First one thousand days, building a Catholic Culture of Life, from April 18th, 2016, to January 8th, 2019, we’ll join the Diocese of Boise Office of Respect Life, and Idaho Catholics Respect Life, partnering with Salt & Light Catholic Radio, in reflecting on the first 143 weeks of life from the moment of conception in the life of the Child.
Where all are welcomed and loved with mercy.
The one thousand days from conception through a child's second birthday are the most crucial for a child's development. These 1000 days are our best opportunity to shape a healthier, more prosperous future for the child.
To learn more: catholicidaho.org/RespectLife
To subscribe to receive a weekly reflection by email: [email protected] and ask for "1000 Days".
January 6, 2019 Week 143 Listen
The greatest nations are defined by how they treat their weakest inhabitants.
December 30, 2018 Week 142 Listen
“For generations, the Catholic community has reached out to children… We have defended their right to life itself and their right to live with dignity, to realize the bright promise and opportunity of childhood. Now we renew this commitment and build on it. We seek to bring new hope and concrete help to a generation of children at risk.” ...U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
December 23, 2018 Week 141 Listen
Research has shown time and time again that infants and children who receive the high-quality childcare and early education programs do better in school, have better developed social skills and display fewer behavioral problems.
December 16, 2018 Week 140 Listen
“Because they have given life to their children, parents have a most serious obligation and enjoy the right
to educate them; therefore Christian parents are especially to care for the Christian education of their
children according to the teaching handed on by the Church.” ... Canon 226, §2
December 9, 2018 Week 139 Listen
Because children are exposed to environmental hazards at an early age, they have more extended time to develop slowly-progressing environmentally triggered illnesses such as asthma, certain cancers, learning disabilities and other illnesses that adversely affect childhood development.
December 2, 2018 Week 138 Listen
A young childʼs mind is like freshly laid cement. If anyone steps in it, the imprint remains forever.
November 25, 2018 Week 137 Listen
Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards and exposures to toxic chemicals in the
environment. Their bodies, behaviors and size leave them more exposed than adults to such health
hazards.
November 18, 2018 Week 136 Listen
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.
November 11, 2018 Week 135 Listen
“Today we are suffering from a crisis which is … about concern for human resources, for the needs of
our brothers and sisters living in extreme poverty, and especially for the many children in our world
lacking adequate education, health care and nutrition.” ... Pope Francis
November 4, 2018 Week 134 Listen
“The common good means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person,
especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about.” ... Pope Francis
October 28, 2018 Week 133 Listen
Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for affordable childcare.
October 21, 2018 Week 132 Listen
"Projects for integral human development cannot ignore coming generations, but need to be marked by solidarity and inter-generational justice." ... Pope Benedict XVI
October 14, 2018 Week 131 Listen
Poverty-focused development assistance accounts for just 0.6 percent of the entire U.S. budget. Cutting funding for these programs wonʼt significantly reduce the deficit and would undermine the progress already made in reducing maternal and child deaths and severe malnutrition.
October 7, 2018 Week 130 Listen
As adults, we need to role model wellness for our children so they can grow up with healthy habits.
September 30, 2018 Week 129 Listen
“One who has hope lives differently.” ... Pope Benedict XVI
September 23, 2018 Week 128 Listen
Women who have been to school and have a way to earn income are far less likely to be malnourished or have malnourished children.
September 16, 2018 Week 127 Listen
Adoption has the dimension of connection — not only to your own tribe, but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties and family. It is a larger embrace. By adopting, we stretch past our immediate circles and, by reaching out, find an unexpected sense of belonging with others.
September 9, 2018 Week 126 Listen
1000 calories, vitamins and minerals, 13 grams of fat every day. Those are the specific ingredients
needed to avoid stunting a child's growth physically and mentally in the 1,000 days after conception.
September 2, 2018 Week 125 Listen
At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a childʼs success is the positive involvement of
parents.
August 26, 2018 Week 124 Listen
The right nutrition during the 1,000-day window can improve an individualʼs educational achievement and earning potential.
