As we celebrate with, or remember, our fathers on Sunday, June, 19, let us pray that, men everywhere understand that fatherhood bears the responsibility to protect and defend their families from all threats, physical and spiritual, so that they may share eternal happiness with them and all the saints and angels in heaven.

The Great Commandment.

Hear, O Israel!

The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.

Take to heart these words which I command you today.

Keep repeating them to your children.

Recite them when you are at home and when you are away,

when you lie down and when you get up.

Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.

Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

– Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

By recognizing the unique role of fathers, we more effectively highlight the humanity of the unborn child. We also affirm marriage—what St. John Paul II called the “sanctuary of life” —that more effectively welcomes children into the world. And we bear witness to the crucial role of a father in raising children. Consideration of the father’s role is important to pro-life efforts. 

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“I call on all government leaders to work toward a budget that truly builds up the common good of all. This should include the many proposals in the President’s budget submission that seek to protect vulnerable people. And it must also preserve the Hyde Amendment and related provisions which have protected millions of unborn babies, and mothers in difficult circumstances, from the tragedy of abortion.”

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann

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Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.
“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.
In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself,
and the wife should respect her husband.

Pope Francis has announced the Year of Saint Joseph, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church.  The Year of St Joseph began on December 8, 2020 and concludes on December 8, 2021

Pope Francis also reminds us, God told Saint Joseph. “Get up, take the child and his mother” (Mt 2:13). 

As Saint Joseph is the Protector of the Church and Holy Family, we are urging Hibernians to pray the Cloak of Saint Joseph Novena for the Protection of the Unborn. Begin the prayer on February 18^th and conclude on March 19^th, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph.

The Holy Cloak of Saint Joseph is a series of prayers meant to be prayed for 30 days, commemorating the earthly thirty years which St. Joseph spent in the company of our Lord.  (You can pray along with a recording here)

St Teresa of Avila tells us, “As he himself [Jesus] was subject to St. Joseph while on earth, recognizing in him the authority of foster father and guardian, so now in heaven he is pleased to grant all his requests.” In the Year of St Joseph decree, the Apostolic Penitentiary said that, “to reaffirm the universality of St. Joseph’s patronage in the Church,” it would grant a plenary indulgence to Catholics who recite any approved prayer or act of piety in honor of St. Joseph, especially on March 19, the saint’s solemnity, and May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

MiraVia  (“Miraculous Way”) is a Charlotte NC ProLife organization that supports women in crisis pregnancies.  Our Brother, Very Reverend Christopher Roux, Rector of the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Charlotte, serves on the MiraVia Board of Directors.

Recently, MiraVia entered into a collaboration with Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina’s only Catholic College founded by Benedictine Monks in 1876, to create a unique residency program specifically designed for pregnant college students.

Belmont Abbey College , “ is honored to be the home of “MiraVia,” a residence for pregnant college students. The first of its kind in the United States, MiraVia provides alternative student housing and support for single, pregnant and parenting students.”

 The Monks of Belmont Abbey Monastery donated the land for MiraVia’s 10,000 sqft facility and residents maintain their academic careers while living at MiraVia, either through classes at Belmont Abbey College or at another local or online college.

The College Maternity Residence for pregnant college students provides:

• Free room and board for a pregnant mother and her child(ren)
• Around-the-clock access to professional staff
• Material assistance (baby supplies, nursery furniture)
• Life skills classes, including but not limited to:
  – Pregnancy health
  – Labor and childbirth
  – Adoption awareness
  – Baby care and parenting
  – Cooking / nutrition
  – Finance / budgeting
  – Career counseling / interview skills
  – Natural family planning
  – Healthy relationships
  – Faith enrichment and Bible studies

In addition to the unique college residency program, MiraVia’s Outreach Center is a place for women to come and receive professional assistance and material donations both during pregnancy and after their baby is born. The Outreach Program provides pregnant women and mothers with individual and group support to address issues that may be causing stress and create plans for a successful future. The assistance provided includes baby clothing and supplies, referrals for financial & material assistance, referrals to adoption agencies and life-skills classes (e.g., Pregnancy health, Parenting, Finance & budgeting, Career counseling & interview skills and ESL Classes).

“The two AOH Mecklenburg County (Charlotte area) Divisions as well as the Mecklenburg County Board are proud to continue our long associations with MiraVia and to support this one-of-a-kind residential pro-life ministry for college aged women.  Through the tireless work of many Hibernians over the years, these women and their children have been offered a viable alternative to abortion while continuing their education.”  Bryan Somerville, President, Mecklenburg County Division 2, St. Brendan the Navigator.

The Mission of MiraVia

Respecting and affirming life from the moment of conception, MiraVia is a safe haven and source of hope for pregnant mothers and their children. Invoking a Christ-centered approach inspired by the examples of Mary and Joseph, MiraVia helps young families move toward a new life of hopeful, independent, and healthy living and educates the broader community on the importance of fostering a culture of life.