None of us would be here if God hadn't created us. Our lives are gifts from God. Owing all of our being to God, we are thus called to value and love our lives, and the life of every other person.
If we realize that we have everything we have because they are all gifts from God, we treasure all that God gives us. If we truly cherish what God gives, then we value all life, for all life is a gift from God.
If we truly view all life as precious, then we seek to protect life which will come into being. When we honestly consider all life valuable, then we seek to protect a fertilized egg which is called to be born as a human being.
For a while now I have thought about how, once a woman is pregnant, if she takes no steps to intervene in what has already started, then she will give birth to a child. A process has begun which will result in a human being in the world.
And so, insofar as I hold dear and respect the sanctity of all human lives, whether they have already been born or will soon be born, for some time I have been wanting to protest against abortion. Thus when I saw pro-life protesters outside an abortion clinic as I was driving home from Mass today, I pulled over and joined them.
I walked up to some of the protesters and greeted them. I picked up one of the spare signs they had resting in a box. I held the sign as I alternately stood and sat on the sidewalk.
We were gathered on a busy street. In each direction three lanes of traffic were flowing. The speed limit there is 35 miles per hour.
It's a busier street than the one where I go with other Catholic Workers to protest at least once a month outside the facilities of a manufacturer of armaments. Thus I suppose it's understandable that today in this pro-life protest, I witnessed more feedback, both positive and negative, than all the reactions I've seen in the dozen or so times I've protested outside the arms manufacturer's location.
I am not the only Catholic Worker who protests both war-making and abortion. I see a common thread in protesting both war and abortion, namely the sanctity of life. I protest nuclear weapons because I value life so much that I do not want human beings to be vaporized by nuclear warheads. I protest abortion because I value life so much that I do not want fetuses to be robbed of the life they will experience as human beings outside of the womb, which they are already on the path to experiencing.
In short, I value life. I oppose abortion. I aim to stop the arms trade. I am not in support of people executing anyone through the death penalty. I do not favor physicians helping patients to commit suicide. I respect and honor all life; I oppose all attempts to prevent and extinguish life.
I want to encourage others to value life. I am glad I was born; I am grateful to God for the life He has given me.
Life comes into being when a man and a woman choose to share in the reproductive act and thus participate in the miracle of life. If this process has started, it should be allowed to run its natural course. What God has allowed to come together, let no person put asunder.
God holds each life in the palm of His hand. Let us trust in God to let each life unfold according to His divine plan.
Let us value the life we have, in our bodies, and in the bodies of others. Let us appreciate the gifts God has given us and others. Let us value the lives others can live; let us give them the chances we have had. Let us value others' lives as we value our own lives. Let us love others as we love ourselves,* as Jesus has instructed us to do.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
If we realize that we have everything we have because they are all gifts from God, we treasure all that God gives us. If we truly cherish what God gives, then we value all life, for all life is a gift from God.
If we truly view all life as precious, then we seek to protect life which will come into being. When we honestly consider all life valuable, then we seek to protect a fertilized egg which is called to be born as a human being.
For a while now I have thought about how, once a woman is pregnant, if she takes no steps to intervene in what has already started, then she will give birth to a child. A process has begun which will result in a human being in the world.
And so, insofar as I hold dear and respect the sanctity of all human lives, whether they have already been born or will soon be born, for some time I have been wanting to protest against abortion. Thus when I saw pro-life protesters outside an abortion clinic as I was driving home from Mass today, I pulled over and joined them.
I walked up to some of the protesters and greeted them. I picked up one of the spare signs they had resting in a box. I held the sign as I alternately stood and sat on the sidewalk.
We were gathered on a busy street. In each direction three lanes of traffic were flowing. The speed limit there is 35 miles per hour.
It's a busier street than the one where I go with other Catholic Workers to protest at least once a month outside the facilities of a manufacturer of armaments. Thus I suppose it's understandable that today in this pro-life protest, I witnessed more feedback, both positive and negative, than all the reactions I've seen in the dozen or so times I've protested outside the arms manufacturer's location.
I am not the only Catholic Worker who protests both war-making and abortion. I see a common thread in protesting both war and abortion, namely the sanctity of life. I protest nuclear weapons because I value life so much that I do not want human beings to be vaporized by nuclear warheads. I protest abortion because I value life so much that I do not want fetuses to be robbed of the life they will experience as human beings outside of the womb, which they are already on the path to experiencing.
In short, I value life. I oppose abortion. I aim to stop the arms trade. I am not in support of people executing anyone through the death penalty. I do not favor physicians helping patients to commit suicide. I respect and honor all life; I oppose all attempts to prevent and extinguish life.
I want to encourage others to value life. I am glad I was born; I am grateful to God for the life He has given me.
Life comes into being when a man and a woman choose to share in the reproductive act and thus participate in the miracle of life. If this process has started, it should be allowed to run its natural course. What God has allowed to come together, let no person put asunder.
God holds each life in the palm of His hand. Let us trust in God to let each life unfold according to His divine plan.
Let us value the life we have, in our bodies, and in the bodies of others. Let us appreciate the gifts God has given us and others. Let us value the lives others can live; let us give them the chances we have had. Let us value others' lives as we value our own lives. Let us love others as we love ourselves,* as Jesus has instructed us to do.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
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