In the 27 years since his first election to Congress, Chris Smith (NJ-4) has become a widely respected voice of marginalized and unrepresented human beings at all stages of life around the world.

Regarded as an honest and upright advocate for the unborn, the starving, the suffering and the enslaved, he has brought the case for their humanity and indeed, their very existence, to the floor of Congress and the international stage time and time again.

In doing so, he has consistently answered the call of Jesus in Matthew 25 that echoes through the ages: "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."

And, in a contemporary arena more apt to favor the culture of death over the culture of life, Smith has determinedly followed the lead of St. Thomas More, pursuing truth even when it's contrary to the ethos of the times.

For this signature devotion to the ethic of life which is so much a hallmark of Catholic social teaching, Smith was awarded the St. Thomas More Award at the fifth annual Red Mass and Dinner June 16, an honor he said left him humbled. "It's a very high honor and I feel humbled by it. I feel like I don't deserve it," said Smith as the statuette of the sainted lawyer and civic official was placed in his hands.

Among the members of his family accompanying Smith to the Mass and award dinner was his wife, Marie. She acknowledged that her husband "doesn't like awards," but said he was very touched to receive this one.

"He just received the Pope John Paul II Award from the Knights of Columbus and now this one is such a perfect fit," said Marie Smith. Visibly pleased with his recognition, she spoke of her husband's courage under fire, his willingness to put his beliefs on the line, his grace in taking on issues - such as human trafficking - that wasn't "trendy as it is now. He has been a lone warrior in so many instances, always bucking those trends. I'm so pleased to see him recognized here at home in the diocese. I'm so glad he said yes," she said.

The event was coordinated by the diocesan St. Thomas More Society under the direction of Linda Richardson, director of the Office of Family Life/Respect Life.

Approximately 200 lawyers, jurists, civic officials, clergy and religious and lay people who toil in the vineyard of life, attended the Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption celebrated by Bishop John M. Smith and the award ceremony and dinner that followed at the Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard.

There, Smith was introduced by last year's recipient, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito who praised the congressman for his work on a wide spectrum of human rights, most especially his work against human trafficking.

In accepting the award from Bishop Smith and Justice Alito, the congressman spoke movingly of the need for each generation to "make a difference for good."

To make that difference, he said, it is vital to become a student of the times. "The distance of even one generation obscures history," he said.

That being the case, "we really need to know what is going on. We need to ask the hard questions. And with the help of God, be ever willing," as was St. Thomas More, to "act and bend in the prevailing wind of any prejudice, selfishness or evil we discover along the way," he said.

Describing St. Thomas More as "a man for his particular season - and ours - who faced an agonizing challenge and refused to capitulate: He would not betray the pope," Smith asked everyone in the room to contemplate the saint's course of action.

"A distinguished lawyer, statesman, scholar and martyr, we can only dimly grasp, I think, what it might have been like to have it all as he did, risk it all as he did and stand firm throughout it all as he did - even unto death.

"We, just like Thomas, need to ensure that we put God first and our own self-interest and preoccupation with being liked, honored, popular or elected, second," the congressman said. "We need to use our strategic positions as judges, lawmakers, and public servants to promote justice and compassion for all - and do (God's) will on earth as it is in heaven."

Congressman Smith exhorted his listeners to "engage wholeheartedly, not counting the cost, without fear or trepidation over unpleasant consequences" and to work to overcome the "certain beguiling tendency in our society, especially in the political arena, to accept the plausible over a difficult truth."

A high point in the finely crafted speech came when Smith placed the focus squarely on the culture of life versus the culture of death, calling on everyone to recognize the line for life drawn so clearly by Pope John Paul II.

Citing the "consistently clear and non-ambiguous...Christ-like teaching that all human life is profoundly sacred," he urged everyone to "heed the commandment of Jesus himself to care for the least of our brethren - found in Matthew 25. The Church is the leader in helping the poor, feeding the hungry, assisting the refugee, caring for the AIDS patient, embracing the guilty prisoner, rescuing the victim of human trafficking and presenting the awesome gift of reconciliation to women who have had abortions."

The Church, he said, has "also withstood the world's hatred, endured an endless barrage of criticism and mocking, especially of late in its valiant defense of unborn children and Judeo-Christian ethics. With generosity and charity towards even its most obnoxious and belittling critics, our Church has modeled Christ, who from the cross forgave his tormentors."

Focusing in on the key issue to which he has devoted years of hard work and attention, Smith challenged the group to fight against abortion "as St. Paul told us to do, in a way so as to win."

"The fact of the matter is that 34 years after Roe, abortion remains a serious, lethal violation of fundamental human rights. The right to life is or should be for everyone regardless of age, race, condition of dependency, disability or stage of development. Congress and the president have a duty to protect everyone at risk, not just the planned for, privileged and perfect."

The congressman's moving words echoed the homily delivered by Bishop Smith in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption during the Red Mass. Some observers, including Father Ian Trammell, coordinator of diocesan Respect Life Ministries, called it the bishop's most powerful exhortation yet to work for civil justice in harmony with divine law.

Citing the "awesome responsibility given to those among us positioned to interpret and apply the law in the human situation..." Bishop Smith acknowledged the difficulty of striving to "find the divine balance with perfect justice, to follow the divine will with perfect equity, to follow the divine plan toward a perfect society.

"What greater responsibility and hence burden, is there than being entrusted with the work of the law," he said, especially in an era that "seeks simple solutions to complex problems, that venerates oversimplification and instant gratification, that believes in education by sound bites."

Bishop Smith called upon "lawyers, like all of us," to "serve God first! And that is the real law and the real challenge for every one!"

Describing the times as an era when "conflict issues are very real, very public, very crucial and very difficult," he asked: "Who experiences the struggle of conscience more than those in the legal profession? Who bears a weightier burden than you in the legal profession? Who do we as Church, bound to uphold the law of God, depend on more to enter into the public fray than you Catholics in the legal profession?"

Joseph Bianchi, director of administrative services for the diocese, who attended with his wife, Sharon, praised the diocese for its commitment to hosting an annual Red Mass each year.

Bianchi said he was impressed with the congressman's "eloquence in stating his lifelong commitment to the pro-life movement."