The Apostolate of motherhood

Here is a beautiful experience of a high school teacher in the United States. I found it in “Pro-Life Philippines”, which comes to me — I think — from Sister Pilar Verzosa of Good Shepherd, who was an excellent actress when she was in college. She was number one in the national board exam for nurses, and is now in charge of the Pro-Life Ministry in the Archdiocese of Manila.

The high school teacher, who tells her own story, is Jacqueline M. Jackson. This is what she says:

I found a new way to spread the pro-life message. With the expected arrival of our first child, my pregnancy became a vehicle for sharing the pro-life message with others.

My husband and I were ecstatic upon receiving the news that we were to be parents. For several years I had witnessed innocent children being destroyed by the venomous sex education courses of Planned Parenthood. Their pamphlets, pictures and films, however, are ineffective when students are actually given the opportunity to share the miracle of life by witnessing a pregnancy.

We must never underestimate the power of the pro-life example.

When I was seven weeks along, I told my classes that I was pregnant. Not only was I too thrilled to hold the news in, my discomfort was showing as morning sickness was taking its toll on me. Numerous mornings I would force to dash out of the classroom in mid-sentence.

I first realized the impact my pregnancy was having on my students when the class rebel came in one morning with soda crackers for me. “Mrs. Jackson,” he said, “I told my mom about your baby and she said that crackers would solve your problems. The baby needs food.” I thanked him and thought about how deeply concerned he really was for the baby. This teenager never called the baby a “blob of cells” as abortion advocates had instructed him to do. No matter what stage of pregnancy I was in, my students viewed my child as a tiny human being.

As the weeks passed, more students showed interest in my pregnancy. After I returned from a visit to the doctor, students would ask me how the baby looked and what the doctor was checking the baby for.

I brought in pictures of the development stages of the baby; I brought a “precious feet” reproduction to class; I told them of my thrill at hearing the baby’s heartbeat. The students continued to ask questions; some fond answers. A particularly rewarding comment came from a young woman who prided herself on being “liberal and pro-choice.”

After a picture of the developing baby, she asked, “How could anyone have an abortion?”

This may sound like a fairly-tale pregnancy, but it certainly wasn’t. Three days before Mother’s Day, my husband and I were faced with the possibility of losing the baby. This near tragedy further entrenched my belief that my students did in fact care about my little baby. My husband and I were showered with phone calls, cards, flowers and prayers. A tiny rose bush arrived on Mother’s Day. It bore the greeting “Please take care of our baby. Love, your staff and students.”

As the final days of the school year arrived, many students stopped in to say goodbye to the baby. They made me promise to come visit after the baby was born. “We want to see our baby. After all he has grown up with us.” They were right, and their words signaled their acknowledgment of life from the moment of conception. No matter what these students had been taught in sex education classes or through the medic, somehow they realized that, however tiny or fragile a pre-born baby is, the child is worth protecting and loving.

As I stood in the doorway of my classroom on the last day of school, I thought about all the long hours, good days and bad days I had that year. Was teaching really worth it? This question was answered as several members of the graduating class came to say thank you. Instead of gifts for me, they had brought a collection of toys for the baby. Finally, the class feminist stepped forward and said: “I picked this card out for you.” It contained this poem:

I wish I could find a way to thank you

for all that you’ve done for me,

for all that I’ve learned from you.

. . . You’ve taught me so many things

not with formal instructions,

but by your example. . . .

She added, “P.S. I think you will be a wonderful

mother.”

I do believe that the greatest victories in pro-life work are on “no with formal instructions, but by. . . . example.” By sharing the joy of pregnancy and the miracle of life with my students, I won some converts.

We must never assume that the enemy has the more powerful weapons. Our secret weapon is the pre-born child. Most people, when they recognize that the baby in the womb is someone, is an individual person, respond with love and compassion. Our message is in fact the message of love, and in the end it will conquer all.