Eve and the serpent: The modern day deception of abortion

  

"God knows well that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil." (Genesis 3:5) This is the classical lie that the serpent used thousands of years ago to deceive the woman in the garden of eden leading up to the fall of man from grace.
   Today as I reflect on the modern state of our society, I see how we are still falling for the same lies from the ol' serpent.  I however wish to concentrate more on the issue of life especially today as we combat the rampant sin of abortion. From the events of the garden of eden, we see that the devil first cast doubt in the woman's mind about the goodness of God and whether truly obeying him was for her good. When the woman entertained these thoughts, the devil finally was able to convince her that by eating the fruit and disobeying God, she would become like god and determine what is right and wrong living on her own terms. Most of us know that the story ends with the woman consenting, leading her husband to sin and both end up falling from grace and separating themselves from God by spiritual death.  Fast forward to 2013. It saddens me to see how the devil has been able to conjure a modern deception that is not too far from the one in the garden.
      Let me explain.  Since 1973, and that is in the United States alone, over 55 million babies have been aborted under the guise of choice. The abortion proponents claim that it is the Woman's choice to kill her unborn baby.  For us Christians at the very least, we know that the gift of life and its taking thereof falls under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign God alone.  However, many today have usurped this role of God and accorded themselves the masters and mistresses of life.  Once more, man in search of autonommy have succeded to fall into the devil's deception.  In our world today, abortion has been engraved as a constituional women's right.  The selfish act of choosing our "hapiness" leads to the death of many unborn children under the protection of law.  Any reasonable person knows that abortion is killing, yet we continue to make all kinds of excuses just like our first parents did in the garden of eden.  Yes the devil is deceiving the modern day Eve by telling her that she will be happy and free if only she aborts, and the modern day Adam is still missing in action or is intimidated to stand up to the lie. But is there hope for man.
    Obviously the story of man did not end with his fall.  God in his goodness sent his only beggoten Son to save man from his sins.  This is the only answer to our ailments today.  If you ask anyone who has ever had an abortion, if they are honest, they would tell you that although they must have felt secure under the lie that it was nothing before the fact, once they went ahead with the abortion they knew it was wrong immediately just like Adama and Eve knew they had done what was wrong immediately after eating the fruit.  It is also true that just like Adam and Eve hid from God in shame, many who have had abortions or are advocates of it continue to hide from God.  However, God continues to call us to come back to Him and if we expose ourselves and seek his forgiveness, He is merciful and will heal us.  This must be the message for us today.  For those who have been deceived,  you should not hide from God, He is ready and willing to forgive you and you must approach him.  We should continually reflect on the fact that God is bigger than all our sins and He can forgive all of our sins, we however must seek the truth.  It fills me with sorrow to see how many even Christians don't see abortion for what it is and try to justify it as a choice.  It is our duty to tell the truth and not stand watching but to pray pray pray that the truth will prevail and then work work and work some more to eradicate the lie that so many of our brothers and sisters have fallen into. 

Prayer
  Oh Lord Jesus, have mercy upon us and bless those who are under the burden of the sin of abortion.  Help them to seek your forgiveness and be reconciled to you.  Also help those who are lukewarm that the fire of charity may enkindle their hearts anew for the protection of all life.  Finally Lord, give light to all those who themselves being deceived continue to deceive others.  Amen
    

Political debates and Ideological divides.

