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Witnesses to life

If you have had your television set on at all in the past seven days, you have no doubt seen the images of destruction the people of Haiti have suffered after a massive earthquake struck there on Jan. 12. The images are startling. Buildings, homes, schools—basically the entire city of Port-au-Prince is now in ruins. You see the faces of the survivors, searching the rubble for loved ones, turning to the world for hope. And the world has responded.

Catholic Relief Services, which you all had the opportunity to contribute to this past weekend, was already established on the ground in Haiti and began been distributing aid within 12 hours of the disaster. The American Red Cross, teams of search-and-rescue folks from all around the globe, and groups of doctors and nurses from the Netherlands, Israel, America, and other countries are trying to help in any way possible.

This is what it means to be the face of Jesus. No one person can do it all, but many together can do something, and that is what gives hope and a chance not only to survive but also to live better than before. This is the message of the Gospel passage, “When I was hungry, you helped me find food; when I was needy, you gave me your hand.” This is the best of humanity, responding to those in need.

As I prepare to go to Washington later this week to join in the March for Life, I can’t help but make the connection between those in the womb who also need our help, our prayers, and our support. Who speaks in the name of the children? I’ve attended the march for many years now, and I’m always struck by the diversity and the joy of those who go to be witnesses to life.

This past Saturday I was joined by a number of our priests, deacons, religious, and hundreds of the faithful as we stood together in prayer in front of the abortion clinic in Knoxville. We prayed the rosary for the women and men going into the clinic, who feel abortion is the only option in their situation. We prayed for the abortion provider and the staff engaged in this work, who believe they are “helping women.” We prayed for ourselves as we realized the loss of life taking place behind the doors, life that had been given by God but would never have the opportunity to develop. A woman held a sign with an image of an infant and the text, “Take my hand, not my life”—a powerful image of the reality of abortion.

I ask you to please pray for those in Haiti struggling to hold onto hope. Pray for the relief workers traveling from all around the globe to offer their gifts to those in need. Pray for the safety of the almost 300 students, teachers, and lay faithful who will travel to Washington to offer their prayerful, peaceful voice to those children in the womb, who just want the opportunity to be born.

Pray that we will listen to God’s call in our life to be the face of Jesus to all.

BISHOP STIKA’S SCHEDULE
These are some of Bishop Stika’s appointments:

Jan. 24: noon, installation of Father Peter Iorio as pastor, St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church, Cleveland
Jan. 25-26: annual priest retreat, Gatlinburg
Jan. 29: 7 p.m., Mass in celebration of Father Bill Gahagan’s 40th ordination anniversary, St. Mary Church, Oak Ridge
Jan. 30: 10 a.m., diaconal ordination of Dan Alexander, St. Albert the Great Church, Knoxville
Jan. 31: 4 p.m., Mass to celebrate St. Ann Parish’s centennial, Lancing
Feb. 2: 8 a.m., all-school Mass, Sacred Heart Cathedral
Feb. 4: 9:30 a.m., visit with schoolchildren, St. John Neumann School, Farragut; 6 p.m., open house, Notre Dame High School, Chattanooga
Feb. 5: 10 a.m., all-school Mass for all Chattanooga-area Catholic schools, Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Chattanooga; 2 p.m., blessing of Ladies of Charity building, Chattanooga
Feb. 6: 11 a.m., bilingual Celebration of Marriage Mass, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Chattanooga
Feb. 7: 9 a.m., confirmation, Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Chattanooga

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