October is Respect Life Month

Dear parishioners,

In my last bulletin article two weeks ago, I wrote about praying the rosary since October is the month of the rosary. October is also Respect Life Month, so it’s also a good month to ponder the reality that every life is a gift from God, and we have a duty to respect and defend life— especially the lives of those who are most vulnerable.

This is particularly pertinent right now since we are just a few weeks away from an election. The Church has continually reaffirmed the importance of Catholics being involved in politics to help guide our culture and ensure that citizens are living according to proper moral principles. There are many positive ripple effects to living according to proper moral principles, and many negative ripple effects to acting contrary to proper morals. We remember that morality is not based on opinion or public consensus. Rather, morality is based on objective reality. It is based on facts that are true independent of our personal beliefs or the time or place we live in. There’s a false idea that we can separate our political beliefs from our Catholic beliefs. In my undergrad days, I took a course in which the class discussed numerous important social issues. It was a required general course, so it was filled with students from all different backgrounds and belief systems. At one point in a conversation a student asked why people let their faith beliefs influence their political perspectives—why not just believe one thing when you’re at church on Sunday and another thing when you’re at work or out in public? It was striking to think that someone could suggest such a thought, yet we see this divorcing of what we believe from how we live frequently in our world. The term used to describe this is ‘hypocrisy’. This happens when a person professes to believe one thing but lives in a way that is inconsistent with those beliefs. A person cannot profess to believe that it’s wrong to kill, and then be indifferent to (or even advocate for) the killing of vulnerable people.

The Catholic bishops of the United States have continually reaffirmed that the preeminent issue in elections is the issue of life. Without life, no other rights matter. There’s that saying that all it takes for evil to triumph in the world is for good men to do nothing. If we are silent and don’t do what’s in our power to speak up against evil in the world, we bear a certain level of responsibility for the evil that happens. And, if we actively use our power to bring about evil or make it more easily accessible, we share a much stronger responsibility for that and for the ramifications that follow—which is something we will have to give an account for when we come face-to-face with God.

Take some time to learn what the Church teaches regarding our duty to vote with an informed conscience. A good resource to turn to is the document put out by the U.S. Catholic bishops called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. It’s a bit lengthy but worth the read. The Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life also has some good resources regarding election information and learning where candidates stand on life issues.

Most importantly, as Catholics, we turn to prayer and ask God to be at work—both in our own lives and in the lives of others.

It’s important not to forget the power of prayer. I invite you to join me in praying the 9 Days for Life novena. This novena is commonly prayed in January around the time the March for Life is happening. For nine consecutive days, this novena offers prayers for different intentions related to life, and it gives a reflection, act of reparation, and “one step further” for each day. I plan to start it on October 11 (the Sunday this bulletin is distributed) and to conclude it on Monday, October 19. You can find the novena on the USCCB website or by searching ‘9 Days for Life Novena’. Also, in this month of the rosary, I encourage you to keep praying the rosary and to pray for respect for all life and for it’s protection from conception to natural death.

Know of my continued prayers for all of you as we seek to live for the praise of God’s glory by striving for holiness and to become the saints he is calling us to be.

Fr. Patrick