Respect Life Month - October 4, 2020

This Sunday, October 4th, is Respect Life Sunday, and October is Respect Life Month. This month always has had a personal “life” meaning to me because it is the month of my birth! I was born in 1976, three years after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Legally, I could have been aborted, so I am so grateful for life, and grateful that abortion was never even a consideration by my parents. But as a man of science and faith (recall my background before priesthood was engineering), I also know my life did not begin back in October of 1976. I was born then, but life began for me at conception about 9 months earlier. It is just a simple scientific fact that human life begins then. It then should follow that we respect that life, protect it, nourish it, and do everything we can to avoid any harm to it. How on earth have we come to be a society that considers abortion to be a right? That is much more than contrary to faith, it is contrary to any logic. If life itself is not a right, what other rights even matter? This month in particular we need to remember this and pray for life.

I share some of Archbishop Naumann’s words on this:
“Last November, the U.S. bishops reaffirmed that ‘the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.’ While we noted not to ‘dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty, and the death penalty,’ we renewed our commitment to protect the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to live.”

“This past January, I shared with Pope Francis that the bishops of the United States had been criticized by some for identifying the protection of the unborn as a preeminent priority. The Holy Father expressed his support for our efforts observing that if we fail to protect life, no other rights matter. Pope Francis also said that abortion is not primarily a Catholic or even a religious issue, it is first and foremost a human rights issue. “

This month, we should consider again how we live the Gospel of Life. Of course this should weigh heavily in politics, in particular in how we decide to vote, but it should also impact our every day lives as well. A deep respect for life should inform how we pray, how we treat others, how we seek to help those in need, how we structure every element of our society. Let us pray, especially praying the Rosary since October is also the month of the Rosary, for conversion of all hearts, starting with our own, to a deeper reverence for all human life, from conception till natural death. Our Lady of the Rosary, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who said yes to God to bring the life of Jesus into her womb and into our world, pray for us!