Evangelium Vitae: Short Reflections for Personal Thought and Prayer

Transcription

1 Evangelium Vitae: Short Reflections for Personal Thought and Prayer by Mrs. Judie Brown and Father Denis O Brien, M.M. foreword by John Cardinal O Connor Table of Contents Foreword Introduction The incomparable worth of the human person New threats to human life In communion with all the Bishops of the world CHAPTER ONE: The Voice of Your Brother s Blood Cries to Me From the Ground Present-Day Threats to Human Life Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him (Gen 4:8): the roots of violence against life What have you done? (Gen 4:10): the eclipse of the value of life Am I my brother s keeper? (Gen 4:9): a perverse idea of freedom And from your face I shall be hidden (Gen 4:14): the eclipse of the sense of God and of man You have come to the sprinkled blood (cf. Heb 12:22, 24): signs of hope and invitation to commitment CHAPTER TWO: I Came That They May Have Life The Christian Message Concerning Life The life was made manifest and we saw it (1 Jn 1:2): with our gaze fixed on Christ, the Word of life The Lord is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation (Ex 15:2): life is always a good The name of Jesus... has made this man strong (Acts 3:16): in the uncertainties of human life, Jesus brings life s meaning to fulfilment Called... to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom 8:28 29): God s glory shines on the face of man Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die (Jn 11:26): the gift of eternal life From man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting (Gen 9:5): reverence and love for every human life Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it (Gen 1:28): man s responsibility for life For you formed my inmost being (Ps 139:13): the dignity of the unborn child I kept my faith even when I said, I am greatly afflicted (Ps 116:10): life in old age and at times of suffering All who hold her fast will live (Bar 4:1): from the law of Sinai to the gift of the Spirit They shall look on him whom they have pierced (Jn 19:37): the Gospel of life is brought to fulfilment on the tree of the Cross...25 CHAPTER THREE: You Shall Not Kill God s Holy Law If you would enter life, keep the commandments (Mt 19:17): Gospel and commandment From man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life (Gen 9:5): human life is sacred and inviolable..27 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance (Ps 139:16): the unspeakable crime of abortion It is I who bring both death and life (Dt 32:39): the tragedy of euthanasia We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29): civil law and the moral law You shall love your neighbour as yourself (Lk 10:27): promote life CHAPTER FOUR: You Did It to Me For a New Culture of Human Life You are God s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Pet 2:9): a people of life and for life That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you (1 Jn 1:3): proclaiming the Gospel of life I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made (Ps 139:14): celebrating the Gospel of life What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? (Jas 2:14): serving the Gospel of life Your children will be like olive shoots around your table (Ps 128:3): the family as the sanctuary of life Walk as children of light (Eph 5:8): bringing about a transformation of culture We are writing this that our joy may be complete (1 Jn 1:4): the Gospel of life is for the whole of human society Notes SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

2 Foreword People the world over enthusiastically anticipated Pope John Paul II s encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life). It was hoped that the encyclical would unapologetically respond to the frightening violations against human life occurring in our day and, with papal authority, reaffirm Church teaching about the sanctity and uniqueness of every human life. Our Holy Father met our expectations-and exceeded them. While we may have been prepared for an unambiguous and even courageous document, few of us, I think, were prepared for the overwhelming love and gentleness that permeates every word of The Gospel of Life. With an emphasis on the spirit of the teaching on human life, Pope John Paul II reminds us that without love, without true charity, the Gospel of Life is meaningless. This means love not only for the unborn and for those suffering from illness or loneliness, but also love for those who do not accept the indisputable value of every human life. In order to appreciate the magnitude of this call to love every human person, it is necessary and beneficial to immerse both heart and mind in The Gospel of Life. Judie Brown and Father Denis O Brien, with Evangelium Vitae: Short Reflections for Personal Thought and Prayer, offer a ready hand to help us meditate on some of the most significant passages of the encyclical. With the use of scriptural citations, and statements from previous encyclicals and from the Fathers of the Church, Judie Brown and Father O Brien draw our attention ever closer to the central mystery of human life. Short Reflections is simple, readable and thought-provoking. It is an excellent source of daily mediation and should be widely distributed. More than anything else, it is my hope that Short Reflections will encourage readers to study the encyclical itself, to draw from its strength and eloquence the courage to love and respect every human life. I congratulate Judie Brown and Father O Brien for their efforts, and commend to everyone Evangelium Vitae: Short Reflections for Personal Thought and Prayer as a first step toward coming to know and love The Gospel of Life. John Cardinal O Connor September 1995 Introduction Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) is an encyclical that was given to the world, to all men and women of good will, by Pope John Paul II on March 25, The date March 25 is significant for Catholics, as it is the feast of the Annunciation-the day when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of God s son (Lk 1:26-38). The subject of this encyclical is the value and the inviolability of human life. The message is uplifting, affirming man s dignity before God. The following pages present short excerpts from each of the 105 sections of the encyclical. In a few instances, we found a particular section of the encyclical to be so meaningful that we have quoted it in full. After each direct quote from Evangelium Vitae you will find a comment designed to assist you in understanding and reflecting on the concept presented and quoted. Following the comment you will find a prayer, designed to assist you in meeting the Lord and His will for you in the words of Evangelium Vitae. Evangelium Vitae is a perfect guide for every man and woman who wishes to see respect for innocent human beings restored at the level of society where each of us participates, from our own homes to the workplace to the community to the government. It is our hope that Evangelium Vitae: Short Reflections for Personal Thought and Prayer will help you in your daily life. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with joy as you delve into these pages and celebrate the wondrous gift of life God has bestowed on each and every human being, born and preborn. Father Denis O Brien, M.M. Spiritual Director American Life League, Inc. Mrs. Judie Brown President American Life League, Inc. 2 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

3 Encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae addressed by the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II to the bishops, priests and deacons, men and women religious, lay faithful, and all people of good will on the value and inviolability of human life 1 The GOSPEL OF LIFE is at the heart of Jesus message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as good news to the people of every age and culture. 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 Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this great joy is the Birth of the Saviour; 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 fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world (cf. Jn 16:21). When he presents the heart of his redemptive mission, Jesus says: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (Jn 10:10). In truth, he is referring to that new and eternal life which consists in communion with the Father, to which every person is freely called in the Son by the power of the Sanctifying Spirit. It is precisely in this life that all the aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt 4:17). Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and enkindle in them the fire of thy love. Send forth thy Spirit and they shall be created, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of thy faithful, grant us by the same Holy Spirit to be truly wise and to rejoice in this divine consolation. Amen. The incomparable worth of the human person 2 Man is called to a fullness of life which consists in sharing the very life of God. Natural life is the fundamental condition for being able to share God s life in this penultimate but sacred reality which will be fully realized in eternity by those sincerely trying to do God s will. Every person can, by the use of reason, come to understand that this life is not all there is; there is an inner conviction that life is valuable, that it must be protected, that it should be helped to attain eternal happiness. The Gospel of God s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel. (Evangelium Vitae, section 2). Each person, from creation to old age, is not merely a creature. Dear Father in heaven, help me to understand what John the Apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote: See what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we may be called the children of God; and so we are (1 Jn 3:1). Amen. New threats to human life 3 Every individual, precisely by reason of the mystery of the Word of God who was made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14), is entrusted to the maternal care of the Church. Quoting from the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, Pope John Paul II reminds us: Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or wilful self-destruction... are infamies indeed. They poison human society, and they do more harm to those who practise them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonour to the Creator. The Church must face every threat to human dignity and life, especially in our time when new threats keep emerging. 3 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

4 We, too, as members of the human race, must do what we can to expose these threats as we work to eradicate crimes against the innocent from our society. Dear Father, help me to stand up for the dignity of everyone. Amen. 4 The Holy Father laments the expansion of these threats. There are scientists who hold that if something can be done, it may be done. Broad sectors of public opinion justify certain crimes against life in the name of the rights of individual freedom, and on this basis they claim not only exemption from punishment but even authorization by the State, so that these things can be done with total freedom and indeed with the free assistance of health-care systems. Choices once considered criminal are becoming socially responsible. Certain legislators and doctors are willing to go along with this profound change in behavior. Conscience is becoming numb, in many cases nearly unaware of crimes against the human being. I should not sit by and do nothing, for God has called me to be a part of the celebration of life, His gift, at this moment in time. Lord, give me the courage to stand up and proclaim the Truth, according to your will. Amen. In communion with all the Bishops of the world 5 If, at the end of the last century, the Church could not be silent about the injustices of those times, still less can she be silent today, when the social injustices of the past, unfortunately not yet overcome, are being compounded in many regions of the world by still more grievous forms of injustice and oppression, even if these are being presented as elements of progress in view of a new world order. The present Encyclical, the fruit of the cooperation of the Episcopate of every country of the world, is therefore meant to be a precise and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability, and at the same time a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person, in the name of God: respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness! Now is the time for each of us to vigorously reaffirm the value of human life and its inviolability. There is something that I can do, today, in my home or place of work that will affirm the wonder and the joy of God s gift of life. Lord, help me to recognize evil and never be fearful of battling against it. Amen. 6 In profound communion with all my brothers and sisters in the faith, and inspired by genuine friendship towards all, I wish to meditate upon once more and proclaim the Gospel of life, the splendour of truth which enlightens consciences, the clear light which corrects the darkened gaze, and the unfailing source of faithfulness and steadfastness in facing the ever new challenges which we meet along our path. As we work to strengthen and reaffirm family life, recognizing the family as the sanctuary of life, let us offer our every moment throughout today to God, who loves us with a love beyond our imagination. Father, help me to hold fast to the splendor of what is truth, so that I may live with a clear conscience. Amen. 4 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

5 CHAPTER ONE The Voice of Your Brother s Blood Cries to Me From the Ground Present-Day Threats to Human Life Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him (Gen 4:8): the roots of violence against life 7 God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil s envy death entered the world (Wis 2:23-24). The devil s envy is revealed in Genesis 3:1, 4-5. The successful tempting of the first man and woman is recorded in the same book (Gen 3:1-7). Death entered violently into the world when Cain slew the innocent Abel. O God, help me to see clearly the reality of evil in our world today. Amen. 8 Envy and anger have the upper hand over the Lord s warning, and so Cain attacks his own brother and kills him. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church [No. 2259]: In the account of Abel s murder by his brother Cain, Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in man, consequences of original sin, from the beginning of human history. Man has become the enemy of his fellow man. In the extreme simplicity of Genesis, God asks Cain where Abel is. Cain lies: How should I know? Am I my brother s keeper? But God tells him to listen to the sound of Abel s blood crying out from the ground. God punished Cain, yet He put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. The mark on Cain tells us that reverence for life is absolute. God loves all men as He created each and every one in His image and likeness. Am I my brother s keeper? includes the elderly, the infirm, immigrants and children, all human beings. Every person is bound to play a part in striving for the solidarity of peace among persons, for from that solidarity will come peace in our world. Do we know that the kinship of flesh is violated by abortion, euthanasia and parental / offspring indifference and neglect? Lord, that I may see beyond myself. Amen. 9 But God cannot leave the crime unpunished: from the ground on which it has been spilt, the blood of the one murdered demands that God should render justice (cf. Gen 37:26; Is 26:21; Ez 24:7-8). From this text the Church has taken the name of the sins which cry to God for justice, and, first among them, she has included wilful murder [Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nos. 1867, 2268]. For the Jewish people, as for many peoples of antiquity, blood is the source of life. Indeed the blood is the life (Dt 12:23), and life, especially human life, belongs only to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself.... Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this.... As St. Ambrose writes:... God drove Cain out of his presence and sent him into exile far away from his native land, so that he passed from a life of human kindness to one which was more akin to the rude existence of a wild beast. God, who preferred the correction rather than the death of a sinner, did not desire that a homicide be punished by the exaction of another act of homicide. We too are called to remember how deeply God loves each and every human being and that truly judgment is God s, not man s. God waits, in His boundless mercy, ready to forgive anyone who repents of his sin. Think about the words of the prophet Ezekiel: What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man it is the Lord who speaks and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live? (Ez 18:23). God, be merciful to me, a sinner (Lk 18:14). Amen. 5 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

6 What have you done? (Gen 4:10): the eclipse of the value of life 10 The voice of the blood shed by men continues to cry out, from generation to generation, in ever new and different ways. The Lord s question: What have you done?, which Cain cannot escape, is addressed also to the people of today, to make them realize the extent and gravity of the attacks against life which continue to mark human history. Nature itself is the source of some threats. They worsen when those who could intervene are indifferent, callous, even negligent. Situations of violence lead to murder, war, slaughter and genocide. Recognizing the fruits of violence, you may wish to reflect on the following questions: 1. How can society close its eyes to the violence perpetrated against children because of national and social greed and bias? 2. Why don t people protest an arms race that could deprive them of their own children? 