Washington DC for the Pro-Life March January 18-25

Some people might wonder why the vocation office promotes the Pro-Life trip and why the vocation director goes on this trip and calls it vocation work. Let me use this post to explain. I think it would be helpful if I start by saying many people who are in seminary, when they are asked, "How did you know God was calling you to priesthood/seminary?" Many who have gone on this pro-life march trip will talk about it as one of the events where they felt drawn to the priesthood. For vocation directors who have to spend a lot of time talking about discernment, this is not surprising. It is not surprising for a couple of reasons. As people begin to formulate and tell their "call story" there should be lots of mention of "service" Well, who better to serve than the unborn who have no voice of their own? Who better to serve than the women who are feeling unbelievable amounts of pressure and stress to the point she does something she will definitely some day regret? (Her way of dealing with her regret might be to through intense anger that anyone would want to take a woman's right away to be able to do this.) This is a huge opportunity for service. Another reason, there is much sacrifice that one must endure to make this trip... this pilgrimage. What are some of the sacrifices? Well, the pilgrimage consists of 22 hours on a bus, sleeping on a gym floor, and another 22 hours on the bus all in 96 hours. There is a minimal shower if you get one at all, food and bathrooms are hard to come by at times and you get no time to be by yourself. Do you think that is sacrifice? I certainly do. Sacrifice for what? Our 96 hours of discomfort is so that some day all people will have the benefit of being able to live! Yet another reason this is part of many people's call story is because it is radically communal and a priest is supposed to be a man of communion. Do you believe that we go to Washington DC because something is radically wrong? Of course something is radically wrong when men and women are able to destroy the very life they (and most importantly God) created. But, if one person marched down Constitution Avenue saying this was wrong, well who would care? That tens of thousands march down Constitution Avenue, the marchers realize they are part of something much bigger than themselves. They are part of a community trying to unite so that more people may have life. Finally, they get to see the Universal aspect of the Catholic Church. What does it do for a youth to see almost all of the United States Cardinals, several dozen bishops, several hundred priests and several hundred deacons process into the Basillica, so many that it takes 30 minutes for the procession? What does it say to the youth when they need to get to mass 2 hours early or they won't get a seat. When they do arrive, the church is already packed with people from around the nation. So, yes there are many ways in which The Holy Spirit can call a pilgrim to give himself completely to Christ as a priest or herself completely to Christ as a religious sister.