August 19, 2018 Week 123 Listen
Between 2004 – 2011, childcare costs increased 13%, while incomes decreased 9%.
August 12, 2018 Week 122 Listen
A baby is born with a need to be loved – and never outgrows it.
August 5, 2018 Week 121 Listen
90% of the worldʼs stunted children live in just 36 countries. The wide use of key interventions could
reduce deaths of children under age 2 in these countries by nearly 25%. These children would grow up to be healthier, more productive adults.
July 29, 2018 Week 120 Listen
Above all, children need the unconditional love and attention of their fathers, whether they succeed or make mistakes, when life is easy and when life is hard.
July 22, 2018 Week 119 Listen
When we read words on paper, it reduces our stress levels by nearly 70%. So reduce stress by reading out loud to your children which helps them acquire early language skills, develop positive associations with books and reading, and build a stronger foundation for school success.
July 15, 2018 Week 118 Listen
Breastfeeding remains the single most effective preventive intervention for improving the survival and
health of children.
July 8, 2018 Week 117 Listen
For children under age 2, malnutrition can weaken the immune system, making them more susceptible to dying from common illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria.
July 1, 2018 Week 116 Listen
“Caring for our little ones … is a choice for civilization. And also for the future, because the little ones, the children, the young people will carry society forward by their strength, their youth…” Pope Francis
June 24, 2018 Week 115 Listen
Iron deficiency is the most common form of malnutrition. It affects cognition and a personʼs ability to
maintain attention. Anemia also disrupts childrenʼs intellectual development; children with iron
deficiency score lower on intelligence tests and have fewer red blood cells. Prevention of iron
deficiency is possible through consumption of iron-rich and iron-fortified foods.
June 17, 2018 Week 114 Listen
Character is largely caught, and the father and the home should be the great sources of character
infection. Happy Fatherʼs Day
June 10, 2018 Week 113 Listen
"Time and experience have taught me a priceless lesson: Any child you take for your own becomes your own if you give of yourself to that child. I have born two children and had seven others by adoption, and they are all my children, equally beloved and precious.”
June 3, 2018 Week 112 Listen
There are many women with children under age 5 who must work and who lack affordable, high quality childcare.
May 27, 2018 Week 111 Listen
To be a good father and mother requires that the parents defer many of their own needs and desires in favor of their children. As a consequence of their sacrifice, conscientious parents develop a nobility of character and learn to put into practice the selfless truths taught by the Savior himself.
May 20, 2018 Week 110 Listen
Women often lack access to sufficient healthy food and eat smaller portion sizes due to cultural practices within the household. Womenʼs heavy work-loads and domestic responsibilities also make them vulnerable to malnutrition.
May 13, 2018 Week 109 Listen
In our house, Mother's Day is everyday. Father's Day is, too. In our house, parents count. They do importand work and that work matters!
May 6, 2018 Week 108 Listen
In our house, Mother's Day is every day. Father's Day is too. In our house, parents count. They do
important work and that work matters.
April 29, 2018 Week 107 Listen
“The ʻhomeʼ represents the most precious human treasures, that of encounter, that of relations among people, different in age, culture and history, but who live together and together help one another to grow. For this reason, the ʻhomeʼ is a crucial place in life, where life grows and can be fulfilled, because it is a place in which every person learns to receive love and to give love.” .... Pope Francis
April 22, 2018 Week 106 Listen
“Nurturing and cherishing creation is a command God gives not only at the beginning of history, but to each of us. It is part of his plan; it means causing the world to grow responsibly, transforming it so that it may be a garden, a habitable place for everyone.” .... Pope Francis
April 15, 2018 Week 105 Listen
Every hour of every day, 300 children die due to malnutrition.
April 8, 2018 Week 104 Listen
“Not of my flesh, nor of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you
didnʼt grow in my heart, but in it.”
April 1, 2018 Week 103 Listen
In nearly all cultures, women bear the major responsibility for their familiesʼ nutrition. However, they are often undernourished due to social, economic, and biological stressors. When a womanʼs position in society is improved, her overall nutrition also improves. [The resurrected Jesus appeared to the women first.] Happy Easter!
