Every few months people are always talking about how they feel priests should talk about big issues during their homily at certain times of year. For example during Right to Life Sunday, The March for Life, 40 Days for Life, NFP Awareness Week, etc. I’m sure there are other times but since it is Blog for Life Day those are the only ones I can think of.
I agree these could all be great times for the priest to teach the people about big issues. Especially since so many people think no one is educated about many of the issues. It doesn’t even have to be the whole homily just a 5 minute snipit. However I’m not here to tell you how to get priests to do this. I’m here to share a story of an awesome pro-life homily I heard on Right To Life Sunday of 2011. The best part is it wasn’t controversial AT ALL! So it can be done without causing controversy or scaring people away.
A year and a half ago I went to mass like I do every Sunday and I remember my mom mentioning we had a visiting priest for that Mass but I didn’t really think anything of it. We spent a year at our last parish with no pastor and had visiting priests EVERY WEEK! I actually didn’t even know it was Right to Life Sunday until either mass started or maybe even after mass when they announced they were in the courtyard with information.
During the homily the priest spoke of a college student that found out she was pregnant and knew she couldn’t take care of the baby herself and she gave the baby up for adoption. A nice couple from northern California adopted the baby boy. I don’t remember a lot of the details as to why she didn’t have an abortion. Anyway she had a little boy and this nice couple raised him. Gave him a good home, good education and more than his birth mother could ever have given him.
This little boy was smart and would group up to change the world. Do you know who I’m talking about yet? His name was Steve Jobs. I couldn’t believe the story I was hearing and all I could think about is how the world would be so different had Steve Jobs not been born? I know a lot of people are anti-apple but I believe that computers in general would be very different if Apple didn’t exist.
So mass ended and everyone was very moved by the priests homily. I went home and lived my life as usual still thinking about that homily. Then not even a week later Steve Jobs passed away! I couldn’t believe it! I knew he had stepped down and was sick but I was unsure of how sick he was and hadn’t really kept up. Plus I think Steve Jobs was a very private person. I had just heard this story at mass about how Steve Jobs was adopted and not aborted and then I find out he passed away. The timing of all this was just so strange. And here I am almost 2 years later still in awe of the time line of these events.
But after hearing this homily it really made me think. How many other inventors, scientists, celebrities have been subjected to abortion? Things that would have made our lives better were maybe never invented. Or how many other “world changers” (for lack of a better word) lived or were adopted because someone chose life. This very simple yet insightful homily really made me think and it still makes me think about the decisions people make. I think it also increased my beliefs of why I am proud to be Pro-Life.
Beth, I didn’t know Steve Jobs was adopted. You bring up an interesting thought in your post! Thanks!
more people need to be educated on adoption! You know it is a subject very near and dear to my heart