As October, Respect Life Month, comes to an end, let us renew our commitment to human life in all its stages of development, from the womb of the mother until death. As the month of November begins, let us remember that with death eternal life begins. “In life and death we belong to the Lord,” as the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans.
Many people do not share our belief that each human life is created in God’s image, nor our belief that God holds us in this life unto eternal life. The life of the frail elderly, the life of the mentally infirm, the life of the unborn child, the life of the physically disabled, the life of the terminally ill, the life of the incarcerated criminal — each human life is worth living. This is the theme of the Respect Life Program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which runs until September 2016.
Our worth does not come from our skills, achievements, nor possessions, as important and necessary as these are. Our worth is God given, and every human life is worth living. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminds us that “it is God who gives life. Let us respect and love human life, especially vulnerable life in a mother’s womb.”
Respect for life continues to diminish among some people in our country where aborting an unborn child is legal and where, in some states, assisted suicide is legal.
There are those in New Jersey who are pushing for legal euthanasia in our state. The powerful anti-life movement and its political lobby continue to have successes in convincing some people that life is a commodity over which we have total control. The loss of esteem for human life is evident in some sectors of society and among some in the political community. The connection between the mystery of God and human life is not accepted, which results in a disrespect for the human person.
Recall, a few months back, the shocking videos about selling for profit body parts, fetal tissue and organs, ripped off aborted infants. I was appalled by the mentality of the professionals in those videos. A mentality that totally disrespects the God given dignity of each human life. A mentality that admits no connection between human life and the Author of life. Unfortunately, that mentality seems to dominate our American culture. Consider the tragedy of the consequences of this mentality on our young people.
Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, chairman of the Committee on Pro-life activities for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has written: “We discover our worth when we discover our true identity found in the unchangeable, permanent fact that we are created in God’s image and likeness and called to an eternal destiny with him. Because of this, absolutely nothing can diminish our God given dignity, and therefore nothing can diminish the immeasurable worth of our lives. Others may fail to respect that dignity — may even try to undermine it — but in doing so, they only distance themselves from God’s loving embrace. Human dignity is forever.”
Ours is a dignity rooted in the God who loves us and gives us life, which we give back to God at the end of our days when we enter into eternal life. There our life is changed, not ended. Our Catholic vision of life is broad and encompasses life in the womb until natural death. Between those two poles every human life — across the human spectrum from the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the victims of war, and the dying — is worth living. Each life has an immeasurable worth and deserves respect.
Please join me and pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the precious gift of life.
Help us to cherish and protect this gift, even in the midst of fear, pain and suffering.
Give us love for all people, especially the most vulnerable, and help us to bear witness to the truth that every life is worth living. Amen.
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