Monday, January 22, 1973 – Tuesday, January 22, 2013

No one talked about it. The media ignored it. But we all know what today was. It’s been 40 years since abortion was legalized in all 50 states in America, and today…over 55,000,000 children have been lost in this country alone. Across the world, it’s uncountable, and the victims this culture has left behind are only falling further into despair. It seems that hope is the -last- thing on many people’s minds, despite our president’s most ironic slogan.

However, outside all that nonsense, I would like to reflect over what transpired for us, here at WKU, during this most providential 40th Year of Legal Abortion in America. I believe it is a true testament to the -real hope- that we have as we continue our fight for Love and Life…

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It’s amazing what can happen in the course of a year. Last year, when WKU Hilltoppers for Life traveled to Washington, D.C. we went as friends compelled with a common cause. We all desired to see an end to abortion, and our experience at the SFLA National Conference only confirmed that intense passion. Yet, something happened on that trip that I believe changed our perspectives forever. Certainly, our hope for turning the tide and ending abortion once and for all was very real, and the excitement around everything was beyond belief. But for all that excitement, we knew what 40 years really meant. It wasn’t about getting some amount of crazy momentum on our side and pushing the law to force-feed our most idealistic endeavors on the world. No, 40 years became something entirely different, because when David Bereit gave his famous speech at the largest pro-life conference in the world, the importance of our -daily- commitment became most evident. And for the first time, we actually had reason to hope!

Abortion has ravaged our nation in irreparable ways. We have lost MILLIONS of people, and even more lives have been destroyed emotionally and spiritually. The true victims of this fallen culture remain with us still, and the only logical approach toward such devastation is through intense compassion and a willingness to LOVE in ways this culture cannot understand. Such has been the experiences of the Hilltoppers since our founding in 2010. It has been an amazing journey learning about this movement, embracing the torch that has been handed to us from past generations, and finally taking the active steps necessary that have propelled us to the platform on which we now stand. GOD has been at work throughout these years, and He continues His work through us all despite our division and disappointment. Surely though, CHRIST is the answer to all these troubles, for no politician could ever hope to overcome such cultural annihilation. Yes, we are at a breaking point, for attacks on Love and Life -continue- into this year with upcoming Supreme Court decisions and constant executive orders. But there is still reason to hope!

Contraception and the Sexual Revolution radically changed the world’s appreciation and respect toward Love and Life. Truly, when Love was attacked most, Life was completely thrown to the side, and the justifications and idealistic jargon only clouded the murky waters of these moral violations. The summer of “love” led to decades of death with the Roe v. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton Supreme Court decisions, and 40 years later, we are still suffering from those times. Yet all the same, there is still reason to hope!

Last year began the 40th year of legal abortion in America, and last year also began my own personal discernment story that continues to unfold in amazing ways. Every 40 days, I personally received a sign from God to discern my vocation in an -active- way. The first 40 Days for Love involved some of the most difficult and tempting experiences of my life, and since then…I have only gotten stronger in my -personal- commitment to Love and Life. In fact, at this moment, those decisions have led me to begin applications to the seminary, and while I have no way of knowing where that will lead me, I do know God desperately desires for me to know where He is calling me in this life. That is MY journey during this year, and it has linked me to the world-wide debate in ways I never thought a Shepherdsville, KY boy would ever encounter! Yet it’s there all the same, and despite the fear and uncertainty ahead, I still have reason to hope!

Love is the center of Christ’s work in our Lives. Every day, we experience another reason to have faith and hope in the loving encounter with Jesus Christ. At the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Campus Center at WKU and in locations across the United States, the 40 Days for LOVE movement has been born from the efforts of pro-life activism. People desire accountability and community outreach. People desire prayer and fasting. And people desire to take a STAND for what they believe is right. In the words of David Bereit, that year, 2012, “will -forever- be remembered in the history books as the beginning of the end of Abortion.” No matter who is in office, no matter the disappointment and stress we experience in the coming years, I believe firmly that this generation will NEVER give up hope for the cause for Love AND Life! We will rebuild this culture, even if it takes a complete collapse of everything we’ve ever known, for Christ will come again in glory, and our efforts will bear more fruit than we could ever HOPE to imagine now.

www.40daysforlove.com/about

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So we’ve experienced 40 years in the desert, yet we’ve begun to see the end. Don’t you think it’s time to find reason to hope? After all, this is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! For all the men and women suffering out there today, let us offer up our deepest prayers and sacrifices for the strengthening of love and chastity throughout the world. Together, we must unite forces, to turn the tide of sexual immorality and to instill a culture of LOVE and LIFE among all people.

For Love & Life!
John Sohl

PS – The next 40 Days for Love campaign begins on February 13th! Be sure to sign up for the daily devotionals here: www.40daysforlove.com