Dear St. Rita Families,
Every October, we celebrate Respect Life Month in the Church. October is a Marian month, one of the two (with May) dedicated to Our Lady annually, which makes it fitting likewise to pray and work for the respect of all human life from conception to natural death. Pope Leo has asked that all Catholics around the world pray the rosary daily during this month of October, specifically for the intention of peace. War makes possible a particular kind of attack on the dignity of human life, and it is never desirable, even if it can be just at times. Our attitudes towards it must reflect these truths.
Normally, we associate Respect Life Month with beginning and end of life “issues” – abortion and euthanasia, and this month is no exception. You may know that there is a proposal in Richmond to make access to abortion a part of the Virginia State Constitution. Bishop Burbidge has commented on this proposal in his message about Respect Life Month. In essence, Bishop is reminding us that the outcomes of this November’s elections will determine whether that proposal is advanced or not. If it is advanced and ultimately passed, abortion will be legal in Virginia for all 9 months of pregnancy and with no age limits. I encourage you to read Bishop’s message and to spread the word.
Bishop Burbidge is also encouraging us to pray and fast in the time leading up to the November elections. For prayer, he suggests praying the rosary, attending daily Mass, and/or praying the Memorare daily. For fasting, he suggests eating only one meal a day, abstaining from meat, or giving up your favorite food or drink. Whatever you choose, it is good that we implore God’s mercy upon our State and our Country. Promoting abortion can only cause damage and harm, and significantly so.
In addition, do not fall for the lie that abortion is acceptable as a means to “protecting” people from future harm over the course of their lives. In this life there will be struggle, and no one can avoid it, but the answer is never violence towards the innocent. It is hypocrisy to sugar-coat violence in the womb in the name of avoiding suffering later on. The difficulties and challenges in this life are opportunities to live out Divine Charity to the full, and if we remove by our own choice (usurping God’s right, I might add) these little ones from the struggle, we not only do them a marvelous disservice, but likewise the world, who needs their presence, their genius, and the grace that God wants to provide through them. Injustice in the womb will not advance justice outside of it.
It is good for us to remember that civil government exists not to control every aspect of our lives, but to promote the common good. The state has an obligation to “distributive justice”, which is not just (or even fundamentally) about distribution of material goods to everyone, but about enabling a society in which man can seek his proper end, namely God. Enabling abortion is directly contrary to enabling us to seek God. In fact, it cuts off that possibility for the child in the womb, and it provides a way for parents to turn their backs on God. It even invites those who do the killing into our midst and welcomes them. This makes no sense if we are fundamentally about seeking God.
Rejecting abortion is only one step, of course, in enabling such a society, but it is the biggest step we can take right now. Imagine all the extra resources we would have to serve others outside the womb if we didn’t have to fight to keep them alive in the first place! Abortion says that death is the answer to life’s suffering. Christ says that love is the answer to life’s suffering. And so, He loved us to the end (cf. Jn 13:1). We must love Him in return. We must love others with Him – through Him, with Him, and in Him! In this way, we will alleviate the sufferings of others, grow in Divine Charity ourselves, and fulfill the demands of justice and charity towards those around us.
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen