WORCESTER – Life, springing from marriage and the Eucharist, and building a culture of life in a post-Roe society, were themes shared at a gathering Saturday at St. Paul Cathedral.
Called “Life in the Eucharist,” this pro-life morning of reflection and enrichment was organized by Allison LeDoux, director of the diocesan Respect Life Office. The topic connected with the National Eucharistic Revival, begun in June.
On Saturday, Msgr. James P. Moroney, pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster and director of the diocesan Office for Divine Worship, preached about Jesus being present to us in the Eucharist – from first Communion to last Communion before death. In his talk after Mass he explained connections between life and the Eucharist, noting that Jesus’ blood reveals how precious each human life is to God; the Father gave up his Son to ransom us.
Mrs. LeDoux also made such connections, and responded to something else that happened in June: the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand, and the 1992 Casey v. Planned Parenthood decision that had affirmed Roe. In June the Court returned to the states the authority to regulate abortion, with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“Our prayers do make a difference,” Mrs. LeDoux said, and suggested that most important now is intensifying our prayer life and working on our relationship with God, to be in tune with what the Holy Spirit is doing in changing hearts, including our own.
Prayer, pastoral care, education and public policy are pillars of respect life ministry in the United States Catholic Bishops’ “Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities,” she said.
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, the Church is emphasizing pastoral care; this year’s theme for the October Respect Life Month is “Called to Serve Moms in Need,” she said.
She said parishes can help mothers in need through existing resources such as St. Vincent de Paul Societies; Visitation House for homeless, pregnant women; and Problem Pregnancy, which offers women alternatives to abortion. Parishes might also help single mothers send their children to Catholic schools.
“In our acts of service we should always include an educational component,” she said.
Another pastoral outreach is Project Rachel, which offers confidential help after an abortion. Information is made available in parish bulletin announcements her office sends.
“This was a profound, moving experience,” Donna Campos, of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster, said after the morning of reflection, adding that she learned of it through the parish bulletin and liked hearing about Project Rachel. She showed her “Life is precious” bracelet that initiates conversations.
Fellow parishioner Karen Betty said she gained more understanding from the morning of reflection; she was always pro-life, but perhaps can do more now.
“It’s very moving that there’s still so much that the Church can do in a post-Roe world. … We’re going to discuss this within our Advocates for Life group,” said Timothy Cody, an adviser for the group at Assumption University.
Group member John Healy said the overturning of Roe should be treated as an opportunity for further action.
“I just really appreciated they brought (out) the gratitude we should have for life,” said Anna Murphy, a student leader of the group. “I think that is an important lens to look at the pro-life movement through.” She said she was thinking of using a Bible study format to portray the sanctity of life.
Phillip Valeri, a UMass-Lowell student from St. Cecilia Parish, said he came to hear his pastor speak, and would like to get involved in pro-life activities, perhaps with protests and posting things online.
Karina Roman-Wallace brought to the morning of reflection posters she made to display at her parish, St. Joan of Arc, for Respect Life Month. People can share prayer requests and pro-life stories, and discussions and a movie showing are planned, she said.
In her talk, Mrs. LeDoux said that from the Eucharist people draw strength to build a culture of life - by moving society away from seeing death as a solution, building a society that respects each person and helping those who don’t fully embrace Church teachings about life and sexuality.
Polls show that such people are more likely to be “won over” when they are invited to help those in need, she said. Becoming involved, they see the Church cares for everyone.
But just helping people isn’t enough, she said. The Eucharistic Revival is important; the source of the Church’s respect for life is “our eucharistic Lord.”
This revival is to reaffirm the belief in and celebration of the Eucharist, the source and summit of life, Msgr. Moroney said in his talk.
God first gives us life through that “intimate community of life and love” which is the sacrament of marriage, he said. He quoted Pope St. John Paul II: A newborn child “becomes a gift to its brothers, sisters, parents … the very people who were givers of life and who cannot help but feel … its contribution to their common good…”
Jesus comes not just to give us birth, but to bring us eternal life, Msgr. Moroney said.
He praised listeners as his heroes for promoting life.
Responding to their questions and concerns later, he said the disagreement in society goes beyond abortion. Examples included medical professionals seeing patients simply as cases, and sex education not embracing each individual with dignity.
Babies help engender respect for life, Msgr. Moroney said. When someone shows off baby pictures, one could say, “Imagine if someone killed that baby! That baby used to live in mother’s womb.”
In fighting for life, political action is important, spiritual action is indispensable, he said. To influence priests who fear to speak about life, laity must witness by their own lives. To help traumatized couples considering abortion, he said, “we don’t have to have all the answers, we don’t have to solve all the problems, we just have to love.”