BUILDING A PRO-LIFE CULTURE
Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
My dear encountered couples:
“Is it lawful … to save life rather than to destroy it?” Mark 3: 4.
Today is the 47th anniversary of the U. S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The horror of a single human life being deliberately taking is compounded by the sanction of such an act by the government and so many of its politicians (many of whom assert that they are Catholics). The bishops of our nation have asked all Catholics to fast and do extra penance today as a small reparation for the millions of abortions committed in our country, and for the legal approval of these actions.
Those who oppose the Church’s teachings try to discourage her members by suggesting that after forty-seven years, the decision of Roe v. Wade will never be overturned. They argue that pro-life Christians just need to “get with it”. In response, we could point to the immense crowds (of mostly young people) who crowd our nation’s capital each winter to protest peacefully against abortion and the laws that support it.
While Christians can and ought to build a pro-life culture through many avenues, and not only through changes in law, it remains the case that as Christians and as Americans, “in God we trust”. We should not our trust in our selves, our efforts, or our politicians. God expects us to make needed changes in our world, but we can only do so through His truth and grace.
As we pray for the legal protection of human life, let our merciful love that embraces the poor, criminals, enemies, strangers, and the unborn proves more potent than any fortress or shield. Persons matter in ways that cannot be measured. With persons we are present to what is holy from the start.
