Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
Readings of the day: 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51; Psalm 144:1b, 2, 9-10; Mark 3:1-6
“Is it lawful to do good… rather than to do evil; to save life rather than to destroy it?”
“Is it lawful to do good… rather than to do evil; to save life rather than to destroy it?”
I think we know
the answer to Jesus’ rhetorical question in our Gospel reading from Mark, as he
heals the man with the withered hand: Yes! Not only is it “lawful to do good”
and “to save life,” but to uphold the dignity of human life is the only morally
right option.
Today in the
U.S. is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, which
coincides with the now forty-first anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Today thousands
have traveled to Washington for the annual March for Life; many from our
parish. Many more pray quietly from their homes and churches for the legal
recognition of the dignity of human life. Let us join them in prayer.
But as we join
them in prayer, let us also remember and pray for the protection of all human life, and for such protection
to be increasingly understood as not only a legal obligation, but a moral one.
I emphasize
again the invitation to protect and to love all human life; to move hearts,
societies, and the world with this love for human life. I speak in defense not
only of the unborn, although they are most vulnerable to having their
fundamental right to life disregarded.
Should we not also speak in defense of
the poor, too often neglected by economies “of exclusion”; economic structures
that, as Pope Francis says, are also a violation of the commandment, “Thou
shalt not kill”; a symptom of a “throwaway culture” that is lamentably
“spreading.”
Should we not
also speak in defense of migrants and refugees, too often viewed as “a problem
to be solved” and not enough as our own “brothers and sisters”? Should we not
speak in defense of trafficked persons and in condemnation of the crime against
humanity that is human trafficking? Should we not speak in defense of victims
of war and violence and for an end to such violence?
Should we not
speak with the Lord’s love even for “the enemy”; those whose lives are deemed
expendable because they are “extremists”; they are on death row; they are the
feared; they are the other; they are the enemy?
Should we not
speak in defense of women; particularly on this Day of Prayer for the Legal
Protection of Unborn Children; for women who have experienced abuse; women in situations
of crisis pregnancy who may view abortion as, in Pope Francis’ words, “a quick
solution to their profound anguish” if they are not properly accompanied,
counseled, and loved? Should we not speak in defense of the elderly; those
suffering from depression and other mental illnesses; people with disabilities;
the terminally ill?
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