A Tantrum for The Children - The Lindisfarne Gospels.
In my early days as a Doctor I was I think, like The Pharisees in The Temple, –‘Thank you Lord that I
am better than these other people’- but as I sat in my surgery and saw the courage of folk struggling
in difficult circumstances, worse than I had imagined, I found myself less inclined to judge others and
more humble and grateful in that I have been given so much.
My partner P was a smiling generous hearted Evangelical Christian always ready to do a bit more for
patients than was expected of him, perhaps, that is why he empathetically built a strong bond of
trust with others-well that is how I saw it.
After 1967 from time to time we would share a moment of Peace and Gratitude, seeing a mother
holding her baby in her arms or holding hands walking side by side. A baby whose pregnancy at an
earlier stage had seemed in danger of being terminated.
One day P explained; ‘It’s not that you and I have the intellect to persuade mothers to continue their
pregnancy but that we give them permission to continue their pregnancy, for in the Society we have
built, they find themselves in circumstances such that they feel a pressure from Society to terminate
their pregnancy.
In 1967 The Abortion Act passed through The British Parliament, Norman St John Stevas asked in
Parliament:
‘Are we talking about 1,000 terminations per year where unusual circumstances have occurred,
10,000 or, if we’re talking about 100,000 terminations per year- we’re seeing termination of
pregnancy as a social choice’.
‘Certainly not’ replied Parliament but within a few years something of the order of 150,000
terminations of pregnancy were brought about each year and over 20% of lives of the most
vulnerable-the unborn, were extinguished before birth and so began –A tantrum for The Children.
I was born not just a ‘Cradle Catholic’ my father taught in Catholic boarding schools I was pretty
much always close to a Monastery ,Abbey or Convent so arguably ‘I am a deep fried Catholic’ ( like a
deep fried ‘Mars’ bar in Scotland’)
Yet when the Abortion Act was passed in 1967 , I was 17 years old, surprisingly my opinion didn’t
seem ,initially, to come from my Spiritual disposition. It just seemed obvious that a society in which
it was normal to destroy the most vulnerable and dependent, namely, ‘The Unborn’, would sew in
itself:
‘The seeds of selfishness’; it seems this is what is happening now.
Eg we are developing ‘The Blame Culture’ when something goes wrong we resolve the issue by
finding ,someone else to blame –this process does not in itself put things right.
( The beautiful illustrations of The Lindisfarne Gospels dating back to the early 8th century AD contain
deliberate mistakes, demonstrating that we are not perfect and that despite our best efforts errors
occur – we are just as likely to make mistakes, as others, that we chose to blame so; by The
Lindisfarne Gospels, we may be encouraged to show more compassion and consideration, to
others.):
And so this continuing Tantrum for The Children destroyed.
So where is The Tantrum aimed:
At the mothers of the children? No, though when I shed ‘Marys Tears’, I engage with Her Sorrow and
Theirs. Nor is The Tantrum aimed at ‘Errant Fathers’ for it is not for me to pass judgment. In my time
as a doctor I often felt that I may well have done no better- or even worse- than they had, had I been
in their situation.
My Tantrum is aimed at ‘Us and our indifference’, to this fundamental destruction, in our
community.
But What Can I/We Do?
Fr Denis McBride in ‘Jesus and the Gospels’ describes how His Disciples became fascinated, by Jesus,
who frequently seemed to do what was unexpected, in due course the fascination changed to desire
to understand and follow Christ and so may we also if we become engaged with Christ and study His
disposition. For some of us it, may be easier to initially engage with His Mother Mary, who as our
Spiritual Mother like our own Mother is always a ‘Safe Haven’ and as we in prayer and reflection
engage with Her disposition find ourselves drawn by Her to the Harmony and Love She shares with
Her Son, for:
Mary loves you
As you would wish
A mother
To love a child
As She loves Christ
And so our interest changes in due course, to commitment, there comes a point at which ‘there is no
turning back’.
Her Love, Humility, Commitment, Beauty, and Wisdom :
‘Seeps into our souls’
Then we will encourage and support mothers, fathers and families to nurture their children born or
unborn so that they are nurtured and enabled to make their decisions, as regards their Destiny and
Eternal Relationship, with God Almighty, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.