LIFE CALENDAR The Ten Commandments St. Stephen Respect Life Ministry “He who obeys the commandments he has Prayer vigil the 2nd Saturday of each month at from me is the man who loves me; and he [email protected] abortion mill located at: who loves me will be loved by my Father. I All Women's “Health” Center of Tampa too will love him and reveal myself to him” 3330 West Kennedy Blvd. (Jn 14: 21) Tampa, FL 33609 I. I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt January Remembrance Crosses at church and school not have strange gods before me. 22nd Anniversary of Roe v Wade – DC, St. Augustine, Tampa Bay II. Thou shalt not take the name of the February

Valentine’s Day – beating hearts matter Lord thy God in vain.

March The measure of love is to love without measure! Spiritual Adoption - Feast of the Annunciation III. Remember thou keep holy Pro-Life Stations of the Cross the Lord‘s Day. The mission of the Respect Life Ministry is April to promote an active respect for human life. Easter With much prayer, we work to maintain Divine Mercy Sunday – Post Abortive Healing Info IV. Honor thy father and thy mother. sensitivity and awareness of current human May Mother’s Day life issues, i.e. abortion, euthanasia, National Day of Prayer V. Thou shall not kill. embryonic stem cell research, capital June punishment and ethical medical treatment Father’s Day VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery. and advances, consistent with the teachings September of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. To St Stephen Ministry Fair this end, one of our goals is to educate, 40 Days for Life VII. Thou shalt not steal. motivate and inspire parishioners so that October we can further the building up of the Respect Life Month – Rosary before all Masses VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness , both within the Church and Life Chain – First Saturday in October out into the wider community. All of us are November against thy neighbor. called to participate at some level because Elections – educate the parish these issues affect us all. Please join us at Foundations for Life Gala and Silent Auction IX. Thou shalt not covet thy December our monthly prayer vigils, in supporting our 12th Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe neighbor’s wife. local pregnancy centers and in encouraging 19th Novena to St. Joseph, Protector of the Innocents those wounded by abortion to find healing 25th Christmas and restoration in the mercy of Jesus Christ. 28th Feast of the Holy Innocents X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods. PRO LIFE TEACHINGS OF THE Contraception/Sterilization: "The CATHOLIC CHURCH "It is impossible to further the common Church...teaches that each and every good without acknowledging and marital act must of necessity retain its "Precisely in an age when the inviolable defending the right to life, upon which intrinsic relationship to the procreation of rights of the person are solemnly all the other inalienable rights of human life. Equally to be condemned...is proclaimed and the value of life is public individuals are founded and from which direct sterilization, whether of the man or of affirmed, the very right to life is being the woman, whether permanent or they develop." denied or trampled upon, especially at the temporary. Similiarly excluded is any action more significant moments of existence: the which either before, at the moment of, or moment of birth and the moment of death." Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical - after sexual intercourse, is specifically ( no. 18, John Paul II) The Gospel of Life intended to prevent procreation – whether as an end or as a means." Abortion: "Human life is sacred because ( no. 11 and 14, Paul VI) from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a Embryonic stem cell research and human special relationship with the Creator, who cloning: "No objective, even though noble in is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to from its beginning to its end; no one can science, to other human beings, or to under any circumstance claim for himself society, can in any way justify the right directly to destroy an innocent experimentation on living human embryos human being." or fetuses, whether viable or not, either (Donum Vitae Intro 5, Congregation for the Capital Punishment: "If bloodless means inside or outside of the mother’s body." Doctrine of Faith) are sufficient to defend human lives against (Donum Vitae no. 4, CDF) an aggressor and to protect public order and Post-abortion aftermath: "I would now like the safety of persons, public authority must Infertility and IVF "The suffering of spouses to say a special word to women who have limit itself to such means, because they who cannot have children...is a suffering had an abortion...do not give in to better correspond to the concrete conditions that everyone must understand and discouragement and do not lose hope...the of the common good and are more in properly evaluate. On the part of the Father of mercies is ready to give you His conformity to the dignity of the human spouses, the desire for a child is natural: it forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament person." expresses the vocation to fatherhood and of Reconciliation." (Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2267) motherhood inscribed in conjugal love. (Evangelium Vitae no. 99, John Paul II) Nevertheless, marriage does not confer Euthanasia: "Euthanasia must be called a upon the spouses the right to have a child, Chastity: "Chastity presupposes respect for false mercy, and indeed a disturbing but only the right to perform those natural the rights of the person, in particular, the 'perversion' of mercy. True 'compassion' acts which are per se ordered to right to receive information and an leads to sharing another's pain; it does not procreation." education that respect the moral and kill the person whose suffering we cannot (Donum Vitae no. 8) spiritual dimensions of human life." bear." (Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2344) (Evangelium Vitae no. 66, John Paul II)