October is Pro-life month. One month out of the year where we assert the value and dignity of life from conception to natural death. I see pro-life as a pro-humanity, pro-vitality, pro-growth idea. God, the creator of the universe, has given us this most precious entity, life. We have the ability to move about and travel as a result of this life. We can communicate with other people rather complex and beautiful things, and touch the lives of others in relationship because of this life. We can imagine, feel, think, and reason because of this gift of life. We can participate in the conception and growth of children. And as we are created in the image of God, they are created in our image and look like us and share our qualities. We are dependent upon this beautiful and vast world we have been given, a world that is fine-tuned to our needs with air to breath, water to drink, food to nourish us, and beauty to perceive. We are conceived in the image of God and born with dignity and value that does not have to be earned. We are loved first and foremost by God even before we are born. All of life is a value and a precious thing. Unfortunately, we squander it loosely. We waste it easily. We abuse it badly. We break it ignorantly. We do not respect its power and complexity, its grandeur and potential. We take it for granted and sometimes see it as a nuisance or a problem to be destroyed. Let us this month stop and consider what we have in our life and the lives of others. Let us be aware of the warmth, the humor, the awe we experience in this life as well as the duty and commitment for others it brings. Let us meet the needs we see in others and the joy there is in doing good for others. There is but a thin shadow that exists between life and death. Let us always and everywhere appreciate God's gift of life. Let us give honor to God who is the giver of this good gift.
Blessings,
Deacon Steve
“If we possessed a real penetrating faith like the saints we should see our Lord like they did.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars
