Lesson 6: A Call to Uphold and Respect the Gift of Human Life

A. Human Life: A Gift, Sacred and a Mystery

1. Human Life is a gift because it is freely given by God.
Human life comes from God. He is the One who created us and sustained our existence through His
Spirit. “For the Spirit of God made me, the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive” (Job 33:4). In our
every breath, we breathe the Spirit of life. we continue to live. When our human race had come to
the point of eternal damnation for choosing evil, He sent His only begotten Son to save us. For God
so loved the world that He gave His Only Son so that everyone who believes in Him might not
perish but might have eternal life” (John 3;16). “He does everything to keep us alive as human
persons whom He loves. He is the Lord and Giver of life, in whom we live and move and have our
being” (Acts 17:28). As Jacob cried out, “You have granted me life and steadfast love; and your care
has preserved my spirit” (Job 10:12). These loving acts of one God for us arose from His own
volition. Thus, this life of ours “is not a private possession, but is created, sustained, and guided
now by the creative, saving will, and love of Almighty God” (CFC 314).

2. Human life is a mystery because life is full of inexhaustible richness and beauty.
Science reveals not only the greatness of the gift of human knowledge and ability but the mystery
of the human body and life in general. There are always new things, discoveries, and inventions.
There is always more to know. In this regard, we have to remain humble before God’s creation and
realize it as His masterpiece. Human life is and will remain a mystery before us. It comes from Him
who is eternal.

3. Human life is sacred because we are created in God’s image and likeness, being sustained
by the Holy Spirit, and redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
Human life is sacred because we are created in His own image and likeness. “God created man in
His own image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27). Our Church expresses that “All human life has its basic
value and dignity, therefore, because we are all created in God’s image and likeness” (CFC 1029). It
“is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of
the living and holy God” (CCC 2319). We mirror the Divine. Our very thought, word, and action
when exercised accordingly, reflect that of our God. St. Bonaventure says that “creation contains
the footprints of God, that which is created mirrors its Maker and because of that, is precious.”
There is nothing about us that doesn’t mirror and come from Him.

Human life is sacred because His Holy Spirit sustains our existence. It is His breathe, Holy Spirit that
keeps us alive. More deeply, we are made as His temple. We are “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1
Corinthians 3:16). We are holy in relation to God Most Holy. “Human life is sacred because from its
beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with
the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the lord of life from its beginning until its end” (CCC
2258).

Human life is sacred because it is redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Jesus saved us from sin
that enslaves and gives death. By His Paschal Mystery, we are given a new life. we are born again. It
is on this purpose that He came – that we “might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
With this, St. John Paul II calls us: “Let us then, all together, renew our esteem for that value of
human life, remembering also that, through Christ, all human life has been redeemed.”
B. The Fifth Commandment
The fifth commandment obliges us to respect life.
The fifth commandment, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) forbids direct attacks on human life and
physical integrity. It does not only command us not to violate human life. It obliges us to “protect
God’s gift of life and promotes practical care and respect for the life and dignity of all persons” (cf.
CHF 1028). God as the source of all good including life (cf. Acts 17:28), did not give the human
beings absolute dominion over their lives, but rather gave them the responsibility of guarding their
own lives and of those around them. (Socias 236)

“Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human
person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God.” (CCC
2319) Human life has sacred and inviolable character, which reflects the inviolability of the Creator
Himself. Precisely for this reason, God will
severely judge every violation of the commandment “you shall not kill,” the commandment which is
at the basis of all life together in society. He is the goal, the defender of the innocent (cf. Gen
4:9-15; Is 41:14; Jer 50:34; Ps 19:14).

