PEACE FOR THE WORLD Mater Dei President Michael Brennan and sophomore Alexa Giries light the peace candle at the beginning of the Respect Life Mass, praying for an end to all life-threatening violence. On Tuesday, Oct. 17 Mater Dei held an all school Mass to honor Respect Life Month. The Monarch community had the opportunity to pray together for peace and the preservation of all life. “Respect Life Month is a period of time where you can really dedicate [yourself] to prayer, praying for life and working towards improving life for all people,” sophomore Evan Nguyen said. Photo courtesy of Katherine Ruiz.

During the month of October, Respect Life Month is celebrated, honoring one of the most important tenets of the Catholic faith worldwide: right to life. Catholics are called to defend life at all stages, from conception to natural death. Respect Life Month focuses on advocating life for all people and provides an opportunity for Catholics to come together and support Respect Life Month by praying rosaries and Novenas for an end to anything terminating life before natural death such as abortion, euthanasia, physically assisted suicide, and the death penalty. The first Sunday of October is specially dedicated to the cause as Respect Life Sunday and is primarily celebrated during Sunday Mass.

Mater Dei promotes Respect Life Month in a variety of ways. Director of Christian Service and Outreach Maurissa Talarico ‘93 explains how Campus Ministry offers service opportunities and outreaches that help those in need, with the goal of preserving life in all of its forms.

“We promote Respect Life Month through outreach and Christian service,” Talarico said. “When we stop and look at the needs in the world around us and [ask] how we can help, we’re promoting respect life month.”

Sophomores Evan Nguyen and Joseph Woore lead the Pro-Life Club on campus with the goal of spreading awareness of the right to life.

Nguyen explains why he decided to lead the Pro-Life Club, and its purpose.

“I think the main [reason why] was because it’s something that I really believe in,” Nguyen said. “I heard that there was an opportunity for me to have that position [as president of the Pro-Life Club]. It was a really special kind of opportunity. It felt like a calling. It was an opportunity for me to be able to express what I believe as a Catholic and share and evangelize that with more people here at Mater Dei and help them grow.”

As a part of the club, Nguyen says that they will offer service opportunities to support the right to life such as the Walk for Life, which raises money for Pro-Life causes. The Pro-Life Club also intends to host prayer opportunities to promote the right to life.

“We support in one way by doing the walk for life, which is a really big way to support people because the more people that come out, it shows that we have a bigger voice,” Nguyen said. “We also do a lot of prayer and rosaries and we do fundraisers and service hour opportunities.

Nguyen shares what Respect Life Month personally means to him.

“Respecting life is honestly beyond abortion and all that: it’s respecting life. It’s taking care of yourself, and not just between life or death. It’s in all the little things you do, keeping yourself healthy and both mentally, physically, and even emotionally. It’s being able to be positive and just a good person,” Nguyen said.

After hearing about the Pro-Life Club from Nguyen, Woore was inspired to spread awareness for the right to life and focus on the beauty of everyday life.

“To me, it’s a month to reflect on how important and how beautiful everything is,” Woore said.

By leading the Pro-Life Club alongside his friend, Woore is able to express his beliefs on why everyone should have the right to life.

“I believe that all life should be valued,” Woore said. “All life is precious. It should be respected and not put to a stop or ceased in any way, from conception all the way to natural death. We want everyone to live as long as they possibly can, and as good of a life as they can because life is a gift given to us by God.”

Junior Milan Games is influenced by her Catholic upbringing and emphasizes the importance of respecting life.

“I think it’s important because we are born with basic human rights to live,” Games said. “I’m Catholic, [and we] believe that all humans should have the right to life. It’s not ours to take away.”

The celebration of Respect Life Month at Mater Dei culminates with their own Respect Life Month Mass. This year it was held on Wednesday, October 16. Executive Director of Campus Ministry Helen Steves explains how this year’s Respect Life Mass is carried out and its significance to our Catholic faith.

“In our preparation with the Respect Life Club, we look at this celebration of all life, from the unborn, to the young ones, to those who are in need of healing to those who are elderly, and we celebrate that fullness of life, hopefully our Eucharistic celebration,” Steves said. “Our Mass that reminds us of the preciousness of life will be an opportunity for each and every one of us to look at life with clear eyes, with new eyes and be a little bit more loving, more respectful, and realize that the gift of life that we do have from a God who has created each and every one of us in God’s image.”

Religious Studies Teacher Anthony Bravo explains how Mass is one of the most important ways for celebrating Respect Life Month.

“Through the Mass, we are coming together as a community to enter into prayer and to offer prayer for life, especially for the vulnerable and for all those who may be struggling and in their own personal life, [and] even for those who may not fully understand what it means to care for human life,” Bravo said. “This is a good opportunity to be able to listen to what the Church teaches on caring for all human beings and to make sure that we as Catholics are being Christ-like to those we have encountered. The Mass is the best place where we can come together, to honor God, to pray for life, and to acknowledge it through prayer and through the homily and through the Scriptures.”

Bravo expresses his hope that the world will come to pray for the preservation of life and that people will recognize and defend its importance worldwide.

“I truly pray and hope that we as a community as human beings can truly understand the sanctity of life and that life is a precious gift given to God,” Bravo said. “Through our laws and through our culture, [I hope that] society can also recognize, remember, and find the truth that life begins at the moment of conception, and life continues to live until the moment of the last breath, throughout every single moment. Life should be upheld, respected and taken care of. And we as human beings [should be] able to defend and protect those who are in need, at all stages.”