“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31-32a)
You might recall that on November 17, 2012 we had a special Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, after which we had a Eucharistic procession to the Midtown Medical abortion clinic where we said some powerful prayers to expel demons and bless that ground where the lives of so many babies have been killed. This is part of an ongoing effort to “pray” abortions out of our parish. The interesting thing is that the clinic has been closed every Saturday since then. And then last Saturday there was a sign on the door that the abortionist, Kiat Varnishung, had died. May God have mercy on his soul. Last Monday morning, the website lifenews.com had a report that the clinic is closing. While that report is still unconfirmed, it would be such a blessing if the systematic killing of babies in our parish were stopped. If you’ve never seen the clinic, it’s adjacent to the Capital One bank near the corner of St. Charles and Louisiana. The sacrilegious thing is that this building used to be a church, as you can tell from looking at it. In fact, one morning while we were praying, a man came and asked us why we were there. When we told him it was an abortion clinic, his face fell and tears came to his eyes. “I was baptized in there when it was a church,” he told us.
Mother Teresa once said “There is no greater poverty than a woman who decides that an unborn child must die so that she can live as she wishes.” But it’s also a terrible thing that women are not supported more when they are pregnant. A new mother, especially if she is unmarried, might feel pressure from her parents, the baby’s father or societal stigma to “get rid” of her “problem.” The key to this issue isn’t politics; it’s changing hearts and minds. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of a baby 2012 years ago in Bethlehem, we need to look at what we can do to be more welcoming of babies by supporting unmarried pregnant woman, by helping them carry their babies to term, and by supporting them as they care for their babies.
About two months ago, when we were praying in front of the clinic on a Saturday, a woman approached the entrance to the clinic. Then she turned around and walked toward us. She pointed to us, and said “you saved one,” and she walked away. I actually didn’t hear what she said, but one of our group walked over to her and heard her story. She had been agonizing all night about her decision to have an abortion. And she asked God for a sign. And when she walked up to the clinic that morning, she saw us praying. We were the sign, and she decided to have her baby. We told her about the Woman’s New Life center (womansnewlife.com), where she could get medical and financial help. Life. Jesus is the creator of life, and he came to earth to give us new life in the Spirit when we were dead in sin. As we prepare to remember a pregnant virgin who gave birth in a place for animals, may we reach out or hands and hearts to help all of those babies in their mothers’ wombs today.
(Rev. Msgr.) Christopher H. Nalty
msgr.nalty@gmail.com
