Reflections on what Pro-Life means to me
Catholic Friends,
I would like to use this opportunity to share with you my understanding of Pro-Life. I am a work in progress so I could be very wrong in what I say.
I wanted to do write my thoughts down after observing the heated discussions about the death of the abortionist Dr. George Tiller. However, I've never managed to take time to do so.
Two weeks ago, Catholic Senator Ted Kennedy passed away. Again, there were a lot of heated discussions on different Catholic forums on the Internet.
In the case of Dr. George Tiller, the late-term abortions that he practiced were the horrors that were extremely difficult to believe that human beings could perform. Especially when they were practiced in a so-called civilized society.
In the case of Senator Ted Kennedy, who was a Catholic, his constant pro-death votes were against the teachings of his own faith. He caused scandals and indignations for decades. Through his actions he also enabled the death of a large number of his own fellow United States citizens who simply did not have a chance to apply for their U.S. passports. Yet, those millions of babies were citizens of the United States of America, the land of the right to life ! Yet, Senator Kennedy was granted a Catholic funeral with the presence of Cardinal Sean O'Malley.
Anger
One of the common observation that I had while reading those Catholic forums was the outpouring of frustration, of incomprehension and of anger, and rightly so when we consider the nature of the acts perpetuated by Dr. Tiller and the kind of "laws" voted by Senator Kennedy.
When rightly minded human beings are faced with the horror of abortion, our first reactions will mostly frustration, revolt and anger. If you don't believe me, get yourself some guts and go see some pictures of the horrors of abortion on the Priests For Life web site. The sight and the realization of children being tortured, butchered and killed everyday can easily cause us to be angry, and rightly so. But how do we manage our anger, that is the question. Do we let that anger out of us or do we control it ?
Was I angry against abortions ? Yes, I was very angry. If let my anger going out of control, I could pretty much have reasons to be angry everyday, 24 hours a day.
Have you ever sit down at a religious congress and 10 yards from you was a prominent and dissenting Catholic priest ? 90% of what he said were heresies. He was against most of what the Church taught. Why was he still wearing a Roman collar and why was he allowed to speak at a Catholic congress in the first place ? Have you ever met persons of authority teaching the Catholic faith and playing fast and loose with Catholic doctrines of the faith ? Yet, they were allowed to teach the faith to neophytes. They were like snakes among lambs. I can go on with too many other examples. I had more than enough reasons to be permanently angry, after I came back to the Church. And I was angry for a while. When I spoke to my relatives and friends, I was an angry Catholic Christian. Isn't Jesus supposed to bring me peace instead of this angry life ?
God, being a wonderful Father, reminded me that I too failed and still fail to fully live out my Catholic faith by my own sins. The the Good Father sent me a great friend to help me with prayers. By the grace of the Holy Spirit through prayers, by studying the teachings of the Catholic Church and through reading the the Word of Jesus, I've come little by little to understand something:
If I ask God to stop the horror of abortion, am I willing to trust Him to get the job done ? If I pray to God, I have to completely trust Him. When I trust Him, I am no longer angry, because I know He allows evils to happen. Certainly to teach us something. Am I willing to accept God's timing ? Am I willing to do things in God's way or will I do it my way ? What is God's way ?
Jesus's way
If we read the life and ministry of Jesus, the Christ, we will realize that anger is a tool that Jesus rarely used. On the contrary, Jesus always speaks the Truth to His audience with great love and compassion. The examples are too many to cite them all. However, let us remember a few situations as recorded in the Gospels:
- How did Jesus react when asked about stoning the adulterous woman ? Our Lord had compassion for her.
St John 8:3-11:
And the scribes and the Pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst, And said to him: Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest thou?
And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground. When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground. But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee? Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more
- At the crucifixion, did Jesus have good reasons to be angry against those who persecuted Him ? Yet, what did He say when He was terribly suffering on the cross ? He forgave them.
St Luke 23:33-34:
And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there; and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
- After Our Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead, how did He react against His coward apostles ? He greeted them with Peace.
St John 20:18-21:
Mary Magdalen cometh, and telleth the disciples: I have seen the Lord, and these things he said to me. Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
The Blessed Virgin Mary's way
Picture your only child being tortured to death by some cruel soldiers. That's what Mary, the Mother of Jesus had to endure. Yet the Gospels recorded no manifestation of anger from Mary. Mary didn't try to stop the most evil act in the universe happening right in front of her eyes. She had accepted God the Father's plan.
The Danger of altering God's plan
- What did Jesus tell Peter when the latter attempted to prevent the most evil act in human history ? Jesus rebuked Peter.
St Matthew 16:21-25:
From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men. Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.
- In the garden of Gethsemane, what did Jesus say to Peter when Peter tried to prevent the soldiers from arresting Jesus ? Jesus told Peter not to interfere with the Father's plan.
St John 18:7-11:
Again therefore he asked them: Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go their way. That the word might be fulfilled which he said: Of them whom thou hast given me, I have not lost any one. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
Am I suggesting that we should remain cowardly silent and do nothing against the evil of abortion ?
Far from it. The question is not about whether or not to be active. We ALL need to be active against evil acts against the unborn children. There isn't a single doubt about that.
The question is about HOW each of us can be active.
In my humble opinion, the first thing to do as pro-lifers is to have the humility to recognize that we are not Fr. Frank Pavone. We are not Fr. John Corapi ... we can't speak out like they do. Priests like them are entrusted with special missions, and they are trained for those missions. However, we are not told to be silent either. We should speak out against evil, but we should NOT impute guilt on sinners, like Fr. John Corapi once said. The next thing is to ask God how we could become His good instrument. Most of the times, being a good instrument of God would simply consist of being charitable and praying for people who are directly involved in abortions. Why being charitable to the abortionists and to mothers who had or who are having an abortion ?
If you have talked to women who suffered the consequences of their abortions, the answers would be very obvious. Many times when they see Christians, they likely see angry Christians. Most non-Christians can only see Jesus's face through the faces of His followers. Do we want to display angry faces to them ? Our anger can drive them away from Christ. How dangerous and sinful is that ? The last thing I think is important is to trust and obey our trustworthy leaders. Let's take a fresh example to illustrate this point. Cardinal Sean O'Malley was present at Senator Kennedy's funeral. This has sparked many accusations from Catholics and even high-profile Catholics. Cardinal Sean O'Malley was not a foolish man, he knew what he was doing. If he was at the funeral, he must have had good reasons to be there. Do we claim to know everything that the Cardinal knows about the death circumstances of the senator ? We would be foolish to think so. I have high respect for the Cardinal, trust him and will obey him. For folks who know their Catholic faith well, didn't Jesus give the authority to His apostles and their successors to bind and loose sins (St John 20:21-23) ? Did Senator Ted Kennedy ask God for forgiveness for his failures in defending the unborn ? If he did, shouldn't we rejoice ? Now, some folks in many Catholic forums said that Kennedy's sin was public, repentance should be public. I agree. However, this man was on his death bed and probably suffering. Should he have called the media with TV cameras and microphones in his death bed to make a public statement before he offered his last breath ?
There is so much that we don't know, yet there were many of us who were so quick to condemn Ted Kennedy. There's a real danger for being to quick to condemn as Cardinal Sean O'Malley puts it:
"At times, even in the Church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to one another. These attitudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the Church. If any cause is motivated by judgment, anger or vindictiveness, it will be doomed to marginalization and failure. Jesus’ words to us were that we must love one another as He loves us. Jesus loves us while we are still in sin. He loves each of us first, and He loves us to the end. Our ability to change people’s hearts and help them to grasp the dignity of each and every life, from the first moment of conception to the last moment of natural death, is directly related to our ability to increase love and unity in the Church, for our proclamation of the Truth is hindered when we are divided and fighting with each other."
I personally leave that task to "bind and loose" to the Holy Father, Cardinals, Bishops and Priests. Even though I often fail to love, I tried my best to love the unlovable as Christ commanded me to love my ennemies and to pray for them. If we love them, then how can we be angry ? If we are angry then are we failing to love ? Do we pray for and desire Dr. George Tiller and Senator Ted Kennedy to be in heaven ? Or do we wish them in hell ? I know one thing for sure: Our Lord Jesus desires these two men in heaven with Him. Our Lord Jesus gave His life for those two men. Ask me if I desire them in heaven ? ABSOLUTELY YES ! If we love the way Jesus loves, we would pray intensively for the souls of Dr. George Tiller and Senator Ted Kennedy. We must love them and must desire heaven for them. That's how I understand
"Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you" (St Matthew 5:44). And that's what ProLife means to me. Every life is precious, and ultimately even the lives of abortionist doctors and pro-death politicians are precious in the eyes of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
God's blessings to you,
S. Thoi.
September 6th, 2009
www.happycatholic.org
All Biblical texts were quoted from the Douay-Rheims Bible.