3. Why are unacceptable sexual activity, especially activity that corrupts even very young children, and drug trafficking not prosecuted more vigorously? The answer to all three questions is the same: money talks because good people do not shut its mouth. These overt threats to human dignity are but a few of the many we see in our society today. But if each of us begins speaking out and encourages others by example to do the same, then society will change, and life will once again be respected and cherished. Father, help me to obey your command: All you need say is Yes if you mean yes, No if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one (Mt 5:37). Amen. 11 We shall concentrate particular attention on another category of attacks, affecting life in its earliest and in its final stages... these attacks tend no longer to be considered as crimes ; paradoxically they assume the nature of rights, to the point that the State is called upon to give them legal recognition and to make them available through the free services of health-care personnel.... Even more serious is the fact that, most often, those attacks are carried out in the very heart of and with the complicity of the family the family which by its nature is called to be the sanc-tuary of life. Our culture is skeptical about a firm system of ethical values. The charity of many has grown cold. Frequently, people are left to fend for themselves, no matter how poor or lonely they might be, while society pretends to feel safe. But the use of such terms as termination of pregnancy, potential life, and the right to die continues to disturb the individual conscience, and it is from such small disturbances that major changes can begin. Today the defense and promotion of life is sometimes heroic. It is not viewed as politically correct. All the same, to avoid promoting the sanctity of human life is to deny God s remarkable gift a gift He gives to us out of love, a gift we must celebrate each and every day. And if we can speak out today, tomorrow may see a return to the firm system of ethical values our culture so desperately needs. Lord, you tell us that the lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light ( Mt 6:22). Guard me from the spiritual blindness that shies from yes or no and pretends that there is no black or white, no right or wrong. Help me to serve you, and never count the cost. Amen. 12 In fact, while the climate of widespread moral uncertainty can in some way be explained by the multiplicity and gravity of today s social problems, and these can sometimes mitigate the subjective responsibility of individuals, it is no less true that we are confronted by an even larger reality, which can be described as a veritable structure of sin. This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denies solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a veritable culture of death.... A person who, because of illness, handicap or, more simply, just by existing, compromises the well-being or lifestyle of those who are more favoured tends to be looked upon as an enemy to be resisted or eliminated. In this way a kind of conspiracy against life is unleashed. This conspiracy involves not only individuals in their personal, family or group relationships, but goes far beyond, to the point of damaging and distorting, at the international level, relations between peoples and States. As an individual, I can help alter the problems we face in our society by always remembering that no one should ever put an ethically corrupt value on another human being. Just because someone is living in the womb, is elderly or dying or 6 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

7 severely disabled does not mean that that person is any different from me. After all, God loves each and every one of His children. He does not love us because of how we look, how well we are or how productive we are He loves us because we are created in His image and likeness. Lord, help me to try to be as patient with others as you are with me. Amen. 13 In order to facilitate the spread of abortion, enormous sums of money have been invested and continue to be invested in the production of pharmaceutical products which make it possible to kill the fetus in the mother s womb without recourse to medical assistance. On this point, scientific research itself seems to be almost exclusively preoccupied with developing products which are ever more simple and effective in suppressing life and which at the same time are capable of removing abortion from any kind of control or social responsibility.... Certainly, from the moral point of view contraception and abortion are specifically different evils: the former contradicts the full truth of the sexual act as the proper expression of conjugal love, while the latter destroys the life of a human being; the former is opposed to the virtue of chastity in marriage, the latter is opposed to the virtue of justice and directly violates the divine commandment You shall not kill. But despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree.... The close connection which exists, in mentality, between the practice of contraception and that of abortion is becoming increasingly obvious. It is being demonstrated in an alarming way by the development of chemical products, intrauterine devices and vaccines which, distributed with the same ease as contraceptives, really act as abortifacients in the very early stages of the development of the life of the new human being (Evangelium Vitae, section 13). This argument is not lost on the United States Supreme Court, evidenced by the arguments presented in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989): Frank Sussman, the lawyer who argued the pro-abortion side in the Webster case, told the Supreme Court that the Missouri antiabortion law would outlaw physician prescripiton of contraceptives such as the IUD and progesterone only [pill the so-called mini-pill in public clinics (Charles Donavan and Robert Marshall, in Blessed Are the Barren). 2 Sussman said, The most common forms of what we generically in common parlance call contraception today IUDs, low-dose birth control pills, which are the safest type of birth control pills available act as abortifacients. They are correctly labeled as both. Under this statute, which defines fertilisation as the point of beginning, those forms of contraception are also abortifacients. Science and medicine refers to them as both. We are not still dealing with the common barrier methods of Griswold. We are no longer just talking about condoms and diaphragms. Things have changed. The bright line, if there ever was one, has now been extinguished. That s why I suggest to this court that we need to deal with one right, the right to procreate ( Arguments Before Supreme Court on Missouri Abortion Law, Washington Post, 4/27/89). Lord, help me always to appreciate your gift of my sexuality and to avoid all crimes against you. Amen. 14 The various techniques of artificial reproduction... actually open the door to new threats against life. Apart from the fact that they