October 1, 2017 - "Respect Life Sunday"

Today is Respect Life Sunday.  The Catholic Bishops of the United States initiated Respect Life Sunday in 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States through their decision Roe v. Wade.  The theme featured for this year (from October 2017 through September 2018) is “Be Not Afraid.”  The program promotes respect for human life in light of our intrinsic dignity as having been created in God’s image and likeness and called to eternal destiny with him.  One of the tasks of the Respect Life program is building a culture of life.
In order to understand how we can effectively build a culture of life, we need to consider that God created us in his image and likeness.  Indeed the essence of our worth comes not from how much money we make, how much power we wield, or how much we can boast of our bloodline.  No--the essence of our identity and worth, the source of dignity, is that we are loved by God. We are called to true communion with God and we can grow in this communion through daily prayer, reading the Scriptures, and frequent reception of the Sacraments, especially Confession and the Eucharist.
When someone we know is facing a great trial, we need to meet them where they are, we accompany them on their journey, we intercede for them, and we try to remain open to sharing Christ’s love with them however God directs us.  Sometimes our actions speak for themselves.  Other times, words are needed.  In this context the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi apply, “Preach the Gospel on every occasion, and when necessary, use words.”  Jesus knows how to speak to the heart of each person.  Our job is to follow where he leads.
This is our call as missionary disciples.  Some, like Blessed Stanley Rother or Saint Marianne Cope are called to leave the comforts of home and to engage in missionary work in distant lands.  Most of us are called, instead, to be missionary disciples right where we live.  In living as missionary disciples of Christ we are engaged in promoting the Gospel of Life in the midst of the culture of death all around us.  Changing the culture is a process of conversion that begins in our own hearts and includes a willingness to be instructed and close to Jesus, who is the source of our joy, our love, and our hope.
A simple and practical thing that we can do is to participate in the baby bottle campaign that will take place during this month of October.  Our Respect Life Committee is organizing it.  Last year we were able to give over $3,000 to the Shady Grove Pregnancy Center through this effort.  Our support helps them in their mission to help anyone who may be experiencing problems because of an unintended or unwanted pregnancy.
 
Until next week,
 
Fr. John Dillon