Newsletter – Page 2 – Holy Rosary Lay Fraternity of St. Dominic

Announcements from the Province

From Denise Harvey, Lay Provincial Council President:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May the Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you!

I wanted to give you a few updates on Chapter Meetings, LPC Meeting, Ordinations and Prayer Partners.

First, as our local state and counties have recently re-opened, many of our chapters have received permission to begin meeting in person. This is a great grace and a sure sign of hope. But, several of our chapters have not yet been granted that permission. For those chapters, we encourage the continuation of Zoom meetings.

Also, there are some members who are uncomfortable with meeting in person, either now, or in the near future. This can be due to age or health risks. We ask the chapters to accommodate those members by continuing to provide the option of attending via Zoom.

This accommodation brings up the possibility of admitting new members, who are geographically distant, to participate virtually. Our recent experience with the pandemic, has given us the format to do this. A few chapters have already begun the practice. If a chapter is willing to consider the idea, there are a couple of aspects to keep in mind.

First, this allowance would have to be approved by the chapter. Second, a member participating virtually would still be required to attend the annual retreat and profession ceremony. Third, the formation director would need to be in contact with the member individually, to ensure that formation and our daily duties, are being carried out. As a reminder, the option of receiving/ professing a member in a private meeting, is still in effect. This option was given by our Master, due to the pandemic.

Regarding our LPC, since California is among the states that fully opened this past week, we hope to have a date for our next in person meeting very soon! That said, the state has allowed individual businesses to impose certain restrictions, as they see fit. We will be working with the retreat center, to work out the logistics. I will be in touch with the reps as soon as we have a date confirmed.
And, as you know, our Mini LPC Zoom Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 14th at 9:30am PST. I will be sending out an Agenda closer to the date.

Second, as many of you know, our former president and member of the Holy Rosary chapter, Tony Galati, has been studying for the priesthood for the past several years. On Friday, June 26th he will be ordained in his local diocese! This is a great blessing to the Church. Please keep Tony, and all the newly ordained priests, in your prayers. Please also make sacrifices for an increase to the priesthood.

Finally, Fr. Augustine has blessed all our chapters with a special grace. He has asked the Nuns at our Menlo Park Monastery to be prayer partners for all our chapters! Each Nun is assigned a few chapters and is committed to praying for them each day. The list of Nuns/chapters is attached. I encourage each chapter to reciprocate by praying for the Nun who is assigned to them. This is a wonderful fellowship. It reminds us of our Order’s origin, when St. Dominic established the Nuns first, so they would pray for the Friars.

I hope you, your families and chapters are doing well.
You are in my daily prayers.

May God bless you and Our Mother, together with St. Joseph, protect you.

Your sister, Denise

From The Dominican Nuns at Menlo Park (Corpus Christi Monastery):

We are now set to praying for our Dominican Laity. Below are the sisters’ names. We are honored to pray for our Dominican Laity chapters.

