THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN

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January 10, 2010

The Good News...

           ...LIFE, the First Gift!

Will we ever forget the historic Christmas blizzard experienced two and a half weeks ago? Starting on the morning of Christmas Eve, the weather conditions deteriorated within hours. Later that day, within minutes, people’s plans for Christ-mas were radically changed by skids and slips, by accidents and unanticipated   situations.   By   the afternoon, it was evident that plans were not going to be fulfilled as anticipated. We had to adapt, to change and simply do the best we could under circumstances not of our own making.

Like the weather, life itself brings us changes and surprises.  Almost every one of us has seen  our bright ideas and great dreams shattered by a shortage of funds, unemployment,  rejection,  loneliness, insecurity, personal illness    or the death of a loved one. These circumstances, even if not of our making, can impel us to listen more closely to the Spirit of God who is always with us. These circumstances can move us to think more deeply about the very meaning   and purpose of the life we have. To realize “who I am” is to discover a beautiful reality of this mystery of life. To discover the truth of our existence is to be ushered into the mystery of God.

LIFE! Life is the first and most fundamental gift of God. Human life is a total, absolute gift from God. Prior to the moment of our  creation, we are nothing. We are no-body. We do not exist at all.  There-fore, we did not and could not have purchased or gained or demanded our life. We were totally incapable for we did not exist. Our “Right to Life” began only when God freely and lovingly breathed life into us.  God created us through the cooperation of our mother and father. He made us through the Divine Plan He established in nature.

The first gift of God to every human being is life. He brings us into life so that we can come to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him here on this earth so that someday we can live with Him forever in heaven.

Since God created us freely and out of love for the very important purpose of eternal life with Him,  He endowed us with freedom. This freedom enables us to accept God’s love and to love Him in return.  Love can never be coerced or forced or demanded. For a human being, love is always a response to the love that God first shows us. This is what human life is all about.

History shows us that human beings failed to respond to God’s love, thereby aborting the beautiful plan of God for us. This tragedy  rendered us incapable of entering life everlasting. Revelation revealed to us, however, that God in His goodness and mercy would redeem us. Thus God said, “I will send My Son and He will save you.” In the fullness of time, Jesus, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, came to us. This is the great feast of Christmas we have just joyfully observed: “God is with us.”

Since history is ongoing and since each of us lives on this earth for only a short time of that history, each of us is given the opportunity of freely responding to God in love.  Are we truly grateful to God for the gift of life He has given us? Do we realize that the purpose of human life is to share life with God forever in heaven? Since every human being is created in the Image and Likeness of God, do we recognize the inherent dignity of every human being from conception itself when God breathes life into the individual? Do we respect ourselves and all other human beings regardless of accidental features? There-fore, we are most seriously obliged to work to respect life and establish a culture of life.

January is the fist month of a new year. It is looked upon as a new beginning, thus new year’s promises, pledges and resolutions.  But it was in January of 1973 that a terrible tragedy against human life occurred. It was then that our Supreme Court legalized abortion, thus allowing the killing of defenseless babies in their mother’s wombs.  Since  then,  50  million babies have been legally killed.  What a tragedy.  What a rejection of God’s love. What a culture of death has now covered us and our society.

January is here again. A new year has dawned and I wish to urge all Catholic people of this Archdiocese to join with me in reestablishing a culture of life. What can we do to accomplish this?  There are countless ways. We can support Catholic Charities, Birth Choice, Rachel’s Vineyard and other programs and activities that uphold the dignity of every human being.  But most important of all, we can and we must pray. We must  recognize that life comes from God.  Life is a gift from God. Life and life everlasting are dependent on God.

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, I will celebrate  the  annual  Sanctity  of Life Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady. The Mass will begin at 6 p.m. and be followed by a dual program for youth and young adults and  for adults. High school students, college students and young and old — men and women — come with enthusiasm and faith to participate in this Mass and program at Our Lady’s Cathedral on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m.