ENTRUSTED WITH THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION

Today is the: 

• Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children 
• Anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Roe vs Wade 1973 
• Day 2 of the 9 Days for Life Novena 

The story I’m about to share is true and shared with permission. It was the week before her senior year of high school, and only a few sips into her favorite treat - a Peach Lemonade. But that day - for the first time - it turned her stomach and right away she was afraid. She & her boyfriend had been dating for four months and she could only think of one reason why the lemonade made her so sick. She was pregnant. 

When she got home, she immediately I took a pregnancy test. Then another one, hoping the first one was wrong. Both were positive and collapsing to the floor, sobbed, thinking: “I was the cheerleading captain, a solid A/B student, I have big plans for my future.” Now, she felt like her life was over. Thrown it all away with one mistake. 

Most of all, she didn't want to disappoint her mother. She was ashamed of herself, but even worse, she was ashamed of the innocent baby inside her. So, they decided this "mistake" wouldn't ruin the rest of their lives and made the decision to "terminate." 

She made an appointment at the abortion clinic. Then she called her mother. Her mother’s words stopped her in her tracks. "You really don't want an abortion. You just want to run away from the consequences of your actions.” She wasn't angry. She didn't yell. But she was right. We feared what people would say. We didn't want to mess up our own plans for college and our future. Her mom asked her to go to a pro-life pregnancy center in the next town over. To make a long story short, she kept both appointments, and most importantly, chose life for her baby girl, Brooklyn. WHY? 

For me it was the language in which she experienced in every step after her decision, starting with her mother. She wasn’t angry, nor yelled, she spoke truth in love. Her experience as both clinics, the language at one spoke of the child, the other of taking care of the “mistake”. 

For us, our take away, comes is in our Gospel Acclamation, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” In today’s Gospel we hear that Jesus summoned and selected the twelve, on the mountain, where he taught them and empowered them to preach and drive away demons. We are now the disciples; our mountain is prayer, where we learn to speak the Good News and through our words drive away demons. We have been “entrusted with the message of reconciliation.” 

As we work to build God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, the Gospels frequent message includes, that a fundamental part of God’s kingdom is the way all people are protected. Most especially, the most vulnerable and voiceless among us: the unborn and bullied; those persecuted because of their race, gender, religion, national origin and sexual orientation; the poor, imprisoned, infirmed, and the elderly. Our words and behaviors have the power to condemn or reconcile. As Christians we’ve received “this … message … from the beginning: We should love one another.” (1 Jn 3:11) and “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one another.” (Jn 13:35)