No.	Chapter Name	City and State	Prayer Partner
1	St. Dominic of the desert – CIF	Green Valley, AZ	Sr. Mary Isabel, OP
2	Mary, Mother of Truth	Mesa, AZ	Sr. Maria Christine, OP
3	Holy Trinity	Phoenix, AZ	Sr. Amata Marie, OP
4	St. Mary Magdalene	Temple, AZ	Sr. Mary of the Holy Family, OP
5	St. Martin de Porress	Tucson, AZ	Sr. Maria Christine, OP
6	St. Rose of Lima	Antioch, CA	Sr. Andre Marie, OP
7	St. Monica	Benicia, CA	Sr. Andre Marie, OP
8	St. Dominic	Eagle Rock, CA	Sr. Joseph Marie, OP
9	Bartolome de las Casas	Fullerton, CA	Sr. Andre Marie, OP
10	Queen of Angels	Los Angeles, CA	Sr. Mary Bernadette, OP
11	Corpus Christi	Menlo Park, CA	Sr. Joseph Marie, OP
12	Bl. Fra Angelico	Modesto, CA	Sr. Marie Dominic, OP
13	St. Albert the Great	Oakland, CA	Sr. Maria Carmela, OP
14	St. Joseph	Oakland, CA	Sr. Marie Dominic, OP
15	St. Andrew	Riverside, CA	Sr. Mary of the Holy Family, OP
16	Mary, Mother of the Eucharist	Sacramento, CA	Sr. Joseph Marie, OP
17	St. Dominic	San Diego, CA	Sr. Katherine
18	St. Dominic – CIF	San Francisco, CA	Sr. Cecilia Marie
19	St. Thomas Aquinas	Santa Paula, CA	Sr. Mary Isabel, OP
20	San Jacinta	Visalia, CA	Sr. Katherine
21	Sts. Catherine and Vincent – CIF	Yuba City, CA	Sr. Maria Christine, OP
22	Saint Margaret of Castello	Boise, ID	Sr. Amata Marie, OP
23	Bl. Bartolo Longo	Las Vegas, NV	Sr. Cecilia Marie
24	St. Thomas Aquinas – CIF	Reno, NV	Sr. Katherine
25	St. Agnes of Montepulciano	Eugene, OR	Sr. Mary Bernadette, OP
26	Holy Family	Portland, OR	Sr. Maria Carmela, OP
27	Holy Rosary	Portland, OR	Sr. Mary Isabel, OP
28	St. Catherine of Siena	Salt Lake City, UT	Sr. Amata Marie, OP
29	Our Lady of Victory – CIF	Salt Lake City, UT	Sr. Cecilia Marie
30	Blessed Sacrament	Seattle, WA	Sr. Marie Dominic, OP

N.B. We are #27. Please pray for Sr. Mary Isabel, OP.

Action Needed – New Abortion Clinic

From Brenda:

Dear pro-life friends,
I am forwarding this excellent email from Sarah Livingstone, pro-life leader from St. Michael’s church. We need to take action immediately on this important matter! So many lives could be saved if we act immediately.
Catholics, please consider having Masses offered up for the individual members of this family, and for the late-term abortionist, Dr. Charlie Browne:

From Sarah:
As many of you know, there is a new late-term abortion clinic that has opened downtown at “The 511 Building”, also known as the “Portland Medical Center”. Here is the Strategy List we can up with that we think is most effective to close Lilith Clinic, especially through having its lease pulled which could be in the works:

Strategies for Stopping/Closing New Lilith Clinic Late-Term Abortion Facility:

1. Email & call ‘511 Building’ owners – The Menashe Family – 3 separate emails to Barry Menashe (Father), Jordan Menashe (Son) & Lauren Menashe (Daughter) and ask them to cease the lease with new Lilith Clinic.

[Sample letter below]

We have confirmation from people who have spoken to them on the phone this week that Lilith Clinic is not what they thought it would be and they are not happy about them being tenants in their building. We really need to PRAY for the Menashe’s to end their lease with this late-term abortion facility.
* See Attached Email Letter to the Menashes I wrote and attached flyer – Please personalize your letter/email and attach the flyer which provides more information on why Lilith Clinic would not be a good tenant for the building and its surrounding businesses.

Here are the 3 email addresses to send your email letters to:

Barry Menashe (Father – Founder & Principal)
barry@menasheproperties.com<mailto:barry@menasheproperties.com>

Jordan Menashe (Son – CEO, Principal)
jordan@menasheproperties.com<mailto:jordan@menasheproperties.com>

Lauren Menashe (Daughter – Principal)
lauren@menasheproperties.com<mailto:lauren@menasheproperties.com>

2. Pray & protest in front of Lilith Clinic at 511 Building. As always, please be peaceful and careful and have at least one person with you. We are there to help women and save their preborn babies lives and to let people know that late-term abortions are now being performed there.

3. Let 511 Building tenants & local businesses know of their presence:
Hand out flyers (see attached flyer). Let the tenants and neighboring businesses know that a late-term abortion facility, Lilith Clinic, is in their building or next to their building and that we will be protesting and praying in front of it. (See my attached letter for more talking points on this).

4. Spread the word!
Let everyone you know through social media, person-to-person, etc about downtown Portland’s new late-term abortion clinic. Most Portlanders do NOT want a late-term abortion facility here nor to become a destination spot for late-term abortion as Lilith Clinic is promoting.

PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAILS TO THE MENASHES ASAP! They are on the fence about revoking Lilith Clinic’s lease and they need to hear from us. AND PRAY!

Thank you all for your work for LIFE! Christ, the Victor, is on our side and He will help us protect His most innocent children and support their mothers!

In hope and prayer,
Sarah

[Example email]

Dear (Barry, Jordan or Lauren) Menashe,

Hope this finds you well. My name is Sarah Livingstone and I am a professional fashion designer, mother, doula, proud Portlander and pro-life activist. I lead the downtown St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church’s Pro-Life Group and am involved in 40 Days for Life. I am writing you today because I am very concerned and disappointed in finding out that you are leasing in your 511 Building, #904, to the new late-term abortion facility, Lilith Clinic, which opened for business a few days ago, on Friday, March 19^th. I am imploring you to end your lease with this new late-term abortion facility, not only for the sake of your business, reputation and legacy, but also in shaping what Portland stands for and the many babies that will lose their lives at your building and whose mothers lives and hearts will never be the same.

Here are a few points of interest that I think you should know about and consider in leasing your 511 Building to the Lilith Clinic:

Late-Term Abortions Performed at Lilith Clinic:

Lilith Clinic will be performing late-term abortions up to 22 weeks gestation, 5 and ½ months old for the pre-born baby. Babies this age can live outside the womb with help. These babies are given NO anesthesia before they are brutally killed. It is a 2-3 day procedure and these women will be coming back and forth to your building to complete this barbaric ‘procedure’ as they call it.

https://www.lilithclinic.com/

The owner of Lilith Clinic is late-term abortionist Charlie Browne. He was Seattle based and is known for late-term abortions and claims to train others how to be abortionists. His late-term abortion facility in Seattle is now named the ‘sister’ clinic to Lilith Clinic and is called All Women’s Care. Abortions are performed up to 26 weeks gestation – that is weeks into the 3^rd trimester at 6 and ½ months along for the baby. Late-term abortions are VERY expensive – thousands of dollars. They are not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts for others. This is big business for and very profitable for late-term abortionist Charlie Browne who is now in your 511 Building.

Many obstetricians have publicly come out to say that there is no reason for late-term abortions. A woman can have a cesarean section and deliver the baby whether it is for the life of the mother or fetal demise. Late-term brutal abortions are neither necessary nor humane.

https://www.awcseattle.com/

Concierge Service/Flying in Clients to Portland for Late-Term Abortions:

Lilith Clinic’s website repeatedly promote their ‘Concierge Service’ where they will fly a woman in, arrange car travel from the airport directly to their clinic and arrange hotel accommodations for her late-term abortion. This is not even about helping women in our community of Portland as they claim to do. They want Portland to be a mecca and destination spot for late-term abortions while making big money off of them. Their Seattle clinic’s website boasts, “Women from all over the world choose us.” So not only are they trying to fly women in nationally, they are trying to fly women in internationally to have their business of late-term abortions. As I mentioned above, late-term abortions are very expensive and they are very profitable for them. What they are promoting is Portland to become a go-to destination for late-term abortions – all happening in your 511 Building downtown. Do you want this? Does Portland want this? Most of Portlanders would certainly say NO! Even most pro-choice people are against late-term abortions. Please do not allow this to occur in your building and turn our beloved downtown Portland into a late-term abortion destination spot. This will change Portland dramatically. Downtown Portland is still exhausted and damaged from all the civil unrest of this past year and this will only reignite it in front of your 511 Building.

Biomedical Waste (Aborted Babies) Disposal & Storage:

How will the refrigeration and disposal of biomedical waste (aborted baby parts) be handled in your 511 Building? Where will it be stored? Will your tenants and their patrons be using the same elevators that have waste containers of baby parts in them? This does not make for good business or the happiness of your tenants and their patrons in the 511 Building.

Training Facility Safety Issues:

Owner and abortionist Charlie Browne states he wants to train students to do abortions at Lilith Clinic. Late-term abortions are already risky as the pre-born baby is so large and it takes 2-3 days to complete. This sounds like a recipe for disaster in safety – having students ‘practice’ and learn on women for late-term abortions. It also sounds like they will be using these vulnerable women who come to them for late-term abortions as guinea pigs for training. Do you want this occurring in your building?

