By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Mass for the 38th Annual Culture of Life State Conference held at Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy High School. Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.
Thank you all for being here. The 38th Culture of Life Conference sponsored by the bishops of Florida. Florida is a big State – today the third largest in the United States and so it is an important State. And what we do as the Church in this State to advance a Culture of Life is also important.
Following Jesus is not for wimps. We might think – like the apostles did – that our faith is too small. But Jesus assures that even faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot a mulberry bush – a bush with an extensive root system.
What might seem impossible becomes possible even with mustard seed size faith.
But it is hard not to be discouraged. Last year we won on Amendment 4 – but only because our opponents did not reach the required 60% or the vote. And though as the US bishops state “the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority” building a culture of life in which life and dignity of every human person is honored and protected in society has engaged on other life issues including migration, euthanasia, IVF technologies, capital punishment, etc.
And in a polarized and divisive society, we find no safe harbor: those on the right will applaud us on some issues and jeer us for our stance on other issues; the same is true for those of the left.
Like I said it can be discouraging. We might be tempted to cry out like the prophet Habakkuk in today’s first reading. “How long, O Lord? I cry out for help, but you do not listen...” Many of us can own these words as well, for our faith too can be shaken. In the reading, God answers Habakkuk:
“For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late...”
God will probably answer us also; but not necessarily on this side of eternity. But God assures Habakkuk, “...the just one, because of his faith, shall live.” But, as we wait for God to answer us, we need the patience of Job, even as we say as the apostles said to Jesus: “Lord, increase our faith.”
I often remind people that Catholic social teachings – that body of thought that advances a Culture of Life – can be summarize in one small sentence: No man is a problem. No human being is a problem. The culture of death has a reductive understanding of the human person and reduces people or classes of people to being just problems. Such reductive thinking offends the dignity of man created in the image and likeness of God. Catholic social teaching wants to proclaim the full truth about man and refuses to reduce any man, woman, or child to being just a problem. Therefore, there is no such thing as a problem pregnancy, only a child that should welcome in life and protected by law. The elderly should not be seen as problems to be warehoused and forgotten in nursing homes. If you see them as burdens or problems, it is easy to justify their killing, although we might try to hide what we are doing with euphemisms like Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). Immigration might be a problem, but the immigrant is not: he or she is a brother or sister. Even the criminal does not forfeit his God given dignity despite the horror of his crime. And so, we argue that a culture of life can be served best when we don’t think we can show that killing is wrong by killing.
In the Creed, we profess our faith in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Church is holy – not necessarily because all of us are holy – let’s just say that we are works in progress. The Church is holy because of the Spirit which has been given to us and has made us Sons and Daughters of God and brothers and sisters of Christ.
The Church exists for one reason: to preach the Gospel and call sinners to friendship in Jesus Christ.
If hope was based only on our strength, our own abilities, it wouldn’t be hope – it would be presumption. Our hope does not come from our wits or our own resources. The faith that strengthens us is not a belief in an ideology, a philosophy or an idea but belief in a person, Jesus Christ who is alive. He is our hope, “the Rock of our Salvation.”
And while we make our pilgrimage through this vale of tears, a world that might seem like a barren, arid dessert, we find in the Church an oasis where people can come and drink from the living waters of God’s grace and equip them, in the words of St. Paul in today’s second reading, “to bear our share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.”
