Following is the text of the homily I gave at the annual Mass for Life held in Topeka on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade. The Mass was held at Assumption Catholic Church across from the state capitol and judicial center where a large March for Life and rally had just concluded.

Mass for Life – January 22, 2009

My name is Fr. Shawn Tunink and I am the Associate Pastor at Most Pure Heart of Mary parish here in Topeka and also the chaplain at Hayden High School here. I’d like to welcome both those here from Topeka and especially those who have joined us from all across our great state of Kansas. Know that there are many others who would like to be here. Due to the limited space here, most of the students from Hayden and our grade schools have returned to school.

Although the walls of our church limit the numbers physically present, we gather here mindful that we do so in solidarity with many others. In parish churches and cathedrals all across the country today we gather to pray. Our thoughts and prayers are with our brothers and sisters who at this very moment are marching for life in Washington, D.C. The March for Life West Coast will soon be taking place in San Francisco. We join with those gathered in state capitols and government offices across the country.  In the face of evil, one of the most important things we can do is to gather together to pray. Today, we most certainly are aware that we are not alone.

Our gathering today is one of mixed emotions. In the yearly cycle of celebrations on our church calendar, surely this is a day that we wish we did not have to commemorate. Yet, the spirit of this day is one of hope, and not merely a worldly hope or wish that somehow things would be different. It is a hope informed by our faith and centered in the love of God.

I remember being in Washington eight years ago for a different presidential inauguration. On that day many people were saying that there was now a great hope for the pro-life movement. In the previous years we had gathered in front of the White House knowing that the man inside would veto any meager pro-life legislation we might try to pass. Then, on that day, we had hope that the newly inaugurated president was one of us. We felt a renewed sense of optimism that we had an ally in the White House. This largely proved to be true over the last 8 years.

Today, our new president is undoubtedly the most pro-abortion president in history, and people are tempted to lose hope. In the face of legislation that could wipe out all the modest advances in pro-life legislation we’ve passed over the last 36 years, we might be tempted to lose hope. The lesson here is that we must not judge our success by what legislation we are able to pass. We must not put our hope in whoever the latest president might be, and we can never hope for an earthly Supreme Court to render the justice only God can give. Despite all of the clouds that gather around us we most surely gather in great hope today, for our hope is centered not on the things of this earth, but in God, a God who is faithful and assures us the victory.

On this day especially the pro-abortion forces look at us and ask, “Why are you still here? Don’t you know that this issue has been decided? It’s been 36 years, when are you going to go away?” Yet as we look around our church today and at the rallies here and across the country, we are encouraged by so many young faces. There are many here that have been fighting this battle for 36 years now and I’m sure it brings them great joy to see all of you young people here today. No, we’re not going anywhere. For those who have carried the touch these many years and continue to do so, we are thankful. For those students here for the first time, this torch is being passed to you and you give us great hope.

Those who favor abortion are indeed eager to see us give up. They are puzzled by the fact that we continue to fight so strongly and think they can end the debate by telling us simply, “If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one.” We don’t have to go back too far in our nation’s history to arrive at the time when many people claimed “If you are opposed to owning slaves, then don’t own one.” That answer was not acceptable then, and it is not acceptable now. It was not hard to reason that if some people were only acknowledged to be 3/5ths of a person then our country could not last. Our Kansas “free state” ancestors knew the stakes were high and they were willing to go to war rather than quietly allow the country to self-destruct.

Today, we are met with claims that some people are even less than 3/5ths of a person; some people are not people at all. Or worse, maybe they really are people, but we should have the right to kill them anyway because they are inconvenient or unwanted…sadly oftentimes just…not useful. In the 1860’s they realized that, as sad as it was to think about the prospect of spilling American blood on our soil, it was worth going to war to save the nation. It was not enough to be personally opposed to slavery. The 3/5ths compromise did not bring peace then nor will compromise with evil bring peace now.

And so we must fight. Sadly, today we need not contemplate the future possibility of the shedding of American blood on American soil, for the blood of 50 million innocent children already stains our land and continues to flow. Rather than a future possibility, this is the sad present reality, and it is for this reason that we fight. We are at war to save our souls, the souls of our children and the soul of our nation. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “We are now met on a great battlefield of that war, testing whether this nation or any other nation can long endure.” We are here because we love our country and it is worth fighting for.

Yet, it is impossible to love our country if we fail to love our brothers and sisters. For that reason we are here today to pray for the innocent children in danger of abortion. We are here today to stand up for women who have been victimized by the abortion industry. We are here today in solidarity with our elderly brothers and sisters who are suffering at the end of their lives and see no reason to live. We are here today to pray for inmates on death row. We are here today to appeal to scientists and doctors not to use their God-given talents to destroy the very lives they should be trying to save. We are here today to tell our elected officials that no legislation that removes the freedom of choice for people of conscience to object to abortion, or removes the freedom of choice for parents to be involved in the lives of their teenage daughters, or that forces tax payers to fund the murder of children…we are here today to say that no such legislation could ever be called a “freedom of choice act” and is not worthy to even be spoken of in the hallowed halls of our capitol.

Most importantly, we are here today because we love God and we know that this is a war that we cannot win on our own. This is a war whose first shots were fired when Satan chose to use his freedom to tell God, “I will not serve.” The battle over abortion is just the latest battle in the ongoing war of the kingdom of God verses the kingdom of Satan. St. Paul reminds us that our fight is not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers. Therefore our weapons must be those of prayer and fasting, humility, and most importantly…love. We fight with love. Only the God who is love can overcome the cycle of fear, hate, and death in which we are now trapped. If we fight through, with, and in his love, there is no doubt who wins this war in the end.

In scripture we read that our Israelite ancestors, in order to purge themselves of the collective sin of their community, would gather each year and symbolically lay the guilt of all onto a goat which they would then drive out into the desert, the so-called “scapegoat.” Today we gather in similar fashion to do penance for the sins of our nation and seek to drive the sin of abortion far away from our land. We may have no goat with us today on which to lay this guilt, but we have something better. We have the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of not just our nation, but the sins of the world.

The book of Revelation sings about this lamb and it is filled with hymns of victory. The lamb is victorious over sin and death. Today, although we are indeed met on a great battlefield of this ongoing war, we are also here to remind ourselves that we are the winners. We are here to claim victory! Although the final victory still awaits us, in the timelessness of the Eucharistic sacrifice which we are about to offer, we join the angels and saints as they sing their hymn of victory with the lamb. We join with St. Michael and all the holy angels as they celebrate their victory over the angels of darkness. And yes, we join with the souls of all the victims of abortion who stand around the throne and urge us on in the fight, that one day we might join them.

Often war seems to bring out the worst in people. But as we have said, this is a different kind of war. Whenever we in the pro-life movement gather you cannot help but notice that there you will find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…as our 8th graders could probably tell you…all the fruits of the Holy Spirit. To confront the evil spirit that we must battle, we need the Holy Spirit.

To wherever there is darkness, confusion and death, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To wherever there is fear and doubt, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To wherever women are alone and feel they have no choice, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To homes and families broken by abortion, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the bedside of the suffering and dying, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the laboratories of scientists who would experiment with life, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the halls of justice near death row, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To Wichita and all cities stained with the blood of the abortion mills, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To doctors who have forgotten what it means to be instruments of healing, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the halls of our legislatures, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To our Supreme Court buildings, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the office of our governor and the oval office, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the hearts of all men and women whose hearts are hardened against life, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit
To the hearts of all who long to see the day when life will be victorious, we pray…Come, Holy Spirit

Almighty God, this battle is one that we cannot and do not fight alone. We need your help and healing. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. May it be so. Amen

One of the most famous lines from the Declaration of Independence includes the following familiar words:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In yesterday’s inaugural address, President Obama restated the text this way:

“The time has come to…carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

Though subtle, there are major differences between these two citations that I think tell us some very important things about our new President, but also about the spirit of the age in which we live.

1. In the Declaration the principles being affirmed are called self-evident truths. Notice that there is no mention of truth in the President’s restatement. Instead, we have a “noble idea.” Self-evident truth implies an objective reality that is clearly known by all. An “idea” exists in subjective reality. It is not self-evident and true in itself. Rather it must be “passed on from generation to generation” to be accepted or rejected as people see fit.
2. In the Declaration we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights. In the rewrite there are no rights that are given by a higher power. Rather what is given is a “promise” that we already are equal, free etc. We need to really look hard at the differences between the two texts here because they show some very critical differences in world views.

   For one thing, notice that the idea of a Creator is removed from the rewrite. If we are created then this implies that we are inferior to and dependent upon the one who created us. It is much more comfortable for our modern independent mindset to reduce the Creator down to “God” who can remain as a distant and merely observing power.