Frequent Emergency Ambulances to 511 Building:

At late-term abortion facility Lovejoy Surgicenter in NW, that closed this past January, they had frequent emergency ambulances come to take women to the ER due to abortions gone wrong. Usually this is from a perforated uterus, where a hole is punctured in the uterus during and abortion and the woman could bleed out and die. She must be rushed to the ER when this happens. Do you and the tenants in your 511 Building want frequent ambulance visits? I would imagine not. It is not good for business and will upset your existing tenants and patrons.

Protesters & Counter-Protesters & Police:

Your 511 Building is about to have a lot of people praying and protesting outside it because pre-born babies are being killed through abortion in Suite 904 at the Lilith Clinic. While the groups I am involved with (St. Michael’s Pro-Life Group & 40 Days for Life) are peaceful, some others are not. We hope to offer women resources to help them choose life, like maternity homes, rent support, free ultrasounds, baby registries, etc. As we all know, downtown Portland has been a hotbed for civil unrest and rioting this past year with protesters and counter-protesters. The location of your 511 Building downtown could attract Antifa groups and other violent counter-protesters. With all this of course comes frequently police activity there and presence. Again, I ask you, do you want this at your building?

Reputational Risk & Bad for Business – Tenants & Neighboring Businesses:

Leasing to Lilith Clinic is a reputational risk that I would imagine the Menashe family does not want nor need. You have built a great reputation here in Portland with your thoughtful and well planned development. I have some friends who know your family personally and they cannot believe that you are leasing to a late-term abortion facility and keep telling me it must be a mistake and that they think you will stop leasing to them. I hope and pray for this as well.

Your tenants in 511 Building are going to inevitably be bothered by one or many of the above points I mentioned – whether it’s protesters, biomedical waste (aborted babies) disposal next to them, frequent police and ambulances, etc. Also your neighboring businesses are not going to be too happy about it as well. The new Ritz Carlton Hotel being built right across the street is about to have protesters and people praying on their side of the street as well facing your building. Nearby Jake’s famous restaurant – a Portland and family institution here – will certainly not appreciate the protesters and counter-protesters and police activity, nor that they are now a neighbor to a building where late-term abortions are performed. None of this is good for anyone’s business. But most importantly, people do not want to be right next to a late-term abortion facility. It is very disturbing to most people and they will boycott those businesses.

‘Lilith’ Clinic Meaning:

Are you familiar with what ‘Lilith’ means? Lilith is from the old Hebrew Bible meaning ‘demon’ that claims she was Adam’s first wife who rebelled. Irish poet James Joyce named her the ‘patron of abortion’ as unborn children were to die and be ‘stolen’ in her presence. Is this the kind of tenant and name that you want associated with the Menashe’s and your properties?

…

I, along with many in our Portland community, am imploring you to end your lease with Lilith Clinic. Contracts can be broken, especially if you did not know what it all entailed with your tenant’s business. I am hoping this is the case as I have admired Menashe properties in Portland for a long time and how you have thoughtfully considered Portland and its citizens in your development. This seems out of character for the Menashe family that I have come to respect and admire. You can unwind this. You do not need to house a late-term abortion facility for many reasons.

Please see the attached flyer that has been mailed to tenants to 511 Building and handed out to neighboring businesses by the Portland pro-life community. It has some facts and sources you may find interesting and disturbing and not want your building involved with.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration on this. Leasing to the new late-term abortion facility, Lilith Clinic, is going to cause you more problems and grievances than it is worth as well as reputational risk. Most importantly, you have the opportunity in shaping our beloved Portland towards a culture of life and not having it turn into a mecca and destination spot for late-term abortions in your building. Do you want Portland to embody more a culture of life or a culture of death? You have the power to greatly influence this. Many of us Portlanders are hoping and praying you will stand for what is just and lease to tenants who support a culture of life. Please let us know if there is anything we can do in assisting with this.

In thanks and hope,

Sarah Livingstone

On Brain Death-Homiletic & Pastoral Review

Please see the article written by our Holy Rosary Chapter member, Doyen Nguyen:

From: Doyen Nguyen
Date: Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 7:35 PM
Subject: Link to my article in Homiletic Pastoral Review + an appeal
To:

Dear Friends in Christ,

Below is the link to the article which my junior colleague (= Joseph the co-author) asked me to write for a non-academic audience. It was one of the most difficult tasks I had to do, as I had to squeeze as much information as possible within a space of 4,000 words — “to pack the kitchen sink in a carry-on luggage,” as it were. I purposely left several technical words here and there in the text so that the non-academic audience becomes familiarized with the medical and philosophical notions being used in the discourse on brain death.

https://www.hprweb.com/2021/03/brain-death-what-catholics-should-know/

FYI:
1. As some of you may already know, there is a strong push from the other side (which enjoys a position of strength, being backed up by the state, and yes, unfortunately, also by a good number of people in the Church) to get the legal authority to change the UDDA [Uniform Determination of Death Act]. This article was specifically written so as to alert and warn the general public, especially the grassroots pro-life movements, about this pending disastrous evil.

In other words, I am once again calling you folks — namely, those of you who are involved in grassroots pro-life movements, to spread the word, and to act proactively to somehow ward off this pending disastrous evil. As a retired academician, my tools are very much limited, and I am “passing the torch” to you.

2. HPR allows us to retain the copyright of our article so that it can be published elsewhere (e.g., on your websites), provided that there is an acknowledgment stating that the article originally appeared in Homiletic Pastoral Review. (Here is the original text written by the HPR Editor in this regard: You retain copyright, in case you would like to reissue any of your essays later elsewhere. We simply ask that you acknowledge its original appearance in HPR). So if any of you, or any people you know, would like to have the article published on your websites, please send me an email and let me know.

To reiterate, my main purpose for this article is to get as many people to know about the truth regarding BD, and more importantly, to know how to argue (just the most salient points) against pro-BD Catholics (e.g., the people at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, etc.) — both medically and philosophically, using the “nuts and bolts” that I provide in the article.

Your servant of Christ,

Doyen, OP

NATIVITY SERMON OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

Behold a new and wondrous mystery.

My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed; He had the power; He descended; He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassability, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Since this heavenly birth cannot be described, neither does His coming amongst us in these days permit of too curious scrutiny. Though I know that a Virgin this day gave birth, and I believe that God was begotten before all time, yet the manner of this generation I have learned to venerate in silence and I accept that this is not to be probed too curiously with wordy speech.

For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of Him who works.

What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend.

Nature here rested, while the Will of God labored. O ineffable grace! The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt.

Christ, finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a living temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature.

For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before the clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until it had first become the garment of its Maker.

What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.

For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit that He may save me.

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things are nourished, may receive an infants food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star.

To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, we offer all praise, now and forever. Amen.

(shared by Doyen Nguyen.)

Christmas Letter From the Master

From Denise Harvey, Lay Provincial Council President:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus is born!! Merry Christmas!
Christmas is a day unlike any other. It is a day to rejoice! God the Father gives us the greatest gift of all – His Son.
Jesus is the gift that changes everything. He is the gift that makes all things new. And, He is the gift that keeps on giving – in the Eucharist.
Jesus is everything we could ever want and everything we could ever need. He is the answer to all our prayers and the fulfillment of all our hopes.
As our gift to Him, let’s bring our will, along with all the burdens of this past year, and surrender them. Lay it all down. Place them in the manger, through the hands of Our Blessed Mother. Then pick up His will, His love, His healing, His peace, and place them in your heart.
May the joy of Our Blessed Mother be yours throughout the Season.

With my love and prayers, Denise

PS, As my Christmas gift to you, a Mass will be celebrated for your intentions. And a letter from the Master of the Order is attached below, for you.

Christmas-Message-MO-2020.PDF Download

Christmas-Message-MO-2020.DOCX Download

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
    Hail Mary, full of grace,
    The Lord is with Thee;
    Blessed art thou among women,
    And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
    Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    Pray for us sinners,
    Now and at the hour of our death. Amen
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
    Hail Mary, etc.
V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
    Hail Mary, etc.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Pray this every day