What is your favorite love song? Tough question, because most of us would have a challenge narrowing it down to a single favorite. Chances are, your favorite love song was written years ago for the simple reason that fewer love songs are being written this century. Thus, abortion’s impact on music.
“You’re crazy,” may be your immediate response. “How could abortion have any impact on music?”
Let’s start at the beginning: What is love?
The Bible tells us that “God is love” in 1 John 4:7-12. That’s a big idea. So love songs are about God and His Creation, whether the composer understands that or not.
St. Paul wrote of love’s primacy among all the virtues: “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).
Twelve hundred years later, Thomas Aquinas offered a practical definition: “To love means to consistently will and choose the good of the other.” In other words, we are to love what God loves, our neighbors, who are His creation.
Love is all about giving, not taking.
Abortion clearly is an attack on Love. It wills not the good, but the destruction, of the other for the sake of convenience. It is a rebuke of God’s very creation, a deadly rejection of our Creator which carries profound spiritual consequences to those involved in each abortion.
By contrast, love is creative, inspiring beauty in the world and our lives. No work of art uplifts our souls more than a love song.
Love songs are transformative
Music historian, Ted Gioia provided a secular viewpoint on the value of love songs in his book, “Songs: The Hidden History”:
“People are wrong to view these songs as mere entertainment or escapism. The purpose of a successful love song is to create love. The first love songs were part of fertility rites and they aimed at changing the world, not just describing it. When the Beatles sang ‘All You Need Is Love’ or John Coltrane performed ‘A Love Supreme’, they wanted to transform the world in which they lived. And on a personal level, many of us would not be here today if our parents hadn’t heard a love song at the right time and place. Those love songs aren’t just life-changing, they are life-creating.”
So love songs are transformative.
Love songs are disappearing from the pop charts
Freelance music blogger, DJ Rob, noticed that love songs are disappearing from today’s pop charts, with a precipitous decline on Billboard’s Premier Singles Chart since 2000. He conducted a decade-by-decade analysis of #1 songs with the word ‘love’ in it. Here are the results:
1960s: 23 love songs
1970s: 26 love songs
1980s: 25 love songs
1990s: 24 love songs
2000s: 7 love songs
2010s: 5 love songs
The drop really kicked in beginning in mid the 1990s as the first Roe v Wade generation came of age. Coincidence?
The decline of the love song has accelerated in the 20s, with but a single “love” song, that isn’t really a love song, topping the charts. “Savage Love,” by Jason Derulo is anything but a love song, with lyrics like this:
“When you kiss me, I know you don’t give two f*%@ks … but I still want that.”
How romantic.
Contrast those sentiments with these expressed in the Elvis Presley hit song (above) from 1961, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”:
Wise men say,
“Only fools rush in.”
But I can’t help
Falling in love with you.
‘Only fools rush in’ invokes the virtue of sacrificial love. It reminds us of the first responders at the Twin Towers who sacrificed everything trying to save others. Love is self-giving, not taking.
Elvis summarizes Aquinas so simply with these words:
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too.
For I can’t help
Falling in love with you.
Love goes far beyond sexuality
It is an exchange of lives. “I give my life to you, you give your life to me.” Or as God explains in the Book of Genesis, “two become one flesh.”
Now that’s something to write a song about!
The post-1973 generation grew up in a milieu that put the individual first over the good of the other. Foundational American freedoms of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness transmogrified into Choice, Equity, and Lifestyle Choice, all at the expense of the human rights of our posterity.
Artists’ understanding of what love really is became twisted
Abortion has debased sexuality and corrupted the Roe Generation’s perception of love.
The fruits of Roe
Just look at what Roe spawned: no-fault divorce; skyrocketing divorce rates; so-called same-sex marriage that precludes procreation; gender confusion and mutilation; epidemic teen suicide rates; single parent homes as the norm. It’s no wonder a new generation doesn’t know how to write a decent love song.
