Marching on Washington DC and Storming Heaven

Here is a photo I took of a portion of the 30,000 people, mostly young people, at the Verizon Center. It was a great program with music, uplifting testimonies, the rosary and the greatest prayer of all--the Eucharist! It was a super experience. I hadn't been to the Verizon event previously. It has gotten so big that there was a parallel event at the DC Armory.

I am 42 now and have gotten discouraged at times wondering if things will really change regarding abortion. I hadn't been to the March for several years for various reasons and I was encouraged by changes that I saw. For one the Verizon event was so wrapped in prayer! When we got to the Mall, the talks by the politicians were "shout out"s to their states and encouraging words for all those involved. It wasn't a time to go on about every topic on the politicians agenda nor was it a time of bashing other people--at least all that I heard. Another difference I appreciated was the signs of life rather than death. The signage that people carried showed live babies within the womb and already born accompanied by a message. Only once did I see a gruesome picture and that was on the side of a truck. I think "40 Days for Life" through its events has tried to promote the signs showing life rather than death.

I was at a wonderful college student conference this past weekend (FOCUS-Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Many of the students were staying over for the March for Life on Monday. Others couldn't and felt bad. It was a good opportunity to remind them that there are many ways to advocate for the unborn and the March is just one of those ways.

Tonight at the State of the Union Address, there will be some Republicans sitting on the Democrat side and some Democrats sitting on the Republican side. An action I find very encouraging--a sign of hope. So, if our politicians can come together for the good of the citizens of the United States, then yes miracles can happen! We have a new wave of young people who are ready with fresh ways to advocate for the newborn and to give the rest of us renewed hope that the lives of the unborn will soon be protected by our law.

Let us continue to storm heaven!