Voice of Virtue founder implores women to continue fight against culture of death
By Mary Ann Wyand
Do not be afraid to battle the culture of death in contemporary society, Voice of Virtue International founder Barbara McGuigan emphasized during the seventh annual Indiana Catholic Women’s Conference on Sept. 18 in Indianapolis.
During her keynote speech at the “Treasuring Womanhood” conference at Cathedral High School, McGuigan reminded the women that Christianity is not for the
faint-hearted.
By our baptism, she said, we are called to defend life and protect the special nature of each human life, born or unborn.
“We must join Jesus in the gesture of plunging ourselves into the Father’s love,” McGuigan said. “… Our calling to protect the image and likeness of God in every stage [of life] becomes a second baptism, a baptism of blood, the blood of over 51 million unborn children—those surgically aborted—and surely the blood of millions more chemically aborted children.”
God gives us the grace to face all the obstacles that a culture of death presents in daily life, she said, as well as the courage and strength to wage a spiritual pro-life battle against Satan and his demons.
“The gifts [of the Holy Spirit] that you received at your baptism and that were activated at your confirmation make you a force to be reckoned with,” McGuigan explained. “In a world steeped in heresy, apostasy and death, you must fight back with a strong mind in telling the truths of the faith. … We need superhuman courage to carry out the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a sin-darkened world.”
Sin has become so deeply rooted in our contemporary culture, McGuigan said, to the point that people accept the legalization of the wholesale slaughter of unborn babies by the millions.
“How else would science rather than God create human embryos to be frozen in liquid nitrogen until their parents are ready to claim them for in vitro fertilization?” she asked. “How else would we watch the
court-ordered starvation and dehydration of a brain-injured woman … Terri Schiavo? How else could our dear children be subjected to media that are hell-bent on rotting out their very souls by impurity? How else could the evil of materialism cause man to worship idols, and to covet his neighbor’s wife and goods? How else could powerful organizations … and judges banish God’s commandments from public life? How else could disordered sexuality and perversions be accepted and even celebrated?”
God is calling us to use to the fullest the spiritual powers that we received at our baptism to battle the culture of death, McGuigan said. “Time is short. … In order to be faithful to Christ, we must fight. … There can be no mistake that he is sending us out into a war.”
McGuigan, who also is the host of the EWTN radio programs “Open Line” and “The Good Fight,” promotes virtuous living to teenagers, parents and educators.
“Sex without strings and relationships without rings didn’t come from God,” she said. “It’s a demonic scheme to defile the human race.”
Urging the women to “fight the enemy in these dark days” by becoming holy like the saints, she said, “We all know that the battle between good and evil has intensified. Our hearts are wounded by Original Sin. … This is precisely why we … need God’s help through his Church to recognize sin clearly. … We need to put on the armor of God. … Our children need to be guided to be true in heart, sound in mind and pure in body.”
Truth and grace and love will triumph over the culture of death, she said, and lead to peace.
“Holy Mother Church has always promoted the greatness and dignity of women,” McGuigan said. “… In the mother’s womb, a new creation receives his or her soul that will live forever. … Women must teach others to love and accept each human being. … We belong to God and must love as God loves.” †