March 25, 2018 Week 102 Listen
“Let us remember that in war all is lost and in peace nothing. Brothers and sisters, never war! Never war! I think mostly of the children, of those who are deprived of the hope for a dignified life, of a future: dead children, wounded children, maimed children, orphaned children, children who have the remnants of war as toys, children who do not know how to smile. Stop, please! I ask you with all my heart. It is time to stop! Stop, please.” Pope Francis
March 18, 2018 Week 101 Listen
“Today too, children are a sign. They are a sign of hope, a sign of life, but also a ʻdiagnosticʼ sign, a marker indicating the health of families, society and the entire world. Wherever children are accepted, loved, cared for and protected, the family is healthy, society is more healthy and the world is more human.” Pope Francis
March 11, 2018 Week 100 Listen
“All children must be able to play, study, pray and grow, in their own families, and do so in a harmonious context of love and serenity. It is their right and our duty. Many people instead of letting them play make slaves of them: this is a scourge. A serene childhood allows children to look forward with confidence to life and the future. Woe to those who stifle their joyful impulse of hope!” ... Pope Francis
March 4, 2018 Week 99 Listen
If our society were truly to appreciate the significance of childrenʼs emotional ties throughout the first years of life, it would no longer tolerate children growing up or parents having to struggle in situations which could not possibly nourish healthy growth.
February 25, 2018 Week 98 Listen
“Today we are suffering from a crisis which is not only about the just management of economic
resources, but also about concern for human resources, for the needs of our brothers and sisters living in extreme poverty, and especially for the many children in our world lacking adequate education, health care and nutrition.” ... Pope Francis
February 18, 2018 Week 97 Listen
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
Ash Wednesday: Be merciful to us, O Lord .... and Happy Valentine's Day!
February 11, 2018 Week 96 Listen
Think about undocumented parents who go to work every morning not knowing whether they'll return to see their children at night.
February 4, 2018 Week 95 Listen
I think it's an enormous blessing to be the child of an immigrant who fled oppression, because you realize how fragile life and liberty are and how easily these can be taken away.
January 28, 2018 Week 94 Listen!
WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) provides quality nutrition education and services, breast-feeding promotion and education, monthly food prescriptions, and access to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric healthcare services.
January 21, 2018 Week 93 Listen!
Responsive relationships are essential to a child's development and well-being. Healthy brain architecture depends on a sturdy foundation built by appropriate input from a childʼs senses and stable, responsive relationships with caring adults.
January 14, 2018 Week 92 Listen!
Because of poor nutrition, one-third of the worldʼs children do not grow to reach their full potential. Good nutrition, especially in early childhood, is an essential requirement for each world citizen to earn, learn, stay healthy, and achieve his or her lifetime potential.
January 7, 2018 Week 91 Listen!
We need affordable childcare and paid sick leave so workers donʼt have to choose between their health, their child and their livelihood.
December 31, 2017 Week 90 Listen!
"I appeal strongly for peace. How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed! I think of many children who will not see the light of the future" Pope Francis A JOYOUS AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!
December 24, 2017 Week 89 Listen!
The effects of what happens during the prenatal period and during the earliest months and years of a childʼs life can last a lifetime. All the key ingredients of emotional intelligence — confidence, curiosity, intentionality, self-control, relatedness, capacity to communicate and cooperativeness — that determinehow a child learns and relates in school and in life in general, depend on the kind of early care he or she receives from parents, pre-school teachers and caregivers. A MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!
December 17, 2017 Week 88 Listen!
The right nutrition during the 1000-day window can save more than one million lives each year.
December 10, 2017 Week 87 Listen!
Nothing is worth losing your inner peace, especially when faced with the challenges of parenting. Take action as circumstances require, but never surrender your inner peace. Stop. Breathe deeply. Close your eyes and breathe deeply again. Then, and only then, take action from a peaceful heart.
December 3, 2017 Week 86 Listen!
Children in poverty and children of color are at a disproportionate risk, with routinely higher rates of lead poisoning and asthma-related deaths and hospitalization.
