In a reflection on Psalm 139, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “In the second part of the Psalm, God turns his loving gaze upon the human being, whose full and complete beginning is reflected upon. He is still an unformed substance in his mother’s womb: the Hebrew term used has been understood by several biblical experts as referring to an embryo, described in that term as a small, oval, curled-up reality, but on which God has already turned his benevolent and loving eyes . . .”
The pope goes on to call the human being the “masterpiece” of God whose future is already loved and known by the Lord from the beginning.
This human masterpiece is always at the center of the Church’s mission and concern.
God wants every person He created to know, love, and serve Him in this life, and to enjoy eternity with Him in the glory of Heaven.
Eternal salvation, the abundance of life given to us in Christ, is the passion and purpose of the Catholic Church.
To lift up every person to God is the reason the Church preaches the Gospel, celebrates the sacraments, and shepherds everyone into a living relationship with the Lord Jesus.
It is why we educate, heal, feed, and serve more people than any other institution on the planet.
The vast and deep pastoral activity of the Church is a wonder to behold!
It is also why we defend the sanctity of human life in the womb. Always have and always will.
The struggle to support life
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, the president and many of our national political leaders have been relentless in their advocacy for unrestricted abortion.
President Biden wants to codify legal abortion into federal law; he wants to reverse the Hyde amendment which restricts federal funding for abortion.
He falsely claimed recently that the pope and some of the United States bishops are not against government-funded abortions.
Last summer, he signed an executive order which sought to help women travel out of state to get an abortion and he established the Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access.
He has celebrated every victory for the cause of legal abortion and decried any limit put on it. All the while, he claims to be a “devout” Catholic.
Instead of advocating for the brutal destruction of fragile human life, should not our government be protecting the lives of our people, especially the most vulnerable?
Let’s create a culture and a society where we welcome every life coming into the world, where women and men, families, and single parents have the support they need to choose life for their children.
Imagine if we all worked together to truly build a culture of life, love, justice, and mercy.
An issue of justice
People accuse us bishops of getting political when we discuss abortion.
The question of abortion is fundamentally a moral issue of justice, and we have the obligation to speak about it and condemn it, all the while offering compassion, help, and healing to those who suffer because of an abortion or those struggling to make the momentous decision regarding an unborn life.
I have received letters saying I talk about abortion too much and sometimes on the same day, letters saying I don’t mention it enough.
It certainly is not the only moral issue, but it is a fundamental one, and any person with a conscience should be troubled by it.
I often think about the 63 million Americans aborted since 1973 who should be with us today, many of whom would be offering their talents and energy to serve others, striving to reach their potential, loving God and those around them, and living the adventure of this human existence. They were never given the chance.
If it were not for immigration, our national population would be precipitously declining.
We are an aging population, and everywhere we go these days, whether at a store, restaurant, or school, help is wanted.
Last year, the Secretary of the Treasury tried to affirm that abortion is good for the economy. What?
As Catholics, we have received the astonishing truth of the human person, created in the image of God, purchased with the Precious Blood of Christ, and anointed in the Holy Spirit, destined for eternal life with the Lord.
We will never tire of defending the dignity of every human being, beginning with the right to be born and to live abundantly. We pray and work for that day.
As Psalm 139: 13-16 proclaims, “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . . My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped before one came to be.”