Sadly, many "good" Catholics have jumped aboard this guilt-free cultural bandwagon. In fact, thousands who declare themselves pro-life on abortion issue vehemently defend their "right" to contraception. Their participation is often justified by simple disclaimers like, "I just don't happen to agree with Church on that issue." The more defiant will assert that, "The Church has no business in my bedroom" or ever-popular, "What does pope know about cost of raising kids?"

These fellow Catholics either fail to fully realize, or they simply deny, fact that every chemical method of contraception is abortifacient. Every pill, implant, or injection, whether before or morning after, works to ensure pregnancy does not occur. They all do this by flushing out a fertilized egg if necessary. This is abortion. It is a clinical fact. A completely unique human life is summarily ended in privacy of our own home.

This reality cannot be softened or denied. It cannot be politically corrected. Drug companies even try to mitigate evil by redefining when life begins. They attempt to sell us on notion that life does not begin at conception but at implantation or first sensation. This is a lie. Adopting this notion, however, helps couples assuage any lingering guilt while buying more time for vendor's product to be used. The number of innocent lives brought to an end each day in abortion mills pales in comparison to those ended in American bedroom.

Enter John Kerry, poster boy for disobedience to Church's teachings. He embraces abortion while brazenly accepting Eucharist. How many "good" Catholics join him and "obstinately persist in manifest grave sin?" Some of these same Catholics publicly lambaste Senator Kerry for his abortion stand yet knowingly engage in contraceptive practices themselves. Others quietly support his behavior in order to prolong "legitimacy" of abortion and protect their contraceptive choices. Like our defiant Senator, are any of these folks piously accepting Eucharist each Sunday? Like him, are they fooling themselves by proclaiming that their faith life is separate from their "real" life?

Senator Kerry is most definitely in need of our prayers. He needs to turn in humility to Holy Mother Church. He needs to meet with his bishop to obtain knowledge and guidance he lacks. Most of all, he needs to honor Eucharist.

Many of us must also undertake this same journey. Before wallowing in scandal incited by a politician, each of us must look hard at our own level of Christian obedience. Perhaps we have been duped into participation in culture of death. If so, are we willing to embrace "new morality" at price of our very souls?

I read an email from a new friend who had read somewhere that this was a good way to repel negativity. She gave some examples of how she had used it recently in her personal life. The one I thought was very interesting was how she used angels' help to protect her sense of personal space. She doesn't like feeling crowded by strangers and asked that angels keep everyone back to a comfortable distance. Apparently it worked. That's an area I hadn't thought to use it in. I am reminded of walking in dark parking lots to get to my car, or when taking small children to fair and not wanting to get separated. I will try asking for angels' help with these little comfort and safety areas.

I've also used letters to angels technique in my work too. One such letter became an article because they told me it was a universal prayer and needed to be typed up formally for everyone's benefit. Click here to read The Entrepreneur's Prayer if you haven't already. In past, I've used prayer letters to help me find start up capital for my business and to help me find right office space to lease. I keep an open-ended request for guidance in all of my spiritual work. I ask them when to write, what to write, when to pitch my work, when to rework website, and when to have a toes-in-the-sand-at-the-beach-day so as to become re-inspired again. As long as I'm listening, I pretty much always get great advice and am in flow of some sort of cosmic divine timing. When I can't 'hear' them and need direction, then I will write letters again. Soon afterwards, I am able to 'feel' their presence and can spot signs again that they're still here helping me.

I don't use them too much for personal gain, because I have this funny little voice that says I'm not supposed to bug them for money and material possessions. I am working to get past that belief system because when I have asked them to help with creating a new car or to find new home we're meant to live in, they've always taken excellent care of us and found perfect car or perfect home for us at that time.

Find your form of prayer. I don't think it matters how you create prayer, but I do know that it works. Call on them and they will help you, in their way, in their time.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge