The experience of praying at an abortion clinic

On Saturday, I woke up early to pray with Bishop Burbidge and a group of dedicated pro-lifers outside an abortion clinic in northern Virginia. It was the first time I had ever prayed outside an abortion clinic.

The first thing I’ll note, as you can see from the picture above, is that the clinic itself is disgusting. You can see the sadness that is just oozing from it - it can’t be helped. Broken window shades, stains in the curtains, a lifeless building. This is what greets women already caught up in the heartbreak of their situation.

It reminded me of all the descriptions of Kermit Gosnell’s “house of horrors.”

And yes, I got emotional being there. It is both the tragedy of countless ended lives, but more importantly, the desperation, the sadness, the aloneness of women who feel they have no choice, and the choice they are given is…that. Imagine going into that building with all the weight you have about the decision, and being faced with such ugliness.

There were three abortion escorts who looked on us with amusement, one remarking “So fucking annoying” at one point. One was a man, which I find particularly depraved.

People took turns leading the different decades of the rosary, using phones to broadcast the prayers so we could all hear. It was still very quiet, and the cars passed, and the chilling drizzle came down.

What stayed with me was the smallness of the whole thing - one, a Bishop of the universal Catholic Church was there on the sidewalk, but those passing did not know. And, it was just a moment in time. The whole thing took about half an hour and I overheard several of the women saying they were going to Panera after.

So it is with the fight for life: a small, ongoing, eternal struggle which looks like nothing on the outside but has the power to affect law and the world as we know it, as we saw last June with Dobbs. Nothing is ever lost - God uses all we give back to Him, including, and especially, our prayers. There was also the inconvenience - the cold and the early time taking away from something more pleasant and more fun. But what could be more important than standing up for Jesus’s most vulnerable creation? What greater call could there be?

I will go back and do it again, on a day when the Bishop is not there. I admire those who have been at it for years. They are like the religious sisters and brothers who have been praying in their communities for decades, keeping the world on its axis, but in a way we out in the world will never see. Thank God for their prayers! And thank God for those who will allow themselves to look foolish to the world by praying in public outside an abortion clinic. It is not easy, but it is necessary, and it is a gift that helps the whole world.

By the way: what did I pray for? I prayed for the women inside, for their unborn children, and all those who came before them. I prayed for the fathers of those children, for their wider families, for a time when abortion is unthinkable. I also prayed that this particular clinic would close down, and that the Church would have enough resources to care for women in crisis. I prayed that more Catholics would stand up and provide those resources and see how they are a part of this matter, whether they like or realize it or not, because one injustice against the fabric of the human family affects us all. I prayed for a sincere culture of life to take root in this country.

Seem too big of prayers? With God, all things are possible!

Latest radio interview: the spirituality of paying taxes

Yes, that’s right - I joined John Morales on the Morning Air Show this week to talk about my take on how and why we have to pay taxes. In the short term, because Jesus actually told us to (“Render unto Caesar…”). In the long term, because it is an opportunity for humility, detachment, and recognition of eternal things, and not just material things. Plus, it helps us remember that all we have is a gift from God, anyway, subject to His desires for us in our lives. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!

You can listen to that conversation here. My one regret is that I did not remind everyone - the sooner you pay, the sooner you get your refund back! So have a little hope, too.

As we enter the last week of Lent, before Holy Week begins, may we call to mind the reality of God’s goodness to us. This may be a solemn time, but God is still with us; He is always with us.

It's tax season: time to render unto Caesar

Tax season is upon as, and I reminded of Matthew 22:17-22:

Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?

Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin.

He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”

They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.

I wonder if perhaps some were hoping Jesus would say, right, the taxes don’t matter, you can skip that. Wouldn’t that be nice?

What does it mean to “render unto Caesar?” Why do we have this saying from our Lord, Jesus Christ?

I see this as related to God’s imperative to live in this world. Yes, there certainly are elements of the call to obedience here. But more importantly - and something highly relevant in our virtual, escapist world - is that Jesus is commanding us to live in this world that God created for us. This is an especially important, and overlooked, part of the faith; that we, unlike more “zen” forms of faith, do not seek to physically overcome this world. Creation is not bad, it is not a mistake, and the physical world is here for our use and purpose. Specifically, creation was also good because God created it in love. Then, Jesus taking on the human form elevated it even further.

So, living in this world means that one will have to do unpleasant and real things like pay taxes. Further, it is in the every day personal sacrifices, routines, and obligations, that we can be led to holiness.

Because then, it also an opportunity to remember that all we have is a gift from God. “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Can you imagine a stronger mortification than paying taxes? That feeling that all you worked for is being taken away? Was it really yours to begin with?

Now, you may think as a result of this post that I just love paying taxes, and am very pro-tax. Yikes, no. Who is? And it is of course unendingly frustrating to see those taxes wasted and spent in ways that do not benefit the people who pay them. The people of Jesus’s time probably felt this, too.

But listen to, and follow, Jesus. Be in this world and play by the rules. Accept what it means that all that you have is not yours, the reminder that it can be taken. But that also, through those sacrifices and detachments, God can move you to greater freedom. Hold on lightly. Then hold on tightly to “the things of God,” which are truly eternal, and not temporal like taxes.