Topic: To Stand for the Right to Life

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the of the
ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering
of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his
flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel
and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So
Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The LORD said to
Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well,
sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must
master it.”

Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.”

And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother
Abel, and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel
your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the LORD said, “What have you done?
The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground,
which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall
no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the LORD,
My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and
from the face I shall be hidden; and I shall be fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will
slay me.” Then the LORD said to him. “Not so! If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. Then Cain went
away from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of NOD, east of Eden. (Gn 4:2-16)

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The story of Cain and Abel is one of the most dramatic and instructive in Scripture. Along with the Decalogue,
it forms the biblical foundation for the Church’s absolute insistence on the inviolability and sacredness of
innocent human life.

Christ’s Invitation to Respect Life

Nowadays, we often hear people remark how cheap life has become. This is because everyday, we
hear and read about incidents of killing, violence, poverty, injustice, and other present-day occurrences that
undermine the value of life.

A. Sacred Scripture
Despite the many rampant incidents that point to the disregard for the sanctity of life, we have to cling
steadfastly to the truth that life is a gift from God. Thus, life has to be nurtured, protected, and respected. This
respect for life is contained and given emphasis in both Sacred Scripture and Church teachings.
The Book of Exodus gives an account of the Ten Commandments and how the Chosen People are
admonished to follow them. Two of these commandments, the Fourth and the Fifth, pertain to respect for life:

Respect for Life

“Honor your father and your mother that you may have a long life in the land that Yahweh has given you.
“Do not kill.”
 Besides the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, respect for life is also stressed by Jesus in His
Sermon on the Mounth when He said:
“You have hard that it was said to our people in the past: ‘Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill
will have to face trial.’ But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with his
brother will have to face trial, whoever insults his brother deserves to be
brought before the council; whoever humiliates his brother deserves to
be thrown into the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

B. Church Teaching
Because of the straightforwardness of the imperative, the Fourth
and the Fifth Commandments did not give us explicit ways on how it can
be applied concretely in our lives. For this reason, the Church Teaching
elaborates the commandments of respecting the value of life.

Reverence and Love for Every Human Life

Man’s life comes from God; it is His image and imprint, a sharing in His breath of life. God therefore is
the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills…. Human life and death are thus in the heart of God,
in His power: “In His hands is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind, “exclaims Job (12:10)
… But God does not exercise this power in an arbitrary and threatening way, but rather as part of His care and
loving concern for His creatures.”

The sacredness of life gives rise to its inviolability, written from the beginning in man’s heart, in his
conscience. The question: “What have you done?” (Gen. 4:10), which God addresses to Cain after he has
killed his brother Abel, interprets the experience of every person: in the depths of his conscience, man is
always reminded of the inviolability of life – his own life and that of others –as something which does not
belong to him, because it is the property and gift of God and an exacting task for humanity. It gives rise to
amazement and gratitude in the person graced with freedom, and it asks to be welcomed, preserved,
esteemed, with a deep sense of responsibility. In giving life to man, God demands that he love, respect, and
promote life. The gift thus becomes a commandment, and the commandment is itself a gift… Life is entrusted
to man as a treasure, which must not be squandered, as a talent, which must be used well. Man must render
an account of it to His Master.”

Christ’s commandment of loving one another is affirmed in its most basic way
when we respect human life. As the Church Teaching points out, it is not an
absolute norm or value but, rather, it is a necessary condition for us to
fundamentally love others as much as we love ourselves. Its importance is drawn
in its position right after our obligation towards God. It initiates us towards the
commandment of loving our neighbors.
Respecting for life actually consists of two commandments: the Fourth and the
Fifth Commandments. The Fourth Commandment obligates respect towards
those who have temporally originated our lives. Our parents acted as procreators
in bringing to birth another human life. The Fifth Commandment, meanwhile,
marks off margins and boundaries from any threat to human life. It aims to
protect the value of human life from any possible dangers.

