From staff reports
Hundreds of north Texans gathered in Dallas on Jan. 17 for the Catholic Pro-Life Community’s annual North Texas Youth Rally and Bilingual Pro-Life Mass.
The day began with an 8:30 a.m. youth rally in the Grand Salon of the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, open to students in grades six through 12 and their youth ministers. Rachel Bush, a project administrator with the Catholic Pro-Life Community, addressed attendees on youth involvement in building a culture of life, organizers said.
Following the youth rally, Bishop Edward J. Burns celebrated the Bilingual Pro-Life Mass in the cathedral sanctuary, reminding the faithful that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death and urging them to build a culture of life grounded in justice, peace, and steadfast trust in God.
The bishop called Catholics to reject fear and despair, defend life with love and holiness, and remain committed to supporting the vulnerable, protecting the unborn and fostering compassion, mercy, and healing in a divided culture.
The following is the text of Bishop Burns’ homily for the Mass:
“We gather today in this sacred place, under the loving gaze of Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of the living, to pray, to worship, and to proclaim the truth that every human life is sacred — from the first moment of conception until natural death. We come as a people who believe that life is not a possession to be granted by the powerful, but a gift entrusted by God. We come as a Church called not only to defend life but to love life — to welcome it, protect it, accompany it, and cherish it.
And we come today with urgency, because the culture around us often speaks a different language. It speaks of ‘choice’ while forgetting the child. It speaks of ‘rights’ while refusing the right to be born. It speaks of ‘freedom’ while denying the most fundamental freedom of all: the freedom to live.
But here, at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we choose to speak the language of the Gospel: the Gospel of Life.
In our first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear a stunning promise:
A day will come when the Spirit will be poured upon us, and the wasteland will become fertile, and the fertile field will be like a forest. And then Isaiah says something that should be written on every heart:
‘The work of justice will be peace, and the effect of justice, calm and security forever.’
This is not sentimental poetry. This is a spiritual law. Isaiah is telling us that when a people become truly just — when we protect the vulnerable, defend the weak, and honor the dignity of every person — peace follows.
The culture of death is always a culture of fear, but the culture of life is a culture of peace —because it is built on the truth that every life matters.
In the second reading, St. Paul speaks straight to our age:
‘Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.’
Today, many people feel overwhelmed. They see confusion in public life. They see harshness in debate. They see a growing contempt for the unborn, and even an impatience with the elderly and the disabled. They see institutions that should protect the weak instead rationalize their destruction. And so, St. Paul speaks to us: Do not be paralyzed by anxiety. Do not surrender to despair. Do not retreat into silence.
Instead: Pray. Stay steady. Keep your heart clean. And then he says:
‘Whatever is true … whatever is noble … whatever is just … whatever is pure … think about these things … and the God of peace will be with you.’
Brothers and sisters: This is our calling. We must become a people formed by what is true, not what is trending; a people anchored in what is just, not what is convenient; a people committed to what is pure, not what is popular.
And what is more true than this: A child in the womb is a human life. Not potential life. Not a ‘maybe.’ Not a clump of cells. A child is already someone, not something.
Then we hear our Lord himself in the Gospel — words that challenge every generation:
‘You have heard it said … “An eye for an eye …” But I say to you … offer no resistance to one who is evil … Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you … Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
Jesus does not ask us merely to defend life with arguments —though truth matters. He asks us to defend life with holiness.
Because a culture of life will not be built by anger. It will be built by love that is strong enough to suffer.
We are called to love those who disagree with us. We are called to pray for those who mock us or give us obscene gestures. We are called to speak the truth without hatred. We are called to protect the unborn without condemning their mothers. We are called to uphold justice without losing mercy.
This is not weakness. This is the strength of Christ.
Today, we remember the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who confronted the world with a truth many didn’t want to hear. She said, in essence:
It is a shame that someone has to die in order for you to live as you want.
That sentence is like a lightning strike. It exposes what abortion really is. It is not a private matter. It is not ‘healthcare.’ It is not compassion.
It is the ending of a human life — so that someone else can have life on their own terms. It is here that the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta pierce the heart. She warned our world that it is a tragedy when a society reaches the point where someone must die so that another can live as they want. That is the great sorrow of abortion. And if our society can silence the beating heart of a child, then we should not be surprised when the same society grows indifferent to the poor, impatient with the disabled, and cold toward the elderly.
Because when you remove the value of life at its beginning, you weaken respect for life everywhere else.
My brothers and sisters: We cannot pretend the work is finished.
Yes, we pray. Yes, we march. Yes, we speak. Yes, we vote with conscience. Yes, we support pregnancy centers, adoption, foster care, mothers in need, and families under pressure.
But we must do more.
Because a culture of life is not only built in courts or laws. It is built in parishes, in homes, in friendships, and in how we treat the inconvenient, the unexpected, the fragile.
A culture of life means:
- No woman should ever feel she must choose abortion because she is abandoned or afraid.
- No man should ever be permitted to walk away from responsibility.
- No family should face a crisis pregnancy without support.
- No child should be reduced to a problem.
- No elderly person should be treated like a burden.
- No suffering person should be made to feel unwanted.
And if we are honest, we still have work to do here — in our compassion, our availability, our generosity, and our courage.
Today, I speak also to those carrying hidden grief. To mothers and fathers who regret abortion. To grandparents who mourn quietly. To doctors, nurses, and clinic workers who participated and now feel sorrow.
Hear this clearly: The mercy of Jesus Christ is greater than any sin. There is healing. There is hope. There is forgiveness. There is a future.
The Church is not here to condemn you. The Church is here to bring you to the heart of Jesus, where wounds become places of grace.
And we pray too for conversion — for those who sincerely believe that the right to life is contrary to civil rights.
We must answer with calm conviction: The first civil right is the right to live.
We hold these truths not because they are political, but because they are human — and because they are from God: that we are endowed by our Creator with rights that no government can give and no government can take away — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But liberty cannot survive without life; and happiness cannot be built on the grave of the innocent.
So, today I ask you: Do not grow tired. Do not become numb. Do not accept the lie that abortion is normal, necessary, or compassionate.
Instead:
- Protect the child in the womb.
- Support the mother in crisis.
- Welcome the unexpected life.
- Care for the sick and the elderly.
- Stand with families.
- Speak the truth with love.
- Offer forgiveness and healing to those wounded by abortion.
- Pray and fast for conversion of hearts.
- And build, patiently and courageously, a culture where every human life is cherished.
Because in the end, we will be judged not by our slogans but by our love. And the most defenseless among us — the unborn child — depends on our courage.
May Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of the living, intercede for us. May the Spirit promised by Isaiah be poured upon us. May the peace described by St. Paul guard our hearts. And may the Lord Jesus Christ make us perfect in love — so that we may become, in our time, builders of a civilization, and we may become truly civilized by truth and love.
Amen.”
