I. ACCEPTANCE AND THANK YOU:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I thank you.

It is always good to gather with friends. But it is especially good to gather with friends in Christ who value what you spend your life doing. The value that you have placed upon the practical, life-saving work of the Nurturing Network is precisely the kind of generous affirmation and witness to the Truth that I believe will usher in the dawn of a "new Catholic springtime."

I thank you for this honor on behalf of our 22,000 dedicated volunteer members and 9,000 mothers whose courage in the face of profound hardship truly deserves to be recognized by an award that bears the name of the great Archbishop John Hughes. His missionary zeal to save souls is nor at all unlike the life-saving determination of the mothers whom we are called to serve each day at the Nurturing Network. On behalf of each of them, I thank you for sending the important message that all life is, indeed, precious, and that hope can be victorious when we are no longer asked to carry our cross alone.

II. INTRODUCTION:

I share my thoughts with you this evening not as a strategic planner, author or business executive. While each of these roles has been meaningful at different times in my life, they pale in significance when compared to the one that I have responded to as my true vocation. I believe their I was "called by name" to be a wife and mother. It has been in and through these life-altering roles that I have come to recognize the face of Jesus Christ up close and in living color. It has been as a wife and mother that the "call to holiness" has taken on an urgency and much deeper meaning as it has been cast in the agony and ecstasy of family life.

And so, before moving one sentence closer to offering the message that I would like to deliver, I must thank each of you, Bill, Mary Alana and Billy for nurturing me with your steadfast love and entrusting me with the priceless gift of your very lives. Our shared life in Christ together has taught me more than any theology course or homily ever could about what it really means to love one another as I have loved you."

III. THE MESSAGE: A CALL TO ACTION:

A CALL TO ACTION

Too often, topics of great importance like the one that we have gathered here this evening and throughout today’s conference to address fail to fulfill their full potential; they are nor converted from words into action. This is particularly true when they involve social issues that appear either too complex to move beyond the abstract or too global to assess in micro terms. The problem with this tendency is that it makes it far too easy for the listener to feel detached from the process of finding a viable solution. A "general" concern over time often becomes no one's concern.

For this reason, I believe that our task tonight must remain quite focused. If today’s conference is to succeed in any demonstrable way, it will be because we were moved to translate the wisdom and insight of this day's inspiring presentations into concrete, practical action. This can only happen if the goal of "embracing a new Catholic springtime" will become compelling to each us at the most intimate and personal level.

ACCEPTANCE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Social scientists have identified three conditions that must be met if an individual is to assume personal responsibility for achieving a particular goal: First, they must feel "uniquely qualified" to perform some portion of the task required; Second, they must believe that the goal is "achievable" and Third, they must be able to understand the "importance" and even "urgency" of attaining the goal.

REACHING THE GOAL IS IMPORTANT AND URGENT

Applying this criteria to the topic at hand, can there be any doubt about the importance or urgency of moving our culture from one that promotes death to one that nurtures life? How many more unborn children must be aborted, handicapped infants terminated and elderly parents euthenized before it occurs to us that we, too, could become inconvenient victims of such callousness and greed. Indeed, I would argue that the very survival of our civilization is dependant upon the dawning of a new and gentler season, one that will make room at the table for the imperfect, the unproductive, the unwanted and the infirm.

WE ARE UNIQUELY QUALIFIED

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the reason that this message is so crucial for us to hear tonight is because I believe that you and I will be held accountable for bringing about this change in moral climate. Why? Because, to quote the social scientists, we are "uniquely qualified" to do so. We need only to turn to the words of sacred scripture to be reminded of how true this is: "The gifts of the Spirit are many and varied."

Most of us have been taught since our earliest childhood that we are infinitely valuable and utterly unique members of the Mystical Body of Christ. Since God does not make mistakes, we each have a vital role to play in His divine plan. No one has been given permission to "hide their light under a basket." Who can afford to "cast the first stone" at the Prodigal’s son who squandered his father’s gifts or the unfortunate man who buried his treasure? How can we not feel personally challenged by the warning, "to whom much has been given, much will be expected." I believe that we have no choice but to humbly conclude that we are both "uniquely qualified" and, therefore, expected to give our gift.

THE GOAL IS ATTAINABLE: THE IMPORTANCE OF HOPE

Finally, we know through the eyes of faith that the goal of "ushering in a new Catholic springtime" is "attainable." It is true that we have no assurance that we will experience this season in our own lifetime. But, as Mother Teresa said so eloquently, "We are called to be faithful, nor successful."  To be faithful in helping to bring about this spiritual renewal and conversion of hearts will require an infusion of one particular virtue: hope.

Hope is the only effective antidote to the despair that has gripped our collective conscience throughout this prolonged spiritual winter. Only hope makes it possible to comprehend the true meaning of the "good " in Good Friday’s story of betrayal, torture and death. Like springtime in the midst of winter, Easter Sunday can only make sense to the true believer who understands the redemptive value of suffering. It is the believer who remembers at all times especially in the midst of winter, that we have not "been left orphaned" for He is "with us all days even until the end of the world." As we consider the achievability of our goal tonight, let us not forget the reassuring words that, "All things are possible in God" and "All things work for good for those who believe."

This is the kind of genuine hope that will melt the icy despair of our winter and invite the life-giving warmth of springtime. When hope returns to each of us and we can see that our goal is not only important but attainable, I believe that we will see our efforts in a radically new light. We will then be able to take the courageous steps that are expected of the sainthood to which we are each called. This is the response that all of the great saints and leaders of our Church have demonstrated. From Saint Therese to Mother Teresa, from Saint Joan of Arc to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, from Archbishop John Hughes to Pope John Paul II, we see revealed a passionate love of Jesus Christ expressed in a compassionate determination to "feed His lambs."

A PERSONAL CONVERSION PROCESS: 3 FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS

As a mother not only to our own two children but also to thousands of women who turn to us at the Nurturing Network in their hour of greatest need, I have been given a rare opportunity to observe the dynamic forces of good and evil at work in many, many lives. There is an intimacy and an honesty about the conversations that have led to my observations as a mother that may nor be that unlike the insights that a priest may glean after years of experience in the confessional. In listening to story after heart-wrenching story of lives torn apart and left in shambles by the ravages of that old-fashioned word, sin, I have started to reach a few conclusions about how satan manages to wreak so much havoc in so many well intentioned lives. I have started to detect a recurrent pattern of his three basic lies, that once sewn into the fiber of even the most virtuous lives, will eventually unravel the whole moral fabric.

First, many people today do not believe that they are, to quote sacred scripture, "a beloved child of God. " They have completely lost sight of themselves and anyone else as having been lovingly created by an almighty and merciful God and, therefore, as being infinitely valuable and precious in His sight.

Second, and probably because so many are out of touch with their own belovedness, many people lack the inspiration and, therefore, the will to behave as beloved children of God. They have bought the lie that they have no moral obligations and so there will be no negative consequences to their unloving behavior.

And third, because we cannot give what we do not have, most people perceive little or no responsibility to teach others that they are beloved children of God. The original lie thus comes full circle.

I believe that these three most basic lies have had much to do with why so many of us have languished for so long in our own spiritual winters. I also believe that our ability to you think has whispered that lie to them? The same master of deceit who would next try to convince them that their only chance at happiness will now be found in the killing of their innocent, unborn child. We can almost hear his care: since you are so unlovable yourself then so is your child. And so the proliferation of death continues.

The mothers we serve at the Nurturing Network are just one example of vulnerable individuals who have discovered the emotional and spiritual land mines that await those who believe the lie that they are unloved. We need only to recite the familiar litany of alarming statistics that point to our nation’s cultural decline to find the same root cause hiding behind these problems too. Do we honestly believe that our youth would allow their bodies to be ravaged by drugs, that they would dropout of school, commit violent crimes or take their own lives if they truly believed in their own belovedness as children of God? Can you imagine how many billions of tax payer dollars could be saved if some enterprising, pioneering soul would set up a program specifically designed to teach persuasively, creatively and effectively the most basic of our beliefs a Catholics: that we are ... every single one of us ... beloved children of God. I believe that such a program would have the same profoundly transforming and healing impact as I have witnessed in the lives of the thousands of mothers who have turned to us for life-saving help at the Nurturing Network.

I MUST BEHAVE AS A BELOVED CHILD OF GOD

It should almost go without saying but I'll say it anyway, that if we truly believe that we are a beloved child of God, then we have a moral obligation to behave as such. When Our Lord said simply, "If you love Me, obey my commandments," He could not have made the relationship between belief and behavior any more clear.

I believe that much about embracing the new Catholic springtime will be about consistently doing the day-to-day, hard work of living as beloved children of God. Unfortunately, given our fallen natures, we know that it is not enough to know and believe in God's love for us. We must continually look for guidance in the Truth as it is revealed to us in the Word of God and the moral teachings of the Church. We must constantly gain sustenance from the grace that abound; in having a fervent prayer life and frequent participation in the sacraments—especially the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.

