Today, from Isaiah, Matthew, and the 80th psalm, as our message from Sacred Scripture presents us the image of the vineyard, we commemorate the first Sunday of October and Respect Life Month. We Catholics celebrate October as Respect Life Month, shining a spotlight on this essential value of our faith. This year, the month of October calls us to “live the Gospel of Life: to imitate Christ and travel in his footsteps,” commemorating the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the encyclical EVANGELIUM VITAE (THE GOSPEL OF LIFE) by Pope John Paul II. In that encyclical, John Paul II declared that the Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world. In taking human flesh, Christ dwells among us and sacrifices his very life for our redemption, revealing the profound dignity of every human being. This human dignity which we all share does not change with our stage of life or our age, with our abilities, with our level of independence, or any other varying circumstance. Our human dignity is rooted in the permanent fact that each human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Each one of us is created to share in the very life of God himself.
The Gospel of Life is at the very foundation of our life as Christs's disciples. Jesus declared to us that as we treat the least of our brothers and sisters, so we treat Jesus himself. John Paul II lists many threats to our human dignity, including poverty, malnutrition, murder, and war. However, he calls particular attention to the threats to human dignity at the beginning and the end of life, which is where human life needs the greatest protection. In Ancient Israel, those at greatest threat in society were called the ANAWIM - the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. Today, in modern American, the children in their mothers’ wombs and those members of society approaching the end of their lives are the “least of these” in the estimation of the world. Practices such as abortion and assisted suicide reject the eternal truth that all human life is to be cherished and to be defended with loving concern.
Wednesday, a week ago, when I went out to the prayer vigil in front of the abortion clinic at the noon hour in the Fondren neighborhood of Jackson to say a prayer and to pray for the unborn, it did not matter that some there mocked us and derided us. God was with us, calling us to stand for the truth of our faith. Our Catholic Charities here in the Diocese of Jackson has a wonderful program called Born Free, which provides treatment for substance abuse for women who are pregnant. This is a very needed program in our society, a program for which these women and their families are very grateful, helping their children be born in the best circumstances possible in the midst of their mothers’ struggle with addiction. In commemoration of Respect Life Month, we here at St Jude are glad to be able to collect items that are needed at the Born Free program. Standing up for the pro-life issues and letting our voices be heard and are actions be seen are important parts of being disciples.
Our readings today are particularly relevant to Respect Life Month and the call to live the Gospel of Life. In Jesus’ parable in Matthew’s Gospel, the tenants who live in the vineyard reject the landowner’s servants and even his own son, whom he sent after they reject all his other messengers. There are those who reject God’s kingdom and his messengers, just as happened with the tenants in the parable. Yet, there are others out there who will accept the Kingdom. So, that begs the question, what does God’s kingdom mean to us? We are living aspects of God’s kingdom already in our lives here on earth. We await the fulness of the Kingdom in the eternal life to come. However, what is important is that God’s Kingdom calls us to certain values and a certain lifestyle. Frequently, the values of the Kingdom challenge the mores and norms of our modern world - that is something we have to accept and realize and that is what we face today in our proclamation of his Kingdom. We have seen this in the Senate, where practicing Catholics or members of the Knights of Columbus are badgered and ridiculed for their faith and their values as they are compared to the values of our secular world.
As we commemorate Respect Life Month and the anniversary of the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, we can reflect upon how we personally live out the Gospel: (1) Do we inform ourselves of the Church’s teachings and engage in the civic arena as a follower of Christ and the values of the Gospel? (2) Do we support and advocate for laws and polices that protect and defend human life? (3) Do I treat and interact with others in the same way I would treat and interact with Christ himself? As we celebrate the Gospel of Life today and the beginning of Respect Life Month, may we hear God’s call. May the Gospel of Life truly have an impact on our lives of faith.
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