NOWADAYS, when the value of human
life has been greatly
reduced, we need to recover its true worth by revisiting the pertinent
Christian doctrine about it.
It cannot be denied that in many parts of the world, an
open anti-life culture is taking place and it’s slowly coming also
into our country. Abortion is legal in many countries. Euthanasia is
fast gaining ground. Summary and extra-judicial killings are getting
rampant. Of course, there is now a creeping wave of terrorism in many
places.
We need to reaffirm the truth that human life, no matter
how deformed and depraved in its earthly condition, is always sacred,
because it’s a life that has a special and very intimate relation with
God, its creator.
No one can just put it away on his own volition or that of
another or even of the state. It’s a life whose death can only come
properly by God’s will. This usually takes place through natural
causes—sickness, old age, etc.
Though God can allow death to occur due to human volition,
such event is clearly against his will and would constitute a grave
sin. Our Christian faith also teaches that if some evil is allowed to
happen, it’s because a greater good can also be derived from it.
We should be quick to discern God’s designs when some evil
takes place, so we avoid falling into a vicious cycle that sin usually
generates. In this, we should try not to be scandalized by evil, not
by affirming that evil is not evil but rather by acknowledging evil in
the context of God’s merciful and wise providence.
From there, we can start to perceive the good God has in
mind for it. This effort may be aided by our legal and juridical
system, some conventional wisdom that we have accumulated through the
ages, etc. But we should also be aware that these elements are never
perfect.
At best, they can lead us to divine wisdom but can never
replace it. In fact, the way things are now, we may have to do a lot
of purging, since many distortions if not errors insofar as the moral
law is concerned may already have contaminated these systems.
Human life is sacred because it is always a life
intimately linked with the very life of God. And that’s because we
have been made the image and likeness of God, children of his, endowed
with faculties that would enable us, together with his grace, to enter
into the very life of God.
Thus, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church teaches that “from its beginning human life involves the
creative action of God and it remains forever in a special
relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.” (466)
In another point of the Catechism, we are told that “of
all visible creatures only man is able to know and love his creator.
He is the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own
sake.” (CCC 356) In other words, our life somehow reflects the life of
God.
That is how each one of us is designed by God. The full
realization of that original design may be thwarted by the many
manifestations of our sinfulness. Just the same, in spite of such
condition, we also know that God became man to save us and has given
us all the means so we can be what we ought to be, according to God’s
providence.
This brings us to the conclusion that human life is always
sacred no matter how sinful it is. God is so in love with man that he
cannot abandon him. He will do everything to bring him back to him
while respecting man’s freedom. That’s why in Christ, God is made to
die, which is the greatest proof of one’s love for another.
We need to counter the attack on human life by spreading
this fundamental truth about us. That may sound quixotic, but with
faith in God’s powers and with our persistent effort, we know that the
good and the truth will always prevail.
In this regard, St. Paul gave us a relevant piece of
advice: “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you
are unleavened. For Christ our pasch is sacrificed.” (1 Cor 5,7)
This will certainly take a lot of time, effort and
suffering. But we need to convince ourselves that this is all
worthwhile. We should pray, offer a lot of sacrifices, and do whatever
we can, individually or with others, to do a battle of love to uphold
that human life is sacred.
reduced, we need to recover its true worth by revisiting the pertinent
Christian doctrine about it.
It cannot be denied that in many parts of the world, an
open anti-life culture is taking place and it’s slowly coming also
into our country. Abortion is legal in many countries. Euthanasia is
fast gaining ground. Summary and extra-judicial killings are getting
rampant. Of course, there is now a creeping wave of terrorism in many
places.
We need to reaffirm the truth that human life, no matter
how deformed and depraved in its earthly condition, is always sacred,
because it’s a life that has a special and very intimate relation with
God, its creator.
No one can just put it away on his own volition or that of
another or even of the state. It’s a life whose death can only come
properly by God’s will. This usually takes place through natural
causes—sickness, old age, etc.
Though God can allow death to occur due to human volition,
such event is clearly against his will and would constitute a grave
sin. Our Christian faith also teaches that if some evil is allowed to
happen, it’s because a greater good can also be derived from it.
We should be quick to discern God’s designs when some evil
takes place, so we avoid falling into a vicious cycle that sin usually
generates. In this, we should try not to be scandalized by evil, not
by affirming that evil is not evil but rather by acknowledging evil in
the context of God’s merciful and wise providence.
From there, we can start to perceive the good God has in
mind for it. This effort may be aided by our legal and juridical
system, some conventional wisdom that we have accumulated through the
ages, etc. But we should also be aware that these elements are never
perfect.
At best, they can lead us to divine wisdom but can never
replace it. In fact, the way things are now, we may have to do a lot
of purging, since many distortions if not errors insofar as the moral
law is concerned may already have contaminated these systems.
Human life is sacred because it is always a life
intimately linked with the very life of God. And that’s because we
have been made the image and likeness of God, children of his, endowed
with faculties that would enable us, together with his grace, to enter
into the very life of God.
Thus, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church teaches that “from its beginning human life involves the
creative action of God and it remains forever in a special
relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.” (466)
In another point of the Catechism, we are told that “of
all visible creatures only man is able to know and love his creator.
He is the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own
sake.” (CCC 356) In other words, our life somehow reflects the life of
God.
That is how each one of us is designed by God. The full
realization of that original design may be thwarted by the many
manifestations of our sinfulness. Just the same, in spite of such
condition, we also know that God became man to save us and has given
us all the means so we can be what we ought to be, according to God’s
providence.
This brings us to the conclusion that human life is always
sacred no matter how sinful it is. God is so in love with man that he
cannot abandon him. He will do everything to bring him back to him
while respecting man’s freedom. That’s why in Christ, God is made to
die, which is the greatest proof of one’s love for another.
We need to counter the attack on human life by spreading
this fundamental truth about us. That may sound quixotic, but with
faith in God’s powers and with our persistent effort, we know that the
good and the truth will always prevail.
In this regard, St. Paul gave us a relevant piece of
advice: “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you
are unleavened. For Christ our pasch is sacrificed.” (1 Cor 5,7)
This will certainly take a lot of time, effort and
suffering. But we need to convince ourselves that this is all
worthwhile. We should pray, offer a lot of sacrifices, and do whatever
we can, individually or with others, to do a battle of love to uphold
that human life is sacred.
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