I thought I’d feel nothing but pure joy. Roe vs. Wade has finally been overturned. So much work and so many prayers nearly 50 years…and finally it’s begun to crumble.
My initial reaction surprised me. My husband was perplexed. I wept, not tears of joy, but a gut-wrenching cry from the depths of my soul. The enormity of 50 years of needless destruction, pain, and brokenness.
I was in the trenches in the 1980s—organizing rallies; arranging fundraisers for our crisis pregnancy center; doing hundreds of presentations in high schools and colleges teaching the truth about abortion and getting the word out that there was help available; debating the other side on radio and TV.
Going to schools I could see too often we were too late. The faces that looked away. The nervous squirming and downcast eyes trying to hide their grief and shame. The defensive arguments that betrayed their secret desperation.
I saw so many cave…parents, once claiming to be pro-life, until their daughter got pregnant and threatened their reputations. Doctors, once proudly dedicated to saving lives, skating on the edge of damnation as little-by-little they made exceptions and compromised until those compromises and exceptions became their norm, even their cause.
But I also saw miracles. Those broken women and men falling from despair into the merciful arms of a Savior. Were it not for such deep pain and such appalling sin, they may never have experienced the love and mercy of God as anything more than an idea. The devil always overplays his hand. He’s doing it again now.
This Supreme Court decision is a cause for joy and rejoicing. After the initial gust of pain, the many years of work and praying every day, every rosary for an end to this holocaust, the joy began to overcome my sadness. We’re not there yet…but we’re on the way. The dam has broken…the trickle has begun and the flood is coming. On the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this decision portends their end is near.
But how do we respond now? When the venom is cast toward us, not only in the media but within our own families, among our own friends?
Now is the time to immerse ourselves in God’s great mercy. To pray with the confident assurance that God truly is in control and is moving in a mighty way. Now is the time to pray fervently for the many, especially the youngest, who have never lived in a world where abortion wasn’t legal, who have been manipulated into believing something so abhorrent is an actual good.
If we want to stand up for the dignity of all human life, it starts with affirming the dignity of all the living we encounter, especially those who challenge us the most. Unless we orient our minds to understanding they are victims of a culture that pretends to protect them, while leading them and our culture to abject misery. They need the grace to be open to the truth, and grace is won by prayer and sacrifice, not simply facts and arguments. They have their place, but first fertilize the soil with prayer and heartfelt love.
As with nearly everything these days, the truth is obscured by a media hell bent on destroying all that is good, beautiful, and true. We are truly in an information war…so be creative about getting the true information out there. Know your enemy (the purveyors of abortion and all kinds of moral filth, the mainstream media, and most social media platforms) and then be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves as you work to restore a culture of love and life.
Put your money and your efforts where your mouth is. Support your local crisis pregnancy center, your local food banks, your homes for unwed mothers in crisis. Volunteer, if you can. Speak the truth, in love and charity. It is these sacrifices that will shore up your credibility and bring down God’s abundant graces. It’s a win-win.
Pray also and support ministries that offer healing and support for those suffering the aftermath of abortion. They are victims as well and carry a heavy burden. Be a beacon of God’s mercy. The life of man on earth is a warfare…but those who chose abortion are not the enemy—they are our sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, cousins and friends who have fallen in battle. Resolve to be part of the rescue team. Then watch the strongholds crash and crumble.
Allison is also the Founder and President of www.CatholicTherapists.com, and CatholicLifeCoaches.com, which provide nationwide networks of screened and dedicated Catholic therapists and Catholic life coaches.
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