By Judie Brown
California governor Gavin Newsom, who strives to protect the state’s water but abandons the preborn, recently made one of the most outrageous comments we have ever heard. When Walgreen’s chose not to dispense the abortion pill in any state where the attorney general objects, Newsom went ballistic. He took to social media to proclaim that the state of California will no longer do business with Walgreens because of the corporate decision regarding abortion pills.
In other words, chemically killing babies before they are born is more important to Newsom than providing the citizens of his state with choices when it comes to retail drug stores. Showing his true colors once again, Newsom has aligned himself with abortion profiteers.
But fortunately there are heroes in our midst whose voices call us to action in ways that spine-free folks like Newsom never could. For example, Sister Deirdre Byrne—the “nun with a gun”—is inspiring Catholics and others with her words of encouragement, surely needed more now than ever before.
Sister Byrne, whose background includes service in the military, tells us that if we truly want to engage in this battle with a sincere heart and discern the will of God, we must first be in a state of grace. Referring to the priest acting in the person of Christ, she said, “By being in the state of grace, we can more easily see God’s will for us as pro-life warriors, for the salvation of all souls. If we’re not in the state of grace. It’s like our lens are smudged, they’re dirty. And that’s where we make a mad dash to confession and ask for absolution from our Lord through persona Christi.”
Her words invite us, not only during Lent but every day, to put our priorities in order if we want to successfully fight against the sort of evil pursued by leaders like Gavin Newsom. The tentacles of the culture of death are like those of an octopus. And as we know, if the octopus suffers a severed limb, another will regenerate in its place. This is why our first line of defense is prayer and fasting, for as the Lord reminds us, some devils can only be driven out by prayer and fasting.
A gentle reminder of the importance of sacrifice in our struggle to save the innocent seems to be in order. That may be why I was drawn to the emblem of Sister Byrne’s order—“A crown of thorns, in the center of which are the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; one transfixed and mounted by a cross, the other pierced by a sword, both surrounded by flames with the words ‘Taste and See.’ Outside, at the base of the crown, are the words ‘Thy Kingdom Come.’”
This is a fitting reminder of the reasons why, in this age of man’s pursuit of death, we turn to Jesus and Mary, knowing that through our personal commitment, prayer, and fasting, we are joined with them in the glorious struggle against evil that will ultimately save souls and end the scourge of death in our midst.
In the middle of America’s war zone shines the solution—the love of Christ. If only human beings would stop the madness and enter into a life centered in Christ instead of the world and its bloody solutions, the war would end. This is why we work; this is why we must never quit.