First Ever Virtual March for Life!

From the AUL Action comes the first ever Virtual March for Life!  This is perfect for those of us who would love to go to the March, but can't make it there in person.  To join the ranks of 39+ Pro-Lifers Marching online, all you have to do is follow this link: http://www.virtualmarchforlife.com/

These Dead Shall Not Have Died in Vain

The evening of the March for Life, after the crowds had all dispersed, the sun had set and we had all eaten our dinner, the "Awesome Group" went on a tour of some of the many monuments of Washington D.C. The first one we stopped at was the Lincoln Memorial. I was awestruck at it's size, which you would never guess from looking at photographs of it. It is huge, almost as grand and imposing as the words inscribed inside. I raced up the stairs and attempted to take photos of the statue, but alas, in dim lighting, that doesn't work so well. All blurry. Naturally, on the bus driving away from the Lincoln Memorial I discovered a setting on the camera that said "Use for taking pictures in especially dim lighting". Of course.

After I attempted to take some photos, I strolled over to the side of the monument where the immortal Gettysburg Address is engraved in the wall. Leaning up against one of the towering columns, I read the words written so many years ago, soaking it in. I read it as I always have, thinking of the Civil War, when I came to the last paragraph. I gasped slightly and read the words in a way I have never read them before. New meaning lept out at me and I re-read them again.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

I read them again, and felt my eyes well up with tears. That was why we were there, why everyone there that day was in Washington D.C. Why there is a March for Life.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

President Lincoln was speaking about the soldiers, but in a way, he could have been speaking about the unborn. Those children gave their lives, maybe without a choice, but they gave them anyhow.

I read somewhere once that everyone was created for a purpose, and that you will not die until that purpose, that mission is fulfilled. It is my belief that the mission of the aborted unborn children is to bring about the conversion of their mothers, to serve as an example to all those contemplating abortion and bring about their conversion, so that our nation, and the world, might someday realize and repent of the evil it has been allowing for far too long. During their short lives, they were part of the Church Militant, they were soldiers too. Now that they are in heaven, they are part of the Church Triumphant, but they are still fighting with their prayers, so that not another child will have to die in the war against The Enemy.

In the words of President Lincoln,

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain!

We must continue the fight, those of us who were given the chance to be born, to grow up, to live our lives for the honor and glory of God.

When I read those words, my throat tight with tears, they gave me such comfort. I admit that I was struggling with disappointment at not having been able to meet up with some friends I'd dearly wanted to meet, and I was brought back to the remembrance of why I went to D.C. I was so thankful to God for not only healing my disappointment, but for reminding me of the reason I was there. Not to have fun and experience history - though I did do both as well - but to save lives. HE gave me renewed dedication to fighting for the cause.

It is my hope that all you who read this blog post, will read that last paragraph of the Gettysburg Address, and then read it again and again. Then resolve in your heart to fight for the pro-life cause

So that these dead children shall not have died in vain.

National Treasure Scenes

Hee hee, ok this is mainly for Hannah, showing her that I have proof that I walked the same ground as the famous Riley Poole! (Who happens to be her forum "boyfriend".)
My proof, photographs and a video. Watch the first couple of seconds of the video, and you will see Riley jump out of his van just in front of the National Archives, the same side as I took a picture of. Ha ha, that's why I took the picture. We were walking past and I was like "Oh my gosh, I've seen that before in National Treasure!" I tried to find a photo, but there aren't any. =P

/\ My photo

So while futilely searching for a photo of the National Archives from National Treasure, I kept running across that blasted photo below (it's everywhere! Ugh.) which reminded me that I had been to the Lincoln Memorial too! (Not that I forgot, but I had forgotten that Riley was there too. And Ben, can't forget Ben.)

/\ My photo!
/\ My photo!

/\ National Treasure's photo

Next time I go to D.C. I shall take a picture just like the NT one! Minus Ben and Riley, of course. =(

(Oh yeah, and I walked past the FBI building too. Did Ben go there in the movie? Because it didn't look the same... maybe I just don't remember or walked past a different side. *shrugs*)
And Hannah, please don't smash too many bottles on my head. Please?

