Follow Me With loving perseverance

This month marks the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s dreadful declaration in Roe v. Wade that a woman has a constitutional right to abort her preborn child.  Too often, when we try to repeat the words of Blessed John Paul II: “To defend and promote life, to show reverence and love for it, is a task which God entrusts to every person” (The Gospel of Life, no. 42), we are told: “Well, that’s your opinion.  Don’t force it on me or anybody else.  After all, don’t we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

Right. Today, the child in the womb is denied the inalienable right to life, as penned in our Declaration of Independence and protected in our Constitution. So much for the land of the free when this most fundamental human right is denied the most vulnerable among us! 

How much courage does it take to deny a preborn baby the breath of life?  Absolutely none.  So much for the home of the brave!

In spite of society’s naysayers, the Church insists (as it has for almost 2,000 years) that life matters from the very start to the end of our days on this earth. Life is always, always good.

This month, with loving perseverance, many individuals will once again participate in Life marches and rallies, some locally, some at our nation’s Capital, to voice and give public witness to this goodness.  They, and we, continue to boldly proclaim that every person bears God’s image and has an immortal soul.  In spite of this fundamental belief, many are viewed as being outside His circle of love, not worthy of the gift of life.

Still, we do not give up hope because our God can stretch hearts and fill them to overflowing with His love. We pray that with hearts so transformed, a Culture of Life is not a mere pipedream, but a vision of the horizon to which we are all moving.

While we continue to work and pray for such conversion of heart, the Church is called to support women and families whose circumstances may lead to seek an abortion.

We believe Jesus when He said, “Whatever you do to the least of my sisters and brothers, that you do unto Me.” (Matt. 31:40) We treat all people, the born and the unborn, with the respect and dignity due a child of God.

In all dioceses of the United States, January 23rd is observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion. 

Please make this a day for you and your family to reflect on how you proclaim and witness the Gospel of Life. 
Celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, fasting, participating at Mass, and praying the Rosary as a family, are some of the most treasured gifts our Church offers us. 

Let us, this New Year, resolve to re-energize our Pro-Life efforts, beginning on our knees.