There is nothing on earth more precious than a child. No amount of wealth, money, gold bars, fast cars, or mansions, or lands can ever equal the value of a human soul. Always go back to the foundational scripture verse that undergirds our view of human rights in Western Civilization: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Cf. Genesis 1:27). From this first principle, we were taught that every human person has intrinsic dignity and worth and must be fiercely guarded. If you’ve ever wondered why the Catholic Church vehemently trumpets the cause of the Pro-Life Movement and fight against assisted suicide, or as the poignant saying goes, “From conception to natural death” is because of the Book of Genesis. The Church will always fight for the unborn and the vulnerable. It cannot do otherwise, if we want to stay faithful to the words of Jesus Christ. 

In today’s Gospel, our Lord is strikingly clear. He says “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Cf. Mark 9:42). He uses an image of horrible death to convey the care that must be shown towards life, especially weak life. Children, the elderly, and the sickly are especially vulnerable. They need others to care for them. For us who are strong, we are called to defend them, not exploit. For us with wealth and influence, we are entrusted with their well being and not be silent. The Christian disciple, at their most noble, is a ferocious warrior for life. 

That is why the Catholic Church has a proud legacy of being the largest charitable organization that has ever existed. We run over 18,000 clinics, 16,000 homes for the elderly, 5,500 hospitals (65% of these are in Third World countries). According to the Pontifical Academy of the Pastoral Care of Healthcare Workers, which tracks these statistics, the Catholic Church runs over 26% of the world's healthcare facilities. In education, “the Church runs 74,368 kindergartens worldwide attended by 7,565,095 pupils; 100,939 primary schools for 34,699,835 pupils; 49,868 secondary schools for 19,485,023 pupils. In addition, it follows 2,483,406 high school pupils and 3,925,325 university students” (Agenzia Fides).

I share these statistics to show the great and often, underreported work that our fellow Catholic brothers and sisters are doing on any given day throughout the world. So oftentimes, we only tend to pay attention to the bad news, which is always one too many. Nonetheless, the work of Jesus Christ continues and will never stop until the day he returns in the Second Coming. Until then, the next time you look at innocent life, remember whose “image and likeness” they are created in.