Homily for the Vigil of All Nascent Human Life

As I mentioned in the announcements and bulletin last week, our vigil this evening is in response to a request by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to begin our Advent season by praying for all nascent human life. Now, nascent is not a word that we commonly use, so a better word might be “developing”. This vigil tonight is one of prayer for all unborn humans throughout the world.

Of course, it’s appropriate that we would start the Advent season with a pro-life vigil for the unborn. Before Our Lord’s birth over 2000 years ago, He grew and developed in Mary’s womb just as did each of us at the beginning of our lives. An ad campaign currently running in Great Britain shows an ultrasound image of a child with a halo over its head, with text that reads “He’s on His way: Christmas starts with Christ”.

As we begin this Advent season preparing for the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas, it’s important that we remember those children who are awaiting their own births. We also remember and pray for those children who are at risk of being aborted before they ever have the opportunity to celebrate their own births. Similarly, we include in our prayers those embryos that are killed in the name of advancing science through embryonic stem cell research, and remember embryos created for the purpose of In-Vitro Fertilization and later destroyed without being implanted.

All these, from the smallest embryo in the laboratory to the newly-born infant, are just as human and have just as much right to life as we do. Genetically, they are unique individuals and deserve our protection. In the eyes of God, they are made in His image and likeness, and have every right to receive the salvation promised by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sadly, we live in a world where the unborn is at risk. In much of the world, abortion is legal through all nine months of development. In some countries, abortion is used for the purposes of sex selection, where one sex is more desirable than others, or to eliminate those seen as flawed due to a physical or mental defect. Laboratories throughout the world dispose of “fertilized eggs”, meaning embryonic human life, when no longer needed for embryonic stem cell research or In-Vitro Fertilization. Human life is seen as disposable, and the unborn, developing form of human life is the most vulnerable to being disposed when inconvenient.

In response to the dangers to unborn human life, we gather in union with our Holy Father and Catholics throughout the world to pray and stand in solidarity with the unborn, developing humans throughout the world. We pray this evening that human life be defended and protected from the first moment of conception to the last breath of our natural lifespans.