny that she fit in a doll’s cradle.  Her perfect porcelain skin looked like a doll’s!  I just kept looking at this beautiful baby with total love and awe in God’s creation.  Later, my friend told me that my prayers helped save their lives that day.  I sobbed.  I know God had taken care of her and her tiny baby, but the challenges had just begun.  As with many babies with Down Syndrome, Baby Brigid would need open heart surgery to repair holes in her heart.

The following autumn, when I was training for the 25K, I began consistently praying a full rosary with all four mysteries on my long weekend runs.  Even though I’d sometimes lose count and say a 15-Hail Mary “decade”, the meditation on the life of Christ and my focus on the needs of those whose prayer intentions I carried made the runs more purposeful, if not easier.  I traveled out of state for the race, and Baby Brigid, now 4 months old, would be having her surgery in Boston while I was gone.  I offered the 3½ grueling hours of that race for Baby Brigid, the family, the surgeons, and all who would care for her during her recovery.  The race was a very technical trail race with lots of rocks, roots, and climbing.  I was not well-prepared for trails as I generally train and race on paved roads.  When I was a little more than half-way through the course, praying the sorrowful mysteries, my foot got caught under a root, and I tripped and fell hard.  I lay face down in the dirt for a long moment while other runners skirted around me. I pushed myself up and checked for blood and broken bones. My big toe throbbed and I had scraped hands and knees, but I was able to continue.  I thought of Christ falling three times on the Road to Calvary.  I said, “Lord, please take my fall, my pain, and keep Baby Brigid safe.  Please let me suffer so she can heal faster.”

If I didn’t have Baby Brigid to run for, I may have been tempted to quit and call my husband to come pick me up at the next water stop.  Carrying the prayer intention gave strength and purpose to my run.  I finished with no other falls, though I had to walk and hike a lot more than I had anticipated. The 25K was by no means my fastest race, but it was definitely my most purposeful and important.  When I got home, I found out that Baby Brigid’s was a success.  My friend said, “I knew you were praying for us in Boston. Looking around the room at the other parents waiting for kids in surgery, we were the only calm ones in the room. I was even surprised myself at how much I was able to trust God to guide the surgeon's hands. The surgery was perfect—it couldn't have been better even though the hole was larger than they thought and there were 3 not 2. They even sent us home a day earlier than [what they] originally said was minimum because she was doing so great. The whole thing was a tremendously difficult experience and I know I would have been a puddle if it hadn't have been for you and all my prayer warriors.”

After those two experiences, I have continued to ask for prayer intentions and to pray the rosary on my solitary runs.  The LIFE Runners article helped me recognize a bigger opportunity.  My prayers had been offered to help one precious baby.  Perhaps uniting my prayers with those of a running team could help save many babies!  I am working with two friends to establish the first Massachusetts chapter of Life Runners. We need 5 runners and a chaplain to be “official,” but in the meantime the three of us have been training since April for the Surftown Half Marathon in Rhode Island on September 15, the traditional feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.  We will race in our LIFE Runners t-shirts which say “Remember the Unborn” and include the reference to Jeremiah 1:5.  The scripture reads “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” On September 15, we will run for Pro-Life, witnessing to the Truth that all human life is sacred.

In addition to uniting in prayer, LIFE Runners strive to raise money for Pro-Life causes.  The suggested goal is $262 per year which represents the 26.2 miles of a marathon.  Personally, I have trained for about 260 miles so far this year, so that goal would be approximately $1 per training mile! My personal goal is $524 ($40 per mile for my race on September 15)--$262 each for one local and one national charity. 

I have selected the Springfield Pregnancy Care Center as the local beneficiary of my fundraising efforts.  The SPCC has been helping women and children in the Springfield area since 1985.  Their services include the following: free pregnancy testing; confidential counseling; abstinence and STD education; referrals to medical, community and government agencies; free maternity clothes, baby clothes and baby equipment; ongoing personal support; adoption information; prenatal and postnatal instruction; and post abortion support.  The Massachusetts Citizens for Life chose SPCC to receive their 2013 Pro-Life Group of the Year Award. 

