My Dear Friends:
As we get closer to Election Day, I am calling on this parish community to prayer especially when it comes to the defeat of Amendment 4 which if passed would enshrine abortion rights in our state constitution. Many of you did not hear my homily on Respect Life Sunday that I preached at the 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Mass earlier this month. If I could offer some excerpts of my pastoral call to lift up our voices as a Catholic people:
…the greatest ill of our society, the greatest consequence of this “hook up” culture here in our country is the wiping out of an entire generation of children because of the grave sin of abortion that is sold to us as health care and something convenient. Where children are seen as a burden that can easily be discarded like a piece of tissue instead of a gift. Satan, after all is the father of lies, and the biggest lie we can tell ourselves as Catholics is that we should “live and let live” or let others believe what they believe or “we shouldn’t impose our beliefs on others.” That type of cowardly thinking, yes, I used the word coward, has led to the erosion of marriage and the family and not the erosion but the erasure of 65 million tiny souls.
Christ tells us at the end of today’s gospel, “Let the children come to me.” But our society does not want them. Mother Teresa once famously said about unwanted children: “Give that child to me. I want it. I will care for it. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child.” Notice how she also exalts the sacrament of marriage knowing how many couples struggle to conceive and are open to adopting a baby. She also understands that “marriage is the great protector of unborn human life.”
We cannot, as a believing people stand idly by as this “culture of death” that St. John Paul II talked about continues to destroy our nation. This is why it is imperative that we rise up as Catholics and vote NO on Amendment 4 that is on our ballots next month. Archbishop Wenski wrote in a column this past May: “Catholics are nevertheless to engage themselves in the public square and do so coherently and unapologetically. To bear witness is our duty as faithful Catholics − and it is our right as faith filled citizens. Vote “no” on Amendment 4! This is not to “impose our views” but to “make our proposal” about what is necessary for human flourishing in society. By insisting that every human being matters…”
Let the children come to me.
And what is the Church proposing if we do what the bishops pray we do and “make abortion unthinkable?” Well, we start by embracing pregnant mothers who have no means to help their unborn child once that baby is born. It’s by doing what we as a parish [do every year] with our annual Respect Life Brunch: raising funds to support our pregnancy centers. It’s by doing what the archbishop did last month: opening a residence that will serve as a shelter and residence for needy pregnant and postpartum women and their babies.
Finally, I want to end this homily as I ended my bulletin column with a simple word: mercy. In my 22 years of priesthood, I have sat with many women who have had abortions. All their stories are different and heartbreaking, but they come to a priest, they come to the Church, they come to us, looking for God’s mercy, and we must embrace them as God our Father would. The Church does so much that goes unnoticed to support these women. There’s Project Rachel that gives them counseling and offers retreats of healing. If you are in need of healing beyond the confessional because of an abortion, you can call Project Rachel 954-981-2984 or visit hopeafterabortion.com.
My friends, we must continue to work for a culture that makes abortion unthinkable. And that begins by voting no on Amendment 4, that as your pastor, who is called to form your consciences, I urge you to do, but it goes beyond that. We must create a society that values children and welcomes them, [for] a society that is rooted in love, in Divine Love, makes every single sin unthinkable.
The time has come. We cannot be silent on the grave sin of abortion. The world is feeding us so many lies, but as Catholics we must stand up for the truth and stand up for every vulnerable life especially the unborn. In these last days before the election, I urge you to pray that hearts may change, but I also urge you to act: tell your family and friends to vote no on Amendment 4. This bulletin has an entire page dedicated to this issue to assist you in preaching the truth to all. I beg you, for the sake of our children, get the word out and vote no on 4!
God bless you all,
