By Judie Brown
The events occurring in our world today should cause us to reflect upon Christ’s incredibly soothing words found in John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Christ is the light to whom all who desire truth are attracted. But today there are many who would do anything to avoid Him.
For example, we see in the news that scientists have developed a tool designed to allow couples to determine the likelihood that their human embryonic baby will have a genetic disease. A report states, “Former Duke University lecturer Jonathan Anomaly helped start the company called Herasight, which developed the tool. He criticized accusations that the company promotes eugenics, despite previously using the term favorably in another sense. He argues that couples using in-vitro fertilization are already seeking out the information.”
Yet in her undeniable wisdom, the Catholic Church has consistently condemned IVF and artificial fertilization as gravely immoral. In 1949, Pope Pius XII said that “artificial fertilization, outside of marriage, is to be condemned outright as immoral,” adding that even in marriage the use of third-party intervention is “condemned without appeal.”
The pope knew that man’s insatiable desire to alter nature would have dire consequences, but men who pretend they are gods never pay heed to this truth. In this new age of eugenics, some are living in the shadow of Margaret Sanger’s legacy. This is a very good example of the darkness that is created when some choose to avoid the light of Christ.
Another instance of such pridefulness was recently observed in the actions of Cardinal Blase Cupich. His decision to honor Dick Durbin, the pro-abortion, faux-Catholic senator from Illinois, brought words of protest in defense of truth from many courageous bishops.
Philosopher/commentator George Weigel entered the Cupich fray, turning to Saint Augustine for the wisdom we need:
“You have failed to strengthen what was weak, to heal what was sick and to bind up what was injured, that is, what was broken,” the saint wrote. “You did not call back the straying sheep, nor seek out the lost. What was strong you have destroyed. Yes, you have cut it down and killed it. The sheep is weak, and so, incautious and unprepared, it may give in to temptations.”
Augustine added later, “But what sort of shepherds are they who for fear of giving offense not only fail to prepare the sheep for the temptations that threaten, but even promise them worldly happiness?”
It is no accident that centuries ago this great saint saw what happens when shepherds fail to step into the light, preferring their ego instead.
The mixed messages conveyed by wayward shepherds, erroneous scientists, and others deluded by visions of their own grandeur remind us that without the light of the Lord’s love and mercy we are doomed to offend Him in so many ways.
This is why we feel sorrow for the British children’s book author Robert Munsch, who has been diagnosed with dementia and has decided to end his life instead of accepting the diagnosis and living with it to best of his ability. Amanda Achtman writes that Munsch’s book Love You Forever “is a touching story of the natural circle of life and of the unconditional love for which we are made” and that it “is one reason why many Canadians are shocked that the book’s author, of all people, is saying he wants a doctor to end his life by euthanasia.”
We pray that Munsch will find the light of Christ on his journey and choose that infallible goodness rather than opting for suicide. And as we pray for him and others like him to step into the light, we are reminded of our own frailty as well. There is not a single person who can go through the many challenges in life without wondering at times about God’s plan. Why do we suffer? Why do our loved ones die?
The answer is that in our human suffering we are united with Christ, who in His merciful love suffered first out of love for us. Through His suffering, we the faithful can step into the light of Christ.