HAS IT REALLY BEEN FIFTY YEARS?

HAS IT REALLY BEEN 50 YEARS?


That is my feeling as we begin 2023! At the start of this year, my thoughts go back to 1973 - a very significant year in my life and, as it turned out, in the life of our country as well. Some explanation is called for here...

PERSONAL EVENTS

In 1973 two events happened that would change the direction of my life. First, I fell in love with Patti Gallagher. On May 27, I told her that I might have a "crush" on her. (She thought I might be asking for prayer to be delivered of that!) At any rate, it was much more than a crush, and we were married on December 22, 1973. Praise the Lord!

And then, the very next day, May 28, I started working in the CCRNO Office to assist Fr. Harold Cohen, SJ, and the Pastoral Team with coordinating Catholic Charismatic Renewal activities in the area. Actually, Fr. Cohen had asked me to join with him in August of 1970 and together we formed a Pastoral Team. The five of us would meet often to pray, discuss, discern, and plan events. I was teaching school part-time but by 1973 it had been discerned that someone was needed in the office to serve the growing Renewal in New Orleans, in Louisiana, and in the Gulf South region. So that became my job until February 2021!

As significant and life-changing as these events were for me personally, however, other things happened in 1973 which would change the direction of our entire country.

A SIGNIFICANT AND SORROWFUL DATE

On January 22, 1973, the US Supreme Court decided that abortion was legally permitted. This sparked a great reaction and resistance among right-to-life advocates which has persisted and grown ever stronger over the past 50 years.

In the spring of 1973, there was flooding on the Mississippi River - the third most severe in the 20^th century. This flood caused 33 deaths and over $252 billion in damages. I remember reflecting on this phenomenon at some point that summer, and I felt the Lord speaking in my heart about it. As best I can recall it, the words were something like these: 

"Just as the Mississippi River flows from north to south and divides this country in two, so will this issue of legalized abortion divide this country in two. It will affect everything and everyone, beginning now and for years to come. It will flood this country as a river and invade every detail of your civic life. Nothing will be the same. This division over legalized abortion will lead to other divisions. It will open the door and usher in other deviations and abominations. It will do damage that will have a lasting effect."

Looking back on it now, a half-century later and after over 63 million legalized abortions in the US, it seems as though the Mississippi River has figuratively turned red with the blood of contemporary innocents, even as the Nile River did with the first plague to afflict Egypt in the Book of Exodus!

50 YEARS LATER

A lot can happen in 50 years! Patti and I have been greatly blessed with four children, three daughters-in law, and, at this count, twelve grandchildren. Needless to say, we are extremely proud of all of them and grateful to the Lord for them. (I'm glad she didn't dismiss my "crush" back in 1973!)

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court judged that Roe vs. Wade had not been decided correctly in 1973 and overturned it. The Court sent the matter of abortion back to the individual States. At this writing, abortion is illegal in 13 States and completely legal with no restrictions in 6, plus the District of Columbia. All the other States allow abortion with some restrictions, to a greater or lesser extent. So, the battle for unborn human life still rages on.

THANKS, CONCERN, AND HOPE

In last month's blog I said that I ended 2022 with thanks, concern, and hope. I think it is fair to say that I begin 2023 the same way.

I am profoundly, sincerely, thankful to the Lord for bringing Patti and me through the past 49 years to begin our 50^th year of marriage. We can testify to the power of God's love, grace and mercy! We still hold on to our marriage verse that we took as God's word to us in 1973: "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). All we can say is - it's absolutely true! Thanks be to God!

I am, of course, extremely thankful that Roe vs. Wade was overturned, but concerned that abortion is still a scourge in our land. Also, a great concern to me is the full-scale promotion of homosexuality and gender confusion in schools, in the media, and in society in general - even, sad to say, in some of our churches.

Finally, let us praise God for the hope that is in us: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). Let us go forward this year, seizing this hope that is set before us, because it is a sure and steadfast anchor for our soul, reaching into heaven itself (cf. Heb. 6:18-19).

Have a blessed 2023!