A day for remembrance, mercy and recommitment to being pro-life
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Themes of humanity, death, mercy, mission, healing and sure and certain hope resonated throughout St. Andrew Parish’s 10th annual Mass for the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance of Aborted Children, their parents and abortion workers.
“Jesus has given the cross a new meaning,” said Father Christopher Cordes, pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Holts Summit.
“It was through that instrument of torture and execution that he gained and brought salvation to the whole world, giving the ultimate self-sacrifice for all of us and all of humanity,” the priest stated.
“Today, we observe that; today, we honor that, we give thanks for that,” he said.
The Mass was one of many solemn observances held throughout the United States on the National Day of Remembrance (nationaldayofremembrance.org).
Father Richard Frank, a retired priest of this diocese, concelebrated the Mass.
About 50 people attended.
The special intention was for the repose of the souls of the 8,710 Missouri babies who died last year in Illinois abortion clinics, and the 2,860 who died in Kansas abortion clinics.
“We must do our part to protect all human life, and as we remember in a special way today, the lives of the unborn,” said Fr. Cordes.
It was the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross.
“This feastday honors and gives thanks for and celebrates and draws our attention to the action of Jesus, what happened through the cross,” Fr. Cordes noted.
Not only did God create human beings in his own image and likeness, he sent his own beloved Son in the form of a human being.
“We are given the calling as Christians to live our life in such a way that God is shown through us — that all that Jesus has come to teach and be, shines through our life,” said Fr. Cordes.
This also means all people are called to honor and care for that image and likeness in every human being, “especially those who tend to be left out or overlooked or marginalized or needing care and assistance that is not provided,” he said.
That holds for every baby in the womb.
“We hold to the truth that we are created in that image and likeness of God from the very beginning,” Fr. Cordes stated.
He emphasized that this image and likeness doesn’t come into being after three months after conception or six months or at birth or when a child begins to walk or talk or begins to be able to carry on a conversation or achieve some level of independence.
“It is there from the beginning,” the priest noted. “So we are called to recognize that and protect that and to honor that.”
That often does not happen — “and that’s what we are called to recognize even more and do even more about,” he said.
Doing more starts by calling to mind all those whose lives have been lost prematurely, in their earliest stages.
“And as we remember them, we believe and trust they are in the eternal care of God,” said Fr. Cordes. “But we must also remember our responsibility to keep doing more to allow them to come to birth, to come into the world.”
All people of faith are also called to help do what needs to be done to help those little ones, especially the most vulnerable and those most in need, to flourish throughout their earthly lives.
“That is a call for all of us and for all people,” Fr. Cordes stated.
He said the Day of Remembrance was also an important occasion to highlight God’s unfathomable mercy.
“The image of Jesus on the cross is the greatest image of God’s mercy and love for us, the willingness to give his Son, Jesus’s willingness to pour out his life for us,” Fr. Cordes stated.
“And that reminds us of God’s mercy and grace, which extends, of course, to those who are unborn and also to those who make the decision, who participate in bringing their lives to an end,” he said.
He noted that many people who are involved in that decision do experience feelings of regret and need to know of God’s mercy and tremendous love.
That mercy finds its most profound expression in the cross of Jesus, reminding all of his followers of their lives to imitate him through a life of self-sacrificing love.
“And we are called upon to recognize that in each person, to allow that to come to fruition, to contribute to the wellbeing of each individual — and today especially, we recall the responsibility that we have to ensure that for those who have yet to come to birth,” he said.
Not forgotten
The closing hymn was a Catholic Song of Farewell, its lyrics dating from the early centuries of the Church, calling upon those in heaven to welcome one who has died and present him or her to God.
The people in church processed out to the churchyard behind Fr. Cordes and Fr. Frank, each carrying a long-stem flower.
Together, they offered prayers for all who have lost a child because of abortion, and for all those who have died in abortions — “our brothers and sisters in Christ who never had a chance of early life but share in the heavenly life with God, our all-merciful, loving Father.”
One by one, beginning with the priests, the people came forward to place flowers on the stone memorial to the unborn while everyone assembled sang “Amazing Grace.”
A group of participants went back into the church afterward to pray the Rosary for the defeat of Amendment 3, which would legalize abortion in Missouri and all but eliminate the state’s authority to regulate it.
