by Joe Cady
In 1995, John Paul II wrote a beautiful encyclical letter called Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life, which begins with a simple and yet profound statement, “The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message” (EV 1). During his public ministry, Jesus told his disciples that he came so that we might have life, and life in abundance (Jn 10:10). Christianity, at its most basic core, is marked by one essential truth: that God has made us for life. He created us in his image and likeness so that we might be capable of experiencing the love and goodness of the Blessed Trinity. And even when sin disrupted God’s intention for us, God set a plan in motion to draw us back to himself in order to once again make us capable of sharing in divine life; a plan that culminates in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. This is the good news, and it must be at the heart of our witness to the world.
Because human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and destined for eternal communion with God, every person, without exception, has an inherent dignity and inestimable value. And as people of faith, we must be the first to affirm, protect, and uphold this dignity, at all times and under every circumstance. As was taught during the Second Vatican Council, “Everyone must consider his every neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his life and the means necessary to living it with dignity” (Gaudium et Spes, 27). Respecting the dignity of the human person means not just defending life but promoting life, seeking to ensure that each person is able to live in a manner consistent with their dignity. John Paul II, echoing the words of Gaudium et Spes, recognized that there are a variety of ways in which the life and dignity of the human person is attacked and violated in our present age:
“The varieties of crime are numerous: all offenses against life itself, such as murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and willful suicide; all violations of the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture, undue psychological pressures; all offenses against human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, degrading working conditions where men are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons: all these and the like are criminal: they poison civilization; and they debase the perpetrators more than the victims and militate against the honor of the creator” (GS 27).
None of these offenses against life can be ignored by the Church, because they “poison civilization” and “militate against the honor of the creator.” As people of faith, we must be consistently pro-life, which means saying “yes” to life whenever and wherever we find it, and working to overcome all the ways in which the dignity of the human person is threatened. As John Paul II says, “every threat to human dignity and life must necessarily be felt in the Church's very heart” (EV 3). Why? Because “By his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being” (EV 2). In the mystery of the Word made flesh, the Son of God entered into a profound and intimate union with every human being, especially the poorest and most vulnerable among us. This means that no one is outside the realm of God’s love and care, no one is disposable, no one is forgotten. This is the good news of the Gospel of Life, and this truth must permeate our thoughts, attitudes, speech, and actions. As John Paul II said, “In our service of charity, we must be inspired and distinguished by a specific attitude: we must care for the other as a person for whom God has made us responsible. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to become neighbors to everyone (cf. Lk 10:29-37), and to show special favor to those who are poorest, most alone and most in need. In helping the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned – as well as the child in the womb and the old person who is suffering or near death – we have the opportunity to serve Jesus. He himself said: "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40)… Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good. We need then to ‘show care’ for all life and for the life of everyone” (EV 87).
As a people of life, our job is to bear witness to the Gospel of Life in all of its fullness: to uphold the dignity of the human person, defend it whenever it is threatened, and seek to transform the social, political, and economic structures of society in a way that will truly serve life and the good of the human person. As John Paul II went on to say, “The purpose of the Gospel, in fact, is ‘to transform humanity from within and to make it new’. Like the yeast which leavens the whole measure of dough (cf. Mt 13:33), the Gospel is meant to permeate all cultures and give them life from within, so that they may express the full truth about the human person and about human life” (EV 95). The Gospel ought to be infused into every corner of human life and society, transforming it and bringing it to its fulfillment. This is precisely the job given to the followers of Christ.
The Gospel has been entrusted to the Church to be proclaimed as a source of joy and salvation. As a Church that is for life, our evangelizing efforts must always be received as good news for the world. Therefore, our witness to the dignity and value of all human life must be clearly on display. The world should see us as the most loving, most caring, most generous, and most willing to put our time and energy at the service of human life, especially where is it weak and vulnerable. As John Paul II said during a visit to the United States in 1999, “The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation.” Therefore, let us never forget that “a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development” (Evangelii Gaudium, 213).
We are a people of life because God has made us to share in the divine life of the Trinity. And because this is the vocation of each individual, we must necessarily be a people for life; people who recognize the value of every man, woman, and child, and work to build a world where everyone is able to live in a manner worthy of their dignity. Therefore, let us commit ourselves today and everyday to celebrating life and upholding the dignity of the human person in our thoughts, in our speech, and in our actions. May each of us bear witness to the goodness and beauty of life and be a living invitation to Gospel of Jesus Christ.