Denver Catholic

2 OCTOBER 14-27, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Archbishop's Page Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila PHOTO OF THE WEEK ARCHBISHOP'S SCHEDULE OCT. 15: Mass and Confi rmation, Our Lady of the Mountains Parish, Estes Park (10 a.m.) OCT. 17: Mass with FOCUS 11 students, St. John Vianney Seminary chapel, St. John Paul II Center (9 a.m.) OCT. 20: Mass, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center, Boulder (12:10 p.m.) OCT. 21: Mass and Institution of Acolytes and Lectors, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, St. JPII Center (4 p.m.) OCT. 22: Mass for installation of pastor, Light of the World Parish, Littleton (10:30 a.m.) OCT. 24: Mass with seminarians and faculty, Redemptoris Mater Seminary chapel, St. John Paul II Center (5:30 p.m.) OCT. 27: Mass and Confi rmation, St. Thomas More Parish, Centennial (7 p.m.) @ArchbishopDen Oct. 2 Pray for all those killed and injured in #LasVegas concert #shooting. Lord restore the dignity of human life and civility to our world! +sja Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January. Denver Catholic is printed by Prairie Mountain Publishing, LLC in Boulder. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $50 a year in Colorado; $57 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $57 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $63 air; Canada, $70 air. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or email circulation@archden.org. CIRCULATION: denvercatholic.org/circulation General Manager KARNA SWANSON Business Manager MICHAEL O'NEILL New fronts in the fi ght for life I n the coming weeks, I will be joining Catholics and other pro-lifers in the 40 Days for Life campaign of prayer, fasting and witness. This e• ort to protect life is gradually succeeding, but the culture of death is launching new attacks to which we must respond. This past year, Pope Francis marked Italy's "Day for Life" cel- ebration by invoking the words of St. Mother Teresa. "Life is beauty, admire it," she said, adding, "Life is life, fi ght for it." This is true, the Holy Father noted, for the child about to be born and for the person who is about to die: "Every life is sacred!" The great men, women and chil- dren who courageously participate in 40 Days for Life are doing just that through prayer, fasting, community outreach and holding peaceful vigil at abortion facilities. It is amazing to see the fruit of their prayer. Shawn Carney, president of 40 Days for Life, recently noted, "All [told], we are now aware of 90 abortion centers that have gone out of business permanently fol- lowing 40 Days for Life vigils since our coordinated campaigns began in 2007. "We don't take credit. We just note that people prayed for an end to abortion in their communities, and the places that o• ered abortions then closed." At the same time 40 Days for Life is occurring, the Church observes Respect Life Month, which this year has the theme: "Be not afraid." How fi tting it is to hear these words at a time of political and global instability. How fi tting it is that the Archangel Gabriel reassured Mary with these same words after his announcement that she would bear and give birth to the Son of God. According to 40 Days for Life, former Planned Parenthood employ- ees reported that pro-lifers praying outside of their facilities show that "the 'no show' rate for an abortion appoint- ment goes as high as 75 percent." Do not be afraid of being ridiculed or demeaned. Your witness has an impact. A new front for the pro-life move- ment in Colorado and other states has opened at the end of life. With the legalization of assisted-suicide, those who are vulnerable at the end of their life are threatened. Supporters of the new law argue that only those who want to die are utilizing it, but oppor- tunities for coercion are built into it, starting with the fact that one of the witnesses to the request for the lethal overdose can be an heir. Pro-lifers must not be afraid to accompany the sick and the elderly. The 2016 Oregon report on its 20-year-old Death with Dignity Act provides an important insight into how those considering assisted sui- cide are not as worried about pain as they are about losing their indepen- dence and dignity. The report says, "Like previous years, the three most frequently mentioned end-of-life con- cerns were loss of autonomy (89.5%), decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (89.5%), and loss of dignity (65.4%)." Pro-lifers must step into this void, to bring the love of Christ to those who are despairing and who likely feel abandoned. We must share the truth that in Christ su• ering is not meaningless; it can be transformed by uniting it to his sacrifi ce on the cross. We must bring the same perseverance that we show in the fi ght for the lives of the unborn to the plight of the sick and the elderly, whom society has now deemed discardable. When I think of the su• ering of those considering assisted suicide, Sts. Maximilian Kolbe and John Paul II come to mind. As he sat in Auschwitz's starvation bunker, St. Maximilian led his fellow prisoners in prayers and songs and o• ered meditations on the Passion of Jesus. Despite his own suf- fering, he comforted and accompanied those in need, relying on God's grace for strength. St. John Paul II, as many of us recall, su• ered from Parkinson's dis- ease and experienced much physical hardship in life, including an assassi- nation attempt in 1981. But because of his faith, St. John Paul responded with forgiveness to his would-be killer and remained rooted in his identity as a son of the Father. "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures," he said at World Youth Day in Toronto, "we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son." St. John Paul II's fi nal words, "Let me go to the house of the Father," refl ect the heavenly orientation that all of us should seek to live with and bring to those who are facing the end of their life on earth. As Christians, we are called in our encounter with Jesus to keep our eyes fi xed on him and not the ways of the world. With God's grace, each of us can be a light in the darkness for those who are despairing, whether they are expect- ant mothers and fathers or those who are dying. Be not afraid! Maria Elisa Olivas (R), Angela Deeney (C) and Alexa Forster (L) of Cath- olic Charities hold up signs with hopeful messaging during one of the vigil Masses at Planned Parenthood in Stapleton as part of the 40 Days for Life campaign. The campaign is in e– ect until Nov. 5. PHOTO PROVIDED

• Cover