Walls and warfare have a long history. For biblical examples, we can look to the walls surrounding Jericho in the sixth chapter of Joshua or to the walls the Jebusites built to protect Jerusalem, which were later fortified by David, Solomon and Hezekiah.
The breaching and building of the walls surrounding Jerusalem is a recurring theme, with Nehemiah, the Maccabees, King Herod, Agrippa I and Suleiman each taking a turn erecting walls to protect the city.
The castles and city walls of the Middle Ages are more contemporary examples, finding their way into movies such as Braveheart and Robin Hood and even fantastical tales such as The Princess Bride.
St. Joan of Arc’s exploits while taking the bastion at the battle of Orléans are legendary. And though modern armaments have greatly diminished the efficacy of walls in combat, they are still employed as defensive measures because they work.
History, however, has shown that even the best walls fall if the attacker is persistent (or creative) enough. But just breaching the wall does not win the battle; the attacker must go to the other side of the wall and continue the fight.
Once there, he realizes that the fight has changed. Past the breach, the blunt force bombardments of cannons, catapults, archers and battering rams give way to hand-to-hand combat with swords, maces and clubs. A generalized attack becomes personal.
For 49 years, Roe v. Wade was the wall defending abortion. As Catholics, we organized and fought to bring down that wall. We participated in the March for Life and “40 Days for Life” activities across the nation. We started pregnancy crisis centers. We campaigned for lawmakers and lobbied for laws.
And we used the most effective weapon of all: prayer. We were tireless and relentless.
When Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was accepted to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, we could feel the ground shifting. Those attacking the wall pressed on, buoyed with renewed enthusiasm. Those defending the wall were gripped by fear.
The first rumble of the bastion’s collapse was heard when the draft of the court’s majority ruling was leaked. Cries of “the wall is giving way!” were met with cheers on one side and shrieks on the other. As Joshua told the Israelites just before the walls of Jericho fell: “Shout: for the Lord hath delivered the city to you.”
Desperate attempts to defend the wall – and persuade even one Supreme Court justice to switch his or her position – were attempted, but to no avail. On June 24, 2022, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the feast of St. John the Baptist, the wall was breached.
Now that we are past the breach, the face of the battle has rapidly changed. Our blunt force attacks – marches and prayer vigils for the general objective of an end to abortion – must change. Our efforts must be more focused, more specific and more targeted.
Where before we faced an enemy wall in front of us, now the attacks from pro-abortion forces come from all around us. We are in spiritual hand-to-hand combat.
City councils across the nation have passed resolutions condemning the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe or have made resolutions protecting “reproductive health-care access.” Unelected officials – such as those who run county public health commissions – seek to spend taxpayer money on “comprehensive reproductive care” lobbying. And ballot measures, including potentially two here in Ohio, seek to enshrine abortion in state constitutions.
For Catholics, this phase of the battle against abortion means constant vigilance and engagement. It means we must pray for this person and call or email about that resolution, as opposed to praying for a more general “end to abortion.”
Organizing a trip to attend the March for Life is nothing in comparison to the effort this next phase of the battle will take; our final push will require commitment to daily engagement on all fronts, accepting no compromises.
Theirs is a battle of desperation, the last attempts of an army on the brink of destruction. Ours is a battle against our own complacency. Only if we assume the final victory – or hesitate in fighting for it – will we lose.
At Orléans, the English at the bastion of Les Tourelles attempted to flee over a bridge that the French had set on fire. The bridge collapsed, and between 400 and 500 Englishmen perished. The French were saddened because they had hoped to collect a ransom for English prisoners of war. St. Joan, on the other hand, wept for the death of the Englishmen.
In this phase of our battle against the pro-abortionists, we must quickly adapt to one-on-one engagements and win people’s souls without losing our own.
Now that we have breached the wall of Roe, let us defeat all on the other side, not with swords or sharp tongues but with prayer and the assistance of our guardian angels when confronting opposition.
Let us go into the last stage of this battle fighting so that not only will the lives of the innocents be saved, but also that our opponents’ hardened hearts be converted and their souls saved as well.
Michael LaMorte is the founder of www.catholictreehouse.com.
