By Harold Pease, Ph. D with Mary Santomaro
Sometimes truth is best expressed in poetry; as has Mary Santomoro in her piece “If Mary Had Said No.” This decades old poem was shared as a Christmas message by LibertyUnderFire.com in December 2010, then 2015, and now, 2023. It follows:
“She was a young Israeli girl Living with her mother, Anne. Thrilled that Joseph, House of David, Sought her daughter’s hand.
“Anne was happy for she felt, She had not long to live. Joseph would be good to her, A happy life to Mary give.
“The betrothal was announced, To family and all friends. The preparations had been made. Soon wedding vows would blend.
“But then a strange thing happened, One day as Mary prayed, Gabriel stood by her and spoke ‘Hail, full of grace…’ he said,
“Then, ‘…the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.’ And he told her even more, She would bear a son, this omen.
“She wondered at his greeting words. She knew no man. How could this be? ‘The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee,…the power…Most High…over shadow thee; …’
“This young Israeli girl then spoke, ’Behold the handmaid of the Lord;’ She accepted what God had asked, … be it done … according to Thy word.’
“We all know as a direct result, A Blessed Babe was born, And laid within a manger Upon a blessed morn.
“For thirty-odd years, Emmanuel, Then we put Him to scorn, Crucified Him on a Cross And all man’s sins were borne.
“By One Who could repair , The wrongs that man had done, And once again restore to each, Adopted daughter, son.
“Since that time more have died, Willingly for His Name. In every age, from every land, Sprung from martyrs, they came.
“Christians, they have long been called, Followers of the Holy One, Living what He taught and lived , That triumph over death he won.
“Many people since that time , Fought great evils to live as He, Carrying the flame of Eternal Truth, Heads bowed, on bended knee.
“But what if Mary had said, ‘No!’ ? Suppose that she had then , Told God, ‘It’s not convenient. Can’t afford the stipend.”
“But what if Mary had said, ‘No!’ ? Suppose that she had then, Told God, ‘It’s not convenient.’ ‘Can’t afford the stipend.’
“She might have said, ‘There’s no way! Everyone will talk!’ ‘I don’t want to have a child.’ Today, would any blame her balk?
“But if she had, chances are , The world would long be gone. And none of us would be here , To choose the right or wrong.
“Long before we even arrived , The world would have become , A more-sophisticated people, Fewer, hedonistic, everyone.
“There would be no call to peace, No inalienable rights assumed, The mighty would gobble up the weak, No intercessions for the doomed.
“Entire nations would disappear, Progeny ripped asunder , For within their very bodies , Sprang no new lives to encumber.
“Pretty soon God would call off the world , Knowing we would never change. Why put up with us any more, This people of such evil-arrange?
One thing, though, we’d have no need, To make decisions we now do… To kill each other, do as we want, Live our life and abort any new!
“But Mary didn’t do that. Not a wail of complaint was wrung. ‘Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.’ For this Jesus Christ was sprung!”
My liberty loving friends in the countries that publish this column, Jesus Christ is the light of the world–our only Savior–embrace Him fully!! There are many unable to have their own babies that pray every day that they might have one or more of these rejected not yet born infants. You may be able to answer their prayers.
Dr. Harold Pease is a syndicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College. Newspapers have permission to publish this column. To read more of his weekly columns, please visit www.LibertyUnderFire.org Column # 744
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