Today is the final homily of our four-part series on life.  We’ve tried to explain why euthanasia is morally wrong, but the overall theme actually has been that life is good, God gives and loves life, and we celebrate life even when it’s hard.  Today, as we discuss abortion, we want to focus on God’s mercy.  We want to help mothers in difficult circumstances and protect the lives of the preborn.  We also want to offer God’s mercy to anyone who has been involved in abortion.  For those who don’t know, we’ve had three people in our parish family share their stories of healing from the abortions in which they were involved.  Our goal is that as many of us as possible sign up for 40 Days for Life, so that God’s mercy reaches people who have never encountered it.

As mentioned for three weeks now, as we’ve done for the past four years, today we’ll show some images of abortion.  If you’re just joining us, my apologies if this catches you by surprise.  I’ll give another warning before we show them, so, please feel free to close your eyes or look down, and parents, feel free to tell your children to do the same; it’s your choice.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about fruitfulness, that we know a tree by its fruit, so here’s a video about the goodness to which Jesus calls us:

There’s a sequence to the three groups of sayings in the Gospel, which are about the fruit of following Jesus.

First, Jesus asks, “Can a blind person guide a blind person?  Will not both fall into a pit?” (Lk 6:39).  The solution is to follow Christ, because He never falls spiritually.

Second, when we follow Christ, we invite others to follow Him, so that they won’t fall.  And, when we invite them, Jesus tells us, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye” (6:42).  When we speak about euthanasia or abortion, there is right and wrong, but we’re not better than others.  We’re all sinners.  I’ve committed mortal sins.  And yet Jesus’ forgiveness has changed my life.  I hope everyone comes to know that He died to forgive our sins and rose to give us true life.  Given this, no one should feel discouraged or condemned.  We may feel guilt or grief, but discouragement doesn’t come from Jesus.

Third, we know we’re following Jesus correctly by the fruit we bear: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit” (6:43-44).  When we’re a good spiritual tree, we do good deeds.

Two weeks ago, a good Gr. 6 student asked, ‘What about abortion in cases of rape?’  What would you answer?  From great organizations like the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, who’s having a talk tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., I answered, ‘We all agree that rape is a terrible trauma.  However, will abortion help the survivor heal?  Will it take away the pain?  And, why do we give the death penalty to the child instead of the man?  In Canada, there’s no death penalty for rapists.  Yet abortion kills children.’  The reason I share this is because this question of rape is misleading; it has led to more abortions, not fewer—that’s bad fruit.  Because, as a culture, we started allowing for abortion in cases of rape, Canada now allows for abortion during the whole nine months of pregnancy —that’s bad fruit.

On the other hand, in the video, Glenda had a very pure heart!  Together with the adoptive family, she produced a wonderful Christian leader who leads others to Christ—that’s great fruit.

And when people see what abortion does, it leads to good fruit.  Watch this, please (from 0:39-1:51):

So, now we’re set to see what abortion does.  In a few seconds, we’re going to show some photos and a video of abortion, so, feel free to close your eyes or look down, and, parents, if you’d like, please do so for your children.  Thank you.  Here we go:

Here are some photos:

 

And here’s the video:

How many abortions are there in the world?  According to Worldometers:

 

This is why many believe that abortion is the number one moral issue of our country, the world, and our time.  It kills the most people by far.

I want to thank the 144 people who have already signed up for 40 Days for Life and for the 74 hours covered—that’s amazing!  Praise God!  It’s a big sacrifice for many of you because of your schedules and the demands of your lives.  I pray this video reminds us of how powerful our witness and prayers are:

Here’s the table of open spots:

If you’re able to take one or more, that’d be much appreciated.  (Please sign-up here!) We’re starting Lent on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 so this may be the best act of charity we can do.

Jesus says, “Out of the good treasure of the heart, the good person produces good” (6:45).