Promoting Respect for Life
Posted on: January 22, 2015
- In: Everyday Life | Faith | Pro-Life
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From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person—among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
~ s. 2270, Catechism of the Catholic Church: Popular and Definitive Edition
At one time or another, most of us have been distracted in church by the sound of a baby testing her lungs or a toddler fussing when his parents want him to sit down.
And yet it’s a beautiful moment. We see parents raising their children in the Church, an opportunity for the Church to grow through the children’s use of their talents, and a perfect illustration of this quote:
A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.
~ Carl Sandburg, quoted on BrainyQuote.com
As we read in Psalm 139, we’re all precious to God from the moment of our conception:
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:16*)
How can we promote respect for life? By participating in prayer vigils across from abortion clinics; supporting pro-life organizations and crisis pregnancy centres; working toward the enactment of legislation to restrict abortion; praying for and supporting those who choose the adoption option (birth parents and adoptive parents); and finding other positive ways to oppose abortion, such as by maintaining a pro-life bulletin board at our church.
Today the Church in the United States marks the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Here in Canada, where no laws restrict abortion, may we also pray for these children and promote their right to life.
As believers, how can we fail to see that abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide are a terrible rejection of God’s gift of life and love?
~ St. John Paul II, quoted in “Celebrate January 2015,” Catholic Digest, January/February 2015
(*Scripture quote taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition.)
A Catholic Convert in Ottawa 