In a little-known homily years ago, the man who was to become Pope Francis warned of the persecution of those promoting a respect for life, but nonetheless encouraged them to stand up for life.
Be courageous in promoting life, says Pope Francis. (Photo: The Guardian)
“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you,” the Pope quoted the words of Christ.
Pope Francis’ homily, translated into English and set to exciting video footage of World Youth Day, was made into a video on YourTube by the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.
This message of Christ from the Gospel of John is “a little chilling,” in the words of a LifeSiteNews translation of the cardinal’s talk. The culture of death is something every Christian must confront, he said. Contrary to the Gospel, this culture sees life only for its usefulness and perceived value. It is dispensable when seen as “costly” or “useless” — whether that applies to the elderly or the unborn.
Smelling a wolf
In his off-hand manner, the cardinal said that when it comes to promoting life, it’s about “knowing how to smell” a wolf disguised as a sheep. “We don’t have the luxury to be fools because we have a very beautiful message of life and we’re not permitted to be fools.”
The culture of death preaches egoism and self-survival, but not the generous giving of life to others, says the pope. Christ counters this by saying, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This is the mark of a Christian, he said – caring for the elderly, the disabled, the underprivileged child, even when it is costly and sacrifices are needed. Like Christ the Good Shepherd, not one sheep should be lost.
Wolves of persecution
Although we are made in the image and likeness of God – from whom we are given our worth – the world does not see this. Like sheep among wolves, we may be persecuted and shunned for our pro-life beliefs. Pope Francis reminds us of the Christian martyrs, who themselves were killed for preaching the Gospel of Life, but were given sufficient strength from Jesus.
In Genesis, Cain questioned whether he was his brother’s keeper. His sin continues in modern times, as society – where the seeds of the culture of death have taken root – shows increasing apathy towards others, the pontiff said.
In his homily, given on Aug. 31, 2005, on the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus, Pope Francis spoke of the saint’s image, which was traveling between houses. St. Raymond, who is the patron of midwives and pregnant mothers, lived a life caring for others, even surrendering himself as a hostage to ransom captive Christians. He is also an early member of the Order of Mercy. The image of this saint must be a reminder to us to care for life from beginning to end, following Christ as did his disciples, the pope said.
With surprising candor, the man who was to become Pope Francis warned his fellow Christians of the wolves of persecution, but nevertheless told them to stand for life, and against the culture of death. The below homily was given before Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope. The Order of Mercy produced this video, which combines the homily, read by a guest narrator, with the exciting backdrop of World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The homily was given on Aug. 31, the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus, in 2005.
When one listens to what Jesus says: Look, “I send you, I send you like sheep amongst the wolves,” one wants to ask: “Lord, are you joking, or do not have a better place to send us?” Because what Jesus says is a little chilling: “if you proclaim my message, they are going to persecute you, they are going to slander you, they are going to set traps to deliver you to the courts and to have you killed. But you must continue forward. For that reason, take care, Jesus says, and be astute, be clever like the serpent but very simple like doves,” joining the two things.
The Christian cannot allow himself the luxury to be an idiot, that’s clear. We don’t have the luxury to be fools because we have a very beautiful message of life and we’re not permitted to be fools. For that reason, Jesus says, “Be astute, be careful.” What is the astuteness of the Christian? In knowing how to discern who is a wolf and who is a sheep.
And when, during this celebration of life, a wolf disguises himself as a sheep, it’s knowing how to smell him. “Look, you have the skin of a sheep but the smell of a wolf.” And this, this mandate that Jesus gives us is very important. It’s for something very great. Jesus tells us something that attracts our attention, when someone asks him: “well, why did you come into the world?” “Look, I come to bring life and for that life to be in abundance, and I am sending you so that you can advance that life, and so that it will be abundant.”
Be courageous, says Pope Francis.
Jesus didn’t come to bring death, but rather, the death of hatred, the death of fighting, the death of calumny, that is, killing with the tongue. Jesus did not come to bring death, the death that He suffered for defending life. Jesus came to bring life and to bring the abundant life, and he sends us out, carrying that life, but he tells us: “Care for it!” Because there are people who have what we are hearing about today, who aren’t involved in the Gospel: the culture of death. That is, life interests them insofar as it is useful, insofar as it has some kind of utility and if not, it doesn’t interest them. And throughout the world, this weed has been planted, of the culture of death.
I was reading a book a while back, where this disturbing phrase was found: “In the world of today, the cheapest thing is life, what costs the least is life” — which is, therefore, the most disregarded thing, the most dispensable thing.
This elderly man, this elderly woman, are useless; discard them, let’s throw them in the nursing home like we hang up the raincoat during summer, with three mothballs in the pocket, and let’s hang it in the nursing home because they’re now disposable, they’re useless.
This child who is on the way is a bother to the family. “Oh no, for what? I have no idea. Let’s discard him and return him to the sender.”
That is what the culture of death preaches to us.
This child that I have at home, well, I don’t have time to educate him. Let him grow up like a weed in the field, and this other child who doesn’t have anything to eat, not even little shoes to go to school, and well, I’m very sorry, but I’m not the redeemer of the whole world.
That’s what the culture of death preaches. It’s not interested in life. What interests it? Egoism. One is interested in surviving, but not in giving life, caring for life, offering life.
Today, in this shrine dedicated to life, in this day of the patron saint of life, Jesus again says to us: “Care for it! I came to bring life, and life in abundance, but care for it! You are going to be surrounded by wolves; you are to be the ones to defend life, to care for life.
Care for life! What a beautiful thing one sees — which I know! — that a grandfather, a grandmother, who perhaps can no longer speak, who is paralyzed, and the grandson or the son comes and takes their hand, and in silence cherishes them, nothing more. That is caring for life. When one sees people who take care so that this child can go to school, so that another doesn’t lack food, that is caring for life.
Open your heart to life! Because the egoism of death, the egoistic culture of death, is like the weed in the field, that weed, that grass or black weed, or that hemlock, is growing, it is invading and kills the trees, kills the fruit, kills the flowers, kills life. The weeds. Remember that once Jesus spoke of that. He said: “When the seed is life, it falls in the middle of the weeds, and the thorns choke it, ” the thorns of egoism, of the passions, of wanting everything for one’s self. Life is always giving, gives itself, and it is costly to care for life. Oh how it costs! It costs tears.
How beautiful is caring for life, allowing life to grow, to give life like Jesus, and to give it abundantly, not to permit that even one of these smallest ones be lost. That is what Jesus asked of the Father: “that none of those whom You have given me be lost, that all of the life that You gave me to care for, might be cared for, that it might not be lost.” And we care for life, because He cares for our life from the womb. We have it in the motto for this year: “From the womb you were our protector.” He cares for us and he teaches us that.
We (modern society) don’t care for life. Because there is an ethical order of caring for life, we simply care for life. Jesus teaches us to care for life because it is the image of God, who is absolute life. We cannot announce anything else but life, and from the beginning to the end. All of us must care for life, cherish life, with tenderness, warmth.
But it is a road that is full of wolves, and perhaps for that reason they might bring us to the courts, perhaps, for that reason, for caring for life they might kill us. We should think about the Christian martyrs. They killed them for preaching this Gospel of life, this Gospel that Jesus brought. But Jesus gives us the strength. Go forth! Don’t be fools, remember, a Christian doesn’t have the luxury of being foolish, I’m not going to repeat, an idiot, a fool, he can’t give himself the luxury. He has to be clever, he has to be astute, to carry this out.
When one speaks of these things of the culture of life, to which we are called, one feels the sadness that, in these hearts, and even from childhood, the culture of death has been sown. Egoism is sown in them, the “well, and what does it matter to me what happens to others” is sown in them. Who am I to care for others? This statement, do you remember who made it first? Cain. “Am I the one who must care for his brother?” This criminal statement, this phrase of death — it is a shame that even from childhood people grow up with this thinking that this egoistic thinking in inculcated within them, that men and women are formed in this way. I said it once and I’ll repeat it — we could place it as a nickname — I, me, mine, with me, for me, everything for one, give nothing to others, because to give life is to open the heart, and to care for life is to expend one’s self in tenderness and warmth for others, to have concern in my heart for others.
Today we’re going to bless the messengers of life. They are those who are going to carry the images of Saint Raymond Nonnatus to people’s homes. They are going to go to people’s houses, and each time the image arrives at a house, it’s not for saying “Oh how lovely! I have it to myself.” Rather it is to remember that I have to struggle for life, to care for life, that there shouldn’t be even one child who doesn’t have the right to be born, there shouldn’t be even one child who doesn’t have the right to be well fed, there shouldn’t even be one child who doesn’t have the right to go to school.
How many children are working to recycle cardboard? I see them in the center of Buenos Aires. They don’t go to school. They are exploited by their parents. And who provokes the parents to exploit their children? The culture of death. There shouldn’t be one child who doesn’t grow up, who doesn’t live his adolescence open to life. There shouldn’t be any adult who doesn’t concern himself with what others are lacking, with what others need to have more life, and with ensuring that there isn’t even one elderly person put into storage, alone, discarded.
