Theresa Marie Schindler, Martyr for the Gospel of Life

Self | JMJ 31 March A.D. 2005 | Siobhan

[Judica me]

Terri is not a martyr, and cannot be.Martyrs die for the defense of the Catholic Fatih

Well said. Let's not diminish the sacrifice of all of those true martyrs who suffered so and ultimately gave their lives for the Faith. While Terri's murder is a very grievous offense against God, she is nor more a martyr than all of the innocent babies who are murdered in the womb.

Requiescat in pace, Terri.

[Theophane]

At Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Church (Anglican Usage) this prayer is frequently said in connection with burials and requiems, and at other times, and is one of my all time favorites. It is the concluding collect for Good Friday from the 1979 BCP and the Book of Divine Worship (Hatchett says the 1979 BCP revisers found this in an old RC primer, or book of hours):

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and
our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and
grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

[Aliska]

I'm with you on this. I note that you dropped Schiavo. Thanks. Please note my sig. Maybe I'll change it to Martyr of the Gospel of Life but then it will get too long.

[Aliska]

Could you please include me on your list?

[Kolokotronis]

"O God of all spirits and flesh, Who has trodden down death, destroying the power of the devil, bestowing life on Your world, to the soul of Your servant Teresa departed this life, do You Yourself, O Lord, give rest in a place of light, in a place of green pasture, in a place of refreshment, from where pain and sorrow and mourning are fled away. Every sin by her committed in thought, word, or deed, do You as our good and loving God forgive, seeing that there is no man that shall live and sin not, for You alone are without sin: Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth."

Orthodox Funeral Service

[Siobhan]

...she is nor more a martyr than all of the innocent babies who are murdered in the womb.

They too are martyrs. Read Aidan Nichols, OP, Christendom Awake for a primer in the chapter "Rescuing the Holy Innocents."

[Siobhan]

Grateful for your post as it encourages me to press on with those who are working on promoting her cause all across the country. Of course, the encouragement from Cardinal Martins words today are most important in that regard.

Theresa Marie Schindler, Martyr for the Gospel of Life, pray for us.

[Dominick]

Grateful for your post as it encourages me to press on with those who are working on promoting her cause all across the country

Good luck with that. I worry you may have difficulty with her life before her illness.

[Siobhan]

No thanks on the luck part. Don't believe in it, and I'm Irish. And, Dominick, she did not suffer from illness. She was disabled.

[Siobhan]

Ping

[lightman]

Almighty God,
we remember before you today your faithful servant Theresa Marie Schindler,
and we pray that,
having opened to her the gates of larger life,
you will receive her more and more into your faithful service,
that, with all who have faithfully served you in the past,
she may share in the eternal victory of Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

[Judica me]

They too are martyrs.

How can one who has the stain of original sin and never known the Faith, die for the Faith?

[Siobhan]

I invite you to read Aidan Nichols, OP excellent book "Christendom Awake" and the chapter "Rescuing the Holy Innocents" in order to delve into the answers you seek.

In short, the principles involved in the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem are explored and then applied. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins words today describing Terri's death as "an act against God etc." also relates to and indicates the stream of thought that is being considered both for the aborted children.

[Enterprise]

Good point. She should never be stained with the name "Schiavo" again. It should be Terri Schindler.

[Domestic Church]

Yes, there is a grace connection between this victim soul and all who have prayed for her. It is no coincidence the Pope is having a severe health crisis. All suffering becomes a physical prayer and is salvific in the Light of Christ.

[TotusTuus]

Agree with your post.

(emotions are running high around here)

[.45MAN]

You have got to be kidding. Come back into reality..

[nanetteclaret]

As an Anglican, I am not up on the strict requirements for Catholic recognition of martyrdom. However, I do know this: God is the Creator of Life and Terri fought for life. Her only crime was being innocent and the forces of death hated her. Evil always hates innocence. It is very evident in the way that she was treated for all these many years, in the way her family was treated, and in her death. She was killed because she existed, and I believe that is why Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins said, "An attack against life is an attack against God." Even though she could not actively preach or witness, by the mere virtue of being a baptized and confirmed Catholic who was denied Holy Communion on many, many occasions, possibly on her deathbed, it would seem to me to indicate that she did die as a martyr. Just because she couldn't speak intelligibly, doesn't mean that her life wasn't a witness.

[Rosary]

You can Cananize in Your Church whomever you please, but according to Popes and the Catholic Faith it is NOT SO! MY Names STAYS!!!! .....Learn what martyrdom Is...

[Rosary]

Good for you, and God be praised there is one who knows the difference! The Holy innocents were not martyrs!