First 1000 Days
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First 1000 Days
A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
WHERE ALL ARE WELCOMED AND LOVED WITH MERCY
The 1000 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. All children.
WHY THE 1000 DAY INITIATIVE?
We cannot not have a conversation about life. Let us ask how do we cherish life from its beginning. Our culture lulls us into complacency. We can create a culture where all are welcomed and loved with mercy.
Let's talk about life!
WHAT IS IT?
143 weeks of short reflections supporting 1000 days. In your parish bulletin, on Facebook, on the web. It's a commitment to learn, reflect and act.
Sunday December 10, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 1000
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 3, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 994
The greatest nations are defined by how they treat their weakest inhabitants. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 26, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 987
Children Are Not Just “Little Adults”: Children’s bodies, behaviors and size all make them both different from and more vulnerable than adults to many environmental health hazards. Typical early childhood behaviors – eating only one kind of food for days on end, crawling, digging in dirt, putting objects in the mouth - all can lead to increased exposures. Pound for pound, young children drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air than adults. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 19, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 980
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 12, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 973
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 5, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 966
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 29, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 959
A young child’s mind is like freshly laid cement. If anyone steps in it, the imprint remains forever. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 22, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 952
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 15, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 945
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 8, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 938
“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
LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 1, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 931
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 24, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 924
Along with a livable wage, many parents are desperate for affordable childcare. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 17, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 917
"Projects for integral human development cannot ignore coming generations, but need to be marked by solidarity and inter-generational justice." Pope Benedict XVI LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 10, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 910
Poverty-focused development assistance accounts for just 0.6 percent of the entire U.S. budget. Cutting funding for these programs won’t significantly reduce the deficit and would undermine the progress already made in reducing maternal and child deaths and severe malnutrition. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 3, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 903
As adults, we need to role model wellness for our children so they can grow up with healthy habits. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 27, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 896
“One who has hope lives differently.” Pope Benedict XVI LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 20, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 889
Women who have been to school and have a way to earn income are far less likely to be malnourished or have malnourished children. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 13, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 882
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 6, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 875
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 30, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 868
At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 23, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 861
The right nutrition during the 1,000-day window can improve an individual’s educational achievement and earning potential. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 16, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 854
Between 2004 – 2011, childcare costs increased 13%, while incomes decreased 9%. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 9, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 847
A baby is born with a need to be loved – and never outgrows it. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 2, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 840
90% of the world’s 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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 25, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 833
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 18, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 826
Character is largely caught, and the father and the home should be the great sources of character infection. LISTEN!
Happy Father’s Day
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 11, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 819
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 4, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 812
Breastfeeding remains the single most effective preventive intervention for improving the survival and health of children. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 28, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 805
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 21, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 798
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 14, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 791
To be a good father and mother requires that the parents defer many of their own needs and desire 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. LISTEN!
Happy Mother's Day
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 7, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 784
Iron deficiency is the most common form of malnutrition. It affects cognition and a person’s ability to maintain attention. Anemia also disrupts children’s 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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 30, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 777
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 23, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 770
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.” LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 16, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 763
In nearly all cultures, women bear the major responsibility for their families’ nutrition. However, they are often undernourished due to social, economic, and biological stressors. When a woman’s position in society is improved, her overall nutrition also improves. LISTEN!
The resurrected Jesus appeared to the women first.
Happy Easter
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 9, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 756
There are many women with children under age 5 who must work and who lack affordable, high quality childcare. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 2, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 749
Women often lack access to sufficient healthy food and eat smaller portion sizes due to cultural practices within the household. Women’s heavy work-loads and domestic responsibilities also make them vulnerable to malnutrition. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 26, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 742
“The ‘home’ 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 ‘home’ 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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 19, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 735
“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
LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 12, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 728
Every hour of every day, 300 children die due to malnutrition. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 5, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 721
“Not of my flesh, nor of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you didn’t grow in my heart, but in it.” LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 26, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 714
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 19, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 707
“Today too, children are a sign. They are a sign of hope, a sign of life, but also a ‘diagnostic’ 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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 12, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 700
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
Happy Valentine's Day
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 5, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 693
“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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 29, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 686
If our society were truly to appreciate the significance of children’s 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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 22, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 679
“[T]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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 15, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 672
Think about undocumented parents who go to work every morning not knowing whether they'll return to see their children at night. LISTEN!
January 15 is World Day of Migrants and Refugees
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 8, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 665
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. LISTEN!
National Migration Week is January 8-14
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 1, 2017
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 658
"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 LISTEN!
January 1 is World Peace Day
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 25, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 651
The effects of what happens during the prenatal period and during the earliest months and years of a child’s life can last a lifetime. All the key ingredients of emotional intelligence — confidence, curiosity, intentionality, self-control, relatedness, capacity to communicate and cooperativeness — that determine how 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. LISTEN!
