By DONALD DeMARCO
I would like to add a second chapter to “the best proof for God’s existence” from personal experience. God enters our lives and directs us in many ways. If we are sufficiently observant, we will notice this. We do not live as orphans, disinherited from our Maker. He watches over His creatures, as St. Paul tells us, “like a nursing mother taking care of her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7).
The difference between an everyday coincidence and a God-incidence is the difference between chance and Providence. The agnostic believes that everything comes about by chance. He should be more skeptical about such a belief since it does not stand up to experience. Nonetheless, he feels he is open-minded, though his open-mindedness allows important things to enter and exit his mind without being noticed.
Those who believe that God is working in our world are able to see beyond the facts and acknowledge a hand that not only produced the facts, but set them in a providential order.
I offer an extraordinary sequence of events from my own experience, and invite the reader to judge for himself as to whether they are a product of chance or the work of a Divine Architect.
William Kurelek, during his heyday, was Canada’s most popular and beloved painter. His series of murals depicting the Ukrainian pioneer has a place of honor in the Parliament building and graces four Canadian postage stamps. Kurelek was a faithful Catholic and devoted to the pro-life cause. He donated the proceeds from some of his paintings to Birthright, a charitable agency that helps women who have problem pregnancies. He was aware of my writings and sent me one of his paintings that I might use as a cover for a future book.
The painting depicts a boy and a girl looking up from their books in awe at what appears to be the Hand of God exposing, between His thumb and index finger, the feet of a tiny human being.
The inspiration for this image was a well-publicized photograph of the perfectly formed feet of a human fetus at ten weeks gestation.
At this time in its development the fetus is far more advanced than many people realize. Even at this stage, he can squint, swallow, move his tongue, and make a tight fist. In addition, the 10-week-old tiny human has the full use of his arms and can bend elbow and wrist independently. Brushing his lip area causes a vigorous straightening that includes the legs; and touching his forehead may cause him to pucker up his brow and frown.
Kurelek’s largesse gave me the motivation I needed to complete a book for which this painting would serve as the cover.
The original photograph was taken by Russell Sacco, a pro-life doctor in Portland, Ore. Its popular acceptance was almost instantaneous and it quickly became a unifying symbol for the pro-life movement. It soon appeared in newspaper ads and brochures, on postcards and posters, and even displayed on billboards. It effectively symbolized that the fetus is human, created by God, and deserving of our loving care.
As a tribute to Kurelek, I dedicated the book to him and agreed to donate its royalties to Birthright. The book was ready, as it turned out, the very day before I was to give the opening address at a Birthright convention. I picked up copies of the book for distribution among Birthright people on my way to the convention.
Upon my arrival, a lady from the Birthright chapter in Binghamton, N.Y., came to my aid and helped me get cartons through recalcitrant doors.
She did not know what the cartons contained, but was eager to give me something. “I have only one left,” she said, as she rummaged through her purse. At last, she found her momentarily elusive gift: a lapel pin depicting a life-size replica of the tiny feet at ten weeks. I opened one of the cartons and showed her the Kurelek cover.
She was the first to receive a copy of my new book. Both of us were moved by the incident. I wore the pin with pride throughout the convention.
At the convention’s farewell Mass, I turned to the person behind me to confer the sign of peace. It was none other than Lottie Sacco, whose husband took the original photograph of the young fetus. She had made the trans-continental trip from Portland, Ore., to Toronto, Ont. We discussed this extraordinary occurrence. In signing my copy of the book, she wrote: “To Dr. DeMarco on behalf of my husband, Russell Sacco, whose hands are on this cover — Lottie Sacco.”
It may be easy to dismiss one coincidence as being the product of chance, but when they arrive in waves, it becomes increasingly difficult. Kurelek’s generous involvement with Birthright; his gift of the painting; Dr. Sacco’s photograph; my book being ready just the day before my opening address at a Birthright convention; the unexpected gift of the lapel pin; meeting Dr. Sacco’s wife at the “kiss of peace.”
It all seemed to be marvelously orchestrated. G.K. Chesterton remarked, in his Orthodoxy, wrote that “one elephant having a trunk seemed odd; but all elephants having trunks looked like a plot.”
I leave it to the reader to decide whether the incidents outlined above were merely the work of chance, or the development of a plot. Let me close with the reverent attitude expressed by Robert Browning in his poem, Abt Vogler: “And, there! Ye have heard and seen; consider and bow the head!”
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(Dr. Donald DeMarco is a senior fellow of Human Life International. He is professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College in Cromwell, Conn., and a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. His latest works, How to Remain Sane in a World That Is Going Mad; Poetry That Enters the Mind and Warms the Heart; and How to Flourish in a Fallen World are available through Amazon.com.
(Some of his recent writings may be found at Human Life International’s Truth and Charity Forum. He is the 2015 Catholic Civil Rights League recipient of the prestigious Exner Award.)
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