October is when the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month. For this year, the theme selected by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops focuses on St. Joseph, defender of life and his unhesitating adherence to God’s will as he faithfully and lovingly protected the Christ Child and the Blessed Mother.
To support and educate Catholics in the work of this mission, the Respect Life program was initiated in 1972, and Respect Life Sunday is designated as the first Sunday of the month. This year, Respect Life Sunday is Oct. 3.
Rachel Hendricks, diocesan respect life coordinator, stressed the importance of the Respect Life Month for the faithful.
“Each October, the United States bishops invite all Catholics to consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and how each of us can help to build a culture that protects life from the very moment of conception until natural death,” she said. “It is so important for our Catholic communities to observe this special month to enrich our understanding ofthe inherent dignity that every person has simply because we are created in God’s image and likeness, which is the foundation of all Catholic Social teaching.”
Hendricks also suggested that parish communities take the opportunity to examine the many unique issues that can be discussed during Respect Life month.
“The month of October gives parishes, Catholic schools, prayer groups and ministries a wonderful opportunity to draw attention issues that impact the unborn, elderly, disabled, displaced and incarcerated, all of whom are often marginalized by our society. These opportunities may come in the form of education about various life issues, service to people in need, involvement in public policies affecting life issues and special liturgies and prayers for life,” she said.
Resources for celebrating Respect Life Month and Respect Life Sunday can be found on the USCCB page Respect Life page, www.respectlife.org/. Announcements regarding upcoming events in the diocese may be found on the Respect Life Ministry Diocese of Trenton Facebook page or on the website: dioceseoftrenton.org/respect-life-ministry.