And yet despite abortion’s impact on music and our culture, there are signs of hope. The Knot (an online wedding planning platform) conducts a survey of wedding trends. Guess what the most popular first wedding dance song for 2023 was? Wait for it:
“Can’t Help Falling in Love” by the King himself, Elvis!
Elvis knocked off Ed Sheeren’s “Perfect” which had been #1 for the previous seven years. And nipping on Elvis and Ed’s heels is Taylor Swift’s “Lover.”
So here’s what we’ve learned: love is timeless. After all, a 63 year old song, performed by a long dead singer, is still in demand by a generation hungry for authentic love.
Despite Roe’s ugly legacy, people still want to hear real love songs. As long as we keep singing the beautiful words of love, the world has a chance.
[Pulse Life Advocates understands that music can promote a culture of life. To that end, we ask you to support our upcoming pro-life concert, “Women of Worth,” on April 14th at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, IA. Details to come.]
Pulse Life Advocates and Students for Life at Iowa State will be offering a ONE-DAY Sidewalk Advocate Training Class on Saturday, February 10th from 8:00am-2:00pm at Carver Hall in Room 101, Iowa State University.
The Sidewalk Advocates for Life is geared towards local communities who wish to employ a peaceful, prayerful, law-abiding approach in reaching out to women and men at abortion and abortion-referral facilities for services of whatever kind.
Join us as we learn how to humbly approach the most vulnerable of men and women with the love of Christ in a time of great need and desperation. BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PROVIDED.
WHEN: Saturday Feb. 10th – 8am-2pm
WHERE: Carver Hall, Room 101 – Iowa State University
RSVP by February 6th to – mdewitte@pulseforlife.org
SPEAKERS: Sheryl Schwager – Executive Director – Johnson County Right to Life
By State Senator, Sandy Salmon
State Senator Sandy Salmon
Thank you all for coming out and showing your support for life.
I was a senior in high school when Roe vs. Wade was decided. I have watched the pro-life movement for 50 years! I never thought I would see the day when Roe would be overturned!
But here we are! We are actually living in a post-Roe world!
When I came into office in 2012, Iowa law allowed abortion up to the moment of birth and Iowa taxpayers were subsidizing the abortion industry! This had been the case since the 70’s! Totally unacceptable!
Over the past 11 years we have made remarkable strides forward in the fight to protect life. There were a few setbacks but the net result has been moving forward.
- 2014 – Ban on webcam abortion (struck down by court)
- 2015 – Ultrasound requirement for abortion
- 2017 – Ban on abortion at 20 weeks
- 2017 – 72-hour waiting period requirement – (struck down by court)
- 2017 – strengthened the ultrasound requirement and required full informed consent for abortion
- 2017 – defunded abortionists in state Medicaid money
- 2018 – “Heartbeat” law – (struck down by court)
- 2018 – Ban on the sale of aborted baby body parts
- 2018 – Prohibition on wrongful birth/life lawsuits
- 2019 – defunded abortionists in federal grant money for sex education in schools
- 2020 – Established a 24-hour waiting period requirement
- 2020 – Alfie’s Law – courts cannot refuse life-sustaining treatments to a child over the parents’ objections
- 2021 – Protect Life Constitutional Amendment passed the legislature – The Iowa Constitution establishes no right to an abortion nor any right to the funding of it
- 2022 & 2023 – MOMS Bill – More Options for Maternal Support – state support for pregnancy resource centers that support healthy pregnancies, childbirth, and parenting instead of abortion
- 2023 – Re-passed the Heartbeat Law – by even stronger majorities than the first time! – now awaiting Iowa Supreme Court decision
We have come a long way! But we still have a ways to go before unborn babies are fully protected! But we are definitely on our way and in the middle of the fight! We won’t stop until unborn children enjoy the protection of their constitutional right to life! Since Dobbs, a new chapter in the fight for life has begun! And we have just begun to fight!
