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This edition of Life Issues Forum is available in English and Spanish, and has also been posted to our website.
The Life Issues Forum is a bi-weekly column by Pro-Life Secretariat staff addressing the latest issues on the culture of life. Columns may be reprinted as they appear here (in full and without alteration) without further permission.
In Christ,
The Pro-Life Secretariat
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LIFE ISSUES FORUM June 24, 2016
"My Grace Is Sufficient for You" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"My Grace Is Sufficient for You" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Greg Schleppenbach
I
was privileged to attend the 2016 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in
Washington, D.C. The keynote speaker was His Eminence Robert Cardinal
Sarah who currently heads the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship
and Discipline of the Sacraments. The Cardinal's talk and life story
can inspire all who work to spread the Gospel of Life.
In
1979, at the age of thirty-four, Fr. Sarah was appointed by Pope John
Paul II as Archbishop of Conakry, in the West African nation of Guinea.
Eighty-five percent of the people were Muslim and the Church was
oppressed by a Marxist dictator, Sekou Toure, who had imprisoned the
sitting Archbishop.
Feeling
troubled and unprepared to carry out this important role, Father Sarah
expressed his desire to decline the appointment. But that was not an
option for Pope John Paul II.
Putting his faith in God, Father Sarah accepted the appointment and chose as his episcopal motto, "Sufficit tibi gratia mea"
("My grace is sufficient for you"). These words, from St. Paul's
Second Letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 12:9), are our Lord's response
to St. Paul's pleas to be freed from the "thorn" of persistent trial and
temptation.
After
assuring Paul of his sufficient grace, our Lord offered this seemingly
paradoxical reason: "for power is made perfect in weakness."
Then St. Paul embraced the path of weakness with bold faith: "I will
rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of
Christ may dwell with me. Therefore
I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
constraints, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am
strong" (2 Cor 12:10).
Following
his episcopal motto, Cardinal Sarah courageously took every opportunity
to speak truth to power, challenging Sekou Toure's oppression and
injustices. Archbishop Sarah's actions put him at the top of the
dictator's assassination list.
While
his courage in the face of life-threatening persecution is inspiring
enough, it is even more impressive given his persistent feelings of
inadequacy as Archbishop. He even considered resigning his post.
In his book, God or Nothing, Cardinal Sarah explains how "hundreds
of hours of prayer" led him to conclude that the worst that could
happen to me was death; my life was nothing compared to the blatant
injustices, the horrible poverty, and the unspeakable horrors that I saw
each day. I had to speak, even if my life was at stake."
At the close of his speech, Cardinal Sarah provided "three humble suggestions" to guide us. First, beprophetic. "Where there is no vision, discernment, the people perish" (Proverbs 29, 18). Second, be faithful. "Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear" (St. Catherine of Siena). And third, pray.
The words and example of Cardinal Sarah provide needed inspiration and encouragement to all who battle
the culture of death and who may sometimes feel inadequate for the work
and inclined to give up. Let us keep God's words to St. Paul always
before us as we work to proclaim the Gospel of Life: "My grace is
sufficient for you!"
Greg Schleppenbach is Associate Director at the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. For more information about the bishops' pro-life activities, visit: www.usccb.org/prolife.
