Terri's Day challenges the nation to unify

Terri's Day — A Celebration of the Culture of Life honoring Terri Schiavo with a day of remembrance challenges each and every one of us to stop for a moment and ask ourselves a question, do we respect ourselves, our families, our lives?

And if we are faced with the question of the possible certainty of death, does anyone truly know, or even have the faintest clue about, our wishes? That is the greatest good, the greatest legacy that Terri Schiavo's death and an annual "Terri's Day" can bring to our lives and to the celebration of the Culture of Life.

On March 18th, we as a nation will begin to grieve again, to reach into our hearts and feel with our collective national spirit what the Schindler family felt last year at this time as each moment since Terri was disconnected from the feeding lifeline, the moments crept by like hours and hours like days.

All of us have felt in some way that pain — even if it were only in the privacy of our loved one's home, hospital room, hospice or perhaps talking with an attorney and doctor attempting to make sense out of some fleeting comments made in a conversation perhaps voiced ten, twelve or even two decades earlier — not necessarily an expression of her true feeling about an end-of-life decision but merely an incidental musing in a long-forgotten side conversation.

For at least one million Americans, and quite possibly a whole lot more, this is an opportunity to voice an opinion through a pledge supporting a resolution in each state called "Terri's Day — A Celebration of the Culture of Life." Each and every person who cares that your family, your spouse, your mother, your father, your sister or brother understands with clarity what you wish the end of life for you to be, with dignity and certainty should sign the online pledge at www.kevinfobbs.com and take the additional step to sign a Living Will — or as they call it at www.terrisfight.org, the Will to Live.

Some have asked why Americans should care about an annual Terri's Day. It is quite simple, we tend to keep turning the page on the Culture of Life because we feel it does not affect us. We tend to believe that seemingly universal belief that those who are handicapped, those who are not quite living a "perfect" life or by contemporary notion "ideal" then those lives are possibly disposable, marginal, not relevant, and part of the Culture of Death which embraces a "disposable society."

But life and our values for the Culture of Life are not disposable. Think about the young people today who would rather hurt themselves or even take their own lives rather than feel "imperfect" or the elderly person whose family is told by an insensitive health care professional while the stricken person struggles to cling to life, "she would be better off in another place," — just let her die, disconnect her from life, because her quality of life is not up to "contemporary standards. "

Why does celebrating the Culture of Life in Michigan become so essential for all of us in America? It is important for several reasons. Dr. Jack Kervorkian, also known as "Doctor Death" helped launch first in Michigan and then the nation the notion of the death culture. Secondly, and equally as important, at the May 12 event — just two days before Mother's Day — there will also be a "Mary's Moms" celebration of those women and mothers who have met challenges in standing up for some aspect of the Culture of Life.

This past weekend I sat at my cousin's funeral — or going home celebration, which more accurately describes it — thinking about the dearly departed and how she packed so much caring for others into her life even as she struggled with illness and advancing age. She was a wonderful woman who had lived through many, many challenges in her life, but in her 73 years she had met these challenges with dignity and had conveyed to her family when would be the right time to allow her to pass away.

Her daughter, who is a minister, spoke to the packed church about the times when, with all of her pain and then a stroke, the doctors had informed them that perhaps it was better to let her go. Yet that was three years ago that that occurred, and if the family had listened to the doctors and refused to see how she fought back and not only recovered but went back to volunteering at the church to feed and clothe the homeless. The medical professionals didn't care about an elderly lady who was on dialysis, but the family did and they knew better. Patricia lived three more years — years her extensive extended family considered "a gift from God."

So isn't part of the lesson of Terri's legacy and Terri's Day for families and loved ones to have a meaningful conversation with their family and to have the written document on hand as well that conveys the wishes clearly and concisely? You betcha.

As I sat in the church I thought of all of the families across the nation and the world who were sitting at their loved one's bedsides — or even standing outside of a hospital emergency room — overwhelmed with emotion, torn by what may be days of conflicting anguished decisions. I thought again of how out of death we may have the certainty of life. Terri's death reminded the nation that yes a state can and will starve you to death, and your family may be rendered helpless as you watch your loved one's precious life forces drain slowly away.