are morally unacceptable... these techniques have a high rate of failure: not just failure in relation to creation but with regard to the subsequent development of the embryo, which is exposed to the risk of death, generally within a very short space of time. Furthermore, the number of embryos produced is often greater than that needed for implantation in the woman s womb, and these so-called spare embryos are then destroyed or used for research which, under the pretext of scientific or medical progress, in fact reduces human life to the level of simple biological material to be freely disposed of. Prenatal diagnosis, which presents no moral objections if carried out in order to identify the medical treatment which may be needed by the child in the womb, all too often becomes an opportunity for proposing and procuring an abortion.... Following this same logic, the point has been reached where the most basic care, even nourishment, is denied to babies born with serious handicaps or illnesses. 7 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

8 Therapeutic interventions terminate in eugenic 3 abortion: the child is destroyed if he or she is one of the lame, the blind, or mentally handicapped. Even nourishment is denied to infants who have been delivered but who are judged to be a family or social misfit because they are handicapped physically or mentally. Thus, even infanticide is justified. Lord, let me never even think that anyone, regardless of his or her condition, is unworthy of life. Amen. 15 Threats which are no less serious hang over the incurably ill and the dying. In a social and cultural context which makes it more difficult to face and accept suffering, the temptation becomes all the greater to resolve the problem of suffering by eliminating it at the root, by hastening death so that it occurs at the moment considered most suitable. A person s personal and family life may seem to hang in the balance, and an onslaught of anguish or severe discomfort may bring a sense of such desperation that the sick person feels overwhelmed, and the family may be tempted to act with a misplaced compassion. In a culture that sees no value in suffering, especially when religious beliefs are absent, people may come to believe that they may control their own life and death. Whether disguised and hidden, or practiced openly and even legally, the human being is helped to die (or death is even imposed!). This is the practice of euthanasia, the so-called easy death to save money, especially when expenses continue to mount for the elderly, the handicapped, malformed babies and the terminally ill. There is also disguised euthanasia. It is practiced, for example, when in order to increase the availability of organs for transplants, organs are removed without respecting objective and adequate criteria which verify the death of the donor (Evangelium Vitae, section 15). So, we might wonder if brain death is really an accurate term. In a 1988 paper titled, Prolonging Life and the Right to Die : Perspectives from the Catholic and Jewish Traditions, Rev. James J. McCartney, O.S.A., Ph.D., noted that St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach, Florida (a Catholic hospital sponsored by the Allegany Franciscan Sisters) has interpreted imminent to mean that death will occur within one year for the purposes of implementing Florida s Living Will law in accord with hospital policy, wrote Rita L. Marker in Linacre Quarterly, August While I was there the hand of Yahweh came on me; he said, Get up, go out into the valley; I am going to speak to you (Ez 3:22).Speak, please, Lord! Your servant is listening. Amen. 16 Another present-day phenomenon, frequently used to justify threats and attacks against life, is the demographic question.... In the rich and developed countries there is a disturbing decline or collapse of the birthrate. The poorer countries, on the other hand, generally have a high rate of population growth, difficult to sustain in the context of low economic and social development, and especially where there is extreme underdevelopment.... Contraception, sterilization and abortion are certainly part of the reason why in some cases there is a sharp decline in the birthrate. It is not difficult to be tempted to use the same methods and attacks against life also where there is a situation of demographic explosion. The Pharaoh of old, haunted by the presence and increase of the children of Israel, submitted them to every kind of oppression and ordered that every male child born of the Hebrew women was to be killed (cf. Ex 1:7-22). Today not a few of the powerful of the earth act in the same way.... rather than wishing to face and solve these serious problems with respect for the dignity of individuals and families and for every person s inviolable right to life, they prefer to promote and impose by whatever means a massive programme of birth control. Even the economic help which they would be ready to give is unjustly made conditional on the acceptance of an anti-birth policy. Did you ever wonder why the United States government, for example, is deeply involved in programs that are designed to limit the size of families in third world countries? Some in positions of power are using the resources of the rich nations to eliminate the poor, not assist them in their quest to provide for themselves. I was hungry and you did not feed me; thirsty, and you did not slake my parched throat. Lord, help me remember that all men and women are your children, and therefore we are all brothers and sisters. Amen. 8 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

