AMDG
Over the past several years we’ve had weather worthy of a
walking sacrificial pilgrimage of the middle ages……..rain, sleet, cold --enough
to freeze our feet and hands off--, so much snow on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
to strand a miles long line of buses for 18 hours. We expected to have much of the same, but the
Lord gave us a big surprise and a welcome break. The weather was absolutely gorgeous after a
big snow a few days before, not even one cloud in the sky with a bright blue
surrounding the sun.
A pilgrimage is a prayerful journey to a destination of
prayer. Indeed our March for Life was
that. On Thursday, January 18 the South
bus was due to leave at 4:15 am from Gallipolis and the North bus at the same
time from Cambridge. We met in at the
bus depot outside of Parkersburg. On the
way we prayed the rosary as well as the Chaplet and saw the video,
“Rediscovering God in America”. Newt
Gingrich, a historian himself, took the viewer all over Washington,
particularly the Capitol rotunda and the Supreme Court, to show that America is
indeed a nation under God. On the way
back we saw the “13th Day” which is the Fatima story and Mary’s
message.....pray the rosary daily for peace, repent, and offer sacrifices such as
the daily trials to the Lord through Mary for the conversion of sinners.
The Vigil Mass at the
Basilica. After checking into the Comfort Inn in Sterling, VA, we took a
subway to the fabulous Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. We saw the beautifully painted Dome of the
Holy Trinity that was just dedicated.
Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York was the main celebrant and
homilist while hundreds of bishops and priests concelebrated, including
Cardinal Shawn O’Malley of Boston and Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C.,
who gave special recognition to the work of the Knights of Columbus.
It
was standing room only at the beautiful Mass televised live by EWTN. The overflow had to watch it on TV in the
crypt. 36 cadets from West Point and 30
Midshipmen from the near-by Naval Academy at Annapolis (male and female) looked
really sharp in their uniforms. The
cadets bivouacked in sleeping bags on the floor at a nearby Catholic
school. They were great witnesses for life. It’s amazing that the West Point cadets were
excused from class after doing extra work.
Thus they marched the next day, but not in uniform at what could be
construed as a political event. The
vigil Mass preceded all night adoration and prayer.
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The
Knights of Columbus played an active part in the March for Life on Friday
January 19. A large honor guard in full
regalia processed at the Vigil Mass at the magnificent Basilica of the
Immaculate Conception with hundreds of cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons,
and seminarians all of which was televised on EWTN. At the end of the Mass Cardinal Donald Wuerl,
the Archbishop of Washington publicly gave special recognition to the Knights
of Columbus for their work. They paid
for many of the signs in the March. At
the March itself a local council from Virginia acted as the marshals for the
March and collected money in a bucket to alleviate the cost of the March. Pictured above are the knights from the
Diocese of Steubenville after the Vigil Mass in front of McGivney Hall of the
Catholic University of America which was financed by the Knights of
Columbus. The statue of Fr. Michael
McGivney, the founder of the order, overlooks the group. The Council from Cambridge brought the
greatest number of knights in the diocese.
Our own Council 3335 was represented by Michael Stapleton, Paul
Sebastian, and Mike Merry. Tim Stapleton
came separately with his family of seven children in his stretch van. We missed our chaplain, Fr. Thomas Hamm, who
was unable to attend. Both he and his
predecessor, Fr. Bill Myers have been very faithful to the March over the
years. Start planning now to participate
in the March next year. Photo thanks to
Susanne Patrick.
The next day we had a choice of three different Masses by our
three priests (we missed Fr. Tom) to start the day…….the early bird 6:30, 7:30,
and 8:30 am. The participants had the
choice of seeing the sights or attending the Right to Life Rally on the National
Mall at 11 am. Among the speakers were
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Vice President Pence, and President Trump, all
of whom spoke remotely on the big screen from the White House.
Inspiration in the Archives
Building on 7th and Constitution Avenue, where I met my godson. It give a fascinating overview of the History
of the United States in hundreds of expositions, including the original
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the
Gettysburg Address. They all point to
the dignity of the person and to the inalienable God given rights of life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
That’s
why we and at least 100,000 more were there…….to proclaim together in a loud
voice the right to life from the womb to the tomb…….to witness for the life of
the most defenseless person, the unborn.
