On October 8, Rangers for Life hosted Jesuit’s weekly Prayer Service in the Terry Center and the topic was kinship.
Following a reading of the Beatitudes, a Ted Talk done by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. was shown on the screen. Fr. Boyle, who recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, talked about his experience working with inmates at his organization, Homeboy Industries. He says, “No kinship, no justice. No kinship, no peace.” Afterwards, Levy Mendoza ’25 reflected on this topic. Following personal reflection time, the prayer service was closed with the Prayer for Generosity. While a stunning prayer service, this only served as a microcosm for the work that Rangers for Life does at Jesuit and beyond.
What is Rangers for Life?
The document Dignitas Infinita, or “Infinite Dignity,” was published by the Vatican earlier this year. The first line in it states that “Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her very being, which prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter.” Rangers for Life, which has adopted the document as sort of its Magna Carta, seeks to uphold what it stands for. This group seeks to combat the modern “Culture of Death,” which promotes practices like euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the death penalty.
While also being known as a Pro-Life club, Rangers for Life seeks to change the definition of that phrase. Typically, when you think of someone as pro-life, you often think about them being anti-abortion. However, as President Chris Matthews ’25 states,
“Being pro-life is more than just being anti-abortion. being pro-life means being dedicated to all aspects of life, whether that be determined to protect the homeless, those who are dying, or even just being kind to god’s creation.”
Rangers for Life meets every Thursday during community time in B103. In addition, they do many events outside of Jesuit such as the March for Life and Bishop’s Pro-Life Dinner. Also, they’ve done service with many other organizations such as In My Shoes.
Fr. David Brown
Earlier in the week, the members of Rangers for Life received a message from GroupMe saying they had a “very special guest.” The name of this guest remained anonymous until their meeting on October 10. When they walked into the room, the guest was revealed to be Rev. David Brown, S.J. Fr. Brown who works at the Vatican observatory and was passing through Dallas on his way to Tucson, Arizona to the Vatican’s telescope.
During his talk, he discussed his pro-life view based on astronomy. In his view, the world is made with such precision, that its only explanation is that it was made with intentionality. The same God that made the universe with such intentionality also made us with the same intentionality. This is why all of us are so precious.
Stay tuned to The Roundup for future news regarding Rangers For Life!