We might also ask if there is any role model that we might turn to for help in further strengthening our resolve to live as beloved children of God? Of course, the most perfect example for any Christian is, as Thomas a Kempis writes so eloquently in The Imitation of Christ, Jesus Christ Himself. And just as surely, His Blessed Mother provides the other most inspiring and perfect example for us to follow. But without taking anything away from these ideal role models, I believe that there may be yet another in our midst who could teach us much about how to behave as beloved children of God. I am referring to the standard set forth by Christ Himself when He said, "Unless you become like a little child, you will nor enter the Kingdom of Heaven. "

I believe it was for very sound reasons that Christ identified the little children as "the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven."  Children are resilient when injured, quick to forgive and slow to anger. Children experience wonder in each new day and discover joy in every new encounter. They build bridges of love across canyons of loneliness. They reach out to everyone in a spirit of genuine humility and trust. We adults, on the other hand, tend to nurse our wounds, harbor our resentments and savor our grudges. We get caught up in our petty differences and the tedium of our daily chores. We find ways to complicate even the simplest of life’s joys. In appreciating the inspiring example that children truly are, we might benefit from turning to Saint Paul’s famous Letter to the Corinthians and replace the words "love is" with "children are."

No wonder the target of satan’s most vicious attacks in our current culture of death has been the children. Whether born or unborn, he seems to have grasped better than many of us why Out Lord singled out the child and said, "Whoever receives a child such as this in My name, receives Me." This is why the master of lies has delighted in presiding over the annihilation of a whole generation of over 30 million unborn children. This is why his thirst for the innocence and virtue of young children is so insatiable. Have you noticed lately the hard core pornography that any child with a computer can dial up "on-line" without restriction? Have you listened to the suggestive lyrics of the most popular songs, the violent images of the prime time cartoons, the explicit nudity of the most widely advertised videos and movies? For that matter, have you taken a 12-year-old girl shopping recently for clothes and seen the provocative fashions being modeled for her as desirable and attractive?

If you haven’t, then I suggest that you should. It will remind you all over again of why we have gathered here to explore how we might increase our ardor and work more effectively to put an end to this spiritual ice age that we have recognized as a culture of death. To live and behave like a beloved child of God most certainly will include protecting the little children. Whatever it may require of us to win back our families from the traps that satan has set for us simply must be done. I strongly recommend that you shut off the violent programs, get rid of the explicit CD's, terminate the subscription to the questionable youth magazine, stop buying the suggestive clothing and cancel the online programming until those profit-driven executives get back in line with your standards as a beloved child of God!

TEACH OTHERS THAT THEY ARE BELOVED CHILDREN OF GOD

Finally, embracing the new Catholic springtime will be, without a doubt, about evangelization. It will be about not only defying satan’s most basic lie about your and my belovedness, it will also be about reaching others that they are beloved children of God. Ours is nor a religion that allows us to just look out for number one."  We are told again and again that we are our "brother’s and sister’s keeper."  This means so much more than just feeling sorry for their plight. We are each called to "Feed His lambs." I have said many times and will continue to until these words are fully understood, "It is not enough to merely say that we are for life, we have a moral obligation to provide the practical means to support it."

Everyone of us is being addressed when Jesus asks us to care for the "least of these " and when He asks us to see Himself even in the face of our enemy. His warning, "Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will acknowledge before My Father in Heaven; whoever denies Me before men, I will deny before My Father in Heaven" is intended for all of us. His call for practical compassion and universal discipleship is a challenge to each of us if we are to become a part of ushering in a new Catholic springtime.

IV. CONCLUSION:

In closing, if you ever become puzzled as I have about what you may be called to teach, I encourage you to simply ask yourself, "What would Jesus say and do?" Each day at the Nurturing Network, I am invited to ask this question all over again. And I can almost hear Our Lord's gentle reply. Whether He was addressing the woman at the well or the woman caught in adultery, He taught her to see herself as His Father ... our Father ... always does: as a beloved child of God. He would ask us to be His guiding hand and show her the path to forgiveness—of herself and those who have led her astray. He would ask us to convince her that real freedom is found in following the Way, the Truth and the Life—not in exercising a "choice" that would kill her unborn child. He would tell us to clothe her with dignity and to feed her with compassion. He would encourage us to help her hear the words "This is My Body" in an entirely new way. He would ask us to teach her the real meaning of the phrase "and a little child shall lead them." For her child will lead her to her own personal victory of hope over despair and life over death. This is the heart and soul of the new Catholic springtime to which we are all invited. So let us go forth with renewed hope and deeper commitment "to love and serve the Lord."