Fr. Michael Williams

Today has been designated ‘Day for Life’ by the Bishops of England and Wales. Specifically the Bishops of England want to bring to our attention that fact that ‘Pregnant women are urged to have their unborn babies tested and, if found to be disabled, aborted’.

Last year I went to the ordination of a priest in West Kirkby. This priest’s mother was advised when she was pregnant with him to have an abortion, because there could be a chance he would be disabled in some way. She refused the advice because she knew it was wrong. Jonathan was born in perfect health, and was ordained last year. But since abortion was brought in in this country in 1967, ‘how many would be priests, religious, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, have not been allowed to be born?’

Life is sacred from the moment of conception. Once an egg has been fertilised that is the beginning of a human life. No other human being has the right to destroy it. To destroy life is to be in partnership with the devil. The first reading from the book of Wisdom reveals to us something very significant: “Death was not God’s fashioning he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living…it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world”. Jesus confirms this when He says in St John’s gospel, “[the devil] was a murderer from the beginning”.

Jesus came into the world to destroy the work of the devil. Jesus came to reverse the devil’s work. Jesus is all about life, because He is the author of it: “Through Him all things were made”. Jesus’ healing of Jairus’ daughter is a sign that He is for life. We know that not all sick children make a recovery. Nevertheless, we can be certain that a child who dies quickly goes to heaven. When Jesus was asked “who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? He called a little child to Him whom He set among them. Then He said, ‘In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’”. Heaven is a place for the innocent ones.

Jesus is for life. He definitively defeated evil and its works by His Resurrection, which is His rising to new life that He invites us to share in, but which we will only fully experience in the life beyond this world. The Lord wants us to work for life. We can do this by opposing and rejecting the culture of death. The culture of death seeks to destroy life. It seeks to destroy life through abortion and morning after pills; it seeks to destroy life through IVF in which embryos that are not deemed ‘fit’ are destroyed; it seeks to destroy life through Euthanasia. The culture of death sees life as cheap with no value. If a drunk driver or joy rider kills an innocent person these days, they get community service. Life is cheap in England.

As members of the Church, Christ’s Body, we are called to build up the culture of life, because life is always precious. The culture of life seeks to value unborn babies and ensure they are protected; the culture of life seeks to support pregnant women who find they’ve been abandoned by boyfriends or husbands; the culture of life seeks to provide love and care for those who are dying through palliative care and through hospices; the culture of life seeks to value those with disabilities.

Yesterday I celebrated a wedding here in the Cathedral, and was invited to the Adelphi afterwards. At the meal there was a man named Tony, who was 52 and was Down Syndrome. He made a little speech at the end and brought the party to life. Yet I was left thinking ‘Tony, society is seeking to destroy people like you’. Thankfully, God wanted him and so does the Church. Tony’s mother, Esther was there too, she is 96 and is in a wheelchair. Again she brought so much to the occasion. Yet I was left thinking, ‘Esther, the Euthanasia lobby seek your end’. Thankfully, your loving family and the Church value you.

As Catholics, and Christians, we have a responsibility to pray and work to help establish a culture of life in our society. Please take the yellow leaflet home at the end of Mass and read it, and say the prayer on the back.