The Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children has fresh poignancy in Missouri following the passing of Amendment 3
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” We hear these words from Jesus in the Gospel for Wednesday, Jan. 22 — the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.
That day has a fresh poignancy for us in Missouri this year since we have declared, by passing Amendment 3, that the “right” to destroy life at its most vulnerable stage — in the womb — is part of what constitutes our identity as a state.
This actually echoes a shift in ancient Israel’s experience. In Exodus 1, we read that Pharaoh was killing the children of Israel. But in Psalm 106, we read that the Israelites — at a later point in their history, when they were free from Pharaoh — were killing their own children!
In one way, our decision is hardly surprising. On multiple levels, we, as a society, have grown comfortable destroying life. But what I want to say and need to say is this: that has consequences for all of us! As St. John Paul II once said: There is “a communion of sin, whereby a soul that lowers itself through sin drags down with itself the Church and, in some way, the whole world … there is no sin, not even the most intimate and secret one, the most strictly individual one, that exclusively concerns the person committing it. With greater or lesser violence, with greater or lesser harm, every sin has repercussions on the entire ecclesial body and the whole human family” (“Reconciliation and Penance,” #16).
What will we do with this weight of sin, which has once more come upon us in the state of Missouri by our own choosing?
First, we have to realize the other part of what Psalm 106 says: God intervened in the history of ancient Israel to rescue them from their own sins. And it’s helpful to realize the other part of what St. John Paul II said: There is also a communion of saints, whereby “every soul that rises above itself raises up the world.”
The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus entered into the sinful world by His incarnation and offered Himself to turn the world around. We, too, can enter into the sinful world and help to turn it around by offering our prayer, our sacrifices, our witness and our support for alternatives to abortion.
Why should we have hope that things can change? Here are three good reasons.
One, because this week we celebrate the feast of the conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25). This shows us that even the most severe enemy of the Gospel can be converted.
Two, because Missouri knows the history of the Dred Scott case. This shows us that laws that are dreadfully mistaken can be overturned and all of society can come to see that it has made a grave mistake in trampling the dignity of some people.
Third, because it’s a natural law that moms want to keep their babies! If we offer them support when they feel vulnerable, then we have a good chance that their natural protective instincts will take over and they will choose life.
Every human being deserves natural life. But we’ve always had to work to protect it for each other, especially the most vulnerable. Our opposition to abortion — even if a right to abortion is written into our state constitution — is a stumbling block to unbelievers. But, like St. Paul, let’s proclaim the Gospel of Life.
