"THANK THE LORD"

... In the Year of Faith, let us thank the Lord for the gift of life in all its forms, and at the same time, let us proclaim the Gospel of Life.

"POINTS OF MEDITATION"

... I would like to offer you three simple points of meditation for our faith; first, the Bible reveals to us the Living God, the God Who is life and the source of life; second, Jesus Christ bestows life and the Holy Spirit maintains us in life; and third, following God's way leads to life; whereas following idols leads to death.

WHAT IS YOUR IMAGE OF GOD?

What is the image we have of God? Perhaps he appears to us as a severe judge, as someone who curtails our freedom and the way we live our lives? But the Scriptures everywhere tell us that God is the Living God, the one who bestows life and points the way to fullness of life.

A FREE AND FULFILLING LIFE

I ... think of the gift of the Ten Commandments: a path God points out to us towards a life which is truly free and fulfilling

"A YES TO GOD, TO LOVE, TO LIFE"

The commandments are not a litany of prohibitions you must not do this, you must not do that, you must not do the other ; on the contrary, they are a great "Yes!": a yes to God, to Love, to life. Dear friends, our lives are fulfilled in God alone, because only He is the Living One!

A CHRISTIAN IS ...

The Christian is someone who thinks and acts in everyday life according to God's will, someone who allows his or her life to be guided and nourished by the Holy Spirit, to be a full life, a life worthy of true sons and daughters.

REJECTING THE "GOSPEL OF LIFE"

... All too often, as we know from experience, people do not choose life, they do not accept the "Gospel of Life" but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power and pleasure and not by love, by concern for the good of others.

"A FLASH OF FREEDOM"

It is the idea that rejecting God , the message of Christ, the Gospel of Life, will somehow lead to freedom, to complete human fulfillment. As a result, the Living God is replaced by fleeting human idols which offer the intoxication of a flash of freedom, but in the end bring new forms of slavery and death.

"LOOK TO GOD"

... Let us look to God as the God of Life, let us look to His law, to the Gospel message as the way to freedom and life. The living God sets us free!

(Source: Homily, Mass for 'The Gospel of Life' Day, 6/16/13)