LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe


1st READING - Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6, 10 (or Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17)

P S A L M - Judith 13:18-19 (or Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9)

G O S P E L - Luke 1:39-47 (or Matthew 21:23-27)

SABBATH

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, secondary patron of the Philippines and Patroness of the Pro-life Movement. Abortion continues to be the modern-day scourge of the Pro-life advocacy. Many countries have long legalized abortion. With the passage of the Health Care Reform in America, the scope of abortion is expanded and even given increased Federal funding in the U.S. and beyond. The worldwide effort to pass the Reproductive Health Bill (which is nothing but a universal password for the right to abortion), especially in countries where abortion is still illegal, remains atop the agenda of many lawmakers. In line with this, I remember an experience I had several years ago. I was in the U.S. and a friend of mine brought me to the beach. I noticed a secluded area with a warning sign, “No Trespassing: Restricted Area, protected by Federal Law.” I learned from my friend that the area was where turtles lay their eggs. It is punishable by law if you step on them even inadvertently. Something was not right. Federal law protects turtle eggs while human infants are legally aborted. Proponents of abortion even lobby for partial birth abortion, arguing that an infant not yet fully delivered is technically not yet a person and thus is still outside the scope of the protection of the law on the basic right to life. They even go to the extent of challenging pro-lifers to prove that the infant has a soul. But how do you prove the existence of a human soul which is a spiritual reality? Philosophically and theologically it can be proven but not in the empirical sense that abortion proponents want. And if we pretend that the infant aborted does not have a soul yet, how come a turtle egg, which obviously will never have a soul, gets federal protection? GK Chesterton prophesied about this contemporary malady so accurately. He said, “Whenever there is animal worship, there will surely be human sacrifice.” That trees, dogs, cats and other mammals nowadays get more federal protection to live than the human infant, is a perfect confirmation that this prophesy has come to pass. Fr. Joel O. Jason   Reflection Question: In what way can I support and promote the culture of life?   May Mary, pro-life patroness, continue to inspire us and the pro-life movement in promoting the consistent ethic and Gospel of Life.   St. Corentin, pray for us.