by ROWENA OREJANA
Human Life International president Fr Shenan Boquet has called on Catholics in New Zealand to learn the language of life in order to build a culture of life.
Fr Shenan Boquet
Fr Boquet, who was a guest of Family Life International, preached the culture of life at the Eucharistic Convention in Auckland on April 11. He also brought this message to Napier, Wanganui and Wellington during his two-week visit to the country.
“In order to change the culture, we have to learn a language, and it has to be a language that is anchored not in our verbiage but in the verbiage of God,” he said.
Fr Boquet said the language of the world is in stark contrast with the language of life and love.
“When the rich man asked Jesus what else he could do to go to heaven, Jesus said there is one thing left, leave everything and come follow me. He walked away saddened. The language
Jesus was speaking didn’t match up to his own,” Fr Boquet explained.
He said what was true in Jesus time is still true today.
“People aren’t hearing the language, a language that is transforming, a language that calls us out of our selfishness. Deny yourselves, Jesus said. Pick up your cross, he said. Come follow me, he said. But people are finding his teaching too difficult,” said Fr Boquet.
“How many times in this world do we hear, happiness is found in material things? Happiness is found in the pleasures of life? Happiness is found in power?,” he asked.
Because of selfishness, he said, the culture of death has become entrenched in society.
“If I find myself with child, I can get rid of that child. If my parents are elderly,
I don’t want to be burdened. This is the culture of death,” he said.
“People are living purely for what their senses reveal. (They have) No ability to deny themselves.”
He said people have become afraid of building their own family. The message of the world is for families to have only two children. The irony is that a lot of people are replacing children with dogs, he pointed out.
“But when we take God out of the equation, when we focus on ourselves, what happens? Usually,
nothing good,” he said.
Fr Boquet said as the people of God, we have the responsibility to speak the language of life and live counter-culturally. “We cannot point to others or say it’s someone else’s job,” he said.
He said Easter is the best message that Christians need to spread. “We are a people of life. We should not be a people of despair. He is risen,” Fr Boquet said.
“We have been entrusted with the language that did not come from us but from God,” he added. He said this language should be manifested in the way we live our lives.
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