Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

One of the prayers I say daily is a novena to St Therese. She has been super instrumental in my life having been named after her.  My aunt prayed to her everyday for years for my conversion and the priest I went to for spiritual direction at the beginning of coming back to the church gave me “A Story of a Soul” as my first book to read. She spoke about her vocation of love, something I was definitely not familiar with, but it drew me into the longings of my heart.

One of the lines of the novena says,” Help me to believe as you did in Gods great love for me so I may follow your little way each day.”

Recently there has been talk about if we believe abortion is murder that we should be holding women accountable for that murder. There has been an assumption (one I do not believe is true) that every woman knows exactly what they are doing. Even that they all celebrate their decisions.

While this may be true for some women, and there certainly are many hardened hearts out there, I have found that even the hardest women, if they are touched by Christs love, can have a conversion of heart and be made new.

As I reflected on that line from the novena this morning it really struck me what I was saying,” Help me to believe as you did in Gods great love for me so I may follow your little way each day.”

Help me to believe in Gods love, because it is the only way I can follow your little way each day. Without that belief in His love I am unable, unwilling, afraid, and it is impossible for me to live your way. Without knowledge of Gods love I am lost, and blind to the truth.

Abortion is only going to end through conversion of hearts and healing of the millions impacted by it. Through education and the manifestation of Gods incredible mercy which waits for us. A mercy that endured the crucifixion for the forgiveness of our sin. Who suffered for our sins to bring us eternal life. It is that love, Gods love which changes us, strengthens us and invites us to follow.

I pray instead of speaking about punishing those who have had abortion, we would instead challenge ourselves to grow in love. To be the face of Christ to them. Even the ones who seem cold and callus. Who seems like lost causes.

Some will say “what about the babies”.  No one knows more than those who have had them about the life they took. The life of their sons and daughters. They can justify and rationalize all they want but in the quiet of their hearts no matter how much they may deny it, they know they killed their own child. It is just impossible to look at without knowing the love of God.

As we approach Holy Week may we manifest the love of Christ who died for our sins, who longs for the return of the sinner, even the sinner who had an abortion.