Nearly nine months ago, Americans elected a new President. I assume that those of us who struggle to defend the right to life of the baby in the womb were saddened by the results: Nearly 53% of those voting chose Mr. Obama, who is the most “pro-choice” politician in our nation’s history. Among other things, he has promised that one of his first acts as President would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into law. As I have expressed in previous articles, FOCA would—in essence—permeate the presence of the feminists’ ungodly sacrament of human slaughter into every fiber of our Nation’s existence. In his first 6 months of office, Mr. Obama has already taken over 30 pro-abortion actions, the most recent being his efforts to sign into law a bill that would provide free abortions in the DC area (June 26, 2009).

On November 6, 2008, after just two days of depressed feelings, I realized that Mr. Obama’s election is exactly what those of us, who claim to be pro-life, really needed. From a so-called realistic standpoint, the future for all the in-utero babies’ right to life is in the gravest condition possible: both houses of Congress now in the control of the “pro-choice” party; a filibuster-proof Senate; and a President who could not even support the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. However, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ told His disciples, The things impossible with men are possible with God. (Lk 18:27). It is now time for us to show our All-Merciful God, that we do indeed believe His words! Through prayer, fasting and our hands-on participation in the active defense of both the humanity and sacredness of every womb-resident baby, we must beg our Lord to intervene; and to deliver us from this genocide, before the millions of souls—who support and/or participate in this horrendous crime—have hardened their hearts to the point that they will never see the need to repent. God forbid, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus!

Before the U. S. Supreme Court decision of January 22, 1973, which legalized the killing of pre-born children, the feminist movement had already developed the necessary terminology to make that ruling appear to be reasonable. Such phrases as: “product of conception” and “unwanted tissue” were used to describe the child in the womb. Other common phrases in the feminist dictionary, of de-humanizing terms to justify for the killing of the pre-born child, included: “removal of unwanted tissue,” “termination of the pregnancy,” “the need to protect the woman from having to seek a ‘back-alley’ abortion,” and “the elimination of the very dangerous ‘coat hanger’ self-induced abortions.”

However, the keystone phrase within the pro-abortion vocabulary is: “a woman’s right to choose.” Almost immediately, the term—pro-choice—became the mantra for those who supported the legalization of abortion; and this term was already in place before the ungodly January 22, 1973 decision was issued, thanks to the support of the Mainstream Media (MSM).

By the grace of God (because ONLY His grace could have allowed such an immediate challenge to that ruling), the pro-life movement was born around the same time. Local, state and national pro-life organizations began forming throughout our country. Unfortunately, the MSM—TV, newspapers and periodicals—never used the term, pro-life, to describe those groups. Instead, these defenders of this inalienable right for the child in the womb were (and continue to be) called, anti-abortion.

Of course, the prefix “pro”, is usually given a positive connotation; whereas “anti” is usually associated with something negative. It is safe to assume that many who support legalized abortion, especially during the 1st trimester of the child’s life, were influenced by the terminology used—by the MSM, and pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and N.O.W.—to describe the two diametrically opposed philosophies concerning the pre-born infants.

However, here is a question that was never asked during the various polls that have been taken on this issue: What exactly does it mean to be pro-choice? Let us briefly offer a simple method to find its true meaning. If we were to ask someone, who is pro-abortion, for a definition, he/she would most likely say something like, “I support a woman’s right to choose.” Then, if we replied, “Choose what?” that person’s response would be similar to, “Choose whether or not to bring the pregnancy to full term.” (Note: a true supporter of abortion would never use the term “baby” or “child” in his/her response.) Finally, we would respond with this question: “Then what—in reality—does it mean, if the woman chooses not to bring the pregnancy to full term?” At this juncture, if the individual was truly honest with himself, he would have to agree that something has to be killed in order to end a pregnancy. And that “something,” my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is not animal, vegetable or mineral; it is a human being, created in the image and likeness of God!...

A Christian, by definition, must be pro-life. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ brought sanctity to our human nature, when He chose to take our flesh upon Himself in the virgin womb of His all-pure Mother, the Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary. The hymnology of the Orthodox Church clearly indicates this. For example, consider this portion of a hymn from the feast of the Annunciation on March 25th: Today there are glad tidings of joy; it is the festival of the Virgin. Things below are joined to things above. Adam is renewed, and Eve is set free from her ancient sorrow; and the tabernacle of our nature [i.e., our human flesh], which the Lord took upon Himself, deifying the substance He assumed, is become the Temple of God. O Mystery! … Thus, the term, pro-choice Christian, is a classic oxymoron!

