Bishop Koenig delivered this homily March 11 at a Mass at Church of the Holy Cross in Dover. He was joined by nearly 200 people praying for state lawmakers to reject a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide in Delaware.
In a recent Declaration on Human Dignity, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith summarized the threefold ways, in light of our Christian faith, that human dignity has inherent value. It is a dignity that has not been decreed by a government or a ruling body. It is a dignity that comes from the very fact of our human existence.
The first reason is that God is love and we have been created in his image and likeness and called to know him, to love him and to live in fraternity, justice and peace with one another (DI, 18). This is revealed to us in the opening chapters of book of Genesis.
Secondly, beyond creating us in his image and likeness, the son of God took on our human flesh and in becoming incarnate, Jesus Christ “confirmed that each person possesses an immeasurable dignity simply by belonging to the human community … [and] this dignity can never be lost” (DI,19). This teaching is powerfully brought out in the Gospel parable we just heard in which, because Jesus is present in the least among us, when we clothe naked, feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned or care for the person who is ill, we clothe, feed, visit and care for Jesus. This principle, the dicastery tells us, emphasizes that “individuals are even more ‘worthy’ of our respect and love when they are weak, scorned, or suffering, even to the point of losing the human ‘figure’— (It is a teaching that) has changed the face of the world. It has given life to institutions that take care of those who find themselves in disadvantaged conditions, such as abandoned infants, orphans, the elderly who are left without assistance, the mentally ill, people with incurable diseases or severe deformities, and those living on the streets” (DI, 19).
And thirdly, after being created in God’s image and likeness and becoming even more united to the life of God through the incarnation of the son of God, we are now called by virtue of Christ’s resurrection to ultimate communion with God. In the words of St. John Paul II, “the dignity of this life is linked not only to its beginning, to the fact that it comes from God, but also to its final end, to its destiny of fellowship with God in knowledge and love of him” (EV, 38). All of this points to the very simple result that all human life from conception to natural death is sacred.
SB 5 and HB 140
As we gather at Mass today, we are very mindful that not far from here our legislators will be meeting, and in this legislative year, be considering two particular bills that are in opposition to the sacredness of life. SB 5 is looking to make abortion a constitutional right. HB 140 seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide.
As Catholics we join people of good will today in opposing both of these bills. Let us support mothers and fathers in giving birth to their children by passing laws that will give them access to health care, let us provide the assistance necessary to raise children and let us accompany mothers and fathers in caring for the great gift of human life.
As Catholics and people of good will let us not be deceived into thinking that passing a bill that will allow for physician-assisted suicide is simply people who are being merciful in helping to alleviate uncontrollable pain that people are suffering. It is very clear from what has been seen in states that have passed similar laws, that allowing physician suicide results in people ending their lives simply, among other reasons, because they are depressed, or see themselves as a burden, or have a disability that limits their mobility or ability to interact with others. And this is not even to mention how in certain countries that have also passed similar laws, health care systems even encourage suicide as a way of containing medical costs.
A Heart of True Understanding
In our first reading (March 11) we hear of the gift that the Lord is giving Solomon as he assumes the throne of his father, King David. Solomon did not ask for riches or the life of his enemies or even for a long life for himself as he assumes the throne of king. But rather, he asked for wisdom and understanding. It is telling that the Lord does not give Solomon eyes that will see what is on the surface of things or ears to hear the voice of the person who is coming to him, but rather he promises him a heart that will give him true understanding and allow him to truly see and act.
Seeing with the Eyes of Love
As we go forth today and in the ensuing days, may we ask our Lord to give us and those around us hearts that are wise, understanding and loving. We so often see ourselves and others by what is on the surface: by what meets the eye. Our hearts, however, see with love and that enables us to see in a much deeper way. In reflecting on this, I am reminded of a story that I read long ago of a priest named Michel Quoist’s visit to a dying man. He wrote the following:
I was called recently to the bedside of a dying man. He was very old and his face was ravaged and distorted by illness and suffering. I watched his wife. She was leaning over him, caressing him and whispering to him such tender words: ‘How beautiful you are, my love, how fine you look!’ I was embarrassed and thought: ‘How can anyone be so blind? Love is blind!’
Then an extraordinary thing happened. As she caressed him, the old man half-opened his eyes and a hesitant smile appeared on his face. He looked at his wife a long time and she looked at him. There was a mysterious communion between them. And his smile spread. It was like the sun after a storm. I saw it. I know that I saw what she saw! She was right – the old man, made ugly by suffering, was beautiful. Love is not blind – love lets us see what others do not see.
That woman was guided by love to go beyond the deep wrinkles of her husband’s suffering face and had joined someone who was beyond, far beyond, the body, someone who could not die even if his body were to crumble away in her sight and finally disappear.
Going Forth
May we be strengthened by the Sacred Heart of Jesus whose burning love has been poured out for us on calvary and will be poured out for us in the Eucharist on which we will soon be fed. May our hearts see and accompany with care and support the mother and father who are bringing a child into this world; may our hearts see and love the child within his or her mother’s womb. And may we, like Father Quoist go beyond what appears on the outside and see with the eyes of love, the person who is ill or hungry or alone and imprisoned. May we see them as God sees them. May we know that in caring for them we are caring for Jesus himself.