But why must we respect life? Human life must be respected because” all human life has its basic value
and dignity” (CFC 1029). This basic value and dignity springs from the fact that extraordinary value of human
life is God. Furthermore, by becoming man, Jesus Christ enhanced the dignity and value of life. He came that
“we might have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10) and ultimately, by His Passion, Death and Resurrection,
Christ has become for us “the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25).

Now that it is clear why we must respect life, we must understand fully the Fourth and the Fifth
Commandments and how they relate to our solemn duty to respect life.

“Honor your father and your mother” as the Church teaches us, highlights four significant points of
understanding:
 1. its original meaning on the obligation of grown children towards their aged parents which was
expanded in time, to include young children’s duties towards their aged parents;

2. in spite of the growing trend in industrialization and modernization, the commandment emphasizes
the fundamental personal value and worth of aged parents and that human life must not be evaluated in
terms of productivity;

3. the fourth commandment ensure that both parents are to

receive equal respect – which “reflects on the primal force
of human love from which human life is continually generated, according
to God’s divine plan of sharing His creativity.

4. lastly, the Church Teaching comments on the

commandment as not the “easiest to keep” and the reasons for
such declaration are the following: generation gap, the different
stages of developing of the children that sometimes are in need of
“distancing” from their parents, and that at times, parents do not act
lovingly towards their children as what happens in cases involving child
abuse or child neglect (cf CFC 1003-1006).

“You shall not kill,” as “prohibition on direct attacks on human life

and physical integrity,” is perfected and intensified by Jesus Christ in the
New Testament. In His Person and teaching, the Son of God perfected
the commandment. Also, Jesus’ teaching linked the command with the
“Love Commandment,” even love for enemies. In His fondness of going
directly to the root of things, Jesus even forbade anger that leads to envy,
quarrel, and even murder. As a summary, the Church teaching
emphasized that “God alone is the ultimate Lord and Master of Life” as
the basic value enjoining the Fifth Commandment and Jesus’ Gospel of
Life.

We can see then that the basic value behind the Fifth commandment and Jesus’ teaching is that “God
alone is the ultimate Lord and Master of Life” (CFC 1032). From this fundamental truth comes the following
teachings:
1. It is God who gives life and sustains life. Therefore, life belongs to Him.

2. The human person, to whom life is given, is the steward who must respect and care for his life and
the life of others.

3. Respect for life therefore requires more than obeying the commandment “thou shall not kill.” It
requires protecting, promoting, and enhancing the quality of life.

From these teachings, we can conclude that respect for life does not only entail avoidance of acts that
constitute a direct attack against life:
a. Murder – constitutes the termination of the life of another through violence.

b. Genocide – the systematic killing of a whole race of people.

c. Abortion – the destruction of a child after conception but before birth. Direct abortion or cooperation in it is
forbidden by the fifth commandment. Attached to this sin is the penalty of excommunication because, from the
moment of conception, every human being must be absolutely respected and protected in his integrity.

d. Euthanasia – itself comes from the Greek euthanatos, which means “a good or sweet death,” and the
traditional phrase for this violation of the Fifth Commandment is “mercy killing.”

e Suicide – the act of taking one’s own life.

 Respect for life also prohibits those acts that violate the integrity of human person:
a. mutilation – an act or instance of damaging or altering something radically.

b. physical and mental torture

c. undue psychological pressures

d. acts that violate human dignity such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation and
prostitution

e. respect for life is violated when persons are subjected to degrading working conditions that treat human
persons as mere tools for profit rather than as free and responsible persons (cf. CFC 1034)

Of particular importance in this lesson on respect for human life is the inclusion of common “vices” of
alcohol and drug abuse and to a lesser degree, smoking (Substance abuse). These habits are detrimental to
the physical well-being of human persons. There is much evidence we can gather on how alcohol and drug
abuse inflict physical and psychological harm not only on those who actually indulge in the “vices” but even on
those who do not: the families, friends and even innocent persons who become the victims of those who are
alcohol and drug dependents.