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“We all want to know: What can I expect my life to look like when I’m following Jesus? How do I know I’m doing it right?” Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, asks this at the beginning of his new book, Eight Promises of God. His response? We find the answer in the Beatitudes.
After more than 50 years of decriminalized abortion, the sending of the decision-making ability regarding abortion to the states, and the rise of the abortion pill and other threats to life, such as physician-assisted suicide, there is a tendency for pro-life people to lose hope and to despair that the culture of death is winning. But our Lord does not want us to lose hope. And this new book by Fr. Mark-Mary gives pro-life readers the inspiration they need to continue fighting for life.
Eight Promises of God explains how we can discover hope through the Beatitudes. And while this is a fantastic book for anyone looking to grow in faith or deepen their relationship with God, it is also an excellent resource for those in the pro-life movement, as the wisdom and examples given reaffirm that the pro-life work we do will someday no longer be necessary.
Each chapter of the book addresses a specific Beatitude, examines how Jesus and Mary lived it, and how we can apply those lessons to our lives. And when we read the book with a pro-life perspective, we learn how to apply its words to our efforts to protect life.
Fr. Mark-Mary begins the book with the admonishment to not put a period where God has placed a comma. In other words, do not lose hope. Do not stop praying, do not stop hoping in Christ’s goodness, and do not think that today is the end of the story. Though threats to life may seem daunting or even unconquerable, we must understand that they are the commas not the periods in life. The story does not end here. In fact, Fr. Mark-Mary says that “waiting with hope and love are necessary parts of sharing in the life of Jesus.”
What does this waiting look like? He says that it is not the sorrowful, anxiety-laden waiting that may seem so common today. Rather, it’s a waiting that is “joyful, reasonable, filled with love, and blessed.”
Because we all tend to lose hope at times, I want to share five beautiful quotes from the book that will inspire pro-life people, that can be used to squelch the discouragement we sometimes feel, and that will show we truly are doing God’s work. When we take time to reflect and focus on these words and on the lessons behind them, we will feel invigorated and ready to continue the fight, sure of God’s love and sure of His victory.
Fr. Mark-Mary teaches that this is a vast difference from Satan, whom he says lies and “shows us our sin or tries to speak to us while we are seeing our sinfulness” and “will try to define us by our sin.”
As pro-life people, we see and counsel many people who feel that God will never forgive them of past sins or that they are too “broken” to merit a life of grace. Only when we truly believe that we are worthy of Christ’s love can we impart that to others and inspire them to believe it as well.
And Fr. Mark-Mary explains that “mercy includes forgiveness.”
If we truly are going to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth, and if we expect forgiveness from God, we must forgive as He has forgiven. Additionally, we must harbor no hatred toward those who oppose us but approach them in truth with love. We speak up for the vulnerable, teach the value of all people, and always treat others as we would want to be treated. This is the mercy that will lead others to God.
Is our mercy toward post-abortive women, toward abortion advocates, or toward those who do not value life motivated by love? Do we give without measure, understanding that our actions can either draw people to Christ or lead them away from Him? Authentic love means that we see even those who oppose us as children of God and we work to teach them the truths of the faith, even when this might be difficult.
Many of us know that feeling. Maybe it’s a child who has lost the faith, a friend who doesn’t see the goodness of God, or an acquaintance who does not understand the value of life. We live Christ’s example when we search for them, pray unceasingly for them, and love them, always preaching the truth of the faith, inviting them to join us, and rejoicing when they come to understand the reality of God’s love.
We cannot foster peace if we do not live that peace. We must go out into the world proclaiming God’s love and goodness, upholding pro-life values, teaching the worth of all people—born and preborn—and never giving in to the weariness that sometimes accompanies the fight for the culture of life. This is the call we must heed if we want to change the culture.
So as we look around us, let us not lose hope, let us not despair, and let us look to the Beatitudes to teach the truth that people have dignity and value. This is how we will foster peace, for as Fr. Mark-Mary said, “No matter what happens, we have hope, even beyond death.”
And this hope tells us that Christ’s victory is, indeed, the period at the end of the sentence.
Susan Lochner Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame and an MLS from Indiana University. She has worked as a writer and editor since 2003; nearly 17 of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently, she is the editor of American Life League’s Celebrate Life Magazine—the nation’s premier Catholic pro-life magazine. She is also the director and executive editor of ALL’s Culture of Life Studies Program—a pre-K-12 Catholic pro-life education organization. Susan has written hundreds of Catholic and secular articles and has edited nearly two dozen books.
