Teens and young adults from across The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington faced frigid early morning temperatures Jan. 21 to gather at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington to pray, sing and voice their support for life.
Several hundred young people attended the 33rd Youth Rally and Mass for Life that is held prior to the annual March for Life. Because of the ongoing pandemic, this is the second year in a row that the rally and Mass had limited seating and offered a scaled-down version of previous gatherings.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory was the principal celebrant at the Mass for Life and Father James Morrison, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland, was the homilist. Concelebrants included Washington Auxiliary Bishops Mario Dorsonville and Roy E. Campbell Jr.; Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States; and about a dozen priests.
“It is a special joy to welcome each of you, the youth of our archdiocese … (and) all those joining us via livestream from all across the country,” Cardinal Gregory said. Noting that it is God alone “who has the power to grant the breath of life,” the cardinal prayed that “we stay constant in safeguarding the dignity of every human life.”
Prior to the start of Mass, Archbishop Pierre read a message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, that was issued in the name of Pope Francis.
In that message, Cardinal Parolin said, “His Holiness is grateful for this outstanding public witness to the sacred value of every human life” and reminded those at the rally that “only when the dignity of the human person is respected … can the many forms of social injustice be overcome.”
In his homily, Father Morrison reminded those at the Mass that as they march, they were “chosen to be the ones to reveal His (God’s) glory, to be a light to illuminate the darkness. Since 1973, our nation has been able to murder 63 million children. That is a lot of darkness.”
Father Morrison urged the young pro-lifers to march for life and fight against abortion with love. “God’s light, God’s love is shining through us. We are that light when we love like God,” he said. “In defending the dignity of the unborn, we do so with love.”
He added that “we might not make friends being pro-life,” but those who support abortion must know that they are loved. “We love others with that same radical love we learned from Christ,” Father Morrison said.
Quoting Jesus’s words as recorded in Matthew 18:14 – “It is not the will of My heavenly Father that one of these little ones should be lost” – Father Morrison said abortion providers, women facing crisis pregnancies, homeless persons and those we consider different from ourselves are “these little ones whose God’s love embraces.”
“We set out in the darkness with the best news in the world, and that is ‘God loves you.’ That is the easiest thing to say and the hardest thing to believe,” the priest said. “Every person you meet should hear this today.”
He added that he was energized for the Mrch for Life by seeing “buses unloading and the streets filling.”
“It is time to march, brothers and sisters. God is in our midst today. He goes with us to make His love know through us,” Father Morrison said. “God holds the door open so that every soul can be led to Him. There are no blunders when God brings the thunder. Expect a victory!”
The annual Rally and Mass for Life is held each year in conjunction with the national March for Life which marks the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions making abortion legal in this country.
Since 1990, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has hosted the rally and Mass on the morning of the march as an opportunity for young people to worship together, learn about Catholic teaching on life issues, and to stand firm in their support of life.
Traditionally, the archdiocese hosts the event at a larger venue and invites youth and parish groups from all over the United States to attend. In past years, nearly 10,000 people attended. This year, due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns and the rise of the omicron variant, pre-assigned seating for the in-person event was open only to local youth. However, groups from Texas and Ohio were also at this year’s rally and Mass. Also attending were seminarians of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
This year’s event, like last year’s, was streamed over several social network platforms. It included a recitation of the rosary, talks, musical performances and reflections. Viewers followed the rally and Mass online from as far away as Florida, North Carolina, Missouri and New York.
The main speaker at the rally was Josh Brahm, president and co-founder of Equal Rights Institute, a national organization training pro-life advocates to think, reason and argue persuasively. He has spoken in six countries and in 22 of the 50 states.
Referring to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to hear arguments on a Mississippi law banning all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Brahm said, “I think more likely than not Roe v. Wade gets overturned this year. This is a cool year to march.”
He noted that “pro-choice people are scared, they are angry” because of the very real challenge to Roe. He encouraged “well meanining but off-putting” pro-lifers to civilly engage those who support abortion to “bring down walls and make them more receptive and less defensive.”
“Make a great impact for life in your sphere of influence this year,” he urged the young people at the rally.
Emcees were Robert Feduccia, a speaker, retreat leader, writer and educator, and Dr. Ansel Augustine, a nationally known youth minister and workshop presenter who previously served as executive director of the Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
“We are blessed to have each and every one of you here,” Dr. Augustine told the young people as they streamed into the cathedral. “The Body of Christ would be incomplete if you were not here.” He also reminded the young people that “you are not an accident. Because God made you, you are good.”
Members of the archdiocese’s Youth Leadership Team also participated in the event, and music was provided by PJ Anderson, a Catholic songwriter, singer, worship artist and storyteller.
Feduccia, speaking on the “preciousness of our lives,” reminded those at the rally that “being pro-life is not a matter of faith. It is a matter of reason. But having faith, brings new meaning to what we arrived at by reason.”
“We’ve been made for God. We’ve been made for a relationship with God,” he said. “Not only are we here, but we are here to know God. We cannot snuff out a life that has been made for God.”
At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Gregory encouraged the young adults to consider a religious vocation or a vocation to the priesthood, because “the Church is greatly in need of thoughtful, happy, zealous young men and women.”
Recognizing the seminarians at the Mass, the cardinal called them “a helpful and hopeful sign of the future of this local Church, and they would like you to join them.”
“If you have ever, ever, ever thought about being a priest, keep that thought,” Cardinal Gregory said. “If the Lord is calling you in your heart to a vocation, please say ‘Yes.’”
As he closed his remarks, the cardinal said, “These are wonderful days to witness to life and to take hope in tomorrow. May that be the blessing that all of us take from this Eucharist.”
