Help Them, Father
Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands,
a copy of the true one, but heaven itself,
that he might now appear before God on our behalf. (Heb 9:24)
Today is a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. There is good reason for such a day. Since the legalization of abortion in our country with the Roe v. Wade decision, there have been over sixty-three million abortions. Let that number sink in. Sixty-three million. That is just in our country alone.
In the reading from Hebrews, we hear that Christ entered heaven so that he might appear before God on our behalf. I can only imagine Jesus hanging his head is complete sadness as He stands before His Father on our behalf and saying, “Help them, Father. Please. Help them.”
Saint Mother Teresa has said, “But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child — a direct killing of the innocent child — murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love — that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”
Saint John Paul II used to talk about how we lived in a culture of death rather than a culture of life. In a culture of death, we look to violence against others and the death of others to “solve” our problems. However, violence and death merely beget more violence and more death. Cultivating a culture of death is not a solution, it is a road map to the destruction of humanity. It is only when we cultivate a culture of life that we can put ourselves back on the path that leads to the Kingdom of God.
Too many people stop short, however, in decrying abortion. All they want to see is the end of the act. We need to look at the reason for the act. Many times, women go for abortions because they see it as their only viable option. We need to pray, at the very least, and support groups and actions that will provide education, financial assistance, and emotional support to mothers-to-be.
FAITH ACTION: Pray this day for the legal protection of the unborn.