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a few announcements before the homily first a reminder that this coming sunday 11 a.m mass we're going to go ahead and bless all of our teachers in honor of saint thomas aquinas his feast day is january 28th he is the most eminent of teachers in our tradition so at the 11 a.m mass will give a blessing to all of our teachers those in the teaching profession we are so grateful for what they do in general but especially during this pandemic i also want to highlight a pro-life conference that's being held digitally it's free you can register there's information that was in my column pastor's column last week it's going to be in our digital newsletter uh later today and it's on our website it's a free digital conference pro-life conference that answers all the challenges that we receive in the midst of society it's a way to empower each of us as people who love life who love the lord in order to answer we have to empower ourselves train ourselves be ready when we hear challenges we have to have the answers this conference is available it's right there in your home it's very flexible again it's free we encourage you make sure you sign up information is on my electronic newsletter i'll go out later today about one o'clock it's in last week's and it's also on our website i hope that i hear from the organizers what's going on in indian land south carolina we had massive registrations right because we definitely need to be registered and we need to learn these answers if your vineyard find yourself in a situation and someone's arguing with you about abortion and you don't have the answer it is your fault because every opportunity for you to get the answers being provided so this pro-life conference is a great resource please make sure you sign up we must be prepared and ready in the name of the father of the son of the holy spirit so today in the gospel we see the lord call the twelve apostles and just as he calls those twelve on account of our baptism he calls each of us do we realize the great power and privilege we have as christian believers to share in the very apostolic work of the lord jesus christ to be able to take his message that gospel of life and to have the power of his spirit and the help of his grace in order to go and to proclaim a message that does not bring condemnation or hurt or harm but a message that brings peace mercy reconciliation and love that's the message we have that's the message that has given to us as oftentimes what happens is the lamp is lit and is placed under the table why is it dear friends that we are so ashamed and embarrassed of the lord jesus and his gospel why is it that so many christians have allowed themselves to be shamed by respectability and by their neighbors i wish that those who hate life those who seek the destruction of life were as embarrassed of their message as so many of our christians are of ours how does that happen that the unrighteous those who seek evil are so emboldened and so loud and so convicted and yet those of us who have been given the message of life and mercy and reconciliation and mercy we act as if we have something that we're supposed to be embarrassed about realize today that the lord says to each of us exactly what he said to the 12 apostles come follow me now go and make disciples of all donations teaching them all that i have taught you look at that mission we have as christians we do not live aimlessly it's not as if we are not sure what we're supposed to be doing in our lives we have received a mission how are we doing with that mission let's look at the question of life and specifically the question of abortion when we speak of abortion we have to speak in dire and extreme terms because it is an extreme reality we can speak about the horror or the slaughter and these terms are appropriate because since it's legalization in our country millions and millions of innocent vulnerable weak children have been slaughtered in our country right here in the united states of america the land of the free and the home of the brave but let's talk about this horror of abortion first we have to understand that it is truly a slaughter but how is it that so many otherwise reasonable what appear to be good-willed people do not see this how could they not understand the horror of abortion how can one be a christian and not see the of abortion do we not hold up and seek and hold and esteem the prophets who tell us that they received their own mission in the womb before they were even fashioned in their mother's womb god had a plan for them and do we not adhere to that powerful story of our lady going in haste to her kinswoman elizabeth look at the charity of our lady she goes in haste and it is the pre-born saint john who feels the presence of his cousin the pre-born christ and leaps in the womb of elizabeth the scriptures scream out and shout to us the dignity of all human life the dignity of life in the womb for a christian it's a no-brainer if any christian says i believe in abortion they are not a christian they have sacrilege and abandoned the very principle which makes us christians as christians we acknowledge that god has become a man that he has lived a human life and therefore all human life has dignity to hold to such an offense to human life is to portray the very principle the foundational principle of what it means to be a christian and i regret that we even have to address that because it precisely because of the compromise of our own that makes us so weak when we try to argue for life in the midst of the secular culture that's christians though what about the other reasonable we perceive goodwill people who think abortion is okay the unbeliever or the agnostic the ones who are not sure first of all they are oftentimes empowered by compromised christians or silent christians but how is it that someone can be of such good will and