The United States Bishops Conference has sponsored a National Prayer Vigil for life
at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington,
DC, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision Roe v. Wade, which
legalized abortion throughout the country. The Vigil began Thursday night, and ended
with a Mass on Friday morning. “We have to take comfort in the fact that there is
a change in the country from over the last 40 years, and a positive change, when it
comes to abortion,” said the Bishop of Dallas, Kevin J. Farrell. “The people of the
United States are now… pretty much in the majority of those who are opposed to legalized
abortion in our nation.”
Bishop Farrell was the homilist of the concluding
Mass for the Vigil.
He told Vatican Radio the pro-life movement must remember
this change in public opinion, even though abortion remains legal in the country.
“I often compare our march over the last 40 years to the Chosen People in the Promised
Land,” said Bishop Farrell. “As you know, they became weary and were willing to give
up. There is a danger that we too can become very complacent that we will not be
able to overcome this terrible tragedy which afflicts our nation and has cost the
lives of over 55 million innocent children over the last 40 years.” Listen to
the interview by Charles Collins with Bishop Kevin Farrell:
Homily
Notes of Most Rev. Kevin J. Farrell, Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas The
Vigil for Life
The National Shrine, Washington, D.C. Friday 25 January
2013 In the name of Jesus Christ I welcome all of you who have come today to celebrate
God’s greatest gift to us – the gift of human life and to commemorate with sadness
that tragic decision, 40 years ago, that has led to the death of over 55 million innocent
children, fellow citizens whose rights were not respected or defended. We come
together at this celebration of the Mass to thank God for this gift of life and to
pray for a change of heart for those who do not respect life from the moment of conception
to its natural end. We began our pilgrimage last night with the Mass, many of you
have spent the night in prayer and now it is time to go beyond the doors of this “House
of Mary” and to give witness to the whole world as St. Mark tells us in today’s Gospel.
“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature”. Mk 16:15. How
appropriate it is that today is the Feast of the “Conversion of St. Paul”. Most of
us, when we think of St. Paul, we think of the great Apostle, the great preacher of
the Word of God, the great missionary, the one who was not afraid to stand in the
center of Athens and preach the Word of God to politicians and intellectuals. We think
of St. Paul as the one who preached “in season and out of season”, as the apostle
who was a great missionary to cultures that were totally indifferent or openly hostile
to the Christian way of life, as the man who wrote so many letters to the early Christian
communities, explaining the Faith to the people, and, as the great evangelizer. Yes,
most of us think of Paul as a man filled with zeal for Christ and his Word. However,
there was another side to Paul. Just as he was zealous about teaching and giving witness
to Jesus Christ, he was, before his conversion, just as zealous about persecuting
the followers of Christ. His hatred of Christ and his message, before his conversion,
was in direct proportion to the great love and apostolic zeal he experienced after
his conversion. On this 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the example of Paul’s conversion
fills us with great Hope. If Jesus and his Word could change the 2 heart of
Paul, His Word can change the mind and the heart of those who do not respect human
life. Over the past 40 years we have labored in the name of Jesus to rid our nation
of the tragic scourge of abortion. We have had some success. Today, there is a nationwide
decline in both the number and rate of abortions. More and more people understand
the truth that the child in the womb is a human being. Sadly, over 1 million innocent
children lose their lives each year through abortion. After these 40 years of hard
work we may feel like the “chosen people” of the Old Testament who wandered through
the desert for 40 years. The Lord made a covenant with them that they would inherit
the Promised Land, but with all the setbacks, the discouragement, the suffering and
pain and the passage of time, they began to lose hope. Without faith, we too can begin
to lose hope of ever changing the hearts of those who do not believe in the sanctity
of human life. There is a real danger that we too can become complacent. Dear brothers
and sisters, Christ has promised us that His Word will prevail. We cannot lose hope.
We must continue the struggle in positive, life-affirming ways. We must pray and we
must continue to make our voices heard so that our elected leaders know that there
are many who stand for life. We must never give up… At times we can fall on our
knees before God and complain as did the apostles… “Lord we have labored all night
and caught nothing…” In his name we will cast the nets…we will continue we will not
lose hope. It is important to note that the 40th anniversary occurs during the
Year of Faith. In announcing this Year of Faith Pope Benedict states that “we must
open our hearts to be touched and transformed by the grace and Word of God”. (Porta
Fidei No.1). The Year of Faith is a call to all of us to put more “life and energy
into our faith”. It is a time to re-commit ourselves to living our faith and living
the Gospel of Life. It is also a time to examine how we teach or preach the Word of
God. The New Evangelization is about how we communicate the message of the Gospel
to others. Blessed John Paul II in his encyclical letter “The Gospel of Life” reminds
us that “when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense
of man, of his dignity and his life”. (no.21). If we wish to change the “culture of
death” in our society we must restore God to the center of our lives. The power of
the Gospel is to transform humanity from within and to make it new. Like the yeast
which leavens the bread, the Gospel is meant to permeate all cultures and give them
life from within so that they may express the full truth about the human person and
about human life. 3 Brothers and sisters, in this Year of Faith we need to renew
our commitment to building a “Culture of Life” in our communities. We need to refocus
our energies. A “Culture of Life” is not only a deterrent to abortion but it is the
answer to many of the evils that afflict our society today: it would promote respect
for all human life, in every situation, circumstance and stage of life. A “Culture
of Life” would never permit the violence that permeates our lives; it would never
permit the lack of reverence and respect for the dignity of every human person. It
is time for us to focus more on the need to change the “minds and hearts” of people
as Jesus did, one person at a time. We can change the world as Jesus did, by placing
more emphasis on the teaching of the Word of God, just as we are called to do in the
New Evangelization. The Apostles carried on the work of building up the Church
in a world and culture that was totally opposed to the teaching of Jesus. Blessed
John Paul, when he challenged us to create a culture of life, knew that many times
we would find ourselves in situations where civil laws would be contrary to God’s
law; he knew that we would be called to live our faith in cultures that were adverse
to the Gospel; he understood that we had to do all that we could to change the laws
or make them inoperative by creating in our communities a culture that would instinctively
reject such laws or such a philosophy of life. This is the work which Pope Benedict
calls us to in this Year of Faith. Brothers and sisters let us renew our faith
and our commitment to give witness to the Gospel of Christ. Let us not yield to discouragement
and let us never lose hope. We shall overcome all the difficulties and challenges
we have to face. Jesus promised us that His Word would prevail. We gather this
morning in prayer so that we may be nourished by the bread of life. We are convinced
that our voice will become irresistible, because we will speak with the power of love,
the love of Jesus for humanity. And, as we do so we will create a “Culture of Life”. On
this day in which we commemorate the conversion of St. Paul, let us be filled with
the zeal of Paul. Let us imitate Peter and Paul and preach the Gospel even in Rome
and Athens, even to those who do not wish to hear it. Peter and Paul transformed the
world with the Word of God. Let us go forth from this church today filled with
the zeal of Paul and ready to evangelize and give witness to the faith we have received. May
God bless each one of you.