Nov

6

Pro-Life and the Parable of the Lost Sheep

November 6, 2008 |

Since about 11:00 on election night, I’ve been trying to figure out what to write in light of the election.  There is just so much to take from this most historic of times.

And I guess that my thoughts keep coming back to the state of the pro-life cause.

Let’s face facts, pro-life measures failed in five states (I’m counting the abortion related measures in CA, CO and SD; the stem cell measure in MI; and the killing the elderly measure in WA).  The majority of Catholics rejected the moral teachings of the Church in choosing their candidates; including 45% of those who sit in the pews every week.  These teachings weren’t just on some side issues; they were on issues of life and death.  Issues deciding whether we will continue to impose our secular will on a decision God has asked for us to leave to him.

So, it just wasn’t a good day for folks living on both ends of the life spectrum (the unborn and the elderly).  And I’ve been trying to figure out where we go from here.

And then I came across today’s gospel and it gave me a thought.  In Luke 15, Jesus is preaching the parable of the Lost Sheep.  The well-known point of the parable is to relay the message that even if we sin and become lost, Jesus is looking for us; and when he finds us, there will be great rejoicing in heaven.

Maybe, that’s the lesson we need to take from this election.

For the foreseeable future, we are not going to be able to protect the unborn and the elderly through proactive legislation and regulation on the federal level.  We will be hard-pressed to do so in many states.  We are on the defensive on the governmental front.

So, like Christ, we find ourselves having to go after the lost sheep; one by one.

We educate, educate, educate - mothers, teenagers, single women and men, parents, our family and friends.

We ask these questions -

1. What does an unborn baby look like in the womb?  As Cardinal Egan pointed out last week, an unborn baby looks like a little baby very early on.   Let’s not be afraid to make this point; visually if necessary.  We are talking about a person, a child; let’s not permit them to be called anything less than human.  It is not the “termination of a pregnancy” or the exercise of one’s “reproductive rights.”  The unborn children are not “fetuses” or “tissue.”  Let us not back down from the fact that our society is killing unborn children.

2. Why is the billion dollar, mega-abortion industry so unregulated?  Garbage collectors are under more regulatory scrutiny than abortionists.  Let’s talk about this as an issue and be concerned with the health and safety of the women who walk into these clinics and allow abortionists to do the most invasive of procedures.  Ask people the question, would they seek out a dentist that was unregulated?

3. Why do minors have to get consent (or at least notify) their parents or guardians on every other medical procedure but not an abortion?  Let’s raise the question with our peers; and get parents to be concerned enough to be paying attention to their daughters and asking the right questions.

4. What help is available for mothers during pregnancy and what adoption alternatives are available after birth?  Let’s be ready with this information on a moment’s notice.

5. How do we ensure that babies born to the economically disadvantaged are able to escape a life of poverty and that their mothers can as well?  Let’s be ready with this information and point them in the right direction.

6. Why are abortions seemingly marketed primarily to two particular demographics - the poor (white and black) and teenagers?  We need to educate these mothers and let them know that their life circumstances do not necessitate them killing their children.

These questions are not geared toward convincing folks that some piece of legislation is needed.  No, these questions are intended to persuade people that abortion is wrong on a deeply societal basis and to help mothers make the right choice; to choose life.   They are geared at getting all of society to protect unborn children and to truly care about the mother of these children.  They are not a demographic, they are not a market segment, they are not a feminist cause.  Both the mother and child are children of God.

While it would be easier to have the protection of the law, our efforts to save unborn children and protect their mothers do not really need to be aided by law, because the law doesn’t require anyone to actually get an abortion (at least, not yet).

So, if we can’t get the protection of the law, we can still convince mothers to choose life, one baby at a time.  We do not necessarily need legal protections if we can find these lost sheep, one-by-one.

And then there is prayer.  Every single day, let’s pray that the Holy Trinity enters the hearts of mothers, abortionists, and abortion promoters so that they can make the right choices; the right choices not only for the unborn babies they are threatening; not only for the soul of our nation; but also for the quality of their own eternal lives.

And let us pray to Mary, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, to protect these unborn children and see them safely into the light of this world.

One sheep at a time; that’s how we rid our beloved nation of this most horrid of evils.  And as most bishops seem to have found their public voice on this issue, it appears we will have our shepherds to lead us forth in the search.


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