45.1 F
Denver
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeArchbishop AquilaLet us know the truth and adhere to it

Let us know the truth and adhere to it

Two weeks ago, hundreds of thousands of Americans converged in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life. The march is an opportunity to witness to the right to life and to pray for an end to abortion. Many attendees were Catholic, and of them, most were young people.

If you didn’t go to Washington, D.C., you may not know much about the March for Life. Cable news networks barely mentioned it in their coverage. National newspapers, including the New York Times ran short, poorly researched stories. Though reliable estimates put the crowd at more than 650,000 people, some media outlets reported “tens of thousands” had arrived in Washington. Many in the media do not want to promote the largest annual protest against the culture of death industry and the peaceful youth who endorse a culture of life.

I saw the march for myself and so I know the crowd was large, youthful and incredibly positive.  Many from our own archdiocese attended. The day was an unforgettable celebration of life that will make a difference for our nation. But with only the secular media’s reports, the march would seem to be a small, angry protest of hateful people “behind the times.”

Last week, the Holy Father reminded Christians that “faith is knowing the truth and adhering to it.”  But without seeing it for yourself, it can be very difficult to know what is true these days. To know the truth and adhere to it, we need reliable teachers and witnesses, those who can truthfully convey the state of our world and our role in it.

We cannot live a life of faith without reliable teachers to point us to truth.

Next Monday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in Bonfils Hall of the John Paul II Center, the Archdiocese of Denver will welcome Mary Eberstadt to lecture on the “Myths of the Sexual Revolution.” Eberstadt is a researcher at Stanford University and a successful journalist and author. Her book “Adam and Eve after the Pill,” conveys compellingly and clearly the danger contraception poses to each one of us, to our community and to our world. I pray that all of you will be present to hear Eberstadt speak.

Next month, on March 1 and 2, the archdiocese will hold its annual Living the Catholic Faith Conference. The conference features speakers from across the country who will speak the truth about our Church, our families and our role as Christians in the public square. The Living the Catholic Faith Conference is for everyone—it is an opportunity to spend time in prayer and fellowship, and to be formed in truth. If you have never attended the conference before, I encourage you to register and attend in this Year of Faith.

- Advertisement -

When Jesus went before Pilate at the end of his life, Pilate famously asked “What is truth?” Pilate could not recognize truth, could not understand it and so he could not receive Jesus Christ, standing before him. All of us are asked, like Pilate, to decide what role Christ will play in our lives. I pray we will know who the truth is—it is the Person, Jesus Christ—and that we will come into personal relationship with him, for he is the truth who will set us free.

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
The Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila is the eighth bishop of Denver and its fifth archbishop. His episcopal motto is, "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2:5).
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular