Beloved Family:
Agents of life, agents of hope! As we arrive at the last weekend in the month of October, Respect Life Month, here are words drawn from a statement authored by Most Reverend Daniel E. Thomas, Bishop of Toledo, Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities:
With great joy we celebrate October as Respect Life Month amid the Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope. This Jubilee Year “offers us the opportunity to appreciate anew, and with immense gratitude, the gift of the new life that we have received in Baptism, a life capable of transfiguring death’s drama” (Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, 20). The life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope. Through Christ, our sins are forgiven, death is overcome, and life is victorious.
Yet, the daily headlines remind us of how desperately our world is thirsting for the hope that only God can provide. Every day we witness the overwhelming disregard for human life: through rising rates of abortion and assisted suicide; the killing of innocent school children, even at prayer; the mistreatment of our immigrant sisters and brothers as they endure an environment of aggression; and political and ideological violence inflicted against unsuspecting victims. These attacks threaten life precisely when it is most vulnerable and in need of protection.
Despite these realities, the gift of human life exists as a sign of hope to our world today, defying the powers of darkness and the culture of death. It is of the utmost importance that we work to ensure that every life, in every stage and circumstance, is protected in law.
While certainly there are opportunities to impact legislative measures for protecting the dignity of life as citizens of the country, let us not be oblivious to resources we have, as Catholic Christians whose true citizenship lies beyond this world, to cultivate the dignity of life in the hearts of those we encounter on a daily basis. We can witness to the love of Christ by the care we take with our words, actions and attitudes.
I am fairly close to certain that every single person among us has witnessed widespread evidence of a malaise rooted in of lack of hope among people with whom we interact on a regular basis. I believe that large numbers of our brothers and sisters in Christ are making their way through life without sensing its sacredness—without experiencing an awareness of their sacredness— their infinite value as beloved sons and daughters of God. Surely, it is difficult to foster respect for another person’s life without being secure in our own identity.
Even the swiftest scan of the breadth of issues related to Respect for Life and the myriad manifestations of current disregard for human life can leave us feeling overwhelmed. How tempting it is to divert ourselves with Instagram reels and other “entertainment.” However, as I heard on my recent retreat, diversion is one of the “D’s of the Devil”—tools the Enemy uses to prevent us from undertaking the often-arduous work of advancing in true holiness and at the same time experiencing joy in the Holy Spirit.
Paraphrasing one of the reflections from the EWTN recording of the rosary: we need to rise above the demands of our emotions and have the courage to live in spirit and in truth. Our lives are not to be principally governed by “moods.” God has endowed us with minds to think (with all due respect, Google searches do not constitute, in themselves, generative or creative thought) and wills that are capable of conforming themselves to His will (otherwise, we may as well quit praying the Our Father).
May I suggest a reflective prayer exercise? Let’s say we each take time this week to imagine/remember ourselves at each stage of our lives to this point, beginning with our time in the wombs of our mothers.
As we do so, whatever emotions may rise to the surface, within each of those moments consciously hear the Father’s voice: “I delight in you; you are precious to me.” Then, share that experience with someone in your life. I believe it could serve as a tremendous “pro-life moment!”
Let His Peace be with you,
Fr. Stephen
