27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners,

    Every year the Church commemorates pro-life month in October.  We take time to affirm that we are a church that stands for everyone’s right to life. 

    Unfortunately, like everything else, pro-life teaching is a divisive issue.  We have those who believe that all human life issues should be woven into a seamless garment where the church defends all vulnerable people’s lives from the womb to the tomb.  We also have those who would say that we should stratify life issues making some issues more important than other issues.  If we do not, the argument goes, then we spread ourselves too thin.  Our arguments in defense of life become less convincing.

Some Catholics would say that abortion is the most important issue.  Other Catholics would say, no it is migration and climate change that is more important.

The reality is that the church does not rank life issues.  No, Catholics say every life issue is important.  And this has been the case since the church began its social justice teaching which is based on Gospel of Jesus.

John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae said the following:

“Respect for life requires that science and technology should always be at the service of man and his integral development.  Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person at each moment in every condition of the person’s life”.

This month we will pray that all human life will be respected. It is a month when we also examine our conscience.  By our words do we at times make it sound like some lives are more valuable than others?  If that is the case, we need to pray for a conversion of heart.

Jesus loved everyone including his enemies.  We must seek to imitate his example because the image of Jesus is imprinted on each life.

Blessings,

Fr. Mark