EVERY LIFE IS WORTH LIVING

An Excerpt from the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities’ 2015 Respect Life Month Statement

Respect Life Month is observed in October, and although multiple activities take place to commemorate it and to raise awareness for the dignity of the human person, it actually marks the beginning of a new, year-long cycle of the USCCB’s Respect Life Program. This Program continues through the following September, and it is a time dedicated by the U.S. bishops for the Church nationwide to bring attention to, celebrate, and work and pray for the protection of the gift of human life. The theme for this year’s program is “Every life is worth living.”

Part of the program includes a statement issued by the U.S. bishops, as well as educational material, numerous resources and suggested activities to be implemented throughout the year. Through these, the bishops invite us to pray for life year-round and to support their initiative to celebrate and advocate for the sanctity of human life.

Whether it lasts for a brief moment or for a hundred years, each of our lives is a good and perfect gift. At every stage and in every circumstance, we are held in existence by God’s love.
Our relationships on earth are meant to help us and others grow in perfect love. We are meant to depend on one another, serve each other in humility, and walk together in times of suffering.
An elderly man whose health is quickly deteriorating; an unborn baby girl whose diagnosis indicates she may not live very long; a little boy with Down syndrome; a mother facing terminal cancer – each may have great difficulties and need assistance, but each of their lives is a good and perfect gift.
Experiencing suffering – or watching another suffer – is one of the hardest human experiences. But we are not alone. Christ experienced suffering more deeply than we can comprehend, and our own suffering can be meaningful when we unite it with his.
Jesus is with us every step of the way, giving us the grace we need. God invites us to embrace the lives we have been given, for as long as they are given. Every life is worth living.
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap. Chairman
USCCB Committee on Respect Life Activities
2015 Respect Life Month Statement
You can read the complete Statement by Cardinal O’Malley, as well as all the 2015 – 16 Respect Life Program Articles.