Below is an excerpted text
from Mother Teresa’s speech at National
Prayer Breakfast Speech, Washington, D.C. (5th February 1994). I
find that it is both inspiring and challenging speech on abortion that we have
to address to the world or at least in our community today:
“… I feel that the
greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the
child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.
And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell
other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an
abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves
that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life
to love us so, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to
love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect
the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give
until it hurts.
....By abortion, the
mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her
problems. And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take
any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That
father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just
leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its
people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the
greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.
....Many people are very,
very concerned with the children of India and with the children of Africa where
quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all
the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are
very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who
are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is
what is the greatest destroyer of peace today – abortion which brings people to
such blindness.
....And for this I appeal
in India and I appeal everywhere – ‘Let us bring the child back’ the
child is God’s gift to the family. Each child is created in the special image
and likeness of God for greater things – to love and to be loved.”
Do you love life?
Do you love God?
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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