Life in Abundance

In the Diagnosis of the Times column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, a scholar of life issues headlines her thoughts with the phrase from the first epistle of John 1:4. We are writing this to you to make our joy complete.

There is a saying: "A habit that begins at the age of  three lasts until eighty." We also call habit our second nature. However, having a habit often has a negative connotation. Maybe it's because once you get into a bad habit, it's hard to break. But what about good habits? Good lifestyle habits such as "Getting up early in the morning" and "Being orderly" help to manage one's life well. However, habits are not necessarily formed only in aspects of daily life. 

This is a story she recently heard through a priest. During the conversation, the priest and a woman he knew well said: "I eliminated my child" in a very casual tone. The priest probably had a moment of embarrassment and regret hearing these words from a person who had lost the sense of guilt as the culture of death permeates society. Before one acts, or says anything, the hesitancy one would ordinarily expect, in this case, was missing.

We live in a society where we have thrown away the necessary time for reflection before we act or speak. When did this become part of the society in which we live? We need to "stop for a moment" and ask whether the action is reasonable. 

 

She is speaking of those who are members of the church. The reflection, the "pause", cannot be cultivated immediately, so she thought about what was needed to bring this about. This is because, like "waking up early", reflection must become a habit of the mind. So, let this habit of the mind become established as our second nature, and while practicing it naturally, not indiscriminately rid ourselves of the pangs of guilt that may arise.

Good habits are not mere mechanical actions. They are to be learned by the body and mind and be naturally absorbed, while at the same time allowing us to experience joy. It speaks of a higher level of joy and fullness. Savoring this fullness is no exception in bioethics. The fullness that comes from choosing life, certainly exists, and it will lead us to a fullness that is perhaps greater than anything else. 

Pope Saint John Paul II, in his encyclical "The Gospel of Life," describes human life as "fullness". Thus, the choice towards life, the choice for life "means an opening to the fullness of life" (#22). This life does not refer only to unborn life but to human life that no one without exception can measure. 

 

"Man is called to a fullness of life that goes far beyond his temporal existence. For the fullness of life is the sharing of the life of God. The sublime of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and immeasurable value of human life even in its temporal aspects."

"The unconditional choice for life reaches its full religious and moral meaning when it flows from, is formed by, and nourished by faith in Christ. Nothing helps us so much to face positively the conflict between death and life in which we are engaged as faith in the Son of God who became man and dwelt among men so that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Gospel of Life #28).