Our prayer and penance open society's windows to the Spirit's fresh air and bright sunshine. When Jesus cured the man with the shriveled arm, he restored to fullness of health and form what had been sick and misshapen. It is the Spirit's grace which can call others to a profound conversion of heart, to a deeper appreciation of the beauty of God's gift of life, to a joyful embrace of the Gospel of Life proclaimed by Jesus Christ. The selection from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians sets in proper historical perspective the process of our conversion and our efforts to fulfill the Gospel of Life. Paul calls for a spirit of detachment from the world, a spirit that runs counter to the themes and messages and values our culture scatters in our path.
Christians know that the dramatic conclusion of the human story has already been revealed.
Our human family is not destined for the death our culture would have us embrace. Knowing this, we also know that we are liberated, profoundly and enduringly liberated. The resurrection of his Son on Easter Sunday. Accordingly, we are freed and empowered for ministry. One special kind of ministry, in which so many of you participate, is in proclaiming the Gospel of Life to those who have been spiritually and emotionally crippled, and sometimes physically damaged by the trauma of abortion.