What follows is directed specifically to all Orthodox Christians throughout the world, since I am an Orthodox priest. However, anyone who reads this, and finds it beneficial, is welcome to apply these words to his/her own life as well: In the Holy Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who shed His Blood for the salvation of all mankind, I entreat you—who consider yourselves to be pro-choice—to rebuke and renounce this unchristian and ungodly philosophy. I pray that our Lord will grant you tears of repentance, so that you can go to your spiritual father and confess this sin against the One, Who formed our forefather, Adam, out of the earth; and breathed within his body the breath of God.

Dear and precious child of God, you should not receive Holy Communion until you have repented of this philosophy that supports the murder of God’s innocent ones. By accepting this satanic belief, you have placed a deep wound in your soul; and only Confession can heal it. If you receive the precious and Life-giving Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus, while maintaining that the life of pre-born child—growing in the womb of his/her mother—is expendable, then your receive His Holy Flesh to your judgment.

Furthermore, as recompense to our All-Merciful Saviour, I encourage you to become involved in one of the local pro-life groups within your area. Stand up for those precious children, who are unable to defend themselves, and God will bless you for this! Later on in this essay, you will find other means by which you can promote the sacred right to life of all babies, from conception through their birth into this temporal world; as well as provide support for the needy mothers, who choose to give birth to their children.

I beg your forgiveness, dear children of Christ Jesus, that I must place you into two groups, before I can begin my feeble, but heart-centered, attempt to reach out to you: those of you who have found blessed tears of repentance; and those of you who are still missing them.

I give thanks to God for you, dear mothers, who have mystically heard the silent screams of your little ones; and have run to the open arms of our All-Compassionate Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, seeking His forgiveness. Addressing specifically the Orthodox women who have now repented of this grave sin, I am sure that you have gone to you spiritual father and confessed; and received from him a penance, that blessed spiritual medication, which brings healing to the large and deep wound that the abortion placed within your immortal soul. Yes, my dear children, your penance is given to heal you, not to punish you.

In the Sacrament of Holy Confession, a repentant child of God receives both forgiveness and the necessary soul medicine to heal the wounds caused by our sins. When the wound is large, then more time is needed for spiritual therapy. Perhaps this illustration involving a major physical illness will help you to understand this more clearly: A person is diagnosed with a malignant tumor, in both his throat and stomach. The tumors are successfully removed through surgery. However, for the next several months, the person must observe a very restricted and simple food diet. If he were to try and maintain a normal diet, then he could die; since the wounds from the tumors were not given enough time to heal. In like manner, when a soul has a great wound, it is necessary for that person to observe a period of spiritual rehabilitation before receiving Holy Communion again.

Your spiritual father will prescribe certain soul medications for you to take, in order to nurture your soul as it heals. However, there are additional things that you can do in order to both expedite and enhance this healing process. For example, you could become involved at a pregnancy center, or with a local pro-life group. Furthermore, you are in a unique position to become God’s instrument to convince another woman not to have an abortion. In fact, I suggest that you entreat our Lord Jesus to grant to you His grace to save at least one child in this manner. What a great blessing—and three-fold blessing—that will be for your soul: Not only will your soul receive divine comfort, but you will also become God’s vessel to both save an innocent child from physical death and the soul of his/her mother from spiritual death.

To those mothers who have had abortions, and—although you realize that you have committed a great sin—do not seek forgiveness, because you do not feel worthy to be forgiven: Please remember that Jesus, the Word of God, took our flesh upon Himself, in order to call us sinners to repentance and lead us to Paradise; and that He shed His precious Blood for us upon the Cross, in order to redeem us and save us. As the father ran to embrace his prodigal son, upon seeing him returning from death to life, so also does our All-Merciful Lord Jesus, in His limitless and never-ending love for you, call you to return to Him; so that He can embrace your wounded soul, filling it with healing and forgiveness.

If you let me know where you live, I will find a brother priest near you, who can assist you in your return. If, at present, you simply are seeking an attentive ear to listen as you share your pain, you may contact this wretched sinner and unworthy priest (papadem@consolidated.net). If you wish that I give you a call, e-mail me your phone number and the best times to reach you. If you send me your first name, I will pray for you as well, everyday!

