"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted
or take them with gratitude."

- Gilbert K. Chesterton

It's more than just about food gobbled down together

An excerpt from a worthy read:

The pop culture constantly tells parents the pernicious lie that teenagers don't want them around. But teenagers say something very different. CASA's [Nat'l Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse] research, for instance, reveals: "When asked whether they prefer to have dinner with their families or to eat alone, 84 percent of teens surveyed say they prefer to have dinner with their families, compared to 13 percent who say they prefer to eat dinner alone (three percent responded 'don't know' or gave no response)."

Yet, statistics show that as teens grow older they are less likely to eat with their parents. My guess is that it's because mom and dad often feel too overwhelmed to take the initiative to bring them around the table, or have bought the lie that older children don't need family time.

The truth is that both parents and children experience more joy and satisfaction in life in general when we are part of a strong family unit.

Read The Importance of Family Meals, by Rebecca Hagelin
Townhall.com

"Imaginary pregnancy"

Several days ago I posted some links to news and features delving on life issues. One of them was Wesley J. Smith's take on the possible consequences of too much reproductive "freedom", which jumped off from a reported 12-baby pregnancy of a Tunisian woman. I had also read about the reported multiple pregnancy on Birth Story.

Today, a news item on Gulf News reports that the woman is not pregnant. It was a case of "phantom pregnancy" (is that what it's really called?).

How is Life around the world?

Finally got to post these updates on what's been going on in different parts of the planet the past month as regards respecting the right to life. One thing's for sure -- we all need to take a closer look at what's happening and make sure we still remember that human life is not a commodity. Human life is invaluable, meant to be nurtured, and precious regardless of how long or short it is lived out.

'Abortion ship' suspends voyages due to changes in Dutch law
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug 10, 2009 / 02:29 pm (CNA).- The ship “Aurora,” sponsored by the abortion organization “Women on Waves,” which provides abortions in international waters off countries where the practice is illegal, will remain docked due to changes in Dutch law.


Kenyan president praised for commuting 4,000 death sentences
Nairobi, Kenya, Aug 5, 2009 / 02:17 am (CNA).- The head prison chaplain in Kenya has applauded President Mwai Kibaki’s decision to commute the death sentences of some 4,000 prisoners, punishing them with life imprisonment instead of death by hanging.


A mother shares the story of her baby's short but beautiful life, after diagnosed with fetal abnormality (H/T: Birth Story)
Looking back, we regret nothing. Despite the fact that we knew our son would be seriously disabled and was not going to be the next Einstein or Olympic athlete, we are pleased that we gave him the chance to live and that we loved him the best way we knew how. We feel blessed to have been able to have cared for him alongside such great family members, friends, doctors and medical staff. And, sad as we are to live without him, we feel grateful that he is a saint in Heaven, bearing no pain and feeling ultimate love.


Pregnant with 12 babies: The cost of unlimited "reproductive freedom"

Monday, August 17, 2009, 6:11 PM

Wesley J. Smith

IVF has brought joy to millions of parents. But it has also fueled the hedonism front of the coup de culture. Moreover, because the reproductive industry, feminists, bioethicists, and others in the anything goes crowd resist any reasonable regulation, it has also opened the door to treating nascent human life as mere ore taken from a mine, set the Brave New World project on its trajectory, led to women becoming so many paid brood mares, caused the death, disability, and serious illness of egg donors and sellers, and transformed reproduction into a mercantile transaction in which people believe they have the right not only to a baby, but to the baby–or many babies–they want.


Amnesty Int'l calls protection of unborn in Nicaragua a "great horror"
Claims pro-life legislation is harming women's health, despite falling maternal mortality rates
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent

MANAGUA, August 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Amnesty International (AI) has launched an international campaign against the government of Nicaragua, claiming that its law protecting the unborn from abortion is "cruel," and "cynical."

...

In a telephone interview with LifeSiteNews, [AI Deputy Sec. Gen Kate] Gilmore stood by the claims in her report, and affirmed that she regards the Nicaraguan law a form of "torture" against women.

Asked if it is torture to pull an infant's head off of its body, and its arms and legs out of its sockets, which happens during a standard aspiration abortion, Gilmore refused to answer the question.

Feminists for Life mourns the loss of Eunice Kennedy Shriver
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, August 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Feminists for Life of America remembers the many contributions of Eunice Kennedy Shriver who was named a Remarkable Pro-Life Woman® in 1998. Shriver died the morning of Tuesday, August 11, 2009, at the age of 88, surrounded by her family.

...

WHEN EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984, then- President Ronald Reagan declared, "With enormous conviction and unrelenting effort, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has labored on behalf of America's least powerful, those with mental retardation." Her decency and goodness have touched the lives of many." Shriver, a longtime supporter of Feminists for Life of America, has demonstrated a lifelong concern for the "least powerful." The founder of Special Olympics International and executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, Shriver supports organizations that work on behalf of women and children, born and unborn.

To the lady in yellow -- farewell and thank you

It's been about 10 minutes since the funeral rites were concluded. It took the funeral cortege some 8 hours to reach the Manila Memorial Park. Requiem Mass at the Manila Cathedral at 9am, depart at a bit past 11am, enter the cemetery after 7pm. For now I can think of nothing else to say but "thank you" to the woman whose courage and moral integrity have become clearer these past few days as people who knew her shared their stories.

Again, maraming salamat, Pres. Cory!

Tearful Filipinos flock to 'Cory' Farewell

2:01pm UK, Wednesday August 05, 2009

More than 150,000 mourners dressed in yellow have packed into the Philippine capital for the funeral procession of much-admired former president Corazon 'Cory' Aquino.

The crowd stood at least 10-deep as a truck carrying the coffin slowly made its way through the streets of Manila on the way to the cemetery.

Military helicopters circled overhead, showering mourners with yellow confetti - the colour associated with the Mrs Aquino's 1986 people power democracy movement.

Millions also watched on TV and via the internet as the nation said farewell to the unassuming woman who was reluctantly catapulted to prominence after her husband's assassination in 1983.

She went on to lead peaceful protests in 1986 against notorious dictator Ferdinand Marcos, forcing him into exile, before serving as president until 1992.

Her death from cancer last week at the age of 76 has been followed by an outpouring of emotion from grateful Filipinos, who have flocked to see her body lying in state.

Full story and more photos at SkyNews

Addendum:

It's easier to appreciate all that had been happening the past several days (and to appreciate Pres. Cory herself) when one knows and understands the significance of the People Power Revolution of 1986 and the events leading up to it. Unlikely heroine, penned by Sheila Coronel for MercatorNet, contains background information and several links to other articles.

'The Filipino is worth living for'

Rich, poor come for Cory Aquino
Mourners brave heat, rain for brief glimpse
By Nikko Dizon, DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—In scenes reminiscent of the massive mourning for her murdered husband, thousands of people Sunday came to grieve for Cory Aquino. Some came on foot, others in diplomatic cars. Some were from the affluent class, but many were poor. Most quietly filed past her flag-draped coffin, others openly wept.

As they came for Cory 23 years ago to answer the call for people power against a dictator, so they came again Sunday to be by her side. But this time, they came to bid her farewell.

Full article at the Phil. Daily Inquirer

More about former President Cory Aquino and the 1986 People Power Revolution here

Special Cory Aquino section here

'Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo'

If one understood not a word of Tagalog and merely relied on the images in the following video, he'd assume there was armed conflict amid the 1986 Edsa Revolution. What made the People Power Revolution -- which toppled a 20-year dictatorship and restored democracy to the nation -- all the more significant is that it happened without bloodshed.

"Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo
Mapayapang paraang pagbabago..."

(The Filipino's gift to the world
A peaceful way toward change..."