Homily for the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Fr. Peter West
January 21, 2007
Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary - Juneau, Alaska
Based on Luke 4: 14-21
I thank Bishop Warfel for welcoming me to the
Cathedral to speak to you today. Priests for Life is dedicated to
preaching about the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to
the moment of natural death. We teach, as the Church teaches, that
each human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Each human
being is unique, precious and unrepeatable. (1)
We hold to a consistent ethic of life, and so,
for example, we are opposed to the use of the death penalty. As Pope John
Paul II said “Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity…”
(2) We have other ways of protecting society and punishing criminals
without resorting to executing people.
(3) But, we place our emphasis on the issues of abortion
and euthanasia, because as the American Bishops have said, these have become the
pre-eminent threats to human life and dignity in our time. (4)
Pope John Paul II has said "The Gospel of God's
love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the human person and the Gospel of
Life are a single and indivisible Gospel." (5) So then
to be unconditionally pro-life is something that all of us are called to believe
and proclaim to others. It is not something optional or added on to the Gospel,
but rather it is at the heart of the Gospel message.
Our Gospel today says that all in the synagogue
looked intently at Jesus.
(6) Perhaps we wish that we could see Jesus face to
face, but that congregation has no spiritual advantage over us. Jesus told St.
Thomas “Blessed are they who have not seen, yet still believe.”
(7) Origen, an early Christian theologian, wrote:
Whenever you direct your
inward gaze toward wisdom and truth and the contemplation of God’s only
Son , then your eyes are fixed upon Jesus. Blessed is that congregation of
which the Gospel says, ‘All eyes were fixed upon Him.’ (8)
As Catholics, we have a unique opportunity to
gaze upon Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, in which he is present in his body,
blood, soul and divinity, though he is hidden under the appearances of bread and
wine. Not only do we see Him, but we have an opportunity to receive him and be
united with him. The Catechism teaches us that one of the effects of
receiving Jesus worthily in Holy Communion is that the Eucharist commits us to
the poor. (9)
In his last encyclical on the Eucharist, Pope
John Paul II said:
Certainly the Christian
vision leads to the expectation of ‘new heavens’ and ‘a new earth’ (Rev
21:1), but this increases, rather than lessens, our sense of responsibility
for the world today. I wish to reaffirm this forcefully at the beginning of
the new millennium, so that Christians will feel more obliged than ever not to
neglect their duties as citizens in this world. Theirs is the task of
contributing with the light of the Gospel to the building of a more human world,
a world fully in harmony with God's plan. (10)
Jesus unrolls the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah
and reveals that the Scripture is fulfilled in their midst. He is the
Messiah who has come to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to
captives, recovery of sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free.
(11) The greatest gift he gives us is the gift of eternal salvation,
but he is also concerned with establishing justice on this earth.
This is especially true as we seek to overcome
what Pope John Paul II has called a ‘culture of death’. This was a constant
theme of his pontificate, a clash that was occurring in our society between “a
culture that affirms, cherishes, and celebrates the gift of life, and a
culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings – the unborn, the
terminally ill, the handicapped, and others considered ‘unuseful’ – to be
outside the boundaries of legal protection.” (12)
The greatest symptom of the ‘culture of death’ is
legalized abortion. Since the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision of 1973
there have been over 47 million abortions. In fact, today in the United
Sates one out of every four pregnancies ends in abortion.
(13) Today there are new attacks on human life such as embryonic stem cell
research that purports to give us cures at the cost of killing a living human
embryo. All of us at one time passed through the embryonic stage. At
the moment of fertilization, you don’t have a potential human being, but a human
being with great potential. There are alternatives to embryonic stem cell
research that don’t involve killing. Privately funded embryonic stem cell
research has gone on for years and no cures have been found. There have
been successful cures and treatments with the use of adult stem cells that can
be obtained without killing anyone, through bone marrow, skin, fat, umbilical
cords, placentas and most recently through amniotic fluid.
A lack of respect for life in its' beginning
stages has also led to a lack of respect for life in its' end stages. Today we
here more calls for euthanasia or ‘mercy killing’. What Pope John Paul II
called ‘a false mercy’.
(14) In 1997, Oregon became the first state to legalize
physician assisted suicide. This has put the poor, minorities, frail,
depressed, those who lack insurance and those who could be branded as an
economic liability most at risk. While Oregon will pay to help a
person to commit suicide they won’t pay for adequate pain management, living
assistance or some life saving treatments.
The Church does make a distinction between
extraordinary care. We always have a right to refuse overzealous treatment;
treatment which is merely death delaying rather than life sustaining, but
ordinary care which is a basic right of every human being. If food and
water are withdrawn, a person dies not from their illness, but from a cause that
we have introduced starvation and dehydration.
Sometimes we might feel that we're powerless to
overcome the culture of death, but I don't believe that's true. All of us can do
something. Our second reading from 1 Corinthians reminds us that we are
all part of Christ’s Body, the Church. Each of us has unique talents and gifts
that we must use for the service of God and his Church; the building up of the
Kingdom of God and creating a culture of life.
