Reflections from the March, part 5

Pictures of signs and the international dimension of the March for Life ...

Reflections from the March, part 4

So far I've been chronicling my pre-March activities in Washington, D.C., but eventually the real reason for my trip arrived. On the morning of Tuesday, January 22nd, the people I was staying with arose early to be on the Metro by 7 am, heading to the Verizon Center for the youth rally. It's a good thing we arrived when we did because the seats filled up incredibly quickly. Thousands and thousands of young people crowded the seats of the sports arena, listening to music and lively talks by such youth ministry favorites as Matt Maher, ValLimar Jackson and Steve Angrisano.

I was particularly touched by Steve Angrisano tearfully relating the story of his encounter with his six-year-old son's birth mother, who had pulled up in front of an abortion clinic, only to decide that she couldn't go through with the abortion. If she had aborted, then Steve and his wife would not have the blessing of their six-year-old son.

The crowd exploded in cheers as the papal nuncio read an address from Pope Benedict XVI to those attending the youth rally. According to CNS, the message said, "The Holy Father sees a radiant sign of hope for the future in this yearly witness to the Gospel of life." The 20,000 attendees were on their feet in a standing ovation for Pope Benedict XVI, in hopes that their enthusiasm would be communicated to the Holy Father in Rome.

Mass was awesome, with dozens of priests, bishops and cardinals filing into the Center. I saw Fr. Michael Dosch (St. Gertrude) and Fr. James Reuter (Our Lady of Victory) from Cincinnati on the screen. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of DC was the presider, but Fr. Scott Woods was the homilist. He gave a wonderful homily about the gift of life and our responsibility to defend it. You can read a summary of the homily here.

After Mass, the enthusiastic throng filed out of the Verizon Center and headed towards the Mall area (not a shopping mall) in front of the Washington Monument. Along the way, pro-life signs and stickers were available to anyone who wanted them.

I didn't get to hear much of the rally, because I was rather far back in the crowd, but it was great to catch up with old friends and see so many young, enthusiastic pro-lifers. It took awhile for the March to begin, because moving more than 200,000 people isn't an easy task. Pro-life signs and banners were waving, rosaries were clutched tightly and feet began slowly moving.

Some people chanted (such as the class, "Hey, hey, Ho, Ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go"), and others chatted with friends. Some prayed the rosary aloud and others silently. There were seminarians, religious ordered priests and sisters everywhere. Parishes and schools were proudly holding banners to alert the crowd as to their associations. I saw a sign for Roger Bacon High School, and was thrilled to find a group of St. Ursula girls at the end of the March.

The March for Life begins near the Washington Monument, passes the Capitol building and ends at the steps of the Supreme Court. This year I was able to stay and listen to some post-abortive men and women who delivered their testimonies at the base of the steps. They were very convicting.

There were only four or five protesters at the March. It was interesting that CNN had their cameras focused on these few pro-abortion people and not on the crowds of pro-life advocates. The secular media didn't really cover the March at all, but I was upset to see such an unbalanced camera shot by a major media outlet.

Shortly before we headed for the Metro, we spotted a beautiful rainbow, with one end hiding behind the Supreme Court building. While discussing the phenomenon with 40 Days for Life organizer David Bereit, he pointed out that Noah saw the rainbow after 40 days of rain. We were all encouraged by this beautiful sign of God's love and faithfulness, even when the culture of death is so bleak.

And that would really sum up the March for Life experience. Even though we don't hear about this in the media and even though we see overwhelming evidence of the culture of death that surrounds us, there are signs of hope everywhere. God is with us, and in His time, a culture of life will flourish. Today's young people will be instrumental in ending legalized abortion. This fight for life isn't just about changing laws; it is primarily about changing hearts. The March was a great sign of hope that hearts are being changed and are embracing the beauty of the gift of life.

Reflections from the March, part 3

Monday, January 21st was my friend Kristen's birthday, which provided an interesting lens through which to examine 35 years of legalized abortion. Kristen is much younger than 35, which means that her parents could have chosen abortion legally and never given her the gift of life. Celebrating birthdays of those who were born after 1973 is a reminder that their life is truly a gift. I have friends who were almost aborted for various reasons, and knowing that their parents chose life is not only a gift for their child but also for those who their children have touched.

It's a rather interesting proposition to visit a cemetery on one's birthday, but Kristen and I decided to take the Metro to the Arlington Cemetery. More than 300,000 people are buried at this cemetery. Since there were more than 200,000 people attending the March for Life, the thousands of tombstones reminded me of the immensity of such a number.

It was also striking that there were multiple tombstones marked, "Infant" with one day or one year listed. I wish I had taken a picture, but these graves gave such dignity to children who were stillborn or miscarried. Contrast this with the unborn who are discarded in garbage disposals or thrown in the trash.

I was rather taken aback when I noticed the grave of Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. Justice Blackmun wrote the Roe v. Wade decision and was instrumental in legalizing abortion in our country. I said a prayer in front of his grave and wondered at the impact one person can make on the world -- whether for good or evil. This one justice had such a large impact on our nation, that his work on Roe v. Wade has resulted in 49 million children being denied the gift of life.

While at Arlington Cemetery, we also visited the Tomb of the Unknowns, where the U.S. Army stand guard 24/7/365. Kristen and I watched the five minute changing of the guard ceremony, and I pondered who the three men buried there were. I also wondered if a Tomb of the Unknown Child would be a possibility in future years when abortion is no longer legal in our country. Will we ever have a monument dedicated to the millions of children who are unknown to all except God?

Finally, as I viewed multiple war memorials (Korea, Vietnam, World War II, Marines, etc.) I was reminded that more babies have been aborted than Americans have died in all wars we have been involved in combined. Of course, comparing the current war on the unborn to past wars, the Holocaust or slavery does not negate the horrible tragedies that those losses of life were. It merely gives us a reminder of what a tremendous gift life is and of what a horrible tragedy a loss of that life or that freedom is.

And why is it, I wondered, while standing before the Jefferson Memorial, that our country does not recognize our inalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness? As the area surrounding Jefferson's statue were flooding with tourists and even young people readying for the March for Life, I couldn't help but wonder if the tourists noticed those famous words from the Declaration of Independence and pondered the same question.

More to come ...

Reflections from the March, part 2

Ensuing our time at the Holocaust Museum and some lunch, Kristen and I took the Metro to the Lincoln Memorial. I wasn't expecting to find anything significant there, other than a good picture and a glimpse of a historic monument. As we walked up dozens of wide, white steps to the statue of our 16th president, I was surprised by how large President Lincoln's statue is in real life. Then I noticed words inscribed on the walls (as well as quotes of his in the museum below) reminding me that President Lincoln was instrumental in ending slavery in our country.

That's when the connection hit me: President Lincoln worked to end slavery in his day, and we are working to end the injustice of abortion in our's. Slavery was treating humans like a commodity, like an object to be used not a person to be loved. Abortion is treating the unborn like commodities to be rid of when inconvenient -- again, objects to be used (or not used) and not as people to be loved.

The towering monument remembering the greatness of Abraham Lincoln was a sign of hope. With God's grace, a culture of life can flourish in our country. At one time, people thought ending slavery was impossible. Perhaps we feel the same way about ending abortion. Yet, this monument was a powerful reminder that with God all things are possible.

Reflections from the March, part 1

There is so much to share from my journey to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life, remembering 35 years of legalized abortion in all 50 states of our country. I had been to D.C. several times, but always for pro-life activities that precluded me from sightseeing. This time I decided to arrive on Friday night and stay with friends throughout the weekend in order to visit some landmarks and museums. What I didn't expect was that these secular tourist attractions would actually keep the Roe v. Wade anniversary in my mind throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, my friend Kristen and I visited religious places -- the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the John Paul II Cultural Center and the Franciscan Monastery (picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the right is from the Franciscan Monastery). These offered opportunities to pray for the flourishing of a culture of life. At Mass in the Basilica, a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for the March for Life was underway.

After Sunday Mass at the Dominican House of Studies, we toured the Holocaust Museum. Witnessing evidence of such atrocities done to fellow humans was quite sobering. It was also a reminder that we are dehumanizing the unborn in our country and in our world today. As the Holocaust Museum exhorts, "Remember what you saw," I was struck by the horrible apathy shown by many Americans today as 3,600 unborn Americans are surgically aborted every day.

Two years ago I went to Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp during World War II. In the museum there, I was struck by a picture of women carrying their children and holding their hands as they walked hurriedly. The caption noted that mothers were tricked into bringing their children to their death, thinking they were heading to showers or other seemingly innocuous places. At the time, I contemplated mothers today who willingly bring their unborn children to their death, or other mothers who are tricked into thinking they are not really killing a child but "terminating a pregnancy."

How long will it take us to realize that what Hitler did by dehumanizing others and deciding who was convenient or worthy of life and who was not, is what we are doing to the unborn today? I think Martin Niemoller's quote regarding the Holocaust sums up our situation with the culture of death well: "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me."

More to come ...