I know many people are passionate and like to talk about politics, but it is important for us to understand our true self-worth, identity, respect, and love much more than what the typical humanistic, worldly, political, social, or ideological definitions would like us to think. As Christians, we can only be truly life-giving when we first receive life from God and dare to live that loving grace through a life of prayer, worship, and service.
While the terms “pro-life” and “pro-choice” have been hijacked and politicized by political parties. The sad reality is that those who often call themselves pro-life are really not open to life in their own words and actions, lives, and deeds. Not considering the contraceptive actions that many are normally practicing and the lack of moral regrets about turning to abortifacients like “Plan-B” when their contraceptive measures failed in most of our population, we recognize that it is truly hard to be pro-life as Catholics. Nevertheless, going beyond all of the political labels and definitions, I would like to highlight a disturbing reality — but also a wonderful opportunity to catechize and evangelize — that really exists within our very own society.
The real truth is that our society is not open to life because too many do not know how to live. So many in our society do not see life as worth living. We were told to chase after “happiness” and do everything that will make us happy, but nothing really matters with those empty promises. We have become a hopeless generation, living without joy and seeing life as burdensome; that is why we cannot be truly pro-life in our very own lives.
Many teachers, staff, faculty, and members of the administration at local schools, people who work with children, teenagers, and young adults, have confirmed that many of our children come back to broken homes. They come back to adults who change often in their lives, fight all the time, ignore them, and sometimes treat them like they are not wanted. A good number do not want to come home, want to run away and escape, want the pain or brokenness in their lives to end, or see life is no longer worth living. Since many of our young people have not received life from their own family, they do not know who they are and what it means to simply be loved.
Furthermore, when life becomes burdensome and meaningless, people become hopeless. They no longer find joy in life and only try to live from one day to another. Hence, everything and everyone becomes objectified and can be manipulated as pieces on the chessboard, because people are only good if they can do something for us or help us feel good for the moment. We have cheapened people and relationships because we do not see the true beauties and gifts that are deep within, because too many of us only know how to use and take advantage of others for our self-centered and individualistic benefits. We might have a lot more ways to get what we want, but many of us have become more isolated, lonely, depressed, and loathing life because we hate ourselves.
Even though our government was supposed to be founded to ensure and protect “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” too many of our young people have wasted so much time, energy, and effort to burn themselves out in chasing after vain, false, shallow, and hedonistic happiness. We all want to be happy, and we chase after “more” things to make us happy, but all of those that we have tried hard to attain have left us more empty and unhappy because they are temporarily vain. We become more negative, filled with hatred, betrayal, despair, and hopelessness because we think that everything is a lie, since we have done everything that the world tells us to do and attain, but we are still not happy in any way. We give up on life because none of the things that are supposed to promise happiness and fulfillment really make us happy and content, only more cynical and hopeless.
The Sacred Scriptures remind us that our true happiness and everlasting source of joy are found in God alone. We might not always have what we want according to humanistic, worldly, appealing, addictive, or hedonistic standards, but to love God and to know that life is worth living because of Him is worth more than any treasures that this world can ever promise to us! When we are able to find small moments of happiness, blessing, and simple joy, our hearts become content with what we have instead of what we constantly think we want. When we find true hope in the loving promise of Christ Jesus, who has been faithful and loving toward us, we will be able to accept that life does not have to be perfect and as we want in order to be good and worth living.
We easily get agitated, frustrated, and hopeless when things fall out of order, do not go our way, or as we would have liked. Human failures, imperfections, and especially unkindness and betrayal, really affect people and make them think that things are falling apart, out of control, and meaningless! Nevertheless, it is important to always remind ourselves that we do not always get what we want, even if we worked hard for it, but that God cannot draw straight from crooked lines, perfect and sanctify us through what is imperfect and failing. We kick and scream, tend to give up right away when we deem something not worthwhile, failing, or not going our way. But look back and see how much we grew and matured when we chose to turn the obstacles and failures into opportunities and lessons of life?!?
We cannot and are not called to change the whole world. We cannot think that somehow things will be better through political, ideological, or social changes and revolutions because those things do not leave lasting results; they do not affect and change the hearts of people. If we really want our society and the world at large to be pro-life, respecting, defending, loving, and treasuring life from the moment of conception until natural death, from each and every person of every step of life, we should choose to invest our time, give ourselves, and choose to love in personal, intimate, and loving ways ourselves because real change begins with us.
Furthermore, it is so important that we do not expect to change the world and others but never change ourselves! We can only be truly life-giving and loving when we choose to use the talents and blessings that have been endowed and given to us by being faithful in small matters. We have to recognize that our gifts and talents are not just for our own glory, satisfaction, or happiness, for they are from the Most High, entrusted and given to us for the service of others and the greater good. No matter how big or little talents we have, or we think we deserve, we can only use them for good when we are obedient and humble in using them out of loving service and charity instead of self-centeredness and vain glories. Our talents can only multiply when we choose to give ourselves selflessly, genuinely, and wholeheartedly without counting the costs and worrying only about our gains and benefits. No matter how big or small we might be or think we are, we can all start and begin somewhere; and with consistency, perseverance, humility, and obedience, we can make small differences through personal self-giving gifts of service and genuine actions of love.
Too many want to change others but never really want to change themselves by conforming their lives to the will of God, by choosing to live in Him and sharing His loving grace with others. If we have been closed up, shutting out, ignoring, and being anti-life in our own spiritual journey, we really have nothing else to give life to others. Real, significant, and everlasting changes begin small, by how we all choose to persist, consistently, genuinely, and lovingly share and serve one another by radiating the love of God. We become pro-life when we choose life with our very own words, deeds, and actions, truly treasuring, protecting, defending, helping, and treasuring life at all stages, people, and steps of the way.
The grim reality of many broken homes, meaningless relationships, addictions, and the like tells us that many never lived or received life from home, so they do not hope to value life at large. Therefore, if we want to change our society, we have to do a better job of giving life at home by receiving life from God through a life of worship, prayer, respect, and caring love, by being faithful to small matters. We are called not to simply change votes, policies, and other vain human standards but to instill genuine faith, hope, and love through our very own lives of self-giving, sacrificial, and humble service in obedience to God‘s will and His loving truth. Yes, our current day and age has many challenges and obstacles, and they are hard at times, but we have been given great opportunities to truly teach, catechize, evangelize, serve, share, and radiate the true love of God through our very own values, beliefs, and commitments to the truth. Therefore, let us choose to truly be pro-life and hopeful by grounding ourselves in God, receiving life from Him, and sharing it with those who are losing hope by how we choose to embrace His love at all times, even when it gets tough and challenging.