On Praying for Life

The sanctity of life issue has risen to the forefront of the American polity.  

The Supreme Court is deciding a religious liberty case on whether the Little Sisters of the Poor should be forced to violate their consciences by passive compliance with the Obamacare Contraception Mandate.  

Republican Presidential front runner Donald Trump took myriad alleged pro life positions, including the modest proposal of legally punishing aborting mothers. Then Trump lapsed into allowing the status quo. However, in a Today Show Townhall, Trump vowed to change the GOP pro life platform to allow exceptions which Planned Parenthood would endorse.  

Congress continues to investigate how Planned Parenthood was selling baby body parts and altering abortion procedures to maximize the harvest. But these hearings received scant coverage in the Lamestream Media.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards took an aggressive advocacy position for Democrat Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton who has emphasized Abortion on Demand.  Moreover, Cecile Richards managed to hold a Pro-Choice rally at Georgetown University, a Jesuit purportedly Catholic college.

With all this in mind, Father Frank Pavone and the Priests for Life are engaged in a campaign of prayer and fasting to end abortion in the United States along with the evils perpetrated by Planned Parenthood. 

Father, you have created us in body and soul
To honor you and our neighbor
And to receive honor and respect in return.

Our bodies are sacred.
They reflect you, our Creator.
And we hold sacred
The bodies of all the children in the womb.

Lord, we are saddened
That these children are being killed,
And saddened again
That their body parts are being harvested and sold.

Have mercy on our nation.
Have mercy on those who are perpetrating these evils.
As more and more people become aware of this,
Turn their hearts towards you,
The Fountain of life and love.

Give consolation to all who have had abortions,
And give wisdom to our public officials
That they may respond adequately
To the corruption found in the abortion industry.

Grant that we,
The People of Life and the People of Mercy,
May recommit ourselves to building a nation
Without abortion and without the many evils that flow from it.

May we choose life;
May we choose mercy;
May we choose your Kingdom!
Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Some may wonder, why pray to end abortion, especially as the Lord's Prayer includes the intention "Thy will be done".


 
Perhaps the point is that is is our invitation to participate in building the Kingdom of God even through the power of prayer.  Such sentiments echo Pope St. John Paul II's exhortation in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life, 1995).

The Synod on the family - praying for a pastoral approach

The Synod on the Family this Autumn had cause a great deal of discussion and comment by Catholics and even non-Catholic Christians. 

The Church has never accepted that a valid, canonical marriage may ever be dissolved in obedience to Our Blessed Lord's teaching when he was on earth. 

A number of people are talking about pastoral approaches - and of course the church must always treat everyone with kindness - but Truth can never be sacrificed. 

The destruction of a true marriage through divorce is a tragedy. Children's lives are destroyed and this impacts them for the rest of their lives. I have spoken to thousands of people and am amazed at how many point to their parent's divorce as the lowest point in their lives.  

It is ironic that some Protestant leaders have written to the Pope asking him to reaffirm marriage and not to water down teachings whilst some Catholics seek to undermine what both Scrupture and Tradition teach us. 

A false pastoral approach is to say that marriage doesn't really matter. Evil is often couched in the language of compassion. Hitler's euthanisa scheme was described as a "mercy death" but innocents were murdered. Abortion is described as a right to chose but babies are destroyed - denying them a lifetime of choice. Same sex marriage is described as equality - but what thought for children growing up without a mother and a father?

I hope and pray that the Synod on the Family will act in a truly pastoral manner - reaffirming  that marriage cannot be dissolved and ensuring that those who have sought to undermine this sacrament be removed from all positions of influence in the church. 

Holy Innocents and the Herods of today

“A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children…” (Matthew 2:18). 

Today's Feast of the Holy Innocents, illustrated here by Giotto, lies in stark contrast to Christmas Day.  The joy of celebrating the birth of our saviour is punctuated by several reminders of the consequences of following Christ. 

Saints Stephen and Thomas a Becket on the second and fifth days of Christmas remind us that to follow Him means giving witness, even, if called to do so by shedding of blood.  The Holy Innocents are revered as martyrs even though, unlike Saints Stephen and Thomas they were not old enough to know or assent to Christ. 

It seems a mystery how children murdered by King Herod before the age of reason can be martyrs but I trust in the Church's tradition and wisdom. It is a reminder that those whom suffer for Christ or His Church do give witness to Him in a powerful way. 

There is an irony that King Herod's actions in destroying these young lives in his thirst for power is mirrored so much today by those who out of a desire for popularly or power refuse to speak out for the unborn child. 

It occurs to me that the Herods of today are the politicians - and those who vote for them - who refuse to defend life - and those laypeople, religious, priests and nuns who chose not to take a stand for life. 

What can an individual do to save innocent life today? We can pray, we can investigate the policies of charities and politicians before supporting them and we can give generously to organisations such as the Good Counsel Network who do so much to support pregnant women in difficulty. 

May the Holy Innocents pray for all innocent children, born or unborn, who are facing danger or death and may the hearts and minds of today's Herods be converted to Christ.