Christmas and the Unwanted Child

On 28th October, 2012, Mrs. Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman hailing from Karnataka, a dentist by profession, died in Ireland after the septicaemia. The media reported that Ireland is a Catholic country that the catholic doctors don't perform abortions and that caused the tragic end of Savita. As the incident reported, the enquiry is still due to release its findings, the pro-abortion campaigners have taken this incident to such an extent, are now forcing the government to make the amendments in the Irish law in regard to abortion. How could be death of one woman can be taken as a justifying cause to legalize abortions in a country for all, while already there is a provision in case of a threat for mothers life? As we know in some countries abortion is being made legal that pregnancies can be terminated according to each one's whims and fancies. What a serious threat for the humanity and the society? Is Christ allowed to be born at all? In the Gospel of Luke 2:7, we read, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Christ Jesus before he was born, he was not welcomed, as there was no room in the inn. There is some truth in this, what is being stressed is not so much lack of hospitality by an innkeeper but rather Jesus was born outside of a city, outside of what is comfortable, outside of glamour and fame, outside of being recognised by the rich and the powerful, and beyond notice by the everyday world. Jesus was born in anonymity, poor, outside of all notice except for family and God. The circumstances in which Jesus birth took place are, the physical surroundings were poor and unhygienic, the identity of the child's father was clouded and the massacre of the innocents involved the execution of the newborn. The insensitivity of the society and its rulers are clearly explicit here, to which we are not strangers. Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1978 in his homily at Christmas Mass, said, "The Christ child is in his frail and vulnerable state, dependent on others' care, entrusted to their love, undefended. He wails and the world does not hear him, cannot hear him. The new born infant's wail can only be just heard a few steps away." Christ's birth calls to us that human life is sacred and eternal, a gift from God which his creatures have no right to disdain. The gift is sublime and divine. So, we are called to meditate at this Christmas what is the value of human life? The question seriously that we need to answer is dignity of life or quality of life? The abortion rates have increased incalculably, the disintegration of the family, parental desertion and divorce, economic pressure where the workforce on the mother, in these circumstances the Christmas celebration becomes a litmus test of our attitude to human life itself.

Karl G. Schmude says, Children may not be wanted by certain adults but are ardently wanted by others. The number of unwanting adults has increased from unwanted children. This statement is so true to the materialistic context that we are in. Children are no more expected or awaited like God's abundant blessings. But we choose, especially in the cases of In Vitro Fertilisation and abortion. Children are no more assets for us today! Our assets have undergone a tremendous change. Today, we have more houses, more bedrooms in our house, more sofas, more TVs, more personal computers, spacious kitchen, more wash closets, but hardly one child or two. That's becoming the common phenomenon. At home we have more toys, play articles, but the kid is not able to enjoy with its siblings. The children are getting bored of lifeless articles and machines. We have costly jewellery, costly watches, more clothes in our closets, we have more energy drinks, chocolates, fast food items for our kids, the list can be endless. We have many holiday programs, costly holidays, but we are stringent in considering to have children. A question that always worries me is why our young adult parents are becoming too selfish? Are they afraid to make sacrifice? What is important, dignity of life or quality of life? More than ever, in the streets we no more hear the cries of children, their laughter and chuckles. We have created new war zones and battlefields; they are those places where abortions take place recklessly, where human life is disrespected and dishonoured.

As Malcolm Muggeridge says, the strong probability is that today we should be too humane to allow Christ to be born'. If that is the case, what would be our perfect gift for Christmas? Hence, we need a deeper appreciation for children, to accept their powerlessness and vulnerability and to respect them as God given precious gifts, to preserve and protect life is very important. Christ comes alive as every new infant is born, as life is sacred, that's how we can find a true meaning for the celebration of Christmas. God may give us a strong faith to trust in Him that he would guide us all to welcome the unwanted child. It is a clarion call for all the Christians to join the prolife campaign also to invite known and unknown persons of other creeds, to stand firm to justify the cause of preservation of life, especially the unborn and unwanted children. During this Year of faith, this Christmas celebration may bring transformation in our families and in turn the society. To close with the words of Pope Benedict XVI, "And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless products of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our Friendship with Him."