Jesus told a parable to the disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit?
September 11, 2001
This anniversary of 9/11 after 25 years what have we learned about being pro-life? We have learned many things. We have learned that laws do not stop abortion, wars and hate. Let us talk about abortion first. It is illegal in many states and legal in others. Women are still having abortions. What did we do wrong? Simple we made a law but didn’t change the hearts of people who participate in an abortion. Laws are not going to stop abortion. Changing the heart of someone who is thinking about an abortion is going to stop it. Think for a moment about on why a woman would choose an abortion. Does she have family support? Does she have community support? Is race a factor?
Sixty years ago, I had a cousin who found out she was pregnant. She had support from my uncle and aunt. They got married and are still very much married. The couple have two fine sons and multiple grandchildren. They had what many women don’t have they have family and community support.
Wars are another abomination to pro-life people. Wars kill men, women and children. What do they prove? We still have wars that kill schoolgirls in Iran and solders in the Middle East. They don’t get us anywhere, but we still make the bombs and guns to destroy each other.
Hate is the last and probably the most notable of all the malaise of our world. I don’t look at Facebook that much, but someone is calling someone else as evil. Truth be told there is evil on all sides. We demonize people who do not agree with us and in truth they are just like us. We are all sinners.
All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither. That is how I run, intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air.
The race is ongoing. We need to change. Last Sunday’s second reading from Romans 13:8-10 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, [namely] “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.“
Honestly, I can’t stop abortion, capital punishment, wars or hate by myself. Significantly, we as a people can. It starts with you and me and our neighbors. It takes community help to support the young mother to keep her baby. Too many women choose abortion because they don’t feel as if they could carry the child to term without help. It has been 25 years since 9/11 and it is obvious that we have not learned our lesson. Our rhetoric says that hate is better than love.
The change happens with us. We are the key to loving our neighbor. Our neighbor could be Muslim, Protestant, or Hindu. They are our neighbors. The color of their skin is not important. They may not look like us or believe as we do, but they are still our neighbors. The change happens with us and in us as a community.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for Pope Leo XIV. Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for those in Hospice. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for the Holy Land. The impossible could and can happen. (Saint Rita) Never deny God! Pray for justice for all victims of human trafficking and immigrants! Pray for justice for our President and all government officials! Pray for Peace!
