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Lord of All Hopefulness
Last Sunday, for the first time, I went with a few other guys and prayed outside the planned parenthood in Indianapolis. It was an experience that I have wanted to do for a while (just about every other week or so a group of guys head over there), but I hadn't managed to do it until a last week. Anyway, I was expecting it to be a disheartening afternoon, but it actually turned out to be a very positive experience. We got there about 1 in the afternoon, it was about 30 degrees and sunny. There were two ladies already there when we showed up; they showed us how to sign into the log-sheet and where we could get materials (prayer cards, rosaries, etc.). I guess I didn't think that the pro-lifers would be this organized; very cool! Actually, they have people signed up to be there 8-5 Monday through Saturday and 12-5 on Sundays; again, very cool!
Anyway, after we got signed in, we took up a position a bit down the road and started by praying the rosary. Since it was a Sunday in Lent I believe that we prayed the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. I found it really moving to be meditating on the suffering that Jesus went through for all of us. I have always thought of abortion as this heinous sin and this evil that we need to end. Definitely, abortion is a terrible crime against both God's law (thou shalt not kill) and human rights/laws (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), and I don't want to lessen that aspect of it. Nevertheless, rather than dwelling on the negative, hellish, aspects of this industry, I instead found myself meditating on the mercy and love of God. Just about everything we prayed reminded me of God's love for the world, His willingness to be the sacrifice that expiated our sins, His infinite mercy that He gives to all of us.
During the rosary, as we meditated on the agony in the garden, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross, and the crucifixion, I saw Jesus enduring this torture and death so that our sins, all of them, could be forgiven. As we prayed the divine mercy chaplet, I again was struck by the presence of God's love and forgiveness everywhere, even where innocent children are aborted every day.
Then we prayed mid-day prayer, and once again God's love really struck me in every line. We sang "Lord of all Hopefulness" for the hymn, I started it too high, but we squeaked through the high notes. Here we are in front of an abortion mill, singing "Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy..." It's one of those things, where typically I wouldn't have been thinking about God as Lord of all hopefulness, but there it was right in front of my face. Of course, this pattern continued; the antiphon of the day was "As I life, says the Lord, I do not wish the sinner to die but to turn back to me and live". Again, the psalm of the day (psalm 118) hit me right between the eyes (here's some good excerpts): "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures for ever...The Lord is at my side; I do not fear. What can man do against me?...The Lord's right hand has triumphed; his right hand raised me..."
We probably prayed for an hour or so before heading back to Brute. It was a really interesting, enlightening, wonderful afternoon. I was floored by how, in prayer, I was constantly reminded of God's love for all of us. I don't mean to underestimate, or lessen the evil of, abortion, but I think it is important to remain positive, joyful, hopeful, and optimistic while confronting it. The grace given through Jesus Christ's death and Resurrection is infinite; it can overcome, forgive, and destroy any amount of sin. Of course our role is to live and pass on that grace, that love, that good news of the resurrection, to our world which seems to be forgetting or ignoring it. The point is that if we want to pass it on effectively, if we want to spread the gospel of life, we must be full of the same joy and hope that the Apostles had. Think about it, they were confronting a culture that was more pagan than ours, they were outnumbered on a massive, unthinkable, scale, and they actually went out and preached the gospel. We seem to have lost their childlike trust in God; He will provide, He will win, He will strengthen, protect, and guide us. I will conclude with a line from the closing prayer from that day: "when we are discouraged by our weakness, give us confidence in your love." In other words: Be not afraid!
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| "I will be with you always" |
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