The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde during the Respect Life Mass at St. James Parish in Falls Church on November 26.
Once again, we are gathered together for our monthly Respect Life Mass. As we do, we turn our attention toward our Blessed Lady under the title “Cause of our Joy.”
Of course, Her Divine Son Jesus Christ is the source of all joy and life. As He tells us in today's Gospel account, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” Since Jesus came to us thorough Mary, the Church has gradually come to understand that Blessed Virgin Mary, because of her cooperation in the Incarnation of the Word, is the cause or source of this great joy. The Church has gradually come to honor Mary as the “Cause of Our Joy” and devotion to Mary under this title has developed, especially in France and Canada.
Yes, Mary, “the Cause of Our Joy” allowed the Holy Spirit to form within her the eternal Son of the Father. Taking flesh from her, He was born to be our Saviour and Lord. He calls us to be members of His Body the Church and to obey the great commandment of love which He gave us, as we heard in today's Gospel account: “Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”
To love one another necessarily implies respecting the inestimable dignity of every human person and the gift of life which each person possesses. Therefore, woven into a “respect-life attitude and way of life” is the profound respect for the dignity and life of every human being, from the first moment of conception until the last moment of natural death. This “respect-life attitude and way of life” is reflected in many ways. One such way is how we dress.
In this connection, an article was recently published in the Washington Post entitled “What's Wrong With This Outfit, Mom?” The author laments the deplorable way in which people dress, especially women and young girls. “Mothers voice distress over the suggestive clothing their teen and preteen daughters are wearing, inside and outside the house. In fact, conflict over clothing is what prompts them to come in for family therapy. Women once complained about being reduced to sex objects. Now, their daughters are volunteering to be sex objects. And while parents register disapproval, they often fail to take action. In that failure, they unwittingly place their daughters at risk by allowing them to bypass girlhood. When a daughter moves straight from little girl to woman, she's playing a role rather than gradually learning to live her own life. These girls may seem whole, but they aren't. There is often a lost girl inside.”
The author goes on to say: “Think back a few decades (if you're old enough) to the arrival of the pill" What we are witnessing now is the fallout from the subsequent sexual revolution. Gone was the fear of unwanted pregnancy. Along came the assumption that sexual problems were the result of hang-ups, and that relaxing the strictures and structure would free everyone to live in a kind of sexual utopia.
“Well, the so-called utopia is here, and older women have reason to be alarmed at the dangers young women are bringing upon themselves. These girls are treated as objects just as surely as in any earlier generation. It's pre-liberation treatment in post-liberation disguise. 'Turn back before it's too late!' we want to warn them " because what awaits them is not Prince Charming. It is more likely to be loneliness and regret.”
As one reads the rest of the article, one finds the author urging parents to be firm on how their daughters dress and to be strong enough to say “no” to wearing suggestive clothing.
Yes, how we dress is very much connected to respecting the dignity and life of each person, beginning with our own. It is very much connected with understanding and practicing the virtue of chastity. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “All the baptized are called to chastity. " All Christ's faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity” (No. 2348).
I am often deeply saddened and, admittedly, even annoyed by what people wear to church and to church-sponsored functions. Undoubtedly, what we wear at all times should reveal an attitude of respect for oneself and for others around us. All the more then, when we come into the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and of the ecclesial community, that is, persons joined to each other in the communion of the Church, our clothing should reflect respect for ourselves, the members of the Church and Our Blessed Lord Himself.
Make no mistake, I am not saying that people should wear expensive clothing when they come to church and to church-sponsored functions. People come from various economic backgrounds. All I ask is that the clothing we wear would reflect a respect for ourselves, the people around us and Our Lord, and also be neat and clean.
At first hearing, this reflection about clothing may not seem to be connected with a “respect-life attitude and way of life.” However, when we truly respect life and all that it implies, the connection is clear and unambiguous.
On this day and in our continuous and relentless efforts to uphold the dignity of every human person and to honor and defend the gift of human life, let us turn to Mary, Our Blessed Mother and the Cause of Our Joy. May Our Blessed Lady continue to strengthen us to live more faithfully the Gospel of Life. May she also strengthen us to love one another the way Jesus loves us. May Our Blessed Lady confirm us in our relentless efforts day by day to uphold human dignity and to honor and to defend the precious gift of human life.
Yes, our Lord and Saviour tells us to love one another the way He loves us. In doing that, we shall experience Christ's own joy made real in our hearts. Indeed, He is the source of our very life and of abiding joy. May His Blessed Mother, who is our Mother also, be the “Cause of our Joy” as she leads us to “walk in the way of [God's] commandments with our hearts set on true and lasting joy” (cf. Opening Prayer). Amen.
