Reflections on the thirty-first anniversary of Roe v. Wade. As a result of this despicable decision, our society has begun to unravel. We have seen situations where innocent human beings have been deprived of food and water simply because they weren’t perfect, because they were disabled, or because their husbands wanted them dead.

I was watching the movie Seabiscuit with my wife at the 2 Dollar cinemas just before Christmas. The film was a bit tattered, and the sound throughout the next couple of hours was not altogether perfect. But I walked out of the theater remarking to my wife that this movie and this story remind us why we are in the Pro-Life Movement. For those who haven’t seen the film or read the book, I won’t be surprising you with my analogy. It is, after all, a story about second chances. It is a story about three particular individuals who, along with a misunderstood horse, get an opportunity to do something, and do something big. How does that connect with the Pro-Life Movement?

The jockey was pretty much washed up when Seabiscuit’s trainer, Tom Smith, told the horse’s owner, Charles Howard, that Red Pollard was the jockey he wanted. As for Smith, he had been living in an America of the past – an America of horses and the wide-open range. And now, in the modern age of the automobile and the barbed-wire fence, this cowboy had no place. Yet, Charles Howard saw in this old cowboy talent, ability, and a human being who understood horses. As for Seabiscuit himself, this was a horse on which everyone had given up. This was a horse that had failed to meet expectations. This was a horse that had been injured, and in the world of racing there are not many second chances.

For thirty-one years the people of the United States have lived under the shadow of Roe v. Wade. This infamous decision stripped away legal protection from the most defenseless members of our society – the unborn children. As a result of this despicable decision, our society has begun to unravel. We have seen situations where innocent human beings have been deprived of food and water simply because they weren’t perfect, because they were disabled, or because their husbands wanted them dead. We have seen institutions redefined by those unwilling to abide by the laws of nature and of nature’s God. We have seen an outright attack on the basic dignity of the human person, the relationship of that person to God, and the role of God in society and as the source of all that is good in this world. And yet, in 2004, with all that has happened over the past thirty-one years, with all of our failures and all of the times the courts have thrown out reasonably written laws that try to protect women and children, we still have hope and we still ask God for a second chance. And God, in His mercy, has seen fit each day to give us that second chance.

Of all the great things for which John Paul II will be remembered, nothing may be greater than his articulation of the understanding that each one of us is made in the image and likeness of almighty God, and that we are all, therefore, “gift” to one another and to the world. The concept of gift has been lost in our society. In fact, at Christmastime, the concept of gift giving has become so wrapped up in commercialism that many are even afraid of or disdain the whole notion of gifts. Still, the idea of a gift is that which comes from the soul, that which comes from deep within oneself and is an offering to the other of one’s very person. Therefore, if we consider that each one of us is a gift of God to our world, and that each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God, then we can realize the mystery of our presence in the world and how God is made manifest in our world. It is for this reason that we look upon this unborn child as such a treasure and such a miracle. When we see the baby born and we hold the child in our arms for the first time, we realize the great mystery of creation and the fact that God has given each of us a second chance to love.

This is why all of us must be actively involved in the Pro-Life Movement. This is why it is not just another ministry, for some to do and others to ignore. All of us must stand up and be counted in the cause of Life. All of us must take the time to be there for one another, and to recognize that in our sacrifices, in our sufferings, in our giving of ourselves we reflect upon the love of God as he died on that cross 2000 years ago.

Now, the truth is that not all of us can march, or show up at the legislature, or sign up to be precinct committeemen, or write letters, or be actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the Pro-Life Movement. But each one of us can pray, each one of us can pray fervently, and as we open our hearts and our minds to God and seek His will, He will show us how we can help in a concrete way.

So my message this January 2004 is to give yourself a second chance. Ask God how you can help be a gift to the other, to be a servant to the community, to be a friend to the unborn child and his or her mother. Consider yourself as someone who is offering hope and help and healing in a world that is going mad, and realize that your being is giving this world a second chance to turn from its evil ways and to seek the mercy of God.

Our rally is set for Sunday, January 18, 2004, beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Steele Park at Indian School Road and Central Avenue. Join us for a day of prayer, of celebration, of mourning, of remembrance. Join us as we begin once again to work to give everyone, especially the unborn children, a “second chance” at life.