THE LAW OF PRO-LIFE
by Fr Jim Whalen
2002, Issue 1
The central principle of Christianity, of pro-life living is expendability – death to self. Battles of the cross are won by teaching pro-lifers how to live and die well, not how to avoid living or dying.
On Calvary, Christ was the model for us all. He showed us all how to live the law of life. He showed us that to die is to gain. "For me, life means Christ, hence dying is so much gain" (Phil 1:21). "The man who loves his life shall lose it; and the man who hates his life in this world preserves it to life eternal" (Jn. 12:25).
When the early Christians faced the constant threat of martyrdom, the leaders, the elders in the church, were asked the same basic question that Jesus put to His apostles: "Can you drink of the cup I am to drink of?" (Mt 20:22). This meant imprisonment. This meant torture. This meant scourging. This meant persecution.
The truth of the matter is that sometimes death, as in the case of the Son of God, Christ’s death, may serve God’s ends even better than life. Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned to death and through his death Paul was changed from a persecutor of Christians into a believer and great apostle. The blood of the apostles and the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Christ lost His life, gave His life. His gift of self-sacrifice became the seed of the world’s hope and joy. His death was gain. It meant victory over the second death, over evil, over Satan. It means eternal life for all who believe.
The universal eternal law is clear. It is either life through death or death in life. If we wish to have the same destiny as Christ we must choose the same road. Every step we take to follow Christ means bloody footprints from our wounds. Not many pro-lifers are willing to take Christ's way - to go all the way. Many draw back from lack of a moral backbone and give in to this or that compromise. It is easier to withdraw than to stand up for Christ. They refuse to challenge Christians about their acceptance of contraception for they might lose memberships or supporters. It is safer to go along to get along. Some do so to keep their so called careers. Some do so to avoid challenging the status quo of laws without morality, living in fear of being outcasts or labelled as loose cannons.
Grapes must be crushed before there can be wine to drink. Wheat must be bruised before it can become bread to feed the hungry. A candle must burn to give off light. A seed must die to bear fruit. Pro-lifers must be willing to be changed and transformed by Christ at the altar of sacrifice so they may empty their lives in loving service and become lasting blessings for the innocent, the invalid, the handicapped and the elderly.
Pope John Paul II states clearly that we have an "inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life" (Evangelium Vitae, # 28). Nothing helps us so much to face positively the conflict between death and life, in which we are engaged, as faith in the Son of God who became man and dwelt among men so that "they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). It is basically a matter of faith in the risen Christ, who has conquered death. It is faith in the blood of Christ, that was shed to cleanse and save us. Christ sacrificed Himself freely out of love for the Church and for us. Are we willing to do the same out of love for the most vulnerable of our neighbours? ¤