Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - October 4, 2009

As we celebrate Respect Life Sunday today and Respect Life Month this October, I share with you the following reflections.
“Is not good or man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18) God has made us in his own image and likeness, allowing us to reflect certain attributes of our Creator. Although in an infinitely limited way, we mirror the nature of God through our intellect, will, and social nature. “Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” (Gen 1:26) God, One and Triune, has allowed us to reflect his spiritual, divine, and Trinitarian nature.
The reciprocal love between the Father and the Son is so great that a third Person results from it: the Holy Spirit. By analogy, when husband and wife are united in love, they are able to produce a third person: a child, a fruit of their love. The conception of a child is a reflection of the Holy Trinity, of God himself.
Moses saw the hardness of heart of the Jewish people and allowed them to divorce. But Christ reminds the Pharisees of the Father’s original plan, devised since the beginning of creation, which is for the man to leave behind his father and mother, and become one with his wife in a permanent covenant.
Today life is being attacked from every angle: abortion robs children of their fundamental right to life; embryonic stem cell research involves destroying living human beings for speculative medical research; legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia arise out of the false view that some lives are not worth living, that some people are not worth protecting; and the attempt to redefine marriage is undermining the sacred institution that God established at the very beginning of creation. “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.” (Mk10:9) No human being has the authority to separate husband from wife, nor procreation from marriage.
In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul writes that “he who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers’” (Heb 2:11). Christ himself was conceived in the womb and born of a woman, following God’s original design. God’s plan, made manifest through revelation an tradition, is always simple and straight-forward, but it often requires self-discipline and sacrifice. Modern culture seeks to control and manipulate God’s design, introducing in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer and surrogate motherhood, while God’s plan remains firm and constant. Authentic happiness is found only in those who follow God’s design in those who accept the kingdom of God like children. Christ asks us to trust in the Father as children trust their parents, gently being guided by his loving hand.
“Let them come to me.” In today’s Gospel, the disciples who rebuked the children who wanted to approach Jesus display the attitude of many today. In her famous speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 3, 1994, Mother Teresa of Calcutta quoted Jesus: “‘Anyone who receives a child in my name, receives me.’ By adopting a child, these couples receive Jesus but by aborting a child, a couple refused to receive Jesus.” She continued: “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”
Every child is a precious gem of incalculable worth. Accepting a new life into one’s family is an opportunity to embrace Christ, the Author of every soul. With their simplicity, openness and love, children show us the path to salvation, bringing Christ into the world and leading us back to him.

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