Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

Is 35:4-7a
Jas 2:1-5
Mk 7:31-37

The readings of today bring us to the heart of two key principles of our Faith that undergird our pro-life commitment to defend the unborn, and all the marginalized.

The first is that of “integral salvation.” The Gospel does not only teach about the “salvation of souls;” rather, it’s about the salvation of the human person, in body and soul, including all human relationships and institutions -- in short, a new heavens and a new earth. Defending human rights, and creating a just social order in which those rights are protected, is therefore at the heart of the Gospel mission. It is not some kind of political “add-in” to that mission. Stopping the dismemberment of children is part of promoting integral salvation. Our Lord reveals the integral salvation he comes to bring through his healing of the deaf (Gospel reading) as was foretold by the prophets (First reading).

The second principle is that of non-discrimination, which the second reading brings into clear light. Today, the legal status of the unborn in America is different from any other group of people, because, as Roe vs. Wade said, “The word person as used in the Fourteenth Amendment does not include the unborn.” It is, essentially, a policy of exclusion and marginalization, and today’s second reading makes it clear that such a stance has no room in a Christian heart or a Christian society.