A Diabolical Harvest

Video-tapes released by The Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion non-profit group, caught Planned Parenthood with their hands in the cookie jar. The tapes clearly and blatantly revealed that Planned Parenthood not only performed abortions, but they also “harvested” and sold the fetal body parts to those who would use these for experimental and medical purposes. Abortion has been legalized for over four decades. While there are still those who openly oppose the murdering of the unborn, for the most part, most Americans accept the fact that the right to have an abortion is the law of the land. With the passing of each decade, we have become increasingly more morally “dulled” to this evil practice.

The revelation that the hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys, and other fetal organs were being “harvested” and sold to the highest bidder struck a different cord, however. The general public and even some notorious pro-choice advocates seemed shocked and expressed outrage that this sickening practice was taking place. A crescendo of bi-partisan voices, insisting that those who were responsible for this depravity should be punished, filled the airways. Demands that the “harvesting” of fetal organs be stopped were loud and clear. At least for this moment, our country seemed unified — the “harvesting” of fetal organs and tissue was not only reprehensible, but a serious blight on the moral character of our great nation. The practice of “harvesting” must cease and cease now!

For most of us, the word “harvest” evokes pleasant thoughts and feelings. Harvest time is a season of crisp fall mornings, sunny warm afternoons, clear blue skies, and a landscape filled with trees, the leaves of which are changing from green, to yellow, red, and orange. For those tillers of the soil who grow corn, wheat, barley, grain and vegetables, the harvest is a time of celebration. The cutting, shucking, picking, and packing of the fruits of the earth insure that the farmer and his neighbors will have good and ample food throughout the year. Indeed! The harvest is a time to rejoice. In fact, a national feast day on the fourth Thursday of November —Thanksgiving — has been set aside for the purpose of thanking God for the blessings He has bestowed upon us.

Contrast the preceding with the abortionist’s notion of “harvest.” This so called “harvest” begins once the unborn child is forcefully expelled from the mother’s womb. The infant, who still may be alive, is then dissected. The body parts are separated. The organs are carefully plucked and set aside — no room for error here — damaged goods won’t get top dollar. Instead of the word “harvesting,” the term “butchering” would better describe the preceding. The abortionists and their assistants are unlikely to “celebrate” participating in this grotesque task. Moreover, setting aside a national holiday to thank God for the bountiful “harvest” of the body parts of aborted children would be a ridiculous notion to even the most morally dulled among us.

For those who viewed the video-tapes, it was the cavalier, careless, and “it’s no big deal” attitude of the abortionists, which was most striking. These peddlers of fetal flesh showed no signs of regret, sorrow, or remorse about engaging in this horrific practice. Rather, the surrounding atmosphere was cordial and friendly. Occasionally a bit of humor was inserted into the conversation, which only highlighted how morally depraved the abortionists had become. Even when the video-tapes were aired in the national news, the abortionists and their supporters showed no shame. They insisted that the tapes had been edited, making things appear much worse than they were. Moreover, they vehemently contended that they were not violating the law. The damning tapes, they argued, were obtained surreptitiously, violating their rights to privacy. The idea that abortion and the “harvesting” of infant organs were morally deplorable was pushed aside — legality not morality is what was on trial here. These rationalizations smell of the same stench used by Nazi Germany to justify the murdering of the infirm and disabled. How much lower can we sink when we enact laws, which destroy human life rather than protect it?

While the airing of the Planned Parenthood tapes evoked moral outrage throughout the nation, the affront to God, the author of human life, was hardly ever mentioned during this moral vs. legal debate. The consequences for violating Divine Law were treated as though they didn’t exist. We act as though Our Lord has no stake in this matter. Rather, He has simply left us to slug it out on our own — may the opinions of the cleverest men and women prevail.

Only the most foolish of us would engage in such presumptuous thinking. Our Lord not only created us in His image and likeness, but He is the Supreme Law Maker, Who has authored those commandments dictating how we should govern ourselves. Moreover, Our Lord suffered and died on the cross, a most cruel death, for the retribution of our sins. Does this sound like a God Who has no interest in how we, His children, live our lives? On the contrary! Our Lord has promised that those who keep His commandments will be rewarded. Those who violate them, however, will be sent to hell — spending eternity in an unquenchable fire — a frightening prospect indeed.

In light of the preceding, questions on this legal vs. moral controversy need to be addressed and answered by those who mock and flaunt His laws. These are as follows: How does God view abortion and the “harvesting” of “fetal tissue?” How would He respond to the buying and selling of the organs of aborted children and those who profited from this butchery? How would God answer the abortionists who argue that what they did was within the law, so no sin was involved? Would Our Lord accept this rationalization or would He be incensed and punish those who not only enacted and enforced the law, but those who sat idly by allowing this to happen? The failure to honestly address and answer these questions will not only lead to further barbarism, but a countless number of souls will also be damned in the process.

