In a recent address to French Catholic political leaders gathered in Rome for the Holy Year, Pope Leo spoke of the weighty challenges they face in our often hostile world:

I am well aware that the openly Christian commitment of a public official is not easy, especially in certain Western societies where Christ and His Church are marginalized, often ignored, sometimes ridiculed. Nor am I unaware of the pressures, the party directives, the “ideological colonization”—to borrow an expression of Pope Francis—to which politicians are subjected. They need courage: the courage at times to say, “No, I cannot!” when the truth is at stake. Once again, only union with Jesus—Jesus crucified!—will give you the courage to suffer for His name. He said to His disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

Courage is needed by all those who follow Christ, and especially those who try to influence their fellow citizens to reject blatant injustices that plague our times such as abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. But where are we to find courage? What is the secret to being strong in the Lord?

Strong faith and unwavering prayer are the wellsprings of courageous living. The more convinced we are of the truths that God teaches us, the more willing we will be to stand by those truths and share them with others. Praying to God to make us courageous is always fruitful; God’s grace helps us overcome fear and hesitation. Christ has overcome the world, and in Him we too can overcome the false justifications we so often hear for the barbaric killing of unborn children, the elderly, and the sick.

Pro-life advocates know that they will not convince every abortion and euthanasia advocate they meet that it is gravely immoral to kill innocent people. They know they will encounter indifference and hostility from those who glibly assert that unborn children are not yet human and do not deserve the protection of law. They know they will hear the stupendously irrational claim that euthanasia and assisted suicide are life-affirming choices that no one should be allowed to interfere with.

Biological facts are denied or ignored. Ethical behavior becomes optional when it conflicts with one’s desires. Willfulness in the pursuit of “erasing” the mistake of an unplanned pregnancy casts aside recognition of the universal moral obligation to protect, not fatally harm, innocent human beings. Some see no contradiction in taxpayer dollars being used to fund both suicide prevention programs and programs that facilitate suicide.

So, is it worth the effort to say things that some people do not want to hear? Absolutely! There is always a chance that our words will have the desired effect of helping someone who is wavering make the moral decision to choose life (in the case of suicide, his or her own life).

Courageous pro-life efforts lend strength to elected officials who seek to defend life. Students who are trying to figure out right from wrong will benefit greatly from hearing the arguments of those who contradict the conventional “liberal” thinking on abortion and euthanasia. How liberal is it to demand that the government protect the so-called right to kill little or old or sick people who have become inconvenient?

We will never know in this life who was persuaded by our courageous defense of the right to life of innocent human beings. God will reveal that in the next world. Our duty as followers of Christ is to do what we can to help all those who are stumbling in the darkness of sin and error to see and embrace the light of God’s truth. That is the courageous life-affirming decision that “overcomes the world.”