LIMA — During a prayer service at Gethsemani Cemetery on Saturday for children who lost their lives as a result of abortions, Bishop Paul Gassios said Americans need to be “for something rather than against” something.
Gassios, administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest of the Orthodox Church of America, said too many often tend to be “against” abortion rather than being “for” life on a subject that is already polarizing. Gassios delivered a brief prayer service at the cemetery, where a memorial is established for children whose lives have been ended as a result of an abortion.
Gassios said the time of year was symbolic, comparing ended pregnancies today to the babies who were slain during the reign of Herod the Great, who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents because he feared the birth of Jesus of Nazareth would threaten his reign.
“Too many times, we spend too much time asking, ‘Why would God let this happen,’” Gassios said. “Of course, God could have intervened. He doesn’t because he wants us to have freedom. He didn’t allow it to happen, but he paved the way for these babies to be martyrs.”
During the service, Gassios also prayed for mothers who had had abortions. He told the small crowd that “no one was removed from receiving God’s forgiveness.”
He said it was important for people to be for something rather than against because we need to react in positive manners to get things done.
“I saw a report where in Mississippi, they are against abortion,” Gassios said. “At the same time, the state ranked low in getting things done to help mothers. We just can’t be against it. We have to make sure services are available where mothers can be helped in making the positive decision. Maybe they will have the help they need to raise their babies or make a positive choice and give the baby to someone for adoption.”
As a slight rain delivered the appropriate somberness for the ceremony, Gassios told the small crowd to “remember this day.”
“We do not know what a 3-month-old baby will look like in its glorified body,” Gassios said, “but we need to remember their lives still had meaning.”
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