Chapter Four of Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life, is a reminder of the need for evangelization. As Paul VI wrote, "Evangelization is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize" [Evangelii Nuntiandi 14].

After quoting Pope Paul, John Paul II continues, "This is also the case of the Gospel of Life, an integral part of that Gospel which is Jesus Christ Himself. We are at the service of this Gospel, sustained by the awareness that we have received it as a gift and are sent to preach it to all humanity, 'to the ends of the earth' [Acts 1:8]. With humility and gratitude we know that we are the people of life and for life, and this is how we present ourselves to everyone."

We are all in this world together. An old story is told of a man on a boat. He is not alone but acts as if he were. One night, he begins to cut a hole under his seat. His neighbors shrieks: "Have you gone mad? Do you want to sink us all?" Calmly he answers them: "I don't understand what you want. What I'm doing is none of your business. I paid my way. I'm only cutting under my own seat." Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.

Yes we are all in the same boat and like a fish who cannot disregard the water in which it lives, a human being cannot disregard the culture in which he lives. You and I live in a culture more and more prone to be a culture of death rather than life. But, "for us, being at the service of life is not boast, but rather a duty, born of our awareness of being God's own people, that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light." (cf. 1 Pet 2:9).

We must proclaim - that human life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable - abortion and euthanasia are absolutely unacceptable - not only must human life not be taken, it must be protected with loving concern - suffering and death have meaning - science and technology must be at the service of life - society must respect, defend, and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person's life [E.V.81].

"We must care for the other as a person for whom God has made us responsible. As disciples of Jesus we are called to become neighbors to everyone (Lk 10:29-37), and to show special favor to those who are poorest, most alone, and in most need [E.V. 87]. "Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias or discrimination, ... We need then to show care for all life and for the life of everyone [E.V.87].

We must all get involved. "Let's get to the point -- do we grasp social problems of today? Are we waiting until others find some solution? Must we not help in deed as well as in thought?" (St. Edith Stein). We may not stand idly by. As someone once said,