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| The Mass and Prayer Vigil for Life in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. |
Wow. The opening Mass and Prayer Vigil for life was held on Monday night at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In attendance was our friend Fr. Scott Thomas of St. Francis in Madison along with a group of parents and students from St. Joseph's High School in Jackson... and 10,000 of their closest friends.
By all accounts, the Mass was awe-inspiring. The basilica was packed and people were everywhere - many of them high school and college students from across the country. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the archbishop of Houston, delivered the homily in which he spoke of the late Ven. John Paul II who "called on us to be a luminous conscience for many whose conscience on the dignity of the human person is distorted and lives in shadows." The cardinal encouraged young men and women especially to "be a pro-life witness among your friends, in your schools and in your parishes."
Also in attendance at the Mass were an estimated 425 priests, 390 seminarians, 34 bishops and 6 archbishops.
I am truly heartened when I read about activism like this. Statistics prove that the younger generations (Generation Y, the Millennial Generation, et al) are much more pro-life in outlook than their predecessors. I strongly believe that you can trace this to a wider availability of information about human development in the womb. But regardless of the reason, it is certainly hopeful. Together, we are helping to foster a "culture of life" in this country that is truly committed to protecting all innocent lives. Continue to pray that God will help us to live our lives in a way that we will be able to be pro-life witnesses among our friends, and in our school and our parish. Deus vult!
