It appears that abortion is now an accepted reality in our culture. Yet, as people of faith, we are deeply conscious that it is a great evil, a blight on our society. So how do we, as people of faith, respond to the issue of abortion?

 

The pro-choice advocates have resorted to active, loud and confrontative protests. They have pressured legislators to change laws to favour complete access to abortion, insisting that it is a right of a woman to choose to end the life of the child in her womb. We are aware that they have achieved many of their objectives and abortion is now available on request.

They do find it irksome that there are still those who oppose their view and work hard to eliminate any resistance to abortion on demand, readily denying the right to freedom of conscience and the right to publicly express the pro-life view.

We, as people of faith, are conscious that every human life is a gift of God. God is the giver of life, and we are its guardians. Each new life is created as an act of God’s love. Every human life, in God’s plan, is destined for eternal life. In every abortion a human life is denied the opportunity of the adventure of life and the opportunity to choose the path to salvation.

We are also aware that many women who seek to have an abortion do so under many pressures. Many make the decision reluctantly as they see no other option open to them. We know that many will carry deep emotional scars for the rest of their lives.

So, how do we, as people of faith, respond to this great tragedy?

As believers we allow the principals of our faith to guide us. As God is a god of mercy and love, so we desire firstly to reflect mercy and love in our response.

As God, in Jesus Christ, came in the simplicity and humility of birth in a stable in Bethlehem, so we respond to this sad reality with similar simplicity and humility. We are not loud or demanding. We do not apply pressure or force. This is not the Christian way because it is not the way of God.

In coming among us, Jesus showed that he did not demand obedience or submission. He came not to impose but to propose. He declared that there was a kingdom, the Kingdom of God, which offered joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.

In his public ministry Jesus revealed time and time again the compassion of God for sinful, wayward humanity. We think of the conversation with the woman at the well, or his response to the woman brought to him after being caught in the act of adultery.

As people of faith, we look to the heart of Jesus as the guide and inspiration to the way we are to respond.

As Christians we aware of the reality of the spiritual realm. When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God he was speaking of a spiritual reality. Many times, Jesus spoke of the contest with the powers of darkness, the evil spirits who roam the world seeking the destruction of souls. He was acutely aware of the spiritual battle raging in the world.

After sending out his disciples on a missionary undertaking, he made a quite striking comment upon their return, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Lk 10:18). The Lord was very conscious of the spiritual struggle. He knew that the preaching of his disciples impacted the influence of Satan.

In the spiritual battle we should never underestimate the power of prayer. Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Thy kingdom come”. We are agents to advance the coming of the Kingdom of God by engaging in the spiritual battle. Our Christian commitment is to advance the Kingdom of God.

The Catholic historian, Christopher Dawson, wrote on the spiritual base to culture. In one of his early books, The Age of the Gods, he said,

A culture can only be understood from within. It is a spiritual community which owes its unity to common beliefs and a common attitude to life, far more than to any uniformity of physical type.

He reminds us of an important truth. Culture is not just a sociological reality, but that it has a deeper spiritual impulse that shapes its character. When we lean into the culture with prayer we are actually nurturing its inner reality.

The pro-life movement must see itself as first and foremost a spiritual movement. Its base must be in prayer and its effectiveness will be the outcome of this prayer.

Thus, people of faith bring a spiritual impulse to this deeply tragic human situation. We are contesting the powers of darkness.

During a Wednesday catechesis in 2012 Pope Benedict said,

We can be sure that there is no such thing as a superfluous or useless prayer. No prayer is lost. When faced with evil we often have the sensation that we can do nothing, but our prayers are in fact the first and most effective response we can give, they strengthen our daily commitment to goodness. The power of God makes our weakness strong.

Let us never doubt the importance of continuing to pray for an end of abortion in our society because, first and foremost, we are engaged in a spiritual battle for the soul of our nation.