Fr. Jim Whalen's last talk
given at a Pro-Life Lenten Mission at Holy
Rosary Parish Thorold, Ontario
February 23-24. 2008
Jesus creates a crisis in His public ministry, a moment of truth, a moment of decision, to an anonymous Samaritan woman. She has to decide to say "yes" or "no" to Jesus and to what He offers her. She has to decide to reject or accept the offer of living water - the truth. If she rejects the living water and continues with well water, her life will not change. She will continue in her old ways of changing husbands and lovers every so often, running, hiding, and paying lip service to her faith. If she accepts the living water, she will be a changed woman, a new woman, a born again woman, and a new creation. She must decide to reject or accept the truth.
The ministry of Jesus continues today in our world. The woman at the well is the woman seeking lethal services at the local abortion clinic. She is running from a mistake, an error, a sin. She is running from a future with a child, trying to escape from a troublesome relationship, abandoned by her husband or a current lover. This is the woman at the well today, a woman in need of the truth, a woman in need of the Church, a woman in need of you and me. She has been misled or misinformed about the truth of abortion. Jesus wants us to be there for the woman at the well today, offering her support, offering her the truth, and helping her to decide to save, not to take the life, of the little one within her as well as her own immortal soul.
Jesus is single-minded. The woman needed to become singleminded. We need to become singleminded when it comes to the proclamation of truth. The absence of God and truth in her life had been watered down, compromised, and subjected to the world, in man the creature who blatantly rejects the plans of his Creator, our God. We all need to be reminded of the truth. Pope John Paul II directs us to the Scriptures: "We must refuse any compromise or ambiguity which might conform us to the world's way of thinking: 'Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind so that you may judge what is God's will, what is good, pleasing, and perfect'" (Rom 12:2).
A pastor thought he would get the message of truth across to his parishioners so he asked them to prepare for the following week 5' service by reading Mark 17. The following week the pastor asked those who had done their homework to raise their hands. Many did. In response, the pastor told them that there was no Mark 17. The lesson of truth had been taught.
We must be clear on this point: "Lying opposes truth just as light opposes darkness, as piety opposes impiety, as justice opposes iniquity, as goodness opposes sin, as health opposes sickness, and life opposes death" (Against Lying, a Doctrinal Treatise of St. Augustine's translation by Rev. C.L. Cornish, M.A.). "It is a matter of telling the whole truth, love truth in itself, and for itself' (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to Devout Life, Part III, #30). Truth, light, and sincerity are unambiguous. We will never defeat the Culture of Death by avoiding key issues such as contraception. We will never build a Culture of Life by teaching only part of the truth and avoiding difficult issues for fear of offending others. We should fear rather that by not speaking the truth we are offending truth: Jesus Himself. Responsible parenthood is a truthful way; a must for Catholics. Natural Family Planning is not another method of contraception as some would have you believe. It is a method of fertility awareness, responsible parenthood. It does not attack fertility; it does not withhold the gift of oneself from ones spouse; it does not block the procreative nature of the conjugal act. To leave this matter to individual consciences that have not been informed by the teaching magisterium of the Catholic Church or objective truth of God's will is to evade one's responsibility. Life cannot be treated as a product as in the case of procreative techniques that turn embryos into objects and at the same time violate human dignity. This would be completely against one's conscience.
Conscience is more than personal preference or replacing truth by progress. A man of conscience is one who never acquires tolerance, well being, success, public standing, and approval on the part of prevailing opinion, at the expense of truth. It requires searching out, understanding, and striving to conform to Catholic Church teaching, objective morality, and truth. The great duty of the Church today is to proclaim the truth to the world. It is Christ Himself who is the Incarnate Truth. His life and teachings are resplendent of that truth.
A critical area of concern to prolifers that needs to be reviewed is the importance of evangelization in our overall strategy. "The Gospel is meant to permeate all cultures and give them life from within so that they may express the full truth about the human person and about human life ... We are called to serve life in all its truth (E. V. #95). "Before the world, united action in society on the part of Christians has the clear value of a joint witness in the name of the Lord ... It is also a form of proclamation, since it reveals the face of Christ" (Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint, #75, p. 85). The reality we face today is that pro-life organizations that began as an attempt to reach out and involve people of other faiths in their effort to defend life, held back from promoting the whole truth for fear of offending individuals or fear of losing or limiting membership. The fact is that doctrinal disagreements place a limit on cooperation.
In this Lenten Season it is important to make a reality check. What is truth? What are we up against? Is this cultural death? Looking at world poverty we find according to World Bank statistics that 840 million suffer from hunger in the world today - 200 million are children and over 30 thousand children die each day from hunger. Twenty percent of the world's population consumes eighty-six percent of all its goods. 1.3 million people live on less than $1.00 a day. There has been an increase of over 200% of families living in poverty in the U.S. between 1960 and 1990. Pope John Paul II on October 17,2002, commenting on world hunger, reminds us "Freeing people from hunger is an expression of the right to life and respect for human dignity".
When we witness to abortion, we witness to crime becoming a right 55 million abortions a year take place in the world, over 3.5 million were killed in Canada in the past 35 years, over one thousand teenagers every day have abortions in America. One out of every four unbom children are murdered. There are over 300 abortions each day in Canada with one-fourth of these performed on teenagers (Statistics Canada, 1990). Every 20 seconds, somewhere in the world, one of our brothers or sisters is being killed. This makes abortion a new tragedy every minute of every hour of every day.
Over 60 million people in the world use birth control pills. Over 40% of couples in the world use contraception or sterilization every year: 340 million out of 880 million. Ninety percent of sexually active couples practice contraception. The divorce rate in the U.S. went up 260% between 1960 and 1975 (over 50% of marriages). Over 40 million people in the world were affected by the AIDS virus between 1990 and 1997. Over 880 million have no access to health services. There are over 250 million chemical abortions in the world each year. In Canada there are over 300 surgical abOliions each and every day.
The statistics for family decline is overwhelming: increased rate of unmarried women giving birth is up by 310% since 1950; rise of 337% of unmarried teenagers living together; the number of unmarried couple households in 1992 in the U.S. was 3.3 million (Saluter, 1992). Ninety-nine percent of homeless children come from fatherless families (McChesney, 1995). Pope Paul VI's encyclical called Humanae Vitae wamed about these possible consequences.
Among the great crisis the Church faces today is that of morals. The truth of the human person is obscured, and so the family disintegrates; the order of creation is twisted; freedom is abused; and life is not respected. Society has gone morally bankrupt. This is evident in child abuse: mothers killing children; children killing children; teen suicides have tripled; violence has increased by 500% in the last three decades; television is dominated by extramarital sex acts; scientists experiment with embryos, genetic engineering, .stem cells, and establishing exclusive criterion outside ethical principles: playing God; there has been an upsurge in the occult and new age living; pornography is rampant; loopholes in Canadian laws have put Canadian children at risk (the age of consent for sexual activity is presently set at' 14 years) and "artistic merit" claims taking pictures of these activities is OK.; legal recognition of de facto unions in various versions and stages and unnatural unions are common; increased divorces; and loss of respect for women. Dr. Henry Morgentaler claims an income of $17 million a year from abortions.
If we look around us what do we see? If we go to the establishment of the mighty we observe the prostration of the many oppressed before the wealthy few. There is control over life and death. Planned Parenthood Federation profits $20.9 million from abortion clinics and $45 million from birth control pills. When we look at the Cross of Christ, what do we see? If we look at the political world we see nations jealous of nations, trade rivaling trade, and armies and fleets matched against each other. We see the striving of the ambitious, the intrigues of the crafty, the laws or lack of laws that allow the killing of the unborn, and in some cases the euthanizing of the helpless and vulnerable. What is the end of all this turmoil and travesty? The grave! What is the result of all this? The answer is clear: The Cross is the final measure. When we look at the world of science and intellect we see the countless discoveries, the variety of arts, and the power and confidence in reason. What are the consequences when man goes too far, when he tries to prevent conception by contraceptive means and devices, experiments with human embryos, seeks even to clone mankind The Cross is the ultimate measure.
When we look at the misery of mankind; the destitution of the homeless; the oppression of the unborn child, branded as non-human; the handicapped as well as the elderly, considered by many as useless and as burdens, what do we think? When we consider the pain and suffering of the chronically ill, how do we rate their value? The Cross is the final measure. It is in the Cross that all things meet; all things subserve it; all things need it. It is here all things are interpreted. It is here Jesus Christ was lifted upon it that He might draw all human life and all things unto Him. The doctrine of the Cross reminds us of the price paid for our souls. The doctrine of the Cross challenges us to change, to convert, to be transformed by Christ's word, Christ's example, and Christ's life. It is a living principle, when received into the faithful heart. In the same way as the heart is the principle of motion, heat, and activity, the sacred doctrine of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross is the vital principle on which the Christian lives. It presupposes belief in Christ's divinity and humanity and His true incarnation. It prepares us for the lifegift of His redeeming Body and Blood in the Eucharist. This doctrine of atonement is to be lived not just talked about. In this Lenten mission this Cross leads us to repentance, prayer, and fasting. It is a promise of what is to come.
