The Holy Spirit: The Lord, The Giver of Life

Many years back, my mother expressed to me that the sin of abortion was a direct affront to the Holy Spirit. I never really classified it as such in my head, but I should have easily made the connection considering in the Creed each Sunday we state he is, "the Lord, the giver of life…"

Considering this, I ask how many times have we asked for forgiveness for our country’s Culture of Death from the Holy Spirit, and do we even consider how necessary this is? We all know we should stay on God the Father’s good side, and seek His forgiveness, considering his stern role detailed in the Old Testament. Not too many of His enemies were left standing. Likewise it is easy to identify Christ as a Redeemer and worthy of our pleas for forgiveness. "Redeemer" is a known title of His, and the priest in the confessional takes on the role of Christ. Two-thirds of the Trinity lend themselves easily to an act of contrition, but do we ever plead for forgiveness to the Holy Spirit?

I believe that the steadfast changing of hearts in the abortion debate has been the working of the Holy Spirit. His gifts and tools are at the epicenter of this battle, and perfectly designed for the battle.

Have you ever been completely flustered on how you see the issue of Abortion so clearly and others can’t find their way to a truthful conclusion based in reality? Thank the Holy Spirit, He is working inside of you. As St. Jean Vianney said,

"The Holy Spirit is light and strength. He teaches us to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and between good and evil. Like glasses that magnify objects, the Holy Spirit shows us good and evil on a large scale. With the Holy Spirit we see everything in its true proportions; we see the greatness of the least actions done for God, and the greatness of the least faults. As a watchmaker with his glasses distinguishes the most minute wheels of a watch, so we, with the light of the Holy Ghost, distinguish all the details of our poor life. Then the smallest imperfections appear very great, the least sins inspire us with horror…"

And what about the burning desire inside you that leads you to an action working towards the end of abortion? That is also the Holy Spirit working in you.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen stated that when receiving the Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation, it urges you, "to fight …against the three great enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil."

Sheen continues:

"…in Confirmation, the Christian is marked with power and boldness on the forehead [with the sign of the cross], so that neither fear nor false modesty will deter him from the public confession of Christ. Cattle are often branded with the owner's name; …Plutarch states it was a custom to brand cattle that were destined for sacrifice, as a sign that they were set apart for something sacred. … On the last day, the elect will be sealed on their foreheads in the name of the Lamb and of His Father, to protect them from destruction (Apoc. 7:3). Confirmation, then, is the sealing of a person in the army of the Lord…"

So the Holy Spirit sharpens our perceptions to reality, good and evil, and strengthens our fortitudes for actions based on this reality. The epicenter of the workings of the Pro-Life cause.