Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Peace and wellbeing to you. Every October the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month – an opportunity to reflect more deeply on the gift of life and the dignity of every human person from the beginning to the end of their lives, and at every point in between. The theme chosen this year reflects the message of our journey of hope in this Jubilee Year and calls us to see Life as our sign of Hope.
In the Papal Bull of Indiction that proclaimed this Jubilee Year (Spes non confundit), +Pope Francis encouraged us to identify the “signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence.” He identified eight signs of hope: the desire for peace, enthusiasm for life and readiness to share it, hope for all experiencing hardships of any kind, hope for the sick and their caregivers, the youth, migrants, the elderly, and the poor. Our late Holy Father wanted to call our attention to these realities and those living through them as especially in need of our reflection and our prayers. In these areas, we, as people of faith, must bring hope, which he described “as the desire and expectation of good things to come.”
Faith, hope, and charity make up the inseparable theological virtues that express the heart of Christian life. Hope is what gives direction and purpose to the life of believers and the virtue by which we desire eternal life. Pope Francis reminded us that through the Second Vatican Council, hope was defined as a divine support and the lack of hope in the eternal life robs people of their dignity, which can be seen through the many problems of life and death, suffering and guilt. “Christian hope consists precisely in this: that in facing death, which appears to be the end of everything, we have the certainty that, thanks to the grace of Christ imparted to us in Baptism, life is changed, not ended, forever,” Pope Francis stated. In this we find our hope. Through life, not only the life we are granted on this earth but the promise of that everlasting life in God’s glory.
This Respect Life Month let us bring hope to the most vulnerable in our communities, especially those constantly living in despair who have lost hope and enthusiasm for life. Let us transmit the grace and mercy of a loving God that transforms our whole being and wants us whole. May we learn to protect and advocate for the dignity of all, from the child in the womb, to the mother needing accompaniment and support, to the family facing the cruel reality of deportation. May we bring peace and comfort to those who are facing a serious illness or are near the end of their lives. And for all of us, may we never stop desiring happiness which is only found in the one thing that can bring us fulfilment, love. As Pope Leo XIV has said, “True joy is born of indwelt expectation, of patient faith, of the hope that what has been lived in love will surely rise to eternal life.”
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Alberto Rojas
Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino