Every person, regardless of their life circumstances, has been created in God’s image and likeness. With this knowledge, each year the month of October is heralded in the Church as Respect Life Month. This month encourages us to proclaim and live the Gospel of Life, and to pray and stand against all the attacks against human life and the human dignity of each person.
In our world today, we witness the disregard for the dignity and holiness of all human life, and the sanctity of life is under constant threat. There is a litany of attacks against the sanctity of human life, and this list includes: euthanasia and assisted suicide, racism, hunger, the death penalty, violence and senseless killings, homelessness, inadequate health care and abortion.
Living in the face of these attacks against the sanctity of human life, we are aware that we live in a troubled world.
We must always remember and proclaim that the very essence of our identity is that each person is created in God’s image and likeness and is deeply loved by God. Nothing can diminish the priceless worth of every human life, regardless of the circumstances surrounding that human life. Every human life is sacred, including the convicted and guilty criminal, the person racially different from us, the long-suffering and ill patient, the nursing home resident, and the unborn child in the womb.
God not only creates each person in His own image and likeness, but God also creates every person for eternal union with Himself and continually invites us to embrace a loving relationship with Him.
Just as God cherishes every human life, to become what God has created us to be both as individuals and as a society, we must do the same. We must cherish every human life. One specific way that we can do so now is to donate to local food banks in this time of great food insecurity faced by so many people.
Every person is chosen. God has chosen us and blessed us with the gift of human life. Chosen and blessed by God, we are called to be messengers of God’s love, treating one another as cherished and chosen by Him. In doing so, we help build a culture that respects all human life.
Every person is sent. Just as we read in sacred Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments about God sending various people in his name, each one of us must realize that we, too, are sent by God. All the saints throughout history recognized that, in some manner, they were being sent by God. It was a daunting task for many of them, but all the saints embraced God’s call to the best of their ability and were faithful to what God asked of them.
Like our ancestors in sacred Scripture and the saints of the Church, we must each embrace our mission and call from God.
Respect Life Month reminds us that a foundational part of responding to God’s call and the mission entrusted to us is to respect human life and the dignity of every person and to call all others to do the same. In this manner, we can and will help others to encounter God’s transforming, life-giving love.
My dear brothers and sisters, during Respect Life Month in October 2025, let us recommit ourselves to upholding the Church’s teachings on the inviolability and sacredness of all human life.
The theme for this year’s Respect Life Month, as chosen by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is “Life: Our Sign of Hope.” This theme serves as a unifying call to action, reminding us that Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life, is our hope, and he calls us to share this hope with others in every season of our lives.
Through our renewed efforts and ongoing prayer, may we soon see a respect for the Gospel of Life and an end to all things that attack human life and the human dignity of each person.
Comfort My People — Life: Our Sign of Hope – Respect Life Month
Every person, regardless of their life circumstances, has been created in God’s image and likeness. With this knowledge, each year the month of October is heralded in the Church as Respect Life Month. This month encourages us to proclaim and live the Gospel of Life, and to pray and stand against all the attacks against human life and the human dignity of each person.
In our world today, we witness the disregard for the dignity and holiness of all human life, and the sanctity of life is under constant threat. There is a litany of attacks against the sanctity of human life, and this list includes: euthanasia and assisted suicide, racism, hunger, the death penalty, violence and senseless killings, homelessness, inadequate health care and abortion.
Living in the face of these attacks against the sanctity of human life, we are aware that we live in a troubled world.
We must always remember and proclaim that the very essence of our identity is that each person is created in God’s image and likeness and is deeply loved by God. Nothing can diminish the priceless worth of every human life, regardless of the circumstances surrounding that human life. Every human life is sacred, including the convicted and guilty criminal, the person racially different from us, the long-suffering and ill patient, the nursing home resident, and the unborn child in the womb.
God not only creates each person in His own image and likeness, but God also creates every person for eternal union with Himself and continually invites us to embrace a loving relationship with Him.
Just as God cherishes every human life, to become what God has created us to be both as individuals and as a society, we must do the same. We must cherish every human life. One specific way that we can do so now is to donate to local food banks in this time of great food insecurity faced by so many people.
Every person is chosen. God has chosen us and blessed us with the gift of human life. Chosen and blessed by God, we are called to be messengers of God’s love, treating one another as cherished and chosen by Him. In doing so, we help build a culture that respects all human life.
Every person is sent. Just as we read in sacred Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments about God sending various people in his name, each one of us must realize that we, too, are sent by God. All the saints throughout history recognized that, in some manner, they were being sent by God. It was a daunting task for many of them, but all the saints embraced God’s call to the best of their ability and were faithful to what God asked of them.
Like our ancestors in sacred Scripture and the saints of the Church, we must each embrace our mission and call from God.
Respect Life Month reminds us that a foundational part of responding to God’s call and the mission entrusted to us is to respect human life and the dignity of every person and to call all others to do the same. In this manner, we can and will help others to encounter God’s transforming, life-giving love.
My dear brothers and sisters, during Respect Life Month in October 2025, let us recommit ourselves to upholding the Church’s teachings on the inviolability and sacredness of all human life.
The theme for this year’s Respect Life Month, as chosen by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is “Life: Our Sign of Hope.” This theme serves as a unifying call to action, reminding us that Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life, is our hope, and he calls us to share this hope with others in every season of our lives.
Through our renewed efforts and ongoing prayer, may we soon see a respect for the Gospel of Life and an end to all things that attack human life and the human dignity of each person.
No shortage of issues piquing voter interest in midterm elections