Archbishop Burke on Thanksgiving

Archbishop Burke has another great article in the Review this week. He discusses Holy Mass, Father Solanus Casey, OFM Cap: Hero of thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving for the gift of life.

It is especially critical today that we understand, as much as possible, God's gift of life to us and that we vigorously oppose those who would choose to thwart or destroy that life and that we should help others to open their hearts and minds to God's gift of life, thanking Him for His great love for us. In speaking about "Thanksgiving for the gift of life", Archbishop Burke writes:

Reflecting upon the habit of thanksgiving which we should always cultivate, I draw your attention once again to the critical challenge which the state of Missouri faces in the coming months. The Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative will be working diligently to have placed on the ballot for next November a referendum to give citizens of Missouri the right to destroy innocent and defenseless human life at its beginning through embryonic stem-cell research and so-called "therapeutic" cloning. In last week’s edition of the St. Louis Review, I wrote about the matter at length. If you did not take the time to read my column of Nov. 11, I ask you, for the sake of our most tiny and defenseless brothers and sisters, to read it now. None of us can justify remaining ignorant of a matter which means life or death for a brother or sister.

On this coming Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, your parish priest will be presenting to you the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life from the moment of its inception, a most fitting teaching as we prepare to celebrate the Birth of Our Lord, who, in His all-gracious love, took our human nature by His conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary. As we reflect on how the life of our Lord began in the womb of Mary, through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, we recognize that He, like each of us, was once a tiny embryo. Our Lord has redeemed human life in its totality, in every stage of its development. We must, then, do all that we can to stop the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, to protect our brothers and sisters who have no one else to protect them. [all emphasis is mine]

This column can be read in full here.