In his encyclical “The Gospel of Life,” Pope John Paul II says that in order to counter the culture of death and form a new culture of life, we must “proclaim the Gospel of Life.” “We need to bring the Gospel of life to the heart of every man and woman and to make it penetrate every part of society.”
To do this, we need not be Scripture scholars or moral theologians. As John Paul says succinctly, “to proclaim Jesus is to proclaim life.” We are called to proclaim Jesus, and the Gospel of life “through service of charity, which finds expression in personal witness, various forms of volunteer work, social activity and political commitment.”
This call to witness, and the effect it can have in building a culture of life was exemplified in a story about an Olympic athlete who was converted by an encounter with a group of pro-life students.
Kirstin Holum was a speed skater in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano placing 6th in the 3,000 meter race. Back then she was, in her words, “a mediocre Christian.” Today, she is Sister Catherine Mary, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, and has devoted her life to working with the poor and homeless.
Her conversion came from an encounter with Crossroads, a group of pro-life college students who make a yearly pilgrimage on foot across the United States to witness against the killing of the unborn. In 2002, Kirstin came across the group and decided to join them for the remainder of the walk to Washington, DC.
Kirstin said her experience with Crossroads “completely changed [her] life.” “I came onto Crossroads as a mediocre confused Christian,” she said, “and finished as a zealous Roman Catholic… I had never experienced such joyful, young Catholics and I was so inspired.”
“It is funny now to think of how different my life is now,” she told Yahoo! Sports. “I had the wonderful privilege of being able to compete as an Olympian, and now I am blessed to be able to serve God and help those less fortunate… Without my Crossroads experience, who knows where I would be!”
This inspiring story of conversion should encourage each of us with the confidence that even our simplest acts of witness can change lives and ultimately our culture. We should also be reassured knowing that God does not ask us to save the world or defeat the culture of death. He did that already.
Instead, God asks us to use the gifts He gave us to faithfully and persistently witness His truth and love to those He puts in our path: family, friends, co-workers, strangers, etc. Each of us has unique gifts that can reach people and inspire conversion in different ways.
As Mother Teresa said, God does not expect us to be successful in all our endeavors on His behalf, but he does expect us to be faithful—and persistent. This means that we must continually discern the gifts God gave us and how He wants us to use them on His behalf. Then, as we hear at the end of every Mass, “go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
In addition to witnessing against abortion or euthanasia or embryo-destructive research, or any number of other attacks against human life, there are many ways we can proclaim the Gospel of life. For some simple, everyday examples of how we can evangelize—and thereby help build a culture of life—check out the book “The Everyday Apostle: Commonsense Ways to Draw Others to Christ” by Father Ed Garesche.
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