This is an excerpt from a homily given at the annual pro-life Mass in December at Holy Rosary Cathedral.
When we look at today’s Gospel, we see when Jesus was still an infant, the dark shadow of death entered into the life of the Holy Family as a result of Herod’s cruel plan on murdering the children of Bethlehem.
Herod wanted at all costs to stay in control; he just did “what he had to do” to maintain his power. He was a man afraid, fearful. And he acted in such a way that he disregarded the cost to others of his decisions. The harm done to them didn’t seem to matter.
We know only too well Holy Innocents continue to be killed in our world through abortion. And here too, it is often fear that drives the killing.
How can we afford the baby? What changes will this baby bring that I cannot take? Perhaps the prenatal tests show a possible defect. I cannot deal with this! How will this pregnancy affect my career? What if my father finds out I got my girlfriend pregnant?
And society joins the chorus: What of poverty? What of overpopulation? What of deformity?
Thus fear drives the current bloodshed of the Innocents. Fear makes us focus on our self, such that we think too little of what we do to others. Abortion thus becomes an “abstraction,” an “issue” that is debated, a “choice.”
Abortion, to many, is anything but real. The reality of fetal pain is out of sight and thus less real than the fear. Fear desensitizes us, and thus makes the killing of the innocent plausible, a woman’s “choice,” reproductive “freedom.”
Our response to this mentality must be a decisive and unreserved “yes” to life – as we say in our Prayer for Reverence for Life.
I have four suggestions on how to do this.
Stir up awe
The mystery of creation is renewed with each birth. The Psalmist says: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13). Every child growing within the mother’s womb is part of the eternal loving plan of God the Father: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5). See that each child has a place in God’s heart from all eternity; once he or she is conceived, the Creator’s eternal dream comes true.
We must help
If a child comes into this world in unwanted circumstances, the parents and other members of the family – and the extended family of the parish and other bodies – must do everything possible to accept that child as a gift from God and assume the responsibility of accepting him or her with openness and affection. For when speaking of children who come into the world, no sacrifice made by adults will be considered too costly or too great, if it means the child never has to feel that he or she is mistake, or worthless, or abandoned.
Honour Children
We foster a culture of life by supporting families of persons with special needs, where the unexpected challenge of dealing with a disability can upset a family’s equilibrium, desires and expectations. Families who lovingly accept the difficult trial of a child with special needs are greatly to be admired. They render the Church and society an invaluable witness of faithfulness to the gift of life. In these situations, the family can discover, when supported by the Christian community, a different way of welcoming and caring for the mystery of the frailty of human life.
People with disabilities are a gift for the family – and for all of us – and an opportunity to grow in love, mutual aid and unity. Let’s promote care and services on behalf of these disadvantaged persons and encourage people to draw near to them and provide affection at every stage of their life.”
Adoption
Adoption is a very generous way for the community to respond to an unexpected pregnancy of one of its members. Adopting a child is a genuine act of love, offering the gift of a family to someone who has none.
We should insist that legislation help facilitate the adoption process, in order to prevent their abortion or abandonment. Those who accept the challenge of adopting and accepting someone unconditionally and gratuitously become channels of God’s love.
The choice of adoption and foster care, correctly understood, make people aware that children, whether natural, adoptive, or taken in foster care, are persons in their own right who need to be accepted, loved and cared for, and not just brought into this world.
The best interests of the child should always underlie any decision in adoption and foster care.
We need – the Church needs, society needs – evangelists, heralds, of life, people willing to confront a culture that has trivialized the gift of life with alternatives. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space – the womb – has become a place of unutterable violence?”
Ours is an enormous task, one fraught with difficulties and setbacks, and yet we dare not lose hope. The Holy Innocents slaughtered in our day should not occasion despair in us. We are part of a struggle that goes back to the murder of Cain – but we also have the palm of victory in our hands.