November 26, 2017 Week 85 Listen!
Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine. Slovakian Proverb
November 19, 2017 Week 84 Listen!
“In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children…” Pope Francis
November 12, 2017 Week 83 Listen!
Having a baby is a life-changer. It gives you a whole other perspective on why you wake up every day.
November 5, 2017 Week 82 Listen!
Stress is an inevitable part of life. Human beings experience stress early, even before they are born. A certain amount of stress is normal and necessary for survival. Stress helps children develop the skills they need to cope with and adapt to new and potentially threatening situations throughout life. Support from parents and caregivers is necessary for children to learn how to respond to stress in a physically and emotionally healthy manner.
October 29, 2017 Week 81 Listen!
“If in so many parts of the world there are children who have nothing to eat, that's not news, it seems normal. It cannot be this way! Yet these things become the norm…. In contrast, a ten point drop on the stock markets of some cities is a tragedy. A person dying is not news, but if the stock markets drop ten points it is a tragedy!” Pope Francis
October 22, 2017 Week 80 Listen!
Only 37% of the world’s babies are exclusively breastfed for the recommended first six months. Yet exclusive breastfeeding is critically important—partial or no breastfeeding is associated with a more than doubled risk of death in the first few months of life.
October 15, 2017 Week 79 Listen!
Whether it’s making sure that families have access to quality health care and childcare, or making sure our children receive the best educational opportunities we can give them, we must remain committed to those needs because our children are our future.
October 8, 2017 Week 78 Listen!
Direct nutrition interventions can be simple solutions delivered to children at risk and their families. These are well-known and supported by nutrition experts. They include promoting healthy behaviors such as exclusive breast-feeding for six months.
October 1, 2017 Week 77 Listen!
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
September 24, 2017 Week 76 Listen!
It is a wise father that knows his own child.
September 17, 2017 Week 75 Listen!
The benefits to the mother of immediate breastfeeding are innumerable, not the least of which after the weariness of labor and birth is the emotional gratification, the feeling of strength, the composure, and the sense of fulfillment that comes with the handling and suckling of the baby.
September 10, 2017 Week 74 Listen!
Without proper nutrition during this critical 1,000 days, children can suffer permanent cognitive and physical delays. They can be shorter, and have poor eyesight and weaker immune systems. With diminished intellectual capacity, they achieve less in school and work, and earn less income.
eptember 3, 2017 Week 73 Listen!
Childhood adversity can damage the brain as surely as inhaling toxic substances or absorbing a blow to the head. After the age of two, much of that damage can be difficult to repair, even for children who go on to receive the nurturing they were denied in their early years.
August 27, 2017 Week 72 Listen!
On breastfeeding: Imagine that the world had created a new 'dream product' to feed and immunize everyone born on earth. Imagine also that it was available everywhere, required no storage or delivery, and helped mothers plan their families and reduce the risk of cancer. Then imagine that the world refused to use it.
August 20, 2017 Week 71 Listen!
U.S is 1 of 3 countries that offers no paid family leave.
August 13, 2017 Week 70 Listen!
Every dollar spent on pregnant women in WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) produces $1.92 to $4.21 in Medicaid savings for newborns and their mothers.
August 6, 2017 Week 69 Listen!
Neuroscience has now demonstrated that the first two years of life are so profoundly important to brain development that infants and toddlers who suffer from neglect may never fully recover.
July 30, 2017 Week 68 Listen!
Breast milk is best milk.
July 23, 2017 Week 67 Listen!
In the United States, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) provide crucial support to households in need and to those making the transition from welfare to work. Infants receiving WIC are less likely to be underweight, but are not at greater risk of being overweight.
July 16, 2017 Week 66 Listen!
Half of the babies born in the United States are enrolled in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
July 9, 2017 Week 65 Listen!
Moses was adopted.
July 2, 2017 Week 64 Listen!
"Today, the thought that a great many children do not have food to eat is not news." Pope Francis.
June 25, 2017 Week 63 Listen!
"Technologically-advanced societies must be prepared to encourage more sober lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving its efficiency. It is therefore necessary to create life-styles in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments." Saint John Paul II
June 18, 2017 Week 62 Listen!
