“Hear our voice, we are one, we will fight until we’ve won.”
It’s that time of year again, when people of all ages from every part of the U.S. travel to Washington and other locations to stand up and be a voice for the dignity of human life.
This year, one of our favorite artists here at Cecilia —PJ Anderson — will be leading music at the youth rally and Mass for Life at the DC March for Life. For the occasion, he composed the song “Love Will Heal.”
We had the chance to catch up with PJ and ask him about the song and his message for the pro-life movement.
When you were asked to play for the March for Life, why did you choose this song with the message “love will heal”?
I have attended the March for years, and I am truly blessed to be part of the March in a new way this year. I ask for your prayers in leading others closer to Christ to make a stand for life. Like most of my good ideas, my wife, Rachel, said, “You should write a song for the March.” It’s a cause that we firmly believe in, and it’s close to our hearts.
We have two kiddos. Hearing their heartbeat for the first time, seeing their heartbeat for the first time, getting the opportunity to be their mom and dad is a blessing for which I am eternally grateful. Nothing brings more joy to my life than getting to be their dad. So their lives and the lives of the millions of children who never had a chance to have a mom and dad are close to my heart.
So why this song? It is an anthem for life. It is a call to stand up against the evils of abortion, racism, bullying, terrorist attacks. We cannot stand idly by and wait for others to speak for life. We need to be the voice of truth, the voice of life. God impels us to be his voice. “Hear our voice, we are one, we will fight until we’ve won. Love will heal, every heart, we will fight until we’ve won, until we’ve won.”
What do you think has happened in man’s heart that he no longer recognizes life in a fetus’ heartbeat?
The devil is very sly and smart. He won’t always hit us over the head with sin. Much like if you put a frog into a hot pot of water. It will immediately jump out, knowing that it is much too hot and it is going to hurt or kill the frog. But if you put a frog into a lukewarm pot of water and gradually increase the heat, that frog will sit in there until the hot water eventually kills it.
That is like us with sin. And I think the original sin of pride plays a huge role in why our culture cannot recognize the sound of life in a fetus’ heartbeat. We have become an increasingly selfish, inward-facing culture that thinks only of self. If something or someone gets in the way of what we want or what we plan, then our world says that person or thing is disposable. This is true with the issue of abortion, racism, bullying, terror attacks and other evils that threaten the sanctity of life. We don’t value life as we should, as God intended. We are a selfish culture that has forgotten the value of life. We must take a stand together as one voice to stop these evils and only bring about hope, love and life! Life is not disposable!
What are we called to do so that man will come to rediscover the preciousness of life?
What must we do to rediscover the preciousness of life? We need to bring about Christ’s kingdom on this earth every day of our lives. Not just reserve our faith for Sundays. We need to join our voices as one human voice that values life, that fights for life, that prays together to combat the evils of this world! Only love can change hearts. No law on abortion will change unless hearts are changed. How do we change hearts? Through love. What is love? God is love. We need to call upon the love of God in our everyday life so that his kingdom can overcome evil.
Love requires action. Love calls upon us to be brave, to be uncomfortable, to speak for those who don’t have a voice. The world as God created it didn’t include hatred, it didn’t include violence, it didn’t include sin. We brought sin into the world and we need to restore our world to the beauty for which it was created. We need to extract the beauty from the mess. St. Paul says in Romans 12 to “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.” Hate what is evil. Hold onto what is good. And do this through sincere love.
Your words encourage us to not give up in face of the violence, and you talk about challenge, about building a future of peace. How can we encourage young people — using the terms of St. Paul — to “fight the good fight”?
I get to travel the country playing music, sharing songs I’ve written and encouraging teenagers in their faith through my songs and stories. I always try to instill the idea that faith is not a waiting game. Faith isn’t something that is exclusive to priests and nuns, to our parents or older people. Faith is meant to be lived boldly by all of us, no matter our age.
Your question and reference of St. Paul reminds me of Romans 12 where St. Paul urges us to “offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, our spiritual worship.” This scripture goes on to talk about how we are all one body in Christ. God has blessed each and every one of us with difference gifts. Those gifts are meant to be used together, as one.
I have two kids at home and they are my world! We play every single day. Among many important lessons that I’ve learned as a father, one of them is that kids’ toys have so many parts! And when you are missing one vital part, it makes that toy useless. That’s like us when we don’t join together. God didn’t create us all with the same gifts. He did that on purpose to encourage us to unite in community to bring about his love. And when one person is struggling, we lift him up, not tear down. When one person is hurting, we love that person, not add to the hurt.
So we need to encourage young people to fight the good fight together! And to not wait until they are older. Live a life of faith now.
Elizabeth Reichert and Costanza D’Ardia
Buy “Love Will Heal” by PJ Anderson on iTunes.
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And today we celebrate...