By REY FLORES
Since the creation of mankind, every generation has believed that theirs was the most tumultuous time in history. From the biblical plagues in Egypt to the Industrial Revolution, to the so-called sexual revolution, and to 9/11, people have thought that theirs was the era which would usher in the end of times. Truth be told, these were all end times for each generation.
In our time, many of us also believe that the many troubling factors causing social upheaval are all signs of a quickly approaching apocalypse. Most recently we have the great nation of Ireland deciding whether millions of their future citizens will live or die.
We mustn’t forget the murder of Alfie Evans in the United Kingdom. If you object to my using the word “murder” to describe what happened there, please enlighten me and tell me what other word would be more accurate. Alfie would have turned two on May 9.
While there are many great people who are still fighting the good fight against the human genocide known as abortion, and some strides have been made, the practice of killing the unborn is still rampant. It is legal and, worse yet, accepted as a legitimate medical procedure throughout most of the entire world.
On May 25, Ireland is set to vote on a referendum regarding whether to save or repeal the Eighth Amendment in their nation’s constitution. As most of you already know, the repeal of “the Eighth” will open the floodgates, perhaps I should say “bloodgates,” wide open for the murderous abortion industry to kill countless future citizens of this country.
Ireland remained the one country on the planet where an unborn child remained safest; that is, up until now.
When I was a child growing up in Chicago, we had our share of the Irish. Perhaps second or third generation and so on, but the Irish always seemed liked a hard-working, very loving, faithful, and kind bunch.
My late brother-in-law Jim McCarty was one of my best friends ever. One of the best bosses and mentors I’ve ever had was the late John Donahue, then-executive director for the homeless advocate nonprofit I served as an organizer. Then there are the wonderful Irish priests who have been a beautiful and tremendous influence and inspiration to me, including my current spiritual director, Fr. Thomas.
As I have written about and publicly talked about earlier, I am twice a post-abortive father. The beautiful young Irish lass with whom I tragically procured two abortions was one of the sweetest people I have ever known. This is one of the reasons this whole Irish Eighth Amendment thing hits so close to my heart.
“Do you have any skin in the game?” is a question we sometimes ask one another when questioning someone’s commitment to a cause or battle. In the case of trying to save the millions of unborn babies, particularly in Ireland most recently, I not only have skin in the game, I have two whole human beings, my own flesh and blood, whom I will fight for to make amends until I pray I see them again one day in Heaven.
Also, when I was a kid in Chicago, there were always two St. Patrick’s Day parades, so it became an annual thing for my mother to take my sisters and me to be Irish at least for that one day.
Every year we saw the City of Chicago turn the Chicago River green. “Erin go Bragh!” was the battle cry of the day. That, or “Kiss me, I’m Irish!”
In writing this column, I learned that Erin Go Bragh is an English corruption of the correct phrase Éirinn go Brách in the Irish language. The term brách is equivalent to “eternity” or “end of time,” meaning the phrase may be translated literally as “Ireland until eternity” or “Ireland until the end (of time).” Isn’t that beautiful? Until eternity, until the end of time.
We pray to St. Patrick, who, legend has it, once drove out the snakes which attacked him during a 40-day fast straight into the sea, therefore the absence of snakes in Ireland. We ask Patrick to intercede on behalf of the great nation of Ireland and drive the demonic serpents of the culture of death straight into the ocean. (Actually, evidence shows that post-glacial Ireland never had any snakes. The thought holds up all the same.)
No longer may we ever remain silent. No longer must we accept the horrific practice of abortion as anything acceptable. No longer must we fear to fight this fight because when we have truth on our side, we cannot lose.
Interestingly enough, the social-cyber media giants across the globe are trying to silence the pro-life message especially leading up to May 25. The “Vote NO” pro-life social uprising is global. All eyes are on Ireland, and that scares the Hell, literally, out of the culture of death powers of this world.
Evil always fears the truth. Evil always tries to suppress the truth. One thing evil does not have or ever will have is truth. God is truth. We have truth.
Pray to St. Padre Pio also, since May 25 was his birthday. Pray also to the saints whose feast day is celebrated on May 25: Bede the Venerable, Pope Gregory VII, and Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi. Keep all of the people of Ireland in your prayers this week. Pray for conversions, so that the Holy Spirit open the hearts and the eyes of the pro-aborts to the horror of abortion.
In the meantime, let us not forget to continue the fight here on our own land.
(See this week’s News Notes column for more news on prayers and devotions for the Eighth Amendment in Ireland.)
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(Contact Rey Flores at ReyFloresUSA@gmail.com.)
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