    At the end of a long debate, I had to agree with my friend that "I am tired of this senseless debate."  But what kind would make you so tired? You probably guessed it, it is a political debate. This time around however, I have come to a different conclusion; I should get out of the business of trying to change people's minds and get in the business of changing people's hearts, starting with my own. Why? after having lunch with a friend, we started talking politics and while I like to think he leans more on the liberal side, he probably thinks, I lean more on the conservative side, but every time we get together, it's like we are trying to prove that our perspective sides are more just. The more we talk, the more we accuse each other of being ideological and quite frankly tend to overlook the bad of our side while highlighting the "evil" of the other side. Does this sound familiar in many of our political conversations? You be the judge of that.
   This time around however, I was reminded of a principal that I set in my heart a long time ago; if you convince a man to change his mind against his will, he remains unconvinced and unchanged.  Yet, my conversation was not like that since the friend I was talking to is someone I truly respect and love and even share my faith with. That was probably the reason why I was wondering how he can't see things the way I see them, and what I see as black and white, I think he sees grey and in all fairness, the vice versa. What is it then that causes two men with seemingly similar outlooks have such different conclusions? After reviewing our conversations, I could see a trend. Let me explain.
   Being that we are both Catholic Christians, we tend to agree on the fundamentals like abortion is evil, helping the poor is good, gay marriage is a contradiction of natural law, we should protect our environment....etc. It's however how we allow these truths to affect our decisions in politics that seem to take us on different paths. To be more specific, my friend put it bluntly that he couldn't see himself supporting an evil party whose political agenda seem to be fundamentally against the poor in the light of Catholic social teaching that tells us to always prefer the poor.  Well, I countered with a statement that I couldn't even dream of  supporting a party whose political agenda seems to be hellbent on supporting abortion and homosexual marriage which is fundamentally against not only Catholic social teaching but moral and natural law. I wish we were talking about the same party, but unfortunately, we were talking about our two major political parties. You can tell where our conversation was heading. An hour later, he was still trying to convince me that the party that doesn't support abortion uses the issue as a political game to manipulate voters while doing nothing about it, and I tried to convince him that the political party that supports abortion uses the poor as political pawns to advance an agenda that will run all of us to doom and the fact that the poor could be helped just as much without their claiming exclusive right to do so. At the end of this conversation that continued electronically on email, we were both exhausted and back to where we began and quite frankly, I was wishing there was a political party that would embrace all the right issues and then it would make it so much easier for those who care to make the right choices when electing their leaders. But how could we come to such different conclusions while we share so much truth? Allow me.
     Like a good Psychologist would tell you, listen to people and try to understand where they are coming from. Briefly, I will try to demonstrate how our backgrounds landed us where we found ourselves.  My friend Johny (not real name to conceal identity) has expressed how growing up, his mother being poor received help from the government and went to school which helped her get a job that pays well and could support her family. He has also spent his life being compassionate to the poor and with all honesty, I think he's one of the most compassionate person I  know. From this background, you can tell why he would be so passionate about anything that would seem to go against the poor. I on the other side, I grew up in a third world country where the government could care less about the poor, and from that, I learned that it was my job to care for my less fortunate neighbor since he had no one else to run to. On top of this, I was a victim of a tribal genocide where we were replaced from where I was born by violence and propaganda and we lost property and many lives were taken. This coupled with my first hand experience with a friend who almost killed her baby in an abortion makes me feel very strongly about the issue of life and makes me have such an urgency about protecting the unborn whom I think are the most helpless victims of murder by abortion. To be fair, my friend also feels strongly about the issue of life as I feel about helping the poor. So how then can you reconcile the differences?
   Let me try to give an analogy using the hospital.  In the hospital, there are different departments that deal with different issues and while they are all important, we would be misguided to believe that they all require the same urgency. When someone comes to the emergency room, it is a matter of life and death and requires a quick response. On the other hand, if it's not life threatening, while seeing the doctor is just as important, the urgent response may not be necessary and if a doctor had to choose between the emergency room patient and the other, the choice is clear and it doesn't mean they don't care about the patient who doesn't require emergency care.
     Without further ado, let me therefore make my case. The ailments of our times all require attention, and choosing politicians who can address them requires wisdom. To me however, there are issues that are a matter of life and death and to not attend to them I believe would be a mistake that will prove deadly to all of us. The issues that require emergency care are the ones that the Church call Intrinsic evils like Abortion, Homosexuality, Embryonic stem cells, Euthanasia, Racism etc. This issues if neglected proves fatal physically like in the case of abortion where millions of unborn are killed, or promoting homosexual marriage where spiritual casualties will be rampant. Yes we can't neglect the other issues  like what to do with the poor, or education, or environment...etc since neglecting them would eventually prove fatal like a neglected disease, but while they might be in therapy and we might need to change the form of treatment, we don't need to take them to the emergency room. I am of the opinion that if a doctor doesn't understand an emergency when he sees one and even treats an ailment that needs emergency care as if it wasn't an ailment at all, I would want to fire him if it was up to me. The same goes for those seeking leadership in political fields. Those who don't attend to these issues that need urgent attendance or even try to ignore them and say they are not bad at all should not be given the job of being our leaders.  Maybe this is what I was trying to explain to my friend and whether I failed or succeeded, I won't know.  I however think that I came understanding things a little better and having a different view. While maybe I was trying to say some issues didn't need attendance while those like abortions needed it, I have come to see that all issues need attention, but maybe not in the same urgency and degree of care.     
     During elections where everything may not be as black and white as we wish it to be, and while we strive to make moral choices or seemingly prudent choices, I believe if we apply this method, we will come off if not right, better than not. Hopefully my analogy of the hospital will serve to help you. 
   Let me conclude by saying that it is our duty as people who've been given the privilege to govern ourselves by choosing our leaders to educate ourselves and form our consciences so that we can apply our knowledge and with the help of God hopefully make the choices that are both moral and good. Should we neglect this duty of formation, we will have to face the consequences of other people's whims and desires which history has shown seldom comes to a happy conclusion. My prayer is that The all generous God will give us the wisdom we require to navigate this hard times, and the docility to allow Him to guide us and see us through. I also pray that he may give light to our leaders that they may seek Justice and truth in all that they do and have the courage to do what is morally good and just.