of such reason and not understand the horror of abortion well because it's committed against small people little ones who have no voice it's committed in small places secret places out of the view of most of us and is committed against the most vulnerable in the week and people can easily overlook it people can forget or not know what's being done abortion is made hygienic clean even some young women who've had abortions who later repent will say that they themselves were not even sure what was happening because they've made it so clean and so falsely civilized one actor some years ago caused a major stink when he had the fortitude to wear a shirt that said abortion would it be easier if they used a gun what would it do to our civilizations millions and millions of children were shot by gunfire is that what has to happen in order for humanity to wake up for americans to wake up to understand what is happening but no because it's by small people against little ones precious ones innocent ones in the back woods away from the visible eye and i've seen because it's been made so hygienic one pro-abortionist even describing it as a mere medical procedure like going to get your gallbladder taken out and that's we've made abortion and that's why reasonable people can say it's a woman's choice that's why otherwise good willed people can say i don't want to get involved it doesn't affect me but difference it does affect us because when we permit that as a nation it corrodes our moral sense it corrodes our understanding of human dignity it is precisely because of legalized abortion that we can now see the assault that's being committed against those at the end of life for those with special needs because once human dignity becomes about utility what are you doing what can you contribute if that's human dignity then all human life becomes vulnerable and as soon as you're vulnerable you'll become the victim of an attack and everyone else will just look the other way doesn't involve me doesn't affect me but it does it hurts our society it hurts our nation it hurts the ability of god to bless us do you know how god punishes his people read the scriptures the principle way in which god punishes his people is with bad leadership god will allow his people to implode he will grant them bad leadership sometimes he will even allow them to choose that bad leadership and allow the decisions that have been made to play themselves out and for the punishment to be self-inflicted dear friends we cannot think that we can murder millions and millions of god's innocent weak children and think that there are no consequences i oftentimes think of the expression of ruth graham the wife of billy graham who said if god does not inflict the severe punishment upon the united states of america then on the day of judgment he will have to repent before sodom and gomorrah we are on shaky grounds dear friends as a nation and as a people in fact i suspect it's precisely because of masses like this and the prayers that we offer that is holding back an even stronger hand of punishment because dear friends abortion is real children are dying the silence screams and the distant carnage is real and it's being done in our name it's being committed by a mother a doctor in the womb the vocation of a mother is to protect her children we make jokes about the mama bear because mom mothers will do anything to protect their children to have a mother as the very victor the very offender the aggressor and a doctor who literally takes a promise to do no harm to be in this dark association and to attack a defenseless child in the womb that should be the safest place in human existence and that's all real and that's happening so okay so we have the horror of abortion christians who have compromised good people who just don't realize what's happening because it's made so hygienic and so distant and so removed what about our enlightened catholics let's talk about them because they've done so much harm and you do know they're enlightened they're better than the rest of us right most of us we just hear what jesus says and we do the best we can cooperate with his grace in order to live the gospel pretty simple oh no no no we are below them we don't quite get it because they think they're so much more enlightened than us and so much more informed and so much broader and mature in their perspective you can't just worry about one issue it sounds like wisdom but it's folly imagine if i were to say to you look i'm going to stabilize your family income i'm going to cover all your bills i'm going to make sure you have a nice car you have a safe home i'm going to make sure you have a nice neighborhood you have good roads a nice school system but you know what i just have to kill one of your kids once you put it in a different perspective the folly is clear and we can describe all these different terms in order to intimidate the rest of the believers to remain silent well i don't want to look narrow-minded i don't want to look ill-informed i don't want to look stupid respectability steps in and suddenly everyone's quiet and folly wins and murder is the rule of the day so let's talk about these enlightened catholics they tell us no no no look this is what you have to do you have to take all the life issues and they're all together and then we have to balance them out so we have poverty and capital punishment and we have immigration policy and so and we have to balance these all out and we try to get as many of them right as we can and if we don't get some right well that's just part of how this goes it sounds so reasonable doesn't it and as americans we like that we're utilitarian right we like that bottom line like get as much as you can in the best way you can right but when it comes to moral truth it's completely erroneous again the wisdom is actually falling because within all these life issues we have what are called