Who has the right to snuff out the life of God’s most magnificent
creation (see my blog #183 at paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com)? Every person, from the unborn to the
handicapped and the aging invalid has such dignity and value because each one is
created according to the image and likeness of God whose son suffered and died
for us in order to open the gates of Heaven for everyone who chooses to follow
the Lord.
Diversity and East
Meets West. Most of the participants
were younger people, but all ages and races were represented, including babies
in carriages, kids from Catholic Schools, disabled on wheelchairs, and more
women than men as in our two buses. The
marchers were predominantly Catholic, but there was a Lutheran group and an
Anglican group. I met or saw university
students from Catholic University, Franciscan, Christendom, Benedictine, Ave
Maria, and Notre Dame either this year or last.
There were many nuns, priests, and seminarians. Buses came from
Missouri, Indiana, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York which has
the most liberal abortion inclusions, and neighboring states.
“I love storks”; it’s not a choice, it’s a
life”; babies can feel joy (of the mother) in the womb”; “students for life”. The local Knights of Columbus from Virginia
were the parade marshals who kept order and collected buckets of money for the
March for Life and rally expenses. We
missed our pastor, Fr. Tom and our pastor emeritus, Fr. Bill who attended some
30 of these Marches since 1974. The
extended Stapleton family has been very faithful over the years. This year the Scott & Bernadette Lewis
family less the two babies and the Tim & Chrissy Stapleton family were all
there with their Uncle Mikey. Maureen
Murphy Kormanik and her granddaughter were also present. The witness of the kids is special, especially
babies. Mike Merry, the President of
Right to Life of Gallia County attended his 25th or so. John Spencer has done a great job in
organizing at least two busloads of people to make the March in each of the
past several years.
Even Germany is represented. The fight for the right to life, God’s
greatest creation and gift, from the womb to the tomb has no boundaries in this
world of ours.
I
met a small group of Polish Americans with a sign in
Polish, “Zycie zawsze, jest dobrem (Jan Pawel II)” or “Life is always good”. Scott Lewis saw a group of Polish
seminarians. There was a group of Germans
with a sign in German, French Canadians with signs in French, and Latin
Americans with signs in Spanish as “Pro Mamá; pro bebe; pro vida”. A group of Vietnamese Americans were praying
the rosary melodically in their language of birth. I noticed a group of Filipino Americans, a
Hibernian group, and Iraqi-Americans with their banner of the Chaldean
Rite of the Catholic Church.
They were violently persecuted by ISIS and other radical Islamists in
Iraq.
Milan
Lach SJ, Bishop of Parma, OH and part of his flock. Born in Slovakia, he blends our ancestors,
Carpatho-Rusyns who immigrated to the United States, and their descendants,
Ruthenian-Americans.
What really caught my eye was the banner of “Eastern
Rite Catholics” from the Parma, Ohio Diocese about a third of the United States. One of them recognized me. Five of them are my relatives (grandchildren
of my cousin Martha Loya) from Cleveland.
What a happy chance reunion! I
gave a warm hug to all five of them. The
boys are tall and handsome and kid sister, the last of the eight children, is
blossoming into a beautiful young lady. I
marched with them around the Capitol building to the Supreme Court building where
they conducted a singing prayer service in their Byzantine Rite. They sang the beautiful Akathist Hymn in
English to the Theotokos, the Mother of God (see www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJipuoCREPE) and I sang along with
them…….all 22 pages of it.
Byzantine
Ruthenian Catholics of Parma, Ohio sing the beautiful Akathist Hymn to the
Theotokos, the Mother of God in front of the Supreme Court building.
Then their Bishop Milan Lach SJ gave us a blessing. The prayer service attracted attention and Latin Rite
seminarians and religious joined in.
Indeed East met West. As St. John
Paul II said: the East and the West are the two lungs of the Catholic Church……unity
in doctrine under papal authority, but diversity in customs, culture, and
traditions. Somehow, I was not the last
one to board our bus. Every March is
different; every March is an adventure and a new experience. Come and join us in 2019.
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