There are so many times here at the Capitol as I hear so many lamenting and bemoaning the workforce shortages in numerous areas – manufacturing, health care, education, law enforcement – all tell us they need more people. I often think that this problem goes back to simple demographics. We have allowed in the state of Iowa the slaughter of about 200,000 human beings through abortion that would now be of age to be in our workforce. If only half of them stayed in Iowa, we would have 100,000 more people today in our workforce. That would totally solve our problem of 80,000 jobs today looking for people. But they are not here – and it’s because we have allowed abortion.
As a state it is a foolish and misguided, as well as a wicked, policy to allow your citizens to lose their lives before they even see the light of day. Not only do we violate spiritual and moral law, we also violate economic law. An increase in prosperity needs an increase in population or we struggle. It’s as simple as that! Those telling us how badly they need more people ought to be the strongest supporters of the pro-life cause!
Justice never sleeps! It has a way of continuing to grind forward until it prevails. And justice will prevail! We will not give up! Unborn children will get the God-given protection for life because that is their right!
Thank you!
[State Senator Sandy Salmon gave this address at yesterday’s Prayer Rally at the Capital. Thanks to the Senator for permission to publish her remarks on Pulse’s blog. Be sure to subscribe today.]
The Roman Catholic Church recognizes abortion as a grave sin. They are not alone. A broad swath of non-Catholic churches agree. One that disagrees with the Catholics is a Satanic temple in New Mexico, which offers to perform ‘Satanic Abortion Ceremonies’ for you, which raises the question: would you sell your soul for an abortion?
In a reflection of the depths to which the secular culture has fallen, Cosmopolitan Magazine touted Satanic abortion ceremonies on their social media outlets.
As background, Cosmo is published in 35 different languages and distributed in 100 different countries, targeting women 18 to 34. In other words, they target those in the child-bearing years (or prime abortion years, for those peddling abortions).
Not a fringe rag
This isn’t a fringe rag, it’s a mainstream publication with a lot of influence on women with its urban, cosmopolitan vibe. It is the largest womens magazine in North America.
Their social media post asks:
“So how dos a Satanic abortion ceremony even work? Patients of all faiths are welcome at Samuel Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic in New Mexico. Along with medical counsel, TST offers a free ceremonial supper to everyone. Abortion ceremonies are totally optional — and customizable.”
The social media posting provides a link to a full article in their online magazine.
Each page of the posting displays an upside down cross, displaying contempt for Christianity’s most sacred symbol, and meant to represent evil and attract dark forces.
The TST’s marketing goes on to state that:
“One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s will alone.”
How Christianity differs
Remember Protestant pastor Rick Warren’s best-selling book years ago, “The Purpose-Drive Life?” His first sentence captured the essence of Christianity: “It’s not about you.” In other words, Christianity is about selfless, sacrificial love.
Needless to say, Satanists disagree, proclaiming it IS all about you just as Planned Parenthood has maintained since well before the Roe v Wade decision.
Abortion is an act of supreme selfishness that separates participants from Christ, that is, it’s a mortal sin.
Pew Research Center listed the following summary of religious groups that oppose abortion rights with few or no exceptions:
- African Methodist Episcopal Church
- Assemblies of God
- Roman Catholic Church
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Hinduism
- Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
- Southern Baptist Convention
As you might guess, members of these churches are less likely to read Cosmo than coastal elites.
Pulse became aware of Cosmo’s promotion of Satanic abortion ceremonies thanks to reporting by the Epoch Times. You can watch their video on the topic by clicking this link.
Why does this matter?
- Abortion is evil. Satanism embraces evil. Cosmopolitan magazine is mainstreaming evil.
- The Satanic Temple is recognized as a tax-exempt religious organization by the IRS. They believe their abortion ceremonies are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. They want to create a religious loophole to enable women to get abortions, even in states that prohibit or only narrowly allow abortion in extreme circumstances. In other words, women professing membership in the Satanic Temple can claim that the abortion ceremony is part of their religion and protected by the Constitution. Even if they don’t believe in Satan, they have sold their souls in the name of abortion.
- More women (and men who pressure women into abortion) will go to Hell.
A horrific temptation
Cosmopolitan’s promotion of the Satanic Abortion Ceremonies is a horrific temptation for women in crisis pregnancies. They think abortion is an easy way out. It’s not. Not only is a unique human being killed in a grotesque act of violence, to sell one’s soul has eternal consequences.
Let us end on two positive notes:
- Have you had an abortion? If yes, abortion is a forgivable sin in the Roman Catholic Church through the beautiful sacrament of reconciliation. And loving groups, such as Rachel’s Vineyard provide a “safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion.”
- You’re not alone. The pro-life movement has worked tirelessly to create a wide range of resources for women in crisis pregnancies. Our website lists a ton of them here. For a list of Unplanned Pregnancy Resource Centers in Iowa, click here.
Loving help awaits you. Don’t wait. God has endowed you with an eternal soul of inestimable worth. Please, don’t sell yours for an abortion.
[Pulse Life Advocate’s website is packed with resources. Since you’re on it now, take a few minutes to browse through the site. Be sure to subscribe to this blog.]
Pulse Life Advocates was honored to have Florida Governor and presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, speak at our Christmas Gala in November. With the Iowa Caucuses upon us this Monday night, let’s take a look back at what he had to say. Here are a few DeSantis quotes:
Talking about rights …
“Our country is based on the idea that our rights are endowed by God, beginning with the right to life, as well as the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is in the Declaration of independence. That’s how our founders conceived of this country. It’s based on the idea that there is a higher power. And people throughout our history have recognized that.
When you swear the oath to support and defend the constitution, it was framed against that backdrop in the Declaration of independence to say [that] this country is founded on that idea. Your rights do not come from government. They come from our creator, the Lord our God.”
***
“You have to have citizens that have a good foundation on American Freedom and understand that our rights come from God, not from government. I think people see that we are losing that.”
***
“But this is an important right: Parents rights. Making sure we’re educating, not indoctrinating. I think the success of this country hangs in the balance … “
***
“I never thought in a million years that anyone would ever use our children as vehicles to advance their ideology and their agenda. We always thought that the kids were hands off.”
Talking about conviction politics …
“When you are in a position of leadership, you know, why are you there? [Is it] to always choose the path of least political resistance? The way I’ve governed myself in terms of all this is: I just want to be able to look in the mirror and know I did the right thing for the right reason and to just let the chips fall where they may. But you can’t contort yourself into a pretzel. You can’t try to be something that you are not. Just tell people what you believe and let her rip.”
Governor DeSantis has been unwavering in his pro-life convictions. If you’d like to take a deeper dive into what Governor DeSantis had to say at our banquet, his talk begins at the 57:55 mark in the video above.
See you at the caucuses Monday night!
[Have you watched our new video series, “How to Raise Pro-Life Children” yet? Click here to start watching now.]
Rebecca, a mom of six from Ogden, Iowa, asked this question of Donald Trump at last night’s Fox town hall event at the Iowa Event Center (where Pulse held their Christmas Gala in November):
“For me, it all comes down to this question: between you, sir, and Ron DeSantis, you both talk a lot about pro-life, your record. That’s my number one issue and the cry of my heart … is justice for all people … and I’ve been vocal celebrating with you all of your pro-life victories from the past.
But in this campaign, you’ve blamed pro-lifers for some of the GOP losses around the country and you’ve called Heartbeat Laws, like Iowa’s, terrible. And so I’d like some clarity on this, because it’s such an important issue to me. I’d like you to reassure me that you can protect all life, every person’s right to life, without compromise.”
Trump’s response
Here’s the transcript of former president Trump’s response:
“So … it’s a great question, and I appreciate it … you wouldn’t ask that question, even talk about the issue, because for 54 years they were trying to get Roe v Wade terminated, and I did it, and I’m proud to have done it …
It was a miracle.
When I walked onto the stage today, a gentleman in the back … he probably works for Fox … nice guy … said, ‘sir, I’d like to thank you.’ I said, ‘for what?’ He said ‘you saved 2 million lives in the past three years.’
I said, ‘thank-you very much.’ I knew what he was saying. Two million lives. No one has done more in that regard than me.
Now, I happen to be for the exceptions, like Ronald Reagan, for the life of the mother, rape, incest. I have to be there, I feel. I think that somewhere like 78% of people polled … it was Ronald Reagan … he was for it, I was for it. But I will say this: you have to win elections. Otherwise, you’re going to be back to where you were. And you can’t let that ever happen again. Gotta win elections.
If you look at it, Ron DeSantis … I don’t know what he really believes. You never know with a politician. He’s just another politician as far as I’m concerned. But his poll numbers have gone down to a point where I think he’s going to be out of the race very soon. He’s going to be out very soon.
I watched him last night standing up in his shoes, his fancy shoes, he’s going to be out of the race some say before New Hampshire. I don’t know if that were the reason, I hope it’s not the reason, I hope it’s for other reasons, I can see a lot of other reasons why he shouldn’t be, but he’s doing very, very poorly. It happened to coincide with that because a lot of other people say that if you talk five or six weeks, a lot of women don’t know if they’re pregnant in five or six weeks.
I want to get something where people are happy. It’s been tearing our country apart for fifty years. Nobody’s been able to do anything. And again, you can only ask that question because … you ask it brilliantly, and I understand exactly where you’re coming from … I love where you’re coming from. But we’ve still got to win elections. And they’ve used this … you know we have some great Republicans and they’re great on the issues and you would love them on the issue, and a lot of them have just been decimated in the election. Decimated, I mean absolutely.
We’re going to come up with something people want and people like. I would love you … first, you’ve got to go with your heart, you have to go with your heart first, go with your heart, your mind, go with it. You do have to put in there a little bit, you do have to win elections. But if it weren’t for me, with Roe v Wade, you wouldn’t even be talking, asking the question.
Remember this: they are the radicals. We’re not the radicals. Because they’ll kill a baby. Remember, I had a debate with Crooked Hillary Clinton … I don’t call her ‘crooked’ anymore. I use that for Joe Biden, as you know. I call her Beautiful Hillary … she’s a beautiful woman. But in a debate with Hillary Clinton, I said, you know, she’s willing to rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month. And you know I never heard … it just came to me in that debate. I didn’t go up there thinking I was going to say that. And she even winced. Nobody wants to see that happening after a period of time. Nobody. They’re the radicals, because they’re willing to kill the baby in eight months, nine months, maybe even after birth. If you remember the former governor of Virginia, where he said, you kill the baby after the ninth month or even after you set the baby aside, and you have a conversation with the mother, and if the conversation … can you imagine?
These are the radicals. They are the radicals. We are not the radicals. But we’re living in a time when there has to be a little bit of concession one way or another. I want to get it right. But without what I did, you would never be asking the question because there was no chance that was going to happen.
For 54 years, they campaigned on that issue and nobody pulled it off but me. So I think you’re going to be happy in the end.
Thank-you very much.”
Reactions
This blog has a few quick reactions:
- Yes, Mr. Trump deserves credit for appointing Constitutional judges who exposed the fraudulent thinking behind Roe, and who overturned it. We have no problem with him reiterating his contribution to this wonderful court decision.
- Trump is wrong that abortion is a losing political issue, and that it is hurting Ron DeSantis, as this blog has reported on before.
- The key is to remain on offense, as Trump did with Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump has back-pedaled on the abortion issue this cycle, while DeSantis has remained on offense. Trump is correct that it is the other side that are the radicals, totally out-of-step with even rank and file members of their own party. THAT is what he should focus on. THAT is what Ron DeSantis has been doing.
