Homily: February 11, 2025, Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Multiply)

 God blessed them, saying:

"Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it."

What do you think? Does God’s command to multiple and fill the earth with humans and more humans logical? Is the world’s resources sufficient for all to consume and enjoy?

Honestly, I take pride that I come from India, it is the most populous country in the world. Its current population is four times the USA.

The Western world has, in the past, often ridiculed India for its massive and growing population, considering such population a burden and its continued growth a crisis. International organizations have invested heavily in promoting products and schemes to help reduce India’s population. Government clinics and hospitals have pressured women to exercise birth control. Among indigenous and poor communities, sterilizations were often performed without the women’s consent.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has even spent millions to promote such practices, primarily targeting poorer nations, believing that by reducing the number of people in a country, it would help to improve its living standards.

I tend to agree that the world has enough resources for everyone’s needs, but not for everyone’s greed. So instead of reducing general headcount, I think we should work on eradicating the greedy mindset.

The other highly populated country, China, had enforced strict birth control policies for decades, restricting each couple to have only one child, they now regret this policy. They are now concerned about their ageing population, having not enough young to replace the old and dying.

Many Western nations which have laughed at India’s huge population before, are now heavily dependent on India’s manpower. I once came across a study which made an interesting note: in India, for every 2,500 Indians, there is one doctor, while in the United States, for every 1,200 people, there is an Indian doctor.

My home state, Kerala, is three times smaller than Iowa in land area, but its population of 30 million is 10 times more, it also has the highest concentration of Catholics in India because the Catholic Church educated her people about the dignity of life and helped them avoid unnatural birth control.

If God commanded us to be fertile and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, He surely knows what He is asking, He must have a perfect plan in mind. It might look illogical to us, but I am sure it is wisdom.

So if you are still able, please, obey and trust the Lord, go forth and multiply!

Amen.