   Look carefully also at the difference between a “right” and a “promise.” The Declaration says we have rights that are inherent in our creation. This is a statement of fact that does not depend on anyone’s opinion. What does it even mean to say that God would “promise” that “all are equal?” Notice the omission again of the notion of creation. Either people are inherently equal or they are not; either they have rites or they don’t. There is no such thing as a “promise” of truth.

3. Finally, let’s compare the lists of rights/promises:

   Declaration – “All men are created equal” / Obama - ”All are equal”
   Declaration – “Liberty” / Obama – “All are free”
   Declaration – “Pursuit of happiness” / Obama “…pursue their full measure of happiness”

   Let’s see…equality…liberty…pursuit of happiness…
   What’s missing?

   The right to LIFE!

Don’t think that the changes made in President Obama’s rewrite of the Declaration of Independence were done casually. Each change reflects a diliberate rejection of the world view espoused by the founders. Most especially, don’t think for one minute that the right to life was accidentally left off the list of “promises.”

Yesterday my parents came to visit me at the parish. We decided to devote the day to Kansas history by going to the Kansas Museum of History here in Topeka. I believe I had been to this museum when I was in grade school, but I don’t remember. For those who did not grow up in Kansas or are otherwise unfamiliar with Kansas lore, here is a picture our state mammal.

 This is of course the great American Bison (scientific name bison bison). This is our state mammal and not our state animal because, as every good Kansan knows, the three-toed box turtle is our state reptile and the honey bee is our state insect. Did you notice the fine depiction of the state flower in the background? The prairie dogs are of course cute, but not official anything’s.

Here is another shot of a buffalo outside with a Kansa Indian from which the name of our great state is taken:

Here is a rare close-up of me with a subspecies of the majestic, yet friendly and petable, state mammal, the bison bison stonis statuis

After our time at the Museum of Kansas history I got to add my contribution to this Tunink family Kansas history “Day O’ Fun”.

Thanks to a very wonderful parishioner I had some very wonderful tickets for the KU game. When I say very wonderful, I can’t emphasize this enough as this picture was taken from my actual seat. I dare say I will never have better seats in Allen Fieldhouse in my life. After so many years of seeing games from the band, this was a real treat. To close out this Kansas History day, I leave you with two of the most important artifacts in Kansas History:

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog and many people have been asking what I’m up to. Well, being a priest has been keeping me busy…but I love it. Yesterday was my “day off” and I was kind of sad because I had to force myself to stay away from the high school so as to “take a break.” I was back at it today, however, and we’ve got a football game with a big cross city rival tonight. That leaves me a few minutes to provide some unique and interesting insights into my present state of affairs.

For this update, I thought would focus on an exciting new leisure time activity I’m working on. I have always loved planes and flying. I recently attended an air show in Kansas City with my dad and saw the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Whenever I get a new computer, the motivating factor is normally because I need better speed for my flight simulator. I have been doing flying lessons on my computer for years now and especially enjoy all the instrument navigation.

Despite all the simulator fun, I always told myself that when I finally got settled down somewhere I would look into actually learning how to fly. Well, I decided that time was now and so I went to the local airport here in Topeka to see about getting my private pilot’s license. It turned out it was going to be at least $7,000 and probably more like $10,000. That just doesn’t work for a priest, so I decided to go back to my computer.

Well, the next weekend I ran into some parishioners who are partners in an airplane. One of them is even a flight instructor and we worked it out so that I could take my first ride in a small plane. Here is a picture of the plane:

Whoops! That’s actually the F-14 Tomcat that I visited at the Combat Air Museum here in Topeka. I got to touch it but not actually fly it. Sorry. Here’s the plane that I actually flew in:

That’s me and my flight instructor, Jay, along with the Piper Comanche that I piloted. When I say I piloted, I do in fact mean that I was the pilot. When we got ready to get in the plane I thought I would be lucky just to sit in the front seat. Instead, Jay told me that I was going to be in the left seat as the pilot. I got to take off, fly around, and even land. Yes, that’s right, I landed the plane on my first time flying. There were dual controls, so Jay assured me he wouldn’t let me crash. Luckily it didn’t come to that and I did my first bit of piloting all by myself. Here are some action shots:

That’s the Kansas River down there

Don’t I look focused?