9 17 Threats against life do not come only from the outside, from the forces of nature or the Cains who kill the Abels ; no, they are scientifically and systematically programmed threats. The twentieth century will have been an era of massive attacks on life, an endless series of wars and a continual taking of innocent human life.... we are in fact faced with an objective conspiracy against life, involving even international Institutions, engaged in encouraging and carrying out actual campaigns to make contraception, sterilization and abortion widely available. Nor can it be denied that the mass media are often implicated in this conspiracy, by lending credit to that culture which presents recourse to contraception, sterilization, abortion and even euthanasia as a mark of progress and a victory of freedom, while depicting as enemies of freedom and progress those positions which are unreservedly pro-life. Before you accept a philosophy, examine its consequences (John A. McHugh, O.P.). Jesus said of Nathaniel, Behold: there is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit (Jn 1:47). Lord, help me to serve you without really trying to serve myself. Amen. Am I my brother s keeper? (Gen 4:9): a perverse idea of freedom 18 Decisions that go against life do not come only from tragic situations, which can mitigate personal culpability. There is a tendency at every level and division of society to interpret crimes against life as legitimate expressions of individual freedom, to be acknowledged and protected as actual rights.... Should we not question the very economic models often adopted by States which, also as a result of international pressures and forms of conditioning, cause and aggravate situations of injustice and violence in which the life of whole peoples is degraded and trampled upon? There are countless declarations regarding the inviolability of human rights, and indeed there is a growing sensitivity about them except for the preborn and those near death. Instead of peaceful cities and countrysides, our culture is an armed camp. A chain is as strong as its weakest link; a society is as strong as its most defenseless member. If even one life is rejected or simply allowed to fall through the cracks, who is safe? Indeed, who is next? Crimes against life can never be interpreted as legitimate expressions of individual freedom. This is so because, in the words of Veritatis Splendor, section 34, genuine freedom is an outstanding manifestation of the divine image in man. For God willed to leave man in the power of his own counsel (cf. Sir 15:14). 5 And though man is given the power of free will and thus possesses extremely far-reaching freedom... his freedom is not unlimited: it must halt before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for it is called to accept the moral law given by God. In fact, human freedom finds its authentic and complete fulfilment precisely in the acceptance of that law. God, who alone is good, knows perfectly what is good for man, and by virtue of his very love proposes this good to man in the commandments. God s law does not reduce, let alone do away with human freedom; rather, it protects and promotes that freedom (Veritatis Splendor, section 35). As for me and my House, we will serve Yahweh (Josh 24:15). 19 What are the roots of this remarkable contradiction... between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic denial in practice? The roots of the contradiction lie in a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated individual in an absolute way, and gives no place to solidarity, to openness to others and service of them. While it is true that the taking of life not yet born or in its final stages is sometimes marked by a mistaken sense of altruism and human compassion, it cannot be denied that such a culture of death, taken as a whole, betrays a completely individualistic concept of freedom, which ends up by becoming the freedom of the strong against the weak who have no choice but to submit.... There is an even more profound aspect which needs to be emphasized: freedom negates and destroys itself, and becomes a factor leading to the destruction of others, when it no longer recognizes and respects its essential link with the truth. When 9 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

10 freedom, out of a desire to emancipate itself from all forms of tradition and authority, shuts out even the most obvious evidence of an objective and universal truth, which is the foundation of personal and social life, then the person ends up by no longer taking as the sole and indisputable point of reference for his own choices the truth about good and evil, but only his subjective and changeable opinion or, indeed, his selfish interest and whim. It is a mystery that anyone could believe that the rights and prerogatives of one are not fused to the duty of respecting the rights and prerogatives of others. Laws regarding properties and treaties are observed scrupulously while at the same time the most elementary respect for our fellow human beings is not taken into account. We are one race, as even common physical features prove. We are our brother s keeper. The question is not whether or not the strong will oppress the weak; the question is whether we will love one another as Christ loves us. Happy the man who never follows the advice of the wicked, or loiters on the way that sinners take, or sits about with the scoffers, but finds his pleasure in the Law of Yahweh, and murmurs his law day and night (Ps 1:1,2). Amen. 20 This view of freedom leads to a serious distortion of life in society. If the promotion of the self is understood in terms of absolute autonomy, people inevitably reach the point of rejecting one another. Everyone else is considered an enemy from whom one has to defend oneself. Thus society becomes a mass of individuals placed side by side, but without any mutual bonds. Each one wishes to assert himself independently of the other and in fact intends to make his own interests prevail. Still, in the face of other people s analogous interests, some kind of compromise must be found, if one wants a society in which the maximum possible freedom is guaranteed to each individual. In this way, any reference to common values and to a truth absolutely binding on everyone is lost, and social life ventures on to the shifting sands of complete relativism. At that point, everything is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining: even the first of the fundamental rights, the right to life. This is what is happening also at the level of politics and government: the original and inalienable right to life is questioned or denied on the basis of a parliamentary vote or the will of one part of the people even if it is the majority.... To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom: Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin (Jn 8:34). In ancient Rome the law permitted the paterfamilias (the father, the head of the family) to control his family, and he could include in his will that his slaves be killed. Today laws permit the killing of the innocent, giving the strong the authority to kill the weak. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen! (Mt. 11:15) Amen. And from your face I shall be hidden (Gen 4:14): the eclipse of the sense of God and of man 21 We cannot restrict ourselves to the perverse idea of freedom mentioned above. We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism... when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense of man, of his dignity and his life; in turn, the systematic violation of the moral law, especially in the serious matter of respect for human life and its dignity, produces a kind of progressive darkening of the capacity to discern God s living and saving presence. Sin is an offense against the Divine Majesty; we must never presume to forgive ourselves, but must ask God to pardon us. A society that formulates policy without acknowledging God s authorship of human life is bound to stumble and in the process trample on the human rights of those who cannot stand up and defend themselves. For I am well aware of my faults, I have my sin constantly in mind, having sinned against none other than you, having done what you regard as wrong (Ps 51:3-4). Father, forgive me for those times that I have offended you. Amen. 10 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

11 22 Without the Creator the creature would disappear... But when God is forgotten the creature itself grows unintelligible [quoting Gaudium et Spes]. Man... regards himself merely as one more living being, as an organism... a thing... Life itself becomes a mere thing, which man claims as his exclusive property, completely subject to his control and manipulation.... Birth and death, instead of being primary experiences demanding to be lived, become things to be merely possessed or rejected. Moreover, once all reference to God has been removed, it is not surprising that the meaning of everything else becomes profoundly distorted. Nature itself, from being mater (mother), is now reduced to being matter, and is subjected to every kind of manipulation. This is the direction in which a certain technical and scientific way of thinking, prevalent in presentday culture, appears to be leading when it rejects the very idea that there is a truth of creation which must be acknowledged, or a plan of God for life which must be respected. Something similar happens when concern about the consequences of such a freedom without law leads some people to the opposite position of a law without freedom, as for example in ideologies which consider it unlawful to interfere in any way with nature, practically divinizing it.... By living as if God did not exist, man not only loses sight of the mystery of God, but also of the mystery of the world and the mystery of his own being. Those who deny the existence of a transcendent, omnipotent Creator must deny that the universe obeys certain determined laws laws that, for example, enable us to predict the tides in advance. Why? There is no law without a lawgiver. Lord, how great is your name throughout the earth! I look up at your heavens, made by your fingers, at the moon and stars you set in place ah, what is man that you should spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for him? Yet you have made him a little less than a god, you have crowned him with glory and splendor, made him lord over the work of your hands, set all things under his feet (Ps 8:1, 3-6). Amen. 23 The eclipse of the sense of God and of man inevitably leads to a practical materialism... The only goal which counts is the pursuit of one s own material well-being. The so-called quality of life is interpreted primarily or exclusively as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism, physical beauty and pleasure, to the neglect of the more profound dimensions interpersonal, spiritual and religious of existence. In such a context suffering, an inescapable burden of human existence but also a factor of possible personal growth, is censored, rejected as useless, indeed opposed as an evil, always and in every way to be avoided.... life appears to have lost all meaning and the temptation grows in man to claim the right to suppress it.... The body is... reduced to pure materiality: it is simply a complex of organs, functions and energies to be used according to the sole criteria of pleasure and efficiency. Consequently, sexuality too is depersonalized and exploited... it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts.... Procreation then becomes the enemy to be avoided in sexual activity: if it is welcomed, this is only because it expresses a desire, or indeed the intention, to have a child at all costs... Interpersonal relations are seriously impoverished. The first to be harmed are women, children, the sick or suffering, and the elderly.... others are considered not for what they are, but for what they have, do and produce. This is the supremacy of the strong over the weak. Without our sense of God, we lose the ability to trust, to accept the hardships of life and to give unselfishly of ourselves out of love for those near and dear to us. Suffering accepted in union with Christ can be the occasion of tremendous spiritual growth and maturity, wrote John Grondelski in Homiletic and Pastoral Review (June 1992), especially in preparation for the most important event in life: death. These things can hardly be said about something meaningless or senseless. Even if we ourselves have been good persons (and who can really call himself good?), the suffering we endure may not always be just for our benefit, but also for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, in this life or in Purgatory, with whom I am joined by the communion of saints. In a culture which so emphasizes individualism and which would like to treat euthanasia as a matter of the individual s right to privacy, clergy need to emphasizes how even suffering has a social significance within the communio sanctorum. Jesus Death is the consummate example of this social meaning of suffering: his Sacrificial Death for our sins was not an offering for his Redemption, but for ours and ours alone. 11 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.

12 Lord, please help me to understand the Apostle Paul s teaching: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (Col 1:24). Christ s passion alone... left nothing more to be done.... However, for the merits of the Passion to be applied to us, according to St. Thomas (Summa Theologiae, III, q. 49, a. 3) we need to cooperate (subjective redemption) by patiently bearing the trials God sends us, so as to become like our head, Christ (St. Alphonsus Ligouri, Thoughts on the Passion, 10). Amen. 24 It is at the heart of the moral conscience that the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, with all its various and deadly consequences for life, is taking place. It is a question, above all, of the individual conscience, as it stands before God in its singleness and uniqueness. But it is also a question, in a certain sense, of the moral conscience of society... it tolerates or fosters behaviour contrary to life... it encourages the culture of death, creating and consolidating actual structures of sin which go against life. The moral conscience, both individual and social, is today subjected, also as a result of the penetrating influence of the media, to an extremely serious and mortal danger: that of confusion between good and evil, precisely in relation to the fundamental right to life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 6, Moral Conscience : Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law (No. 1778). Further, Pope Benedict XVI has said, It seems to me characteristic of Newman that he emphasized truth s priority over goodness in the order of virtues. Or, to put it in a way which is more understandable for us, he emphasized truth s priority over consensus, over the accommodation of groups. I would say, when we are speaking of a man of conscience, we mean one who looks at things this way. A man of conscience is one who never acquires tolerance, well-being, success, public standing and approval on the part of prevailing opinion, at the expense of truth.... two standards become apparent for ascertaining the presence of a real voice of conscience. First, conscience is not identical to personal wishes and taste. Secondly, conscience cannot be reduced to social advantage, to group consensus, or to the demands of political and social power. Let us take a sidelook at the situation of our day. The individual may not achieve his advancement or well-being at the cost of betraying what he recognizes to be true; nor may humanity. Here we come in contact with the really critical issue of the modern age. The concept of truth has been virtually given up and replaced by the concept of progress (emphasis added). 7 Lord, help me to understand St. Augustine s profound observation: We could never judge that one thing is better than another, if a basic understanding of the good had not already been instilled in us (On the Trinity, VIII, 3, 4 PL 42, 949). Amen. You have come to the sprinkled blood (cf. Heb 12:22, 24): signs of hope and invitation to commitment 25 It is not only the voice of the blood of Abel, the first innocent man to be murdered, which cries to God, the source and defender of life. The blood of every other human being who has been killed since Abel is also a voice raised to the Lord. In an absolutely singular way... the voice of the blood of Christ, of whom Abel in his innocence is a prophetic figure, cries out to God: You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God... to the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel (12:22, 24). It is the sprinkled blood. A symbol and prophetic sign of it had been the blood of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant... all of this is fulfilled and comes true in Christ: his is the sprinkled blood which redeems, purifies and saves... it is the source of perfect redemption and the gift of new life. The blood of Christ, while it reveals the grandeur of the Father s love, shows how precious man is in God s eyes and how priceless the value of his life.... Precisely because it is poured out as the gift of life, the blood of Christ is no longer a sign of death, of definitive separation from the brethren, but the instrument of a communion which is richness of life for all. Redemption is a truth, a reality, in the name of which man must feel called, and called with efficacy. He must realize this call also through Christ s words according to Matthew 5:27-28, reread in the full context of the revelation of the body. 12 SHORT REFLECTIONS 1996 American Life League, Inc.