By Judie Brown
A recent personal encounter with Truth came my way by virtue of a profound statement from Bishop Emeritus Michael Pfeifer, Diocese of San Angelo:
Life is indeed in God’s mind sacred from conception, and as it is a unique act of creation of a new person, God alone is the final author of how conception is to take place for those who read, believe and care deeply for the word of God. The Bible teaches us about the God, the Master of Creation, who brings into our world a whole new human being with the cooperation of His children, a married woman and man. This loving act of cooperation with God in the formation and birth of a new person is an essential part of the sacrament of matrimony. Here we remember the beautiful and inspiring passage from Psalm 139:13-16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
It is not often that we witness such a profound understanding of the purpose of our pro-life work. While we certainly know why we do this work, inspired as it is by Truth personified, it is always a blessing to see a current statement from a member of the hierarchy that underscores the commitment of every person who perceives herself as a defender of the innocent.
As Bishop Pfeifer wrote in a 2023 pastoral statement, “This brutal daily killing of these precious sacred images of God should cause all pro-lifers, especially bishops, to fall on our knees in prayerful repentance and reparation, pleading for God’s forgiveness and mercy as we humbly admit before the Lord that we could have and should do much more to prevent the massive daily destruction of tiny, precious human lives.”
Pfeifer’s words invite us to reflect anew on the massive scourge that abortion has visited on our nation. Whether these preborn children of God die by pill, device, or surgical instrument, each one is erased from the face of the earth, forever lost to her mother though assuredly embraced by her Heavenly Father.
Pro-life people are often described as anti-choice, a term Webster defines as “antiabortion.” But in truth it is the pro-life position that is pro-choice because we know that every human being, created in the image and likeness of God, is someone who will learn to make her own choices if only she is allowed to be born and flourish in the circumstances surrounding her.
We must be ever grounded in faith, truth, and compassion toward our fellow human beings, especially those at risk. When we consider the words of Bishop Pfeifer, we cannot help but recall this beautiful excerpt from Saint John Paul II’s Gospel of Life:
Why is life a good? This question is found everywhere in the Bible, and from the very first pages it receives a powerful and amazing answer. The life which God gives man is quite different from the life of all other living creatures, inasmuch as man, although formed from the dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7, 3:19; Job 34:15; Ps 103:14; 104:29), is a manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory (cf. Gen 1:26-27; Ps 8:6). This is what Saint Irenaeus of Lyons wanted to emphasize in his celebrated definition: “Man, living man, is the glory of God”. Man has been given a sublime dignity, based on the intimate bond which unites him to his Creator: in man there shines forth a reflection of God himself.
Focused on these remarkable words, we celebrate the mind of God, renewing our commitment to His children without exception, compromise, or political whim.