--1--
What was the highlight of my week? Why, the March for Life, of course! The boys and I headed out the door before dawn to board the bus that was waiting for us at church. Of course, once we were several miles up the road I realized I had left my camera in the car (I had my telephoto lens, though, for all the good it would have done!) After a few seconds of being disappointed and ticked off at myself for forgetting it, I decided NOT to let the lack of my camera ruin my whole day.
--2--
Our first stop was the Verizon Center for the Youth Rally and Mass. When we walked into the arena I heard our youth minister, Mr. C, exclaim excitedly, "COOL!! It's Steve Angrisano!!" I'd never heard of him. Mr. C explained that he's quite well-known among young Catholics, and he's even played at World Youth Day events. (Check out Steve's Facebook fan page here.) He provided some wonderful music for the rally and the Mass, and I think I just might have to try and download some of his stuff to my Ipad! Here's a small sampling of the beautiful crowds of young folks and Steve's rockin' Jesus music:
--3--
I don't think I've ever seen so many priests (or bishops, for that matter) in one place in my entire life. The mass was beautiful and moving, and Father Mark Ivaney gave a wonderful homily that brought many people to tears. (You can read a transcript of it here.)
As we were watching the coverage we had taped from EWTN the other day, I spotted Father Leo Patalinghug walking across the TV screen during the procession. (I guess I wasn't looking at the Jumbotron when he walked by.) Had I known he was there I might have gone looking for him, possibly making a complete fool of myself.
I snapped this photo with my phone at the end of the Mass, after just about everyone had received Communion.
--5--
We walked down to Constitution Avenue for the March, and instead of heading to the Mall where the rally was happening, our Hostess with the Mostest Sister F. wanted to put our group in a good position to join the March once it started. (I think that was the right call, since it was difficult enough keeping everyone together.) It was cold, but thankfully our church had provided hand- and foot-warmers for everyone. The March itself got started a little late, and many people along the route actually started marching ahead of the banner that traditionally is carried in front. After a few minutes of discussion among the adults in the group, we decided to begin marching as well since it was a little unclear at that point whether or not the March had officially started. (Personally, I would have liked to wait a few more minutes and try and get behind the banner. But that was OK.)
A couple of photos I managed to get with my phone:
The start of the March, the part we accidentally missed.
Needless to say, we finished a little earlier than we expected, and we were able to get home before dark. The boys unanimously said they DEFINITELY wanted to attend the March again next year, and ESPECIALLY if they could go to the Youth Rally and Mass beforehand!
--6--
We've had two more snow days this week. I don't know if we'll get much of a Spring Break this year. Today I have some unexpected free time (which is why I can actually post this today), and I'm hoping to get some housework done as well so I'll have less to do tomorrow. I'm also planning to curl up with my iPad and read my current e-book, Our Lady of Kibeho by Immaculee Ilibagiza, and maybe I'll read some of Peggy Bowes' The Rosary Workout too; and possibly get started with the actual working out part this weekend. Heck, I might even work a little bit on my other blog, Cooking Nick's Books. (check out my latest post here.)
--7--
I almost didn't tell you about this. If you saw my last post, you might have seen a discussion I had with a pro-choice friend about the poor choice of words I used on my blog recently. There's been a lot of talk about "civility" lately, and as much as we all try and take that to heart, sometimes we say things we shouldn't. My friend reminded me of that this week. I find myself wondering if an anonymous person had expressed those same feelings to me, would I have ignored them, and dismissed them as angry rants from someone on the other side? I certainly hope not; and as sorry as I feel for hurting my friend's feelings (even though my thoughts weren't directed at her, just the pro-choice movement in general), she made me realize how easy it is to get caught up in our own causes and forget the feelings of those who disagree with us.
Here's a video I saw the other day of a woman angrily lashing out against pro-life activists.
The person who posted the video made this point: Just look at the violence of the pro-choicers. See how uncouth and rude and unclassy they are? I got a different impression from it, however. The woman in the video is visibly upset. Her voice is shaking. Is she crying? It's hard to tell. How do we know that (and I'm not rushing to judgment in any way here) there isn't an abortion in her past, and she's hurting inside because of it? Or maybe someone she loves had an abortion, and she is standing up for women that seek them, feeling like we pro-lifers want to condemn these women. I don't feel inclined to condemn this woman for her behavior; maybe she just needs us to listen to her and love her and let her know how much God loves her, too.
I think we all need to work a little harder to listen to our pro-choice friends, while continuing to persevere in our efforts to promote a culture of life.
For more Quick Takes, see Jennifer at Conversion Diary!
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