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. Happy Father's Day!
June 11, 2017 Week 61 Listen!
The brain's malleability during its early years means that when children do not get the care they need, or if they experience starvation, abuse or neglect, their brain development may be compromised.
June 3, 2017 Week 60 Listen!
A newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three.
May 28, 2017 Week 59 Listen!
When infants are held and touched in soothing ways, they tend to thrive. Warm, responsive care seems to have a protective function, to some extent "immunizing" an infant against the effects of stress experienced later in life.
May 21, 2017 Week 58 Listen!
Anyone who ever wondered how much they could love a child who did not spring from their own loins, know this: it is the same. The feeling of love is so profound, it's incredible and surprising.
May 14, 2017 Week 57 Listen!
Motherhood: all love begins and ends there. Happy Mother’s Day!
May 7, 2017 Week 56 Listen!
Exposure to air pollutants and toxins is significantly more harmful to children, born and unborn.
April 30, 2017 Week 55 Listen!
Building the foundations of successful development in childhood requires responsive relationships and supportive environments. Beginning shortly after birth, the typical "serve and return" interactions that occur between young children and the adults who care for them actually affect the formation of neural connections and the circuitry of the developing brain.
April 23, 2017 Week 54 Listen!
A life without challenges doesn't exist and that is one reason a child needs a mother. Divine Mercy Sunday!
April 16, 2017 Week 53 Listen!
Breastfeeding is an instinctual and natural act, but it is also an art that is learned day by day. The reality is that almost all women can breastfeed, have enough milk for their babies and learn how to overcome problems both large and small. It is almost always simply a matter of practical knowledge and not a question of good luck. Happy Easter!
April 9, 2017 Week 52 Listen!
This (new) period of parenting is an intense one. Never will we know such responsibility, such productive and hard work, such potential for isolation in the caretaking role and such intimacy and close involvement in the growth and development of another human being. Holy Week Blessings.
April 2, 2017 Week 51 Listen!
My birth mother brought me into this world, but it was my adoptive parents who gave me life.
March 26, 2017 Week 50 Listen!
Of the approximately 120 million children born in the developing world each year, around 60 million -- half -- children are born into homes without access to sanitation, one-fifth in households without access to improved drinking-water sources, at grave risk to their survival and development.
March 19, 2017 Week 49 Listen!
The men who fear becoming fathers don't understand that fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.
March 12, 2017 Week 48 Listen!
"Each time we witness a baptism, we have a golden moment to share the joy of a new life." Pope Francis
March 5, 2017 Week 47 Listen!
The USCCB recognizes the importance of finding means to reduce carbon pollution. The standards to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants and thereby mitigate climate change should protect the health and welfare of all people, especially children, the elderly, as well as poor and vulnerable communities, from harmful pollution emitted from power plants and from the impacts of climate change.
February 26, 2017 Week 46 Listen!
Adoption has the dimension of connection -- not only to your own tribe, but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties and family. It is a larger embrace. By adopting, we stretch past our immediate circles and, by reaching out, find an unexpected sense of belonging with others.
February 19, 2017 Week 45 Listen!
Pope Francis encouraged mothers to breastfeed their young at the Sistine Chapel. Baptizing 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel, Francis told mothers to feel relaxed about feeding them. Francis said earlier that women should feel comfortable about breast feeding during these ceremonies.
February 12, 2017 Week 44 Listen!
"Being a protector means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about." Pope Francis
February 5, 2017 Week 43 Listen!
Both the courage and trust of those who decide to place their babies for adoption and the enthusiasm of those who adopt them are overwhelmingly vindicated by the tens of thousands of successful adoptions that take place in this country every year.
January 29, 2017 Week 42 Listen!
The New Testament begins with Matthew's story of Joseph and Mary's escape to Egypt with their newborn son, Jesus, because the paranoid and jealous King Herod wanted to kill the infant. Our Savior himself lived as a refugee because his own land was not safe.
January 22, 2017 Week 41 Listen!
Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children and are at risk of death during childbirth.
January 15, 2017 Week 40 Listen!
Children who suffer the most from environmental exposures are those yet unborn because they are the least capable of fending themselves from toxic exposures. Early exposure to neurotoxins like lead and mercury may result in lifelong developmental effects, permanently altering a child's intelligence and/or their development.
January 8, 2017 Week 39 Listen!
The developing baby in the womb when exposed to lead is at higher risk of being born prematurely and having low-weight at birth. The mother is at higher risk of a complicated pregnancy due to lead induced hypertension.
January 1, 2017 Week 38 Listen!
"Looking at the Child in the manger, Child of peace, our thoughts turn to those children who are the most vulnerable victims of wars..." ....Pope Francis
December 25, 2016 Week 37 Listen!
"The Child of Bethlehem is frail, like all newborn children. He cannot speak and yet he is the Word made flesh who came to transform the hearts and lives of all men and women. This Child, like every other child, is vulnerable; he needs to be accepted and protected. Today too, children need to be welcomed and defended, from the moment of their conception." Pope Francis
December 18, 2016 Week 36 Listen!
Hunger and poverty also mean poor access to prenatal care, leading to high maternal mortality. Maternal mortality has a precise definition: the death of a woman while pregnant or within six weeks of the end of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy. Most maternal deaths can be prevented when births are attended by skilled health personnel who are regularly supervised and have the proper equipment and supplies.
December 11, 2016 Week 35 Listen!
"Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God's creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect." Pope Francis
December 4, 2016 Week 34 Listen!
According to 2012 figures most of the children who live in sub-Saharan Africa were infected by their HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Over 700 children become newly infected with HIV each day. Pregnant women living with HIV who receive the most effective drug regimens (as recommended by World Health Organization) prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus.
November 27, 2016 Week 33 Listen!
Ensuring that pregnancies are healthy clearly can have a profound impact on women, children and society at large. Expectant mothers require adequate nutrition and good, accessible prenatal, delivery, obstetric and postnatal care.
November 20, 2016 Week 32 Listen!
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: More than 1 in 6 children born in the U.S. could be at risk for developmental disorders because of mercury exposure in the mother's womb.
November 13, 2016 Week 31 Listen!
About 17 million children are born underweight annually, the result of inadequate nutrition before and during pregnancy. In developing countries, 16 percent of infants, or one in six, weigh less than 3.3 pounds at birth.
November 6, 2016 Week 30 Listen!
We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.
October 30, 2016 Week 29 Listen!
Ensuring that pregnancies are healthy clearly can have a profound impact on women, children and society at large. Expectant mothers require an environment free of pollutants, exhausting labor and extreme stress such as conflict.
October 23, 2016 Week 28 Listen!
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI urged international leaders to reach a credible agreement on climate change, keeping in mind the needs of the poor and of future generations.
October 16, 2016 Week 27 Listen!
"The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life itself. This is true of life from the moment of conception until its natural end. Abortion, consequently, cannot be a human right -- it is the very opposite. It is a deep wound in society." Pope Benedict XVI
October 9, 2016 Week 26 Listen!
"Unfortunately, in our own time ... there are many powers and forces that end up producing a culture of waste; and this tends to become the common mentality. The victims of this culture are precisely the weakest and most fragile human beings -- the unborn, the poorest, the sick and elderly, the seriously handicapped, -- who are in danger of being 'thrown away', expelled from a system that must be efficient at all costs." Pope Francis
October 2, 2016 Week 25 Listen!
There is growing evidence that malnutrition during the crucial period of human development--before and during a woman's pregnancy and during a child's first two years of life -- "programs" a person's future ability to regulate weight and affects brain development.
September 25, 2016 Week 24 Listen!
"Defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development. Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems." Pope Francis
Next Sunday is Respect Life Sunday!
September 19, 2016 Week 23 Listen!
"Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us." Pope Francis
September 11, 2016 Week 22 Listen!
Ensuring that pregnancies are healthy clearly can have a profound impact on women, children and society at large. Investments in maternal nutrition -- on protein, vitamin A and iron supplementation or fortification -- yield high returns.
