Thanks for your prayers. In light of situations such as ND’s and many other similar ones, I am more firmly convinced that the first line of response among Catholics is the foundation of new religious communities to minister to the unborn child.
In the past, Christians have responded to the needs of children by founding such religious communities of men and women to teach the poor, shelter and protect the orphans and to heal the sick. In response to these need Christian men and women gathered in communities such as the De la Salle Christian Brothers, Daughters of Charity, Sisters of Charity, Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, Dominican Sisters of Nashville, Salesians and Sisters of St. Joseph.
For centuriest these religious communities of Brothers and Sisters dedicated their lives to the welfare of children living outside their mother’s womb. What heralded them as holy men and women and true followers of the Gospel was not the time and energy that they spent writing and debating about the needs of children. What made them heralds of the Gospel was that they took action.
Six or seven men got together and consecrated their lives to live the evangelical counsels, to pray, to do penance and to live in communities that taught children. These were the first Salesian, Christian Brothers, Xaverian Brothers and Holy Cross Brothers.
Women did not stay behind. There were courageous women, some widows with children such as Elizabeth Ann Seton, who endured great hardship and even saw the death of their children as they persevered to live in new communities of religious life dedicated to caring for orphan and sick children. They ran schools for the poor and the vulnerable members of society. From here were born the great congregations of women who taught many of us.
Well, now there is another threat to the child. This time the child is in the womb of the mother. Nonetheless, it is still a child and our younger brother and sister. Thousands of American Catholics are shocked and indignant when they read about the actions of those who promote abortions and those who are their friends.
However, so far there are less than 100 men and women who have answered Christ’s call to leave everything, take up the cross of the unborn child, and follow him. There are less than 100 religious brothers and religious sisters whose sole ministry is to their pre-born brothers and sisters. Yes, there are individual religious within the larger orders who do this ministry. But I’m speaking about religious communities that do solely respect life ministry.
The outcry of indignation at Notre Dame University and at the bishops on these threads and in our parishes has been overwhelming. Yet, I have posted on several threads that some of us are going to be leaving the safety net of our religious community to found new religious communities of brothers to minister to the unborn and we have not received a single inquiry by anyone on these threads, where more than 100,000 Catholics come to complain every day.
The Sisters of Life in the Archdiocese of NY led the march for the Gospel of Life. So far there have been about 35-50 women who have joined them.
My dearest brothers and sisters, it is not enough to post outcries of indignation. We need to respond to the opportunties that grace gives us to serve the Incarnate Son of God who is still in the womb and is threatened by abortion. We need to raise our hearts and minds in prayer and ask God for the gift of a religious vocation to these communities that want to serve the unborn child by living a life of prayer, penance, on-going conversion, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, fidelity to the Church and her teachings on life, and living a life of poverty and obedience in order to be free to serve these children and their parents.
Those who are married can also help. This way of life may be for your son or daughter. But how are they going to hear about it? I first heard about the Franciscans when my parents exposed me to them. My father brought home a little book on St. Francis, I still remember it.
The Sisters of Life in NY first heard about the new congregation when someone told them of it. These young women courageously left everything to follow Christ and to lead the children to him.
There are several new religouis communities who have the unborn as their primary ministry. But there are more people talking about abortion and less people entering the cloister where they can do more good through prayer and by active ministry in pregnancy centers, diocesan education programs, counseling the pregnant mother, healing the the trauma of the parent who has gone through with an abortion and is now broken.
My intention is not to reprimand or even demand that the readers of this post become religious. My intention is to make us think about the fact that there is the posibility of a religious vocation to be a brother or a sister whose life is placed on the cross, with Christ’s, for the sake of these unborn and their parents.
If we Catholics want to be known as a people of life, we need both the laity and religious who are at the service of our unborn brothers and sisters.
I apologize in advance if I sound offensive. It is not my intention. It is my intention to let everyone know that we need more religious brothers and sisters to prevent situations like ND from ever happening again.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
)
