By Julie Anderson
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.”
If there is one thing that Hal David, author of the lyrics to hit song “What the World Needs Now is Love,” and St. Therese could agree on is the world needs more love.
As I lie awake recently, I thought about the lyrics to the song as well as the spirituality of my absolute favorite saint of all time, St. Therese of Lisieux, who did small things with great love.
By now, you might be wondering how St. Therese ties in with Hosea Initiative. Please allow me to explain.
Recently, Terry Beatley, founder of Hosea Initiative, sent me a text message and asked me what I thought the three most important things are that someone should know about St. Therese. Then, while at a parish centennial in my hometown, someone else asked me almost the same identical question. So, it got me thinking. What if St. Therese were living on earth today? What would she say to all of us? What answer would she give us to put an end to legalized abortion?
As I lay in bed, I thought about a podcast I listened to earlier in the day about St. Therese. The priest giving the talk shared that throughout St. Therese’s writings, you will find references to charity or love no less than 1,000 times! Clearly, she believed in love. In fact, love is what motivated her. It’s in love that she found her vocation.
In her autobiography, St. Therese writes about reading St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, saying, “I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.”
She adds, “Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love.”
I think the same could be said of Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the cofounder of NARAL known today as NARAL Pro-Choice America. In 1996, he found the love of Jesus Christ. In doing so, he found his true calling in life.
During her presentations, Terry takes participants on a journey through Dr. Nathanson’s life from atheist to cofounder of NARAL to his resignation from the organization just two years after Roe v. Wade was decided by the United States Supreme Court. She talks about his spiritual journey, culminating in his baptism and reception into the Catholic faith, and she discusses his last message to America as well as her promise to spread it across the nation.
His parting message was, “Tell America that the cofounder of NARAL says to ‘Love one another. Abortion is not love. STOP THE KILLING. The world needs more love. I’m all about love now.’”
If Dr. Nathanson, the father of the abortion industry in America and the man responsible for teaching Planned Parenthood about abortion, found his calling in the love of Jesus Christ, then perhaps it really is that simple. Perhaps it’s just as Hal David wrote in the 1965 hit song, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Or, put it another way, perhaps it’s by imitating St. Therese’s example of putting great love behind every deed, no matter how small, in service to our neighbor.
We invite you to take a further look at Hosea Initiative. With your prayers and financial support, we can continue teaching the message of Dr. Nathanson across America, sharing the beautiful love story God worked in his life. And, in each telling of Dr. Nathanson’s story, the love of Christ will grow throughout this great nation of ours, and maybe, just maybe, abortion will no longer be the law of the land.
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.”
If there is one thing that Hal David, author of the lyrics to hit song “What the World Needs Now is Love,” and St. Therese could agree on is the world needs more love.
As I lie awake recently, I thought about the lyrics to the song as well as the spirituality of my absolute favorite saint of all time, St. Therese of Lisieux, who did small things with great love.
By now, you might be wondering how St. Therese ties in with Hosea Initiative. Please allow me to explain.
Recently, Terry Beatley, founder of Hosea Initiative, sent me a text message and asked me what I thought the three most important things are that someone should know about St. Therese. Then, while at a parish centennial in my hometown, someone else asked me almost the same identical question. So, it got me thinking. What if St. Therese were living on earth today? What would she say to all of us? What answer would she give us to put an end to legalized abortion?
As I lay in bed, I thought about a podcast I listened to earlier in the day about St. Therese. The priest giving the talk shared that throughout St. Therese’s writings, you will find references to charity or love no less than 1,000 times! Clearly, she believed in love. In fact, love is what motivated her. It’s in love that she found her vocation.
In her autobiography, St. Therese writes about reading St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, saying, “I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.”
She adds, “Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love.”
I think the same could be said of Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the cofounder of NARAL known today as NARAL Pro-Choice America. In 1996, he found the love of Jesus Christ. In doing so, he found his true calling in life.
During her presentations, Terry takes participants on a journey through Dr. Nathanson’s life from atheist to cofounder of NARAL to his resignation from the organization just two years after Roe v. Wade was decided by the United States Supreme Court. She talks about his spiritual journey, culminating in his baptism and reception into the Catholic faith, and she discusses his last message to America as well as her promise to spread it across the nation.
His parting message was, “Tell America that the cofounder of NARAL says to ‘Love one another. Abortion is not love. STOP THE KILLING. The world needs more love. I’m all about love now.’”
If Dr. Nathanson, the father of the abortion industry in America and the man responsible for teaching Planned Parenthood about abortion, found his calling in the love of Jesus Christ, then perhaps it really is that simple. Perhaps it’s just as Hal David wrote in the 1965 hit song, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” Or, put it another way, perhaps it’s by imitating St. Therese’s example of putting great love behind every deed, no matter how small, in service to our neighbor.
We invite you to take a further look at Hosea Initiative. With your prayers and financial support, we can continue teaching the message of Dr. Nathanson across America, sharing the beautiful love story God worked in his life. And, in each telling of Dr. Nathanson’s story, the love of Christ will grow throughout this great nation of ours, and maybe, just maybe, abortion will no longer be the law of the land.
RSS Feed