Abortion: Madness or ignorance

Yesterday marked the 39^th anniversary of Roe v Wade, a landmark supreme-court decision that not only legalized abortion on demand but also started a culture war that has become a defining issue of our times.  To think four decades ago, 8 people with the stroke of a pen made a decision that has translated to be a death sentence to 50 million babies being killed in their mother’s womb is something that makes my stomach churn.  Since then, this issue has become something that people find themselves being confronted with either personally or through the fabric of human relationships that we all belong to.  Such was my fate a few years ago when what had seemed a distance issue that some people have to deal with came so close to me that I had to confront it.

  I can remember like it was yesterday one day six years ago when a friend of mine approached me and told me she was pregnant. It shocked me, but not as much as what followed as the conversation continued. Up until this time in my life, the unwed pregnant girls were always someone else’s friend, someone else’s sister but never my friend or my sister.   This however was not the case this time around and what I had deemed “others” problem was so close to me now that I truly didn’t know what to think about it.  The “others” problem was now my problem.  After the initial shock, I pulled myself together and I started using the usual statements I’d heard growing up from my parents and the people I knew when it came to describing pregnancies. I was repeating the usual; “it’s a blessing and I am happy for you,” while at the same time trying to withhold my judgmental attitudes.  I was surprised at how quick I had changed from thinking ‘I can’t believe people get pregnant so recklessly’ to thinking ‘I guess everyone makes mistakes.’  When it came to people I didn’t know, my verdict was reached without any consideration to human weakness, but when it came to my friend, I was less objective.  I still thought it was wrong, but I trended so carefully to maintain my friendship.  But obviously, that was not the whole story and now to go back, what followed next caught me so off guard that was it a punch, it would have knocked me out in one blow.

My friend proceeded to tell me that she had made an appointment for an abortion.  All the problems she was having from betrayal by her boyfriend who was the child’s father to the rejection by her family had brought her to this point.  I really hadn’t contemplated the whole debate about abortion, but without any hesitation I told my friend that that would be the wrong path to take.  I knew in my heart of hearts that it was fundamentally wrong to end a human life even at its earliest developmental stages.  At 19yrs, my simplicity had not been clouded by the culture and my arguments were pretty simple. I simply asked her how old her mum was when she had her, and it turned out that she was 19.  At this point, I proceeded to ask her what if her mum aborted her and since she was also 19yrs I considered my case closed.  Now, this argument doesn’t always work especially when people are in distress and not thinking clearly, but grace from God coupled with proper disposition of heart can get people over the edge. After a long talk of me trying to reassure my friend of the goodness of God and inject some hope in her seemingly hopeless situation, we parted.  I left with an ache in my heart convinced that she would go ahead with her appointment the next day.

               Fast forward six months later and I got a call from her having lost contact since that night.  She went ahead to tell me that she had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl and proceeded to tell me how her family and boyfriend had turned around and that they were back together and even thinking about marriage.  She revealed to me that the night we talked, she was not only about to get an abortion, but that she was also contemplating suicide, and our conversation helped her to decide against both.  I rejoiced in the fact that reason had trumped distress and grace had conquered death and affirmed life; both of the mother and the baby.  This experience gave me a whole new perspective about life and abortion

               The abortion issue is no longer a distance problem that other people can deal with.  It became a personal issue for me since every time I look at my friend’s daughter and think about how close she came to having her life ended before birth, it gives me a new courage to combat this unfortunate evil that we have become accustomed to in our society.   

Now to bring into perspective the question of whether proponents of abortion are subject to madness or are simply ignorant, I dare to propose that it’s both and. With the many arguments used to justify abortion, any logical and reasonable person can see right through them and only come to a conclusion that to be able to attend to such an act, one has to be out of the realm of reason, be extremely ignorant or have a heart that has been so hardened by sin that all light is extinguished from it.  I tend to be of the mind that the latter is where most people fall.  When you look at what brings people to the doors of abortion, you can trace a line of violations to the moral law which we also call sin that have been committed.  Like St. Augustine put it “sin darkens the intellect.”  In this line, their intellects are so darkened that sound reason is deemed mute. 

A good example would be a pregnant mother who has an accident going to the hospital to have an abortion and the baby in her womb is killed. The person who caused the accident can be convicted of man slaughter for the baby’s death while only a few minutes later if the accident didn’t happen, an abortionist and the mother can participate in the killing of the same baby and there are no consequences to their actions. Logic tells you that something is wrong in this case, and the double standard applied here goes to show you the injustice of such a law.  When the idea of choice is brought forward, we can answer with the fact that the baby doesn’t choose to be killed.  To quote Ronald Reagan, “is it not funny that all those who support abortion have all been born?”  The answer is yes.  But now what do we do.

As a society, we should protect these most vulnerable among us without leaving their fate to the unscrupulous minds that would see to their extermination, forgetting that their position was once theirs.  This brings me back to the events that took place on the eve and the 39^th anniversary of Roe v Wade decision, where thousands of people took part in the march for life rally trying to bring about respect for life back to its proper place and hopefully bring about justice.  As individuals, it’s usually simple to remain indifferent to abortion and say that it is no concern of ours, but we do it at the risk of our own detriment since life is the foundation on which stands the fate of humanity and to ignore its violation is like ignoring a crack in a building that grows big enough to bring the whole house crashing upon our head.  This is the immensity of this issue and we should all work together to bring about the only change which will see to its end; that is the change of peoples hearts. May God grant us the courage to do so and have mercy upon us for the sin of abortion and all other sins that violate human dignity.

