March for Life
Washington, D.C.
January 22, 2009
Thursday

If during our pilgrimage, Lord,
it was your plan to show us how beautiful
a day may be in Washington, D.C.
in the heart of winter...
we clearly experienced that, Lord.

The TRUE BLUE sky
and clear, sunny, calm day
distracted us from the
harsh, barren realities of winter in the district,
as well as the harsh barren realities
of the culture of death's shining darkness,
that shadows our nation.
It was the loveliest day of winter
that we have known thus far,
and we thank You, Lord, for it.

If during our pilgrimage, Lord,
it was in Your plan to show us that
we are never alone in our hearts' desire
to defend life...
we learned it there, Lord.
We were surrounded by so many people,
schools, priests, sisters, seminarians,
families and children there to witness to life.
The people who traveled from out of state,
who sacrificed in every way,
just to walk the narrow way together,
showed us how much You honor our friendships
and bring us together always
to serve Your Kingdom on earth.
Our friends were able to find each other,
though very far apart.
Being granted the privilege
of meeting a dear friend
that I have known for ten years,
for the first time in person,
was so special, Lord.
We have never met in person
but have talked for hours over the past ten years.
about life and service in the Church.
I was so happy to meet her there...
Thank you, Lord, for Colleen.

If during our pilgrimage, Lord,
it was in Your plan to show
how very simple the culture of life is to live,
through the understanding of children,
we learned it there as we watched
our children endure
the traveling, waiting, and marching,
through the day, as they would say,
"All for the babies!"

If during our pilgrimage, Lord,
it was in Your plan to show us
how perseverance builds upon hope...
we learned it there, Lord.
It was there,
where we felt the fire of Your love,
the strength that comes through
perseverance in prayer,
and how very small Goliath is
when the bolder of faith
is poised for dispatching.
Thank you, Blessed Lord,
for Your mercy upon us,
as we gathered there,
in Your name to witness to Your love.

If it was in Your plan, Lord,
to show us that we must rely on You
to see this victory for life to the end,
we learned it there as we ended our march
before the cold, stone pillars of the Supreme Court.
I thought of what it must be like to travel to Auschwitz
to experience the profound realities of the holocausts
that ended in Germany, not so many years ago.
Ours is a holocaust that seems to have no end.
We are burdened with a perpetual re-presentation
of the holocaust of the unborn,
each time we encounter the powerful
who would use the power entrusted to them,
to mute the hand of God
with the stroke of a pen.
You showed to us, Lord, that
You will not leave us alone
as we strive to re-claim
what has been stolen from Your plan.
Our babies have been taken from us.
They cry out to us and You are there to
comfort and console Your people.
Mothers and Fathers have had their very lives
stolen from them with the trickery of death's deception,
and You are there to dry their tears.

If by Your plan, Oh Lord,
we pilgrims leave this day
with a passion for the conversion of souls,
never before experienced...
realizing that,
You are waiting for them
and have sent us
to call them home...
then, it is in every today,
that we beg for this desire.
With the hope that one day,
the March for Life
will not have to take place in our country.

Sharon