Do we speak up when we need to?

My dear friends in Christ,

Do we speak up when we need to? The prophet Isaiah refuses to be silent. “It will not be possible for me to shut up. I will talk and not stop talking, proclaim and not stop proclaiming, preach and not stop preaching. I will shake the skies with my voice. I will not pause. I will not rest, for the sake of the precious city God loved and left, and I will keep this up until every nation and king can see that Jerusalem has been declared innocent and lifted up to the place of glory and honor.” The moment, when vindication shines like the light of a new day, recalls imagery of creation and heralds the dawn of new creation for God’s people. In this reading, the passage expresses God’s determination in words that elicit hope, joy, and the certainty of salvation. Silence may be an important element in our Liturgy, but it should never be the hallmark of a Christian life. Our Baptism calls us to be heralds of the Good News. It calls us to speak up and demand justice when we see wrongs; to speak up for those with no voice; and to address those in need. Jesus showed us how to do this by meeting people where they were. He addressed their needs or corrected their errors to give us that hope for life with Him in His heavenly kingdom.

As we enter the midway point of the “9 days for life,” Bishop O’Connell has asked us to pray for the respect of human life. It is in Jesus’ name that we pray for the unborn.

May God bless you all!

Father John