Most important work ahead is changing hearts, not laws

Archbishop J. Michael Miller celebrated Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Delta May 11 before accompanying pro-lifers to the March for Life in Victoria. Below are excerpts from his remarks at the church and later at the B.C. Legislature.

Sacred Heart Church

Before taking part in the March for Life, it is certainly appropriate that we begin by praying that the sacred value of human life will be increasingly respected in our country and especially in our province. Every child who is conceived in his or her mother’s womb bears the image of God, an image that we pray is untarnished until the moment of natural death. 

We are praying in supplication: that we may be worthy and effective messengers of hope to a world where self-centredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts. We are praying for a deepening in each of us of the virtues of courage and compassion: that we may grow in appreciating that the Gospel of life always calls us to mercy.

In today’s Gospel taken from Jesus’ last discourse or address at the Last Supper before he died for us, he himself tells us to “abide” with him.

To abide in Jesus is to “make our home” in him and to let Jesus make his home in us. It is a relationship – two-way! Love unites. If we do abide him, then we will bear fruit; we will give life to others – and perhaps even save the life of others.

We will also accompany with others, “abide” with them, as Jesus accompanies or “abides” with us. 

Let’s look at palliative care. Its objective is to alleviate suffering in the final stages of illness and at the same time to ensure the patient appropriate human accompaniment. It also serves to oppose a “throwaway culture” which considers the dying as merely a nuisance to be disposed of as quickly as possible.  

Any national strategy on palliative care must deal with the dying person in a holistic manner; that is, it must attend to the spiritual, psychological, and material needs of the ailing person, as well as those of the caregivers who, in addition to the health-care professionals, include family and friends. In the final stages of life, the family network, however fragile and even dysfunctional it may, has an essential role to play in palliative care.

We all must “abide” or “remain” or “accompany” those at the dusk of life, as well as women and families who find themselves with an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. 

Palliative care and care for pregnant mothers are authentic expressions of the human and Christian activity of providing care, the tangible symbol of the compassionate “remaining” or “abiding” at the side of the suffering person.

Such an abiding presence is one of the highest forms of human fraternity.

It is inspiring to me that so many of you take up this challenge of bearing another’s burden, and give the best of yourselves, either through your profession or as volunteers.

Let us pray that our March for Life today will be a public declaration of our desire to “abide” with those in need.

B.C. Legislature

We are gathered on the grounds of our provincial legislature to bear witness to two wounds that afflict our country: the twin tragedies of abortion and euthanasia.

By gathering here in front of our legislature, we are raising our voices in a prophetic cry: “choose life.” This cry is not disruptive to society but a service to the common good, because we are reminding our fellow citizens that every defence of human rights and dignity that is worthy of its name requires that we respect life from conception to its natural end.

The most important work that lies ahead is the work not primarily changing laws but changing hearts, with steadfast faith in the grace and power of God to do so. On this beautiful day, we must commit ourselves to exploring new and compelling ways to communicate the harsh reality of abortion and euthanasia and the damage they inflict not only on the individuals involved as victims or perpetrators but on society at large.    

Those in public office who endorse policies and laws that foster the evil of abortion and are currently engaged in expanding access to euthanasia must know that they are accountable, yes, to the public they serve, but most importantly to Almighty God, the source of all life. We will all stand before God to account for what we did or did not do to safeguard and honour the life his children.

What, then, should we do? What can we do?

If we want to save the innocent unborn, we must first save their mothers. The pro-life movement has to be about saving mothers. We must continue to give them our understanding, our compassion, and our practical assistance. In a word, we must be ready to accompany them in their suffering – for suffer they do – and gently share with them the truth about the origin, wonder and beauty of every human life.

In the face of euthanasia which is becoming ever more widespread, most notably in this province, we are committed to praying for and advocating for a culture of social responsibility and care for human life at every stage and in every circumstance.

We are strongly opposed to expanding the so-called “eligibility criteria” for euthanasia and assisted suicide to those whose sole medical condition is mental illness.

We therefore support the allocation of more material and spiritual resources to those facing mental health challenges and those in need of palliative care as their life draws to a close.

Let us, then, not be afraid to uphold and to share and defend the wonder and beauty of human life at every stage of its existence.