Every year we customarily cancel classes for grades 7-12 in order to participate in the March for Life. 2013 is a particularly significant year, for it is the 40th anniversary of that dreadful decision that has since licensed so many abortions, Roe v. Wade.
We approach this annual school trip as a pilgrimage. Pilgrimages are an ancient form of spiritual sacrifice in which an individual or collection of individual embarks upon a long journey, carrying deep within their heart both a specific intention, and a desire to conform more closely to the will of God.
For three years in a row now, students at MRA have attended a Vigil for Life and Rally at Mount Saint Mary's University. The evening vigil includes Mass, Adoration with Benediction, Confession, and a few formal talks on the culture of life. In the morning we join together again with hundreds of youth from around the nation, receive our Lord in Holy Communion as preparation for the battle, and then we walk peacefully through Washington, publicly demonstrating a united effort to protect the unborn and restore an appreciation for life in America.
On Monday we observed Civil Rights day, a truly providential occasion. Martin Luther King Jr. is the greatest nonviolent activist and civil rights leader our nation has ever known, harnessing the energy of the movement in a positive way. The March for Life is simply a continuation of his success. Sadly, our country has reached a crossroad and a contradiction, as evidenced in the lack of legal protection for the unborn, and the innumerable degradations of human life in the culture (so called "same sex" marriage, euthanasia, death penalty, nuclear arms, divorce).
We also celebrated Mass on Monday with Fr. Peter Boucher. We prayed the Mass for the legal protection of the unborn as a preparation for our pilgrimage beginning tomorrow. It was a beautiful and solemn participation in the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. We were reminded that sacrifice is the true answer to changing the culture. Christians must continually offer spiritual sacrifices of all kind if we are to restore an appreciation for human life in the culture.
Below you will find a list of resources and articles that encapsulate our motives and objectives in making this sacrifice year after year. We are so thankful and blessed for goodness of our students who willingly join this noble effort. We are also grateful to the benefactors who make this trip possible. Please pray for our safety, and may God's will be done, for His grace alone can accomplish our efforts to protect the sanctity of life.
Why do we march for life?
The successes of the pro-life movement
Pastoral letter of Archbishop Samuel Aquila
Cardinal DiNaro's letter marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Video commentaries from YouTube evangelist Fr. Robert Barron