Dear St. Rita Families,
On Friday, January 19, thousands of pro-life Americans will descend again on Washington, DC in support of the most vulnerable members of our society, the unborn. I hope you will join us! As the continued debates in our country on this topic remind us, it is a battle not just for laws, but for minds, hearts, bodies, and souls. While it is nice to be able to say that the rules in the country have changed, we know that there are many people out there who want to change them back, who still want to find ways to make abortion as legal and accessible as possible.
This is a world that demands more than polemics and political machinations in response. We know that the legal angle is necessary to save the lives of children, to encourage mothers to find alternatives (and not think, like so many, that abortion is the only option), to prevent state-sanctioned murder of the innocent, to help ground our country in actual science – that a living human being is present at conception, and to enshrine legally respect and charity towards all human persons. These realities, however, which seem so obvious to some are both unclear and even meaningless to others, and, if they believe like so many that law is just a reflection of the will of the majority, legally enshrining anything has no meaning, since it can just be changed (again) when the other party comes to power. In other words, there is a lot of work to do apart from making abortion illegal.
The work that is incumbent on all Catholics is the work of evangelization. Rejecting God’s law, especially among those professing the Catholic faith, is a spiritual problem that requires a spiritual solution. It is good, of course, that we pray often for a total end to abortion, but also for particular women who may find themselves tempted for one reason or another. It is also good that we make it a point to pray and sacrifice for those in our lives who need conversion in this area. I guarantee that there are at least three people – neighbors, friends, co-workers, family – that you know who are not pro-life. Some of them may even be Catholic. My challenge to you is to start praying for them and for their conversion daily. Start offering little sacrifices for them as a way of lightening their load and the effort it will take for them to turn towards God. Start showing them unnecessary kindness, because they need to know that the lives of Christians (especially pro-life Christians) reflect God’s good will and closeness to us and not just His strict opposition to sin. We have over 1000 families registered at St. Rita parish, and if because of your prayer, sacrifice, and charity, 3000 more people become pro-life, I would say that the Grace of Pentecost, where 3000 were converted and baptized, has visited us again!
Pentecost Sunday this year is May 19, a short 18 weeks away. I will be praying for this Grace of Pentecost to be poured out upon St. Rita Parish, our parishioners, and in particular all those – Catholic and non-Catholic – who live within our parish boundaries. St. Rita is the hub of grace for this little part of Alexandria, and you are the instruments and conduits of that grace. I invite you to pray daily with me the prayer composed for this third year of preparation for the 50th Anniversary of the Diocese of Arlington. The theme for this year is “Renew” and is focused on evangelization and spreading the Gospel:
“Heavenly Father, in your mercy you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light. In the gift of the Eucharist, we receive the Body and Blood of your Only-Begotten Son, and we remember in gratitude the good things you have done for us. As you invite us to rejoice with Mary in the work of the Lord, may you who “make all things new” now renew us in the Holy Spirit and inspire us to share the Good News of the Gospel so that all may come to know the love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.”
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen