We have begun the great Jubilee year 2000!
With our Holy Father John Paul II, we mark the end of the century, the end of a millennium, and with great hope we say, “Open wide the doors to Christ.”
We acknowledge the fact that “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to walk this earth and to save us by his death on the cross. … At the beginning of this holy year, we thank God for all that has been, and we commit ourselves to the future.
We rely on the gift of God's word, broken open each Sunday, … and we focus on the Eucharistic table where daily the body and blood of Christ is shared – food for the journey!
Nourished and fed by Almighty God, we respond to the challenges around us. We recommit ourselves to the sacrament of marriage and to family life. We realize that we have not always done a good job of teaching and witnessing to the basic truths of our Catholic faith. Through the Institute of Religious Studies and other programs we are making our teachings more accessible and give a greater priority to helping our children learn their Catholic faith.
Along with addressing the needs of the poor, the challenge of racism and our commitment to ecumenism, we also need to care for the most vulnerable as we work to build a culture of life.
I am mindful of the words of a gifted preacher who spoke out in 1977: “What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person and what kind of a society will we have 20 years hence if life can be taken so casually?”
The pastor who said this was Reverend Jesse Jackson. New York Post colunmist Rod Dreher said, “He chucked his pro-life convictions for worldly success in the Democratic Party.”
And today, tragically, we note the death of 38 million unborn children. How sick our society and some of our politicians have become.
If, as an ordained minister, I was afraid to speak out on abortion because someone might become upset, would it be also true that I have sold out? Today we need heroic preachers who tell the truth – challenging the culture of death with the Gospel of Life.
Recently, I received a brief note from someone … sharing with me an article in The Washington Times for November 15, 1999 with the title, “Fresh baby body parts for sale in America.” As the person said, “I've never read anything quite so blatant…. It takes your breath away.”
In another article from the Irish Independent Newspaper, the title reads “Holding hands.” In this article, a surgeon was doing a procedure to save the life of a 21-week old baby that could still be legally aborted. In the picture (see page A-3) with the article, you see the baby's little hand holding one of the fingers of the surgeon who saved its life.
Politicians may choose the culture of death for the chance to gain an office; pastors might fail to preach the full Gospel message thinking its the way to keep their parishioners happy; and moms and dads might encourage their daughter to have an abortion so they can remain “respectable” with their friends and relatives. However, each time this is done, the culture of death is advanced, and the Gospel of Life is denied. It is a terrible sin.
Today, we must not only proclaim the Gospel of Life boldly, but also share the good news of the Mother Teresa Endowment and let every woman in South Dakota know that there is an alternative to abortion. We will help you financially so you will be able to bring your child into the world and do what we can to assist you once your child is born. In addition, we reach out to every woman and man who have had an abortion experience, and we extend the hand of friendship. We want to walk with you and help you. Through Project Rachel, many of our priests and parish staffs stand ready to assist you.
We don't offer simple or easy answers. We realize there are organizations who provide simple and cheap solutions – we also know they are wolves in sheep's clothing. Margaret Sanger who founded one of those organizations – Planned Parenthood – referred to the poor as weeds and encouraged programs to “get rid of” those who are less desirable.
In this new century and new millennium, we proclaim the truth that life is sacred from conception to natural death. Measure our witness not only by our concern but our willingness to assist the unborn, the elderly, the handicapped and all those in need. In this Jubilee year, may we open wide the doors to Christ, especially to the most vulnerable among us.
