A Note from Fr. Dale

A Note from Fr. Dale

“To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it.”  ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Today is Respect Life Sunday and the beginning of Respect Life Month. Each year the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops identifies an aspect of respect life to highlight and expresses it in a theme. This year’s theme is Radical Solidarity. Solidarity denotes a sense of connection
and an offering of mutual support. It is a way to articulate the Gospel’s call to love our neighbor, to desire their good, and to take steps to help them. It is radical when we take this call seriously.

The focus of this radical solidarity is on women who struggle to choose life or to provide for their children. As St. John Paul II noted, “In firmly rejecting ‘pro-choice’ it is necessary to become courageously ‘pro woman,’ promoting a choice that is truly in favor of women. … The only honest stance, in these cases, is that of radical solidarity with the woman.   It is not right to leave her alone.” (Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 207) Regardless of the laws prohibiting abortion, or in some states the growing number of laws encouraging abortion, Christians are called to support pregnant and parenting women in need.

Both Holy Spirit at Geist and St. John Vianney support pregnant women in need. At various times each year, wecollect items for Birthright (those in Cicero, Kokomo andLogansport) or the Women’s Care Center in Indianapolis.  Other parish outreach programs benefit these women as they are helped by the Good Samaritan network or other agencies. A handful of parishioners have donated time at these and other agencies. Your participation in any of these outreach programs is an expression of solidarity with these women and their children. Thank you! As we announce
these outreach efforts, please join us, and recommit to walking with mothers in need.

If you are interested in volunteering your time you may contact agencies directly. They are always in need of volunteers and can share how you may help. You may contact Birthright Cicero online at birthright.org/cicero or by phone at 317-984-7131. Contact the Women’s Care Center online at womenscarecenter.org/indianapolisindiana, or by phone at 317-829-6800.

Another way we can offer support is through prayer. There is no greater power than prayer and they need our prayers. Pray for women and their children who come to these agencies. Pray for women you know who may be struggling or in need. Pray for those who have no one to pray for
them. Pray to St. Gianna Molla to intercede for women who are in crisis and considering abortion. You can learn more about St. Gianna and her choice for life at saintgianna.org.   You can also pray for a child in need. Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote a prayer for the spiritual adoption of an
unborn child in danger of abortion. You may find it online at spiritualadoption.org. Pray for them as you would someone in your family or circle of friends. God knows who they are and will bless them through our prayer.

For our solidarity to be radical it must be fixed in our minds and hearts. That is the basic meaning of radical, at the root, inherent. Pope Francis in his encyclical “The Joy of the Gospel”, defines radical solidarity and says it “refers to something more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It
presumes the creation of a new mindset.” (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 188) Prayerfully consider how you can grow in solidarity with these women. This is an important way to live out our Gospel mandate to love one another as Christ has loved us. His was a radical love and we, each in our own
way, need to reflect that same radical love as we support pregnant and parenting women in need.

“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (Jn 13:34)

In Christ,

Fr. Dale