Dear St. Rita Families,
It was a great joy to march in Washington, DC on Friday in support of the lives of the most vulnerable of our country, the unborn! Thank you to all those who came out in support of the voiceless, and thank you to all who prayed for us as well!
Because I addressed the pro-life theme last week, I want to look at a different aspect of the March for Life this week. One of the enduring characteristics of the March for Life in contrast to other protests or similar events is the joy that is evident in all who are there. The March for Life is always a joyful event, and I cannot think of a single time where I have left thinking, “I wish I hadn’t gone to the March for Life today.” (For the record, I’ve been to the March nearly every year of my life since 7th grade, with the exception of a few when there were extenuating circumstances.)
It’s not just that we’re marching for something good. It’s that the March for Life fundamentally acknowledges a truth that much of the world doubts nowadays: “It is good that we are here.” It is good that we exist. It is good that God and our parents have brought us into this world. God thought that the world wouldn’t be complete without each one of us, even the people we don’t necessarily like, even the people who are totally at odds with what we believe. This is the first meaning of those words in the Creation story of Genesis, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31).
The joyful spirit of the March for Life has this truth as its foundation. It is expressed in the support of life. It is expressed in the prayers that all willingly join for the sake of those who have no voice. It is expressed in the reunions of friends from across the country – friends who have all come to Washington, DC for one thing and for one thing alone. There is something, then, about being pro-life that seems to be a pre-requisite for joy.
You see, joy isn’t the product of a lack of suffering, nor of sufficient material comforts (money, job, friends, etc.). Joy is the fruit of charity, and charity must be received before it can be given. Despite the lack of the varying material comforts in this world, one who knows charity is still able to say, “It is good that I am here.” (Sidenote: By ‘charity’, I do not just mean giving to the poor. I do mean love of God and neighbor.)
There is no life that is free of suffering. There should be no life that is free of charity. Thus, while it is normal for us to dislike suffering, our response to suffering must not oppose charity. Our response to suffering must never tends towards the lie, “It is not good for me to be here.” Yet, is this not how abortion works? This child will cause me suffering, and so it is not good for him to be here. Recall for a moment Peter, James, and John on the Mountain of the Transfiguration with Our Lord. As He gives them a glimpse of His glory, Peter (in classic Peter fashion) says the only thing he can think of to say, “Lord, it is good that we are here” (Mt 17:4). At this moment, it is easy, perhaps, for Peter to say such a thing. He sees Our Lord in splendor, and he desires to stay there in that moment. Our Lord, however, does not acquiesce, and it seems that Peter has forgotten the lesson imparted to him just a week prior in the previous chapter: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24).
To rejoice in living a life that knows suffering – that is a potentially challenge of a different magnitude. It is a challenge, however, that must be posed to the modern world. There is a reason that 70 years ago, Archbishop Fulton Sheen was producing his very popular TV show called, “Life is Worth Living”, episodes of which you can watch online. (Here is a prescient one that I think you’ll enjoy.) Even then, he wanted to convince people that in the midst of suffering, there is something to hope for, something more than material comfort and an ease of life – redemption, forgiveness, freedom, union with God Himself in Heaven, even joy! But to find that hope, he challenged his viewers to turn away from sin, to turn away from evil, to turn away from anything that opposes the natural law. To do such things requires effort; it requires opposing powerful forces in one’s life and in the world; in short, it requires being willing to suffer.
Hopelessness is rooted in two things: A desire or need to rid oneself of present suffering, and the belief that that need is impossible to fulfill. As Christians, we recognize that certain sufferings will not be alleviated in this life, but because we seek the joy that is the fruit of charity, we accept (even gladly) whatever suffering is permitted to us by God. When we accept the suffering, it loses its power over us, and we become free to love God and love our neighbor, because we are no longer focused on ourselves. And when we love, we also gain the fruit of love, the fruit of charity, which is joy.
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen