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It’s Day 295!!
ABORTION
There are very few lives you could consider to be more innocent than the life of an unborn baby
This is possibly the story of many people who are listening to Catechism in a Year
Abortion has marked our culture and has marked the lives of many people in our Church
The Church gives VERY CLEAR TEACHING with regard to the evil of abortion
BUT…
The Church also gives very clear teaching with the REALITY OF GOD’S MERCY
We hear again and again how God desires that all of us turn to Him and be saved
God desires that all of us turn to Him and receive His mercy
God desires that all of us turn to Him and allow Him to love us
The Church holds the line of truth and the line of goodness
The Church holds the line on the part of those who are innocent and defenseless
The Church also holds the line on those that need God’s mercy and forgiveness
Let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and we thank you. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, send us your Holy Spirit. Send your Holy Spirit deep into our hearts that we can know your truth, that we can know your goodness. Lord God, when we are in sin, please give us the miracle of the grace of conviction. Give us the miracle of the grace of conviction of our sins so that we can know where we have turned away from you, so that we can know truly where we have said no to you. But also give us the grace, secondary grace, of conviction of your mercy. Help us to be convicted that you desire us to turn back to you, that you desire us to allow your love to transform our lives. Lord God, in your name, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, I ask you to please be with every person who is listening at this moment, who is listening who abortion is a part of their story. Be with them right now. Be with them and remind them, yes, of the truth of the evil of abortion, but also the truth of your goodness, also the truth of your desire for them to give you their heart. Lord God, I pray not only for truth to win, but also pray that your mercy would win. I pray right now, Lord God, in the name of your Son, Jesus, that every person listening who has been wounded by abortion will allow you and your mercy, your grace to heal them. Lord Jesus, heal them now. In your name we pray. Amen”
So there we have it!!
Any breaking of any of the Commandments is serious
Whenever we talk about rebellion against the Lord, sin, there is a weight there
This is one of those sins that has touched so many lives
We have talked about the degree to which there can be factors that weigh on a person and bring that person to distress, fear, and panic
Those aspects can mitigate a person’s culpability
If we cannot empathize with someone who believes that abortion is their only option out of fear or distress, then there is something broken inside of each and every one of us
Maybe you have worked through this so fully that you have resolved that this would never be an option
That is beautiful and wonderful
We can still empathize with someone who is afraid
When the culture tells this person that this is their only option and this is their only way out and that abortion is the only thing you could possibly choose in order to be free and healthy and happy, WE KNOW THAT IS NOT TRUE
AND YET…
There are a lot of people in our world that do not know that is not true
They do not know the beauty of adoption
They also do not know the fact that there are many people throughout human history who have had a crisis pregnancy or unplanned pregnancy who have had their child and kept their child and have had amazing lives
This could be the story of your child or your grandchild
The Church is absolutely clear that all of human life is inviolable
All human life deserves dignity, respect, and needs protection
Paragraph 2271 says, “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. God, the Lord of life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”
The Didache is also known as the book called The Teaching of the Apostles which goes back to the second century
Some people say things like, “Where is that in the Bible?”
OR…
“This is a recent invention by the Catholic Church.”
Nothing could be further from the truth
Those who follow after Jesus do not do this
Paragraph 2272 says, “Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. ‘A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,’ ‘by the very commission of the offense,’ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.”
Not only does a person need to be reconciled to the Lord and to the Church through confession, there is also a canonical penalty
By the very fact of procuring an abortion, and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law, a person is excommunicated
Why?
“The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.”
This is the scourge of abortion
Abortion has destroyed millions of lives and has transformed our culture
We have become a culture of death
Even those who survive, it has wounded them
Abortion has two victims
The one who dies and the one who is wounded
The child and the mother
Abortion also has other victims
Society at large has been wounded because of the reality of abortion
Because of that, it doesn’t end with the child
It doesn’t end with the woundedness of the mother
It actually wounds our entire culture
That is one of the reasons why the Church has attached this canonical penalty to highlight the reality of the injurious nature of this sin
If this is part of your story, please go to Confession
Let’s listen to Fr. Mike tell his story about people in Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year…
If you dreaded this day, please know that you are not alone
This community has people who have been convicted by the NEED to go to Confession
They went to Confession and experienced the most incredible freedom, the most incredible peace, the most incredible welcome back, the most incredible reconciliation, and the most incredible love
THAT IS WHAT MERCY IS!!
MERCY IS THE LOVE WE NEED THE MOST BUT WE DESERVE THE LEAST
If that is part of your story, please do not let the wound get in the way of healing
Do not let the sin get in the way of God’s love for you
GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH!!
WE NEED TO DECLARE THIS!!
We need to declare the truth of sin
BUT…
We also need to declare the TRUTH OF GOD’S LOVE
NEVER EVER FORGET IT!!
ACT ON IT!!
If you or someone you love or know is wounded by this, you are invited to go to Confession as soon as you can
HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD’S LOVE FOR YOU!!
HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD’S MERCY FOR YOU!!
GOD WANTS TO HEAL THAT WOUND AND BRING YOU HOME!!
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO STAY WOUNDED!!
If this is not part of your story, please PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
Pray for every person in this community who hears these words right now and is hesitant and fearful and doubts God’s mercy
Without God’s grace, none of us will move
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT…
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