Reposted from www.apriestlife.com
Most of my posts to date have been related to my own personal experiences. Our “About” page says one of our objectives is to, “provide Catholic-based, Christian food for thought through discussion of current events relevant to our faith”. One particular current event that gets most Catholics riled up is the subject of abortion. To say that we “hate” or “detest” anyone associated with the Pro-Choice movement may be extreme and wrong, but it appears to me through observations from social media that most of us calling ourselves Christian, Catholic or otherwise, have at least very strong negative feelings towards them. To that end, I’m sharing below some thoughts from Fr. Jeff Starkovich, a priest in Lake Charles, Louisiana, who was a classmate of my daughters and is now pastor at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish and Chaplain at St. Louis Catholic High School in Lake Charles. As you read, take a moment for some honest introspection and maybe think about:
Does this change the way I think about the issue?
Do I agree or disagree with him? Why?
And, if you feel inclined, please let the rest of us know. Perhaps your arguments, one way or the other, will help the rest of us in wrestling with this issue. Thank you and God Bless. — Jerry
Tonight, our youth gathered with their families to contribute to one million rosaries for life. It’s powerful to see the young beseech God’s blessing to aid in the immense task of changing hearts.
As I prayed with them, my thoughts turned to a recent request from our president. On April 26th he spoke at a Planned Parenthood conference. This came as no surprise to anyone. It was his closing line, however, that caused quite a stir:
“Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you.”
In beseeching God’s blessing on the largest abortion provider in the United States, no little uproar ensued from the Christian faithful. But praying with our flock tonight, my thoughts are different.
To ask for a blessing from God is to request that God pour out his goodness. Coming from the Latin root benedicere, meaning to “speak well of” or “to commend,” to seek God’s blessing is to commend one to God for the sake of sharing in His goodness. It is a request for God to pour out his grace upon another so that they may be sanctified.
This is exactly what Planned Parenthood needs.
We are seeking to change hearts. We desire that hearts may grow and be purified so that all people affected by abortion may experience real love. And in order to grow in love we must have the support of Love Itself, who we call God.
By commending Planned Parenthood to You, we ask for Your blessing. May Your grace change hearts and save lives.
Tonight, I thank You for one million rosaries for life. I thank You for the unexpected inspiration given by our President. May we always work to grow in holiness.
I agree with you, Mr. President:
God bless Planned Parenthood.
Reflections of a Lay Catholic 
I’ve had a couple folks tell me today that they weren’t quite sure how to take this “God Bless Planned Parenthood” business. Here’s my take on it. I think the obstacle we have to get over is in our definition of the word “bless” and the fact that we tend to connect the word “blessing” with the word “approval”. Or, in other words, when we say “God Bless You” we usually mean there is some goodness present in the person or behavior that we feel sure meets with God’s approval. That may be exactly what President Obama was intending, I don’t know. But, we don’t normally say “God Bless You” to someone who has done something terrible or dastardly.
But, the way I understand Fr. Jeff’s reasoning is that when we say “God Bless You”, we aren’t saying or assuming that God approves of some behavior, rather we’re asking, or actually beseeching God to bestow His blessings upon you. Fr. Jeff is saying that a blessing implies that you receive God’s grace, which in turn implies God’s love is included within that grace. And, since God’s love is pure goodness, then to ask God to bless them is to ask him to convey his goodness to them and purify and change their hearts.
I was at a meeting tonight at church where I had the good fortune of meeting a visiting priest, Fr. John Patterson. During a casual conversation totally unrelated to anything on this blog he said these words, “It’s God’s Grace that moves hearts.” I immediately wrote it down because I think that is the same thing that Fr. Jeff is saying. It must be a priest thing.
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Hi Jerry. I had read the article by George Weigel in which he talks about how this statement was blasphemous, and I would have to agree.
Here is the quote from the article:
“For in its discussion of this grave sin against the Second Commandment, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 2148) teaches that “it is also blasphemous to make use of God’s name to . . . reduce people to servitude, to torture persons or to put them to death.” That is precisely what happens in Planned Parenthood abortuaries. And on that, the president of the United States called down the divine blessing.”
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/05/tribulation-compounded-by-blasphemy
I agree with Mr. Weigel and although I make reparation for the those in the abortion industry and pray for them, I don’t believe using asking for a blessing is used in the right context for this situation.
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Darren, this is a tough one, isn’t it? Thank you for your comment and for thinking so deeply about it. I had not read Mr. Weigel’s commentary before now and I have to say I can empathize with his emotion. You state that you don’t believe the word “blessing” is used in the right context for this situation. I think that is the rub! What is the correct context? I know when I first heard the president say those words my jaw hit my chest and I thought, “Did I just hear him say that? How can he be asking God to put his seal of approval on all that PP stands for and what they’ve done?” But now, after disecting Fr. Jeff’s epiphany, I’ve had a paradigm shift and I can see there is more ways than one to look at this and it all depends upon the context in which you look at the word “bless”. If it’s from the angle of meaning “Approval”, which is, I think, today’s generally accepted understanding, and which is, I’m sure, exactly the way it was intended by Mr. Obama, then I agree it is blasphemous. But if you look at it in the context of what is perhaps the original definition of the word and how it is connected to the process of changing hearts through the pure goodness and love of God, then it takes on an entirely different meaning. I’m afraid it would be a real stretch to think it was uttered in this latter context, though.
Thanks again for reading and for commenting.
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I just had another thought: Without God’s blessing, without His Grace, and without His pure love, how will the hearts of those who support Planned Parenthood ever be changed?
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They can’t be changed without God’s grace, but we have to also understand free will. God will never force anyone to do anything as he respects our free will. This is where reparation comes in and we can repent on behalf of our brothers and sisters, so God can have mercy on them as we want them to be part of the communion of saints, as well as ourselves.
So for instance, we can offer minor sacrifices during the day as well as prayers for the intention of the abortion industry.
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I think I have to agree with George Weigel and with Darren on this one. During the holocaust if someone said God bless Auschwitz, people would properly have been horrified. However, if one were to ask God’s blessings to come down on the people working at Auschwitz, that could be interpreted as filling them with God’s grace so that he changes their hearts. Also, I would be more comfortable with “Pray for” rather than God bless. God bless just seems to imply approval of what that institution is doing and, in horrible situations like the Jewish holocaust and abortion, this doesn’t set well for me.
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Alright! Now we’re getting some authority checking in. Thanks Deacon Jay. You say, “‘God bless’ just seems to imply approval of what that institution is doing and, in horrible situations like the Jewish holocaust and abortion, this doesn’t set well for me.” Well said. I am right there with you. I think the bottom line is exactly to what you alluded – we should all pray that God will grace those involved with PP so that their hearts will be changed. But, I don’t think we’re going to hear that sentiment from this administration or the media. Thanks again for your perspective.
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