Last month, in an awesome display of solidarity, Right-to-Lifers from across the nation converged once again on Washington D.C. to commemorate the January 22 anniversary of the Supreme Court’s tragic ruling that legalized abortion in America.
Together in Eucharist
On the eve of this 30th anniversary, luminaries from the political left (Senator Joe Lieberman, the ostensibly “Catholic” Senator John Kerry, etc.) joined with Hollywood movie stars (Ed Harris, Kathleen Turner) at a NARAL gala to festively celebrate the legal right to kill innocent human life, while across town thousands of Roman Catholics prepared to overfill the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to pray for the estimated 42 million precious human lives that have been ended by abortion.
When morning broke, the Most Reverend Sean P. O’Malley, Bishop of Palm Beach, brilliantly led the faithful in a solemn and stirring Mass. In a homily that generated spontaneous and thunderous applause inside the largest church in the Western Hemisphere, he laid out for us the horrifying ramifications the epidemic of abortion has had on our society. While candidly explaining the gravity of the situation, he also took pains to make the case for a sense of cautious optimism about the way many Americans are beginning to view abortion.
With words that drew from sources such as the biblical story of Jonah, Father Mapple’s related sermon in Chapter IX of Moby-Dick, and Jesus’s own account of the Good Samaritan, Bishop O’Malley called us all to take positive and concrete action to foster the Culture of Life. He urged us not only to be aware of the infanticide that continues to plague the United States, but also to do something about it. Our private, internal opposition is not enough, and neither, he emphasized, is the merely private, internal opposition of our political leaders. The Bishop then proceeded to interweave the powerful words of Abraham Lincoln (from the Lincoln-Douglas debates) with his own message of love and compassion in drawing the compelling parallel between the “slavery-mentality” view and the “abortion-mentality” view of the human person. Abortion is a heinous crime, but he emphasized — and emphasized again — that we Pro-Lifers are affirmatively called and obliged to reach out and to embrace with compassion and with love those unfortunate people who involve themselves, indirectly as well as directly, in abortion’s tragedy. Though our outrage is just, we must work and pray together peacefully and lovingly, as Catholics, for the conversion of hearts and for God’s mercy and redemption for all people. It was, without question, the single best Pro-Life oration I have ever had the pleasure to hear.
Carry the Message Home
Immediately following Mass, with temperatures that felt well below freezing and a piercing wind-chill factor, the soldiers of God took to the streets in peaceful and prayerful protest against the scourge of abortion in the United States. We convened at noon for the traditional rally just in front of the Washington Monument. Our master of ceremonies was once again Ms. Nellie Gray, the President of the March for Life Fund and a fierce opponent of the “feminist/abortionist murderous agenda.”
Following the opening prayer and pledge of allegiance, an impressive array of Congressmen and women energized the crowd with their words and exhortations. The speeches of Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Representative Mike Pence (R-IN), Representative Melissa Hart (R-PA) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) were among the most inspiring of the day. Although he was disappointingly not present, President Bush’s recorded message was played over the loudspeakers, and the crowd was invigorated by his Pro-Life message.
It’s hard to judge these things when you’re a part of them, but I felt I could sense a collective excitement — a momentum — in speaking with the people who had come from all across the nation to make their public witness in the heart of our capital city. One of our goals ought to be to harness that energy somehow, bring it back to our own states and communities, and convert it into action. Do we even talk up the Right to Life with friends and family and co-workers? Let’s make a renewed commitment to giving the movement a real voice. Let’s get involved with our parish Pro-Life organizations. Let’s squeeze a few words about crisis pregnancy hotlines and Project Rachel retreats into our bulletins. Let’s get out to our local abortion mills and shut them down with our peaceful witness and our words of enlightenment, hope and wisdom to those who find themselves where they should not be. And let’s elect, at the local as well as the national level, only those politicians who are on board with our Agenda of Life!
Make a Difference
That’s the mood I saw at the rally in the park, and that mood continued as the actual advance along Constitution Avenue began. The faithful pilgrims, forming thousands of rows lined 25 across, chanted, sang and prayed in common purpose along the route. Realizing (unlike NARAL) that this was not an occasion for dancing and festivity, the Pro-Life crowd marched seriously and seemed focused. My brother and I, making our second consecutive pilgrimage, had the good fortune to cross paths with three elderly Philippine women, walking side-by-side and hand-in-hand. We joined them and all took our turns leading and praying the Mysteries of the Rosary, creating a small inner circle of solemn prayer and Marian devotion. Several other people joined in our Rosary as they passed by. It was an inspirational moment and a highlight of my journey.
As we approached the Supreme Court building I took notice of the enormity of the crowd, all fighting the good fight and standing up for the unborn. I was strengthened and heartened by the large youthful presence, with all of their characteristic enthusiasm. The Pro-Life movement most definitely has a next generation, and I was proud to join ranks with them in defending our most fundamental right. In discussing the day’s events with my brother on the train ride home, I discovered that he had noticed and felt the same things.
After the day’s excitement, God’s miracle of life was further brought home to me in seeing the delight on my brother’s face when he spoke about his new 4-month-old son, Gerard (who was named, in fact, in honor of the wonder-working patron saint of mothers and the unborn!). When I think about my own three beautiful children (August, Pattie Jane and Liam), I become completely overjoyed and filled with a humbling sense of gratitude to God and to my wife, Elevena. It has become my life’s ambition to help steer people away from abortion and the Culture of Death, and toward that Culture of Life wherein I prayerfully hope that someday all women and all people will appreciate and hold sacred the beauty and the mystery of children, family and Life itself — from conception to natural death.
I urge all Pro-Lifers around our great land to give thanks to God for helping us to endure. And I encourage all who visit this wonderful website to attend next year’s March. It sincerely makes a difference, and the experience is unforgettable.
© Copyright 2003 Catholic Exchange
Patrick James Allen is a union electrician in the Boston area. You can reach him via email at elevena11a@hotmail.com