September 4, 2016 Week 21 Listen!
"The world economy will only develop if it allows a dignified way of life for all human beings, from the eldest to the unborn child, not just for citizens of the G20 (the 20 major economies) member states but for every inhabitant of the earth, even those in extreme social situations or in the remotest places."
August 28, 2016 Week 20 Listen!
Pregnant women need an additional 500 to 700 calories per day, as well as extra protein and vitamins. Women who are underweight before pregnancy and who gain little weight during pregnancy are particularly likely to give birth to babies with low birth weight and are more likely to die as newborns than babies at a healthy weight.
August 21, 2016 Week 19 Listen!
"The goal of economics and politics is to serve humanity, beginning with the poorest and most vulnerable wherever they may be, even in their mothers' wombs." Pope Francis
August 14, 2016 Week 18 Listen!
Eliminating malnutrition among expectant mothers would reduce disabilities among their infants by almost one third.
August 7, 2016 Week 17 Listen!
A child's first environment is the mother's womb. Many chemicals can cross the placenta and may cause permanent damage to the child. Because children are exposed to environmental hazards at an earlier age than adults are, they have more time to develop slowly progressing environmentally triggered diseases.
July 31, 2016 Week 16 Listen!
Let's say yes to life and not to death.
July 24, 2016 Week 15 Listen!
The cognitive and physical damage caused by malnutrition during the 1,000-day window from pregnancy to the age of two is severe and often irreversible, with profound consequences for a child's future and the futures of communities and societies.
July 17, 2016 Week 14 Listen!
Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester, can shorten the gestation period leading to preterm births; and can cause congenital birth defects such as heart problems. It can also result in the loss of life.
July 10, 2016 Week 13 Listen!
90% of babies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome are aborted.
July 3, 2016 Week 12 Listen!
Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester, can affect a child's growth (resulting in low birth weight and intrauterine growth retardation -- being born at or below 10th percentile for age in weeks).
June 26, 2016 Week 11 Listen!
Improving women's nutrition during pregnancy can help safeguard their health and ensure that their children get the best possible start in life.
June 19, 2016 Week 10 Listen!
Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Most babies are nameless until late in their mothers' pregnancies. But what is an inconvenient pregnancy to some is a unique and special person -- though nameless -- in the eyes of God.
June 12, 2016 Week 9 Listen!
Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed. Each of us is
loved. Each of us is necessary." Pope Benedict XVI
June 5, 2016 Week 8 Listen!
You are called to care for life in its initial stage; remind everyone, by word and deed, that this is sacred -- at each phase and at every age -- that it is always valuable. . . . There is no human life more sacred than another, just as there is no human life qualitatively more significant than another." Pope Francis
May 29, 2016 Week 7 Listen!
It is hard to imagine a situation that so clearly illustrates this link between the environment and life issues as the impact of mercury and other toxic air pollution on children's health. Children, inside and outside the womb, are uniquely vulnerable to environmental hazards and exposure to toxic pollutants in the environment." U.S. Catholic Bishops
May 22, 2016 Week 6 Listen!
It is God who gives life. Let us respect and love human life, especially vulnerable life in a mother's womb.
May 15, 2016 Week 5 Listen!
Peace is also threatened by every denial of human dignity... Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as 'unnecessary'. For example, it is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day..." Pope Francis
May 8, 2016 Week 4 Listen!
The regulations and all efforts to reduce the impact of climate change should respect human life and dignity, especially that of the poorest and most vulnerable: from children in the womb to the elderly." Pope Francis
May 1, 2016 Week 3 Listen!
Every child who, rather than being born, is condemned unjustly to being aborted, bears the face of Jesus Christ, bears the face of the Lord, who even before he was born, and then just after birth, experienced the world's rejection." Pope Francis
April 24, 2016 Week 2 Listen!
Children who are poorly nourished in the womb or before the age of 2 can suffer serious, often irreversible, physical and cognitive damage.
April 17, 2016 Week 1 Listen!
The word of the LORD came to me: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. (Jeremiah 1:4-5)