Respect Life Month

October 2023

Made for Greater Things! || ¡Creado para lo grande!

Our theme for Respect Life Month is “Made for Greater Things!” This message of love comes directly from Archbishop José H. Gomez, in his second Pastoral Letter ‘For greater things you were born’ he writes:

“Nothing can contain our greatness! What a statement. The first disciples lived their Christian identity and proclaimed their faith with this overwhelming sense of astonishment. And so should we, my brothers, and sisters! It is time for all of us in the Church — bishops, priests, deacons, seminarians, consecrated, religious and lay people — all of us should be alive with a new sense of awe at our greatness in the eyes of God.

We must learn again to see what the saints can see — that the human person is something marvelous in the universe. You and I are God’s masterpiece, each of us made in his image as a unity of body and soul, endowed with reason and free will, and given the vocation to imitate God and to share in his divine work, serving and ruling over his creation.

We are made in the image of the Lord of history, the Author of Life, the Maker of heaven and earth! God is Love and so we are made in the image of love. I have always appreciated the poet Dante’s description of God as “the Love that moves the sun and the other stars.”

Nature’s designs speak to us of God’s love and truth; and our existence is part of God’s plan of loving goodness. The human person is exceptional, we are not just one more creature in God’s creation. We are not just something, we are someone.”

 

 

Nuestro tema para el Mes Respetemos la Vida es “Creado para lo Grande!” Este mensaje de amor viene directamente del Arzobispo, José H. Gomez, en su segunda Carta Pastoral ‘Ustedes nacieron para cosas más grandes!’ el escribe:

¡Nada puede contener nuestra grandeza! ¡Qué afirmación tan impresionante! Los primeros discípulos vivieron su identidad cristiana y proclamaron su fe con este abrumador sentimiento de asombro. ¡Y nosotros también deberíamos hacerlo, hermanos y hermanas míos! Es tiempo de que todos nosotros, quienes formamos parte de la Iglesia —obispos, sacerdotes, diáconos, seminaristas, consagrados, religiosos y laicos— seamos vivificados por un nuevo sentimiento de asombro ante nuestra grandeza a los ojos de Dios.

Debemos aprender de nuevo a percibir lo que los santos pueden ver con claridad: que la persona humana es algo maravilloso en el universo. Ustedes y yo somos la obra maestra de Dios, cada uno de nosotros fue hecho a su imagen como una unidad de cuerpo y alma, dotado de razón y libre albedrío, y con la vocación de imitar a Dios y de compartir su obra divina, sirviendo y gobernando a su creación.

¡Estamos hechos a imagen del Señor de la historia, del Autor de la Vida, del Creador del cielo y de la tierra! Dios es Amor y, por lo tanto, estamos hechos a imagen del amor. Siempre he apreciado la descripción que el poeta Dante hace de Dios como “el amor que mueve el sol y las demás estrellas” .  

Los designios de la naturaleza nos hablan del amor y de la verdad de Dios; y nuestra existencia es parte del plan de bondad amorosa de Dios. La persona humana es excepcional, no somos meramente una criatura más en la creación de Dios. No somos sólo algo, somos alguien. 

For Greater Things You Were Born || By Archbishop Gomez

“Every one of us is created by God and for God. This is the beautiful mystery that lies at the heart of human existence, at the heart of your life and mine. Every child who is born, from the beginning of time to the end, is born from the loving thought of our Heavenly Father, who holds us in his gaze, looking upon each of us as one of his own, a beloved son, a beloved daughter.”

Read Pastoral Letter Here

If your parish needs printed materials for Respect Life Month please contact the Office of Life, Justice, and Peace:

Contact: Gina Vides at gvides@la-archdiocese.org or (213)637-7690

Click here for more information.

Life at the Center: A Pro-Life Statement

“Those who seek to advance the Catholic Church’s teaching regarding the sanctity of life confront both new challenges and opportunities in the wake of the June 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.” Read the full article from ‘First Things’.

Read Here

Resources for Reflection and Discussion

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Reflect on the gift of life and share with us online using #RespectLifeMonth!