In today’s homily, Fr. David reminds us that the pro-life mission begins not only with defending the unborn, but with defending the truth about the human person. As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith taught in Donum Vitae (1987), “Human life must be absolutely respected and protected from the moment of conception.” This foundational truth reveals why the Church insists that no one may claim the right to directly destroy an innocent human being—for life begins with the creative action of God and belongs entirely to Him.

Yet Fr. David takes us deeper: physical life and death matter, but our spiritual life or death is even more decisive. St. John tells us, “Whoever does not love remains in death” (1 Jn 3:14). Spiritual death is the absence of charity; spiritual life is union with God, who is love (Jn 14:23). St. Faustina writes in Diary 1148 that “we resemble God most when we forgive our neighbors.” Without forgiveness, the heart withers. Without truth, charity collapses.

Through the story of Anne Maria Schmidt, Fr. David shows the terrible cost of hatred and the supernatural power of forgiveness. Her journey—from rage to grace—reveals that only God can heal the heart so deeply that it can forgive even in the face of grave injustice. This is the same grace our nation desperately needs. More than 65 million children have been lost to abortion since 1973. This staggering reality exposes not only a crisis of truth, but a crisis of love.

Scripture teaches, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32). Love divorced from truth becomes sentimentality; truth without love becomes cruelty. But united, they become the path to holiness. Study the faith. Seek the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Pray for our nation. And ask God daily to enkindle in your heart the charity that defends life, forgives enemies, and transforms the world.