My Precious Life

 [Culture of Life Sunday is October 6, 2013].


Pope Francis, in a long interview with the Jesuit Journal Civilata Cattolica said, about Catholic moral teachings on topics such as abortion, " The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear, and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. We have to find a new balance. The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules. The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all."

In a subsequent talk, Pope Francis, during a papal audience with Catholic gynecologists, called abortions, " a symptom of today's 'throw-away culture.' " Pope Francis said, " Every child that isn't born, but is unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of Jesus Christ, has the face of the Lord. Things have a price and can be for sale, but people have a dignity that is priceless and worth far more than things."


 Pope Francis' recent comments on the new direction of the church have set off a firestorm of controversy, both amongst Catholics and outside the Church.

Many say that his two talks, as excerpted above, are contradictory. Commentators say, you cannot emphasize, and de-emphasize Catholic moral teaching, all at the same time. You cannot have it both ways.

I do not, ultimately, see Pope Francis' two statements as contradictory. In fact, one statement supports the other.

The Church's moral teachings, such as on abortion and the death penalty, are Rules, yes. But these Rules stem from Jesus' first commandment, which is to love one another.

We cannot love one another if , quite simply, we are putting each other to death, whether through war or abortion or the death penalty or violence.

We also cannot love one another if we ceaselessly point out each other's moral failings. Being a Christian does not mean immediately pouncing on another's sins with a superior attitude of "Gotcha!"

Our awareness of the Rules must be tempered with Love.

God does love all of us, with Infinite Love. The very fact that He has given us life alone, is proof enough. The life which He has given us is precious. It is a priceless gift.

I have learned this through many traumatic experiences during my lifetime:

When I was three years old, there was a fire in my grandparents' house. No one was injured, but I was terrified when I saw my grandmother's favorite chair charred and unrecognizable from the blaze. For years afterwards, I cried every time I heard a fire engine, because I knew that someone might die. At the age of three, I had come to know the fragility of life.

When I was four, I almost drowned in a neighbor's pool. As I sank below the surface, I could see air bubbles. I said to myself, that is my air; this is what it is like to drown. My mother's arms pulled me out to safety.

When I turned thirteen, my mother and grandmother told me that I had almost died, as my mother was giving birth to me. My mother had almost died as well. Knowing this about my birth changed my life forever. Each and every moment of everyday became precious to me. After all, I might not have lived at all. I decided to fill each waking moment with purpose and determination.

When I was eighteen, I was home alone. I went upstairs to take a shower. A short while later, my parents came home to find a policeman at the front door. He said that there was a robber in the neighborhood, who had tried to break into the house when I was in the shower. Once again, I was blessed to be alive.

When I was twenty-two, I was away at university. A stranger forced his way into my apartment and tried to kill me. Before long, I felt myself losing consciousness. For no "earthly reason", he stopped strangling me and left the building. I had seen my future life pass before me; and I so wanted to live! By God's Grace, I was spared.

When I was a young mother, I was bringing my toddler son home from the park, in his red wagon, when a sudden wind shear hit. A massive tree fell in our direction. I ran for our lives. I dragged the wagon, carrying my young son, as hard as I could. My arms ached, I was shaking.The tree fell within feet of us, bringing down live electrical wires. We were surrounded by danger, but we were safe. A neighbor told me that I surely have a Guardian Angel.

When my son was in preschool, I went out in the back yard one day to do some weeding. But the day was far hotter and more humid than I expected. I quit after a few minutes and went inside. Only a few moments later, a huge ash tree toppled over, right where I had just been standing. Once again, it was a miracle that I was alive.

The message of my life, over and over, has been that life is precious. There is absolutely no inevitability that we even have this life. No inevitably that we will continue to live from one minute to the next.

A few years ago, my father awoke one spring morning, had a cup of coffee with my mother; then suffered a massive heart attack, upon which he immediately passed away. I thought my dad was as healthy as the next man. And yet he lost his life abruptly, in a matter of moments.

My life-- Life itself-- is precious. I came from a cruel and abusive family. Even though, as a child, I went hungry, I was cold, I was afraid in my bed at night, I was bruised and injured, I was rejected and abandoned, I became depressed, I shut down, I stopped trusting people for a time-- no matter all that.

My life is still precious, because God loved me enough to give me another chance at life-- over and over again. Even an extremely difficult, down, dark day is a blessing simply because I opened my eyes to another day. I am breathing! I am alive!

If you come close to losing your life so many times, that you almost lose count, then suddenly, everyone's life becomes precious, miraculous, as well.

A human being is a marvel-- an amazing, breath-taking creature of beauty, made by God, loved by God. God knows each one of us, and every hair on our heads, He knows our every thought, He knows every cell of our being. How can we reduce that preciousness to mere Rules?

No, each human being on this planet is an awesome expression of God's Love. Each one of us is a prayer, a sacred mystery, a gift to be treasured.

We ought to treat each other this way.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2013. All Rights Reserved.