Interestingly, the woman above who asked the question of Trump used to work for conservative talk show host, Steve Deace. We reached out to Steve to get his reaction to Trump’s abortion response in last night’s Fox town hall:
Steve Deace’s reaction
“Trump is clearly trying to make the GOP a pro-choice political party. He
Steve Deace
blamed pro-lifers, falsely, for the disappointing 2022 midterms that his candidates often failed to win. He’s attacked pro-life legislation, like Iowa’s heartbeat bill. And he gives non-committal answers, at best, when pressed by pro-lifers on the primary campaign trail. Trump clearly believes pro-lifers care more about him and having a seat at his table than babies, and he may sadly turn out to be right. There are reasons why it took us 50 years to get our stuff together and overturn Roe, despite all of our collective passion for a generation. Also note that one of Trump’s long-time confidants, Roger Stone, spent many years trying to get pro-life planks out of the GOP’s national platform back in the day.”
What do you think?
[Abortion hurts women, kills their kids, and tears families apart. What should YOU do about it? Watch our video series, “How to Raise Pro-Life Children” and change the culture.]
The Sisters of Life sent us their latest publication titled, “The Life-Changing Power of Gratitude.” You’ll recall that they spoke at our Christmas Gala a year ago. There is power in gratitude, as their publication points out, so much so that Pulse Life Advocates believes now is the time to usher in a year of gratitude.
Some of the most famous saints talked of the power of gratitude, for example:
St. Therese of Lisieux: “Gratitude is the thing that brings us the most grace.”
St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier: “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”
St. Gianna Beretta Molla: “The secret of happiness is to … thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.
St. Ignatius of Loyola: “Ingratitude is the cause, beginning, and origin of all sins and misfortunes.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “Ingratitude is the greatest hindrance to progress in the spiritual life.”
St. Augustine: “Ingratitude is the root of all evil.”
“Happiness is a serious problem”
Talk show host, Dennis Prager, wrote a best-selling book in 1998 titled, “Happiness is a Serious Problem.” In it, he said that each of us has a moral responsibility to be happy, and that gratitude is foundational to happiness:
“Gratitude is the basis for happiness and goodness. You cannot be a good person if you are not grateful. Everything good flows from gratitude and everything bad flows from ingratitude. If you’re not grateful, you walk around thinking you’re a victim. A sense of victimhood in you or your group is the single biggest reason people commit evil.”
You can watch more of Prager’s views on gratitude above.
Years ago, we attended a Mass said by the late Fr. James Kiernan who encouraged us to get down on our knees each night before bedtime and thank God for the gift of our life.
Fr. Kiernan’s supplication resonates more than ever, as a record 50,000 people committed suicide in the U.S. last year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 20 to 24 year olds.
Worse, we aborted the lives of roughly another 800,000 unique human beings last year.
Fight back with an attitude of gratitude
This ingratitude for life causes so much evil. Let’s fight back by making 2024 the year of gratitude.
Let the words of the great G.K. Chesterton inspire us:
“At the back of our brains … [there is] a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life [is] to dig for this submerged sunrise of wonder; so that a man sitting in a chair might suddenly understand that he [is] actually alive, and be happy.”
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is Life. Each abortion, each suicide, denies Christ.
Let us affirm the Way and the Truth he showed us by demonstrating our gratitude for the gift of Life. 2024 is a beautiful year to begin. What a great new year’s resolution!
Happy New Year.
[Join us in our life-affirming mission. Donate today. We are grateful for the support of all of our stakeholders.]
Pulse Life Advocates published 72 blogposts in 2023 on issues ranging from the political to the cultural to the religious.
Here are the top ten:
The Sisters of Life sent us their latest publication titled, “The Life-Changing Power of Gratitude.” You’ll recall that they spoke at our Christmas Gala a year ago. There is power in gratitude, as their publication points out, so much so that Pulse Life Advocates believes now is the time to usher in a year of gratitude.
Some of the most famous saints talked of the power of gratitude, for example:
St. Therese of Lisieux: “Gratitude is the thing that brings us the most grace.”
St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier: “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”
St. Gianna Beretta Molla: “The secret of happiness is to … thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.