By signing the online pledge at www.kevinfobbs.com or going to www.terrisfight.org, you can learn about how to encourage your state legislature to establish March 31st as an official Terri's Day. Hold a Culture of Life Home Party or meet-and-greet to sign pledges, share ideas and support The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation as well as Culture of Life activities and events in your community or around the nation. Between now and March 31st you can make a dramatic difference for yourself, your family and for the nation. Stand up for the Culture of Life because one person, one life, one family can and does make a difference in America. Make the difference and be the difference today. America...The countdown for the Culture of Life has begun.

Kevin Fobbs is President of National Urban Policy Action Council (NuPac), a non-partisan civic and citizen-action organization that focuses on taking the politics out of policy to secure urban America's future one neighborhood, one city, and one person at a time. View NuPac on the web at www.nupac.info. Kevin Fobbs is a regular contributing columnist for the Detroit News. He is also the daily host of The Kevin Fobbs Show on News Talk WDTK - 1400 AM in Detroit. Listen to The Kevin Fobbs Show online at www.wdtkam.com daily 2-3 p.m., and call in toll-free nationwide to make your opinion count at 800-923-WDTK(9385) © Copyright 2006 by Kevin Fobbs http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/fobbs/060313

The following text is a copy of the homily (sermon) that Fr. Fr. Tom Euteneur gave at the memorial Mass for Terri Friday evening.

First Anniversary Memorial Mass for Terri Schindler Schiavo

March 31, 2006
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, Human Life International

Dearest Mary and Bob, Bobby and Suzanne and the Schindler and Vitadamo families, what a supreme honor it is for all of us to be here with you celebrating the memory of Terri on this first anniversary of her passing from death to life. I am particularly grateful that you called me and asked me to come; I am unworthy of this honor, but God wills it, and I dedicate all I do here to the memory of our beloved Terri.

Last night in La Clínica Guadalupana [Clearwater, FL] I met a woman who was visiting from Argentina, and we spoke about Terri whose saga she had witnessed on TV last year at this time. About one month ago I was in Kenya and had a long conversation with a large group of university students about Terri. They were intensely interested in her and the impact that her death had on our culture. Last year I visited Sri Lanka and Indonesia and Europe and spoke to people in all those places about Terri and her witness.

The Living Crucifix

It is not untrue to say that the whole world saw Terri’s witness! They saw her through modern means of communication and saw what we all saw, a living crucifix set before the eyes of the world to remind us of the fundamental truth of our Faith; namely, that life always conquers death and that no matter how powerful death may claim to be, it is never more powerful than life. This was Terri’s unique vocation and message, the thing that she was given to us to accomplish. God did not will Terri’s horrible death, He just permitted it in order that a greater good would be brought out of it; and Terri fulfilled that role perfectly.

My friends, the world right now is awash with innocent blood. It needs constant repeating that thousands of people die like Terri around the world every year, the victims of human cruelty and indecency. Even in our own country I am sure the victims can be counted in the thousands. The statistics about the killing of innocents through abortion hardly need to be recounted: the UN says that somewhere near 60 million surgical abortions every year are performed around the world.

In the face of all this our Church has taught the truth about these attacks against innocent human life with the highest authority; we have explained it, catechized it, preached it and even at times yelled it from the rooftops, but men are deaf and they adamantly refuse to hear the message. Words and teachings of course are important, but in a society saturated with information at every turn, men need to see. They need images that can convince them of the truth. And so we were given the image of a living crucifix in Terri so that we would not miss the message of man’s cruelty and God’s mercy; and there is nothing the devil hates more than a crucifix, especially a living one!

Light vs. Darkness

Indeed, with the total outpouring of grace and prayer during that time, God shed His divine light on the experience to set in bold relief the contrast between life and death, light and darkness. The grace of Terri’s death showed the world the contours of good and evil in clear light: we saw innocence and beauty confronted with the ugly arrogance and brutality of people like Michael Schiavo and George Felos. Truth was set off in bold relief from the despicable lies and distortions and manipulations of the promoters of euthanasia. We saw Terri’s powerlessness set in stark contrast to the raw abuse of power by the likes of George Greer and others. And in this past year the distinctions have been made even clearer as was shown by the recent interview of Michael by Matt Lauer. Even Matt Lauer was not buying his lies and deceptions.

We Will Remember

But the memory of one who was so conformed to the dying of Christ will endure long after the memory of the cruelty has faded. Hers will be an enduring legacy and memory because she was so united to that Crucifixion, an image that can never be erased in the hearts of men. We will never forget Terri!

Oh yes, history will also record the Judas who sold the innocent one for thirty pieces of silver. It will remember the Pontius Pilate who sat in judgment on an innocent woman and three times condemned her to death. It will remember the pharisaic lawyer who agitated the crowds, manipulated perceptions and declared solemnly to the world that it was “expedient” that this one woman die for the sake of humanity. And we will certainly remember that pathetic and absent clergy who like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane acted in unison for the first time when, as the Gospel relates, “they all forsook him and fled” (Mk 14:50).

There were some courageous exceptions to the clerical cowardice though, and our dear Msgr. Thaddeus Malanowski [the main celebrant of the Mass] who stood by that Calvary with the Schindler’s is most to be commended and thanked for his great pastoral concern during all those years of Terri’s passion. The likes of Fr. Pavone, Fr. Johanson, Fr. Pecchie [the pastor of the parish where the Mass took place] and our dear Franciscan brothers will live as an enduring legacy and testament to those who did not abandon Terri in her need.

Standing at the Cross

The negative testimonies however will be eclipsed by the image of John and Mary and the other disciples who stood at the foot of the Cross of the innocent one. Bob and Mary, Bobby and Suzanne and your families: your accompaniment of Terri in her suffering will not be forgotten nor will your own unique witness which was and still continues to be nothing short of heroic. I know that the last thing you would want would be any attention drawn to yourselves, but God apportions the role of eyewitness to a few select people, and you were privileged to be there as eyewitnesses of this passion play. Eyewitnesses are always sent out to give testimony to the truth that they have seen, and by all accounts you have been relentless for the past year in making this truth known to the world. We are so blessed by your zeal and commitment to this work, and undoubtedly God will continue to bless and expand your mission. We pray for that!

The negative memories will also be eclipsed by the gratitude we have for Terri’s defenders who like the holy women that accompanied Jesus to Calvary were powerless to stop the killing but gave Him their voice and their presence so that the world would know that not all were in agreement with this evil. Some thousands came from literally every state in the nation to stand in solidarity with Terri, not even knowing her but with full compassion for her suffering. Others like Nicodemus who stood up in the midst of the Sanhedrin, confronted the crowd of Pharisees and defended her honor forcefully: men like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Randall Terry, Fr. Pavone, Pat Buchanan, and my goodness, even Jesse Jackson!

Hope Leads Us On

Hope is the one of the three Theological Virtues (1 Cor 13:13) that is described as an Anchor firmly affixed in the sanctuary of the Temple of heaven with a chain that stretches down from heaven to earth to give us one thing that will never change or be moved while all of life may be crumbling down around us. It is the Virtue that helps us to make sense of all the sufferings of life and to relativize them with a vision of heaven. It does not minimize suffering but gives us the necessary endurance to deal with it in a Christian way. It applies an eternal view of things to all the hardships of life so that we will not despair in the short term and will continue looking up to the one place where we can find help: namely, in God.

We now look to the future with eyes full of bright hope. Yes, it’s dark and it seems that the storm is worsening as euthanasia and other evils gain a stronger foothold in our societies. We certainly know that we will be fighting the culture of death for a very long time both in this country and abroad. But in that darkness we have a light, we have Terri’s light and hope to guide us into the future.

All we have to do now is to lift high her Cross and show the world the living crucifix that Terri has become for us. We need to constantly proclaim the hope that she represents for our world, a hope which defiantly proclaims that Christ has conquered death and that the culture of death will never have the last word! Indeed, with Terri’s light we have ultimate hope that we will transform “this present darkness,” (Eph 6: 12), this culture of death, into a culture of life for all mankind.

And let us finally pray that God will grant us the grace to persevere like Terri to the very end and to that blessed Day when Christ will bring us home to see Terri again face to face.

May God bless you!

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