A Missionary on one of his preaching missions told the congregation that it s . important to offer up our crosses because they have real value and merit. He asked all men in the congregation to stand and hold up all their crosses for everyone to see. One man held up his wife and said, "Take her Lord. See if you can do a better job than I did. She s all Yours ".
The true Christian is one who never forgets the truth. Christ is lifted on the Cross to draw all to Him. We can only truly enjoy the world if we have first abstained from it. We can only truly feast if we have first fasted. We can use the world wisely if we have learned not to abuse it. We can inherit it when we have learned how to relinquish it and how to be generous.
No one said it was easy to be a Christian. Our first conversions are very significant but the later conversions are even more important and more demanding. It is one thing to be pro-life but another to be pro-life active. It is expected that we as Catholics believe in the pro-life teachings of the Church. It is another to stand up for our faith and oppose contraceptives and promote Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae. To get anywhere in pro-life requires growing in Christian life. Some say I have done enough. Ask yourself the question:
Have I resisted evil to the point of going to prison for my littlest neighbour in the womb? Am I generous in pro-life support and service? Whereas conversion is the task of a moment, sanctification is the work of a life-time. If we want to be converted we must ask the Lord to let us know Him and ourselves better. The important thing is to always be with Jesus and to live in His presence. He is the one to help us to make steady progress in the converSIOn process.
We are living in a time of Eucharistic amazement, a great awakening, a Eucharistic movement in the Church, focusing on Eucharistic need, Eucharistic practice, and Eucharistic evangelization. It is an opportunity for faith enrichment, for renewed hope, for pro-active charity, building a culture of life, a culture of Eucharist, for a civilization of love. In the school of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, we can learn how she offered her virginal womb for the incarnation of the world, the Real Presence of Jesus. As Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization, we are to turn to her in our pro-life mission to share the Bread of Life, the Bread of Truth. She shows us a Eucharistic attitude and how our lives should become a continuous magnificat of.the Most Holy Trinity. Mary, our guide and model, is a woman of the Eucharist in her whole life.
Pope Benedict XVI's approach is to defeat relativism on its own turf: by being realistic: remaining with and challenging the world with Christian standards; by challenging all to seek holiness and sainthood; by a call to centre our lives on the Eucharist at Mass and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament; by a teaching thrust to expose the false promises of relativism; by political intervention, reminding legislators of objective truth; by advocating the values of democracy, human rights and tolerance, as rooted in Christian heritage; by establishing new communities and movements, with an alternative vision of life rooted in Christian faith (e.g., Focolare Movement, Neo-
A priest is talking to his favourite barba The priest told him that he was going to Rome and would be visiting with the Pope and that he would bring back a personal message for him. The barber was delighted but indicated to the priest that he wouldn't even get near the Pope. The priest goes to Rome and returns to the barber with the personal message. The barber asks what the message was. The priest said, "I spoke to the Pope and he said, 'Who gave you that terrible haircut? '"
Cardinal Marc Ouellet reminds us of the coming Eucharistic Congress from June 15-22, 2008 in Quebec City as The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World. He writes, "We need to recover the Church's mission ... to keep the Gospel vision of love alive.
Only in this way can we ever hope to build a Culture of the Eucharist for a Civilization of Love". The Eucharist is relevant to the world, but most of us suffer at some level with the "on the road to Emmaus" problem. Our eyes need to be opened with the breaking of the Bread of Life, the Bread of Truth, and recognize Christ as fully alive and totally present as His self-gift for the life of the world. He is present as He is in heaven, without leaving heaven, and all of heaven is present with Him, the Holy Trinity, the angels, and the saints. We are lifted out of time into eternity in the Mass. When Christ gave us Himself in the Eucharist, He gave us everything. God, all powerful and all wise, could not give us more.
Let us come as often as possible to the source of light and strength to celebrate and live the Eucharist, here at Mass at the fountain of life, streams of water where God gives us His gift of love in an ocean of blessings and graces .•
Catechumenal Way, Maximilian Kolbe Apostolate, Couples for Christ, and the Marian Catechist Apostolate).
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