THE SECRET OF
PRO-LIFE VICTORY
by Fr Jim Whalen
2002, Issue 1
There is no real pro-life victory without the Cross. There is no real pro-life power without the Cross. There is no real pro-life leadership without the Cross. There is no real pro-life conquest without the Cross.
Self-sacrifice is the foundation principle by which pro-life operates, by which we defend life, by which we prepare for eternal life. Satan knew this. Satan challenged Christ on the Cross, tempting Jesus, offering Him a crossless, deathless conquest: a crown without a cross, power apart from suffering, and elevation without humiliation.
The same temptation was repeated again and again in His public ministry, before and during the agony of the crucifixion: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross" (Mt 27:40). Christ reigned from the throne of the Cross. Christ reigns today because he accepted the Cross and remained there until death released His life into the world. It was the only way for Him to save us. It is the only way for us to be His disciples - pro-life disciples. "Anyone who does not take up his Cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:27). This is both an historical and a moral truth as believers well know: "Our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might be slaves to sin no longer" (Rom 6:6).
Christianity is deprived today largely because few live a crucified life and many opt to come down from the cross. To live a sanctified pro-life existence, increasing in Christ’s life, means nothing less than embracing and binding ourselves to the sacrifice of the Cross, increasing our participation in Christ's Death.
So many of us give in to the temptation to come down from the Cross. Self-justification is coming down from the Cross. Self-pity is coming down from the Cross. Self-vindication is coming down from the Cross. Daily yielding to the Cross is the secret of victory. Satan was defeated on the Cross. The second death was overcome on the Cross. Evil was put to death on the Cross. Satan cannot touch us when we are on the Cross. Satan overcomes us when we come down from the Cross. The Cross is the place of safety. The power of the enemy is defeated on the Cross. The spectacle of the Cross helps us to discover the fulfilment and revelation of the pro-life gospel. The glory of the Cross is not overcome by darkness. The glory of the Cross shines more radiantly and is revealed as the centre, the focus, the meaning and goal of all history and of every human life. In the moment of His greatest weakness, the Son of God is revealed for who He is. His glory is made manifest on the Cross. By His Cross, His death, Jesus sheds light on the meaning of the life and death of every human being. Through His life on earth, Jesus, through healing, and other miracles, raising of the dead, and doing good, gave us signs of salvation, which set man free from his greatest sickness, sin, and raised him to live a pro-life, a sanctified life. By looking on the one who was pierced, Jesus, the One who gave His body and blood, His very life for us, every person who is threatened (the unborn, the invalid, the handicapped, the elderly) discovers the daily hope of finding freedom and redemption. Without the Cross, without the crucifixion, there would not be a resurrection. With God we can overcome any obstacle, and carry any cross. Divine Providence never fails in matters undertaken for God's love (St. Vincent de Paul). ¤