REFLECTION:

I remember a time when a student once asked me, “Father, why does the Church not like people to be happy?” I was surprised and asked him why he thought that. He said, “Because you said we shouldn’t be envious of other people.” That gave me a chance to explain something important: envy is not simply noticing that someone else has something good. Envy is when we see the good in another and begin to resent it—and, in its darkest form, even want to destroy that good and the person who has it.

That is exactly what we see in today’s reading from the First Book of Samuel. Saul can no longer rejoice in the good God is doing through David. David is innocent, faithful, and has served his people well. But Saul’s heart is ruled by fear and insecurity. David is no longer seen as a gift, but as a threat. And once fear takes over, Saul begins to think not about leading, but about eliminating.

Here is the hard truth: whenever fear and self-interest replace trust in God, the innocent always pay the price.

Saul does not want David dead because David is guilty. He wants him dead because he is afraid—afraid of losing control, afraid of the future. Instead of trusting God, he chooses violence against someone who has done nothing wrong.

Today, as we observe the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, this reading speaks to us clearly. The unborn child is always innocent. Yet in moments of fear—fear of sacrifice, fear of change, fear of what lies ahead—the child can be seen not as a gift, but as a problem.

Thankfully, the reading also gives us Jonathan, who stands between power and innocence and speaks for the one in danger. He shows us what the Church is called to be: a voice for the voiceless and a protector of the vulnerable.



So today we pray—for unborn children, for parents who are afraid, and for hearts to choose trust over fear. Because whenever fear and self-interest replace trust in God, the innocent always pay the price. And whenever trust in God returns, life is always defended.