Loving life seems like it should be a no brainer. Life is a gift and, as Catholics, we learn that our lives are gifts that deserve respect and love.
The city of Omaha Nebraska was in shock last week. Police Officer Kerrie Orozco gave birth to a baby girl, Olivia Ruth, born premature on February 17, 2015. Olivia had to stay in the hospital until she reached her ideal birth weight. Officer Kerrie was going to start her three-month maternity leave on that day. Plans changed quickly. Officer Oroczo, age 29, was shot in the upper chest and killed Wednesday, May 20, 2015, while attempting to arrest a known gang member on a felony warrant. In a press conference late Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said, “Officer Oroczo dedicated her life to service.” She was a stepmother to Natalia, 8, and Santiago, age 6. Nebraska lost a wonderful police officer but three small children, one of them a newborn baby girl (who was able to leave the hospital that Friday at 8lbs), lost an amazing mother.
Officer Kerrie Orozco
So many messages in the Bible refer to our responsibility to love life and treat it with respect. It is ironic that this woman who was looking so forward to embracing her time with her newborn child and her stepchildren had to suffer such an abrupt ending to her life. It will be hard telling these children that their mother gave her life so others in their community will be safe. Deuteronomy 30: 19-20 teaches us:
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
I believe that Officer Kerrie Orozco will gain many rewards in heaven. The difficulty comes for those left behind. It’s never easy to see a young person die, especially in the case of this young woman because she seemed to have so much to live for. The reality though is our life here is brief. Most of us have no idea what day will be our last. Should we live every day as if it were our last day on earth? That would be difficult. I don’t think most people truly think about it in those terms.
In what terms should we be thinking about it? I believe the important message was made clear long ago and that our purpose here however brief is to follow what Jesus said: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark: 12:30-31).
The community in Omaha is in mourning and many people are praying in that community. Imagine the gift her life gave today because 500,000 people are lifting their hearts to God to pray for her family. In the words of Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, “Nebraskans hold the entire Orozco family and the Omaha Police Department in our prayers tonight. Melissa and I are deeply saddened and reminded anew of the dangers and uncertainty our law enforcement officers brave each day.”
Our path is laid out in front of us. We are tasked with living our lives fully, giving of ourselves to our neighbors so that when we die we too will join with her in heaven and be surrounded with the love from Jesus Christ. In the words of Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Catherine Mendenhall-Baugh (Cathy) completed her education at the University of Nebraska majoring in Special Education and minoring in English Literature and now works in the insurance industry. A mother and a grandmother, Cathy grew up in a large Catholic family and as spent the last 30 years as a caregiver for her husband, Jack. A writer for Tuscany Press, she is also working on several longer writing projects.
