March for Life

A few weeks ago I was blessed to be able to attend the March for Life in DC with a group from the diocese. There were about forty of us total, with two seminarians, one brother, and one priest. It was cool to see the monuments, the capitol, the white house and all but the most amazing parts were the Masses, rallies, and of course, the march itself. Between catching the metro, trying to make it on time places, and eating, we still found a great amount of time to pray. Knowing we were not tourists but pilgrims there to fight for something we care deeply about really made us joyful though it was cold and rainy. The National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was such a great experience. First off, though we got there three hours early, we didn’t get pews but rather sat on the floor in front of the front pews (so we still had an amazing view!). Sitting squished on a hard floor for three hours plus the three hour Mass may not sound like fun, but it was so worth it. We prayed, sang, and met all the great people around us while we waited. Once Mass started, the procession of the about 600 seminarians, 200 deacons, 300 priests, 50 bishops and archbishops, and 5 cardinals took more than thirty minutes. Just seeing them really showed me our faith is not dead, but still going strong after 2000 years. The Basilica was filled over capacity with more than 10,000 people. Mass was beautiful, being with that many people and being able to say that we are Catholic, we are pro-life, and we are here to glorify God. It was indescribable. The next day was a similarly beautiful Mass, but for different reasons. Instead of a beautiful Basilica, it was a Verizon Arena filled with about 20,000 youths. It was such a powerful thing, being with all those people my own age and celebrating the most beautiful thing on Earth, the Holy Eucharist. It was apparent that everyone there WANTED to be there for our love of all people no matter how tiny. Mass really pumped us up for the march a few hours later. The march started to our dismay in the rain. That did nothing to dampen the spirits of the 400,000 there though! We marched through the mud, wetness, and sometimes snow, but everyone was still in high spirits for the cause. People from every state were there, as well as some from Australia and Spain who recognize that abortion is killing and needs to be stopped even if it’s not in their own country. Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Byzantine Catholics, and people of the Jewish Faith were all in attendance as well as many other denominations. It was breathtaking to see all the different denominations, though they had problems in the past, to come together and fight for something we all are passionately fighting for: life. Our march ended at the Supreme Court Building were women would speak about how abortion is killing and how it has affected them. It was so powerful to stand at that building and imagine a day when we won’t have to do this because life is respected and cherished again. In addition to these events, we prayed outside of a Planned Parenthood the next day. The trip was truly amazing for me to go on, and I feel proud that I was able to be a part of it.   Erin C. - Sophomore