![\"money-505492_640\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/664\/2016\/12\/money-505492_640-300x225.jpg\")
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Once, in the city of Myra, there was a poor man who had three beautiful daughters. The poor man fell on harder times than usual, and one day\u00a0there was nothing left. With a heavy heart, he determined to sell one of his beautiful daughters into prostitution so that the rest of them could eat. He knew it was wrong, but saw no other way. Saint Nicholas heard of this, and went to the man\u2019s house after the family had gone to bed. He tiptoed to the open window under cover of darkness. And he screamed through their window that there was no excuse for prostitution; we are required to be virtuous even when times are difficult, that no father is ever actually \u201cforced\u201d to sell a child into slavery. He added that besides, some women become prostitutes voluntarily because they think it\u2019s glamorous, therefore those who feel forced are lying. And then Saint Nicholas left, feeling righteous.<\/p>\n
Sounds awful, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
It sounds just as awful when you do it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve gotten some comments in the past couple days, and I\u2019ve read some things online, about how the New Pro-Life Movement is mistaken in saying that we should attack all the injustices that make poor women feel pressured into abortion. I\u2019m told that this is wrong of them, because women ought to choose the right thing no matter what. Yes, being a mother when you\u2019re poor or oppressed is difficult, but we are required to be virtuous even when it\u2019s difficult. Therefore it\u2019s futile to try to help make it easier for poor women to keep their children. Besides, some rich women get abortions for altogether frivolous reasons. That means that no woman really feels forced, and that we can\u2019t end abortion by improving conditions for the poor.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m even told that no amount of social change can end abortion, only \u201cconversion of hearts,\u201d and I\u2019m told this by the same luminaries who told me four weeks ago that the only hope to stop abortion was voting for a cheese doodle\u00a0with a bad toupee.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m floored.<\/p>\n
Yes, we\u2019re supposed to act virtuous no matter what. Absolutely. I am required to follow the teaching of the Gospel even if it costs me my life, and so are you. But that doesn\u2019t mean God likes<\/em> for it to cost us our lives. It doesn\u2019t mean that obstacles to virtue are a good thing. It doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re supposed to notice a stumbling block in front of our sister in Christ and then shame her for not breaking her neck climbing over it. That\u2019s the sin of the pharisee, tying up a heavy burden for another and not lifting a finger to help carry it. The Christian\u2019s job isn\u2019t to be a pharisee. It\u2019s to be Simon and help carry the cross.<\/p>\n I want to stress that many pro-life people know this and work to ease the burdens of the poor, but a sizable and very vocal number of them do not, \u00a0and they\u2019re the ones I\u2019m talking about here, not pro-life people overall.<\/p>\n The fact is\u2013 and I know that saying this is going to make some of you very angry\u2013\u00a0being a mother is a heavy cross.It\u2019s an unspeakably wonderful gift, but it\u2019s very difficult. Being a mother while poor is even worse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s terrifying. I love my daughter more than anything in the world, yet being pregnant with her was agony. \u00a0Sometimes the Christians around me helped, and that was great. A handful of pro-life Christian people around me really saw me as a human being, and that was wonderful of them. But there were also far too many times when neighbors\u00a0could have lightened my burden and didn\u2019t, and in those times I was terrified. And the thought of abortion danced across my mind, and every time I reminded myself that it wasn\u2019t an option. But after I reminded myself that it wasn\u2019t an option, I felt guilty. Because all around me I saw\u00a0devout Catholics who honestly viewed the poor as parasites breeding parasite children. They openly believed\u00a0that poor people shouldn\u2019t be allowed to have food or\u00a0medical help from the government; that poor people were lazy; that letting my baby die of malnutrition would somehow \u201cencourage\u201d us to \u201cget jobs.\u201d\u00a0I referred to myself as a \u201cwelfare pig\u201d and felt guilty that I was bringing another \u201cwelfare pig\u201d into the world, because that\u2019s the way poor mothers were\u00a0thought of by many\u00a0pro-life Christians in my social circle, my entire life and during my pregnancy.<\/p>\n Yes, I should have been more virtuous. I should have been so inspired by the\u00a0Holy Ghost with\u00a0the horror of sin that the attitudes of the people around me rolled off like water on a duck\u2019s back. But I wasn\u2019t. And mine is not at all the worst situation a pregnant woman could be in. In many ways I got off easy. \u00a0I can absolutely\u00a0see how women really do feel forced into abortion, whether you want to believe it happens or not.<\/p>\n Of course, the only way toward a just society is conversion of hearts. All the social change in the world will be futile if our hearts do not love justice. But a heart converted to the love of justice will love the poor and desire to help lighten their burdens.<\/p>\n And of course, some abortions are sought for frivolous reasons. But if you actually believe that the unborn are human, you\u2019ll want to save as many lives as you can. If even a few\u00a0abortions are sought out of financial desperation, you\u2019ll work to ease their burdens\u00a0and at least save those lives. Yes, I\u2019m aware that there are many pro-life people who are already doing this, but I have to be very clear about it for those who aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n For anyone who doesn\u2019t know: the real story of Saint Nicholas and the poor man with three daughters ends differently than my little parody at the beginning of this post. Saint Nicholas threw a bag of money through their window, and left before anyone noticed. The father used that money instead of selling one of his daughters. And then Saint Nicholas did it again years later when the father was broke again, and again a third time, before the father realized who his mysterious benefactor was. The man was converted to a life of virtue, seeing the generosity and humility of the bishop.<\/p>\n We who share Saint Nicholas\u2019s faith and worship his God must\u00a0be converted, and do as he did.<\/p>\n (image via Pixabay)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once, in the city of Myra, there was a poor man who had three beautiful daughters. The poor man fell on harder times than usual, and one day\u00a0there was nothing left. With a heavy heart, he determined to sell one of his beautiful daughters into prostitution so that the rest of them could eat. 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