The Compassion Walk 2013 has come to an end. There were 800 young
people attended one whole day programme organised by ASAYO in Kuala Lumpur. Everything
went smoothly according to God’s plan. Generally, the youth enjoyed it. I very
much believe that they have renewed their commitments to build a “Culture of
Life” in Malaysia.
Do read the full text of my homily which I have delivered
during the Mass on the day of Compassion Walk 2013.
Today about 800 of you have given some input
and sharing and finally walked through the streets of KL City towards the
gathering point here at St Anthony’s Church for Mass. Four of our speakers at
the prolife and prochoice sessions called to abandon the idea of abortion
either to the direct and intentional killing of the unborn and to choose life.
You too have obtained some opinion from the public on this issue. Your
respectful presence of prolife and prochoice supporters is the efforts you made
today to save human life from the first moment of conception to natural death.
We who are here have stood together pleading God not to allow abortion and to
give respect to human life.
The Church in Malaysia has confidence in you my
dear young people to continue your fruitful work which will provide a useful
contribution to the action that the Church carries out towards prolife and
prochoice. Our Compassion Walk 2013 has renewed your faith and now the Church
invites you to serve as the foundation for your generation and the coming
generations. The Church needs you and your liveliness to continue to live with
renewed enthusiasm the mission entrusted by Christ. Life is sacred and it
should be respected. I very much hope that the Year of Faith gives you a
greater opportunity to rediscover and strengthen our friendship with Christ.
Over 90,000 abortions are done every year in
America according to the National Population and Family Development Board.
There are around five deaths every year due to unsafe abortions. Today we
understand by abortion – a child loses life, and parents lose a child. We
realise and believe abortion is morally wrong and we shall promise that we will
continue our efforts to pursue the right to life of every unborn child. After
an entire day of being involved in this Compassion Walk we have come to ask
ourselves, “Why is life good? “Why is it always good?” The answer is simple and
clear: because it is a gift from the Creator, who breathed into man the divine
breath, thus making the human person the image of God. In the second chapter,
the “Evangelium Vitae”, speaks about life as a gift and we are responsible for
this life. Every human being is a blessing from God because we are created in
His image and likeness. Therefore, we must lead to the active promotion of life,
the development of attitudes and behavior which serve life.
Today, we are saddened by a culture that devalues
the life of an unborn child. Catholic teaching on life is supported by science
and reason: unborn children are human beings and abortion hurts women and men.
No human being should be discriminated against or suffer the loss of life.
Following abortion, many suffer lifelong consequences, such as depression,
substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts. We are grateful to those generous
people such as counsellors, priests and men and women have helped parents who
have suffered an abortion and helped them from a life of regret so that they
may heal emotionally and find peace and forgiveness.
When I see your response today towards this
Compassion Walk, I recognise signs of unity and hope for life. We are united in
our resolve to pursue the right to life of every unborn child. You young people
have been brave today for prolife and prochoice. Many were there with you in
spirit marching for life from afar and praying that every human being will
protect the unborn and respect, promote and support the culture of life.
You are from various categories - schools, colleges, churches and individuals
who showed up to voice your support for the prolife cause. “How many of us are
missing brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, because of abortion?” Thank God
that our parents made the decision to choose life, and we are thankful for
that. We pray that other parents choose life as well.
If Jesus and His Word could change the heart of
many people, I am sure He can change the minds and the hearts of those who do
not respect human life. Today, we are grateful to celebrate God’s greatest gift
to us – the gift of human life. We come together at this celebration of the
Mass to thank God for this gift of life and to pray for a change of heart for
those who do not respect life from the moment of conception to its natural end.
We have begun our Compassion Walk this morning and are concluding it with the
Mass. But our journey does not end here. Now is the time to go beyond and to
give witness to our community and society as Jesus says “Go into the whole
world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
Dear young brothers and sisters, Christ has
promised us that His Word will prevail. We cannot lose hope. We must continue
the struggle in positive, life-affirming ways. We must pray and we must
continue to make our voices heard so that our nation knows that there are many
who stand for life. We must never give up. At times we can fall on our knees
before God and complain as did the apostles, “Lord we have labored all night
and caught nothing...” In his name we will cast the nets, we will continue and
we will not lose hope during this Year of Faith. In announcing this Year of
Faith Pope Benedict states that “we must open our hearts to be touched and
transformed by the grace and Word of God”. (Porta Fidei No. 1). The Year of
Faith is a call to all of us to put more “life and energy into our faith”. It
is a time to re-commit ourselves to living our faith and living the Gospel of
Life and to communicate the message of the Gospel to others.
Blessed John Paul II in his encyclical letter “The
Gospel of Life” reminds us that “when the sense of God is lost, there is also a
tendency to lose the sense of man, of his dignity and his life”, (no. 21). If
we wish to change the “culture of death” in our society, we must restore God to
the center of our lives. The power of the Gospel is to transform humanity from
within and to make it new. In this Year of Faith we need to renew our
commitment to building a “Culture of Life” in our communities. We need to
refocus our energies. It is time for us to focus more on the need to change the
“minds and hearts” of people as Jesus did, one person at a time. We can change
the world as Jesus did, by placing more emphasis on the teaching of the Word of
God. Let us go forth from this church today filled with the zeal and ready to
evangelise and give witness to the faith we have received. May God bless each
one of you.