St. Ignatius of Loyola: “Ingratitude is the cause, beginning, and origin of all sins and misfortunes.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “Ingratitude is the greatest hindrance to progress in the spiritual life.”
St. Augustine: “Ingratitude is the root of all evil.”
“Happiness is a serious problem”
Talk show host, Dennis Prager, wrote a best-selling book in 1998 titled, “Happiness is a Serious Problem.” In it, he said that each of us has a moral responsibility to be happy, and that gratitude is foundational to happiness:
You can watch more of Prager’s views on gratitude above.
Years ago, we attended a Mass said by the late Fr. James Kiernan who encouraged us to get down on our knees each night before bedtime and thank God for the gift of our life.
Fr. Kiernan’s supplication resonates more than ever, as a record 50,000 people committed suicide in the U.S. last year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 20 to 24 year olds.
Worse, we aborted the lives of roughly another 800,000 unique human beings last year.
Fight back with an attitude of gratitude
This ingratitude for life causes so much evil. Let’s fight back by making 2024 the year of gratitude.
Let the words of the great G.K. Chesterton inspire us:
“At the back of our brains … [there is] a forgotten blaze or burst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic and spiritual life [is] to dig for this submerged sunrise of wonder; so that a man sitting in a chair might suddenly understand that he [is] actually alive, and be happy.”
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is Life. Each abortion, each suicide, denies Christ.
Let us affirm the Way and the Truth he showed us by demonstrating our gratitude for the gift of Life. 2024 is a beautiful year to begin. What a great new year’s resolution!
Happy New Year.
[Join us in our life-affirming mission. Donate today. We are grateful for the support of all of our stakeholders.]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law” (No. 2271).
So do American Catholics embrace Church teachings on sanctity of life issues as expressed in the Catechism? Sadly, no.
Sad poll results
In a 2022 AP-NORC poll, only 36% of Catholics said abortion should be illegal in most or all cases. By contrast, 68% of weekly Mass attendees and 71% of Protestant evangelicals thought abortion should be illegal in most or all cases.
Many reading this, perhaps even you, take a nuanced position, that although you are personally against abortion, you can’t impose your view on others. (Needless to say, the other side has certainly imposed their views on the 65 million babies who have been aborted in the U.S. since the advent of the Roe v Wade decision.)
Almost all reading agree that abortion should be avoided, which begs the question: how do you raise pro-life children?
New 4-part series
Pulse Life Advocates launched a new 4-part series, “How to Raise Pro-Life Children,” to answer the question.
Each episode is concise and clear, ranging from 10 to 15 minutes each. Pulse interviewed moms and dads around the state asking two questions: “How are you raising pro-life children?” or “How did your parents raise you to be pro-life?” Clearly, weekly church attendance is a starting point. Our series builds on this.
You’ll relate to all of the responses, because these moms and dads took different paths. There is not a single way to raise pro-life children. But there are consistent approaches that often overlapped.
Listen to highly regarded sages
We included additional insights from three highly regarded religious and cultural sages, including the late Msgr. Frank Chiodo, in one of his last projects before his death; Catholic radio talk-show host, Dr. Ray Guarendi; and Bill Donaghy of the Theology of the Body Institute.
Abortion disrupts and inhibits family life. Its promoters proclaim abortion to be healthcare. And yet it kills the unborn, ravages women’s bodies, and wounds their souls. There is nothing healthy about abortion. Why do we permit it?
Pulse Life Advocate’s new series, “How to Raise Pro-Life Children,” provides you with a pathway to avoid the future pain and suffering that awaits your children and grand children if they succumb to the lies of abortion. We hope it helps promote Protestant and Catholic teachings on sanctity of life issues with the next generation.
You can view the series at PulseForLife.org. Go to the drop down menu, “what we do,” and select “projects,” where you’ll see this project displayed. Let’s beat the culture of death!
[If you want to see more video content like “How to Raise Pro-Life Children,” donate to Pulse today.]