October is the month of the missions. For this reason, the Roman Catholic Church emphasizes in the constant necessity to proclaim the Gospel for all peoples. Moreover, the Church not only thinks about the missions during this month, but every October. The Church also invites us to defend any life, and to fight for those who are most vulnerable. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says, “we consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death” (https://www.usccb.org/respectlife).
Usually, when we think that someone is “prolife,” we believe that that person is only against abortion. Of course, abortion is part of being “prolife,” but, in my opinion, it should go beyond that. Defending life in any circumstance should be a priority, because life is the most important value that God gave us. In 1995, Pope Saint John Paul II said, “Man’s life comes from God; it is His gift, His image and imprint, a sharing in His breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as He wills. God himself makes this clear to Noah after the Flood: ‘For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting … and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life’ (Gen. 9:5). The biblical text is emphasizing how the sacredness of life has its foundation in God and in His creative activity: ‘For God made man in his own image’ (Gen. 9:6)”
We need to have a thanksgiving attitude. We need to express our gratitude to God, the Father, who is our creator, such as is expressed in the book of Genesis (Cf. Genesis 1-2). Therefore, life is sacred because God, who is sacred, gave us His breath of life: “Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). This breath of life is the Spirit of God who dwells in each one of us since we are born for all the eternity. In words of St. Thomas Aquinas, “We came from God and our supernatural destination is going back to God”. This statement says that our life is sacred because it is in union with God, our creator, since the moment of our conception, and it will receive the plenitude of sacredness in the Kingdom of Heaven.
For this reason, our parish has been praying for “Respect life” during the Eucharists, the Adoration to the Holy Sacrament, the blessing of the pets on October 7th, and so on. I invite you to pray with me for the sacredness of life, so that all of us can realize life as the most important value and gift that God has given us.
Let us pray:
Prayer for Respect of Life
Heavenly Father, the beauty and dignity of human life was the crowning of your creation. You further ennobled that life when your Son became one with us in His incarnation. Help us to realize the sacredness of human life and to respect it from the moment of conception until the last moment at death. Give us courage to speak with truth and love and with conviction in defense of life. Help us to extend the gentle hand of mercy and forgiveness to those who do not reverence your gift of life. To all, grant pardon for the times we have failed to be grateful for your precious gift of life or to respect it in others. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
