Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Just yesterday, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, opening the door to a return to a culture of life. The Old Testament reading and Responsorial Psalm for today’s Mass are very appropriate for this important moment in history.

The first reading tells of infants and children dying of starvation, because the Chosen People have turned away from God. The holy city, Jerusalem, was filled with great suffering and mourning because of the sins of her people in choosing to turn away from God. God had not abandoned His people, but rather was letting them experience what life is like without Him, because they had chosen to turn away from Him. 

The prophet Jeremias exhorted the Jews to “[c]ry out to the Lord… Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.” The Responsorial Psalm does just this; it implores God not to “forget… the souls of [His] poor ones.” There is peril all around: the Psalmist wrote that the land is “full of violence,” yet he prayed that the humble, afflicted, and poor be spared and praise God’s Name.

How similar our own age is to that in today’s readings! We have lived in a culture of death where millions of unborn babies have been killed in an action viewed legal by our country. Now, the unborn are being protected in many states, an action that is viewed as oppressive by many people. We have already seen violence during these past several weeks leading up to the Court’s decision, and sadly, there may be even more in the coming days and weeks. 

We must remember the words of the Psalmist that we hear in today’s readings: “May the humble not retire in confusion; may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.” We cannot give up hope, no matter how difficult things become. As Our Lady of Fatima promised, “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” Today, let us cry out to Jesus and Mary and entrust our country and all those who defend the lives of the unborn to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, trusting that she will guide us through the darkest of times and bring about the triumph of her Heart.

Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!