October is a month when we see God’s handiwork through bountiful harvests and the beautiful changing colors. With this change of season, it is quite natural that we ponder the mysteries of life and death. Designated by the U.S. Bishops as Respect Life Month, the days of October give us pause to consider our call to build a culture of life.

This year’s theme, “The Infant in My Womb Leaped for Joy,” refers to the account of Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist, greeting Mary, the mother of our Lord. Despite the unusual and difficult circumstances surrounding the pregnancies of both women, each found cause to rejoice at the Lord’s blessing of a new life they were carrying. How differently many people react today when faced with what is called “an unplanned pregnancy.” Destroying that life through abortion is a readily-available option that is chosen by many.

In “The Gospel of Life,” Pope John Paul II challenges each of us: “What is urgently called for is a...united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life.” In the Diocese of Sacramento, many have responded to this call over the last several decades and as a result, several organizations — the Sacramento Life Center, the Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home, and the Mother Teresa Maternity Home — provide care and services for those who need help through difficult pregnancies.

In addition, over a dozen other interfaith agencies throughout the diocese — Choices in Mount Shasta, MAMA Crisis Pregnancy Center in Susanville, Care Net in Redding, Birthright in Chico, A Woman’s Friend in Marysville, Alpha Pregnancy Center in Fairfield and Vacaville to name a few — offer similar services through the support of local parishes and other churches.

The Sacramento Life Center, founded in 1972, celebrates 35 years of helping women choose positive alternatives to abortion. By providing free pregnancy testing, ultrasound and counseling services, thousands of babies’ lives have been saved. The Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home, Sacramento, founded in 1993, and the Mother Teresa Maternity Home, Placerville, established in 1997, provide housing for pregnant women who have no where to live.

In providing shelter for these women and their unborn children, hundreds of women have carried their babies to term that otherwise might have chosen abortion. In loving the child, loving the mother, and proclaiming the truth, these organizations and their supporters have activated a great campaign in our diocese in support of life.

Sadly, however, there are many women who did not find one of these organizations. They did not have someone to talk to, someone to lean on, someone to point them in a life-giving direction. Statistics show that 43 percent of women, by the time they reach the age of 45, have had an abortion. For this very reason, our church tries to extend itself to those women and men who suffer from grief and guilt as a result of this choice. Project Rachel is a diocesan-based program that offers reconciliation, as well as spiritual and psychological care, through a network of professional counselors and specially trained priests who provide one-on-one care.

In addition, our Respect Life Office offers Rachel’s Vineyard retreats. These weekend retreats are open to anyone who has struggled with the emotional or spiritual pain of an abortion. Since 2003, we have conducted 16 retreats for participants ranging in age from 18 to 76 years old. For the majority of these women, their abortion experience took place 15 to 30 years ago. This weekend retreat helps men and women find spiritual healing and reconciliation with God and with their child. I would encourage anyone seeking help in this area to call our confidential Project Rachel phone line at (916) 733-0161 or check out the Web site, www.rachelsvineyard.org.

Promoting “a great campaign in support of life” takes the time, effort and dedication of each one of us. Human life, at all stages, is a gift that we must respect, care for, and protect with diligence. May we never tire of proclaiming the dignity and sacredness of every human life.

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