In addition to the local charity I'm supporting, LIFE Runners fund raise for one of three national organizations the group selects each year. The national beneficiary I've chosen of the three is the Vitae Foundation which promotes the message of life through the media. By promoting hope and the value of life in the media, we can help change hearts and save lives! You may make a donation to my Vitae Foundation Fundraiser, by clicking here: "Sharing the message of LIFE!"

Will you help me meet my goal of $262 for each charity by October 6?

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to support my efforts to help the Springfield Pregnancy Care Center or the Vitae Foundation to continue offering services to women facing unplanned pregnancies.  Your gift will help save a baby. Thank you for your support!

Life in Prison, not the Death Penalty

When I saw that Kermit Gosnell would not seek an appeal and that he would likely receive life in prison rather than the death penalty for murdering babies born alive after attempted abortions, I was relieved.  How could I call myself pro-life and want the death penalty for anyone, even a serial killer?  I mourn the loss of all aborted children.  I pray for healing for their mothers.  I pray for healing for the clinic workers and doctors.

Abby Johnson addresses those "Christian pro-lifers" who say Kermit Gosnell doesn't deserve to breathe the same air they breathe.  They are wrong!  God is the only one who can decide who is worthy, not us.  Johnson says, "I know some will say, “but you repented, that is the difference.” But what if I hadn’t…not yet. What if I was still inside the abortion industry? What if I was still an accomplice to murder? What if it took me longer to realize the truth? Do I deserve to die? Are we saying repentance is about our timing? Certainly, it is not about us. It about God and His perfect timing."

Read Abby Johnson's article here.

And My Life Was Never the Same...Praise God!

Sixteen years ago I gave birth to my first child.  The beginning of the pregnancy included a scare.  Just one month into our marriage, Mike took me to the ER since I was experienceing severe abdominal pain.  We found out over the course of a few hours that I was pregnant, but that the pregnancy may be ectopic. As the tests were inconclusive, I was sent home for "two days of bed rest," but didn't make it 24 hours.  I returned by ambulance the next day, followed by emergency surgery. When the doctor administered the anesthesia, I had no idea whether I'd be pregnant when I woke.  I had spent the previous night in tears and prayer.

A couple weeks later, just as I healed from surgery, the morning sickness kicked in.  I lost about 15 pounds in the first trimester.  I feared for the health of the baby, but felt like a baby myself because I could barely walk across a room or cook a meal without holding onto something.  I was weak, but God had a plan.

The queasy months were a sign of a healthy pregnancy.  The baby grew.  We found out we were having a boy, and we gave him a name when he was still in the womb.  I talked to him a lot.  I was finishing graduate school, so as a "belly rider" (my husband coined that term for the child in the womb, and it always makes me smile), my growing infant attended class with me.  He and I shared secret moments as he fluttered, kicked, and squirmed while I was learning Discourse Theory or studying Working Class literature.

After a tumultuous beginning to my pregnancy, my husband and I grew closer to God and to one another as we prayed a daily rosary for the health of our unborn baby.  Eight months to the day after the surgery, I held a healthy 8-pound baby boy in my arms.  And my life was never the same.

Simple Prayer for the United States of America

Today the Church celebrates the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.  May the scales fall from the eyes of government officials today.  May they see the thousands of pilgrims who have peacefully entered our Nation's Capitol to pray for a conversion of the United States of America from a Culture of Death to a Culture of Life. Through Christ Our Lord, AMEN.

Rock the Vote!

Finally, after today, no more political ads for a while.  I lost a Facebook "friend" a few months ago when she and another friend were debating on my page.  The funny thing is, it got all political when I made a comment about something that didn't seem political to me.  I realized the lost friend was not much of a friend since she "unfriended" me before I made a single response in their debate.  Presidential election years seem to make people just a bit more nutty than normal.  I'd personally prefer to talk about food and gardening than politics!

