As we observe Respect Life Month this October, the book of Sirach points us toward humility and sacrificial love as the heart of respecting life: “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” When I read this, I think of the child Victor, the one who chose to cover his friend in the August shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. In the book of John, Christ says that there’s no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends.
Jesus came to lay down his life and to shed his blood for the sake of another—for each of us. Victor, a friend, chose to put himself in harm’s way, to be shot in the back to save his friend.
That’s what humility and sacrificial love looks like.
Humility is taking the lower place as Jesus teaches us, and then to be raised up by God. The world today needs more Victors and not just among the children, but among all of us, to defend those who are most vulnerable. Certainly, our children, born and unborn, are vulnerable, but so are the immigrants, our beloved elderly, the sick, the homebound, those with special needs, and all others
It requires all of us to fervently call out to God and to beg for help and healing for an end to violence of all sorts, including domestic violence, acts of terrorism, abortion, euthenasia, war, human trafficking, and other offenses against the dignity of the human person.
Harm may not be far away, but nor are the great Victors—those who are willing to fight for life from the moment of conception until natural death. It’s an encouragement for all of us to be ever more attentive to the needs of our elderly, to advocate for them when they are in need, or the poor, the blind, the lame, the homeless.
The good news is that God triumphs in the end, though there is great hardship and suffering and loss along the way. That is the journey of the Christian life. May we live our lives to the fullest, and may we be willing to allow God to animate us with humility, love and a willingness to give all for the sake of others.
In light of the many attacks on the dignity of human life in our culture, let’s pray for the graces we need to be like Jesus and lay down our life for the sake of others.
