Faith, Hope, Love . . . and Vigilance

There were massive marches recently in the cities of Paris and Washington D.C.  In Paris, hundreds of thousands marched to protest the French government's proposal to legalize "same-sex marriage."  In Washington was held the 40th annual March for Life in protest against abortion.

Marriage = a man + a woman; child = a mother + a father
 

I watched coverage of the Paris marches on TV channel France 24, an English-language news channel based in Paris.  The presenters were dismissive of the pro traditional marriage marchers, labeling them "right wing" and "homophobic."  That's not surprising considering the state of journalism these days in Europe and North America.  And naturally those supporting "same-sex marriage" were given more airtime to put forward their views.  A sign of how debased the thinking on the left has become appeared in one story where airtime was given to the views of "France's leading homosexual magazine" on the issue.  I forget the name of the magazine and I don't have the stomach to do a web search for it.  But let me say that the recent cover of the magazine was shown during the news piece.  The cover depicted a shirtless, well-built male model posing in jeans and a builder's hardhat.  Obviously a serious voice to consult in such a grave matter!  That would be like consulting Cosmopolitan magazine on the issue of sex education in school while simply dismissing the conservative view on the issue as "right wing religious" or "old fashioned."

From what I can gather, French opposition to so called "gay marriage" is going to get steamrolled.  A recent poll shows 63% of the French population supportive of "gay marriage" and the left wing government currently in power is determined to push it through.  Spain and Portugal - both supposedly Catholic countries - both legalized it in recent years (there are currently 8 countries in Europe where it's legal).

Turning the tide against abortion in America looks to have a better chance.  I noticed many, many families with young children at both the American and French marches.  However, in France the education system is completely controlled by the government and is aggressively secular (which made me surprised to see the size of the marches in France in favor of traditional marriage).

The Holy Family

Which brings us to the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. 

Faith - God is lord of all and has revealed his will regarding the sanctity of life and of the family.  We as believers can keep faithful to his will, whatever the odds or chances of success may seem.  As Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said when asked about success, "We are called to be faithful."

Hope - Because God is lord of all, we know that God is triumphant.  We may only see "small" victories from our efforts, but they do weigh in the balance.  The soldier in battle cannot win the entire war on his own, but by performing the task he's called to he contributes to the final victory.  From the March for Life coverage I heard this story: a woman active in sidewalk counseling outside abortion providers had numerous miscarriages.  She and her husband finally decided to adopt and they adopted twin boys.  She discovered later that the boys' biological mother was the first woman that she had ever persuaded outside an abortion provider not to go in and have the abortion.  A "small" victory?

Love - "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)  Whatever we do we should do with love.  A woman contemplating abortion is often under duress, in great anguish and fearful.  She ought to be approached in love.  People with the condition of homosexual attraction likewise need to be treated with love.  Love doesn't mean tolerating everything that people do or looking the other way.  Love means being truthful - with kindness and respect, yes - but still truthful.  The truth can be hard enough, so there's no need to be hateful or arrogant.

I include Vigilance because being a soldier for Christ means not falling asleep.  Our "sleepiness" can take the form of thinking, "well, what can I do about it?" or "well, I personally wouldn't do such a thing but who am I to tell others what to do?"  Relativism is a powerful opiate: "Who's to say what's true?  What's right for me may not be right for somebody else.  Just live and let live."  When we love somebody, we don't want to see them come to harm.  Furthermore, we are alert to any danger our loved one may be in.  We don't stand by and watch.

"For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.  We are not of the night or of darkness.  Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober."  (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6)