Father Frank's homily on Terri Schiavo

EWTN ^ | 25-Feb-2005 | Father Frank Pavone

[Future Useless Eater]

Thank God for Father Frank!

Moderator and JimRob, could we PLEASE keep this in FRONT PAGE? It deserves a place of that much prominence on the sidebar since it is so timely and F.R. has the EXCLUSIVE. I transcribed it very carefully myself. You'll find it nowhere else on the internet at this time, I believe.

And also today is the 15th anniversary of Terri's 'accident', plus the day Judge Greer and Michael may choose (at 5pm) to resume killing her!

[ViLaLuz]

From a letter written by Terri Schiavo's father:

"That young woman is my daughter, Terri. In 1990, through circumstances which are shrouded in mystery (and may involve a criminal act by Terri's estranged husband), my daughter was left severely brain-damaged.

But before I go any further, I must put an end to the lies and misinformation that are circulating around the country through the media concerning my daughter's condition.

Contrary to anything you may have heard, Terri is NOT brain dead; Terri is NOT in a coma; she is NOT in a "persistent vegetative state;" nor is she on ANY life-support system. Terri Schiavo responds to her mother's touch.

Terri laughs, Terri cries, she moves, and she makes child-like attempts at speech with her mother and me. Sometimes she will say "Mom" or "Dad" or "yeah" when we ask her a question. When I kiss her hello or goodbye, she looks at me and "puckers up" her lips.

This may not seem like much to you, but it means everything to Terri's mother and me. It tells us she is still here, she still knows us, and with therapy and time she can have some level of recovery.

I know that there are some hard hearted people who believe that due to my daughters condition, she is better off dead. Words cannot describe the pain and anger such sentiments cause us. This is our daughter, our little girl, and even in her disabled condition, she still has the right to life and the right to be loved and cared for by her family."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1349283/posts

[Future Useless Eater]

ping to a few you I think would be interested, mostly from memory...

[BykrBayb]

Thanks for the ping.

[amdgmary]

Thank you! I love Fr. Frank Pavone. He spoke powerfully on Terri during his homily.

[Pegita]

Heavenly Father, we return to thank You for the hearts that are turned to You this day on behalf of this mother's child ... the hour approaches, Merciful Father, when yet another decision will be made to execute this wounded woman, or not. Again we ask for that one Judge who will render justice, not because he is righteous, but because he is weary from the continual appearing of a mother and father who will not relent ... who will not be silenced. Stir the people to add their voices, and their actions, to the cries of a loving family ... turn their pleas into a mighty chorus that seeks to halt the march of the Merchants of Death ... do not let them place their deadly hands upon the door to Terri's room. Let them not gain entrance, O God ... pierce their hearts with understanding of what they plan, and may they repent. If they do not repent, may they relent ... send them away in shame that they would dare stand in Your place, for it is Your hand that holds the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10.

This day, Heavenly Father, work in the hearts of those in authority over us ... cause them to be mindful that their authority is a trust from God ... may they use this trust wisely and well. Grant wisdom to those seeking to rework words that will protect this innocent woman, and all those who would become prey to the Merchants of Death. Expose their evil plans and deeds ... let the people recoil at the horror that is upon us ... stay this hand of evil, O God, let not this innocent woman perish. In the Name of Jesus, may it be thus ... may it be thus ... Amen ...

[.30Carbine]

You see, when a judge issues a decree, somebody has to photocopy it, somebody has to transmit it, somebody has to carry it from point A to point B. And the people who are entrusted with that task MUST REFUSE to do it. There are people who actually have to have to transport, Terri or anybody else who might be subject to this kind of a decree, to the place where they're going to be starved. They have a DUTY to refuse. DON'T bring her there. Don't DO IT! Somebody has a duty to disconnect the feeding tube, and to take it into another room, to make sure nobody else comes by and reconnects it... You've got to refuse.

This is how I will be directing my prayers: That every person along the chain of action subsequent to any immoral "legal" judgment - should such be allowed to be decreed once again in Terri's case or in any other - will simply refuse to obey. As Frank Pavone points out, this is what the Hebrew midwives did, and the Scriptures relate how they were preserved and protected and blessed because they obeyed the Righteousness of God, not the decree of the unjust ruler.

I love Frank Pavone's words to Michael: Amen!

Thank you Freedom Loving Engineer for this great post, and thank you for the great links concerning Terri and her fight on your homepage.

Governor Jeb Bush
(850) 488-4441
jeb.bush@myflorida.com

Senate President Tom Lee
Tallahassee: (850) 487-5072
District Office: (813) 744-8683
E-mail: lee.tom.web@flsenate.gov

Speaker of the House Allan G. Bense
Tallahassee: (850) 488-1450
District Office: (850) 914-6300
E-mail: speaker@myfloridahouse.gov

President George W. Bush
(202) 456-1111
president@whitehouse.gov

[trisham]

bttt

[Future Useless Eater]

• Husband does not meet the state requirements for a qualified guardian, due to new common-law-wife /fiancee as well as other reasons,
• Terri does not meet the state definition for PVS...,
• and refusing to allow ANY rehabilitation after sueing and winning a settlement for her rehabilitation is ABUSE and NEGLECT and PURGERY

Documented Terri-vocabulary references
Words	Witness
"mommy" "momma" "help me"	nurse - Heidi Law, certified nurse assistant
"pay"     (meaning 'pain'                 when she was in discomfort) 'Haaaiiiii'   (meaning Hi,                 in response to 'Hi Terri') 'mommy' 'help me'	Nurse - Carla Sauer Iyer, R.N. "'Help me' was, in fact, one of her most frequent utterances. I heard her say it hundreds of times."
"stop"   (in response to one medical                 procedure being done on her)	Terri's MediPlex records
"ugh-hugh" (meaning yes) "ugh-ugh" (meaning no) "yea" "No"	family members. 'yea' was a word she reportedly first re-learned to speak in 2002.

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[Pegita]

A day of fervent prayer for this mother's child ... for those who would murder her ... for our beloved Country ...

[Pegita]

Prayerful thoughts for Terri ...

[AliVeritas]

ProLife Ping

[PGalt]

life

[the invisib1e hand]

printed for later reading. thank you -- I trust this will be spot-on.

***

I read something today about a manual the US publishes on overthrowing dictatorships. Among the instructions are the following:

"...tips on hunger strikes and civil disobedience."

Sometimes our civil government behaves like a dictatorship. Sometimes, then, civil disobedience is warranted. If not now, when?

A hunger strike on Terry's behalf? An interesting concept.

[eccentric]

And then he goes on and quotes from Exodus, remember when the King of Egypt commanded the Hebrew mid-wives to kill the newborn? And Exodus says, "They did NOT do as the King of Egypt command them, but let the male children live. And then the Pope says, "The ultimate reason for their actions should be noted, quote, the mid-wives feared God".

Shiphra and Puah. I once heard a sermon about these original pro-lifers. My heroes!

[Graymatter]

"My hands are tied," is about as valid as "My hands are washed."

Quoting myself---for a good cause :) from here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1350669/posts?page=36#36

[eccentric]

And even if someone today came back from the dead, to tell us what to do, unless our hearts are ready and open, we wouldn't do it either. Either our hearts are ready and open to respond right now, or they

How right Jesus is!!! Recently there have been people recovering from comas, yet those with hardened hearts will not listen.

[windchime]

"I dont CARE what the SYSTEM says! There is a law HIGHER than ANY court. There is a law HIGHER than ANY decree. And a decree to let a person be STARVED - HAS - NO - authority."

Thank you, Father Frank!

Thanks for the ping, FL_engineer!

[Pegita]

+ May the end of this day find this mother's child safe ...

[floriduh voter]

BREAKING!!! Can I get confirmation? I called Senate Orrin Hatch's aide this morning in DC and he told me that this morning, Terri was given an additional one week's STAY. (why does Orrin Hatch's office know something that nobody else knows?) My www.sptimes.com had a headline that read "Humbled lawmakers say court is final Judge" Metro & State Section.

It would be nice if someone would tell Floridians what was going on. THE QUOTE BY DANIEL WEBSTER made me sick. "The Court has come up with much better solutions than we have so far." Daniel Webster who we thought was for justice.