HOMILY
March for Life in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
September 23, 2024
Isaiah 49:1-6; Colossians 1:12-20; Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
A story is told about the earliest days of Saint Theresa of Calcutta’s service to the poorest of the poor. “After completing her novitiate, Mother Teresa began teaching in a convent school and working part-time as an aide to the nursing staff at a small hospital. One day a man arrived at the hospital holding a bundle in his arms out which protruded what appeared to be twigs. When Teresa looked more closely, she saw that they were the impossibly emaciated legs of a child, blind and at the point of death. The man told the young sister that if she didn’t take the boy, he would throw him to the jackals.”
The story goes on to quote Mother Teresa’s reflections on the incident as recounted in her own journal: “‘With much pity and love I take the little one into my arms and fold him in my apron. The child has found a second mother.’ And then this passage dawned upon her: ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’ This is the key to the mature practical spirituality of Mother Teresa: in serving the suffering and the poorest of the poor, one is serving Christ.”
Brothers and sisters, the scriptures are replete with words that command that we reverence every life that has come into our world. What they expect from us as Christians is clear and unambiguous. … The prophet Isaiah challenges us in our first reading to recognize the unique relationship that we have with God from the moment of our conception: “The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.” … Through the apostle Paul in our second reading, we’re reminded to embrace our unique identity in Christ, “the image of the invisible God, … in whom were created all things in heaven and on earth.” … And Matthew’s gospel just proclaimed, that inspired Mother Teresa in her saintly work sets a powerful stage for the description of judgment, recounted by the same evangelist in the 25th chapter of his gospel. We will be judged by nothing less that our willingness to serve the poorest and most vulnerable among us in whom Christ is present. Do you recall Jesus’ words? … “As long as you served one of the least of my brothers or sisters, you served me.”
Sadly, however, it’s quite apparent that this fundamental teaching of our faith hardly resonates with most people in our great land. Many of us are grateful for the Supreme Court’s decision two years ago to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion throughout our land. Yet, the division that has emerged in our country since the Court’s 2022 decision is a stark reminder of the fact that many simply fail to acknowledge the dignity and value of the human person, particularly evidenced in disregard for the lives of the unborn.
With the overturning of Roe, the challenge to protect human life has not diminished. It’s merely shifted from being a national issue to a state issue. While a small number of states have banned abortions at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, most states have taken actions to protect abortion rights, with many lawmakers advocating for the right to abortion to be enshrined in our national law.
Moreover, threats to human life are increasingly evident in our world today; threats that we often fail – or refuse – to recognize. In addition to the tragic and continued widespread scourge of abortion, we’re also confronted with proposals and policies that favor assisted suicide, euthanasia, infanticide and human cloning. These too are dire threats to our belief in the dignity and value of the human person – as are the death penalty, human trafficking, and unjust immigration laws.
Yet, while many of us as Catholics and people of good will are deeply committed to the protection of life in its earliest moments at conception and in its final hours after decades of existence, it must be acknowledged that we can often be arbitrary in our assessment of other lives and their value and worth. Unfortunately, such arbitrary attitudes towards the sanctity of human life have consequences. We experienced that slippery slope following the legalization of abortion 50 years ago. When we ignore or rationalize why the taking of one life should be allowed, every life is in jeopardy.
It is thus incumbent upon us, brothers and sisters – as a people of faith – to not merely point fingers of derision at those who fail to embrace the teaching of the gospel regarding the value of human life. To the contrary, as disciples of Jesus, we are called to be light in the midst of darkness – a leaven to transform our world.
In an address to the Pontifical Academy for Life a few years ago, Pope Francis affirmed what we do this day by asserting, “Our defense of the innocent unborn needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of the human person, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her age or stage of development.” As such, for us as Catholics, respecting life, especially the unborn, is intrinsic to our identity as people of faith. It admits no denial, no exception and no compromise.
Simply put, brothers and sisters, if we desire to live our lives as Christians with authenticity, we have no choice. We cannot merely speak of our respect for human life or self-righteously criticize those whose beliefs may be different from our own. We must give life to our words and our beliefs. We must both choose and serve life – life in the womb, yes – but also life that is found on the margins of our world and even life that struggles to respect and reverence others.
Nor can the challenge to defend human life be side sidestepped to create a false peace or sense of harmony. We must be fearless in our defense of the unborn – but also of mothers in need, the elderly, the sick, the poor, the disabled. And like Jesus, whose life is the pattern for our own as his disciples, we must respect and reverence the lives of all as brothers and sisters, from the life of the prisoner, to the immigrant, to those whose life styles challenge our own sensibilities and to all whose lives are in jeopardy because of racism, antisemitism, islamophobia and attitudes born of indifference, fear and narrowmindedness. … Our credibility in defending the lives of the unborn grows when we treat every life as it truly is: an image of the Creator and a dwelling place for God.
Finally, brothers and sisters, as we seek to uphold our values as defenders of human life, in this presidential election season, we must never shrink from confronting life issues when we vote, in the initiatives and public policies that we are able to influence and in the daily activities and choices of our lives that can even unwittingly exploit the most defenseless among us. So be careful, thoughtful and responsible when you cast your vote. The lives of many are counting on us!
And one last thing. Thank you! Thank you for traveling to Harrisburg today from places near and far from around this great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Thank you for your presence here in this great Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick during this time of prayer. Thank you for your participation in today’s annual March for Life. And thank you for the witness that you have given to our corner of the world of your belief in the sanctity of every human life. We are so very proud of you and grateful for your sacrifice and resolve.
May these words of Pope Francis guide us on our journey, as he challenges us to give witness to our faith by lives of selfless love and service. “Being Catholic entails a great responsibility … to contribute to recognizing the transcendent dimension of human life, the imprint of the creative work of God, from the very first moment of conception. … The Lord counts on you to spread the Gospel of Life.”
Brothers and sisters, the Lord counts on us to be light in the midst of darkness, to be hope in the midst of despair and to be his presence embracing and respecting every human life made in the image and likeness of our Creator.
Amen!