The Pilgrim's Way: The Dignity Of The Human Person

As we prepare for the feast of Saint John Paul II, we invite you to continue on this pilgrimage through our permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II. We hope you will walk through each of the nine galleries with us, so that you can get a taste of the spiritual and informational journey that awaits you here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine.

This week we will explore the sixth gallery: The Dignity of the Human Person. Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, and from Him we each receive irreducible worth and dignity. In an increasingly utilitarian world, St. John Paul II tirelessly defended this truth about the person.

The late Holy Father preached a Gospel of Life, calling the Church to defend those like the unborn, the sick, the elderly, and victims of war and genocide. He reminded us to defend and serve every human person as we would Christ, who reveals to us what is truest about man.

Preaching The Gospel of Life

As we countdown to the canonization of Blessed John Paul II, we here at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine are remembering and celebrating the legacy of this great saint.

Of the many gifts John Paul II left to the Church, his teaching on the dignity and inviolability of every human life is perhaps one of his most important. This teaching is well summarized in the introduction to his Evangelium Vitae:

The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as “good news” to the people of every age and culture.

At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child which is proclaimed as joyful news: “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this “great joy” is the Birth of the Savior; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world (cf. Jn 16:21).

When he presents the heart of his redemptive mission, Jesus says: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). In truth, he is referring to that “new” and “eternal” life which consists in communion with the Father, to which every person is freely called in the Son by the power of the Sanctifying Spirit. It is precisely in this “life” that all the aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance.

Every person is called to self-fulfillment, to realize him or herself through sharing in the divine life. The lofty vocation of man, he writes, is what makes his life so sacred here on earth. Given threats to human life in the present day, John Paul II calls all believers to defend the dignity of every human person. He asks them to stand with him against abortion, war, the death penalty and numerous other violations towards this dignity.

The Inestimable Value of Human Life

Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. Life in time, in fact, is the fundamental condition, the initial stage and an integral part of the entire unified process of human existence. It is a process which, unexpectedly and undeservedly, is enlightened by the promise and renewed by the gift of divine life, which will reach its full realization in eternity (cf. 1 Jn 3:1-2). At the same time, it is precisely this supernatural calling which highlights the relative character of each individual's earthly life. After all, life on earth is not an "ultimate" but a "penultimate" reality; even so, it remains a sacred reality entrusted to us, to be preserved with a sense of responsibility and brought to perfection in love and in the gift of ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters.

-Blessed John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae

Our hearts and prayers are with all of those at the March for Life today. May Blessed John Paul II pray for them, and that the “sacred reality” of life may be upheld and respected in our world today.

For pilgrims visiting Washington, D.C., see our special liturgical schedule for the week. 

Building The Culture of Life

In her post on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops blog, Kim Daniels, spokesperson for Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, echoes the words of Blessed John Paul II:

Today I believe the Lord is saying to us all: do not hesitate, do not be afraid to engage the good fight of the faith (cf. I Tim 6:12). When we preach the liberating message of Jesus Christ we are offering the words of life to the world. Our prophetic witness is an urgent and essential service not just to the Catholic community but to the whole human family.

Daniels reflects on the late Holy Father’s call to build a culture of life, and this is especially important to remember as we embark on Respect for Life Month.

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us, that we may build a civilization of love by being people of life. 

Evangelium Vitae Day

This coming weekend, Pope Francis will gather with faithful pilgrims to celebrate Evangelium Vitae, in support of the sanctity of every human life. According to the Year of Faith site:

It will offer the opportunity for the faithful from around the world to gather with the Holy Father in a communal witness to the sacred value of all life: The lives of the aged, the lives of the sick, the lives of the dying, the lives of the unborn, the lives of the physically and mentally challenged, and the lives of all those who suffer. In addition, this event will offer the occasion to celebrate, affirm, and encourage all those who so tenderly and with self-abandonment follow in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd by tending to the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of those who are aged, disabled, ill, unborn, homebound, dying or who suffer in any way. It is our hope that the number of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square will be so great that all the world will be able to hear from Rome our Church’s choral expression of the very heart of Jesus’ redemptive mission: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10, Cf. Evangelium Vitae, 1).

For those in Washington D.C., the Blessed John Paul II Shrine will be celebrating a Holy Hour of Healing & Reparation corresponding to the event, from 3pm-4pm this Saturday June 14. This will be a traditional holy hour with Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed, and silent prayer will follow before Benediction.

Come join us in interceding for the dignity of every human person!

To You Do We Entrust The Cause of Life

O Mary, 
bright dawn of the new world, 
Mother of the living, 
to you do we entrust the cause of life 
Look down, O Mother, 
upon the vast numbers 
of babies not allowed to be born, 
of the poor whose lives are made difficult, 
of men and women 
who are victims of brutal violence, 
of the elderly and the sick killed 
by indifference or out of misguided mercy.

Grant that all who believe in your Son 
may proclaim the Gospel of life 
with honesty and love 
to the people of our time.

Obtain for them the grace 
to accept that Gospel 
as a gift ever new, 
the joy of celebrating it with gratitude 
throughout their lives 
and the courage to bear witness to it 
resolutely, in order to build, 
together with all people of good will, 
the civilization of truth and love, 
to the praise and glory of God, 
the Creator and lover of life.

-Blessed John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae