Saint John Paul II reminded us of our responsibility to “be unconditionally pro-life.” We all need to counteract threats to human life with prayer and action. Start by prayerfully discern how God is leading us to get involved.
By Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle
January is traditionally a month with a pro-life focus, with the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Jan. 22 and the annual March for Life on Jan. 23.
As Christians, we are called to build a culture of life in which every human life is protected and cherished. Pope St. John Paul II pointed out in his landmark pro-life encyclical Evangelium Vitae ("The Gospel of Life") that “we are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the ‘culture of death’ and the ‘culture of life’ ... we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.”
Living pro-life
Years ago, at one point, my little family would suddenly become larger than I had imagined. This happened when I was pregnant with my third child. My generous 3-year-old daughter voluntarily gave up her bedroom to make room for the baby, soon to make her debut to our modest home. However, this sweet gesture was not for the baby concurrently residing in my womb.
You see, at that time, I heard about an unwed teenaged mother of a newborn in desperate need of housing. No one in the state wanted the 16-year-old and her baby. One day, out of the blue, my pro-life friend asked if I would consider taking them in. It would require becoming a certified foster mother.
My heart was deeply touched, knowing that the young woman had no one who cared about them. She must have felt hopeless. Though I never considered becoming a foster mother, how could I say no to this mother and child? I went through the certification process as quickly as possible. Shortly after the young mother arrived to us, we discovered that she was expecting another baby. She came to us with two babies — one born and one unborn! I protected her from society’s pressure to abort her baby.
Caring for them and teaching the young teen mother all she needed to know about caring for her babies, born and unborn, became an unforgettable milestone in my life.
Going forward
Sadly, today’s darkened culture is selfish, and human life continues to be threatened in myriad ways. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) affirmed in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, “Abortion remains our pre-eminent priority as it directly attacks our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, destroying more than a million lives each year in our country alone.”
Saint John Paul II reminded us of our responsibility to “be unconditionally pro-life.” We all need to counteract threats to human life with prayer and action. Start by prayerfully discern how God is leading us to get involved.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, former chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, calls Catholics to a revival of prayer and action. In his Respect Life Month Statement for October 2024, he said we “must renew our commitment to work for the legal protection of every human life, from conception to natural death, and to vote for candidates who will defend the life and dignity of the human person.”
He added that we “must call for policies that assist women and their children in need, while also continuing to help mothers in our own communities.” He encourages us to be compassionate “to all who are suffering from participation in abortion.”
Bishop Burbidge concluded, “Most importantly, we must rededicate ourselves to fervent prayer on behalf of life.”
Hopefully pro-life
We can do this. Let us earnestly pray for the protection of human life. Most especially, let’s turn to the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all — the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In my book, Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope: Jubilee Pilgrims of Hope with Mary (Marian Press), I stated, “Turning to Mary and receiving her assistance engulfs our hearts with abiding holy hope.”
Let’s rededicate ourselves to protecting the precious unborn and all human life, getting involved where we can, being countercultural — going against the prevalent deadly current. Mother Mary awaits our prayers and will bless our sincere efforts.
And that young unwed mother I mentioned? She attended Sunday Mass with us, embraced the Catholic faith, and had her baby baptized.
You’ll never guess who the godmother is!
Our Lady, Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope, pray for us!
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