By Susan Ciancio
The week since Charlie Kirk’s assassination has felt incredibly long, and quite frankly, it has also been disheartening. While we mourn this unbelievable loss, many people are actually rejoicing over it. This cannot be said too many times: It’s truly sick to cheer for the murder of someone who holds beliefs in opposition to yours.
If you’re like me, you’re probably experiencing a range of emotions: anger, heartbreak, sadness, and more. Let us act on those feelings to create good, for there is too much evil in the world. The reason that Charlie was killed, that people are cheering for his death, that innocent children are shot in schools, that violence occurs daily in our streets, and that the sick, elderly, and preborn are singled out for death is because there is too little respect for life in our country.
Many want what’s easy or what makes them feel good. They want to “live and let live.” They put themselves before others. They are quick to hate. But Jesus teaches the opposite. He commands us to love our neighbors. Neighbors means everyone, not just the people we like or who are like us.
We must understand that love is not simply a feeling. Love is an action. And it requires us to not only want what’s best for another person but to actively work toward that goal. Love is working every day to get yourself, your spouse, your children, and anyone else you can reach, to heaven. That goal cannot be achieved if we sweep our faith under the rug, if we halfheartedly follow God’s teachings, or if we flat out deny Him.
We must live our faith openly and proudly. Now is not the time to be silent. Now is the time to be bold, like Charlie, and to not feel afraid to tell the world that we are people of faith. As parents, we must teach our kids to have this same moral courage.
So as we approach Respect Life Month, let us proudly proclaim our pro-life beliefs, stand up for our faith, and firmly but in love teach others that all people—born and preborn—have dignity and deserve protection.
Here are nine ways you and your family can integrate pro-life values into your lives:
1. Tell your kids to enter our essay contest
One of the best ways to help kids and teens learn to speak the truth is to encourage them to research topics and then articulate their beliefs in writing. On Monday, September 22, we will release this year’s prompts for our Pro-Life Essay Contest, which will run throughout Respect Life Month. This year’s contest is for kids in 3rd-12th grade, and we promise that these prompts will make them think deeply about the sanctity of life.
2. Teach and discuss the development of preborn babies
A human being comes into existence from the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg. You can teach this beautiful truth and aspects of scientific development with our lesson booklets, you can read books and information from groups like Contend Projects, you can post scientific truths on social media, and you can have civil dialog with your friends and family.
3. Pray the rosary
We desperately need prayer today. Whether alone or with your family, pray the rosary or even just a decade for the end to threats to life, such as abortion, euthanasia, IVF, and more.
4. Show love for moms in need
Turn your beliefs into actions. Perform acts of kindness for a single mom who may need help with babysitting, transportation, food, or finances. Buy gifts or donate gently used items to pregnancy resource centers. Pray outside an abortion facility.
5. Speak positively
Babies are a blessing. Always! The elderly and people living with disabilities and chronic sickness have value. They matter not for what they can do but for who they are—beloved children of God. When you talk to or about people living in these situations, speak with kindness and generosity. Teach your children to do the same.
6. Watch a pro-life movie
Turn off the phones and enjoy a pro-life movie with your friends or family. We have several suggestions on our site, and we even offer free downloadable guides with talking points so you can have great conversations after you finish watching.
7. Visit the elderly
Give the gift of your time. Visit or call an elderly relative or friend and really pay attention to them. You could also volunteer to play games or simply spend time with people living in a care facility. Many elderly people do not have regular visitors and are incredibly lonely. Be the light of hope for them.
8. Read pro-life documents
We are so distracted by social media that it’s tearing at the fabric of our society. We need to fill our heads, and the heads of our children, with quality reading materials that teach the sanctity of life. Read excerpts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, read Evangelium Vitae (St. John Paul II’s encyclical on the value and inviolability of life), or read good pro-life books and discuss them (we offer free discussion guides on many!). As parents, we must be proactive when teaching our children the truths of life and of our faith.
9. Serve others
Sit down with your friends or family and create a service project for someone you know or someone within your community who needs help. Maybe it’s an elderly gentleman who needs some house repairs. Maybe it’s a single mom whose car has broken down. Maybe it’s a family overwhelmed with care for a sick child. Look for a need and fill it.
This Respect Life Month, we need our Heavenly Father more than ever. Take the time to reflect on how you can show people that you value them. Then make it a point to perform acts of kindness all month long so that these actions become more than just things you do in October; they simply become things you do.