Defending Life with Courage

There are days when the Scriptures seem to step directly into the aching places of our world. The Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children is one of those moments. The Word of God brings to light the hidden dramas of fear and courage, rivalry and reconciliation, despair and healing. Today’s readings do not offer a slogan. They hand us a way of seeing: a vision in which innocent life is defended, fear is faced with trust, and Christ’s quiet authority brings life into the open without spectacle.

Jonathan’s Courage and the Call to Intercede

In 1 Samuel, envy coils itself around Saul’s heart as the people sing of David’s victories. Jealousy snowballs into a deadly intention. It is Jonathan; Saul’s own son; who steps between violence and its target, appealing to his father’s conscience and reminding him that spilling innocent blood would be a grave injustice. Jonathan risks position and favor to speak the truth in love. He practices the courage of intercession.

The pro-life vocation looks a lot like Jonathan’s fidelity. It is the decision to step between power and the vulnerable, to interrupt the logic of fear and rivalry, and to plead for a life that cannot yet plead for itself. This intercession is not fueled by hostility; Jonathan speaks well of David, appealing to memory, reason, and gratitude. In a polarized climate, his example invites a better way: courageous, truthful, and tender. Advocacy for the unborn is never a rejection of women and families in crisis; it is solidarity with them. It is a hand extended, not a finger pointed.

Fear, Tears, and the God Who Counts Them

The Psalm repeats a line that could be carried like a lifeline through any anxious night: “In God I trust; I shall not fear.” Fear prowls around so many decisions; fear of poverty, of abandonment, of shame, of the future. The Psalmist does not deny fear; he repositions it before God. “My wanderings you have counted; my tears are stored in your flask.” Nothing is lost on the Lord; not a single tear, not a sleepless hour, not a prayer muttered in the dark.

For parents facing an unexpected pregnancy, for those burdened by medical uncertainty, for families stretched by responsibilities and thin resources, this God is not an abstraction. He counts tears and steadies steps. For those who accompany them; friends, clergy, counselors, volunteers; this Psalm becomes a posture: to listen, to reverence the complexity of a person’s story, and to be a reliable presence so that fear does not drive the final choice. A culture of life is not built by pressure; it is woven by presence.

He Brought Life to Light: The Style of Jesus

The Alleluia acclamation proclaims that Jesus has “destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.” In Mark’s Gospel, that life spreads quietly and insistently. Crowds press in because Jesus heals; unclean spirits announce his identity, and he silences them. He refuses to let darkness define the conversation. He is not interested in spectacle. He wants people free, not fascinated.

This is the Church’s mission, too. Pro-life witness is not a performance or a provocation; it is an encounter that makes space for healing. Jesus withdraws when necessary, sets boundaries, and remains wholly given to the good of those before him. His authority is expressed as mercy. To follow him is to prefer the hidden fidelity of accompaniment over the easy drama of outrage; to let truth shine in deeds that relieve suffering, support parents, and welcome the child.

A Consistent, Concrete Love for Life

Defending the unborn sits within a broader, consistent love for every human life; from conception to natural death, and through every vulnerability in between. That love takes concrete forms:

• Pray and fast with intentionality, entrusting parents and children to the Lord who counts every tear.
• Speak with clarity and charity, refusing caricature and contempt. Let conversation be truthful, patient, and hopeful.
• Accompany: volunteer with or support pregnancy help centers and maternity homes; create parish or neighborhood networks that provide rides to appointments, childcare, meal trains, and financial assistance; advocate for workplace policies and public policies that make welcoming children more possible for families of every income.
• Support adoption and foster care; encourage men to embrace responsible, sacrificial fatherhood.
• Welcome children and adults with disabilities and complex medical needs; work against the “throwaway culture” that measures worth by utility.
• Engage civic life with both conviction and civility; insist on legal protections for the most vulnerable while also addressing the pressures; economic, relational, and cultural; that isolate families.

These steps do not eliminate all hardship. But they change the horizon. They say to a frightened heart: you are not alone; there is a people prepared to walk with you.

Mercy for Wounded Hearts

On a day focused on protecting the unborn, it is essential to say this clearly: wherever abortion has touched a life, there is no corner beyond the reach of Christ’s mercy. Shame isolates; the Gospel gathers and heals. The Church’s heart beats with ministries of reconciliation; confession, spiritual direction, counseling, and healing retreats such as Project Rachel; that help women and men grieve, name their children, and discover that the last word over their story is not failure but mercy. The One who “brought life to light” can bring light even into rooms long kept closed.

Hope in the Light of the Living

The Psalm ends with a promise: God rescues our feet from stumbling “that we may walk before God in the light of the living.” Today’s prayer is not nostalgia for a lost innocence; it is hope for a redeemed future. In that future, jealousy yields to joy for another’s good; fear bows before trust; and the word “life” is not an argument but a gift we gladly bear together.

A simple prayer for this day: Lord Jesus, who silenced the powers of darkness and lifted the weak, teach your people the courage of Jonathan, the trust of the Psalmist, and the mercy of your own heart. Count our tears, steady our steps, and make us builders of a culture where every life is received as a wonder. Give healing to the wounded, wisdom to leaders, and companions to every parent who is afraid. In your light, let us walk. Amen.