Life: Show Respect by Action

Searching beyond the doors of understanding, far along the path of uncertainty, there stands the mystery of a soul:  how God created both man and woman, both very beautiful, both very unique. Often women think that so few people truly understand them. For a man to truly understand a woman’s soul is quite the undertaking and for a woman to truly understand a man’s soul is the same. It is not easy; we are very different, but we complement each other so well, the love between a woman and a man is so powerful, that Christ miraculously creates a whole new person. We unite and an amazing miracle, a new life, develops.  And when does this new life begin? At the moment of fertilization, a moment we call conception.

On October 3, the Catholic Church ponders this mystery of new life by recognizing this particular Sunday as Respect Life Sunday.

On October 3, you may participate in a local life chain, or hear your church talk about pro-life topics, but what does Respect Life Sunday really mean? It’s a reminder that we have to do more.

Every single day over 3,200 babies die from abortion here in the United States. Every day. That is one abortion every 26 seconds. How often do you watch television for 60 minutes in an evening? In one hour, 60 minutes, 138 babies have been brutally murdered. What did you do today to stop the death penalty from taking place to thousands of children? What about all of those mothers and fathers who have damaged their lives from their baby being aborted?

We have to act. And we have to start with ourselves. Why do women feel pressured into abortion in the first place? Could it be that their parents are pressuring them? Could they be getting pressure from their boyfriends? Before we can even start to explain why women are pressured into having their own babies murdered, we must look at how society disrespects human life, especially the vulnerable.

Take for example the young Catholic woman, Trisha Duguay. Trisha just married the man of her dreams and while walking down the aisle, she collapsed. Trisha was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a brain tumor. Subsequent to an operation, she went into a coma. However, Trisha’s Catholic husband and her family decided to take away her feeding tube – calling it “life support” – thereby starving and dehydrating their daughter/wife to death.  Besides the moral evil of this act, there is the matter of the great scandal caused when Catholics fail to follow Church teaching.  Why didn’t these Catholics know that a feeding tube is not extraordinary means of life support, but simply her food and water – the same things every one of us is dependent upon to stay alive?  Trisha suffered a very long and painful death — 56 days without nourishment — and died on September 24, 2010. Trisha deserved to be treated with dignity and respect, and not forced to die.

A person in a coma is still a person.  A person in the womb is still a person. Like Trisha, millions of babies don’t even get a chance to fight for their lives. Our society needs to take a much deeper look into how we treat each other:  as gifts from God or as inconveniences?

We need to look at how we view life, how we treat  others, and whether we view each human being as a person with value and worth. Do we bother to learn and understand the Church’s teaching on the dignity of life and then apply it in all situations? Do we apply it when there is an unplanned pregnancy in our families? When a loved one faces disability or terminal illness? When we discuss our own end of life decisions with our loved ones? When we talk over parenthood with our spouses? When we face the trial of infertility?

May we look at Our Lady, Mary, the Mother of God, as a role model, someone who took on great responsibility with such dignity and strength. She intercedes for us and continues to help us come closer to her son, Jesus Christ.

Our Lady Queen of Peace, pray for us.