Finally, I now direct my words to those precious souls that have had an abortion (or abortions), but do not feel they have done anything wrong. With the help of the evil one, you have placed a wall around your heart; and, as a result, the healing grace of our living God is not accessible to you at this time. I pain for you, dear child of God, I truly pain for you! Somewhere within your heart, there is a God-presence, calling you to acknowledge you sin, repent and return to the One, Who created you in His image. It is my prayer that you will speedily hear this still small voice; for then you can be granted the gift of tears of repentance, to wash away the wall of indifference, so that you can run—with haste—to the all-loving and forgiving embrace of your Most Sweet Lord Jesus. If you need help with your return, please contact me as noted above. Although I do not—as of yet—know you personally, be assured of my prayers for you!

Beloved and dear wounded mothers, I thank you for reading my heart-centered plea. Please forgive me, if I have said anything to offend you. May our Most Holy Theotokos, and Ever-virgin Mary, embrace your wounded souls!

This was the most difficult section for me to put into words. Being—in my core beliefs—a naive idealist, I cannot understand how physicians can become hired killers of innocent babies; and for profit! Furthermore, because there are so many types of accomplices to this infanticide, it was necessary for me to place them into a number of groups. May God have mercy on each one of them, and lead them all to blessed repentance!

To the abortionists: It truly grieves my soul that a number of men and women, who have received the grace from God to become healers of the body, have chosen instead to become hired killers, hit-men, who receive money for murdering innocent pre-born—and, occasionally, new-born—children. You have no excuse. You know that human life begins at conception, and yet you kill these babies at an average of 4,000 per day. What has happened to you? How can you sleep at night? Is your conscience so dead that the sight of the child you have just dismembered does not cause you any pain, any sorrow? You have lost the right to be called a physician. You are an abortionist.

Nevertheless, our All-Compassionate God, Who gave you the knowledge to become a healer, Who took upon our flesh and died on the Cross for you, is ready to forgive you! However, you must first stop performing these murders immediately; and acknowledge your grievous sin. I pray that you will be blessed with tears of repentance, so that you can seek forgiveness from our All-Merciful Lord Jesus; and dedicate the remaining time of your temporal life to being a physician that brings healing to others, instead of an abortionist that brings death.

In addition, I suggest that you estimate how much of your earnings have come from performing abortions; so that every month, until you die, you can give a substantial portion of this blood money to support unwed mothers and other worthy pro-life causes. Furthermore, I entreat you to speak out against abortion; as your voice will have much influence. Beseech our Lord Jesus to allow you to become His instrument, until your last breath, to convince other doctors to stop participating in this satanic infanticide.

To the Orthodox Christian physicians-turned-abortionists: I grieve for you the most. At this moment, you are headed towards eternal damnation! Please stop murdering babies, immediately; and run to your priest to confess these terrible sins against God. From the first time you aborted a pre-born child, you excommunicated yourself from your Church. Therefore, do not receive Holy Communion; not until you have gone to confession, and have fulfilled the partaking of the medication (penance) that you will given and and brought healing to your very sick and wounded soul.

Do not wait another moment, for no one knows when he will be departing this temporary life. And if you die before you have repented of this grave sin, where will you spend eternity? Please hear my sincere plea, in behalf of the salvation of your soul, and come back to Christ and His Church. If I can be of help in any way, please contact me.

To the nurses and pharmacists, who facilitate these murders: Although you did not perform the abortions, you share in the sin; as you are definitely active participants in them. Therefore, much of what I said to the abortionists, also applies to you.

Nurses, I pain for you. How can you pass those instruments of death to the abortionist, without experiencing great sorrow within you? How can you, for example, piece together all of the parts of a child—slaughtered during a D & E abortion—without realizing what had happened moments earlier? I pray that you will allow God to fill your heart with repentant tears; so that they will wash away the wall, which your indifference to human life has allowed the evil one to place therein.

To the pharmacists: To those pharmacists who—for example—fill prescriptions for the RU 486 pill, which induces an abortion, cannot escape direct culpability to the abortion. At the present time, you still have a right to refuse to dispense such medication, on the basis of your conscience, without losing your position. However, if—someday—there is a law that forces you to dispense abortion medications, or be fired, would you rather do it, and keep your temporal job, or refuse, and keep eternal your soul?

To the psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and clergy, who advise women to go through with their abortions (or convince them that they have a “right to choose”): The innocent blood of those babies is also on your hands. As is the case with the doctors, nurses and pharmacists, you are aware that every abortion stops the beating heart of a tiny human being. You know, for example, that the “product” of the abortion of a 16 weeks gestation fetus is a dead baby girl or boy. May you find blessed repentance, and seek God’s forgiveness, while there is still time to do so. After you take your final breath in this life, you will no longer have that opportunity.

To the pro-abortion “Christian” clergy: I feel that I must give special attention to all those that consider themselves to be Christian clergy, but believe that abortion is a woman’s right/decision. What god do you profess to worship? I assure you, that it is not the Jesus Christ, Who shed His precious Blood on the Cross for you. Rebuke your false gods and repent, while there is still life in your body.

Forgive me, but I am compelled to reach out more specifically to any Orthodox priest, who has counseled any of his sheep to have an abortion. What has happened to you, my dear brothers in Christ Jesus? How can you stand before the Holy Altar knowing that you have innocent blood on your hands, knowing that you may have also caused the death of the souls of the mothers, whom you counseled to abort their children? And if you simply told the women something like, “It is your decision to make,” you are still culpable for your neglect of the Truth. When you call down the Holy Spirit down upon yourself, and then upon the Holy Gifts, what judgment are you calling down upon your suffering and wounded soul? I beg you to immediately go to your Bishop, and confess this grave sin. Please also contact the women, whom you mislead, beg their forgiveness, and do whatever you can to help bring healing to their souls.

To the fathers of the aborted children: You are just as responsible as your wife/girlfriend for the murder of your pre-born child, unless you did all that you could to stop her from having the abortion. In my opinion, those fathers who threatened to leave their girlfriends—unless they had an abortion—are even more accountable than their respective companions. A true father would never abandon his offspring, from conception onwards. Pray that our Lord Jesus will help you to feel the pain within your soul, caused by the deep wound that you placed therein, when you agreed to the death of your child. Then you will be given those blessed tears of repentance, and you will run to Him for forgiveness.

If you have no one to assist you in your “return” to your Saviour and Lord, please contact this unworthy priest. I pray that you will soon earn the right to be called a father again, by having other children, and by convincing at least one other man not to allow his pre-born child to be sacrificed upon the satanic altar of pride, privacy and convenience.

To the grandparents, siblings and/or friends, who either assisted in the abortion, through their words or actions; or chose “not to get involved:” You are—most assuredly—a participant in these murders, and will have to answer to God on that fearful Day. Beg our Saviour to fill—both your eyes and your heart—with tears if repentance. In addition to confession, you need to go to the child’s mother and beg her forgiveness for not trying to stop her from committing this terrible sin.

To the many politicians, lawyers and judges, whose actions support and/or uphold the legalization of this “slaughter of God’s innocents:” In my opinion, you are as guilty as the abortionists that perform these murders. You are the ones that have placed the murder weapons in the hands of the abortionists; and have protected their indiscriminate use of them! You are the ones that created—and perpetuated—the multi-billion dollar industry, whose products are the slaughtered of 50 million little babies! You are the ones that have aided in the deaths of millions of adult souls—including your own—by your diabolical actions!

Somewhere within your severely wounded soul, I must believe that there is a divine “still small voice,” calling you to immediately change your demonic attitude, repent, and begin protecting the right to life of every child in the womb. O how I pray that you will soon “hear” this inner call of your Creator! If you choose to ignore it, then you shall learn—when your soul separates from your body—that the blood of millions of innocent babies is upon your soul. However, it will then be too late to repent. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear! (Mt 11:15)

In the time it takes me to put this next section on paper, over 1,000 of pre-born babies will have been offered as sacrifices to the demonic, three-headed god of pride, privacy and profit. What has happened to us, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ? If any doctor was dismembering a baby that was a few minutes old, we would demand that he/she be put in jail for life. Yet, for the past 35 years, doctors have been legally killing babies in the womb at a rate of 4,000 per day, and most Americans do not seem to care.

Last night, the following Spirit-filled words from one of the Psalms of King David (105:36-38) convicted my soul: And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Could we not apply these words of the Holy Prophet to the condition in which we find ourselves in America today?

How can we give so much effort and concern to solving economic, educational, immigration, minority discrimination, national defense, and health care problems, while we ignore the silent screams of thousands of babies being murdered everyday? How ungodly! How inhuman! It is like a doctor that receives a person in the emergency room with a severed artery in his leg and superficial scrapes on his arms, but he chooses to ignore the severed artery; and instead, he devotes all of his effort to cleaning the scrapes! The result is the bleeding to death of the patient.

