Defeat!
The Personhood Amendment was defeated last night in Mississippi. Somehow the voting public decided it could ignore proven scientific fact and declare that a human organism is somehow not a person. There’s no sugarcoating it, this was a huge defeat for the pro-life cause. However, it was only the first battle of its kind. A dozen states are attempting to put the issue on the ballot in 2012 and the ultimate goal is a Constitutional Amendment. All Christians have to prepare to step into the fray for a long battle that our children can’t afford for us to lose. As we ramp up our political activism, let’s remember that this is first and foremost a spiritual fight, so we follow the advice of St. Ignatius: “Pray as though everything depends on God, and fight as though everything depends on us.”
Perhaps a useful maxim for us is: “I would rather lose a battle in a cause that ultimately succeeds than win a battle in a cause that ultimately fails.” When it comes to defending life, we are on the winning side. As Father Pavone says, “Jesus has risen from the dead. Victory is our starting point.”
Maybe an even more relevant maxim for us is: “I would rather lose a battle in a cause that is just than win a battle in a cause that is unjust.” Most importantly, we just need to keep fighting.
