Bridging the Gap: OH, WHAT A LIFE!

By Bishop David Zubik

	Bishop David Zubik

It has been a little more than eight months since my mom, Susan, passed away this past January. Her death, while still very painful for me, has made me think about the amazing gift of life given to us by God. As I watched my mother suffer from cancer, I understood that God's gift of life is both fragile and priceless.

I write this column as we enter October, which is Respect Life Month for us Catholics. This year's theme of Respect Life Month is "Created, Loved, Redeemed by God: Priceless."

Rugged individualism

In the early years of life, we tend to think of ourselves as invincible and perhaps take things for granted. We work hard, play hard, eat junk food, and operate on little or no sleep; yet, in our mature years, we get a glimpse of how fragile life truly is. Joints start to hurt, vision starts to decline and blood pressure medication isn't just for grandpa anymore. Suddenly, good health becomes something for which we thank God. It no longer is taken for granted.

Respect Life Month
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Going hand in hand with our indomitable spirit is our sense of independence. Like a badge of pride, we enjoy a certain sense of our cowboy past, "pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps," and blazing a new trail to success or victory. But the news headlines of global warming, Middle East conflict and Hurricane Katrina can quickly remind us of how fragile our individual lives are and how connected we are to one another, all 6.5 billion of us. Decisions made halfway around the world in the morning can dramatically influence our lives by the afternoon. We truly have become one global human family.

Gospel of Life

As Catholics, we embrace what Pope John Paul II called "The Gospel of Life." The Good News of Life is that God created life. Our response to that Good News is to embrace all life with awe. Embracing life with awe and recognizing our "connectedness," I strongly encourage you to read the Respect Life Supplement found in this week's edition of The Compass.

The topics range from international issues of why we as Church decry abortion and the death penalty; our understanding of the critical differences between adult stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research; the immorality of torture and the morality of treating everyone with respect, among other timely issues. There's an educational column entitled Insights which gives information about in vitro fertilization, and information on Elizabeth Ministry and Heart to Heart ministry which extend help to the vulnerable, as well as news about life celebrations such as the Life Chain event on Oct. 1 and the Respect Life Mass on Oct. 13. There's a wealth of information from the Bishops of Wisconsin who have authored letters regarding the two referenda on this November's ballot, one dealing with the death penalty and the other with the institution of marriage.

Speaking volumes

The Respect Life Supplement speaks volumes about who we are and who we need to be as a people of faith.

While we, the Bishops of the United States, have designated October as Respect Life Month, our respect for life from the first moment of conception to the point of natural death must be lived with awe every day throughout the year. We must value and respect life each and every day. We must see that the Gospel of Life is the language of the heart. It's a language which respects all life because the Father has created us in His image and likeness, Jesus has blessed life by becoming one of us in all things but sin and the Holy Spirit continuously sustains us. Each and every day, we need to be thankful for the gift of life in others and in ourselves.

As I am grateful for my mother's life, especially since I know she is now basking in the eternal life of our Lord, I have grown in an even deeper appreciation of other people's lives, as well as my own. I hope that much the same is true for all of you. Oh, What A Life!