TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLXXVIII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  This week's quote is a bit different.  I've been reading the book of popular fiction, "The Best of Everything" by Rona Jaffe for my "for recreation" book.  In it a young woman is about to have an abortion after being pressured by her boyfriend whom she desperately loves.  The book doesn't just gloss over the event in a "now everything is Okay" fashion but grapples with conflicting emotions.  Here is the passage:

 

"In all her fantasies about unwed motherhood April had never imagined the efficiency or the speed with which alien forces would mobilize to help her.  With one half of her mind she realized she should be grateful - there were total strangers with hearts in this city.  Speed, they said, was important.  It was almost as if they were all talking about a diseased appendix.  Cut it out, cut it out fast.  Time is of the essence.  And with the other half of her mind April felt abused, about to be ravished, about to have something stolen from her which she knew logically she had no right to keep and which she knew emotionally she had to keep or something else within her, something more important, would die with it.

 

"Because she knew there was no chance she would be allowed to have this baby (unless she should run away, and where could she go?) every moment became very valuable to her.  She felt as if she were spending the last days with someone she loved whom she would never see again.  She would never see this baby at all, she would never know if it were a boy or a girl.  Perhaps it could have been a talented person, someone who would have done something for the world.  But all these were emotional thoughts, and the other side of her mind kept saying, You don't appreciate how lucky you are.  What else could you do?  It will be all over soon.  You'll forget and you'll be grateful that Dexter took care of everything."

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

 

Thanks to Frank for sending this in:

This article was in the last Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter:  "Are you a nun?" someone will often ask me at the grocery store. "Yes!" I'll reply. The conversation usually continues with a reminiscing of this person's days in Catholic school when he or she was taught by nuns, or a remark of surprise that nuns still exist (especially young ones!). I am often surprised myself by the excitement that I see in the eyes of people I meet. What is it about this encounter with a nun that causes these reactions?"  Read more here.

Go here to find a treasure trove of Chesterton's Christmas essays.  Thanks for sending it over Ellen.