As I sit here at Seattle International Airport, I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to share faith with over 800 people last night on the critical topic of the “Gospel of Life.” I was deeply impressed by the spirit and enthusiasm of those who participated, especially the young adults who attended. Unfortunately, jet lag got the best of me last night, so I was not able to attend the young adult social that followed my presentation. I am sure that it was a lively and uplifting gathering.
I have often warned against the phenomenon of “false choices” in life. A false choice is the decision to pick one aspect of the truth, while leaving other aspects, equally important, to the side. Such a tendency is powered perhaps by a deeply felt passion for a particular cause or pastoral work. Last night, I challenged my listeners to avoid making false choices when dealing with the Gospel of Life. While it is a central part of that Gospel to protect life at its conception and at its natural death, it is also important that we value life at all its stages, especially when challenged by poverty, sickness, discrimination, racism, lack of drinkable water, unemployment, disability, social isolation, mental illness, lack of education, homelessness- just to name a few critical issues of our modern world.
It is a daunting task to embrace the fullness of the Gospel of Life and strive to be faithful to it. However, in our broken world and during this challenging moment in the life of the Church, it is the task that God has asked us to fulfill.
Let us pray for heroic courage to do so so that we can how the Gospel of Life will transform our church and the entire world.
The previous reflection originally appeared on Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Facebook page. Follow the Bishop for daily reflections and weekly videos.
