McGrath Institute Blog

The fine art of conversation, used as an instrument to share hope and advance the common good, has taken a beating. Many Catholics feel inhibited in their discipleship, fearing their beliefs and values aren’t welcome in discussions of crucial public issues. They don’t want to be called “haters.”

Freedom, human flourishing and our eternal destiny are at stake if our faith is set on “mute” much of the day.

Setting aside the missteps in virtue one often finds in sit-com scripts, the show “The Good Place” offers worthy insights about good and evil from a quirky perspective of the afterlife.

In the recent episode “Book of Dougs,” the character played by Ted Danson examines heaven’s files on two deceased “Dougs.” It turns out one Doug, who lived recently, forfeited a lot of scorecard points that could have counted toward his happy destiny. He had unintentionally contributed to environmental damage and exploitative behaviors, among other things. Danson concludes, “Every day, the world gets a little more complicated, and being a good person gets a little harder.”

Every year, Catholics in the United States commit to pray for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on January 22, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in the Supreme Court. “In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.”¹

[We] bow together in grief before the shameful murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a unique apostle of the non-violent drive for justice.¹

Today we echo the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish leaders who together honored Rev. King after his death in 1968, exhorting Americans to take up his mantle as “apostles of justice.” But especially given today’s tense political climate, we should also remember his refusal to sever justice from love. If King was an “apostle of justice,” it’s because he was all the more an “apostle of love.”

In this week leading up to the March for Life, our focus understandably turns to the topic of abortion. However, living a consistent ethic of life and building a pro-life household goes beyond the ramifications of the Roe v. Wade decision.

Below are some of the ways my husband and I have tried to live and hand on a consistent ethic of life to our children.