Reconnect with the Simple Truths

By John Graveline, Director of Parish Life

January 18, 2026

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

John 1:1-5

A Life of Discipleship and the Right to Life

Every once in a while, it is good for us to reconnect with the simple truths because we human beings tend to complicate simple things. At the core of a life of discipleship of Jesus, the Word made Flesh for the life of the world, is a commitment to defend and promote human dignity, human flourishing, and human rights. The foundation of these rights lies in what our Declaration of Independence—we are celebrating its 250th anniversary this year—called “the right to life.” Catholic Christians are Pro-Life. Moral theologians and ethicists rightly bring nuance and distinctions that are necessary for the formation of conscience and for the discernment of specific actions in specific circumstances, but these never negate our essential orientation toward saying “yes” to life as Mary did to the angel Gabriel. (Luke 1:38)

This Thursday, January 22, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions in 1973 that first legalized abortion nationwide, the bishops of the United States ask us annually to observe a day of “prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and penance for the violations of the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.” We do not believe that life begins at birth or when it is determined that the child is “wanted” or at one of the various stages of fetal development. We believe the science that individual human life begins at conception, with his or her own unique genetic code and internal dynamism of growth. She or he is one of us, and as such deserves to live and flourish. That is why we are proud to support LifeClinic in Midland. They walk with expectant mothers to help make the choice for life possible. May the life of every child, born or preborn, be accepted as a gift from God!

The Pro-Life Mission of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This Monday, we also observe as a nation the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As a Christian minister, Dr. King held a mirror up to our nation, and through appeals to conscience and organizing non-violent protest, demonstrated that we as a country have not always lived up to promise of equal rights and dignity for all. The work of dismantling racial prejudice and racial discrimination in the law is Pro-Life ministry. This past fall, the United States bishops established a special subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation that seeks “to teach about and to witness to the intrinsic dignity of the human person as an antidote to the grave sin of racism.”

As we remember Dr. King, it might also be appropriate to recall his strong Pro-Life stance against violence and war. He saw militarism, racism, and materialism as interconnected evils. As the technology of modern warfare makes the costs of violent conflict more and more devastating and takes the lives of an astonishing number of innocent civilians (especially women and children), Dr. King’s advocacy for non-violent solutions to the injustices of our world becomes a truly prophetic witness to all of us that violence never brings about social justice, but only feeds the cycle of violence. All the popes who have spoken before the United Nations have proclaimed a similar message, “War never again!”

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10

Separation vs. Solidarity: The Culture of Death and the Gospel of Life

In 1995, Pope St. John Paul II published a worldwide letter entitled The Gospel of Life. In this letter, he highlighted the many threats to the sanctity of human life in our modern world. More importantly, he demonstrated the underlying logic that creates both a “culture of life” and a “culture of death.” I’ve been thinking about this a lot in the past few weeks and months as I follow the news. The logic of death is the logic of separation. Death is alienation and separation: spirit from body (physical death) and spirit from God (spiritual death). The logic of life is unity and harmony in vital tension. It includes everyone and every part of ourselves and our society. On one news channel, killing is excused because the victim was “a racist” or “a fascist.” On another news channel, killing is excused because the victim was “an illegal” and “a domestic terrorist.” Whether the topic is abortion or immigration or the economy, our political arguments highlight the things that divide and polarize us. There is always a reason that “that person” or “those people” are not like “us” so it is all right to hate them or abuse them or eliminate them. This is the logic of the “culture of death.” Catholic Christians can heal the national dialogue by starting with the fundamental truth of solidarity, that—without exception—we are all beloved children of God our Father. What we have in common is so much more important than what has the capacity to divide us. The things that make us different are an opportunity to become beautifully harmonious and can fill our lives with depth and wonder. This is the logic of the “culture of life.”

In our times, just as much if not more so than the times in which St. John Paul II wrote The Gospel of Life, we are called to be witnesses to a “culture of life.” We are called to resist the temptation to contribute to a culture of polarization and alienation. We are called to build up human solidarity, which leads to true human flourishing through loving all people and each person with the same love with which God sent his only Son into the world to bring healing, peace, and new life.

John