Here I am aligned for my perfect (well, almost) first landing

This was a wonderful experience and got me excited about flying. Still, the expense is remains a bit of a problem. However, it turns out that Jay is not only a Certified Flight Instructor, but is an advisor for a local Explorer Post of Air Scouts. Being that I’m the chaplain for all the scouts in the Archdiocese, I’ve decided I need to get to know these Air Scouts. I’m going to their ground school each Saturday morning which is great and, eventually, I may get to fly and work on my license. We’ll see. I’m kind of waiting to see where God leads in all this. If He opens a path that will be within a priest’s budget, then this may work. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks to Daric for being my passenger and back seat photographer on my inaugural voyage. I hope there are many more.

I have finally moved into my new home at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Topeka, KS. I have been assigned here as the Associate Pastor (Parochial Vicar in church law). I am also the Chaplain for Hayden High School here in Topeka as well as Chaplain to the Archdiocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting. So, I’ve definitely got enough to keep my busy. Right now I’m just working on getting everything out of my boxes and into their new homes.

I haven’t done much with my blog since ordination as I’ve been very busy. Almost immediately after being ordained I returned to Mundelein Seminary in Chicago to finish an advanced degree. I graduated in May with a Master of Divinity degree in the “secular” system and a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology in the “ecclesiastical” system. I returned to complete a Licentiate in Sacred Theology which is kind of like a PhD “all but dissertation” (ABD). I took a couple classes and then had my final comprehensive exam before the board, which I passed. The only thing left now is to write my thesis. I did a lot of research while I was back at school, but now I need to find the time to write.

This next week I am headed to the National Training Center of the Boy Scouts to learn more about being a Scout Chaplain. The center is located at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico where I’ve been backpacking twice before. I haven’t really had much “down” time yet this summer, so this will be good. There will be lots of classes, but just to be out in the scenic beautiful of Philmont will be a refreshing change of pace. When I get back I intend to be more regular in updating my blog. Thanks to all who have made my first two months of priesthood so wonderful.

Over Thanksgiving break I had much to be thankful for. Most important of all was the fact that on November 17th Archbishop Joseph Naumann ordained me a transitional deacon. It was an amazing day with so many of my family and friends present to join in the celebration. The above picture shows the archbishop, as successor of the apostles, passing on the grace of Holy Orders to me in the way it has always been done, with the laying on of hands. He then prayed the beautiful prayer of ordination that forever made me a deacon. What an amazing grace! I liked it so much that I hope to be ordained again in May…a priest this time!

The day after my ordination I served as a deacon of the Mass and preached my first homily. I’ve been excited for a long time to be able to preach and I look forward to many homilies in the future.

One of the other great highlights of this weekend was that I got to baptize my little nephew, Tanner. I think this might have been the time that I most enjoyed. He’s a great little kid and was pretty well behaved as far as babies go. Parents and family did pretty well too.

Yes, I think I’m going to like being a deacon. But, there is another big date that I’m looking forward to. That means May 24th when I’m ordained a priest! Many thanks to all of my friends and family that came to help celebrate this great day. Pray that God will help me to be a good and faithful servant.

Tonight I decided to make a vigil at the Holy Sepulcher. The church closes at 7:00, but you can arrange with the Franciscans to be locked in for the night and make a vigil. Things are normally so busy at the Holy Sepulcher that I was really looking forward to the opportunity to be alone and have quiet. At 7:00 there were 4 of us that wanted to stay. The door actually gets locked from the outside, so you really are locked in. Somewhat ironically/sadly, a Muslim family is entrusted with the keys because the Catholics, Orthodox, Armenians, Copts, and Syrians don’t trust each other to have the keys.

Calvary, You Can See the Rock in the Glass

It turns out that on Saturday night, the overnight vigil ends by midnight because that is when they start celebrating Sunday Mass. I still had some wonderful prayer time. I spent a couple hours on Calvary praying there and then a couple more in the empty tomb. As I was praying in the tomb I noticed something that I hadn’t seen before. Most everything in there is written in Greek which means that I have to go get a dictionary and translate it later. However, as I was kneeling down praying I saw some Latin written on the base of a picture. It said, “Surrexit Non Est Hic Ecce Locus Ubi Posuerunt Eum”… “He has risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.” I was reminded once again of the powerful witness of the empty tomb. “He is not here!” I prayed for all my family and friends who have died and prayed that one day I will be able to join the saints in heaven. I also prayed that I will be a good witness to the resurrection as a priest, especially through the witness of a celibate life devoted wholly to God. There is a definite power in this place. As I prayed there one scripture passage kept coming to my mind. “I seek to know Jesus Christ and the power flowing from his resurrection”. May we all come to know Jesus and this power.

The Empty Tomb
He Has Risen. He Is Not Here. See the Place Where They Laid Him.

See More Pictures

I took the morning today to return to Mt. Zion for some quiet prayer on my own. I stopped first at the parish church for the Latin Rite Catholics in the Old City. It’s got a big tower, so you see it from everywhere. It is actually a very big church that reminded me a lot of the churches in Rome. Next, it was on to Mt. Zion. I prayed Morning Prayer from the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday in the Church of the Dormition. It was kind of neat to pray psalm 122 which talks mentions “and now are feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem”. One priest that came to talk to us the other day said that coming to Jerusalem is such a rare opportunity for people he meets in other parts of the Middle East that people will kiss his hands, not because he’s a priest, but because he’s been to Jerusalem. They have a special word for it like the Muslims do for people who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. This is truly a great blessing to be here.

St. Savior Parish Church in the Old City

After praying in Dormition Abbey I went on a bit of an adventure. I wanted to find the tomb of Oskar Schindler (of “Schindler’s List” fame) whose tree I saw on the Avenue of the Righteous the other day at Yad VaShem. I had a dot on the map that pointed to a cemetery, but that was all I knew. I finally found the Christian cemetery on Mt. Zion, but there were many graves there. If you haven’t seen the movie, the summary is that Schindler is a factory owner who is able to save 1200 Jews by creating jobs for them in his factory and hiding people to protect them from the Nazis, all at great personal risk. If you remember at the end of the movie, all the surviving “Schindler Jews” as they are called process by his grave in the cemetery and place a rock on it. That’s really all I had to go on as far as locating his grave in the cemetery and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the movie. So, I was looking for a grave that I thought would maybe have some rocks piled on top. There were multiple levels to the cemetery which is located right on the edge of Mt. Zion. I finally saw a tomb with some stuff piled on top and it turned out to be his. I prayed there that all Christians might stand up to defend the dignity of every human person and thanked Oskar Schindler for his witness.

Tomb of Oskar Schindler

From the cemetery, Peter in Gallicantu was not far, so I decided to go back there and take some time. I mentioned previously that the church is built on top of the place where Jesus was imprisoned on the night of his arrest. You can actually go down into the ruins, so I decided to that. You can see in the walls the hooks that were used to hold the chains of the prisoners. The most moving part is the “Sacred Pit” where Jesus spent his last night on earth. In the crypt church there is actually a hole in the floor that allows one to look down into the pit. It was a powerful place to pray.

The “Sacred Pit” Where Jesus was Imprisoned

Back in the upper church of Peter in Gallicantu there was better light today so I could see the mosaics. I was again moved by the association of this church with repentance, specifically that of St. Peter. On that theme, I found the two mosaics on either side of the main altar to be interesting choices. The featured saint on the left is St. Dysmas, the “Good Thief” crucified with Jesus. On the right is St. Mary Magdalene “The Penitent”. When I was in the gift shop, I saw that they had priest stoles for sale and remembered that our leader had mentioned this to us. I decided that it would be nice to have a purple stole from this place for hearing confessions. It will remind me how powerful conversion can be. There is a mosaic in the upper church that shows Peter denying Jesus and right connected with it is Peter seated on his throne as Pope in all the beauty of Papal vestments. God’s forgiveness is truly amazing.

The Upper Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu

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Including Special Footage of Hell 

Today was just a normal class day. I enjoyed getting caught up on some reading and updating my journal. Of course I also spent a good deal of time updating my blog. I’m glad people are enjoying it.

Today we went to a special “Ecumenical Center” called Tantur. There are ministers and lay people from all different religions and denominations that live and work here to promote understanding between the various groups. We came to listen to presentations on Jewish/Christian relations and one on the different Christian groups present here. As a fitting end to the day, we went to the Cenacle for a special ecumenical gathering. This is the week of prayer for Christian unity and there have been events at various churches throughout the week. The one tonight was at the Cenacle. It was packed and we had some very nice prayer and singing. I pray that the prayer of Jesus may be realized, “That all may be one.”

Gathering in the Upper Room for Christian Unity