The gift of life

If you aren’t progressing in your relationship with God, you are in fact regressing . . .

Patrick Novecosky

I was listening to an NPR interview with a rabbi this morning. The reporter asked him if his relationship with God had changed over the course of the last 20 years. To my surprise, he said No!

Maybe it’s just my Catholic upbringing, but I had always heard that if you weren’t progressing in your relationship with God, you were in fact regressing. With his infinite understanding of us, God is always inviting us to grow in a dynamic relationship with him — not only for our own benefit, but for the good of humanity.

One of the things I’ve come to understand more deeply over the course of my career as a Catholic journalist is how crucial the pro-life movement is to the survival of Christianity, not to mention the human race! It boils down to the simple fact that humans are the only creatures made in the image and likeness of God. That makes us special. It sets us apart. There are some who claim that people are merely “thinking animals.” Their radical claims have led to movements that promote euthanasia, abortion and environmental extremism. These are the folks who believe that people are behind all of the problems facing the planet, so the ultimate solution is to stop having children so the earth can return to its natural state.

All of these movements fly in the face of logic — and the entire history of Judeo-Christian thought. Without people, creation is without purpose. God created us to be with him, and the framers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence knew it. They wrote that God endowed each of us “with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” There’s a reason they put “life” first. Without it, the others are irrelevant!

The pro-life community in the United States is a beacon to those around the world who defend the dignity of every human being. The movement is stronger and more united than it has ever been. Much of the credit for that goes to Fr. Frank Pavone and his team of pro-life warriors at Priests for Life. (Click here for a related story) The organization has gone out of its way to bring pro-life leaders together in order to promote the culture of life. By uniting the movement, they’ve worked to eliminate misunderstandings and overlapping efforts. And the timing couldn’t be better because pro-lifers are more vital to humanity’s survival than ever before.

By the grace of God and a lot of hard work, the pro-life movement is bearing fruit. Survey after survey over the past year has shown that the majority of Americans consider themselves pro-life. There is still a lot of work to do, but the tide has turned, and it’s up to us to maintain the momentum. How? By ensuring that our relationship with God doesn’t grow stagnant and by taking every opportunity to defend life.

Patrick Novecosky is Legatus Magazine’s editor.