This article was originally published on Fri, 29 Sep 2023.

October is called “respect for life month.”  We are called to pray and ensure that we continue to preserve the dignity of every human life. This call reminds us that life is sacred because God is the giver, the author of life. The Book of Genesis reminds us that, from the beginning when God created the heavens and earth and before He rested, God created human beings in His own image and likeness. Then God breathed on us the breath of life. After God created us, Genesis says, “God looked at everything He made and found it VERY GOOD.”  Not only was life breathed into us, but goodness was also given to us. Thus, in every human being there is a spark of God’s goodness. The conference of bishops in the United States says that the Church’s entire social doctrine is guided by the fundamental principle that every human life has innate dignity and incomparable value: “Every human being is the object of God’s infinite tenderness, and He Himself is present in their lives.” As disciples of Christ, we are called to make a sacrificial gift of ourselves for the sake of our neighbor, for “to love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. Fulfilling Christ’s command to love one another takes shape in our practice of solidarity. Solidarity is the means by which we put our love for others into action, making the good of others our own. Solidarity “is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people… On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good…to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all” (taken from the social doctrine of Church). As we observe this month of respect for life, I add my thanks to all of you for your commitment and support to the many programs and ministries of our parish that surround the preservation of human life. Our outreach programs and mission trips are just but a small portion of what we do to bring hope and life to our brothers and sisters in need. Let us continue to work together to bring about the culture of life through radical, sacrificial, and Christ-like love.