SO, YOU'RE PRO-LIFE? TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE

Yesterday I saw the pro-life cake get some icing.  In church, during the meditation on  the scriptures that we Catholics call the homily.
Those of you who know me, know that I am anti-abortion, and I don't care what the language police say.  That's what I am and that's what I say.
So, yesterday I was sitting there in church minding my own business.  Yes, I do have moments when I am able to control myself, somewhat, for a little while.  The Scripture readings yesterday were challenging, of course, but they became more so as the priest developed his line of thought.  He injected a reflection about the "pro-life" conviction that so many people say that they have.  He was very frank when he said, "if you are pro-life, then you have to be pro-life all the way.  You aren't pro-life if you are pro-death penalty.  You aren't pro-life if you don't mind sending young people to war to kill and/or be killed." After that is when he stepped off into God's territory.  He told the story of the sixteen year-old boy and his family who were denied access to their first class seats on an American Airlines flight because the boy has Down Syndrome. The priest placed that side by side with the story from scripture that describes a host taking care of the well dressed dude like a prince while he mistreats the poorly dressed indigent.  (James 2; 1 - 4)
This preacher then took pro-life out for a ride over deep, deep waters.  Here, I paraphrase.  If you are pro-life, then you owe it to yourself and to others not only to prevent abortion, but to love, respect and enhance the lives of the humans around you.  This priest deserves some kind of a medal.   How many of us have ever thought about pro-life that way?  How many of you say that you are pro-life and actually believe in the truth contained in  the priest's line of thought?  Even if you are pro-life and you are not Catholic, the words spoken from the altar yesterday, by this one, deep thinking priest are for everyone, even a Catholic anti-abortionist like me.

XXX 4 ADULTS ONLY XXX

Hey, how ya doin'?  Whadja think of the Wedding Chapel ad in the Parish Bulletin?  Good stuff, right.  So then you open this an you get an "X" rated title.  I put that up there to get your attention, no more no less.  I'm back to childhood anyway, so I have to steer clear of certain things, like alcohol, tobacco, fire arms, sharp knives and slippery stairs.  Slippery slopes are OK though, so what with the funny stuff going on at church and all, I figured that I would take the opportunity to tell you that I am pro-choice.  Yup!  Pro-choice.  It's the only way to go, especially if, like me, you are driven to shivers to declare to the entire world that you are, indeed ANTI ABORTION.  
Over the years since surgical abortion was made legal in this country, it has amazed me how twisted the language can get around this issue.  Further, it amazes me how narrow minded pro-life people can actually be.  I was flabbergasted the past January during the Adult Faith Formation Week mini-congress that we held at our church when we had presentations by the professionals from Rachel's Vineyard during the week.  At least three "sidewalk warriors" came to me to denigrate me and the bishop for being "soft" on abortion because we backed these people who are in the ministry of rehabilitating people (women and the men) who had directly procured an abortion.  This is pro-life?  Nope.  What about taking care of the lives if those who procured the procedure?  HHHmmmm??
You know, of all the animals, and in fact of all the creatures, corporeal and spiritual, we are the only ones left with the grace of freedom.  It blows my mind that we can so blissfully throw that grace out the window and declare ourselves pro-life.  That's life, you got two choices, Abortion or Life.  Everything else is not important.  The interesting part of it all is that the three star general from the air base up the road declares himself to be pro-life.  The superior court judge does the same.  The guy who works at the slaughter house is pro-life too.  He has the vegetarians after his hynie.  Now, those same veggie people, they aren't pro life either, as far as I learned in biology class anyway.  Pro-life is a myth.  Pro-life is an oxymoron that is alive and well everywhere.  People have to stop strewing the path of life with such stercore taurorum.  Stop hiding behind the political correctness jargon and call an abortion an abortion and not a prophylactic medical procedure.  Stop hiding behind the stupid assertion that it is "my body."  It's not.  Because it's not, find out what your zipper is for.
Finally, God gave us one choice too.  It's all over the Bible, so I don't have to repeat it, you all know the first commandment.  We have a choice.  Choose God or go to hell. Period.  "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  15 If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24;15)  
Finally, if Jesus in the desert had opted to change the stones to bread to satisfy HIS BODY, where would we be today?  I thank Jesus every day for making the choices He made.  He made them so that we would learn to make them through the grace that we get from Him and the Spirit.  By the way, when we are making those choices, let's make them by "making our YES, YES..." (Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No. ...Matt. 34;24)  and forget the political correctness BS.  Call a spade a spade and an abortion an abortion and say openly to the world that we are anti-abortion.
Phew!  That was a high horse to ride.  I hope I calm down by tomorrow.

NOW, I GOT A THOUGHT OR TWO, SO BRACE YOURSELF...

...Add some glue to your false teeth, put an extra strip of velcro on the more revealing edges of whatever it is that you wear while at your computer and put a seat belt on your chair.  This one is not original for today.  I've had it before.   It slammed me this morning because I am always on edge for this one.  ALWAYS.
I got back to the church this morning after the evening full of 90 minute sessions that made up the first night of the mini symposium that Belle and I have organized for the adults of the parish. We got there early to prepare the coffee that precedes the morning talks and to conduct some "exit polling" of those who had attended yesterday's events.  Things were going rather well when the first person just answered the question with a smile and a positive response.  The second person, when asked about his opinion about the presentation on Islam, said that he was happy that his preconceived ideas had almost all been confirmed before leaping head first into a stream of broken-record repetitions of abortion statistics and the culture of death...  I quickly turned to another person heading for the main door of the church and accosted her to ask if she has enjoyed the presentation on the Mexican Martyrs, "Los Cristeros".  She said "Yes."  After which she burst into a diatribe about the fact that we weren't presenting anything on the greatest evil ever to visit planet earth, abortion.  (She's wrong, it is slated for tonight)  Now, the first one took about 25 seconds before getting to the target.  The second one was less than 5.  I have written about this phenomenon before, so I will not dedicate too much time to it here, today.  I will say this: I am pro-choice and do not make an effort to tell me that I am mistaken.  And most especially, give me more than 20 seconds of advance notice that you are a person who has but one single item of religious conversation available on the tip of the tongue.  I want you to know that I am anti-abortion.  I don't hide behind euphemisms like "pro-life."  I am not pro-life.  God created us free, with  the challenge of keeping ourselves pure in His sight by exercising choice according to His Will.  I kill animals before eating them.  (He's OK with that)  I uproot weeds; I cut down trees; I use insecticide; I am OK with policemen who carry guns, presumably because they may have to kill a human being someday; I am OK with drone warfare, to a degree.  I am against abortion, no matter at what stage of development the abortion takes place.  That means that I have room in my small brain for understanding that not all zygotes or whatever other name humans in development can be known by, are in fact "human."  And don't you Catholics come down and say that everything in the womb is human from the point of conception.  Not even the Church goes that far.  You give me that and I'll give you the right to declare yourself pro-life even though you still dearly cling to your pro capital punishment, second amendment solutions, animal killing, meat eating proclivities.  At least I don't have to live with that lie.  I have some of my own that I like better.
So, now you know.  I have had enough of the abortion activist ear splitting emotionalism to last me well into my fast approaching next lifetime.  One thing about this makes me happy:  now that I have "come out of the closet" there's not a one of you who will have even the slightest temptation to cry at my funeral.


BTW:  I guarantee that I pray for all you "sidewalk warriors" every single day.