Mass for the Unborn

Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

January 22, 1998

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Dear Friends in Christ,

If we were to ask ourselves, why are we here today, to celebrate Mass together in this beautiful Shrine of Our Lady, then the answers might come back in many ways:

• we are here because together, we have been fighting a war for 25 years today - a war that was officially declared when the Supreme Court of this nation acted against life, and made the death of unborn infants a legal expedient, available to all, and with no restraints;
• or we might respond that we are here because our Faith demands that we stand up and witness for all those teachings of the Fathers and of Jesus, which proclaim the sanctity of life, and the belief we share, that all life is in the hands and subject to the mercy of God the Father, and that none may trespass upon His will for us, His design for each and every individual life that is conceived upon this planet;
• or we might be here, because in the past, somehow, we took part in or supported, even indirectly, some commission of this terrible act of abortion, and that now, penitent and absolved, we wish to make amends, by lending our presence, and our voice, to the common desire we all share, the desire to end all assaults against life, from the moment of conception, to the moment of natural passing.

And all these things are truly good reasons why we should be here today - and each, in its own way, states the case for every person among us who is dedicated to the life and to the Pro-Life movement.

But there is something more basic - something deeper down in our souls - something even more important than those things we have mentioned - which draws us together here under the roof of the Church, in this close company, and with our minds and hearts drawn to but one thing, the one thing alone that gives us comfort. And that is the simple fact, that when we come together like this, then for a minute, for an hour, for a timeless moment of prayer and worship, we can flee within the confines of this holy space, and shut and bar the door to what is outside - to the evil, and insanity, and violence which dwells in and haunts every city and town of this nation we call our home.

It may seem odd nowadays to talk about the devil outside, but perhaps we should make ourselves familiar once again with the notion that the devil does lurk outside, and that indeed, he leads many to follow in the path of his destruction, the path of his violence, the path of his hatred for the human race, and for all the kindness and the love which God has made possible for the human race.

It seems that God would want it so - at the very beginning of mankind's history, in the story of Cain and Abel which we have heard in this morning's first reading, God says to the sullen and upset Cain:

"Why are you angry, and why are you crestfallen? If you do well, you may hold your head up high. But if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."

Dear friends, these are extremely serious words in their consequence for the human race - sin is lurking at the door, and its desire is for us - God has spoken these words to us at the very beginning of our history - and truly, time and time again, sin has won this battle of desire, and taken a-hold of many men and women, and caused them to do things which defy all that is good and holy. And yet, despite God's forceful warning, men and women do unholy things, and continue to do them.

In our own time, what does this sin look like, who lurks at the door, scratching to get in?

It wears the face of the irresponsible mother or father, who will not accept the consequence of their choice - who condemn the child they have made to the status of a momentary inconvenience, and who rid themselves of it, as they would swat away a fly or frown momentarily and then banish an unpleasant thought;

• or this sin outside the door wears the face of the crusading fanatic, who has made the absolute control of one's own body, the litmus test for all other freedoms - proclaiming that it is the individual's right to do whatever they want to do to their own body - to abuse it, to kill that which might be growing in it, or to end the life of the body when and where the individual sees fit; and evil wears a double mask here, posing under the guise of doctors, nurses, and health counselors - people who are sworn to protect life, to strive for healing, and to never bring harm to anyone, and yet, who often cooperate in the most insidious and secretive of murders;
• and now, in this age of extreme science and genetic manipulation, evil grins even more leeringly at the door, and holds out an even more beguiling lure, proposing that embryos be cloned and harvested - think about the blasphemous horror of this suggestion - that embryos be cloned and harvested so that some kind of health benefit may be obtained for those who cannot face their own, inevitable mortality, and who would purchase an extension of their life, at the price of the death of an innocent child.

Dear friends, we come to the Church, and especially on January 22 each year, for very good reason - we come to the Church to be safe, to be with each other, and to get away, even if just for a few minutes, from all that is horrible outside. And we are foolish indeed, if for a minute, we ever forget that the devil is real, that evil is real, that it desires, it lusts after the souls of men and women, as God warned us so long ago - and that evil will try by every trick in the book to entrap men and women, especially those who are vulnerable, and who are seeking the easy way out. It was thus that evil pounced upon Cain, who murdered his brother - it was thus that Satan took the heart, and then the life of Judas, who betrayed his Lord - it is thus that evil seizes on men and women of our own time, and commands them to murder their own children.

What can we do? What must we do? - for Christ reminds us that all are brothers and sisters, and that, though safe we feel, and safe we may be, here inside, we may not remain always behind the protective doors of the Church. Christ says:

Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice." I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

Dear friends, sinners though we may be, we hope to know that place where to draw the line, and beyond which we will not let temptation and the devil lead us. And from this humble knowledge of ourselves, which we have received through the teaching of Christ and of His Church, we hope to make ourselves worthy witnesses to the world about us - witnesses for life, not death - witnesses for self-sacrifice, not the easy way out - witnesses for what is good and natural, and witnesses against what is evil and outside the natural order of things.

We pray, then, through the action of this Mass, and by the influence of the work which we have taken upon ourselves, the work of Pro-Life, that the world, and especially our country, may be changed - that people in all walks of life, and of all persuasions, may see that no law of the Supreme Court or any human agency, can mean anything, when measured against the enduring law of God, written upon stone and upon the human heart - the law which insists, "Thou shalt not kill."

And we pray also, that the law which has given the devil an even more secure hold upon the world, may fall, and the sooner the better. For the Church will, sooner or later, know that day, when Christ will come back, and drive from her portals, the devil and all evil which lurks at the threshold. And the way will be made clear, for the new Jerusalem, and for the coming in of our God, and the age of the heavenly kingdom. And the great promise will come true:

[for] "He shall wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the former world will pass away" - and the Kingdom of God will live forever.

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