Bishop embraces life chains, life centers and life-giving prayer

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

This year during the month of October we celebrate the 50th Respect Life Month! Here in our Diocese, we opened the month with seven life chains in different towns where many lined the streets giving witness to the sanctity of life. I was able to participate in the life chain in Somerville. There I met and gave witness to life with wonderful parishioners from Somerville, Raritan, Bridgewater, Hillsborough and other towns in the area. There were students from Immaculata High School, too. The dedication of all the good people in life chains was certainly inspiring.   

A few days before the life chains, I was able to join in a clergy evening at the Life Choices Resource Center in Metuchen. Gratefully, Life Choices is one of several such centers we have in our Diocese which support mothers, fathers and families in need, promoting the value of life and defending it. At the centers they believe with all their heart that every single life is a precious gift from God, so they work hard to support the babies in the womb as well as the mothers who are carrying them. Since 1985 they have graciously helped thousands of women choose life for their babies by providing them with practical, emotional, spiritual and material support. I am very grateful that so many of our parishes help to support these centers, especially through the Baby Bottle Blessings Campaigns and through prayer!  Thank you!

Of course, creating a culture of life is challenging in our day, as there are so many things that challenge us. There is the mental health crisis, especially amongst our youth following the pandemic, the opioid crisis, and the assisted suicide initiatives pressuring our elderly, sick and disabled, which indicates to those suffering that their lives are not worth much anymore. We believe that every life is a gift from God and is precious and should be respected as the wonderful gift from God that it is.

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington serves as the chairman of Pro-Life Activities for the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. To mark this 50th anniversary of Respect Life Month, he has issued a statement titled, “Living Radical Solidarity” -  (https://www.usccb.org/resources/rlp-23-RLM-Statement.pdf). It is worth reading and is only two pages. In his statement, Bishop Burbidge urges radical solidarity to accompany pregnant women or women dealing with difficult circumstances who are in vulnerable situations as they raise their children. Living radical solidarity demonstrates our care for them and respects God’s plan for human life!

October is also a Marian month and we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. It is a month when we turn to Mary more often in prayer, using her Rosary. I pray the Rosary every day, having had the example of so many in my family and schools growing up who did so. I don’t know what I would do without the Blessed Mother in my life, and I don’t remember a time when she was not a constant friend and intercessor for me. She always brings calm into my life when I meditate on the mystery of her life, and that of Jesus, as well. I urge you to do so, too. Pope Francis says that “when we knock on Mary’s door, Jesus always answers.”  Indeed, our Lord must always answer His dear Mother’s prayers, so I often give to her many of my prayer intentions.

Mary’s help is needed now in so many ways. We pray for the troubled spots in the world where in many places, especially the Ukraine and now the Holy Land, life is not respected due to the ravages of war and aggression. We need Mary’s intercession to help us create a culture which respects life from conception until natural death and all the stages in between, particularly where vulnerable people need our help. Our Diocese is under her patronage, as the Queenship of Mary, and we have consecrated the Diocese to her as Our Lady of Guadalupe. How our Blessed Mother desires us to draw closer to her, so she can lead us into deeper union with her dear Son. May this month do just that. I urge you to join in praying the Rosary and turning anew to her!  You won’t regret it.

Know of my gratitude, love and prayers for you and your loved ones and know that you are included in my intentions during my daily Rosary!  God bless you all.

Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA
Bishop of Metuchen