However, it's our responsibility to be aware of the candidates and the issues.  Today, as a Catholic, I must vote on the side of life, on the ballot questions and on the candidates. I must vote on the side of life from "the womb to the tomb" in God's time, not the mercy killer or the abortionist's time.  I must trust that our Creator has a better plan for our lives and our suffering than we could ever imagine in our limited human capacity.  Today, I pray especially for those who find themselves pregnant and despairing or facing a terminal illness--and for those with the misguided, though often well-meaning, solution.  May they recognize the value in every human life, that we are all precious sons and daughters of God the Father.

All American Citizens--I encourage you to exercise your right and rock the vote today!

October Baby's Gentle Mother

Last spring, the movie October Baby opened in limited theaters, surprising many with its success--8th at the Box Office and 3rd in per-theater ticket sales on the same opening weekend as the blockbuster hit, Hunger Games.  October Baby came out on DVD and Blu-Ray last week, on September 11, so if you missed it in theaters, you can now rent or purchase the movie or host a movie night at your church.

My city was lucky enough to have two theaters pick up the movie in an expanded release in April.  Our parish's youth group attended the movie together.  I took my two oldest children and their two friends (who are siblings). After the movie, the youth group shared ice cream and great conversations about many important topics touched upon in the movie: the dignity of human life, forgiveness, chastity, and adoption, just to name a few.  The conversation continued during our ride home, touching on those topics in a beautiful way inspired by the film.

The movie has a powerful message of love, the dignity of all human life, and forgiveness told through the experience of Hannah (played by Rachel Hendrix), a college freshman who just found out she was adopted after surviving a failed abortion attempt.  Hannah isn't the only character who finds healing in the film--all of the characters grow in some way.

Her adoptive mother, played Jennifer Price (Grace), hasn't been discussed much in the reviews I've read.  Hannah's father, Jacob (played by John Schneider) has gotten much more attention as he has a more central role in the plot development. Their marriage and their parenthood, however, are both truly heroic.  I won't spoil the plot here, but I will say that the seemingly "small" role that Price plays in the film touched me in a very special way as a mother.  She suffered a tragic loss, and then another tragic loss.  She raised her adopted daughter, who suffered numerous health problems, and loved her as her own flesh.  Her role reminded me of both the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.  She raised a child who was not her biological child, just as Joseph did, answering a call from God (her "call" wasn't in a dream, but in a bulletin about babies needing a home).  In another pivotal scene, Grace tells Jacob, "I think we need to trust our daughter."  I could hear Mary telling the servants at the Wedding at Cana, "Do whatever he tells you," before Our Lord's first public miracle. She is a woman of deep faith and deep love.  She recognizes the value of life.  Though Hannah wasn't her biological child, Grace mothers her tenderly and lovingly, as the beautiful child of God that Hannah is.  In my own parenting, on those days when I struggle most, I try to remember that even though I gave birth to my four children, "They are His, not mine.  They are on loan from God, and I need to care for them with a deep, abiding love that reflects the One who gave them to me."  Grace personifies God's love for his children in October Baby.

Abortion and adoption are touchy topics, especially during this election year when the current administration is touting its anti-life platform with great hubris.  This movie handles tough topics in a very human, loving way, focusing on the freedom one gains through forgiving another.

Most everyone in the United States knows women who have had abortions, though it's not something they are likely to share.  I can only imagine the struggles they have suffered--some with the father of the child and the nature of their conception, some with having "too many" children already, others with fear of what others would think.  There are many reasons a woman would seek an abortion, and I empathize with their struggle.  Many of those women may have made a different choice with counseling, with support from family and friends, or with church support. Many struggle with health and fertility issues related to the abortion, and so many suffer psychologically from the loss. Movies like October Baby give people on both sides of the political topic of abortion a chance to find common ground--looking at the "issue" in terms of a life that was saved and the love that grew through the lives Hannah touched on her journey to discover "who she is."  The "Grace" in her life, her adoptive mother, helped guide and shape the baby who grew into a young woman with the power to forgive.

October Baby is a movie worth seeing--and seeing again.  If you saw October Baby in theaters, buy a copy to share with your friends who missed it.  If you missed the movie last spring, get a copy and watch it this weekend!