In order to gain some insight on how Our Lord would respond to abortion — a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance — and the buying and selling of fetal organs for profit, the Gospels can be most helpful. First and foremost, Our Lord did not sit by passively in His mortal life when His Divinity and laws were flaunted. Note the Gospel of Saint Matthew, 21, 10-17: “And Jesus entered the temple of God, and cast out those who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer;’ but you have made it a den of thieves.” Notice that Our Lord was justifiably angry with the sellers and buyers who were defiling the house of His Father, and He then acted accordingly. Although He was compassionate, He openly confronted His adversaries, placing Himself in great danger by doing so.

This Gospel of Saint Matthew also provides us with further insight of how He viewed children: “But the chief priests and Scribes, seeing the wonderful deeds that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” were indignant, and said to Him, Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings you have perfected praise?” (21:16). Here we are introduced to the great love of Our Lord for innocent children.

In the Gospel of Saint Mark, 10, 15-21, Our Lord is even more forthright in declaring His love for little children and their innocence. Note the following: “At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it.’ And He put His arms about the children, and laying hands upon them, He began to bless them.”

Should there be any doubt that Our Lord not only loved children, but would harshly punish those who defiled them is emphasized in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, 18, 1-10. Imagine Our Lord as he delivered this teaching. Picture His forthright presentation and the tone of His voice in driving this point home: “At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in their midst, and said, ‘Amen I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever, therefore, humbles himself as this little child for my sake, receives Me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals! For it needs be that scandals come, but woe to the man through whom scandals come!…see that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you, their Angels in heaven always behold the face of My Father in heaven.’” Note the two exclamation points appearing in Our Lord’s discourse to His disciples. These accentuate the intensity of what He had to say. Our Lord says nothing about abortion and the selling and buying of fetal organs. However, is there any doubt about how He would respond to those who engage in and support these diabolical practices? I leave you, the reader, to answer this question.

For those politicians and government officials, who are responsible for protecting the unborn, a stern admonition warning them of the dire consequences for failing to do so was issued by Pope Pius Xl on December 31, 1930. His encyclical on Christian Marriage (Casti Connubii), Article 67 quoted in its entirety is as follows:

Those who hold the reins of government should not forget that it is the duty of public authority by appropriate laws and sanctions to defend the lives of the innocent and this all the more so since those whose lives are endangered and assailed cannot defend themselves. Among whom we must mention in the first place infants hidden in the mother’s womb. And if the public magistrates not only do not defend them, but by their laws and ordinances betray them to death at the hands of doctors or of others, let them remember that God is the judge and Avenger of innocent blood which cries out from earth to heaven.

As this encyclical stresses, those who govern us will one day face Jesus Christ and be judged for the murder and defilement of innocent children by the Avenger. Throughout the course of human history, evil laws have been enacted by the politicians of once great nations. These laws have then been offered as an excuse to justify the most vile and sinful behavior. The USA, a once unified Christian nation, is fast arriving at the point from which there will be no return. We have become so “dulled” that the horrors of abortion and the sickening practice of “harvesting” fetal organs are becoming ordinary business practices. Although we have been warned, the Fear of Our Lord (a gift of the Holy Ghost) and the threat of severe punishment no longer serve as a deterrent to sin. Rather, we continue on, being more concerned about whether a breach of civil or criminal law has occurred and whether federal funds will be lost as a result of our heinous actions.

The supporters of abortion and the selling and buying of fetal organs are right in contending that the current controversy is a legal issue, but not as they envision it. The law permitting abortion should be repealed. The quashing of this evil law would be the end of the fetal organ business. Maybe God would then return to blessing our once great nation, which has become increasingly more divided over the past half-century.

Lastly, but most importantly, our priests, bishops, princes of the Catholic Church, and the pope need to forthrightly preach on the evils of abortion and the so called “harvesting” of fetal tissue. The reverential Fear of God, a gift of the Holy Ghost, needs to be re-established in the hearts and minds of those of us who have become spiritually slothful and presumptuous, exaggerating our “goodness” and grossly under-estimating our sinful faults. Facing Our Lord on the day-of-judgment should be frightening. It makes perfect sense to fear an all-powerful God Who could condemn us to Hell for eternity. Our Lord made this loud and clear in the Gospel of Saint Luke, 12, 4-5: “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” Our Lord was the meek and humble Lion of Juda, not a crowd-pleaser. He promised that those who mocked Him and violated His laws would be punished. Preaching on the horrors of Hell, even though this would be unpopular, can be a powerful motivator in quashing sinful behavior. This is a fact, not a man-made scare tactic to exploit the simple faith of our fellow human beings as our adversaries would have us believe.

The mainstream media is currently focusing on the moral outrage surrounding the buying and selling of fetal organs. Like all important issues, however, this will fade with the passage of time. This hideous crime will eventually become “business as usual.” As Catholics, we have an obligation to try to prevent this from happening. Our failure to do so will lead to our nation becoming even more morally obtuse. Behavior that is more sickening will follow. Abortion and the selling and buying of fetal organs are terrible sins, which cry out to heaven for vengeance. Like it or not, Our Lord has clearly indicated that that those who defile His “little ones” will be severely punished. God help those who deny His existence and His teachings. The price for doing so will be their everlasting torment.