Living the Culture of Life

We are engaged in a culture war. The late Pope John Paul II often spoke of a culture of life and a culture of death. We are called to promote a culture of life. Often people think that this means opposing abortion, euthanasia, cloning, and the like. But living a culture of life goes much deeper than simply opposing certain practices. A culture speaks to the essence of who we are as a society, which speaks to how we view ourselves as persons.

We live in a culture of death. The fruits of this culture are abortion, euthanasia, and the like. The root of this culture is in how we view each other as persons. We view others in terms of what they are doing for us. We view our lives as opportunities for pleasure and sensation. We view pain and suffering as the greatest evils.

Yet, by the Catholic Church, we are taught that suffering is necessary for true love. We see this explicitly in Christ’s dying on the cross for love of humanity. We are taught that human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. A culture of life demands that we love and respect ourselves and our neighbors. A culture of life demands a respect for the dignity of every human person. Each person has value in his or her own right, and not just in how that person can benefit us.

Yet even though these ideas may sound beautiful and fascinating to us, we find difficulty applying them to our own lives. We are immersed in a culture that fills us with lies about who we are and what we need, and we often follow a culture of death without even realizing it. We may take our ideals to the voting booth, or to the rally, and focus on big issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and pornography. But we may forget them when looking at our younger siblings or cousins, at our elderly relatives, or at members of the opposite sex.

In order to truly promote a culture of life, we must live that culture. We must challenge ourselves everyday to live more like Christ, to look beyond ourselves. Fortunately, we are not called to do this alone. Even Christ had help carrying His cross. In the very nature of culture is community. We must support each other in this mission and hold each other accountable. This is not easy. I know I struggle with this. But if we take the courage to make even small steps to live in a culture of life, with God’s help, we can touch hearts and move souls.

My goal for this blog is to stimulate ideas on how to live a culture of life, and to encourage others and myself in this endeavor. My message for this entry is that we must not try to do this alone. We must always remember to ask for God’s help, and maintain a prayer life, otherwise we shall be acting in folly. Go to Confession. Receive Christ in the Eucharist. Pray the rosary. Find your own special devotion. Remember, all things are possible in God.

May God bless you all! St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!