Another year has drawn to a close and a new one is just beginning. My friends, this is a moment of anticipation, a moment to look forward, with hope, to the blessings of the year to come. But it is equally a moment to look back, a moment to be mindful of the blessings we have received, to echo in our hearts the praise of the Psalmist: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever.”
Among its many blessings, 2022 brought a momentous victory for the legal protection of unborn life in our nation. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health overturned Roe vs. Wade and returned the issue of legalized abortion to the states, marking a long-awaited victory for the unborn. As we reflect upon Roe’s legacy, we remember with sadness its many victims: the lost unborn lives, the often silent grief of their mothers and the frequently overlooked pain of their fathers. We lament our nation’s failure to cherish these lives, to offer them the love and support they deserve. We give thanks for God’s providence, for the souls he has raised up to work tirelessly on behalf of unborn lives, to persevere against the odds and to keep alive in their hearts the flame of hope.
We celebrate and we give thanks, but we also remember that our work has truly only just begun. Our task is no less than to build a civilization of love. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote following the ruling, “Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America. It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.”
The path toward this civilization of love begins with turning our hearts, in prayer, to Love itself. There is perhaps no better time to do this than now, at the close of the Christmas season, when our hearts rest in the presence of the baby Jesus. For it is here, before the crèche, face to face with the mystery of the Incarnation, that we encounter the birth of a civilization of love. Where better to look for the mystery of love itself than at the foot of our infant savior? Where better to learn what it means to foster new life, than knelt in prayer before his mother? Where better to discover what it means to support children and mothers, than in the loving gaze of St. Joseph?
This work which begins in prayer also finds life in political and social action. Some of our work continues apace at a federal level, where policy continues to exert an influence on the practice of abortion around the globe. At the same time, many pro-life resources have begun to focus their efforts on state initiatives aimed at enacting laws that increase protection for the unborn. Numerous opportunities lie ahead of us, but there is much work to be done changing the hearts and minds of our elected officials, and more importantly, our fellow citizens. With so much at stake, our dedication must not waver. Indeed, our efforts must be more generous, more adept and more energetic.
Above all, our efforts require that we deepen our love for and commitment to children, their mothers and their fathers. Building a culture of life requires not only a respect for justice and for fundamental human rights, but reverence for the gift of every single human person. Often this love takes the form of simple, concrete actions: counseling mothers at a crisis pregnancy center, donating a box of diapers to a family or ensuring that new parents have adequate spiritual and emotional support. This means renewing our support for Project Rachel, a ministry which serves women who chose abortion and suffer the wounds, as well as the Gabriel Project, an outreach to women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and need help.
We must look upon the families we are called to serve as Mary and Joseph look upon their beloved newborn son, and as Jesus, in turn, looks upon each of us. “In union with Jesus, we seek what he seeks and we love what he loves,” Pope Francis writes in “Evangelii Gaudium.” With each prayer, may we learn to love what he loves; with each political effort, may we strengthen our nation’s commitment to justice; and with each act of loving support, may we build a civilization of love.
