Living Between Good Friday and Easter: Awaiting Easter Dawn

With the election of Barack Obama, the strongest pro-abortion president in US history, and especially with the passage of Obamacare without the Stupak-Pitts amendment (the amendment that would have guaranteed that no abortions would be funded except under the conditions of the Hyde amendment), under the guise of a promised executive order, the pro-life movement in America was dealt two very severe blows.  As I experienced feelings of disillusionment, disappointment, frustration, and discouragement after all the prayer and written communication to try to ensure that unborn babies, people with disabilities, people who are elderly, people with chronic or serious health conditions, and the conscience rights of health care personnel and facilities that oppose abortion would be protected, I needed to relate this experience to something in the Gospel.  I recognized that my feelings in some respects were in some degree connected to my perception of what the apostles must have felt with the realization that JESUS, their Master, had actually undergone crucifixion, had died on the cross, and had been buried.  It was in some way connected to the feelings of the women who left the tomb where the lifeless body of JESUS had been placed.  How could this have happened?  How could God have let it happen?  How could He have abandoned them?

History and faith demonstrate that this was not the end of the story.  While the unthinkable (yes, unthinkable to them, even though JESUS had tried to tell them several times) had happened and while all seemed lost, the LORD was, in fact, doing the great work of gaining the salvation of all who believed and would come to believe in Him and rescuing the just souls from the prison of Sheol and bringing them to heaven.  God had already arranged that the event of great horror and suffering, which appeared to be the worst thing that could ever happen, would be the way to the best thing that could ever happen, our salvation and the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST from the dead.  Death was to be swallowed up in victory at a time when faithful followers could only feel mired by defeat.  However, in the absence of understanding, it was as if a deep cloud had covered the area and deep fog hung over the land.

Although people in the pro-life movement, unlike the disciples who hid for cover in the Upper Room, have continued to press on and even gain several important victories, there still hangs a veil of gloom over our land while a strongly pro-abortion president remains in residence in the White House, promoting his pro-abortion agenda and showing a serious lack of respect for religious freedom, the right of conscience, and the rights of the unborn.  Where is God in all this?  What is He doing?  Will He ever reveal His Presence and once again act on our behalf?

The election of a genuinely pro-life President in November would be a sign of our vindication.  It would reassure us that God still raises up people who are determined to seek and follow Him and to work to defend the most vulnerable.

It seems to me that God is raising up Rick Santorum for such a time as this.  Rick Santorum is not God, not a messiah, not a savior, and not even a saint, but a fallible human being like the rest of us.  If elected President his goals would still be subject to the decisions of Congress, and he would still be attacked by the liberal secular media. However, he is a genuine Catholic who strongly believes in the rights of those most vulnerable and has a great track record of defending the unborn.  He is a father who is concerned for the life of his precious daughter who has a chromosomal abnormality whose continued existence on this earth is very fragile and who, due to severe developmental delays, has a life that is not always valued by medical professionals and whose plight would probably become even worse if Obamacare goes into effect.  At first his campaign yielded a small percentage of support until he almost miraculously beat the odds and won the Iowa primary.  This was the first sign of hope that perhaps the dawn is near, and there have been many subsequent signs of victory as well.

At present it appears as if the odds are still against Rick Santorum, but sometimes Easter miracles still can happen.  We do not yet know if God will intervene miraculously in this upcoming election or will once again allow Americans to be left to their own devices to choose the candidate that appeals to the worldly and fleshly concerns.

For me, if Rick Santorum wins this election it will be as if the clouds have lifted, the rainbow has appeared and an Easter morning will have finally dawned.  It will be a sign that God is  smiling on America and the pro-life movement once again.