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.

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