Lent Continues

"Enough is enough!"  How often has this thought gone through our minds.  When we are sick sometimes in frustration we think, "enough is enough." Sometimes when we finally go on vacation, as it comes to an end we think, "enough is enough, I am ready to go back to the normal routine." During the season of Lent we look into our hearts to see how we can become more the person God created us to be and we want to be.  Where can we honestly say about ourselves, "enough is enough?"  What habits or ways of thinking and acting do we know we should change, but don’t quite seem to get there.  During Lent we hear the call to change and are given the grace to respond to that call.

As much as we look at "enough is enough" in our own personal lives, we also look at how much is enough as far as God is concerned for us.  In the beginning of creation God made us in his own image.  Soon after that the first or original sin was committed.  From that point on evil began to snowball. Finally in chapter six of the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God said, "Enough is enough!"  The result was the flood that destroyed the whole earth and only Noah was saved.  God destroyed all who were evil and began to restore creation through Noah.  After the flood God promised never to destroy the earth in that way again.  In fact we can never get to the point where God will ever give up on us.  In Jesus we clearly see how he never says, "Enough is enough." He preached the good news, healed the sick, raised the dead and forgave sinners.  Finally he gave his life on the cross for us.  What more could he do?  He gave himself totally and completely for us that we might see God’s great love for us and his desire to bring us into his life as his children.  As we faithfully seek to live as the children of God in Jesus’ image our challenge is to rise above the thought that sometimes frustrates our spirit: "Enough is enough!"  When people don’t respond to our love, when we are hurt by the words or actions of others we are tempted to lose heart and get very angry and spiteful.  It is not easy to continue to love and forgive.  In Jesus we see we can never reach the point where we have loved or forgiven enough.

In our state we have surely reached the point where enough is enough as far as abortion is concerned.  Gov.  Spitzer is putting forth a bill that will make abortion a fundamental right in our state.  New York state has the sad history of being the first state to legalize abortion in 1970, three years before it was declared legal by the Supreme Court with Roe vs.  Wade.  In a column in The Daily News almost two weeks ago, the columnist said, "But the fact that one in three New York pregnancies ends in abortion - a rate far higher than elsewhere in the developed world - is nothing to be proud of." He continues, these steps of Gov.  Spitzer "won’t even make it easier to get abortions in New York - because it can’t get much easier than it already is.  New York imposes no waiting periods or parental notice requirements.  It has plenty of abortion providers by national standards, and it’s one of the few places where new ones are opening.  And if a woman can’t afford to terminate her own pregnancy, the state Medicaid program will pick up the tab." Enough is enough!"  In our efforts to eliminate this evil we have the leader of our state promoting it even more.  As I said about other politicians who support and defend abortion, I would not want to be in their shoes on judgement day.

Practically speaking we can do something to speak about Gov.  Spitzer’s Extreme Abortion Bill (S.5829), known as "RHAPP’, the Reproductive Health & Privacy Protection Act.  We can call our State Senator through the Senate switchboard at 518-455-2800.  We can also e-mail our State Senator through the New York State Catholic Conference website at www.nyscatholic.org.  I received a letter of acknowledgement from Joseph Bruno from the New York State Senate when I voiced my concern through the website.  I invite you to speak with me in the name of life.  Only when our voices are loud and strong enough will pelicans like Gov.  Spitzer get the message that "enough is enough!"  The other challenge we face is to not vote for people who promote and defend abortion.  Since it is obvious we are not going to change their minds, we have a responsibility to replace them with those who will defend life at every stage of development.  As long as good people stand by and do nothing, evil will never have enough of its way! 

Father Walden