Gift of Life!

As we begin this month of October, we also begin our observance of "Respect Life" month. The theme for this year's observance are the words of Jesus, "I came so that all might have life and have it to the full." Sunday was "Respect Life Sunday" and it sets the tone for this entire month. However, we know that the precious gift of human life is not confined to one month but is a gift that we need to promote every day of our lives. The booklet for Respect Life, which comes from the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has a wonderful drawing of Blessed John Paul II and it calls him, "An Apostle of Life." Our late Holy Father was truly an apostle for life and he did not miss an opportunity to talk about life and tell the world that we need to do all that we can to protect, promote, and defend God's precious gift. Blessed John Paul II would say that we live in a culture of death and we need to turn it into a "culture of life." That call is still very loud and clear because of all that we see going on around us: abortion, euthanasia, etc. People take innocent human life without giving them a chance and we know how long life is to be, from natural birth to natural death. God is the Creator of all human life and our lives are mapped out so we need to follow the Will that He has for each of us. The Pro-Life booklet states for the homily from Respect Life Sunday, "But eternal life awaits those who embrace the Gospel of Life and seek to bring truth and life and beauty to the vineyard God has planted for us. That is why we celebrate this Respect Life Sunday each year. It's to save our lives and the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Let us proclaim that life, preserve it, and devote ourselves to its protection" (Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, USCCB, 4). We pray that we will not lose hope or give up in our efforts to create a culture for life. This is a very important time for all of us and we pray that God will give us the grace and strength that we need to make the gift of life known to all peoples! God Bless You!!!