some impressions from the March for Life

1. We had some guardian angels helping on the way here. Our bus driver originally thought we left at 5am not 5pm on Tuesday, so his sleeping schedule was a little off, and he had a hard time staying awake, or so it seemed at times. Some brave pilgrims tried to keep talking to him throughout the night so we could get there safely, and we did!


2. Should have had Powerbars, not fast food. Stomach ached a lot.


3. Sleeping pills or no sleeping pills? I have one, but am scared to use it.


4. 16,000 people at the Shrine Mass - it's neat, but so crowded - no way to do an outdoor Mass in DC in January, is there? The new football stadium? They have football there in January!! Jesus was born outside (almost) - am I crazy here?


5. Young people are learning how to pray. No complaints from our group about Mass, rosary, Liturgy of the Hours - they eat prayer up and are always ready for more!


6. Politically, it is still an advantage to be pro-life, up to 3% more of Americans are against abortion, but not many of those are 'single-issue' voters.


7. Without Catholics, the March for Life would die, but with them, it is 200K strong, and is the most consistent and enduring civil rights demonstration in US history.


8. One theme of the March is that if Obama wants to be like Lincoln, he should find a just cause and deliver the neglected and the innocent from oppression - there was optimism that He could really be converted to the cause of life. This surprised me.


9. Obama was challenged to know what an abortion really is, to meet with mothers and fathers harmed by abortion (as President of all Americans) to define when his life began, to define when the lives of his daughters began, and to explain why abortion on demand is necessary.


10. Another theme was that some Americans are for abortion because they do not see abortion. Again, greater effort must be made to show exactly what we have made legal in the country, and familiarize Americans with abortion procedures. It is not medicine.


11. Pro-lifers were encourage to pray, to live joyfully, to make friends, to be community organizers, and to persevere until the cause is won.


12. There is still great optimism among pro-lifers for our country. That our country can be a moral leader, and be the first country who once legalized abortion who later came to the defense of the unborn.


13. We had a gorgeous day on which to March - 42 degrees and sunny! We didn't have to offer up the bad weather!