30th Sunday Year B - "Abortion & Blindness"

The bishop has asked priests to preach this weekend of our diocesan respect life efforts and so next week I will preach on the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in Medjugorje.

The Gospel for today’s Sunday Mass tells the story of Jesus curing the blind beggar called Bartimaeus. This poor man lived in complete darkness and had a tremendous desire to be cured. He wanted to see light, and see the beauty of God’s creation, especially other people. Jesus looked at Bartimaeus saying “What do you want me to do for you?” He already knew what the man wanted, but He wanted to illicit his faith. The blind man cried out, “Lord, that I may see.” Jesus then said, “Go your way, your faith has saved you.” And immediately he received his sight and followed him along the way.

Have you ever had a moment when you realized you were not seeing things as clearly as you thought? There is a particular blindness that grips many in the world today, to the dignity of the human person, especially in the early stages of the unborn.

When I was 19 yrs. old, I had that blindness. I thought, “I don’t believe in abortion, but people have the right to do what they want.” That was really a wrong way of thinking-- because nobody has the right to harm an innocent person. A few years later my eyes were opened. While working in the surgical sterilization department in a hospital in Hays, after a surgery, a nurse brought some instruments for me to clean and sterilize. As I was cleaning a curette I saw something that shocked me. There appeared to be a tiny little foot. (not mentioned at the Mass with children.) Surely, I was mistaken. But later the nurse returned and said the instruments I cleaned were from a miscarriage. For adults, if you want to know what I saw I can tell you privately, as children shouldn’t hear what it was. It was then I could clearly see --a person is a person--no matter how small.

I felt bad for the mother and the father as well as the doctor and nurses. How difficult it must have been for the parents to lose their child before birth. Their hopes and dreams for the child to be a part of the family were shattered by some unknown reason nobody could understand. Since that day, I have been strongly pro-life. I was blind, but then I could see the truth, each unborn child is a person.

In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the Kansas constitution contains an unlimited right to abortion and when that happened all Kansas pro-life laws enacted in the last 25 years were all done away with. It eliminated a ban on taxpayer funded abortion, limits on partial birth or late term abortions, parental consent requirement for minors.

However, in August of next year, the people of Kansas will be able to vote on a “Value Them Both” amendment to the Kansas constitution, which returns some limits on abortion. It is imperative for Kansans to vote yes in favor of the amendment and to get as many as possible to do the same. Bishop Kemme sent a letter to all Catholics asking for a one time financial gift to help to help in this effort.

Sadly, last year, during the covid outbreak there was a dramatic increase in abortions in Kansas because they were banned in Oklahoma and Texas. But not Kansas and therefore many girls came to Kansas for an abortion.

We need to place our selves in the shoes of those who had an abortion. Most likely they were blind to the reality of what they are doing. They were confused. They were told its not a baby, but just a blob of tissue. Some girls were pressured by parents, or by their boy friend or feared not being able to go to college.

Jesus told St. Faustina, “Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of Mercy.”

An example of God’s mercy is Abbey Johnson, who was the director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Texas. She had two abortions. One day, a doctor asked her to hold the ultra sound device as he did the abortion. She saw the baby moving about until the doctor performed the abortion. She immediately quit and not much later decided to become Catholic. The following year, she became Catholic at the Easter Vigil. When Abbey was a young girl she was a baptized Christian. Since she was baptized when she became Catholic she didn’t need baptism. So she would have went to confession, before Mass and then at Mass she received Confirmation and made her first Holy Communion. The following Sunday after Easter-- (Divine Mercy Sunday) when she received Holy Communion, all the punishment due to her sins was washed away in the ocean of God’s mercy. Jesus promised that on the Feast of Mercy, “whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete remission of sins and punishment”. So God not only forgave her, but washed away all her purgatory time, such that if she would have died after receiving Communion, she could have went straight to heaven.

While in seminary, I met Dr. Bernard Nathonson, a Jewish abortionist, who became Catholic. He admitted to having performed 60,000 abortions. But one day, he saw an unborn baby silently scream on an ultra sound and immediately gave up abortions. He attended RCIA classes, was baptized and made his first Communion at the Easter Vigil at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. When baptized, not only were his sins forgiven but the punishment due to his sins forgiven, such that if he would have died after his baptism, he would have went straight to heaven.

Jesus wants to give peace to troubled hearts and wash away all sins and immerse them in His unfathomable mercy. At times, all of us do not see how our blindness can cause bad views or wrong actions. He understands when we are confused and hurting. And at times we can be ignorant.

But we need to be like Bartimeaus and ask Jesus to heal our blind heart, “Jesus have pity on me. Lord that I may see. Jesus I trust in your mercy.” Jesus loves and knows each every person from the moment of conception. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.”

And Jesus loves each and every sinner. He loves us so much He died on the Cross so our sins could be forgiven. Our Lord is rich in mercy. Though our sins may be like scarlet, they will all be washed away in the ocean of God’s unfathomable mercy.

Today, let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for all those who do not clearly see each unborn child is a person created in God’s image and likeness and that God has a plan for every person He creates.

And let us ask Mary to pray for those who have had an abortion, may they discover God’s mercy and receive His loving and tender compassion and forgiveness.