Jesus saved a young couple from the embarrassment of a wine shortage during their wedding at Cana. Similarly, God is interested in the “smallest details of your life” as well as the struggles of a pregnant woman in need of accompaniment, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz told hundreds of people gathered for the annual Memorial Mass for the Sanctity of Life.
“God is interested in a pregnant woman who doesn’t know where to turn and has been given some bad advice about giving up the gift of life that God has given to her,” he said during his Jan. 16 homily at St. Martin of Tours Church.
As she said at Cana to her son, “The Blessed Mother says again, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ If there’s someone in the community that is in need of help because the dignity of their life or the dignity of that child in their womb is being jeopardized, you and I pray today that we will take the first step” to help, he said.
During his homily, Archbishop Kurtz asked his listeners to make their approach to being pro-life two pronged: To advocate for just laws and to accompany women in need. And he asked that both be approached with courage and compassion.
On the subject of advocacy, the archbishop noted that the Supreme Court of the United States has recently been encouraging “if you are for life.” But he cautioned that it will likely be late June before the most important decisions are made in the abortion cases pending before the court.
He told the congregation, “The child in the womb has no one, if not us, to speak for her. There’s no voice except your voice and my voice.”
The archbishop explained that he’s not only concerned about changing laws, but he also explained why changing laws are important to him.
“Hearts change people, but laws help to shape the hearts of people,” he said. “If the law tells you you can do something that is immoral, before you know it our consciences get weak and we start to change; our culture begins to erode. So we stand for life today.”
On the other side of the coin, he noted, parishes around the Archdiocese of Louisville have recently or are now taking up the Opportunities for Life collection, which supports organizations and grants that directly aid mothers in need.
The funds are collected and awarded “precisely so that we can put our money where our mouth is,” he said. “Precisely so that we can say we are against abortion but we are for the people who choose life.
“We will not only speak for life, … but we will also reach out and walk with people in need.”
