CANTON – Every human being, “even the weakest, the most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor,” is a “masterpiece of God’s creation,” Bishop George V. Murry, S.J., told attendees at the annual Mass for Life here.
Citing the words of Pope Francis, Bishop Murry preached the homily at the Mass offered at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist Church here, one of two Masses offered in the diocese this month coinciding with the annual March for Life in Washington, which calls attention to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which mandated legal abortion in all 50 states.
The bishop also offered a blessing for anyone planning to attend the March for Life on Jan. 24 and for any pregnant woman present. The basilica was virtually filled. A similar Mass for Life was set to be offered with Bishop Murry at 4 p.m. Jan. 26 in St. Columba Cathedral.
Though there are many moral life issues today about which Catholics need to be concerned, “poverty, the death penalty, domestic violence, economic injustice, the environment, human trafficking, hunger, immigration, end of life issues, and racism, to name a few,” Bishop Murry pointed out, “the premiere moral issue of our day, and we all recognize it, is the presence of abortion.”
“Each of these assaults on life has its own meaning and morality. They cannot be collapsed into one problem, but they must be confronted as the pieces of a larger path,” Bishop Murry continued. “The issues are not all on the same level but they are all connected.
“The Catholic Church must speak on all these issues because, at its core, it realizes, we are the masterpieces of God. The Catholic Church realizes that all life is connected and all moral issues are connected,” Bishop Murry said. “They are connected to our relationship to Christ and Christ’s relationship to us.”
In order to truly understand how all of these moral dilemmas are intertwined, he explained, individuals must experience a transformation that is only possible through belief, faith and trust in God.
“God transforms human hearts,” Bishop Murry said. “A transformed heart will see that we are all masterpieces of God’s creation. All of us: the unborn, prisoners, women and children who are the victims of domestic violence and even those who have lost their faith and are wandering in our world, searching for meaning.
“Each one is a masterpiece of God. And through our help, through our commitment, we can bring forth that masterpiece. That is not an easy teaching,” Bishop Murry said, “but it is one that is true and Jesus calls us to live that truth each day.”