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Parishes from one end of the state to the other were represented as Catholics from across Arkansas again stood up for life at the annual Mass for Life, celebrated Jan. 19. The event filled the Exhibition Hall at the Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock.
“Today, you and I have gathered to put our faith in action by giving witness to the intrinsic worth of the human person from the first moment of conception to natural death,” said celebrant Bishop Anthony B. Taylor in his bilingual homily. “We will be sent forth from this Mass as missionaries charged with working for the transformation of the very dark world in which we live.”
Clothed in a white chasuble featuring a handmade image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bishop Taylor preached a pro-life attitude honors each living being with the dignity and respect due the handiwork of God.
“We are not merely the result of our parents’ urge to procreate,” he said, first in Spanish and then in English. “God forms us in the womb in order to equip us for our role in his plan, fanning into flame the life sparked at conception so that — like Isaiah and more to the point, like Jesus — we too can become a light to the nations and messengers of salvation.”
Bishop Taylor also took the opportunity to cite Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”) as a means of refuting what some on the national stage have said is a de-emphasizing of pro-life issues by the pontiff. Others have gone a step further and said the pope’s relatively few remarks on the subject signal changes in Church doctrine on the horizon.
“I’m sure you heard news reports about Pope Francis saying that our teaching on abortion is so clear and well known that we don’t have to talk it all the time,” Bishop Taylor said. “The media distorted his words and made it sound like he might modify Church teaching on this topic.
“So, to correct that misimpression, he wrote the following in “Evangelii Gaudium:” ‘Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defense of human rights.’”
During presentation of gifts, several large vases of red roses and a book of names were brought before the altar, to memorialize lives lost to abortion.
Following communion, Bishop Taylor recognized Marianne Linane on stage, thanking her for her years of service as respect life director for the diocese. Linane retired from the position this month following eight years of service. The bishop also introduced Linane’s replacement, Becky Mullican, who asked the congregation to pray for her in her new assignment.
The Mass was the cornerstone of a weekend of Catholic pro-life activities, which also included the Weekend Extravaganza, hosted by diocesan Youth Ministry, and was preceded by the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a rosary for life. Music for the Mass was provided by Team Jesus of Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
