It’s been 19 months since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.
SCOTUS issued the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on June 24, 2022, setting the stage for states across the country, including Ohio, to examine – and in many cases – change their laws regarding abortion.
Although a snowstorm closed schools on Jan. 19 and hundreds of students from across the Diocese of Cleveland were not able to travel to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland, the annual Mass for Life was celebrated that day. The congregation was small, but the liturgy was livestreamed so people across the diocese could watch it.
(See above for a photo gallery of images from the Mass.)
Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost was the celebrant with Father Tom Haren, retired pastor of St. Monica Parish in Garfield Heights, Father Dennis Kristancic, a retired priest, and Father Damian Ference, vicar for evangelization, among the concelebrants. Deacon Paul Kipfstuhl assisted.
After welcoming the faithful to the Mass – those attending in person and others who were watching the livestream – Bishop Woost reminded them that “as a faith community, we continue to pray that the dignity of life will continue to be upheld from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.”
Reflecting on the readings, he said St. Paul wrote to the Christians, who were experiencing some hostility toward their way of life. Although they weren’t being persecuted openly, he said they found themselves at odds with the prevailing culture of the time. They attempted to follow Jesus’ teachings, but they faced challenges because of the political, social and religious environment in which they lived, where the Gospel was scorned. Christians of the time felt oppressed by the adverse spiritual powers that seemed to be working against them, the bishop explained.
Faced with this situation, he questioned how the Christians were supposed to respond and act as disciples of the Lord.
“These are important questions,” Bishop Woost said, noting the situation at the end of the first century sounds similar to what is being experienced in current times.
“Consider what has gathered us here this morning: our belief in the dignity and value of every human life from the moment of conception until natural death Consider, too, the political, social and even religious environment of the past 50 years since the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade. Even with the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe, consider what we experienced last November in the state of Ohio with passage of a constitutional amendment in favor of abortion rights,” he said.
“We find ourselves in an environment like these early Christians – at odds with aspects of the prevailing culture, at times experiencing hostility and scorn toward our belief in the Gospel of Life, and even as recent as last month, Pope Francis reminding us that the Evil One is an oppressive spiritual power who is still at work in our society today,” he added.
So what are we to do?” the bishop asked. “How are we as Catholic Christians, as disciples of the Lord today, supposed to respond in our time?”
He reminded the faithful of what St. Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus, which also applies to us. As believers in Christ, “we have bold access to God the Father.” In the second reading, he talked about this access, noting we are “strengthened through the Spirit in our inner selves” and that this “Spirit strength” serves as the foundation for believers encountering, and knowing what God has accomplished, especially in our encountering or knowing what God has accomplished.
“The Spirit has poured out into our hearts makes it possible for us to encounter the love and presence of Christ in our lives,” Bishop Woost said. And in Christ’s love, St. Paul, prays that we would be filled with the fullness of God.
The bishop said this expression by St. Paul of this desire “is among the strongest statements in the New Testament proclaiming our sharing in God’s own life. God is not distant. WE are not alone. How we live and act as Christians is done with the strength of the Spirit, in the abiding presence of Christ’s love, and united with the power of God’s own life.”
He encouraged the faithful to imagine the dignity given to us by our sharing in the divine life. “Only when a person is truly rooted in Christ’s love can we begin to understand the breadth and depth and the height of the power of his transforming love,” he said.
The bishop said St. Paul’s prayerful intentions are naturally completed with an acclamation of praise for God “who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine.” He recognizes the transforming power of God at work in each believer and so he is moved to offer praise and thanksgiving to God, Bishop Woost explained. Early Christian writers felt the best prayer was grounded in praise and thanksgiving, expressing God’s sovereignty over everything and acknowledging one’s dependence on the power of God.
“Mature Christians pause often for praise and thanksgiving. From this stance then, believers could confidently lift their hearts with faith-filled petitions and boldly witness the power of God,” he said.
St. Paul’s praise of God and his prayer on behalf of believers “offers the strongest possible hope and encouragement against any societal threat. God is near and God will act,” Bishop Woost said. “God will act through the community of faith. In Paul’s eyes, the role of the community is inseparable from the role of Christ through whom God makes his will known in the world. The goal of the community of believers is to make known the wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities of every age,” he added.
The bishop said that St. Paul “Speaks to us today and encourages us to remain faithful, to not be discouraged,” noting that we are not alone, that we walk together as a community and proclaim the Gospel.
In spite of the outcome, he said it’s important that we give thanks to God for the many organizations that have given resources to make the Gospel of life imperative in our culture. He mentioned the individuals and organizations that have committed themselves to helping pregnant mothers, including Catholic Charities, and have invested so much to help those in need. There are many who help these women and remain with them after they have given birth.
“We need to give thanks for those who walk with these mothers in need and do so much to promote the Gospel of love in our neighborhoods and communities. We have so much to give thanks for as we witness the strength of the Spirit and those who witness the love of Christ and give of themselves in the service of life,” Bishop Woost said.
He emphasized that we are not alone; we walk together as a community and proclaim the Gospel, filled with God’s presence. St. Paul encourages us to remain faithful, to continue what we’ve done for many years and to increase our efforts to see that life is upheld in all its forms.
“It is God alone who can change hearts,” Bishop Woost said. “If we are to be Jesus; disciples, we must come before him humble as children. We can’t do this alone; we need God to accomplish this.”
The bishop said we come before God to offer him thanks and praise “for all has been and all that will be … and we commit ourselves once again not to discouragement, but to faithfulness, trusting the Spirit will fill us with God’s love so that empowered by God’s love, we can move forward and proclaim and live the Gospel of life.”
In addition, he said we should celebrate this Eucharist in thanksgiving and ask God to “guide and bless our efforts so that every life might reveal divine life, the life that God shared with us. Like St. Paul, we kneel before the Lord offering thanks and praise and ask God to bless us so that the dignity of human life will be upheld through the Church, who reveals to all authorities and powers, to every society and culture, that life is valued and treasured by God, and by us.”
Click here to watch an archived recording of the 2024 Mass for Life.