“Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; give to him glorious praise”. So begins our responsorial psalm today. In these days, we have a special reason as Catholics to rejoice, because of the decision of the US Supreme Court over a week ago, overturning Roe v Wade, which decision back in 1973, opened the door for abortion to become legal throughout the country, a decision that was quickly followed here in Canada, and elsewhere in the world. We can only hope and pray that the reverse will now become true – that abortion will be restricted and eventually made illegal over all the world, including here in Canada. This won’t come about, of course, by a mere change in the law of a country, but by a change in the heart of the country. In other words, that each person would come to believe that abortion involves the deliberate killing of a human being in its mother’s womb. That the child in the womb isn’t simply a “potential“ human being, but a human being “with potential”. That this is not merely a collection of cells in the body of the woman, and therefore just an extension of her own body, but a separate body and a separate life, as fully entitled to the right to life as any human being outside the womb.
It used to be that every Catholic accepted these truths as unarguable. But alas, today, we cannot say that. Many Catholics seem unable to understand and accept that human life must ,logically and scientifically , begin at conception, not at some point chosen arbitrarily , and using muddled science, along the path from conception to birth. Even when abortion advocates admit that science now proves that the child in the womb is exactly that, a human child, they simply change the argument by saying that, in any case, the mother’s “rights” trump those of the child within her womb. Which makes no sense, on any logical or moral basis.
To change a nation’s “heart” means to change a nation’s “culture”. Since the 1990s, when Pope John Paul II popularized the terms, Catholic moral teaching have spoken of a “culture of life” as opposed to a “culture of death”. Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1995 encyclical “Gospel of Life”: ”In our present social context, marked by a dramatic struggle between the “culture of life” and the “culture of death”, there is need to develop a deep critical sense, capable of discerning true values and authentic needs.” In the encyclical, the pope noted that even those who were not Catholic “can appreciate the intrinsic value of human life’. He also issued “a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person, in the name of God: Respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!” John Paul linked this to Catholic teaching, which believes every person is created in the likeness of God and is intimately loved by God. The Church, then, must build a culture of life that values each person as a person, not for what they own, do, or produce. It must also protect every human life, especially those that are threatened or weak. And so the Catholic Church, along with most other Christian churches, and people of other faiths, such as Jews and Muslims, defends life from conception to natural death, disapproving medical procedures harming an unborn fetus, which the Church holds to be a person with an inviolable right to life.
A culture of life, therefore describes a way of life based on the belief that human life at all stages from conception through natural death is sacred. A moment’s thought should lead to the inevitable conclusion that therefore we, as Christians, must oppose the destruction of human life at any stage, including abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, studies and medicines involving embryonic stem cells, and, yes, even contraception. A culture of life must ensure steps are taken to alleviate poverty, disease, inadequate social and economic living conditions , and any form of political or social injustice which deny its citizens the right to living in freedom and dignity. In many ways, though the whole abortion issue, dealing, as it does, with the most basic right of life itself, is rightly seen as central to a true culture of life, it is only one of a number of crucial “life” issues that must be addressed by the Church in its evangelization and building up of the kingdom of God.
Some here might ask: “what has this to do with our readings today?”
Well, if you look at our first reading, from the book of Isaiah, God’s joy at seeing his children, the people of Isaiah, is likened to a mother rejoicing over the child in her lap. The atmosphere is one of joy, hope, comfort, and blessing – all the fruits of a genuine culture of life. In the gospel, the joy of Jesus’ disciples returning to him with stories of overcoming demons, is shared in fully by Jesus, who rejoices with them at the defeat of evil and the liberation of people from the death-dealing forces of demonic oppression, which can include addictions, serious physical, mental and emotional suffering, despair, fear, helplessness and hopelessness, all fruits of a culture of death.
In the book of Exodus, there is a crucial moment where Moses speaks to the people of Israel, as they stand ready to move at last into the land, promised them by God. Moses offers Israel a crucial choice, one which God offers to each one of us , a choice between a culture of life or a culture of death. Moses says: ”I call heaven and earth today to witness against you; I set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may have the fullness of life, by loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him” (Deuteronomy 30: 19-20).
Like the Israelites we each must make a choice: will we accept what Pope St John Paul II called the “culture of death” or will we join in taking steps daily to build a culture of life? As so many commentators on both sides of the debate have made clear, the recent Roe v Wade decision , though a victory for the pro-life movement, is only a beginning, not the end. There is still much, much more to do, in working to change the hearts and minds of others, including ourselves, to embrace whole-heartedly, the decision for life, life to the full , at all levels, and in all manner of ways. As full Roman Catholics, baptized and confirmed, and sustained by the bread of life, the Eucharist, let us be ready to stand up and be counted. What do you say, brothers and sisters?