Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, in another Gospel, that of Saint John, in the beginning section, which we call the Prologue, there is this verse, which, in my judgment, is so Advent-like: The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world (cf. Jn 1:9). That true light, of course, is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent by His Father to be our Savior, to save every human person from sin and the effects or results of sin: evil, suffering and death. That verse is so Advent-like because if we pause on it for a moment, we hear the light was coming. Are we not preparing to relive that same coming, as we have gone through Advent to this day, and then from this day to Christmas: the light is still coming, coming closer!

Yes, the light is the Savior, but who is this Savior? Well, in today’s Gospel, that according to Saint Matthew, we see that his beginning section outlines a rather long genealogy, with names not very familiar to us, but it is a genealogy of His human ancestry. After all, Jesus Christ is true God and yet also at the very same time true man. But why did Saint Matthew take such pains to include this genealogy the way he did? Because it is a genealogy that includes men and women: both Jewish and non-Jewish, many of whom were good living persons, and some others who sinned greatly, though we pray they came to the Lord, like David, the great king, who committed adultery, and in an effort to hide all of that, had the father, the husband, I should say, killed. Not an unblemished record did he have! But in this genealogy we find all these different kinds of people, this mixture. Why? To show us clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus came to save everyone — everyone — and make it possible for each person to be forgiven of sin and to begin again.

Now, for a moment, I want to go back to Saint John’s Gospel because later on, much after that Prologue, Jesus says of Himself, “I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full” (cf. Jn 10:10). Well, we are a people of life and for life: human life from its first moment at conception through every stage of its development to its last moment at natural death. Yes, we are a people of life, but also people concerned for each person’s spiritual life, that each person will inherit, not only life here as best as it can be lived, but life hereafter — eternal life!

Within this context, we realize that there are woman who become pregnant in circumstances that are not ideal. Every person must respect life, support life. And so, each mother, whether the circumstances are ideal or not, must respect that life. Many do, but we live in a culture that keeps saying, and actually pointing to a “quick fix” for every non-ideal situation. The “quick fix” is called abortion. Now many of those women who feel trapped agonize on what to do. They often have very few people who support them. And sadly, some indeed tragically — our hearts break at each time it happens — more than we think, in fact, use the “quick fix,” which society says is so easy but is really not.

However, many do not reach that point; they’re still struggling, still looking for some help, and as they agonize, there is help: help in reaching the right decision and in sustaining that decision, in keeping that decision, in holding fast to that decision, and that help is called Gabriel Project. This project certainly exists beyond our diocese, but it certainly exists within, and so we call it, to make it clear, “Gabriel Project Arlington”. I believe that many of you know what Gabriel Project does, but a good review is helpful. It helps pregnant women with long or short term needs by offering assistance at the parish level; it involves a network of churches, crisis pregnancy centers and other agencies working together to assist the mother with physical, material, spiritual and emotional support.

In this way, the Church, as a community, responds in a loving, unconditional, non-judgmental manner to the mother, thereby witnessing to the infinite and healing love of God. Twenty-three parishes in our diocese are currently involved with Gabriel Project. In this past fiscal year, $89,462.10 was used to fund prenatal care, such as doctor’s visits, delivery charges, labs and sonograms. Sixty-four babies were born during this year, including ten due in this last month of the year. I want to express publicly my gratitude to all those who are collaborating in the work of Gabriel Project and, specifically, to so many others who make that work possible through their prayers and penance, and, yes, through their sacrificial generous support.

The Family Life Office of our diocese, under which Gabriel Project does its work, has an annual Advent reaching-out called “Gift for Life”. In that way, we are able to invite people to continue in a very clear and tangible way to assist Gabriel Project and also another project, which I shall not explain at length this morning: Project Rachel, which assists the healing of women who have had an abortion. Many parishes have an Advent Giving Tree and that becomes a tangible means whereby one can assist both these projects. In both efforts, you see, the goal is to uphold women: women who desire to keep the unborn child within the womb despite many pressures, and, as I mentioned, other women who often, because they felt so trapped, have had an abortion but now regret it deeply. They can seek true healing that only God can give, yes, through the Sacrament of Penance, through spiritual counseling, and often through competent counseling for the heart and the emotions.

We are a people of life and for life. We are a people of life because we are linked together with Life Himself, that true Light which is coming into the world. And so, in many ways, we seek to be that people of life through prayer, through penance, through dialogue, through persuasion, through witness, and through assistance. Every time we are involved in this way we become partners with Jesus Christ in His saving work, in His saving people. And so at this Mass, our monthly Respect Life Mass, you and I plead with the Lord to give us renewed strength through His transforming grace, so that we can be the very people He created us to be: a people of life and for life, today and tomorrow, and all days, until that day comes when we cross over, and then we shall see, through God’s mercy, we pray, that true Light, not a symbol, not only through His living Word, not only in His Real Eucharistic Presence, we shall see the true light face to face, and may we bring with us so many others, for Jesus Christ came to save everyone!