DYER, Ind. – More than 600 Catholic school students from across Northwest Indiana gathered at Franciscan Health Dyer last week for the 33rd annual Respect Life Celebration.
The event, co-hosted by Franciscan Health and the Diocese of Gary during Respect Life Month, aims to celebrate life at all stages with the goal of drawing attention to the lives lost to abortion. The theme for this year’s Respect Life Month is “Mary, Mother of Life.”
The Most Rev. Bishop Robert J. McClory of the Diocese of Gary presided over the service. Bishop McClory used the analogy of pumpkin farming and tending to crops from seed to harvest to illustrate respect for human life in his message to the students.
“We as Catholics, we as Christians, want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to promote, respect and help all human life to thrive throughout that whole spectrum from birth to old age and everything in between,” Bishop McClory said.
Katherine Lukas, a member of St. Matthias Parish in Crown Point, spoke to the students while holding her 5-month-old son and sharing stories of a mission trip where she spent time with mothers living in a shelter in Mexico.
“I do not speak Spanish and all I could do was ask them their name,” she said. “Just asking a woman their name, showing that they are known and called by name, was important. Then I would just sit there and hold their hand and smile and be with them because they were lonely, abandoned, afraid and they had no one to take care of them.”
Lukas encouraged the students to share God’s love with those around them as a way to show respect for life.
“There are so many people who are lonely,” she said, “Maybe it’s a friend, maybe it’s someone sitting at lunch all alone. Sit with them, ask them their name. Spend time with them. We really need to be able to see Jesus in everyone. That’s what it means to respect life. It may be easy to see Jesus in this baby here, his smile just lights up the room, but your smile can light up the room to someone who feels lonely and might need that.”
Sean Leahy, chief operating officer for Franciscan Health Dyer and Munster, spoke of St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures and humans.
“He believed in the inherent dignity of every person and his life, prayers and actions consistently reflected that belief, so it is fitting you are here on the grounds of a hospital named after this great saint showing your support to respect life,” Leahy said. “…Respect for life doesn’t just exist here in October. It’s a lifestyle and a choice you must make every day to show others God’s love.”
As part of the event, students in attendance placed crosses on the lawn of the hospital at 24 Joliet St., just east of the Indiana/Illinois border on U.S. 30 in Dyer, to represent lives lost to abortion.
Bishop McClory said respect for life extends far beyond conception and includes caring for pregnant women, mothers, fathers and children.
He referenced Catholic Charities, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Mommies Haven Maternity Boxes, women’s care centers, the Gabriel Project, Sojourner Truth House, Rachel’s Vinyard, the Franciscan Prenatal Assistance Program, Diaper Pantries, Safe Haven baby boxes and others.
More information on the Franciscan programs is available by calling 1-877-PRE-NATL (1-877-773-6285). More information on Building a Culture of Life is available on the diocesan website at https://dcgary.org/culture-of-life.
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