Overview to the "Pro-Life" Label

In today's society, many people throw around the phrase "pro-life", usually in reference to their position on abortion. Sadly however, many of the same people who claim to be "pro-life" in the case of abortion support other measures which are to the detriment of both quality and quantity of life. For example, a common conservative position in America today supports both the repeal of Roe v. Wade (under the premise of being "pro-life") and the death penalty, as well as opposing welfare for the poor. It's very obvious how these two viewpoints conflict. In this 3-post series, I'll be outlining what the Church means when it classifies itself as "pro-life", and how this idea can be applied to the modern world.

As a basic overview, the Catholic church views life as sacred because it is the ultimate gift from God. Without life, nothing else is possible; we simply would not exist. The Church teaches that God granted humans life and dignity out of love, and that this life must be unconditionally respected. To disregard a gift is equivalent to disregarding the person who gave the gift. Therefore, respect for life is respect for He who gave us life.

The Universal Call to Holiness

The universal call to holiness as a general concept demonstrates that the goal of Catholic life is holiness. Though the nature of holiness is intrinsically a different question, its source is indisputable: we get our holiness from Christ via the Church and its sacraments. This universal call to holiness was defined in the second Vatican Council. Before Vatican II, Catholics had been taught to “pay, pray and obey”, but Vatican II changed everything by defining Catholic life as participating in Christ’s three-fold role as priest, prophet, and king. Striving to be holy does not mean trying to perfect in every sense of the word; rather, it means being in the process of growing into a more intimate relationship with Christ. We must follow the natural law ingrained in our hearts by God, and strive to become spiritually united with Christ. And, just in case there is any ambiguity about natural law, God has codified it into the Ten Commandments and Christ’s New Law of Love. To summarize, the Catholic universal call to holiness prescribes an obligation to follow Christ’s law and try to understand and be in union with God. 

The Start

I think I am going to start a chain of posts of me talking about my faith. It might consist of how I see my faith in my life,  how I see faith in other people, and why I am glad to be Catholic etc.

I feel that my faith lets me feel like there is something bigger than me. I guess that feeling is a good thing. More importantly, knowing that superior being is a benevolent, loving being is comforting. Though I know my faith better than most, I do not feel that the general population of Catholics know what their faith is based on. This lack of understanding might be based off the fact that religion is taken out of schools or that they do not feel that religion is very important. Many people do use religion as subject matter in group conversations. But they all discuss religion as a debatable subject, not a definite topic.

Apostolic Mark

The Church is apostolic because of Christ's choice of the Twelve Apostles as the foundation for the Church. Twelve is symbolic of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, or God's chosen people. Every single bishop's lineage can be traced back to the Twelve.  Each Apostle was entrusted with the responsibility to teach, sanctify, and govern the Church.

The Church is describe as Apostolic in three ways, Apostolic Foundation, Apostolic Faith, and Apostolic Succesion. Throughout the Churches history, each bishop was ordained by a previous bishop, and this goes on through to the Apostles. The Apostles were the foundation of the Church, without the Apostles handing on their responsibilities, the Church would not be what it is today. Though bishops are well read on their subject matter, they are not perfect. The Holy Spirit guides and transmits the teachings of the Apostles through the bishops. The succession of the Apostles is carried on through the bishops, making our Church and apostle based Church.

What Catholicism means to Me pt.2

As a small child, I took my religion very lightly. I never questioned what it meant to be Catholic. I had Saturday school classes at my church, but I never took it seriously, just a time to mess around and hang with some friends. Knowing what Catholic Rite you belong to is something that lets you experience where you came from. These Saturday schools and Sunday schools do not do as good a job as they can. I think that the deletion of religion in public schools desensitizes people to it. Also, the removal of religion from ones life shows in their behavior.  Religion grounds people in reason and gives them a greater sense of conscience, I can say this because this is what I have experienced in my life.