Respect for life was expressed in creative ways by students in kindergarten through eighth grades in Catholic schools, religious education programs and youth groups from throughout the Diocese, as they participated in the diocesan Department of Pastoral Care’s annual Respect Life Poster, Essay and Video Contest.

Students were tasked with writing an essay, illustrating a poster or creating a video with the theme “Each of Us is a Masterpiece of God’s Creation,” chosen by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for Respect Life Month in October.

Entries were grouped into grade-level categories – kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade and sixth through eighth grade. After preliminary judging on the parish or school level, the best entries were chosen and sent to the Department of Pastoral Care’s Respect Life Ministry for diocesan-level judging. Each parish or school was asked to submit one winning essay, poster or video from each grade level.

Seventeen Catholic schools and five parish religious education programs submitted a total of 21 videos, 73 posters and 42 essays for the contest.

The diocesan Department of Pastoral Care’s Respect Life Ministry recognized the winners in each category with cash prizes of $100 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place. Awards will be presented after the annual Respect Life Mass in St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Red Bank, March 14 at 9 a.m.

Essay Contest winners

Here are excerpts from the winning entries in grades 3-5 and 6-8. For the full essays, go to trentonmonitor.com.

Grades 3-5

First place • Brian Dinnell, St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft

Every one of God’s creations is a masterpiece. This includes plants, animals, rainbow, oceans, and even bugs! But God’s greatest masterpiece is humans. He made us in his image.

God has created each and every person in his image. All people have the right to live, from unborn babies all the way to the elderly. Even if you don’t think you or someone else is perfect, they are because God made them exactly how he planned. Many people think they are not perfect, but in God’s eyes they are.

It is our job as Christians to remind others that they are beautiful and unique and exactly how God wants them to be. It might take a long time for people to realize their value. God created each of us as a masterpiece to do good things.

Click here to read entire essay.

Second place • Matthew Colannino, St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft

Everyone is created as a masterpiece of God and should be treated with respect and dignity. As an artist takes all his time and effort to create his masterpiece, so did God when he created all of us. We must respect his creations and treat everyone as a treasured work of art.

I have been taught that life is precious from the minute someone is born to the day they die…. I have begun to realize the value of life even more over the past few years. I have watched my great grandmother who is 94 years old grow older….Through all of this, it doesn’t change how valuable she is to me. Her life actually means more to me as she gets older. Older people have been living God’s word longer, so they can share a lot of knowledge.

To read entire essay, click here.

Third place • Paige Jaeniche, Holy Cross School, Rumson

Every single one of us is the amazing artwork of our Lord, God and Savior…We all have special talents that God gave us. We can be the prettiest girl in the world or the famous kid who knows everything; but it doesn’t matter. What does matter is who we choose to be on the inside.

There are times when we may want to change who we are.  People can say mean things about you, but it shouldn’t matter to you. You are the masterpiece you see in the mirror.  Your parents look back at your achievements and say, “Wow, that’s my girl/boy.”  Who are you inside?  Do you treat people the right way?

To read the entire essay, click here.

Grades 6-8

First place • Emily Gondek, St. Dominic School, Brick

I am taught in my home, my school, and my church that “we shall not kill”; we should practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and that we should have compassion for others. Why is it then that destroying a life should be an option? Why destroy the soul, mind and body that God wants to develop?         

This idea that each of us is a beautiful creation rings especially true in my house. When my little brother, Johnny, was developing inside my mother, the doctors saw that he was very sick and he wasn’t growing well. One doctor had suggested to my mother that she think about abortion as an option since the road ahead for him would be hard and difficult for everyone. My parents, who believe all life is precious and a gift, said no. Six years later, my brother is here with us laughing and enjoying life.

Each of us IS God’s masterpiece. How awesome is He that He can make such complex creatures and then give us free will? I pray for the poor, the sick, the weak, the old and the unborn, and I will keep praying for them. All life is precious. I know. I hug my brother every day and thank God for him too.

To read entire essay, click here.

Second place • Matteo Buser, St. Charles Borromeo School, Cinnaminson

As children of God and created by Him, we can all be considered masterpieces… As God’s sons and daughters, we are His masterpieces because we all possess the ability to be like Jesus. Giving to the poor, caring for the elderly, comforting the sick, and helping our parents are qualities that make us better Catholics.

Since God was the artist, we know that He spent a lot of time and energy to create us in His image. God put a great deal of thought into modeling us. He gave us all the gifts of love, intelligence, free will and compassion. In creating us, he gave his full effort to make sure we had everything we need to live as good Christians.

Each of us is truly a masterpiece of God. It is clear that God sculpted us so we can be His most treasured accomplishment.

To read entire essay click here.

Third place • Alyssa Romano, Sacred Heart School, Mount Holly

God created us each in our own unique way… as in Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God made us to be his “Wonderful works” or masterpieces.

Everyone should be treated equally because that is how God wants his masterpieces to be treated…. Social class doesn’t matter to God at all. If a rich man who is the king never prays, but someone who lives in poverty prays every day without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 1:17), they will be rewarded.

God sees everything. He knows when we are hurting, or are too happy to contain ourselves. When we pray, we get a feeling of true happiness. All of the things that make us happy on earth are temporary, but Heaven is forever. God made us each special and with our own talents, and by praying, we are telling God how much He means to us.

To read entire essay click here.