Respecting Life

(picture from The Mother of Life website)

The following was written for us by a friend, David O'Connell, who runs 'The Mother of Life Center' in Providence RI. The center 'actively promotes the Gospel of Life of the Catholic Church through prayer, direct counseling, and assistance to pregnant women and girls, and advocacy. We also provide education to the public through various media and seminars'. I can attest to his speaking to adolescents. He once spoke to our church youth group (ages 11-12) who, I have to admit were not really into it -- at first. After about 10 minutes, they were all eyes on David, questions being asked. I asked him to write something for the blog since the world tends to be one that loves to toss whatever is too much to deal with, not needed and unfortunately that sometimes means a life -- young or old. I am seeing that even with the elderly, if it becomes too much to medically treat someone, then 'other' care measures can come into play.

Here is David:

How many times have you made a comment defending the right to life of unborn children, and heard a pro-abortion response that was purely emotional, or completely ignorant of the facts? This is a common occurrence today, especially with people under 25 years old, who have been robbed of the truth by our pagan culture and a Godless educational system. To illuminate their minds, your normal reply would be to start at the beginning, by noting the clear distinction between human persons and members of the vast animal kingdom, or describing the obvious presence of a living, animating soul within the growing human embryo from conception onward. Or you might present the first necessary principle for establishing a good society: Justice. If the listener has genuine good will, he will be led to think logically, starting from the basic facts, to arrive at the solid conclusions that inform a caring, pro-life attitude.
Should we blame these young, pro-abortion teens and adults for believing the hedonistic propaganda they’ve been fed all their lives? Most of the time we should not, since they have often been unsuspecting recipients of the moral poison flooding their minds year in and year out. To make matters worse, our message about human life as God’s greatest gift has consistently been distorted or gone unreported in the media, as when the TV networks totally ignored the 2013 March for Life in Washington with over 500,000 dedicated pro-life citizens in attendance.
Facing such opposition, and yet armed with the truth, we must double our efforts to reach this generation and the next one with the powerful message of Life. We can create new opportunities to present the reliable pro-life arguments according to Natural Law, the laws of nature, Catholic theology, science, medicine, psychology, anthropology, history and common sense, all of which demand that every innocent person be protected from violence and murder. This positive effort inspired by our love for young people requires only two things: Initiative and Resources. The first of these, Initiative, comes from you as a passionate follower of Christ who wants to improve our world and perhaps save the lives of some unborn babies as a result. The decision to act is half the battle.
The second requirement, Resources, is what the veteran activists of the pro-life movement can provide. We stay abreast of all the issues touching on human life and the threats to it, including abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, stem cell research, contraception, in vitro fertilization and others. Many of us are ready and willing to come to your parish or youth group to present the plain facts and moral teachings that lead men and women to wise decisions, physical and spiritual health and a happy life. When more people are equipped with the truth and inspired by the grace of God, they become allies in this crusade for life, unborn lives will be saved, the virtues will be promoted and selfish acts can be resisted, as the culture slowly becomes more intelligent and supportive of the human person.
Please contact an experienced pro-life speaker in your area to discuss a presentation to the youth and adult groups in your parish or community. You will be helping them discover the best reasons for following God’s plan in their lives, and fulfilling your responsibility to spread the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ in this Year of Faith.