Florida Catholic | Season of Hope

We celebrate a season of hope

DEBORAH SHEARER | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 01.18.08

During the season of Christmas we pondered the magnificent gift of the Incarnation to a world in need of hope; a hope that Pope Benedict XVI refers to in his encyclical letter “Spe Salvi” (“Saved by Hope”) as “the gift of new life.” This gift, too often rejected by a society that believes more in what can be seen and understood by the senses, remains, through faith, “in embryo” in each of us to be nurtured and developed into “true life” in Christ.

Like the nurturing of this life-changing opportunity of grace, human life in its most fragile state of development has need of protection but, instead, has seen an escalation in the violation of human dignity over the past four decades. Human embryos continue to be destroyed through research or left in a frozen limbo, while more than 40 million children have been effectively eliminated from the social consciousness by legalized “choice.”

The devaluing of life has also created social divisions or categories of human worth distinguished by intelligence, ability, health, race or, basically, those who are wanted and those who aren’t. Abortion is most abhorrent because it fragments the social interconnectedness of communities and families, and destroys the most sacred bond between a mother and her unborn child.

There is always “hope,” though. A slight shift in public consciousness can be seen in attitudes measured through polls reflecting changing perspectives on life, and most recently in a few films, such as “Bella” and “Juno,” that attribute a unique, God-given dignity and respect to new life and new possibilities. Always consistent in its tradition and teaching, the church offers a message of hope to all people, that each person shares the image of God and that, according to St. Gregory of Nazianzen, God “shares in my flesh to preserve the divine image in me.”

This Jan. 22 marks the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. On this day, we perform acts of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through abortion, as well as pray for our nation and civil leaders to restore full protection to our weakest members of the human family.

Activities around the anniversary date include the March for Life in St. Augustine Jan. 20. Buses will be provided in various counties of the Orlando Diocese for individuals and youth groups. Bishop Thomas Wenski will lead participants from local parishes in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., Jan. 22. Also, ongoing prayer vigils at abortion sites are scheduled throughout the year. For information on any of these events, contact the Office of Advocacy and Justice at 407-246-4819 or e-mail eclayton@orlandodiocese.org.

Shearer is the director of the Office of Advocacy and Justice, formerly known as the Respect Life Office.

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