Preaching on abortion, 7th Sunday of Easter, Year C, Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, reflects on the Sunday readings for the 7th Sunday of Easter, Year C and their message about abortion.
For more information about what the Sunday readings, and the whole Bible, say about abortion, and for resources for your Church, see https://www.ProLifePreaching.org. You can order there the book “Proclaiming the Message of Life,” which contains these reflections for all the Sunday readings in the lectionary.

Readings: Acts 7:55-60; Rv 22:12-14, 16-17, 20; Jn 17:20-26

Reflections:

Today’s second reading brings us to the conclusion of the Bible, and the culmination of the Bible. The Bride of Christ, the Church, yearns for him to come again so that the marriage may be brought to the fullness of its joy and promise: total union, forever. Through Old Testament prophets, God promised a marriage between himself and his people. Isaiah 62:4-5 reads, “For the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. 5 As a young man marries a maiden, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.“ In his public ministry, Jesus referred to himself as the Bridegroom (see Mt. 9:15). And St. Paul, reflecting on Christ’s perfect sacrifice, says that the sacrament of Christian marriage symbolizes this marriage of Christ and the Church (see Eph. 5:25-32).

This union between God and his people, more intimate than we can dare to imagine, is the subject of Jesus’ prayer in the Gospel passage. The unity of Jesus with the Father is then shared with us, through his Spirit. What is equally clear is that this union with God unites human beings with one another. We are one with each other because we are one with him.

This teaches us a twofold lesson: a) the unity of the human family is not something we build and achieve through our own strength and ingenuity. It is the fruit of union with God. Therefore, the work we do for peace, justice, and respect for life must flow from our intimate union with God. b) Spirituality cannot grow or be considered authentic if it does not lead to committed action for peace, justice, and respect for human life. Union with God means that we are more aware of and responsive to the sufferings and needs of all our brothers and sisters in the human family. We can exclude nobody.