I know, I know…. this post is a week late.  But I have a good reason.  The event I wanted to share with you this month was scheduled for February 1 and then rescheduled to February 8, today.  The event: the Baptism of our Godchild.  It was a special day.  It was a day of family, many families in fact, as well as a day of community.  I wanted to wait and write about the Baptism AFTER the event rather than before for two reasons.

The first reason was that I thought I could do a better job having just experienced the day rather than trying to describe what I thought it was going to be like.  Sound good?  Well, the second reason is really why I waited.  I waited because I was not satisfied with what was coming to mind to write about.  There were several things bouncing around in my head and I wasn’t able to put them together the way I wanted.  That problem was solved today.  For me, the beauty of the Baptism we experienced today magnifies the sad moral times we now live in.  Have you heard of FOCA?

FOCA, the “Freedom of Choice Act” is a piece of legislation that is important to President Obama and many of our legislators.  According to the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (NCHAL), FOCA is “a Radical Threat to Human Life.”

A flyer printed by NCHAL states: “This bill would create a right to abortion the government could not limit and bring about a national abortion policy far worse than the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.  For the first time, abortion would become an entitlement the government must fund and promote.”  There are a few bullet points listed that I personally have a strong objection with.  For example:

· “FOCA would force Americian taxpayers to fund abortions”

· “FOCA would force every state to allow partial birth abortion – its sponsors have said a primary purpose of the bill is to ensure that killing partially born children will again be permitted nationwide”

· “FOCA would run roughshod over the conscience rights of physicians, nurses and hospitals that oppose abortion on religious, moral or ethical grounds”

· “FOCA would strip parents of their right and responsibility to be involved in their minor daughter’s abortion decision.”

More? “If FOCA becomes law, it will put at risk all the widely-supported laws that for 35 years have promoted women’s health, insured informed consent, protected minors, ensured parental involvement, safeguarded rights of conscience and respected the desire of most citizens not to support abortion with tax dollars.”

More?? “FOCA also explicitly encourages challenges in court against any law or regulation that protects unborn children and their mothers and families in the abortion context, promoting a virtual cottage industry of lawsuits.”

More???  Just one more… “Abortion supporters have been trying to pass FOCA since 1989 – and now we have a Congress more disposed than any in recent years to pass the bill, and a new President who has said he will sign the measure into law.”

As I read the NCHAL flyer and let it sink in, several thoughts come to my mind.  For example, less than one month since President Obama stood with his hand on the Holy Bible and took his oath of office, this piece of legislation appears to be one of his priorities.  As a priority may I respectfully quote former President Clinton and ask that someone remind President Obama: ”It’s the economy stupid.”

And while I’m on my soapbox I have to say that after reading and considering the moral impact of FOCA that I am repulsed by a government that will work tirelessly to cram this type of legislation down my throat on one hand while on the other hand, passing laws and aggressively prosecuting a professional athlete for engaging in interstate dog fighting.  Shame on that athlete.  It’s OK to kill an unborn child because of a woman’s ”right to choose” but, God forbid, that you would mistreat a dog, a dumb animal.  I wonder if it’s lawful to perform an abortion on a dog?  What has happened to the moral conscience of America?  Do we only call on God when we’re in troubled times?  Where is God?

Well, today, God was present with us in a beautiful church in Houston.  While surrounded by family and friends, four month old Kiersten Elaine was baptized and welcomed into the Christian community.  She was a bit fussy during the readings and the brief homily but let me tell you, when the Deacon blessed her with the water she immediately calmed down and was alert and attentive through the rest of the celebration.  I believe that she too was aware of the special significance of her Baptism that she had just experienced.

Family and Friends commerate a very special day!

After the Baptism we continued our celebration with food and drink while Kiersten enjoyed a bottle and a long nap in the arms of a proud Godmother. It was a good day. Today we celebrated a new life, a life now claimed for Christ.  I can’t help while writing this to offer a prayer for all the unborn who will never see life, who will never experience their own Baptism.