Mother Teresa, Apostle of Life
A Word from the General Counsel, Thomas Patrick Monaghan
In her now well-known talk given at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994, Mother Teresa took to task this nation's culture of death on a number of points:
...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?...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....abortion, which often follows from contraception, brings a people to be spiritually poor, and this is the worst poverty and the most difficult to be overcome.
...God will never forget us and there is something you and I can always do. We can keep the joy of loving Jesus in our hearts, and share that joy with all we come in contact with. Let us make this one point: that no child will be unwanted, unloved, uncared for, or killed and thrown away. And give until it hurts -- with a smile.
...If we remember that God loves us, and that we can love others as he loves us, then America can become a sign of peace for the world. From here, a sign of care for the weakest of the weak -- the unborn child -- must go out to the world.
My family and I were most honored and humbled to have met Mother Teresa when she visited Louisville some years ago for an Eternal Life Church Teaches Forum. She held our youngest son, Terence, in her arms and spoke to me words I'll never forget. With her eyes lit up, she told me when "we have children, have big families," abortion will be ended.
What is most striking about this remark is that it is something each of us in the married state of life are able to strive for, something for which you don't need to be a "pro-life professional." Many ask me what they can do to help fight the good fight for the unborn: rescues? letters to congressmen? public demonstrations? Thinking of what Mother Teresa said to me years ago, my response is straightforward: love Jesus Christ, love your family, love your enemies, have children. If all of us could fulfill these tasks, what Mother Teresa has called "the simple path," I am confident we could drive a significant wedge into our culture of death.
While on her earthly pilgrimage Mother Teresa performed innumerable works for the unborn. Now that this pilgrimage has come to an end, let us pray that she will perform even more. May Mother Teresa rest in the peace of God's Triune love.
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