Merry Christmas
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 18, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 644
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 11, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 637
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 child’s senses and stable, responsive relationships with caring adults. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 4, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 630
Because of poor nutrition, one-third of the world’s 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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 27, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 623
We need affordable childcare and paid sick leave so workers don’t have to choose between their health, their child and their livelihood. LISTEN
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 20, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 616
The right nutrition during the 1000-day window can save more than one million lives each year. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 13, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 609
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 6, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 602
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 30, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 595
Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine. Slovakian Proverb LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 23, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 588
Having a baby is a life-changer. It gives you a whole other perspective on why you wake up every day. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 16, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 581
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 9, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 574
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 2, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 567
“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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 25, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 560
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 18, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 553
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 11, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 546
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 4, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 539
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 28, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 532
It is a wise father that knows his own child. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 21, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 525
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 14, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 518
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 7, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 511
Childhood adversity can damage the brain as surely as inhaling toxic substances or absorbing a blow to the head can. And 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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 31, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 504
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life InitiativeSunday July 24, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 497
U.S is 1 of 3 countries that offers no paid family leave. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 17, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 490
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 10, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 483
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. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 3, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 476
Breast milk is best milk. LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
June 26, 2016Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 469
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 19, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 462
Happy Father's Day
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 12, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 455
Half of the babies born in the United States are enrolled in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 5, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 448
Moses was adopted. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 29, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 441
"Today, the thought that a great many children do not have food to eat is not news." Pope Francis. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 22, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 434
"Did you know that over a billion trees are used to make disposable diapers every year?[T]echnologically-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 LISTEN!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 15, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 427
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 8, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 420
Motherhood: all love begins and ends there. LISTEN!Happy Mother's Day
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 1, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 413
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 24, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 406
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 17, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 399
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 10, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 392
Exposure to air pollutants and toxins is significantly more harmful to children, born and unborn. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 3, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 385
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 27, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 378
A life without challenges doesn't exist and that is one reason a child needs a mother. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 20, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 371
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 13, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 364
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 6, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 357
My birth mother brought me into this world, but it was my adoptive parents who gave me life. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 28, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 350
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 21, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 343
The guys who fear becoming fathers don't understand that fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 14, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 336
"Each time we witness a baptism, we have a golden moment to share the joy of a new life." Pope Francis LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday February 7, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 329
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 31, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 322
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 24, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 315
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 ago that women should feel comfortable about breast feeding during his ceremonies. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 17, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 308
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 10, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 301
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday January 3, 2016
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 294
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. LISTEN!The 35th National Migration Week of the U.S. Catholic Bishops begins January 3!
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 27, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 287
"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 LISTEN!January 1 is World Peace Day
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 20, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 280
"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 LISTEN!Merry Christmas
First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 13, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 273
Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children and are at risk of death during childbirth. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday December 6, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 266
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 29, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 259
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 22, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 252
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 15, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 245
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 8, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 238
According to 2012 figures most of the children live in sub-Saharan Africa and 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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday November 1, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 231
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 25, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 224
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 18, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 217
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 11, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 210
We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday October 4, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 203
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. Today is Respect Life Sunday! LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 27, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 196
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 20, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 189
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 13, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 182
"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, etal., -- who are in danger of being 'thrown away', expelled from a system that must be efficient at all costs." Pope Francis LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday September 6, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 175
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 30, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 168
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 23, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 161
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 16, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 154
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 9, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 147
"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." Pope Francis LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday August 2, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 140
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 26, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 133
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 19, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 126
Eliminating malnutrition among expectant mothers would reduce disabilities among their infants by almost one third. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 12, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 119
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday July 5, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 112
Let's say yes to life and not to death. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 28, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 105
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 21, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 98
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 14, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 91
90% of babies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome are aborted. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday June 7, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 84
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). LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 31, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 77
Improving women's nutrition during pregnancy can help safeguard their health and ensure that their children get the best possible start in life. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 24, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 70
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 17, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 63
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 10, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 56
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday May 3, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 49
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 26, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 42
It is God who gives life. Let us respect and love human life, especially vulnerable life in a mother's womb. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 19, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 35
"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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 12, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 28
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. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday April 5, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 21
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 LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 29, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy - Day 14
Children who are poorly nourished in the womb or before the age of 2 can suffer serious, often irreversible, physical and cognitive damage. LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative
Sunday March 22, 2015
Where All Are Welcomed and Loved With Mercy (Days 0-7)
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (Jeremiah 1:5) LISTEN!First 1000 Days: A Catholic Culture of Life Initiative