The Question on Everyone’s Mind
July 16, 2015 By: Shawn Carney
The ugliness of this week should
push us forward, not paralyze us.
Before news broke that revealed one of
the darkest corners of the abortion industry a fellow pro-life leader told me,
“This is the most gruesome thing we, even as leaders, will ever come across.”
They were right.
I work in the pro-life movement and
have been to over 400 abortion centers around the world. I’ve seen and heard
some of the most gruesome and gut wrenching testimonies. Yet
nothing compares to the not surprising but shocking reality of Planned
Parenthood harvesting and selling the parts of babies they kill.
Since the release of this video,
everyone has one question:
How can they do this?
Many have asked that question and here
is the answer:
If you have the autonomy and will
to kill a baby then you have the stomach to harvest that baby. If you have
the stomach to harvest him or her then you will find the greed to
sell him or her. If you are so numb as to sell him or her as “medical tissue”
for profit, then you can talk about it in terms of “business”.
And if you can get to that point, then
chomping on a salad and enjoying a glass of wine as you talk about it is
simply a way of life. But talking casually about livers and craniums of
aborted children doesn’t happen overnight, it starts with one step —
dehumanizing the human person. If we don’t have a right to life then we don’t
have a right to anything.
Before being hung to die, one
of the most inhumane murderers ever to walk the earth, repented
and made these words his last, “A thousand years will pass and the
guilt of Germany will not be erased.”
That was Hans Frank who served as
Governor General of Poland under Adolf Hitler. His famous words open the
classic historical account of what can happen when we strip human beings of
their dignity, The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich.
We need sanctity
The human heart is capable of great
evil and it is capable of great sanctity. And evil needs to be
followed by sanctity.
Last month I wrote a blog post about
how our culture needs us to become saints. Like you, this video is hard for me
to watch just as abortion is still hard to talk about in our families,
churches, and political debates despite 42 years of legalization.
The video reveals what we all know but
hate to think about. Abortion is ugly, graphic, and evil. It shocks us because
rarely do we get a clear image of its brutality in our daily lives because most
of the time we don’t want to deal with it.
But weeks like this one cannot be
ignored. We need moments in our lives where we are outraged, disgusted, and
motivated. And this video is disgustingly motivating.
We do things we wouldn’t normally do
when we’re motivated. We take risks when we are outraged. I challenge you to
take a risk and use this video as a point of action. Not to dwell on it and get
depressed about the state of our culture, that is paralyzing and doesn’t do
anyone any good. Instead, face and mourn the reality of abortion, pray, and
then act.
Use your frustration
I know the motivating power of
frustration because the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign came
from frustration. That frustration led to prayer and prayer led to a peaceful
40-day campaign that has now been done in 579 cities in 30 countries.
God can use frustration, He can use
outrage, He can use heartbreak. He has many examples throughout history of
doing so. He spits out the lukewarm but He fuels those who hand Him just
a little of their comfort zone.
When things seem fine it is
difficult for us to make resolutions to pray outside an abortion facility,
volunteer at a pregnancy center, have mercy on an abortion worker, or write
Congress.
We sometimes have to be jolted to
engage the culture and this week the culture gave us that opportunity. It
wasn’t pretty but it did remind us that our sanctity is needed in the
culture. We need to be humbled before God in light of the atrocities that
happen to the most vulnerable among us and then we need to act.
God will use you in the pro-life
movement to bring His joy, mercy, and love to the darkest corners of our
culture if you use this gruesome video as an opportunity to take a small,
big, or first step to ending abortion.
There will be investigations, hearings,
and media coverage as everything unfolds. But your personal
response is the long-term hope for America. I want to close by challenging
and asking you and myself the question we should be thinking and praying about
over the next few weeks and months:
If this video won’t deepen my
resolve to engage the culture, what will?
Come to the sidewalk to engage the
Culture of Death with your peaceful and prayerful witness to the Gospel of
Life!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Madison's
40 Days for Life fall campaign Volunteer Meeting
Come
and See how God can use you to save a life!
What: Vigil for Life's Volunteer
Meeting for 40 Days for Life fall campaign
When: Monday, July 27, 6:30pm-8pm
Where: Bishop O'Connor
Center, 702 South High Point Road, Madison, WI
Guest Speaker: Steve Karlen,
Director of Outreach for 40 Days for Life
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2015
Awakening Hope Youth Retreat sponsored
by Pro-Life Wisconsin - July 24-26- St. Vincent Pallotti Retreat Center,
Elkhorn, WI - for teens aged 13-17.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mark
your calendars: Pro-Life Wisconsin's Annual
Auction Dinner featuring Abby Johnson at the Harley-Davidson Museum in
Milwaukee on October 17.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LITANY TO OUR LADY OF
GUADALUPE
Lord,
have mercy on us.
Christ,
have mercy on us.
Lord,
have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ,
graciously hear us.
God
the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God
the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God
the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy
Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Holy
Mary of Guadalupe, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother of the Americas, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Star of Evangelization, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Perfect and Ever-Virgin, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother of the True God, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother worthy of honor and veneration, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother most merciful, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother of those who love thee and have confidence in thee, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother of those who cry to thee and search for thee, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who cures all our pains, miseries and sorrows, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who remedies and alleviates our sufferings, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who keeps us under her compassionate and merciful gaze, pray for
us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who shows us help, love and compassion, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who chooses those who are humble and simple, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who graciously repays all who serve her, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who keeps us under her shadow and protection, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Mother who carries us in her embrace, pray for us.
Holy
Mary, Fountain of our joy, pray for us.
Good
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St.
Juan Diego, pray for us.
All
Angels and Saints, pray for us.
Lamb
of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
spare
us O Lord.
Lamb
of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb
of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
have
mercy on us.
V.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
R.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let
us pray:
Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Rose of Heaven, graciously intercede for the Church of God.
Protect the Sovereign Pontiff and have pity on all who call upon thee in grief
and need. Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary, obtain from thy Son the grace
that we may preserve our Faith and our Hope amidst life's bitterness and
sorrow. Make true charity burn brightly in our hearts, each and every day,
until thou dost bring us safely to the vision of thy Most Holy Son, Who is our
God and Savior. Amen.
