The month of October is designated by the U.S. Bishops as Respect Life Month. The objective of designating this month as such is to draw society’s attention to the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition.
It is a sad indictment on our culture that we need a special event to help us rediscover a sense of awe for human life. But there is no question that a variety of factors have contributed to a pervasive view of human life as a burden or problem, rather than as a sacred, precious gift from God and an opportunity for love.
The advent of contraception, the legalization of abortion and embryo-destructive research are three such factors that have violated and degraded the dignity of nascent human life. Probing even deeper, in his encyclical “The Gospel of Life”, Pope John Paul II exposed various roots of what he called “the culture of death.”
These roots include a distorted notion of freedom characterized by radical individualism (self-centeredness, viewing others as obstacles/burdens not opportunities to give/receive love); relativism (no recognition of moral absolutes or objective truth) and materialism (valuing possessions above people).
But the deepest root, John Paul says, is alienation from God, characterized by a society dominated by secularism. If our relationship with our Creator is weak, then our understanding of the value and meaning of human life created in His image is also weak.
Consequently, to counter this deepest root of attacks against human life, we must grow in our relationship with God and help others to do so as well. It is also necessary for us to reflect on what John Paul calls “the incomparable worth of the human person.”
“Indeed, ‘despite its hardships, its hidden mysteries, its suffering and its inevitable frailty, this mortal life is a most beautiful thing, a marvel ever new and moving, an event worthy of being exalted in joy and glory’…Moreover, man and his life appear to us not only as one of the greatest marvels of creation: For God has granted to man a dignity which is near to divine (Ps. 8:5-6). In every child which is born and in every person who lives or dies we see the image of God’s glory…a sign of the living God, an icon of Jesus Christ.” (EV #84)
It is also an extraordinarily compelling point of reflection to ponder the Annunciation when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” “God was once an unborn child,” says Fr. Frank Pavone in his book Ending Abortion. “Every unborn child, therefore, is in some fashion united with God. As the Second Vatican Council asserted, ‘By his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being’ (Gaudium et Spes, 22).
“In the writings of the Fathers of the Church,” Fr. Pavone continues, “we encounter reflections on the theme that Christ redeemed us by assuming all the different aspects of our life on earth, including our childhood, our life of work, our family life, our sufferings, and our death.” In our modern culture of death, then, “we should also reflect on the fact that the Son of God shared in our life in the womb.”
“Would it long be possible for believers, who meditate on the unborn child who was God, to fail to see that unborn children are made in God’s image?” Fr. Pavone asks. “Would it be likely that those who ponder that our Almighty Protector was a baby in the womb will fail to see that babies in the womb deserve protection? Would it happen that Christians, who acknowledge that their Lord and Brother was an embryo and fetus, will fail to see that every embryo and fetus is a brother and sister in the Lord?”
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