Inbox Inspiration: Respecting Human Life: January 23 - January 30, 2019

January 23, 2019

Respecting Human Life - 1

Dear Friends,
Last Friday, the annual March for Life took place in Washington.
I know that people from our local parishes travel to the nation’s capital for this.
Many more of us participate in prayer gatherings for human life.
We do this because we believe that life comes from God.
The life of each person is, therefore, sacred.
Our reverencing this life then becomes a multifaceted expression:
assuring health care for children and for everyone,
providing shelter for the homeless, food for the starving,
advocating for peacemaking among nations, treating our elderly with dignity,
assisting women who are pregnant in bringing their babies to full term,
and, definitely, respecting the life of an unborn baby.
This is core to our Christian spirituality and moral code.
It is also central to the respect for the rights of all in our American system.

“…we wish to proceed in a way that rests on the following insights: First, the foundation of the Catholic moral tradition is the dignity of the human person. The second key insight of Catholic moral life is that we are social beings and that solidarity matters. The social acceptance of abortion is a profound moral failure on both counts. It undermines the claim that every life is infused with God-given dignity, and it often pretends such decisions can be relegated to individual choice without having negative consequences on society as a whole.”

From America – The Jesuit Review of Faith and Culture by Editors.

[More on Respecting Human Life in next week’s Inbox Inspirations, January 30, 2019.]

May Jesus who is our way, our truth, and our life guide us in all things. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner

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January 30, 2019

Respecting Human Life - 2

Dear Friends, 
We have a right and responsibility to promote respect for human life.
We have this right and responsibility as individuals and as a Church.
This is grounded on our faith in God and our desire to express that faith.
It is also grounded on our American rights of free speech and religious freedom.
Nevertheless, how we as persons of faith and as a Church promote respect for human life is also very important.
Our energies first need to be directed to inspiring the hearts of all about the beauty and sacredness of human life.
Based on that, we engage in respectful moral persuasion – not force in any form.
This is the unique contribution that we can make in the name of God.
Our primary method must not be political.
If it is, then we have become more of a political action group.
Our special gift must be touching the hearts of people and not berating them.
It must be to promote the sacredness of human life in a way that respects the life and personhood and sincerity even of those who disagree with us.
In the long run, this will be the way to bring God to this arena of life.
And this will be the most authentic way to be disciples of Christ.

“…beyond the actual content of ‘what’ we say in making a case against abortion, it is critical to pay attention to ‘how’ our defense of the unborn takes place. As St. Paul reminds us, we must ‘speak the truth with love’ (Ephesians 4:14). Success will not come through force of will; it will only come by changing hearts. Therefore we must always keep watch over our own hearts and ensure they are filled with the love and hope needed for this holy work.”

From America – The Jesuit Review of Faith and Culture by Editors.

[More on Respecting Human Life in last week’s Inbox Inspirations, January 23, 2019.]

May Jesus who is our way, our truth, and our life guide us in all things. Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner

Inbox Inspiration: Living the New Year: January 9 - January 16, 2019

January 9, 2019

Living the New Year - 1

Dear Friends,
Right now is the time.
Today is the time we have.
Today is the time to live and pour ourselves into the project of life.
There is little point to regretting the past.
Our if onlys are often a waste of energy.
If only I had done this or if only that had happened – on and on it can go.
These if onlys may benefit us only if they instruct us on how to live today more fully.
There is also little point to worrying about the future.
Our what ifs are also often a waste of energy.
What if I lose my job or what if the MRI comes back bad – on and on it can go.
These what ifs may benefit us only if they motivate us in the here and now.
So, let’s invest ourselves in today, right now –
this is where to put the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energies and gifts that God has given us.
Resolve each morning to live the day with this approach.
That will be a good daily and a good New Year’s resolution.

“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season.  It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year.  It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow.  Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”

From Three African-American Classicsby W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963. American sociologist, civil rights activist, and author).

[More on Living the New Year in next week’s Inbox Inspirations, January 16, 2019.]

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January 16, 2019

Living the New Year - 2

Dear Friends, 
I recommend that each morning we offer our day to God.
When I was a child, I was taught a Morning Offering prayer.
We had to memorize it and then we were to pray it at the start of every day.
I prayed that prayer from my childhood for decades, including for many years as a priest.
Then, I saw some other prayer models for a Morning Offering.
I decided to adopt one that seemed better suited to where I am spiritually today.
I have memorized this and now pray it every morning.
So, I encourage you to do the same.
I am giving an example of such a prayer below.
Praying a Morning Offering that you have learned or one in your own words helps to begin and center the entire day on God.
That, in turn, will help us in Living the New Year very well.

“God, my friend, I offer you this day.
Let all my prayer, work, joy, suffering today
join with the lives offered to you
by the whole People of God
and especially with our great Eucharist, Jesus, 
your Son and our Brother.
Let your Spirit be with me today, especially in …
And I ask your loving concern today, especially for my friend…
Remind me, through the day, that I am not alone. 
Amen.”

From Daily Prayers for Busy People by William J. O’Malley, S.J. (1931—. American Jesuit priest, professor of theology and English, actor, author).

[More on Living the New Year in last week’s Inbox Inspirations, January 9, 2019.]

May the light of Christ deepen our faith, strengthen our hope, and inspire our love throughout this new year.
Father Michael Schleupner