life is beautiful

This past week I went to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. I joined over 300,000 other pro-lifers as we marched from the mall to the Supreme Court on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. We were there to march against abortion and to stand up for life from conception to natural death.

This was my second time going and it was very different from the first. I went with Mary and Jon this year rather than Iowans for Life. Mary works for KWKY, the Catholic radio station in Des Moines, and Jon volunteers to do a show called Martyrs of the Third Millennium which he was taping interviews for. M3M was inspired by a quote from JPII that I can't find right now. :)

I was amazed to hear the profound things that so many people said. How wonderful to see people inspired by the Spirit. The person who probably gave me the most hope, however was Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life. He spoke of hope within the pro-life movement. The hope is not from how many people come to the MFL or how hard we pray or protest against abortion. Our hope and our help is from God. He alone can make it happen. And with a pro-choice president, we are tempted to let our hope fade. This is silly, however, when we realize that God is in charge. He can overcome this desipite what Obama does to unravel our work and regardless of how hard we work.

Being at the MFL has inspired me. I see the universality of the Church as well as the goodness of humanity. I am relieved to remember that God's triumph is not about me. :) What a good deal!

At the vigil Mass (where ever 16,000 people crammed into the National Shrine and the opening song took 30 minutes because there were so many priests there), Cardinal Justin Rigali of Washington State had something inspiring to say:

"Are we prepared to say yes to His will without counting the cost? [....] Do not be afraid of Christ. He takes nothing away and gives you everything."

Amen!

Jesus, fill us with hope and help us to say YES to You!