Tribute to Fr. Norman Weslin

From Fr. Gordon MacRae

Recap of Fr. Weslin's Arrest at Notre Dame: Fr. Weslin, Pray for Our Poor Country

Remember Fr. Weslin at Notre Dame? He founded the Lambs of Christ as victim souls for the unborn. And this, his last arrest, shows him as a victim not only of our secular culture of death, but the culture of death in the Church.

If his arrest doesn't bring tears to your eyes, you have no heart. Watching police handcuffing an 80-year-old priest behind his back is shocking.  But get ready, because this is a preview of the future. As you watch the video, consider the words of Cardinal Francis George in 2010 after the passage of civil union legislation in Illinois:

 "I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square."

Can't happen, you say? Look at the persecution of Christians around the world. Then look at the history of persecution of Catholics in the United States. The 18th and 19th centuries were so rife with attacks on Catholicism that the U.S. hierarchy embarked on a policy of accommodation, labeled "Americanism" and called a heresy by Pope Leo XIII. Americanism infects the Church to this day and can be seen in the speeches of Catholic politicians like John Kennedy and Mario Cuomo. It can be seen in the actions and words of clerics like Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, Fr. John Jenkins, and others. It has led inexorably to the rise of Catholic Judases like Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, Joe Biden and others. 


Let us ask Fr. Weslin's intercession in the darkening days ahead for this country as religious persecution becomes more outward and more draconian. Raise your children to suffer and to pray and sacrifice for the enemies of the Church that they might be converted. All you Roman martyrs, pray for us. St. Edmund Campion and all the English martyrs, pray for us. May the martyrs of Compiegne and all the martyrs of the French Revolution pray for us. May the seven Visitandine martyrs and all the martyrs of the Spanish civil war pray for us. May Fr. Miguel Pro and all the martyrs of  the Mexican revolution pray for us. May all the martyrs throughout all the ages of history pray for us that we might be prepared for whatever comes and have the courage to endure it without abandoning the faith or hating our persecutors.


Our Lady, Queen of the martyrs, pray for us!

Fr. Norman Weslin, Champion of the Unborn

Back in April I blogged about one of my heroes, Fr. Norman Weslin. Father went home to Jesus and his beloved "Twelve Star General," Mary Immaculate, on Wednesday. No one who ever met Father could forget him. He had an infectious enthusiasm and a single-hearted commitment to the unborn babies. He defended them throughout his entire priesthood, spending (God only knows how much) time in jail following numerous arrests. His last arrest was praying at Our Lady's university in reparation for the abomination of their honoring the most pro-abortion politician in U.S. history. Seeing this holy, elderly priest handcuffed and carted away by police while Fr. Jenkins tickled the ears of the political elite gave a stark picture contrasting those who follow Jesus with the modern day pharisees.

I'm confident we have a prayer warrior in heaven pleading with Mary for all those in her pro-life army who continue to fight not only for the unborn, but for the Catholic faith.

Our Lady help of Christians, pray for us.   See more here. 

Pray for Fr. Norman Weslin

Pro-life veteran priest arrested protesting Obama at Notre Dame now ailing, prayers requested

I had the privilege of being arrested with Fr. Weslin at several rescues back in the 1980s. In one Falls Church, VA rescue the police housed us in an underground garage and Father gathered the Catholics to pray the rosary. He always call the Blessed Mother our "twelve star general." 

Fr. Weslin is a personal hero of mine. He was willing to give up everything for the babies. He stayed at our home in Alexandria once because he needed some medical care at Fort Belvoir which was nearboy. His cassock was threadbare; shoes were taped together. He had a small overnight bag that was mostly filled with his Mass kit. What a far cry from the French cuff clergy crowd! 

Father was a late vocation after a lay career in the military and being married with children. After he buried his wife, he turned their house into a shepherding home for unwed mothers. He founded the Lambs of Christ to be one with the unborn. When they were arrested they were silent and limp. Just as babies cannot speak for themselves or move around on their own, the lambs identified as closely as possible with the helplessness of the babies. Like Jesus before his accusers they were "silent and opened not [their] mouth[s]."

May the Blessed Mother comfort Fr. Weslin in his last days and welcome him to paradise. I know the babies will be there singing songs of thanksgiving as they escort him before the throne of God. Please keep Father Weslin in your prayers. God bless you, dear Father. You teach us what it really means to be a member of the Church Militant identifying with the suffering Christ!