Thursday of the Third
Week of Advent
(Judges 13:2-7.24-25a; Luke 1:5-25)
We feel for couples who want to have children but remain
barren. Often they seem to be the best
of people – she, gentle and caring, and he, responsible and understanding. Raising offspring like themselves would not
only fulfill their dreams but would likely provide good neighbors for a nobler
society. Why then does the Church condemn
the use of in vitro fertilization as
a way of helping barren couples to conceive?
Before trying to answer this question, it will be helpful to examine today’s
readings. They relate how the Lord responds
to two barren couples who have desired children for years.
In both readings God grants the barren couples a son to
further His special purpose. Manoah and
his wife will give birth to Samson who will defeat the enemies of God’s chosen
people. Zechariah and Elizabeth will
give birth to John who will announce that the coming of God’s Son, the savior.
God’s providence has a similar plan for each of us and for
every couple. The coming days of Christmas
are a ripe time to discern that plan. Providence
also wants every human person to know that she or he is not a laboratory product
but a creation by God through the natural love of parents. Compassion, by definition, means to suffer
with others. Showing compassion to
barren couples, we recognize their sense of loss with assurance of their
goodness. We also support their efforts to
turn their barrenness into opportunities as God has planned.
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