Today, our great nation is also about to bleed to death because we are putting all of our efforts on the “scrapes,” and ignoring the great quantities of innocent blood that is being shed in the hospitals and abortion chambers of our land on a daily basis. Several years ago, I read somewhere that the mighty Roman Empire fell 50 years after it legalized abortion. Is history about to repeat itself in the USA?

Even with all the misinformation being offered about what is really growing in a woman’s womb (it is a human being, created in God’s image!), more than half of our nation’s adults oppose abortion. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of that group is truly active in trying to save the babies, as well as their mothers, and/or work to remove that satanic law. However, even if all the tens of millions of citizens, opposed to abortion, begin taking action, it would not be enough.

In my opinion, we have now passed the point of being able to overcome this terrible crime through our actions alone, my dear friends. We must have God’s divine intervention! And if we expect our Lord to deliver us from this legalized infanticide of His most innocent ones, we must imitate the Jews of old: And the children of Israel groaned because of their tasks, and their cry … went up to God. … And God looked upon the children of Israel, and was made known to them. (Ex 1:23-25). In other words, we must all fall to our knees, daily, and beg our Lord to deliver us; and He will! Concurrently, it is important for us to become involved in local and/or national pro-life groups (a partial list is included at the end of this paper); and to vote for politicians that are solidly pro-life. It is of paramount importance that we send up our “groans”—for deliverance from this sin—to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

For the past few months, our Lord has helped me to form the following prayer, which I offer to Him each day, as near as I can, to the sixth hour of the day (noon). I have programmed my cell phone (for the next 10 years!) to remind me three times, beginning @ 11:45 AM to offer this prayer, wherever I may be. Here are the words that I believe He has sent into my heart, so that I can offer them to Him:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who—at the 6th hour of the day—did shed Thy precious Blood upon the Cross for the salvation of all mankind: receive the souls of all the innocent pre-born babies, who have been, are being, or will be slaughtered today in the hospitals and abortion chambers throughout our Nation. And as their untimely deaths have prevented them from receiving the grace of Holy Baptism, I entreat Thee to accept their innocent blood as their Baptism (as Thou did with the early Martyrs); so that they can share eternity with Thee.

To the doctors, nurses, parents and hosts of accomplices responsible for this infanticide, grant tears of repentance; so that they can run to Thee for forgiveness and healing, and thus avoid the eternal death of their souls. I believe that all things are possible with Thee, O Lord. Therefore, I entreat Thee on this day—through Thy divine grace—to convince at least one mother in every state to cancel her abortion and bring her child to full term; and to convince one doctor in every state to repent of his actions, and never again kill a child in the womb.

Receive my prayer, O Lord, even though it is offered to Thee from such a sinful and unworthy priest; and unite my entreaty with those of all the other brothers and sisters that are crying out today on behalf of all Thy little ones, who are now being formed in the wombs of their mothers. Deliver us and our Nation, O Lord, from this shedding of innocent blood! Forgive us! Heal us! Save us! Amen.

In the Book of Acts (12:3-10), it is stated that when Herod placed St. Peter in prison, binding him with chains between two soldiers, earnest prayer was being made by the Church of God on his behalf. (vs. 4) And God answered those prayers, by sending an Angel to free him. What if thousands of us—everyday—beg our Lord to deliver us from this infanticide? Do we not believe that our Most-sweet Lord Jesus would come speedily to deliver us? That is why I am now begging everyone who reads these words to join with me in daily prayer, for God to intervene and save us! Until we stop legally killing the child that He forms in his/her mother’s womb, this nation cannot be saved from destroying itself.

As we offer these daily prayers together, let us also be seeking His forgiveness for our sins; and let us not simply read His Gospel, but strive each day—through His grace—to become His Gospel, in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. Let us always keep the name of Jesus: on our lips, in our thoughts and within our hearts, the name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. (Phil. 2:9-10)

Jesus is our only hope, my dear brothers and sisters. It is imperative that we now beg Him to intervene, while there is still time. Tomorrow, the innocent blood of another 4,000 of our sons and daughters will be shed in the hospitals and abortion chambers of our Nation. But how many “tomorrows” remain, before it is too late?

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us!

+Fr. Demetrios Carellas