March for Life

Last weekend marked the 38^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the court decision that legalized abortion. This event is memorialized each year with The March for Life, a peaceful protest calling for the repeal of this disastrous decision. On Monday I had the opportunity to attend the Rally and March with my daughter, son-in-law and his brother, two granddaughters and two grandsons.

My 11 yr old granddaughter and I left NJ on Sunday afternoon and spent the night with my daughter and her family (husband and 3 children aged 7 months, 2 ½ and 5 years) in PA. The next morning we took off for DC around 5am to meet up with my son-in-law’s brother, a Franciscan friar. After attending Mass and enjoying the hospitality of the priests and brothers at the Friary we took off for the Rally. We walked to the Metro, took two trains (while wheeling 2 strollers) and finally arrived as the events were starting. We acquired our signs and moved in to hear the speakers. The expected hour and a half of speeches lasted almost 4 hours in below freezing weather. About 3 hours into it we went into the Art Museum to thaw out the kids who by now were reaching the Popsicle stage.   

As we were preparing to leave the museum we got word that the rally was over and people were lining up for the March. We quickly bundled back up and headed out to take our place in line. When you’re walking with small children and pushing strollers it’s difficult to keep a place in large group so we found ourselves drifting in and out of the different groups.  There were approximately 200,000 people marching that afternoon, people who lived nearby and people who had travelled all night by bus to get there.  There was an impressive amount of young people carrying signs promoting themselves as being the pro-life generation.  That gave me a lot of hope for the future.

As we made our way down the street, I heard one surrounding group praying the Rosary, another, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Other groups were drumming and singing hymns and songs of praise and worship while others were making up pro-life chants. Some were quiet, probably engaging in personal prayer. I found myself saying a Hail Mary with this group, a little of the Chaplet with another group, singing a familiar hymn or song and yes even jumping in on the chants and dancing to the drums. But most of all I watched my family as we marched together for a common cause, respect for life, all life. I thank God everyday for the wonderful family that He’s given me, a family willing to brave the freezing temperatures for a cause that they believe in.

 

When the March ended, we made our way back to the Metro.  Two trains and short walk later we were back to the Friary where we had left the car. It was now rush hour in DC and we were all tired.   The Friars, who had made extra food since they had guests staying with them, invited us to come in, refresh ourselves and share their meal. Eventually we made our way back to my daughter’s in Harrisburg.  My granddaughter and I switched to my car and drove back to NJ.  It was a long cold day but I’ll remember and hope that my grandchildren will as well.

I would like to express my thanks to the priests and brothers at the St. Louis Friary in DC.  Your hospitality was incredibly generous and welcoming.  God Bless!

Read, Eat Fruit and Smile!

Happy New Year!

My wish is for a happy and healthy 2011 for all of my friends and family.

Resolutions! Are you a resolution person? Have you spent the day making lists and promising yourself that this will be the year that …. (fill in the blank)? Although it’s good to have goals (without them we probably wouldn’t even get out of bed in the morning), history has proven that we usually don’t keep our New Year resolutions.  We set the bar too high and set ourselves up for failure.

I stopped making resolutions years ago but I do take inventory every year. I look at what I’ve accomplished or what I’ve learned and how I’ve challenged myself.  Then I consider what I can do to improve myself in the upcoming year.  

My husband was listening to talk radio the other day and the host proposed the following question: “What will you try to improve this year, your mind, your body or your spirit?” Of course, with my holistic way of thinking, I immediately started to ponder on how I could improve all three.

I’ve always been an avid reader but in recent years my computer time has replaced a lot of my reading time.  To improve my mind I’m going to try to read a book a week. This will probably cut down on my computer time but might also keep my brain from turning to mush.

As for my body, I’ll continue to try to improve on my diet.  I usually eat healthfully and have no trouble incorporating vegetables in most of my meals.  However, I find that I’m often lacking in fruit servings. So I’ll start by trying to eat at least one piece of fruit a day. I know that this probably sounds strange since most people have more trouble with vegetables than with fruits.

What can I do to improve my spirit? This required a little more thought.  There were a lot of areas where I could improve. However, I wanted something powerful enough to make a difference but not so overwhelming that I set myself up for defeat. Then it hit me! I could smile more! I remembered that when I was in Israel, Fr. David frequently looked at me and said “smile.” I wasn’t unhappy I just tend to have a serious look.  I have a friend/co-worker who is always saying “watch out for her she has the look today.” I know exactly what look she means too.  I’ve seen it in photographs. Sometimes when I’m lost in thought I can look downright mean. Smiling more will definitely improve that image as well as my spirit!

Hopefully I’ll improve myself in mind, body and spirit this year but not with resolutions that will be cast aside in a month.  I’ll make slight improvements daily by just remembering my new mantra, “Read , Eat Fruit and Smile”!