Fr. Frank Pavone
Pontifical Council for the Family
Vatican City
"Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest."
The words of this well-known hymn affirm that the Holy Spirit is the Creator
of all things. In the Creed, we say we believe that the Father is the "maker of
heaven and earth." Yet so is the Holy Spirit. As the Catechism of the
Catholic Church
explains, "Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable
in what they do" (n. 267).
The Bible begins by declaring that when God created all things, "a mighty
wind swept over the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The word "wind" here is the same as
"spirit" or "breath." We can see an echo of this in the English word
"respiration." "Spirit" is in the middle of it! So it is no accident that God,
in creating the first man, "blew into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis
2:7). On the first Easter night, when He appeared to the apostles, the Risen
Christ "breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22),
and on Pentecost, the Spirit came with "a noise like a strong driving wind"
(Acts 2:2).
In the beginning the Spirit brought about creation. Through the Paschal
Mystery, He brings about the new creation, pouring forth eternal life.
The movement of the Spirit is in one direction: life. He gives it, He
restores it, He elevates it, and He will raise it from the dead. "If the Spirit
of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised
Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his
Spirit that dwells in you" (Rom. 8:11).
Therefore the movement of the thoughts and choices of those who are united
with the Holy Spirit is also in the direction of life. St. Paul can therefore
contrast the works of the Spirit, including "peace, patience," and "kindness,"
with those of the flesh, which include "hatreds, outbursts of fury," and "acts
of selfishness" (see Gal. 5:18-23).
Into which list would acts of dismemberment be placed, or acts of ending a
baby's life with scissors? Into which list, according to the descriptions of
those who perform it, would the abortion procedure fall? It is amazing that so
many Christians can easily see that slapping someone in the face is not
consistent with life in the Spirit, but think that tearing a child apart
sometimes can be.
Some choices, no matter what our motives or circumstances, cannot ever be
reconciled with the movement of the Holy Spirit in our soul. Abortion is one of
them.
Nor can one say, "I follow the Holy Spirit, but abortion is not my problem."
Can we follow the one who gives life, and remain unconcerned about the taking of
life by a procedure that claims more victims than any crime, disease, or war?
The Holy Spirit is everywhere. The taking of life, wherever it occurs, is of
concern to Him. No matter how far away I may be, in body or mind, from the act
that takes life, if I am close to God, then that act is of concern to me.
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