November 11, 2011
Bishop Thompson: Respect life from conception to natural death
Bishop Charles C. Thompson presides at Mass, beginning a Respect Life Cele-bration, Nov. 8. Among priests with him are Fathers Jason Griese, Ryan Hilder-brand and Ted Tempel. (Message photo by Paul R. Leingang) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
The “Culture of Life” has to begin in our family, among one another,” said Bishop Charles C. Thompson to an audience of about 250 people at the second annual Respect Life Celebration at St. Benedict Cathedral Nov. 8.
Within the family of Christians, respect for the dignity of human life — and respect for each other — is a central value, he said.
Bishop Thompson spoke to the gathering in the Woodward Center in the parish facilities following the celebration of Mass and a catered dinner. Bishop Thompson presided at the Mass; Father Alex Zenthoefer gave the homily.
Father Zenthoefer — an associate pastor, director of vocations and a high school chaplain — said in his homily that “the value of life never changes. Being made in God’s image will never change.” He referred to this reality as “a birthmark” or perhaps, “a conception mark” of being made in God’s image. He said the “image of God truly visible in us is our greatest defense of life.”
Bishop Thompson’s address was entitled, “Culture of Life: Witness of Love.” The center of his presentation was an exposition of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching.
In speaking about the first theme, “Life and Dignity of the Human Person,” Bishop Thompson referred to the two great commandments given by Jesus. Christ-ians are called to love God and love their neighbor — and these commandments include “everything in between.” The duty to respect life includes life from conception to natural death “and everything in between,” he said.
The principles of Catholic social teaching also include a “Call to Family, Community and Participa-tion,” “Rights and Responsibilities,” “Option for the Poor and the Vulnerable,” “the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers,” “Solidarity” and “Care for God’s Creation.”
In regard to the world God created for us, Bishop Thompson commented that “our concern for the un-born” should include “the world we are going to leave them.”
The dedication to Catholic social teaching requires “a commitment to a lifelong process of conversion,” which will be “rooted in ongoing devotion to prayer” and include a “daily examination of conscience — not just at Advent or the beginning of Lent.” This dedication must also include “reflection on the Word of God, celebration of the Sacraments, contemplation of the mysteries of God, discernment of God’s will and study of Catholic social teaching.”
Bishop Thompson said “Christian discipleship demands courage, conviction, charity and perseverance,” and that “any credible witness to a ‘culture of life’ necessarily involves a sense of hope in divine justice and mercy.”
The audience at the evening presentation included parish pro-life committee members and leaders, priests and deacons and other members of the area’s pro-life community.
Bishop Thompson noted the distinction between “identifying oneself as anti-something versus identifying oneself as pro-something.” He pointed out that those who favor abortion quickly understood the power of language and identified themselves as “pro-choice.”
“As powerful as language may be, however, it is one’s actions that give the most authentic witness to one’s claim of being pro-life. To be anti-something . . . does not necessarily make someone pro-life. To be truly pro-life a Catholic Christian must embrace the full range of Catholic social teaching that promotes a culture of life.”
Bishop Thompson went on to say that, “to be authentically pro-life, Catholic Christians cannot simply pick and choose which issues to embrace and which issues to disregard as if the Church is offering up some type of smorgasbord.”
Departing from a prepared text, Bishop Thompson told of hearing a pro-life speaker in the early days of his priesthood some 24 years ago. The speaker, whom he did not identify, used a memorable image of Jesus on the cross.
What Jesus did was to ask people to “give it to me” — “give me the violence and the hatred and the muck of human sinfulness” — and when he rose from the dead he left “all of that muck.”
“If I want to stop violence, hatred and bitterness, I have to do what Jesus did, and let it die in myself,” said the bishop. “We can’t return hatred for hatred. Let it stop here.”
Bishop Thompson spoke about the role of the Eucharist as “the source and summit of all that we are about as Christian witnesses to the grace of faith in both contemplation and action.” He said Jesus calls us “out of darkness into his own wonderful light.”
He said, through the dying and rising of Christ, we are given the grace to choose life over death.”
Bishop Thompson concluded with his observations on the lectionary selections on the Sunday that was the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, which challenged those who heard the words to “be open to a willingness to forgive as we seek to be forgiven.”
He said forgiveness was a free gift and not a right. “The fact that one human does not have the right to be forgiven does not absolve another from the obligation to forgive.” He said that sustaining a culture of life is not based on human merit but “on cooperation with divine grace made available through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”
The “culture of life” is at the heart of the prayer of St. Francis: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
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