(15)
In your bulletins today you will find a pamphlet
from Priests for Life entitled You Can Save
Someone’s Life Today. It will give you practical suggestions
that you can use to put an end to the tragedy of abortion in our nation.
We know we have to do more than simply say that abortion is wrong. We have
to help women. So at the top of the page we list five different pregnancy
resource hotline numbers where women can call and get the help that they need
before and after they give birth for as long as they need it. These
resource centers provide food, clothing, shelter, medical help, legal help,
whatever they might need in order to bring their baby to term. By passing on
these numbers to a woman in need, you truly can help to save a life. There is
also information on adoption, a loving alternative to abortion.
We also promote post-abortion healing and
reconciliation. We don’t condemn people. We want to extend a helping hand.
We promote Project Rachel - the post-abortion healing ministry of the Catholic
Church and
Rachel's Vineyard
retreats in order to help both men and women who have been involved in abortions
to find healing and peace.
Norma McCorvey is the Jane Roe of the
Roe vs. Wade decision.
Norma has since repented that of her role in this decision. She has become
pro-life and was baptized as a Christian. Eight years ago she entered into
the Catholic Church which she calls the Mother Church of Christianity and she
was received into the Church by Father Frank Pavone, the National Director of
Priests For Life. Norma McCorvey's conversion reminds us what Jesus says
in the Gospel, that there is more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner, than
over the 99 who have no need of repentance.
(16) All of us are called to be ambassadors of
God’s mercy and love and to spread the word that the doors of the Church are
always open to the repentant sinner.
The Church also teaches us that voting is not
only our right, it is our duty and we have a duty to use our vote to advance the
cause of life, especially the cause of God's children who are unborn disabled
or are otherwise vulnerable. (17)
In his Apostolic Exhortation on
the Family Pope John Paul II wrote:
"The
social role of families is called to find expression in political intervention;
Families should be the first to take steps that the laws and institutions of the
State not only do not offend but support and positively defend the rights and
duties of the family. Along these lines families should be aware of being
protagonists of what is known as family politics. And assume responsibility for
transforming society." (18)
Of course, we must be concerned
with a range of issues when we cast our vote, but if the fundamental right to
life is not protected al, all other rights are meaningless.
Sometimes people will say that they are
personally opposed to abortion, but think others should have a choice. They say
they don't want to impose their morality on others. They tell us they are not
pro-abortion but "pro-choice." They say the government should have nothing to do
with this very personal decision. Before the Civil War many people made a
similar argument about slavery. People said things like "Personally, I'm opposed
to slavery. I would never own one myself, but I don't want to impose my morality
on anyone else. A person should have a right to choose whether or not to own
slaves. I don't think the government should be involved." We see through the
fallacy of that argument very easily today. The arguments are equally
fallacious when they are applied to abortion.
When life begins is not a matter of faith. We can
show that life begins at the moment of fertilization through science. At the
moment of fertilization, you have a separate unique human being with a different
genetic structure than either the father or the mother. At that moment the sex,
eye color, skin color, shoe size, intelligence is all determined by the genetic
code in the forty-six human chromosomes. Also, the sanctity of life ethic is not
a religious doctrine, but the basic principle upon which this nation was
founded. The American Bishops remind us "Real pluralism depends on people of
conviction struggling vigorously to advance their beliefs by every ethical and
legal means at their disposal." (19)
Just before he left the United States in 1987
Pope John Paul II. He called America back to its roots and said something
I think is prophetic about the right to life and America when he said:
Every human person-no
matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or old, no matter how
healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society-is
a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is
the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her
survival--yes, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human
person, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn.
(20)
I would now like to close with a poem that was
written by a grandmother that I met in Arizona on one of my trips for Priests
For Life who is writing about the loss of her own little granddaughter from an
abortion. She writes:
DEAR SARA (21)
Dear Sara, "Little Princess"
(the meaning of your name),
How fitting you should have it-
Too soon your glory came.
Your little heart was broken
When Mommy let you go.
But angel, please remember
She really didn’t know.
Some said it wasn’t beating,
Your tiny little heart,
And so it didn’t matter
They tore you all apart.
They said you couldn’t feel it.
How Satan can deceive!
The agony you suffered
So many disbelieve.
No grave to mark your passing,
And few to mourn or pray,
But Grandma will remember
That awful, tragic day.
My arms will never hold you.
My rocking chair is still.
But Grandma’s heart is full of love
That death can never kill.
Sweet Angel pray for Mommy,
And pray for Daddy too,
And say a prayer for Grandma
And I will pray for you.
And you and I together
Will pray for all your friends
Who never had a birthday!
We’ll pray abortion ends!
Love,
Grandma
I hope you will join with me in praying for an
end to abortion and for the protection of all human life. If we keep our
eyes fixed on Jesus we can all use our unique talents and gifts for the service
of God and his Church. We can bring about a more just society and build a
culture of life and a civilization of love in which each and every human being
will be welcomed, protected, nurtured and loved from the moment of conception to
the moment of natural death.
Footnotes:
