Last week I finally finished reading CS Lewis’ Till We Have Faces. Lewis’ own favorite out of his works, this novel takes us along on the journey of a soul, from the prison of selfishness into the freedom of truth. I saw much of Orual in myself, and like Orual I hope that my pilgrimage on this earth ends with me becoming Psyche.
The book reveals many moments of grace in Orual’s soul. Since this is Lewis’ retelling of Cupid and Psyche, it happens in a polytheistic setting, though “the gods” in the story are really *our* God. Orual has many questions that need answering, and gets frustrated with the gods when the answers aren’t forthcoming. As we work out our salvation, we discover these answers, and unearth our deepest motivations. It is only then that we are able to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and find peace in conforming ourselves to God’s will.
In this age of social media and high definition scrutiny, however, it becomes too easy to hide behind masks and convince ourselves and everyone around us that we are doing good, and doing well. Image is valued so highly by many, and that makes it hard to talk about the things we wrestle with in our minds and in our hearts. In our prayer we may find that we justify ourselves even to God, like the Publican in Luke 18.
Orual, towards the end of the story, eventually realizes the pain she has caused Bardia’s wife, and her sisters Redival and Psyche. We have similar stories to tell, of people we have hurt, and to whom we were unable to make amends. At times, it takes a glimpse into other people’s suffering to realize the evil that we do.
The story also tells of the false god, Ungit. In 21st century America, our sacred cow, our Ungit, is abortion.
I look at what has been going on the past week with a glimmer of hope. I am relieved to know that there are many tireless warriors out there, who continue to work to get truth out into the open. Already companies are distancing themselves from being identified as donors to this organization. The facade PP has worked so hard to maintain is slowly being chipped away.
But I cannot cheer loudly yet. It’s not just the possibility that all this will again be swept under the proverbial rug. The blinders are now off, at least for some. It’s difficult to be joyful, when there are people like this lady who admitted to being near suicidal after finding out: all PP could offer was a suicide hotline. No remorse, no apologies, no “I’m sorry we’ve contributed to your hurt by aborting your baby and by not telling you the whole truth about what we do”. She’s not the only one. There are millions more who will wake up one day if they haven’t already, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
I am angry, but at the same time I think of David Daleiden who calls Dr. Nucatola his friend. I wonder if the friendship that had been built might perhaps be strong enough for us to witness another Abby Johnson conversion. As I think of those who are involved in abortion and the harvesting of babies’ organs, I pray that like Orual they would eventually come to self-knowledge.
In the Genesis story, Adam and Eve obtained knowledge of good and evil. From that knowledge a multitude of sins have sprung, and yet because God is God, He can turn anything into good, and set those who have gone astray back onto the path of truth and freedom. There already is much pain and suffering in the hearts of those who were deceived. I pray that Planned Parenthood’s employees see what they have wrought and stop justifying their actions, to themselves and to the rest of the world.
Because of her father’s rejection and her lack of physical beauty, Orual went through much of her life preoccupied with the pain she received and was unable to see, until the very end, that she too, was Psyche. Psyche was always called “Blessed, Beautiful, Beloved” — perhaps in time, all the Oruals involved in abortion will realize that each person, born (themselves included) and unborn, is indeed Blessed, Beautiful, and Beloved. I pray for the continued movement of grace in our souls, for conversion, for the truth to be completely unmasked and for the scales to fall off all of our eyes.
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