“At the dawn of salvation, it is the birth of a child which is proclaimed as joyful news: ‘I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’ (Lk.2:10-11). The source of this ‘great joy’ is the birth of the Savior; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth and the joy which accompanies the birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfillment of joy at every child born into the world (cf.Jn. 16:21).”
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord, this introduction to Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae provides a rich source of reflection on the God we serve and human life which He created in His image and likeness.
It is truly extraordinary to contemplate the fact that we worship a God who has experienced every stage and aspect of the human condition (except sin of course). His Son was conceived in the Virgin Mary and took the form of a human being, beginning His life like every human being—as a single cell embryo called a zygote.
According to Scripture, after the Incarnation of our Lord, Mary went in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John the Baptist. Experts say it would have taken two to three days for Mary to reach Elizabeth. Therefore, Jesus likely had not yet implanted in Mary’s womb (implantation usually occurs five to seven days after conception) when His presence caused John to stir in Elizabeth’s womb: “The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy” (Luke 1:44).
Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life offers these questions to ponder about the extraordinary reality of our Lord’s gestation in Mary’s womb:
“How long is it possible for believers, who meditate on the unborn child who was God, not to see that unborn children are made in God’s image? Is it likely that those who ponder that our Almighty Protector was a baby in the womb will fail to see that babies in the womb merit protection? Would it happen that Christians, who acknowledge that their Lord and Brother was an embryo and a fetus, will fail to see that every embryo and fetus is a brother and sister in the Lord?”
Another extraordinary source of reflection on human dignity comes from C.S. Lewis’s The Weight of Glory: “The dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. … There are no ordinary people. ... Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.”
Another way to celebrate Christmas is to recognize and support the amazing work being done by the more than 30 pregnancy-help centers and maternity homes in Nebraska. I never cease to be in awe and edified by the extraordinary work of these centers, which I believe represent the heart of the pro-life movement.
Among the services these centers provide or facilitate are: housing, instructional programs, provision of maternity and baby clothes, furniture and other necessities, adoption through licensed agencies, parenting classes, job training, medical care including pregnancy testing, prenatal and obstetrical care, social services, including counseling, arrangement for transportation, child health care, assistance in applying for financial help before and after the birth, child support, and chastity education.
A complete list of these centers with contact information is available from my office or online. I can’t imagine a more appropriate way to celebrate the birth of our Lord in a humble stable in Bethlehem than to support your local pregnancy-help center or maternity home.