A Christmas Grace and the age of persecution

 

    Is it just me or does it seem like the Spirit of Christmas is going under if not all together becoming extinguished?  This Christmas more than ever, I seem to notice how much The Savior's birthday has come under attack. Maybe I am not paying attention but the enthusiasm about Christmas of past seems to have been eroded  by a nonsensical political correctness or may I say atheistic bullying that has become rampant. The default "Merry Christmas" phrase has been replaced with "happy holidays," and anybody who dares to differ with the so called "culture" and use the earlier instead of the later is accused of not being inclusive and forcing their religion on others as if religion is a poison that should be avoided at all cost. Should I continue about all the headlines I've been reading about countless cases of people complaining and suing left and right to remove a simple nativity scene from a public park, a courthouse, or even a neighborhood entrance with the claims that they are offended by the Christian message. Or maybe is the parent who sues the school because their child was in a school assembly and someone sang a Christmas song. I can continue but I wish not to share the headache that I get from seeing such hatred being directed to Godly things that if embraced would bring great joy to any person with an open heart.
    The reality is that even 20 centuries later, the prophecy remains true that God "came to his own but his own people accepted him not." (John 1:11) But why so much hatred? If those who do not believe in God are as free as they claim to be, why do they feel the need to persecute and trash those who do. Will not the truly free man enjoy his freedom in security? the fact of the matter is that no one is free apart from God, and should one claim to be free apart from the one who is the Truth, the only freedom they have is that of deceiving themselves. Obviously, without passing any judgment upon those who've acted so, it's their lack of peace in a despairing position that defies God that leads them to act in a manner that wishes to bring everyone down with them to the pits of unbelief and hatred of all that is good. To this, may God help them to know Him and love Him.
       Having concluded so however, my fear is not this type which is already cold, rather its in the interior lukewarmness that we all may be tempted to fall into.  Many Christians have allowed the worldly distractions to settle in their hearts and replace the joyful anticipation of the birth of Christ.  Many have become trepid giving in to the intimidation and the pressures of the world.  Now I must confess that were it not for God's grace, I could have despaired and asked like St. Peter "who could be saved," but the Lord has brought me to an epiphany that has made this Christmas a great grace for me.So what is this?
    This epiphany is a simple phrase that a friend of mine said to me a couple of years ago straight from the book of Zechariah 13:9 "I will test them as gold is tested, they shall call my name and I will hear them." This phrase is a great example of what we are going through. In the recent attacks on Christmas and those of us who desire to celebrate it, the purity of our intention is tested and purified. It's in this crucible of suffering and persecution that God purifies our hearts so that we can accept and love him with a greater purity. Even in a natural sense, it's always simple to love others when things are great between us but when things get difficult, our love is tested and if it's found wanting, we abandon those relationships and deem them unworthy.  This is the same case under the current persecution.  Our hearts are purified so that we can Love God for who He Is, instead of loving him for any other selfish reason.
    I remember like it was yesterday when a couple of years ago I was so afraid of simply making a sign of the cross which is deemed a classic Catholic practice that if I had to say grace in a restaurant, I would near go under the table in fear of others seeing me make the sign of the cross. I now laugh at such timidity ,but eventually God started speaking to my conscious by reminding me of those words by Christ that "those who acknowledge me before others, I will acknowledge them before my Father in heaven and those who deny me before men, I will also deny them before my Father."  In the light of these words and by God's grace, I started realizing that by crossing myself and invoking the Holy Trinity even in public was a way of sharing my faith, and God gave me the courage to do so. The next time I was in the middle of a coliseum with non-Catholics and being the lone person crossing myself.  Now, may it be in public or private, I do it for pure love of God and when eyes turn on me with a look of disapproval, I rejoice in the fact that God has given me the opportunity to die to myself so that I can live for Him.

   Coming back to my Christmas observation, we should also take heart to stand with Christ and joyfully proclaim and celebrate His birth and whether we are accepted or rejected, we should be encouraged by his promise from the beatitudes where he stated that "happy are you when they persecute you for my sake, rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven." Again, we should know that God uses the fire of persecution and suffering to purify us just "like gold is purified through fire." Therefore, we should stand firm and receive our newborn King the very Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ with great anticipation and joy. I  joyfully wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year. May the blessings of Our Lord reign upon our lives now and forever more.