There Are Rebels To Win

November 24, 2021

Fr. John Riccardo 

A few years ago I was traveling through Poland with some friends. I had been there several times before but, for some reason, on this trip my mind was fixated on a man named Hans Frank. Frank had once been Hitler’s personal attorney and later was appointed Governor General of Nazi-occupied in Poland. He was personally responsible, according to some estimates, for the deaths of 2-3 million people. When the war ended, Frank was arrested, tried at Nuremberg, and executed. I must confess that when I read how he met his end, my reaction was, “Good! You deserve it!” Hardly the proper response of a disciple of Jesus, let alone a priest. I was stunned to see that his final words were, “I ask God to accept me with mercy.” “NO!!” I thought to myself (another not so proud moment). How in the world did this man, known as the Butcher of Poland, die like that?

He died like that because a priest named Fr. Sixtus O’Connor brought him to acknowledge his evil deeds, repent, and ask for mercy from the One who poured out His Precious Blood so that all men could be saved. It’s important to know a few things about O’Connor, though. He was no naive cleric. O’Connor served alongside General Patton in the war and was involved in the liberation of several of the Nazi concentration camps. In other words, he saw up close and personal what Frank and those like him did to the Jewish people and others that the Nazis considered undeserving of life. And yet, O’Connor still poured out his time and energy to bring this man back to the Father of us all. Was he morally outraged? Absolutely! However, Fr. O’Connor knew that Frank, as horrific as his beliefs and deeds were, was not the enemy. The enemy was the enemy, that is to say, the enemy is the devil. To be sure, Frank couldn’t fall back on the excuse, “The devil made me do it,” but he had been the instrument of the enemy, been deceived by the enemy, and God desired to liberate him from that hellish grip and to rob our ancient foe of his prey. Why else would O’Connor do what he did to bring Frank to repentance? 

I wonder how many people were praying for Frank and his conversion… 

Fr. Sixtus O’Connor, and those who might have been praying for Frank, keep coming to my mind as we draw near to the most important Supreme Court decision on human life since Casey V. Planned Parenthood in 1992. On December 1, the Court will begin hearing the oral arguments in Dobbs V. Jackson. This case has the very real possibility of overturning the unjust law that is Roe V. Wade and returning the issue of abortion to the states. 

I’m sure that many people who call themselves “pro-choice” truly don’t know the details of what happens in an abortion and have been deceived and swallowed up by the rhetoric of those who champion it. That said, it’s simply not possible for those who actually do the work of abortion to not know what they’re doing, especially in 2nd and 3rd term abortions. Basic biology tells us what this is, namely, a human being. It’s just that, like Frank and those who thought like him, they have deemed it not deserving of life for some reason. 

Some years ago, I was made aware of a prayer for those who do wicked things. It reads in part, “I ask You [Jesus] to bring them before Your throne and bless them with the revelation of who You are and Your love and plans of salvation for them. Please show them how they are being deceived by Satan.”

Inspired by the work of Fr. Sixtus O’Connor, the people who assuredly must have been praying for Frank’s conversion - undoubtedly against the feelings they must have had, and that prayer above, I have found myself praying every day of late for those who are leaders in the cause of abortion, whether in promoting it, or actually performing and assisting in them. I pray that Jesus will bring them before His throne and bless them with the revelation of who He is and His love and plans of salvation for them. I pray He will show them how they are being deceived by Satan, and lead them to repentance, for they are not the enemy, as morally outraged as I am about the horror that is abortion. In other words, as a disciple, it’s not enough for fight for the overturning of the law so that innocent children can be saved and women can be spared the harm of abortion; I have to fight for the rescue of those who kill. As one person has put it, they are rebels to win - even as I have been a rebel in my life, and others have worked to win me to the King.
 

Nothing is impossible for God. Nothing. Do we really believe this? God brings dead people back to life, men like Hans Frank, men like me. He can, and wants to, do the same with people we are, or at least I am, tempted to write off and consider beyond reach. Let us commit to pray and fast for not only for the Justices of the Supreme Court as this case draws near, not only for the overturning of an unjust law, but for those who, for whatever reason, want the right to kill children. May they be rescued from the deception of the true enemy, and come to know the love and plans Jesus has for them.