Sermon on the Supreme Court Decision And Our Faith Response

Most Americans would not have known, and probably only a few Catholics were aware that the decision handed down by the Supreme Court disproving a Constitutional right to abortion took place on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

 

It seems quite likely that, following half a century of prayer and good works… of fasting and repentance… and of keeping our gaze fixed on God, the source of all life, that God has responded through the Sacred Heart of His Son, wounded by our sinfulness, and who Himself came to earth to save us, as the result of an unplanned pregnancy. (Recall here the story of the Annunciation.)

 

This decision of the Supreme Court is one of the most significant advances in human rights in our nation’s history, as it reflects the “right to life” enshrined in our Constitution. Why is this important to us as a society?… as a culture?… and as a people of faith? We can look to the Encyclical of Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) for our answer and our certainty. In this Encyclical, Saint John Paul emphasized the preeminent importance of respect for human life and its integral connection to the promotion of all human rights. He wrote, “A society lacks solid foundations, when on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically reacts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized. Only respect for life can be the foundation and guarantee of the most precious and essential goods of society, such as democracy and peace.”

 

The Supreme Court’s decision did not initiate an outright ban on abortion, handing this discretion, instead, to the States. Neither did the Court decide whether the unborn are “persons” entitled to the full protection of the Law. This will be the work that lies ahead of us.

 

Our awareness of the sacredness of life for the unborn permeates our Catholic faith, entering into unexpected areas, such as as when we pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. When doing so, we contemplate Our Lord’s pre-born life.

 

The First Mystery recalls the story of the Annunciation (for which our parish is named). At the very moment when Mary says, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word,” Our Lord enters into our humanity in a manner unique in human history, revealing the spark of the divine in an unborn child.

 

This miracle is recognized in the story of the Visitation in the Second Mystery, as Saint Elizabeth says, “Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? At the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy.”

 

Then in the third Mystery, we prayerfully consider Our Lord’s humble entrance into the world which He had come to redeem. And in the final two Mysteries we see the faith observances of the Holy Family, appearing in the Temple. It was this observance of the Faith that allowed Mary and Joseph to be open to mystery and miracle.

 

All of this was preceded by a thousand years, as King David sang in the 139th Psalm: 

You formed me in my inmost being,

You knit me in my mother’s womb.

My very self you knew,

My bones were not hidden from you

When I was being made in secret,

Fashioned in the depths of the [womb]. 

 

Achieving the goal of protecting human life is the greatest challenge for our generation. As celebratory as pro-life Catholics and others might be for the time being, we know that the Supreme Court cannot save us; this is the work of Christ in His Church. As we move into an uncertain future, we will have to work at convincing our fellow citizens of the beauty of the unborn child, whose incomparable worth was ordained by God… whose soul was created by God, no matter the circumstances of his or her begetting.

 

Those who stand on the other side of this issue need not be demonized by us: they have been fooled by the devil, who has demonized the catch phrases of the past decades, hiding behind euphemisms such as: pro-choice… women’s health issues… and reproductive rights, all meant to sound ennobling, but are, in the end, sinister because they cloak the truth of a life snuffed out at its most vulnerable moment.

 

Rhetoric from the other side has hardened hearts on many other fronts, and has led to an era of confusion concerning the sanctity of human life… the dignity of the human person… and the re-writing of sexual morality. This last has led to the breakdown of the family, same-sex “marriage,” transgender ideology and more.

 

There is a lot of emotion surrounding this issue, as witnessed by the intensity of demonstrations and the violence done by those who oppose the Court’s decision. Pro-abortionists  have lost a cherished myth for cultural deconstruction. They will be animated and emboldened to push to enshrine abortion-on-demand into our State Constitution this November. But the pro-life position is not based in emotion; it is a position based in faith seeking truth, and for people of faith living in a free country, there is no such thing as a hopeless cause.

 

Much work lies ahead. We have to prepare for the huge task of undoing half a century of murky thinking and evil actions. We will have to be steeped in prayer for the conversion of our opponents’ hearts, and for the courage of our own convictions. Here are some prayers we have already been praying:

 

From the Mass of Thanksgiving for the Gift of Human Life

God, our Creator, we give thanks to you who alone have the power to impart the breath of life as you form each of us in our mother’s womb; grant, we pray, that we, whom you have made stewards of Creation, may remain faithful to this sacred trust, and constant in safeguarding the dignity of every human life. 

 

From the Mass of Thanksgiving Day

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, You have entrusted to us the great gift of freedom, a gift that calls forth responsibility and commitment to the truth that all have a fundamental dignity before you.

 

From the Mass of Independence Day

Father of all… for what has been achieved, we give you thanks; for what work that still remains, we ask your help.

 

God bless you, now. God bless our endeavors, and God bless America.