This is my talk for the Personhood Walk on March 25th - The Feast of the Annunciation
Good morning- What a beautiful day to be speaking about the dignity of life-the feast of the biggest “yes” to life, the annunciation!
Life, the ultimate gift of love- and yet in our world so much is going on that is a rejection of that very gift.
For weeks now many of us have been riveted to our TV’s. We are horrified with the scenes coming out of Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis the war has created.
We have seen pictures of mothers fleeing their country and their homes with their children in an effort to keep them safe from the violence of war in their homeland.
In countries they are fleeing to, like Poland, other mothers have left their carriages for the refugees coming off the trains, knowing that they have been travelling for days carrying their children. We have been watching the plight of mothers who will do anything to protect her children from harm.
It is in our nature. Each one of us can relate to that.
Yet, here in America we have a very different war the war of abortion, that people seem to be blind to because it is not projected by the media on our TV screens. We pass these places of violence every day without a thought. In fact, it is covered up as if not seeing it makes it less of a reality.
Here, we have mothers proclaiming their right to abortion, the right to kill their unborn children, because that is what abortion is, the right to kill them in their words: “at any time, for any reason without exception or apology.” The ultimate rejection of love
Both mothers with two very different objectives, one protecting children at any cost, the other wanting to ensure the ability of their destruction at any cost.
Sadly, many who succumb to abortion because of pressures or believing the lies, find out way too late the consequences of their decision. In both cases we are speaking of human life that should be treated with dignity and worth, each one a unique gift of God.
I have recently often found myself deep in thought about these two wars. They are very personal to me. They have also created a special bond with one of my sons. A bond that very much speaks to the dignity of human life, or the lack of it, and the impact it has not only on those lives lost, but all who encounter the violence and the trauma of these experiences, and that is every single one of us whether we realize it or not
You see, my son was a recon marine who served at the height of the Iraq war. He knows what it is like to see the life snuffed out of someone through violence. He has felt deeply its loss not only as it was happening in the death and injury of friends, but years after, as he watched some of those, he served with commit suicide or become incapable of resuming life as before because of what they had experienced. He also happens to presently have been living in Kyiv Ukraine, watching the violence, humanitarian crisis and the destruction and attacks on human life.
I have been on the front lines of the abortion war for over thirty years both as someone who has had an abortion and saw the horror of my dead son and hence the truth of what abortion is. I suffered for years what many who have had abortions suffer, shame, guilt, depression, anxiety, and no, it was not because of my religious beliefs – it was because I participated in taking the life of my child. I also am someone who has ministered to thousands suffering because of abortion over the years. Women, men and even siblings who interiorly feel the loss in their souls, of innocent unborn babies who often are silently suffering because of abortion.
This disregard for the dignity of human life, whether it is in the violence of the Ukrainian war or the violence of abortion damages not only those who have died, but those who have been touched by these grievous losses.
Imagine being the mother or father who finally face the fact that they have participated in the death of their child or being the sibling who deals with the conflict within of distress over the loss of a sibling while at the same time wondering if they would even be here if the abortion had not occurred.
These are experiences that shape a person, which shape their lives, which shapes our world. Experiences that attack the value and dignity of the beauty of human life, both those of the unborn and those abortion touches, experiences of that my son and I will carry with us forever in this earthly life.
In many ways it has brought us closer together because we both recognize the depths of the loss, a depth that also reflects the value of each life by the emptiness felt inside.
Human life is sacred, from conception to natural death. It is not our place to interrupt it.by abortion or by war.
President Zelensky of Ukraine recently said: “If the world becomes aside, it will lose itself. Forever and ever. For there are unconditional values. For everyone, the same. This is life first and foremost. The right to life for everyone. Exactly what we fight for in Ukraine. Exactly what these weak invaders want to deprive us of. Exactly what the world needs to be protected,” (
I wrote this talk before anything was said about consecrating Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate hearts of Mary. On this beautiful Feast of the Annunciation we are reminded of the self-giving love of Mary, of her “yes” to the plan of redemption from our sins
I believe both war and abortion are the ultimate rejection of love, but all is not lost. Amid the horror of both wars, we see the beauty of humanity by the generosity of people. People like you out here this morning to remind the world what abortion really is. My son has also told me more than once how impressed he is with those helping the refugees, especially in Poland where they have taken into their homes over a million.
The Polish people know the horror of war firsthand. They have experienced the rejection of love. But love conquers sin and death whether it is in Ukraine or an abortion. Jesus, conquered it on Calvary.
"He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." (1John 2:2)
May Mary the mother of us all, on this beautiful feast day of the annunciation, hold each one of us under her mantle. May she hear our prayers today, end the violence and lead us safely to her Son, Mercy Itself who is waiting to heal each one of us.
Theresa Bonopartis
