Homily for Ordinary Time 27
October 6, 2024
The Gift of Human Life
In 1995,
Pope St. John Paul II released a document which became one of the cornerstones
of his pontificate: Evangelium Vitae, which means “The Gospel of Life.”
This encyclical letter (which is a letter from the Pope to the entire world,
carrying magisterial weight) coined that phrase which would be so repeated by the
saintly pontiff for the remainder of his tenure: We are facing an enormous
and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the “culture of
death” and the “culture of life.”. He held up these two contrasting
ideas - culture of life and culture of death – as the great battle of our time.
And here we are, almost thirty years later, with the battle still raging around
us. As our Church enters into October, which is designated as Respect Life
month, and as our nation is roiled by continual disagreements about the gift
and meaning of human life, today I begin a month-long homily series discussing
the Culture of Life and how it is lived out joyfully, with love.
But
first, let us examine what makes human life unique – in a world that is
sometimes lost to it! Haven’t we all seen the old Fancy Feast commercial where
the cat is being given the choicest, most delectable tidbits to eat out of the
crystal goblet – while at the same time there are starving people in
Bridgeport? Human life is infinitely more valuable than a pet’s. Why? Let us
look at five aspects of human life that makes it unique, valuable, and worthy
of respect.
First,
human life is sacred. We are made in the Image and Likeness of God, with
an intellect and freedom. The Church has always been on the forefront of human
dignity – whether it was the Dominican priest Fr. Bartolome de las Casas
objecting to the harsh mistreatment of Native Americans among the
Conquistadores, the religious orders like the Camillians who founded the modern
hospital system, the great works of charity of St. Vincent de Paul and Mother
Teresa, or the bold stand against the Nazi juggernaut by Bl. Franz Jagerstatter.
The Church, since it is made of individuals, is not perfect in its history of
respecting human rights – but it was truly due to the influence of Christianity
that the world shifted from being “nasty, brutish, and short” to being one that
sees the sacredness of every human life.
This was
one of the main reasons why Christianity spread so rapidly in the Roman Empire –
it was the first religion to actually respect human dignity for everyone, from
the poorest to the rich. An anonymous early Church document called “The Letter
to Diognetus”, from approximately 130AD, talks about this stark, countercultural
juxtaposition of the Roman culture of power, domination and violence with the
unique compassion and respect that Christians showed: Like others, they
marry and have children, but they do not expose them. (Exposing children
was the ancient tradition of taking a handicapped child and leaving them in a
field or forest to die). (Christians) share their meals, but not their
wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the
flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven.
Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.
Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. They suffer dishonor, but
that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their
answer to abuse, kindness their response to insult. It was this radical
commitment to the sacredness of all human life that caused the Church to be
looked at in wonder – and for Christ’s message to spread
Second,
human life is a right. Our Declaration of Independence was correct when
it stated that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This
right to life comes from God and cannot be taken away by any government or
individual.
Third,
human lives are equal. If you were in a psychology class in college, you
may have had to do the classic “Lifeboat” thought experiment. We were taught
something along the lines of, “There are ten people on a sinking ship, and the
lifeboat only has five spots. Who do you let on? You have a college professor,
a person with cancer, an elderly person, a child, a famous athlete, your
mother, someone with Downs’ Syndrome…” and the list goes on. The whole idea of
the exercise is to somehow judge which lives are worth saving and which lives
are not worth anything. With the eyes of a Christian, though, every life has
the same equal value since all are loved infinitely by God and are invited to
the same eternal destiny. There is no human life that has greater or lesser
value than any other, based on talent or looks or money or size. From the first
moment of conception until natural death, every human life has equal value.
Fourth,
human life is a gift. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. He does
not owe us another day of life or another breath – but all is gift. It is a gift
that we must treat well, lest we offend the Giver – hence, our obligation to
take care of our health and the health of others.
Because
it’s a gift, it is not something we are owed. This is especially true for
couples who are struggling to have a child, which is a tremendous cross for
many families. Recently IVF has made the news, and I know it is very prevalent
in this community. But IVF is always gravely immoral, since it makes a child,
not a gift, but a commodity to be manufactured. A child has a right to be brought
into existence through an act of love, not a scientific technique. In this way,
we preserve the nature of the gift – the giver is God, and we receive the gift
of human life with gratitude and openness.
Finally,
life, as good as it is, is not absolute and there are many reasons to
give it up. Greater love has no man, says that Lord, than to lay down his life
for his friend. The fifty million martyrs who shed their blood for Christ
demonstrated this profoundly – there are reasons to give up our health, our
energy, our very lives.
As Pope John
Paul II said, “The basis for every good thing in society is the dignity of the
human person.” Life is always a good, as it participates in the very life of
God. This earthly life is a hint and a foreshadowing of that life that never
ends, which we all yearn for. As St. Irenaeus put it, “The glory of God is man
fully alive” – and this is His destiny for us, not just an earthly existence,
but a Heavenly one where this earthly life will reach its fulfillment.
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