MY
Friday, January 21: It's the morning of the March for Life. After an early breakfast, the seminarians and priests of the Pontifical College Josephinum board the bus for the Basilica of Saint Mary in Old Town Alexandria.
We arrived early so we could have time to pray before mass. A couple minutes before mass, the invasion began. Youth groups streamed into the church, filling every pew in rivers of color-coordinated t-shirts. Moments like that remind me that there's hope for the future of the church. After mass, we were given the next couple of hours to explore Alexandria, VA and get some food before we marched. I wandered the city with a couple other guys, and we stopped at a french cafe. Afterwards, we walked down to the waterfront. I was surprised by how beautiful the city was, and I could have spent another couple hours touring cobbled streets, red brick sidewalks, old buildings, and street markets. We all convened at the bus and traveled into Washington D.C. and rallied with tens of thousands of Marchers. First, I was amazed by the sheer number of people present at the march. Then I was amazed at the number of Catholics I saw. I think about half of the group banners I saw were Catholic. The Josephinum's banner included - which was carried by yours truly. The Josephinum prayed a 15 decade rosary during the entire march, singing hymns between each decade. I was touched whenever someone would pray or sing along, or would come up to us and ask who we were, where we were from, promise to pray for us, or tell stories about how they knew someone who attended the Josephinum. I ran into a lot of friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Other groups chanted protest songs or pro-life slogans. Bands played. The state police were out, but they seemed very unconcerned about us. Frankly, it seemed like they were congregating around the small groups of counter-protestors... It was surreal being and praying in the capitol city and passing by government buildings. I forget which building it was on, but some government employees were cheering us on from a balcony. One of them ran back into the building and came out with some pom-poms! A long drive back to Columbus and some time to think later, I am still inspired by what I saw and experienced at the March for Life. We were near the front of the March, and I remember looking back while on top of Capitol Hill to see people stretching on and on behind us, in solidarity for the dignity of every human life. The March for Life is a beacon of hope for this country and a call for all the faithful to protest and pray for an end to abortion. P.S. I have finished quarantine round two. I'm still pretty tired and I have plenty of work to catch up on. Still, God is good - I had a very prayerful quarantine. Thank you for the prayers!
1 Comment
Chug and Debbie
2/4/2022 05:14:15 pm
John Paul, thanks for the reports from DC. A beautiful place to visit. Chug and Debbie
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