The fifth commandment is the basis of the Catholic doctrine concerning the value of life. Killing an
innocent person is a grave sin contrary to the natural law, dignity of the person, and the holiness of
the Creator. The Father commands everyone to respect his own life and the lives of others. This
commandment deals with protecting the most fundamental human right: the right to existence
itself. For that reason, God reminds humanity in the Old Testament that He is the only owner of life
and that, when creating the human person, He gave him the personal right to defend it, and
defense against an unjust aggressor is a grave obligation for the common good. No one can deny
this right, and therefore to attempt to take one’s own life or that of another is especially serious.
(Socias 237)

Jesus fulfilled this command when He directly linked it with His love command. “You have heard the
commandment ‘You shall love your countryman and hate your enemy.’ My command to you is: Love
your enemies, pray for your persecutors. This will prove that you are sons of your Heavenly Father,
for His sun rises on the bad and the good, he rains on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5: 43-45).
Love is the reason why in many instances, we overcome our pride and selfishness and rather think
of what is good for others. With love, we gain the courage and strength to hurt no one. Love and
life are distinct but inseparable. Love motivates us to respect life. Life enables us to love. Thus, the
command of Christ to love one another even our enemies is a command as well to respect life.
(Diaz, 2019)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also enriched it with these words: “You have heard that it was
said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill and whoever kills be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you
that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother
shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you
are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and
offer your gift.” (Mt 5:21-24)
Moreover, the call to respect life includes raising the quality of our everyday living both materially
and spiritually, and that of our relationship with other people. We enjoy in fullness the beauty of
human life by living in this world and with other people in love and peace. (Diaz, 2019)
“The fifth commandment enjoins respect for bodily and spiritual life in ourselves and in our
neighbor. But this can be seen and practiced in a proper way only from the point of view of
charity. Life material and especially spiritual life – is the greatest of all gifts. One of the most
fundamental expressions of the love we have for ourselves is the preservation of life, and
we as Christians, are concerned above all with preserving and gaining secure possession of
eternal life in God, through the proper use of bodily life.” (Sr. Ma. Veritas Grau) (Diaz, 2019)

The fifth commandment obliges us to conserve the existing life.

The greatest personal possession of the natural order is life itself. Life is the necessary condition for
the enjoyment of all blessings, even those that are spiritual. To deprive someone of life is to inflict
upon him the greatest harm of the natural order… a sin that is obviously all the more serious
because it is irreparable. When someone is murdered, he stays murdered; a murderer cannot
restore life.

Only God is the absolute owner of human life, and one must try to live his life to the best of his
abilities according to the design of the Potter and that is God. Therefore, everyone is seriously
obliged to take care of life as a good steward whose life is lending from God. To protect one’s own
life, each person is permitted to defend himself/herself when under attack, even if the
consequence is the unintended death of an unjust aggressor. Self-defense permits only the force
necessary to repel an unjust attacker. Legitimate self-defense is morally acceptable (CCC 2263-67)

C. Threats to Human Life

1. Anger is a strong emotion of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a perceived danger or
assault. When left unrestrained, it may degenerate into quarreling, insults, wrath, and
manslaughter. Jesus strongly condemned anger, when he said: “Whoever Hates his brother
is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).

2. Murder is the unlawful and premeditated killing of a human being, and demands for divine
vengeance. Murderer sought to be eliminated from human society, as God commanded:
“Anyone who sheds the blood of a man, by a man shall that one's blood be shed” (Genesis
9:6).

3. Abortion is the deliberate killing of an unborn child, in whatever way or time from the
moment of conception. In the world over 50 million babies are aborted every year, making
an astonishing 1.3 billion since 1980. Augustine vigorously condemned the practice of
induced abortion. Procreation was one of the goods of marriage; abortion along with
drugs- cause sterility frustrating this good. It lay along a continuum which induced
infanticide as an instance of “lustful cruelty” or “cruel lust” (nupt. Et conc.1.15.17).
Augustine called the use of means to avoid the birth of a child an “evil work”: a reference to
either abortion and contraception (b. conjug.5.5).
4. Euthanasia is the intentional termination of the life of a person deemed to be handicapped,
sick, or dying. However, it is legitimate to discontinue extraordinary life-sustaining
treatments that are over-zealous, burdensome, or disproportionate to the expected
outcome.

5. Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death. Around one million people die
by suicide every year, making it the tenth leading cause of death worldwide. Conscious and
deliberate suicide is a grave sin, because we are not the owners but the stewards of our life.
Augustine considered suicide to be self-murder and a sin, challenging the notion of its
honorable quality in some circumstances (civ. Dei 1.23). Part of the unique seriousness of
this sin lay in its exclusion of the possibility of repentance- through the death of the sinner,
as in the case of Judas, who gave in to despair (civ. Dei 1.17). The sack of Rome raised the
issue of suicide committed to avoid rape. Augustine noted that no one with any human
feelings could refuse to forgive those who killed themselves in this situation; yet he also
insisted that those who killed themselves were guilty of murder. Taking the law into one’s
own hands, even to kill the wicked, was forbidden. How much more would be the killing of
one’s innocent self? (civ. Dei 1.17). Scripture contained no precept and gave no permission
for taking one’s own life, either for the sake of enjoying immortality sooner or of avoiding
evil in this life (civ. Dei 1.20). For Augustine, the example of Cato, who committed suicide
rather than live under Caesar, was outweighed by Job, who endured suffering rather than
take his own life (civ. Dei 1.24). The bodily defilement involved in rape could not cause sin;
even if it could, the sin of suicide was far more serious (civ. Dei 1.25; 1.27).

6. SUBSTANCE ABUSE (Pirlo, 2016)

Substance abuse is the addictive consumption of any stuff harmful to the individual and
society, such as alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.
a) Alcohol. Medicine tells us that a small amount of alcohol is needed by our
bodies. However, when drinking liquor containing alcohol is abused, this
becomes sinful and dangerous. Some of its effects are: 1) weakening of the
reasoning power and self-control, 2) boisterous and aggressive behavior, 3) loss
of coordination and sense of perception, 4) violent emotional behavior, and 5)
complete unconsciousness. Some of the crimes happen either because the
criminal or the victim is drunk. (Diaz, 2019). Alcohol addiction causes
cardiovascular diseases and liver cirrhosis, and brings about family violence and
road accidents (Pirlo, 2016).
b) Tobacco. “Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health." We can find this
reminder on every pack of cigarettes. Yet, many are still smoking. We know that
smoking causes lung cancer, vascular diseases, and heart attacks, causing
millions of deaths a year. Some reasons that we can guard ourselves so that we
do not get caught into its menace are: 1) peer pressure, 2) false sense of
belongingness, 3) macho image, 4) trend, 5) association with people from the
upper class, and 6) curiosity. These are illusions that temporarily make us feel
good but slowly weaken our health. (Diaz, 2019)
 c) Illicit drugs. The addiction to forbidden drugs is extremely dangerous for health
and destructive for society. (Pirlo, 2016) Their ordinary victims are youths who
are adventurous and desirous for new experience. And their clients are people
who want to temporarily escape from pains and sufferings. Our Church reminds
us that the use of drugs “inflicts very grave damage on human health and life.
Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is grave offense” (CCC 2291)

7. We must avoid all occasions that might endanger our physical and spiritual health.
a) LETHARGY: It is the refusal to perform physical activity, which causes health
deterioration, spiritual laziness, and social apathy.
b) GLUTTONY: It is the excessive consumption of food, which brings about obesity,
sickness and early death.
c) RECKLESSNESS: It is the practice of dangerous or illegal activities that expose
human life to mortal danger without a serious reason.

8. Organ Transplant: The transplant of organs is morally acceptable if the organs are legally
taken from dead bodies, or from living donors with their explicit consent. The growing
demand for organs has triggered a criminal black market where millions of poor people are
forced to sell their organs to rich recipients, while others are intentionally killed to extract
their body parts.

Let’s Remember This!