In the
recent film Lincoln, a unique
perspective is revealed about the overthrowing of slavery and the enactment of
the Emancipation Proclamation: coercion. In my experience, history has painted
a noble image and perhaps idealistic portrayal of how it all went down. What we
see in the film (SPOILER) is that Lincoln hires a group of men to, for a lack
of better terms, buy votes. There were sharp divisions among the men of
congress and a simple vote was just simply not going to secure the emancipation
of slaves, even though it was objectively a moral evil. But, with securing…buying
and bribing enough votes, he was able to pass the legislation.
Admittedly,
it was a little deflating for I find Lincoln a fascinating character of history
and someone to be admired. I understand that congress is the cest pool of
politics and politics beats to its own drum and is less concerned with moral
objectives and any real eternal ramification as it is with votes and power.
Lincoln had to use the game of politics to gain a political achievement.
The March
for Life…
This will
be my eighth or ninth march, and I am honestly blown away by the sheer number
of people that come and take over the city. There is an incredible Catholic
presence that just overwhelms the crowd. I have no way of knowing, but I would
bet that the majority marching are Catholics. Because of that Catholic flavor of the the march, prayer has become ubiquitous alongside the cold and
hours of standing and marching.
Prayer.
That is the key to unlocking the mystery and the dilemma we call Abortion. What
I have come to see and interiorize is that a conversion of a people and a
nation is not the work of a vote in congress or a canned philosophical
argument. Prayer is what is going to ‘buy votes’ and going to emancipate
millions of children from horrid ends within the womb.
The march,
in and of itself, is a good thing and necessary, for it binds hundreds of
thousands of human beings experiencing and living life in the protest of a
maltreatment of the most vulnerable of us. It is a powerful sign of affirmation
that there are many many people who do oppose abortion and would like it erased
from the courts of law as a right and freedom. The march reminds us that we
need to be in solidarity with each other, centered on what is true and the best
prescription for our society.
What the
march is not, is the solution.
Abe
Lincoln, deciding that enough was enough with the practice of slavery, was
simply unable to enact it with just the desire. He had to capture the victory
by using another means and by playing the game. Now, I believe how he achieved
it was not the most moral of means, but that’s for another discussion. What I
point out is that, despite how obvious the evil is, it is not enough to only
voice it and reason it. Often times, something higher and more persuasive needs
employed.
President
Lincoln used the allurement of high-ranking positions and authority within the
government to get his votes. We use prayer!
I am
convinced that the only way to overcome any evil is through prayer. I am not
minimizing the power of public demonstrations, philosophical debates or
whatever – they all have their use and value. But to have a nation have a total takeover of the heart and to come to the point where we say “No more” because
of a genuine love for all life - only God can craft that. The march is then a
giant conduit of prayer. It is where we pray for the tens of millions of babies
who have perished far too soon and who now rest in the gentle arms of our
Blessed Mother. We pray for the conversion of our courts, legislators and laws
so that the divine law may be beautifully reflected and upheld within our
nation. We pray for all mothers who find themselves pregnant, that they may
find the tremendous support they need and the love and strength to bring their
child to term. We pray for all fathers of those babies, that they may be true
men who support and love their children and the mother of their children. We
pray for all hearts and minds hardened or confused with the understanding and
acceptance of the sacredness of all life, so that they may have hearts and
minds set ablaze with the knowledge and love of God.
We can’t
discredit the power of marching for life and the presence of hundreds of
thousands prayerfully making their voice heard and known. But, ultimately,
without God, we can never win. Without God, it just becomes a lost pursuit, for
power and votes will be the only player on the field. But with prayer and with
God, anything is possible.
In God’s
time, if it is His will, we will have this overturned. In God’s time, we will
live in a nation where love for life may not be perfectly reflected, but we
will all have the opportunity to have a chance to experience the life He
has given us.
Mary,
Mother of the unborn, Pray for us!
