Life – Catholic Writers Guild

By Larry Peterson

You cannot embrace the child’s home and then kill the child.

The drums of climate change are pounding harder and harder every day. School children are being indoctrinated about the cataclysm poised to destroy the Mother Planet. Purveyors of the “existential threat” about to waste us are in our face 24/7. We hear about the “science” of climate change and that we should embrace it. If we do not, we are labeled “deniers.” We have been told that Miami will be underwater in three years and the world will end in ten. The projected Ice Age of the year 2000 is not happening, and trouble is coming to get us.

In religion, if you deny a tenet of faith such as the divinity of Jesus Christ, you would be classified as a heretic. It seems we have finally advanced the theory of climate change into the Church of Climate Change. Yes, it is a theory, and a theory means MAYBE or POSSIBLY (evolution is a theory — not a fact; gravity is a law — it is a fact).

The climate change hysteria reached new heights September 18, 2019. That was the day that NBC, the National Broadcasting Company, presented to the world the Climate Change Confessional, a place where climate change “deniers” can confess their climate change “sins.” Yes, they can admit their sins anonymously, cleansing their consciences of harm they caused against the planet.

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments about 3500 years ago. Now, in the 21^st century, NBC has given the world six Climactic Commandments:

Thou shalt not use plastic, including straws, bottles, etc.
Thou shalt not eat meat (cows, pigs, turkey, etc.)
Thou shalt not use energy (natural resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, etc.)
Thou shalt not use transportation (cars, planes, all vehicles propelled by fossil fuels)
Thou shalt not use paper (Does that mean toilet paper? Itmust mean paper plates.)
Thou shalt not waste food (i.e., leftover kale must be eaten).

Those are the first six commandments of climate change. More are sure to follow. The good news is, there are “climate sins” posted anonymously by others for you to reference. Sort of an examination of your climate conscience. Yes, my friends, you can unburden yourself of your “climate sins” in the NBC “Climate Confessional” — and do it anonymously. The concept is not new; we Catholics have been going to Confession for 2000 years. (The big difference is a priest will give his life rather than violate the Seal of Confession. I don’t know if an NBC employee would go that far).

Many people proclaim that they believe in God. Many proclaim the Bible as God’s word. I am a Catholic, but this piece is non-denominational. It is for any and all who believe in a Creator. Many who proclaim God proclaim their fears about climate change and want to save the planet. Mother Earth is their home — it is my home. It is every living being’s home. So that makes sense — let us be kind to our home.

However, I believe that many of those who are pro-abortion also proclaim that they believe in God. It follows that they all believe in His creation, the universe, wherein our planet resides. The following Democratic candidates are all in when it comes to climate change. They are also all in when it comes to being pro-abortion. They are all hypocrites and include:

Joe Biden (Catholic)
Robert Beto O’Rourke (Catholic)
Cory Booker (Baptist)
Kamala Harris (Baptist)
Amy Klobuchar (United Church of Christ)
Bernie Sanders (Jewish)
Elizabeth Warren (Methodist)
John Delaney (Catholic)
Andrew Yang (Christian Reformed Church)
Pete Buttigieg (Episcopalian)

These Democratic candidates running for president are all in favor of abortion. Most of them believe in abortion up to birth. As the father of a stillborn daughter who did not survive past the sixth month of pregnancy, I consider that infanticide. The definition of infanticide is as follows:

Infanticide [in-fan-tuh-sahyd], noun

the act of killing an infant
the practice of killing newborn infants
a person who kills an infant

Proclaiming your belief in God and His creation and wanting to protect it is a noble thing to do. But you cannot leave out the most important part of God’s creation and make believe it is NOTHING just to save your politics. It is not only hypocritical; it is downright shameful.

All the religions listed above proclaim and teach the Ten Commandments. They are the Law, handed down by God himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. That is the way it is and had been so for over three thousand years. If you want to reject it and mock it, knock yourself out. But don’t stand there and proclaim your godly ways when you willingly are ready to destroy God’s most precious creation, a newborn child. Yes — the most important and magnificent creation of the very God you proclaim.

The Bible says that God made the universe out of nothing. It took Him six biblical days, and he began with light and then the heavens and the planets and the land and the oceans and the plants followed by the living things and finally, on the sixth day, He made His masterpiece, the human being, both man and woman — and told them to be fruitful and multiply. God looked at what He had done and was pleased. Then, on day seven, He took a well-deserved nap.

So I ask how people of faith can embrace the parts of Creation that they can use for their advantage, i.e., climate change, and reject with a dogged determination the Commandment that says “Thou shalt not kill.” You cannot because doing so makes you all “deniers.” The science is in — the science is fact — human life begins at the moment of conception. You cannot embrace the child’s home and then kill the child.

Yes — all you promoters of infanticide and partial-birth and third-trimester abortion are the real deniers of truth. You have compromised your integrity and character for a political agenda.

NBC might consider referring those they have directed to Climate Confessionals to the pastors of their respective churches. When they get there they can ask them their opinions on Climate Confessions.

In our Catholic world, March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation. Yes, this is the day the Holy Spirit came to an innocent, pure teenager in Nazareth and announced to her that God wanted her to be the Mother of the Messiah. Mary said, “Yes.” It was a day to celebrate a New Beginning. It was a day to celebrate New Life.

On March 25, two millennia later, at 2 a.m., my wife, Marty, in a comatose state, was wheeled into the Hospice Center on a gurney. They placed her unresponsive body on a bed, gently washed her face, brushed her hair, and pulled the blanket up, tucking it under her chin ever so nicely. Her death watch was underway. For me, celebrating New Life was completely evading me.

Marty died at 6 a.m. on March 27. The first anniversary of her passing fell on Tuesday of Holy Week. There was a Mass offered for her that morning. There is a distinct irony to it all. My first wife, Loretta, who had died in 2003, had passed on April 4. There was a Mass offered for her that morning. Smack dab in the middle of these two Masses was Easter Sunday, which fell on April 1 this year. Death — Risen Life — Death.

Well, you know, sometimes messages and signs from above are “in our face,” but our human side blinds us to them. Especially when a person is plugged into the part of themselves that feels grief and sadness and loneliness. When you are in that mode, there does not seem to be much to cheer about. That has been part of my roller-coaster ride for almost a year. Up and down, up and down, up and down.

My mom died many years ago. February 18 was the anniversary of her death, and the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass was being offered for her. I did not expect anyone from my family to be there. I had planned to bring up the gifts with someone from church. I had no idea who that might be. Enter my oldest son, Larry Jr.

Junior was married the day before. His bride was a woman from Kenya, a beautiful person and the most unlikely daughter-in-law I ever expected. Her brother was the Catholic priest who officiated at the Nuptial Mass. It was a magnificent wedding, but it was not until the next morning that I knew how Jesus and Our Lady and all of those people we pray to and lean on were actually there.

That is also when I learned how all that death surrounding me was proof of New Life. It was not a contradiction; it was not a dark joke; it was a validation of the faith I have embraced, and we all share.

My son, who rarely attends Mass at my parish, texted me at 7 a.m. His message was simple, “Will be at Mass this morning. See you there.” They had no idea it was for my mother. Junior had never seen his grandma, as she had died nine years before he was born. Their attendance at that Mass was spontaneous and unplanned.

I stood in the back of the church and watched as they brought up the gifts. I have very little memory of my mother, who had just turned 40 when she died. But at that moment I knew that she was giving me a message. I could feel it. It was real.

She was standing there, next to the priest, as her grandson and his new wife handed the gifts to him. She was smiling, and then, I am pretty sure about this, I think she gave me a little wave. Maybe not — my tear-filled eyes were blurring my vision, but everything was crystal clear behind them. In God’s world, New Life and New Beginnings break the bonds of grief, sadness, and death.

The prayer that an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion says before giving Holy Communion to someone is,

“We come to know and believe that God is Love, and he who abides in Love abides in God and God in them.”

This Easter, Marty, and Loretta, on the anniversary of their deaths, will each be on one side of the Risen Christ. They both had received the last rites of the Catholic Church. The faith we love tells us that they abide in Love, that God is Love and they abide with Him. Their deaths have brought them to New Life. I know it is true. Even my mother told me it is true, and she will be with them.

Tag Archive for: Life

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