intrinsic evil as we also have prudential issues so we look at abortion that's intrinsic that means no matter what happens no matter the circumstances or the intention it doesn't matter it's always evil the act itself is evil nothing can make it right that's intrinsic evil meanwhile there are other life issues that are prudential for example immigration we can debate on how best to have an immigration policy there can be many right answers and we rely on the circumstances and the intentions in order to decide what is right immigration is not on the same level of abortion and capital punishment is not on the same level as abortion and the issues of the just war are not on the same level as abortion because all of these require prudence a prudential judgment abortion doesn't you are literally attacking and destroying an innocent life that is always evil so because that we say there's a hierarchy we're concerned about all the life issues obviously as christians as people who love life we don't want war we don't want torture we want to try to solve and help those in poverty we don't seek the execution of prisoners of course we are pro-life people we're concerned about all these issues but there is a hierarchy and the intrinsic ones are at the top and if we don't get those right we have no moral standing to make any argument beyond that and not simply as abortion and intrinsic evil it's also at the very beginning of life which means if we don't get the beginning right everything else is going to fall apart if we don't don't get this first life issue accurate and strong and and correct then we have no moral foundation to argue against war or capital punishment or poverty and so while yes all life issues are our concern there is a hierarchy when we try to take some and balance them out that is called proportionalism that is a great heresy in moral theology because it allows me to say i will give you all these other goods but just let me commit this moral evil as i described i will bless you with all these good things a safe neighborhood a good home but i just have to kill one of your kids unacceptable unacceptable what sounds like wisdom is actually folly listen to this quote from pope saint john paul ii i love this quote the holy father writes the inviolability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of god our dignity is a reflection of god's dignity if you offend my dignity as a human person your dignity human person you offend god the availability of the person which is a reflection of the absolute infallibility of god finds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life above all the common outcry which is justly made on behalf of human rights for example the right to health to home to work to family to culture is false and illusory if the right of life the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other rights is not defended with maximum determination maximum determination if we don't get the right to life right all the other arguments are false and illusory we simply agree with them because they agree with what we think i'll grant you your dignity because i need something from you or because i want your group to support me it's all fake if we don't get the right to life right if that's not spot on then all the other rights listen to the holy father are false and illusory and he calls us to defend the life with maximum determination maximum determination we are called as the disciples of the lord jesus to continue his message to share his gospel of life to defend life with maximum determination is that what we're doing is that what you're doing among your friends in your neighborhood one christian teenager ratted out their parents they said father i wanted to put up a pro-life sign in our front yard my parents said take it down the neighbors would think were weirdos is that maximum determination are we praying for life in our homes are you speaking about the dignity of every human life especially that in the womb when you're among your friends or are you different when you're with them than you are when you're here the lord tells us he does not need lip service the lord needs apostles each of us have been baptized to be apostles of the gospel which includes the gospel of life good news dear friends this past week we heard that dr jerome lachoon who is a geneticist catholic geneticist who discovered the cause of down syndrome has been raised to a level of venerable that's right before blessed right before saint it was on his way i thought it was very powerful that he would be declared venerable the same week as some other event happened with some other catholic who does not love life you see how god works to the righteous god gives us hope doctor drum legend spent his entire life maximum determination in order to find the cause of down syndrome his greatest sorrow was he couldn't find the cure before he died and he said almost prophetically they will use my research to destroy life his last that bro his last breath was he had hoped to be able to find the cure before he died i believe that god's providence will raise up other catholic who will continue his work not simply an area of down syndrome but in all the areas where life needs help guidance attention where life needs to be defended perhaps even some of those young scientists will come from our parish from our lady of grace in little old indian land south carolina i have great hopes because i know that when there are hearts that say yes when there's a community that says yes god blesses that community he blesses that person that's not who we desire to be team grace a community and a people that says yes today once again in your hearts say yes to life yes with maximum determination to defend life understand the mission that you have been baptized into accept that mission again receive the graces we need and then go and be those apostles those defenders of life