9 Days for Life

Today marks the beginning of the 9 Days For Life novena, ahead of the annual March for Life and the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on January 22. How interesting that, on my drive in to work this morning, I pulled up at a stop light behind a car sporting this bumper sticker:

I have to admit that my first reaction was a wry chuckle, but that was almost immediately replaced by anger. By the time the light changed and the car made a right turn, as I continued straight ahead, I was able to bring myself to try to see the driver in her side-view mirror and whisper, 'God loves you' - but I couldn't swear in a court of law that I was very sincere in saying that prayer for her.

The odds, at times, seem insurmountable that we'll ever be able to change the hearts and minds of people who subscribe to the pro-abortion position. It's been ingrained in us for at least two generations that there's a constitutional right to kill at least one kind of innocent person - an unborn child. What's so frustrating about it is the mentality required to subscribe to this position. No amount of logic will ever be sufficient to dissuade these people. Not only have they embraced the very convenient (and thoroughly evil) philosophy of moral relativism, but they've also made the decision to abandon the realities of biological science - interesting, when you consider how these folks will adamantly reject any philosophy that can't be proven by the scientific method. But this is what we face - a fiercely-held belief that women are beholden to no authority other than themselves, that unborn children either aren't human beings or, if they are human beings, can be killed at the discretion of the woman carrying the child, and a staunch refusal to acknowledge the plain facts of life. How are we to combat this kind of lunacy?

My Facebook feed contained a live stream of a March for Life meeting in Washington, DC that appeared to be a panel discussion led by one of Speaker Paul Ryan's staff. It brought to mind the lecture we listened to in our prayer group this week titled, 'Put Not Your Trust in Princes'. That speaker, Christopher Check, made it very clear that we can't depend on politicians or political parties to take this fight to the enemy. They are too interested in making sure they're re-elected, which means that they will take whatever position or action is necessary to achieve that objective, regardless of the morality of it. There are, no doubt, exceptions to that rule, but they are few.

In the end, 'the battle is the Lord's'. The softening of the heart and the opening of the mind can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit. And so our prayers, including all those rosaries and novenas for life, are the most powerful weapon we have. Failure is not an option, and so discouragement is a luxury we can't afford. Onward, Christian soldiers!!