Our Lady of the Holy Rosary — St. Richard Catholic Church

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Catholic Church

July 01, 2018 - THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SAFE RELEASE OF LEAH SHARIBU AND OTHERS WHO ARE HELD CAPTIVE BECAUSE THEY REFUSE TO RENOUNCE THEIR CHRISTIAN FAITH

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit priest,
philosopher, and paleontologist

ALL HUMAN LIFE IS INHERENTLY SACRED

When do you experience the sacredness of your life?

Humans are a unity of a physical body and spirit (soul). According to Catholic teaching, each person’s spirit or soul is created by God at the moment of their biological conception.

We have spoken about the fundamental principle of CST that all humans are created in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1:26-27). Therefore, all human life is sacred, and this transcendent dignity, inherent in all humans, is the foundation of a moral vision for society.

As Christians, we are called to recognize, acknowledge, respect, and protect the inalienable dignity and goodness of being created in God’s image, that is inherent at the center, depth, and core of all humans, whether or not a person recognizes, accepts, or acts in accordance with that inherent dignity.

As Pope Francis reminds us, in being lovingly created in God’s image, “There is no human life more sacred than another, just as there is no human life qualitatively more significant than nother….Human dignity is the same for all human beings: when I trample on the dignity of another, I am trampling on my own.“

However, persons or groups may fail to recognize, let alone acknowledge, respect or protect this God-given sacredness, inalienable dignity, and goodness inherent in all human life. Instead, they may measure a person’s dignity, life, worth, and their relative importance by external standards, such as their physical appearance, gender, race, perceived power, status, prestige, rank, wealth, affluence, education, religion, utility, success, nationality, language, class or group membership, or their number of followers on Facebook or Twitter,

Experience shows that persons, groups, nations, or societies may ignore, discard, discriminate against, disempower, exploit, victimize, dominate, injure, and even kill those who do not measure up to these relative, external standards. As Pope Francis warns:

When we speak of mankind, we must never forget the various attacks on the sacredness of human life. The plague of abortion is an attack on life. Allowing our brothers and sisters to die on boats in the Strait of Sicily is an attack on life. Dying on the job because the minimum safety standards are not respected is an attack on life. Death from malnutrition is an attack on life. Terrorism, war, violence; so is euthanasia. Loving life means always taking care of the other, wanting the best for him, cultivating and respecting her transcendent dignity. (Address given at meeting of Science and Life Assoc., May 30, 2015).

Reflect on Your Experience

What do you do to recognize, acknowledge, respect, and protect the inalienable dignity and goodness inherent in all humans?

"Ten Principles of Catholic Social Thought" 

"Catholic Social Justice - Choose Life"

"Catholic Social Teaching Movie"

"Human Dignity"

"What are the Universal Human Rights"