Young women taking vows to be espoused to the Lord, Jesus Christ, on Fifth Avenue in New York. Pope Leo meeting with young people in Assisi, the birthplace of one famous man named Francis. And back in New York, the assisted suicide law that passed last year is beginning to be implemented — these three events, happening around the same time, recently caught my eye. That last one has Catholic nuns who care for the sick and elderly pleading not to offer their patients medically assisted suicide, due to their religious beliefs.
The vows of sisters Eden Marie, Elena Marie and Maria Annunciata did not exactly go viral. Now and again, nuns do get discovered by mainstream media — just recently, there was a profile of Norbertine nuns in the Tehachapi Mountains of California. They had recently been of virtual interest because they were found out to be praying for moms woken by babies in the middle of the night, people struggling with addiction, and others, as part of their daily lives.
Of course, as with the three Sisters of Life who just took final vows in their community, their love for the sleepless mother and struggling addict brings them closer to God and serves as an example to the rest of us.
The Sisters of Life organize their days around prayer, but they also have a more active service, helping pregnant women and new mothers. The Sisters become part of people's lives, including taking mothers into their convents to live for a time. We may debate — or want people to stop politicizing — abortion. They have the solution: love.
I understand very well why assisted suicide can seem like a good thing. No one wants to see anyone suffering, and we Americans like to do things on our own. We fear the pain and indignity of aging and dying. We don't trust our capacity to give and care — and don't realize our value — for a loved one in her final days.
That's where Pope Leo in Assisi comes in. Addressing young people, the Chicago-born pope said "the whole world" is "looking to you to be new saints. Dare to believe in the word of the Gospel. He urged them: "become fully human with the freedom of Jesus Christ; embrace Sister Poverty!"
Poverty isn't just giving up wealth, which Francis did. It's realizing that we all have weaknesses and the God who created us knows what we need. It's why God doesn't leave us alone. And the nuns won't, either. Even if they have to go to court.
"Saint Francis ... teaches that radicalism of the Gospel ... makes us aware, attentive and always eager to follow Jesus, and therefore humble and welcoming towards everyone. It is not an easy path, but it brings much joy," is how Leo explained it.
My Empire State may be the abortion capital of the world, but it's also overrun with radical love and selfless service. People are praying for us when we think we are most alone.
(Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book "A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living." She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan's pro-life commission in New York and is on the board of the University of Mary. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.)