Let's all join together this week (and beyond) and pray for the baby seals who are being relentlessly killed on ice floes near the east coast of Canada, and for their anguished mothers as well. According to PETA, the U.S. and the E.U. "have both banned the import of seal products, and in December, Russia became one of the latest nations to do so following thousands of letters..." PETA also noted that, in spite of the fact that the industry is collapsing and in spite of the worldwide outcry over the senseless massacre, the Canadian government is considering storing the pelts hoping to find a future market for them.

In addition to the seals themselves, let us all hold in our prayers the perpetrators of this violence. Any person who engages in such horrific killing, especially of helpless babies, is scarred and traumatized by the horror of what they have done. They are most likely not consciously aware of their inner trauma, but it is there. Their hearts have had to grow as cold as the ice on which they kill, and that is a source of immense inner turmoil and suffering. And with such icy hearts they cannot see the astonishing beauty and wonder of these precious babies. Instead of opening their hearts, they are killing their own souls.

If you wish to also sign a petition to stop the hunt, you can go to the Humane Society of the U.S. website at www.humanesociety.org/issues/seal_hunt/

May all seal babies be safe from human greed and violence. May all seal mothers find safe havens for their babies where they can love and nurture them. May all our hearts be joined in Divine Compassion for all beings everywhere.