As sure as we will hunger within our lifetime we will die, we will watch loved ones die, we will walk past and through cemeteries, we will stop in traffic for funeral processions and send flowers to funeral homes for those we mourn….The reality is, how we treat the dead mirrors how we treat the living—a human person has an eternal dignity as he/she was created in the image and likeness of God. 

God designed us to have daily physical needs because they point us to a deeper spiritual need that must be nourished. Our body requires food while our soul aches for the Eucharist; our body needs the protection of clothing while our soul desires a veil of virtue; and our body seeks shelter while our soul is restless until it rests in the sanctuary of God's heart.

Much of our content is about love and service because, at its foundation, pro-life work is seeing, loving, and caring for our neighbor. It is a movement of the heart, not a box to check. If we don't see Christ in the homeless man on the park bench and we don't get on our knees to wash the feet of someone who needs it, we don't yet live as we believe.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, let us pause in prayer and reflect on the sin we'd rather hide from than face.

Who is this Man we read about in the Gospel, the Man we sing out to in Alleluia, the Man who brings us to our knees? We must ask the question because the answer changes everything. Do we believe He is a legend? A story that gives men hope? Do we believe He is a cultural ornament that adorns our year with seasons that allow for parties and presents? Is He simply a good man, a guru of proper living? Is He a lunatic who recruited a cult following? Is He a liar? — A man who claims to be God but is nothing more than a deception?

I understood that those who encountered Jesus during His earthly life would praise Him in this way, but why now? This was a stumbling block for me. I would think if God really is all mighty, what could He possibly gain from my praise? Why does He need something from insignificant me? Or, on the flip side, I would think, God needs my praise because He is looking for a pat on the back. Then I would question all that I knew about humility and the heart of a God who had an ego.

Parents, here is where the rubber meets the road. Here is where your past, or maybe even your present, catches up to your role as a parent and your desire for them to walk a different path than you. When the two catch up, they either collide or fall in step with one another. You decide what happens.

Through Christ, we become a part of the story of Israel; we become adopted sons and daughters of God joining this sacred family; and we hear the words we ache for… you belong. It is through Christ Jesus that we understand who we are, where we have been, and where we are going.

Every day, in every space, we have the opportunity to affirm the dignity and worth of the people we encounter, but so many of us choose silence. If we are honest with ourselves, our silence has allowed the systematic destruction of human life in every community throughout the world.

This week, our Pray, Grow, & Serve walks with your children through the first two Stations of the Cross. We pray that you also invite your children into the Garden of Gethsemane and help them understand God’s desire for our reconciliation with His Sacred Heart.

Our goal is that each day will be an exercise in virtue and preparation for the personal and undeserving gift of Christ's Passion and Resurrection.

Stations of the Cross to pray as a family! These meditations are written to invite your child into Christ’s Passion.