A child-honouring world realises sustainable peace

Given the involvedness of Palm Sunday, the feast of the Incarnation, which annually occurs on the March 25, was belatedly celebrated. It is essential for Christians to remember and celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, became flesh in the womb of Mary in Nazareth nine months before His birth in Bethlehem. The date was chosen for this feast basing on December 25, the Nativity/Christmas. The relationship between the two events bears a pro-life significance.

Unlike the natural conception of created humans, Jesus’ “first day” was the moment that God became man by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). It was the most mysterious and awe-inspiring moment of human history. Decisively, the salvation mission of Jesus made him descend into the womb of Mary, spend 33 years of hidden and public ministry, descend into the tomb, before his resurrection.

According to professor and pro-life John Saward, the most important event of one’s life is the conception, and that is what makes all the rest possible, including one’s salvation. “In reflecting upon this momentous occasion, we can find inspiration to combat the “out of sight out of mind” tendency that attaches itself to all hidden realities, even the central reality of the Incarnation. If the Christian community as a whole does not consistently recognise and honour the conception and prenatal life of Christ who is God, then it should come as no surprise that the secular world has so little regard for the newly conceived life of an “unplanned” child, who is neither divine nor anxiously awaited nor announced by angelic herald, but is simply unwanted, like so many others.” says Saward.

The unborn
In the prevailing culture of death, there is much need for education of society into observance of the Incarnation as “Day of the Unborn Child”. It can become an annual focus for interfaith and cross-cultural charitable endeavours toward children in the womb, just as Christmas has become a time for charitable solidarity towards all children. It also helps to focus on the plight of the unborn, test-tube babies, human cloning, abortion and contraception.

The feast of the Incarnation teaches all of us to celebrate children’s “First Days” nine months before their birthdays. It offers parents an opportunity to reveal the reality of prenatal existence to children too young for the biological explanation of natural conception. Medical doctors agree that life experiences begin at conception and that the environment in the womb profoundly affects our later course in life. Some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can harm a foetus during pregnancy or a baby during childbirth. So it is important to know ones sexual health status and to get treatment.

What about fertility?
In his landmark encyclical letter “Humanae Vitae” (Human Life) of 1968, Pope Paul VI taught that artificial contraception is wrong because it is a deliberate violation of the design God built into the human race, often referred to as “natural law.” He predicted grave consequences that would arise from widespread and unrestrained use of contraception. Fertility experts affirm that the contraceptive pill can damage fertility. “A mother may ingest or inhale and transfer the chemicals to the embryonic human via the placenta,” says neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky.

Studies go a long way to reveal a far greater divorce and domestic violence rate in marriages in which contraception is regularly practiced than in those marriages where it is not. All such knowledge should instill in us great respect and care about the quality of human life.