Mass for the Rite for a Blessing of a Child in the Womb Celebrated with Joy and Hope

The Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 5, saw a special Mass for the Rite for a Blessing of a Child in the Womb at St. Joseph Cathedral.

Sponsored by the Diocese of Buffalo’s Office of Respect Life, the Mass was a celebration of life, of mothers, and especially expectant mothers.

As principal celebrant, Bishop Michael W. Fisher explained in his homily about the joy of holding a child as well as an early mishap in his life as he held his infant brother.

“Recently in a liturgy in a parish, I had the great joy to hold a newborn baby at a confirmation, and I have had the privilege to hold many babies,” Bishop Fisher explained. “In fact, I’ve held many of my siblings. When I was three years old, I was caught holding my newborn brother Patrick. The problem was I was holding him by his feet and dropped him, but I dropped him on our couch and he was unharmed.”

“I am quite sure he has never been the same since,” Bishop Mike joked.  

The bishop continued that he is truly amazed and awed to be able to hold a newborn baby.

“Look into the innocence of a newborn and look into the eyes that are seeing the beauty of the world for the first time. And looking at the sparkle in their eyes, it is almost like God looking back at us with that deep love, the love that the Creator has for us.” 

In our readings, the themes of salvation and love were presented with the emphasis on love and how this leads us to the Holy Spirit and the strength of the Trinity. 

We enter into the deep mystery of God’s love for us. We hear that God saves us, and he made us and He is with us.  God’s love for us is revealed when he sent His son, His only son to the world to redeem us.

Believing in the sanctity of life means believing that human life is somehow holy and set apart and different from all other life forms. The question is why do Christians believe that human life is set apart from all other life?

First, human life is sacred because it is the only life form created in His image. God literally breathed life into us as human beings, and something he did not do with other life forms.  The Hebrew word, Ruach, is mentioned many times in the Bible to describe the breath of God.  

“We bear God’s image, so anything that harms or mars a human life also mars that reflection of God himself,” Bishop Mike continued. “That’s why we see the beauty, the holiness, the sanctity of human life right from the beginning – from conception in the womb to death.  And ultimately to eternal life.”

Every human life is valued by God, the Bishop concluded.  

A couple and their two children attended the special Mass for a particular reason.

Chelsea and Nick Skalski were with their son Knox, 2, and their newborn son Nash, who was being baptized following Mass. 

“This is an extra special Mass being a Mother’s Mass and it is nice because obviously we just had a baby and we would like to have one more,” explained Chelsea Skalski. “We have a lot of friends who are pregnant, and trying to get pregnant and also new Moms so it is a really special one for us.”