Caring for life from the beginning to the end. What a simple thing, what a beautiful thing. Father, is that why there are so many wolves who want to eat us? Is that why, tell me? Who did Jesus kill? No one. He did good things. And how did he end up? If we go down the road of life ugly things can happen to us, but it doesn’t matter. It’s worth it. He first opened the way.
So, go forth and don’t be discouraged. Care for life. It’s worth it! So be it.
This text was translated from a transcript of the original Spanish text published by the Argentinean Catholic Information Agency (AICA). Homily translation by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman of LifeSiteNews.com.
St. Raymond Nonnatus is a principal patron of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy. He is also the patron saint of expectant mothers and midwives because of his own cesarean birth. Read St. Raymond’s story on our website.
For 800 years, the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary has stood in defense of human dignity when it was threatened. Today, 1.3 million pre-born babies are killed in American per year! The blood of these children cries out for justice with a cry greater than that of Cain’s blood. We read in Genesis 4:10, “The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” NO ONE is free to ignore or silently tolerate the grave evil of abortion and it’s effects on our society.
Stephanie Gray,Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform
Knowing this Br. Daniel Bowen, O. de M., pro-life coordinator at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, organized a world renowned speaker to give a presentation at the Seminary. Her name is Stephanie Gray and she is the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. She has spoken around the world on abortion and has debated abortionists, professor, and leaders in the abortion movement. She has also spoken at various elementary, high schools and universities in North America.
Stephanie spoke to us about her work and how her organization is ending abortion in Canada through presentations and in the streets activism with abortion imagery. Her talk at the seminary was extensively about her strategy on fighting abortion called the “Endthekilling” plan. She also explained how to talk about abortion to others and the importance of knowledge, wisdom, and character when talking about the abortion issue.
She explained that in the past atrocities had been ended when the injustice was exposed, and the culture confronted by the injustice. As long as it remains hidden, people can ignore the horror of great atrocities such as slavery, the holocost, and race killings. Stephanie showed how images were used by abolitionists and civil rights leaders to shake people out of their apathy. The audience “gasped” when they saw a picture of a young black boy brutally beaten in the deep South out of hatred for his race. This horrific image was disseminated throughout the United States in the 1950’s. It was this image, which Rosa Parks was thinking of when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama.
We were so glad that she could take time out of her busy schedule to talk to the seminarians and laity, and to show us how to end the genocide of abortion. The pre-born child is the most helpless person in our society, captive to the will of others, completely unable to receive the Sacraments of the Church. We must work so that all children have equal protection in our society and we pray to St. Raymond Nonnatus, patron of pre-born children, that abortion is ended and for the repose of the souls of the fifty million children legally killed in the United States.
Nicholas McLeod is preparing to enter the postulancy program in Philadelphia this Fall. Here is his story:
When I was in grade two my teacher asked us to interview the person who you wanted to be when you grew up. I interviewed my parish priest. That I think was the first sign of my call to the priesthood. I come from a family of six and I grew up near Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I moved to Toronto, Ontario when I entered grade 9 and then moved up to Ottawa to attend University where I graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce in Accounting and Management of People and Organizations.
I had rejected my Catholic faith in High School, but when I saw a video of what abortion did to pre-born children I knew that I was pro-life. So in University I co-founded the pro-life club on campus and who were my fellow members, but Catholics. So in second year one of them asked me to go on a retreat with them. I went, and it was there that for the first time I experienced adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I could not help but fall to my knees and I made my first real confession. Once I had opened my heart back to God, his call once again reached my ears. He wanted me to work for him.
I searched for orders but I was not satisfied with any of them, until I found the Mercedarians. What first drew me to them was their progressive view of liturgy. I loved that they celebrated the extraordinary form of the mass and offered the ordinary form so reverently. When I heard the story of St. Peter Nolasco and the Saints of the order, I knew that this is where I belonged.
St. Raymond Nonnatus in particular caught my attention. As a full time pro-life activist in Canada with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform I feel that God is really calling for me to minister to the pre-born child, who is dehumanized, killed and experimented on both in United States and Canada. St. Raymond–the patron saint of the pre-born–demonstrated the courage and self-sacrifice that every pro-lifer must have in order to save children from being decapitated, dismembered, and disembowled through abortion. He continued to speak the Gospel of Christ, even when his lips were padlocked shut. In the same way we have to speak the Gospel of life, even when we are silenced and persecuted for it.
If I could sum up the Mercedarian mission in one word it would be re-evangelization. St. Peter did not seek to ransom anyone, he sought out specifically Christians who were losing their faith because of their captivity. I am excited to participate in that mission to give my life for the freedom of those enslaved by ignorance, despair and other captivities which are causing them to lose their faith. St. Raymond, Ora pro nobis.
