With the celebration of All Saints Day, we are reminded of our final goal: the glory of heaven. Heaven is populated by those saints who are not officially canonized and whose sanctity, on this side of heaven, will remain unknown. This feast day serves as our reminder that each person is called to be a saint amid the various crosses and circumstances of his or her life.
Each person is made in the image and likeness of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “Endowed with ‘a spiritual and immortal’ soul, the human person is ‘the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake.’ From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude” (CCC 1703). Out of His infinite love and goodness, God has willed each person into being. God calls each person to be a saint, to praise Him forever in heaven.
“Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary,” Pope Benedict XVI said.
Each person is an unrepeatable gift. Each person has a part to play in the plan of salvation.
The saints are those whose lives have been transformed by an all-consuming love for God. They are our guides to beatitude. As St. Athanasius teaches in his work On the Incarnation, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” By his Incarnation, Christ has remade us as adopted sons and daughters of God, as those who can participate in the very life and nature of God by knowing and loving God ever more deeply.
The saints teach us that we make God’s love visible by loving our neighbor. In the Gospel of John, Christ says, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
Considering that each person is called to be a saint, being pro-life takes on a greater meaning. Life is a gift bestowed from God that should be respected and cherished. The dignity and inestimable worth of each human person does not stem from an arbitrary set of rights or rules. Each person is sacred, because each person was created by God and destined for eternal life with God.
One charge against pro-lifers is that they are pro-birth; they do not care about the life of the child once it has been born. The Church is striving to love both mom and baby and accompany them in their need because the Church understands that love demands sacrifice. Love demands that we sacrifice for our neighbor, just as Christ sacrificed for the Church, so that they too may reach the glory of heaven.
Inspired to love both mother and child, the diocese and others continue to create new groups and initiatives. Pregnancy centers help provide free ultrasounds and counseling to help moms make a life decision. Mommies Matter accompanies moms who have chosen life.
It is important to remember that the Church is a field hospital for sinners and not a museum of saints. While we are certainly called to greatness, the Church recognizes that each person is imperfect with faults and failings. We also recognize this in the pro-life movement.
The diocese will soon have an active Project Rachel Ministry, which is a healing ministry of the Church that seeks to provide healing and hope to those who have an abortion. Project Rachel helps provide confidential counseling and spiritual direction by trained priests, and it is open to women and men. Many of the men and women who have participated in Project Rachel have been transformed by God’s merciful love.
At the end of life, it can be difficult to remember that life is a gift. Oftentimes, those who are suffering from illness or old age may view themselves as a burden to their loved ones. Yet, human suffering has a mysterious and salvific power that is bestowed upon us through Christ’s cross. By caring for those who are dying, we have the unique opportunity to help prepare them for eternal life.
May we ask the saints in heaven to intercede for us as we strive to create a culture of life and love that is pro-eternal life.
Mary Kristof is the associate director for the diocese’s Office of Pro-life Ministries.