Pro-Life, Pro-Truth, Pro-Love by Deacon Antonio

June 13, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Pro-Life, Pro-Truth, Pro-Love

by Deacon Antonio

There was a time in my life when I pondered on how we, imperfect humans, could be an image of the Triune God.  I thought that any finite image of the infinite God must be, at best, a very imperfect and inadequate representation of God; still my persistent curiosity caused me to continue my pondering.  One day I focused on Jesus saying, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).  A light turned on in my mind.  The Way of Jesus is the way of love.  He is the gift of love from the Father.  “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Jesus also encouraged us to love as he loves.  He said, “And now, I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34; 15:12).

It became clear to me that God is Love, Truth, and Life.  We are an image and likeness of God because we have a heart that can receive God’s Love and in turn love God and others; we have a mind that can receive God’s Truth and in turn know God and impart truth to others; we have received Life from God and in turn we can live for God and neighbor and impart life to others.  Love, Truth, and Life must be the beacons that must guide us through the dark valleys of our earthly pilgrimage.  Love, Truth, and Life must be the treasured values that we must pass on as a sacred inheritance to all future generations.

God is indeed Pro-Life, Pro-Truth, and Pro-Love.  This, he was long before we made the decision to be pro-life.  It is not accurate to say that God is on our side.  It is more accurate to say that we are doing our best to be on God’s side.  Therefore, our Christian witness must prayerfully champion a pro-life attitude in our thoughts, in our words, and in our actions.  We must proclaim the Truth of God as transmitted to us through his Church without compromise.  But we must do it with love.  The proponents of the Culture of Death are not our enemies; they are our brothers and sisters, and their eternal destiny must also be our loving concern.  The casualties of the Culture of Death are not only the innocents who lose their human life, but also the proponents of the Culture of Death who are in danger of losing their immortal life.  God wants everyone to be saved.

Other casualties are the non-involved, indifferent to the outcome of the struggle for Life, Truth and Love.  They run the risk of hearing Jesus say to them on Judgment Day, “I was a victim of abortion and euthanasia (or some other injustice) and you didn’t come to my defense”.  The non-involved and indifferent may say, “But when, Lord, did we not come to your defense?” And Jesus will say, “What you didn’t do for the most defenseless of my brothers and sisters, you didn’t do for me”.  (Reader, see Matthew 25:31-40)

Read more by Deacon Antonio here

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Antonio is a retired deacon in the Archdiocese of Denver. Last September his wife, Maud, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. They were told that she didn’t have long to live. Since she is 83 years old, they decided to refuse the chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Last October they were sent to Hospice. They have now been there for 8 months. Antonio’s wife is not experiencing the symptoms of multiple myeloma other than the fact that she cannot move and has to stay in bed all the time. She is also in the last stages of Alzheimer’s disease. You prayers will be appreciated. Antonio spends the entire day with his wife.

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