Dear Friends, 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of life. Whenever anyone preaches the Gospel, every homily finds its center in the gift of life. We understand that the teachings of Christ remind us that loving God and loving neighbor are the two greatest commandments. Respect for all life, for every human being, is the expectation of God for every person to live.

In the month of October, the Church invites her people to remember respect for all life. This does not say that the other months of the year we never hear about respect life, it means that this month together we preach as one voice that all life matters to God. 

The Church in its teaching, seeks to cast a wide net on life issues. From the moment of conception until one’s last natural breath, all life is to be understood as sacred. 

Let’s be clear that people are free to have an opinion they feel strongly about when it comes to life issues. Because of a personal story, maybe a transformation of heart, a mistake from the past, a realization that our life is a gift from God, whatever our reason, we can resonate around a particular issue. It is human nature to feel close or passionate about something that has touched our lives. The same happens with life issues. We might choose one issue and believe it is the most important. We also should remember that we do not stop there. One issue alone is not enough to respect all life. To be deaf or blind to other life issues is not the way of a disciple of Christ. All life is to be defended, respected, and seen as valuable to society. We are to be consistent with life issues which means we have a core value that covers the entirety of human life. 

There may be some who feel disappointed because a particular issue was not exclusively spoken about. That way of thinking can miss the mark. The issue that is important to some, is also included in the preaching and the protection of all human life.

In October we will remember the life issues preached every Sunday because the Gospel of Jesus is life. We broaden our respect for life to cover every life that is part of our humanity. 

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Eric