Day for Life

15 June 2025

The Church teaches that life is to be nurtured from conception to natural death. In England and Wales, Day for Life is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year. This year it falls on 15 June.

The theme is Finding meaning in Suffering – Hope does not Disappoint. It is inspired by Romans 5:5-6. St Paul invites us to see that Christian hope is not just naïve optimism but, rather, an unshakeable trust in the power and presence of God who is with us always. This hope can endure the darkness of human suffering and even see beyond it.

Suffering touches every person at some point in their lives. It is often associated with illness, grief, and loss. It is not only caused by physical pain but includes emotional suffering as well as ‘soul pain’, such as depression and despair. Christians are not immune to this mystery and we often struggle to know how best to respond to it, and where we can find hope.

Day for Life is marked on the same day by the three Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

Day for Life message and reflection on the theme for 2025.

For as long as history has been written, the world has never been without struggle and suffering. Through the lens of television and social media, however, the suffering of the whole world appears on our personal devices. Many of us find it hard to make sense of a world in which suffering seems to press down from every direction: pandemic; war; homelessness; violence in our streets, addiction. Then, often without warning, we find ourselves caught up in the struggle when serious illness comes into our own lives.

“Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:5-6). St Paul invites us to see that Christian hope is not just naïve optimism but, rather, an unshakeable trust in the power and presence of God who is with us always. This hope can endure the darkness of human suffering and even see beyond it. That is because Christian hope is anchored in God who is Love and whose love reaches out to us and lifts us up day after day.

Care for the sick and suffering was central to the ministry of Jesus. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan as a way of explaining what it means to be a “neighbour” to another person. The Good Samaritan is someone who sees and is moved to compassion (while others turn away), who draws close, who “binds up wounds”, who accompanies the person in need, and who continues to care for as long as it is needed. Often the healing Jesus offered was much more than just a physical cure; it included emotional and spiritual healing as well, because for Jesus, the human person is more than just a body needing to be fixed. Jesus invites us to “Go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:29-37).

The alleviation of suffering is good and must always be part of our focus. But there remains, for many people, a suffering that cannot be taken away and has to be endured. How do we make sense of that? The claim that it is better to die than to suffer leads some people to suggest that euthanasia or assisted suicide might be more compassionate. As Christians, however, we follow Jesus who lived his entire life, including his suffering, in the confident hope that His Father loved him and would raise him up, and He did! The cross, which Jesus did not ask for and did nothing to deserve, has become a sign of hope for countless millions of people in every generation.

The death and resurrection of Jesus leads us to believe that, far from being futile or absurd, a life marked by suffering, when it is lived with generosity and patience, is full of meaning. People like Simon of Cyrene (who helped carry the cross), or St. Veronica (who wiped the face of Jesus) literally accompanied Jesus on the Way of the Cross. Modern saints like Therese of Lisieux and the soon-to-be first millennial saint Carlo Acutis understood that when we unite our suffering with the suffering of Christ for the good of the world, it is transformed through his grace. Most of us have known people like them. Far from being the end of hope, their suffering, when accepted and embraced, has shown itself to be a path to growth and ultimately to Resurrection.

This year’s Day for Life is an invitation to pray for those who suffer and to remain with them like the Good Samaritan, bearing witness to their unique and unrepeatable value. We see this closeness in the generous and fruitful service of healthcare professionals, whose mission continues even when there is no longer any prospect of physical healing. We see it in another way in families, carers and chaplains who support their brothers and sisters who are sick or frail or struggling with the many burdens of life. As Christians, we affirm them and hold out to them the hope of Jesus Christ who does not disappoint us.

With the assisted suicide debate continuing with great intensity in Parliament, this year’s Day for Life, celebrated jointly with the episcopal conferences of Ireland and Scotland, falls on 15 June with the theme Hope does not disappoint: Finding meaning in suffering.

In a video interview on the subject, Archbishop John Sherrington, our Lead Bishop for Life Issues, explains how Christ accompanies us in our suffering and, while he understands that this is difficult for non-believers to understand, this can give it a redemptive quality.

Speaking about the relevance of this year’s theme to the wider debate, Archbishop Sherrington said:

“What we want to offer into the debate, as Catholics, is that Jesus Christ is with us in the midst of our suffering.

“Now, I know that the non-believer will find that difficult, but perhaps it’s the implication that Christ is with us and the way that Christians support one another in suffering, particularly following the model of Jesus and the Good Samaritan, that can help us to be that presence of Christ to others in the midst of suffering.”

He added: “As Christians, we can find a deeper meaning to doing that [helping sick people] because Christ suffered with people. He was always present to the sick, He was with the dying, and He suffered.

“He entered into their suffering because compassion means to have passion with another person, to enter into suffering and be present to them. So as Christians, we believe that Christ is present to the sick and can give consolation.”

Thus, Archbishop Sherrington said, the theme of this year’s Day for Life has people at its core, because Christ’s example inspires us to support our loved ones:

“Human compassion, human presence to another person is at the heart of this theme that hope does not disappoint.”

Archbishop Sherrington said that caring for suffering people is not purely a physical act, but that it also has spiritual and emotional components:

“You mustn’t underestimate the presence of ‘family’ to a person who’s suffering, that consolation that their presence brings, the consolation of the nurse that wipes the brow of the person who’s suffering… that brings relief.

“And that can be also a sign of hope. So there’s physical consolation, but there’s also spiritual consolation because Christ has united himself to this person in their suffering.”

Archbishop Sherrington finished by explaining the importance of the three Bishops’ Conferences working together:

“The three Conferences working together is a sign of hope because we’re all united in consolation and suffering. We know between our countries there can be conflict and division. Working together helps to overcome that.

“The final message is that hope does not disappoint. To place our trust in Jesus Christ, to know that He walks at our side, that He’s with us in the sacraments, and He’s present with us in those who care for the sick and the suffering, like the Good Samaritan. He’s present with us, can give consolation, and in that way we can contribute to this renewal, this restoration of heaven and earth, as part of Christ’s redemption.”