28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners and Friends:

Today is Respect Life Sunday, a day when we are asked to think about how we treat our fellow human beings. A letter from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response," emphasized the sacredness of human life and the responsibility we have, personally and as a society, to protect and preserve its sanctity. In paragraph 285, it specifically linked the nuclear question with abortion and other life issues:

“When we accept violence in any form as commonplace, our sensitivities become dulled. When we accept violence, war itself can be taken for granted. Violence has many faces: oppression of the poor, deprivation of basic human rights, economic exploitation, sexual exploitation and pornography, neglect or abuse of the aged and the helpless, and innumerable other acts of inhumanity. Abortion in particular blunts a sense of the sacredness of human life. In a society where the innocent unborn are killed wantonly, how can we expect people to feel righteous revulsion at the act or threat of killing non-combatants in war?”

Next weekend at all the Masses, we will bless families who are expecting children. I invite all expectant families to join us for this very special way to celebrate life.

Pray for Peace.

Father Duffell