Abortion: The Desecration of God's Temple

Gospel Reflection for November 9, 2025 - John 2:13-22

And the pasch of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew. And to them that sold doves he said: Take these things hence, and make not the house of my Father a house of traffic. And his disciples remembered, that it was written: The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up. The Jews, therefore, answered, and said to him: What sign dost thou shew unto us, seeing thou dost these things? Jesus answered, and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said: Six and forty years was this temple in building; and wilt thou raise it up in three days? But he spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen again from the dead, his disciples remembered, that he had said this, and they believed the scripture, and the word that Jesus had said. (John 2:13-22 DRA)

In the democratic countries most of us live in today, issues which were once considered primarily philosophical or religious now tend to be thought of politically: how an issue will be enforced (or not) by law, how politicians or parties stand on a particular issue, etc. This change in society has had two noticeable effects in daily life: ordinary citizens are more likely to discuss such issues, and more likely to base their stance on the views of the party they support. Some people find themselves torn, with one party representing more of their values but not all while a rival party is more favorable in some ways but generally opposed to their beliefs, and the individual politicians people support can also vary even within the party to which they belong.

This politicized aspect of democratic societies, for whatever benefits it might have, has had one very unfortunate effect: due to the majority-rule and pluralistic nature of democratic law and elections, people are often willing to compromise on their values, whether to back their favored party or for some expected practical benefit. With this transition of morality from the spiritual realm to the political, moral values are routinely compromised, so that grave evils are now permitted and even celebrated while those who oppose them are willing to accept this as a natural aspect of democratic ‘free speech’ and pluralism.

On no issue is this effect more evident than abortion. What was condemned by practically all Christians for 1900 years and illegal in most Christian countries has been slowly compromised over the last several decades until now it is enshrined as a ‘human right’ by state, national and international law and even people who call themselves pro-life still dissemble on it, rarely calling it evil in all circumstances or saying that those who commit it should be tried for the same crime of murder as any other killer, with equal consequences. Now, someone who is pro-life like Charlie Kirk is brutally assassinated and people publicly celebrate it, calling for the executions of others like him, and even someone who is only mildly pro-life like Donald Trump is despised and villainized as though he supported slavery or genocide.

All the while, we live in countries where the body parts of unborn babies, ripped apart and vacuumed out of the mother’s womb, are thrown into dumpsters or frozen and haggled over like meat, experimented on and preserved for IVF. We live in cities and states where the dismemberment and trafficking of unborn babies is routine and government-funded, then we have the gall to criticize those who lived in Nazi Germany or the antebellum South, asking how people could act like everything was normal when such a grave evil was being perpetrated in their midst.

We should ask ourselves the same thing.

The readings for today directly pertain to this issue, the Holocaust of our times which exceeds the first one in numbers and viciousness. St. Paul clearly teaches that the human body is the Temple of God – most especially for the baptized, in whom the Holy Ghost dwells and Christ resides in His Eucharistic Body and Blood, but also for human beings in general, including the unborn. Every human is created by God for the purpose of becoming His Temple, and so, just as the unconsecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist are treated with dignity and respect for what they will become, so do all humans possess this God-given dignity.

Therefore, to kill any innocent person is to desecrate God’s Temple – and how did Our Lord respond to such desecration in the Gospel for today? With righteous fury, the same judgement that God has in store for those who advocate for, celebrate, support or commit abortions in the world today. Worst of all are those who call themselves “Catholics for Choice,” including politicians like Nancy Pelosi and others, who use their God-given power to violate His law and blaspheme against His Temple. But as we look around the world today, as Catholics we should be sickened to see so many people who, like those we watch in old videos of daily life in Nazi Germany, walk around like nothing bad is happening, enjoying their little modern distractions and luxuries, driving to Mass in their Teslas and Porsches – all while God’s children are being murdered and sold at auction by money-changers like Planned Parenthood, using our own tax dollars to do it.

Thankfully, as an American, it’s possible for me to choose to live in and support a state like Indiana that is thoroughly pro-life. I know for people who live in countries like Canada, the UK or New Zealand, this isn’t an option, and to speak out against abortion as I am in this reflection could get you fined or even imprisoned. But the issue here isn’t ‘free speech’ – to celebrate evil is not ‘freedom,’ and to correct evil isn’t merely a difference of opinion that should be tolerated in a pluralistic, democratic society. Rather, all of us are obligated by God as human beings to stand up against evils, especially those as satanic as abortion and other eugenics, imitating the righteous anger of Christ in combating the desecration of God’s Temple.

To return to our opening theme, abortion is not merely a political issue – it is moral, spiritual and eternal. Nor is it just something limited to cities or government debates. Many of us have experienced its effects firsthand, and even pro-life states like Indiana are often powerless to stop it. For example, a coworker of my father’s is a woman who is a college student and mother of two children. Her cohabiting boyfriend, who works with her, had a vasectomy, but she still became pregnant. Not wanting to ‘deal with it’ or impede her college degree, but unable to have an abortion here (and ignoring my father’s offer to adopt their child if they didn’t want him), they simply drove over to Ohio, murdered their child, then returned home – and had a party. Ever since, they have acted like everything’s just fine and dandy, like nothing happened. Now, my father has to work with them, knowing what they did without any consequence in this life and even celebrated by their liberal coworkers.

I pray that, as Catholics, we will come to appreciate more fully and feel more deeply the true horror of abortion, to imagine what our descendants will think of us when they look back and (God willing) abhor the evil of abortion that we allowed to take place, just as we look on people in Nazi Germany or other evil conditions in history. We must stand up and speak out with courage, humility, charity and truth for the unborn and for the eternal souls of those who seek to murder them, to desecrate God’s Temple, both of the unborn and of their own bodies and souls.

(Cover image source: “Life Monument,” by Timothy Schmalz, at the Church of San Marcello al Corso in Rome)

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