“A Child has been Born for Us, Unto Us a Son is Given”

The Gospel’s announcement of glad tidings “A child has been born for us” still rings on the occasion of every birth, according to Hannah Arendt. The image of the newborn gave rise to her concept of natality. It means that with every birth begins not only a story of another life but also a story of a new life, the promise of new initiatives and new beginnings. Indeed, each person is in himself a new beginning.  Does this fundamental character of natality not obscured by reproductive technology, especially with genetic programming?

Of course medically assisted procreation helps solve many problems related to birth. Thanks to the efficiency and the operational techniques implemented, our contemporary
world solves issues like infertility or sterility. Even the impact of menopause is offset sometimes. It is also possible to satisfy the desires of unconventional parenthood and prevent the transference of serious illness to the child. However, these feats also pose serious ethical challenges. In solving the problem of infertility, assisted reproduction provides access to basic cells of human life. Medical and institutional responsibility is highly involved in the genesis of a human being. This genesis requires ethical vigilance in our time when a child is sometimes considered as a "human creation" whom right to life depends on the parents, especially while he/she is still in the womb. In this context, what implications should we draw from the biblical sentence a child has been born for us, unto us a son is given?

It is not given to the parents to "create" a child in their own image. A child is a gift from God, the Lord and giver of life.  As a gift, a child is given to the parents and to humankind
from conception to natural death. There is no need of discussing about the time the fetus becomes sufficiently human to have the right to life. As a baby on the way, the fetus is a
human-living-being from conception. He is not fully developed yet, but he is fully human and therefore has a right to life from this time. “The human being is to be respected and
treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life” ( Donum Vitae I,1). This right to life involves for the parents, the duty and responsibility of welcoming the new born into the family.

Even God needed a family to integrate humankind. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph reminds us the natural reality of a family. It is a loving relationship between a man
and a woman who welcome the gift from God in their midst.  Every child is born into an already-existing world with its “traditions”. The family helps him/her learn about those
traditions, including the fundamental values of human existence.

The family is therefore the basic cell of social life, the ideal place where the newborn starts experiencing the coexistence with others and with God. The child will learn about God, faith, prayer, and worship. That is why every Catholic family is called to be an Ecclesia Domestica, a Domestic Church.
            
In this Christmas time, let us pray for life, may the birth of Jesus foster a consistent respect for human life, born and unborn; and may all the pregnant ladies enjoy the blessing of a safe delivery of a healthy child, the new life God has en-trusted to them.

Happy New Year!