5 Quick Takes Saturday - Vol 2

-1-

I'm home!!!!!!!! Oh it was sooooo wonderful! Ok, in case you didn't figure out from my previous post, I went to the March for Life! Totally unplanned and unexpectedly! Let's see, I heard of a group to go with on Saturday (Thank you Miss March! Wish you could've come!), I was told I could go on Tuesday, and I left on Wednesday and was at the March on Thursday! It was totally awesome!!!! I loved every minute of it, and I wish I was still there! (I'll add pictures to this post sometime today). I think that today's quick takes will be about the March... I mean really, how could I talk about anything else?

-2-

The trip
I left Tuesday night to spend the night with some friends who were going on the March as well, and at 4 in the morning or something we headed off to meet up with the group we were going with. After mass at the church, we loaded up and I rode for the first time in a travel bus. Those things are so cool! They are big, have no seatbelts, and have TVs! The absence of seatbelts took about a 1/2 hour to get used to and I was soon walking around the bus and didn't miss the belts at all! There were two buses, the girls bus and the boys bus, which was nice. On Wed. we watched The Ultimate Gift and Window to the Womb (a 1/2 hour film about ultrasounds). Friday on the way home we watched Expelled and parts of Maria Goretti. The ride was really fun, so even though we were in the bus all day, you didn't notice. The snacks were awesome too. =) By far the best part of the trip was the fact that we were a Catholic group with priests and brothers along, we prayed and sang religous music, and prayed and sang somemore! It really helped in keeping us focused on why we were on the bus heading to D.C.

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The Day of the March

The Awesome Group (my group!) went to mass at St. Patrick's church in D.C., and it was beauitful!!! Not only was the church pretty (and they had a mosaic of St. Rose of Lima!) but the mass was wonderful as well. Besides the Awesome Group, there were 5 or 6 other groups at mass, so the church was really croweded. After mass and lunch we then walked to the mall area, singing and chanting all the way with our papal flags, white hats and yellow scarfs. (If you later saw a group standing on stairs with papal flags and white and yellow umbrella's, that was us!) I actually marched with Christendom College, because the friends I was with got invited to march with them (one of them is going there in the fall!) and my mom said I could go with them, so that was pretty cool. The sight of thousands of people while looking down from Capitol Hill was awe inspiring. We finished the march by praying in front of the Supreme Court building.

After rejoining the Awesome Group, we got lunch at the Old Post Office and went on a tour of Washington! We walked to the White House (I have a funny story to tell about that) and then drove to the Lincoln Memorial (HUGE!), the Korean War Memorial, and the Iwo Jima Memorial (found the extra hand!)
All in all it was a wonderful day! Even in the face of depressing news, the memory of seeing all those who stood up for Life and knowing that there were millions more who didn't come, gives hope that somehow and in someway we did make a difference. (I had fantasies of Obama seeing all the pro-lifers and coming out and promising not to sign FOCA... needless to say, that didn't happen. =( )

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The People
I met so many great people on this trip, including, most excitingly:
MY FORUM "DAUGHTER"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!! I met Puritylover and she was with the Awesome Group too, so we spent three whole days together!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome!!!!! Purity is the one without the hat, isn't she gorgeous?
I also met Purity's sister, Catholicgirl, who happens to be my great niece... oh my gosh! She's my great niece!!!! *faints* I didn't realize that! Wow, that's weird... and I also met Ella11, another *cough* great niece. Ha ha, and they are both great nieces! (Sorry for the horrid pun). I tried to meet up with Paul and Lanta, but alas it did not work out. I did get to talk to them though!!!! (Kind of, the D.C. reception was horrid.) I actually talked to Paul, all I really got to say to Lanta was "hi" and "bye", because I couldn't hear what she was saying.

-5-

Notre Dame
On the way home yesterday from D.C., the Awesome Group stopped in South Bend Indianna for a visit to Notre Dame University. The University graciously allowed us to use one of the dorm chapels for mass, which was really nice. After mass we walked to the Basillica on the campus. It was so beautiful! The ceilings were very tall, and the most gorgeous paintings on them. The tabernacle (left) was amazing as well, as were the many relics of the saints. They still had their Nativity scene up, which was really cool! After a few moments in the Basillica, we went to the Lourdes Grotto where I lit a candle for you all. Then it was back on the road again, homeward bound.

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That's it for today's quick takes, but rest assured, there shall be many more posts! In the meantime...

Below is a Mr. Linky list if you'd like to add a link to your own 5 Quick Takes post. (1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your post and not your main blog URL. (2) Include a link back here.

I look forward to reading your posts!

I'm Heading Out!

See you all in a few days!