Keep close to the Catholic Church at all times, for the Church alone can give you
true peace, since she alone possesses Jesus, the true Prince of Peace, in the
Blessed Sacrament - St. Padre Pio
Ok, I'm going to say it. From a Catholic perspective, there seems to be a
grave danger in some things that are happening regarding those who have
had abortions and their healing.
I read an article where the writer states women who have had an
abortion are, “mothers who have lost their child”. Another organization
compares abortion to miscarriage as if it were the same, (they both “lost” a
baby). Then there are the attempts to destigmatize abortion just like those
on the abortion side do, only coming from a prolife perspective. It appears
that we are becoming desensitized to the reality of abortion thinking there is
a need to do this to be compassionate to those who have had the
experience.
In this quest to be compassionate the seriousness of the sin is being lost. I
say this as someone who has had an abortion and has also worked with
thousands of women who have had abortions over the last thirty years.
Of course, we are called to be a sign of God’s love and mercy to those
suffering and invite them in for healing, but we must never forget, abortion
is a grave sin.
To truly heal, people need to acknowledge the sin. We are
healed not by what we can do, or by watering down the truth, but by what
Christ has done for us. The truth must be spoken, the truth of the evil of
abortion and the truth of the mercy of God. This does not make the sin any
less grave but in knowing the gravity, makes the mercy of God even more
unfathomable.
True compassion and love calls us to live in truth. God calls for contrition
and humility in the quest for healing and in the case of Catholics this means
acknowledging our sin and bringing it to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The Sacrament of MERCY!
It also means regularly partaking in the sacraments, so we receive the
graces we need on our journey to healing. It means living in the humility of
who we are and what we have done, and who Christ is and what He has
done for us in His suffering, death, and resurrection.
We are so blessed within the Catholic Church to have the true Presence of Jesus
available to us in the Blessed Sacrament, always waiting for us, seeking us out to heal
us.
We are God’s children, loved and having dignity and worth. Abortion is not
who we are, but it is something we have done, taken the life of an innocent
unborn child. We are called to repentance. To do penance and amend our
lives. "Go and sin no more."(John 8:11)
In not speaking the truth there is a danger of living in a level of denial or
thinking somehow, we can save ourselves. I once saw an interview
where, when speaking of those who have had abortions, it said, “there are a
lot of people carrying the burden and self-imposed stigma of abortion.”
This “burden and stigma” could be the very thing that causes someone to
seek out healing. A catalyst to repentance, not a false compassion to assist
in the denial of the consequences of the evil of abortion.
Yes, there is tremendous loss, grief, shame and guilt and people are culpable to different
degrees, but abortion is a mortal sin, and the burden and stigma are a
result of this serious sin, not a self-imposed state for no reason. Mortal sin
separates us from God.
Thankfully, there is forgiveness and mercy through the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. Christ longs to heal us. He waits for us. He wants to shower
us with His love, mercy, and forgiveness so, like the woman at the well, we
will then want to let others who are suffering from abortion know, “Come, see
a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came
out of the town and made their way toward him (. John 4:30)
While offering this Mercy freely given to us by God, we must also never
minimize the gravity of the sin of abortion. In doing so, we take away the
opportunity to confirm all the woman already knows in her heart it also
makes her deaf to the call to conversion and intimacy with God who loves
us unconditionally. Our God who provides the things we need to truly heal,
the sacraments, ministry, spiritual direction, or counseling, thus allowing us
to understand the dynamics of abortion while growing in relationship with
Him, and His love which makes us instruments of His great mercy and love
for others.
This conversion leads us to a life of gratitude and thanksgiving, not
because we are sinners that just "lost a baby", but because we are
grave sinners who participated in the death of our children and have had
an encounter with Christ Himself, who loves us, bestows His life on us in
TRUTH, and gives us a newfound joy. That is true healing.
