"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"
January 22nd marks the anniversary of the very misguided Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade, allowing the free legal choice of abortion throughout this Country. We know how controversial and emotional an issue this has become. How can we in America be against free choice? Our country is founded on freedom and freedom means to us that I can choose to go where I want, do what I want, speak how I want, assemble where I want, live where I want, and worship God in the manner I chose. As long as I obey the law of the land and cause no danger to others it seems many feel that I should have the ability to choose freely. That all is applied of course to the choice whether to bring an unborn child into the world or not.
While the Church always supports responsible parenthood for any married couple, to be open to the transmission of new life in marriage is not only a good suggestion but a requirement of all marriages in order to cooperate with one of it's fundamental purposes. Of course that might be lived out not by, as one person crassly stated, "breeding like rabbits" but rather in taking stock of the situation. Every married couple should decide what is the responsible thing to do not only for the children born of the marriage but also for any future children to come. That is not an easy choice at times. But God shares his creative power with us as human beings and no sacred gift as that comes in a way that grants unrestricted freedom.
To chose life is the ultimate choice. A child in the womb is absolutely defenseless as is the infant after birth. They need protection both of adults and the law of the land. If we as Americans speak of defending the natural rights of all peoples, then the right to life is the greatest right we have. It is not a choice given to anyone to end the life of any unborn child. This is not just about abortion but more about welcoming into the world every child; loving and nurturing them into life.
It is about making available to pregnant woman all the assistance necessary to care for that child should she be in need. The right of that child to be born and to live is a greater right than the freedom to end it. I do not have the freedom to choose to eliminate any human being simply because they are inconvenient for me. There are alternative choices that protect both the mother and the unborn child. Continued care after the birth is necessary and available.
So, today we pray for all unborn children, that the law of the land will be rewritten to protect the unborn child from destruction, that all pregnant woman will have the support needed to bring that child into the world. We pray for all families who may be struggling with any challenges brought to them. For all parents who have the responsibility to bring life into the world.
There are many organizations doing concrete things to make all this possible. If we protect the child, then we protect ourselves and our future. For all the millions of children who have been destroyed through legal abortion we seek God's mercy that he may guide us to create alternatives to this terrible choice. For the women who suffer due to an abortion and for the power to heal their conscience, their emotions and to grant them the endless mercy of the God of life.
God our Creator,
we give thanks to you,
who alone have the power to impart the breath of life
as you form each of us in our mother's womb;
grant, we pray,
that we whom you have made stewards of creation,
may remain faithful to this sacred trust
and constant in safeguarding the dignity
of every human life.
(Collect for Mass)
No comments:
Post a Comment