"From the neighbor next door to the unknown person living thousands of miles , away, each and every one of us has intrinsic and immeasurable worth. That is because God created each of us in his image by the outpouring of his infinite and unconditional love. In return, God asks only that we share that love with others, beginning with those most in need - the poor, vulnerable and despised of this world." This word for Respect Life Sunday comes from Cardinal Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia.
In the second century of the life of the Church, the Bishop of Lyons, St. Irenaeus, taught us that Gloria Dei vivens homo... the glory of God is man fully alive! The Lord God glories in the life of every man and women, every girl and boy, for we are the fruit or expression of the self-giving love that is God. And our response to this gift is to become consciously and intentionally the fruitful branches of the Vine of Life (John 15.5)... to image the fruitfulness of God's love. Life is to be lived with gusto, abundantly (John 10.10).
"From the neighbor next door to the unknown person living thousands of miles , away, each and every one of us has intrinsic and immeasurable worth. That is because God created each of us in his image by the outpouring of his infinite and unconditional love. In return, God asks only that we share that love with others, beginning with those most in need - the poor, vulnerable and despised of this world." This word for Respect Life Sunday comes from Cardinal Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia.
In the second century of the life of the Church, the Bishop of Lyons, St. Irenaeus, taught us that Gloria Dei vivens homo... the glory of God is man fully alive! The Lord God glories in the life of every man and women, every girl and boy, for we are the fruit or expression of the self-giving love that is God. And our response to this gift is to become consciously and intentionally the fruitful branches of the Vine of Life (John 15.5)... to image the fruitfulness of God's love. Life is to be lived with gusto, abundantly (John 10.10).
It is obvious to anyone who has eyes to see and ears to hear, that the sacredness of life is not honored universally in our day. We honor things. We honor our hobbies and our sports. We honor our friends. We honor our cell-phones and play-stations and blackberries. We honor those that honor us. But humanity... and each person that is part of our shared humanity... have we honored this greatest gift of God... human life? The poor are invisible to most of us. We might help them, from a distance. The disabled and the marginalized don't fit comfortably in our world. And even the precious gift of life in the womb, that too is seen as one material choice among many, to have "it" or get rid if "it".
I am guessing that even if you are still reading this column, some of you might be angry with me or the Catholic Church or someone, for all this depressing talk, about abortion and euthanasia and fetal stem-cell research. People have told me just leave it alone Monsignor... that's a private matter! Others just tune me out if I begin to speak of the needs of the poor or the disabled. We all get tired of being pulled away from ourselves and asked to be more than what we want to be. But, here's the thing: the one who is inviting us to a change of heart is the Lord. The choices we make regarding the sacredness of life are choices that the Lord Jesus invites us to make... life and death choices. In a very real way... life on earth and eternal life with God is a choice we are to make, here and now.
For these past thirty-six years, Christians have sought to protect the gift of life by seeking a change of our civil laws regarding abortion. Though that work must continue, the true battle... the fundamental battle (and it is a spiritual war), is within each human heart. How do you and I honor God? How do you and I honor the law of God? How do you and I honor the sacredness of life given by God? How do you and I honor our neighbor, the stranger? How do couples honor the bond of marriage? How do families honor the blessedness of family? How does this parish family honor each of our members?
The great John Paul II spoke of this choice, between building a culture of life and accepting the prevalent culture of death. Each person makes such a choice through the choices we make. John Paul's Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) should be must reading for every teen and adult at SJN. On this Respect Life Sunday, I would urge us to hear again the call of that second century Bishop, and live, knowing that the way we live gives Glory to God, knowing that the way we live in Christ is light for the world.
AMDG
Msgr. David Talley
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