The March for Life

January 26, 2012

Below you will find my column about this week’s March for Life. We have some photos from the March on our website and will be posting more in the coming days. Before you read my column, let me first give you some other important updates.

View my latest Youtube video at http://youtu.be/HbImvw0YzTQ on which I reflect with you more on the theme of this column.

For my birthday on February 4th, I'm asking for a special gift. You can find my birthday wish on Facebook at http://wishes.causes.com/wishes/428956. Please check it out and share the page with your family and friends.

I’ve posted several of my homilies that I’ve given here in Amarillo, TX. You can find them at www.priestsforlife.org/audio/amarillo.htm and I ask that you please share them with others.

We are in the midst of the election season and we need to inform ourselves about the candidates and the elections process. Please be sure to tune in to tomorrow’s debate at 8pm ET on CNN. More upcoming election–related events can be found at www.politicalresponsibility.com/presidential-election-process.htm. You can find information about registration deadlines, primary dates and other voting information for your particular state at www.priestsforlife.org/states.

Finally, join us for a Lenten Prayer for Life beginning on February 22 and make a special commitment to help others to see and defend the dignity of every human life, starting with the unborn. You can find the prayer at www.prayercampaign.org. This year we are asking people to make more of an effort than ever to pray for an end to abortion.

Blessings,



Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
Pastoral Director, Silent No More Awareness Campaign

The March

by Fr. Frank Pavone

What a powerful weekend! I am always more energized than exhausted after spending the day greeting the participants in the West Coast Walk for Life, which took place on Saturday, January 21, and then taking the redeye flight to Washington DC to spend all of Sunday and Monday greeting the people taking part in the national March for Life.

So many of you were there and were able to tell me of your daily prayers for me and of the concern you have for me. You were encouraged by seeing that I am in great health and great spirits.

But more important even than that is being in great focus. So many people over recent months, and in the March for Life days, have said things to me like, "I know this has been a painful and difficult time, for you to be asked to stay for a while in Amarillo. I know this is a burden for you and it must be frustrating. But we are with you and it will work out."

This is always a consolation, knowing that whatever difficulties we have, we are not alone, and as I said to thousands of people, I really appreciate the support and prayers. Keep them coming!

But what I want my friends and foes alike to understand is that my greatest burden is not the events of the last few months, nor the limitations on my travel, nor the false things said about me in the media. There is one single thing that gives me more pain than anything, and that is the ongoing slaughter of my brothers and sisters by abortion.

So many of you share that pain, and carry that burden. Day by day in our country, thousands of children are ripped apart, dismembered, decapitated, killed, and thrown in the garbage. The law permits it, the courts justify it, and so many are silent about it.

That's what's painful. That's what keeps me up at night. That's what makes my heart break. It's abortion, not a decision by Church authorities.

And isn't that what I've been saying all along, from the first day when, at the 1976 March for Life, as a high school senior, I decided to get involved in the pro-life movement? Isn't that the same thing I've been saying from the first day Cardinal O'Connor authorized me to lead Priests for Life and Bishop Yanta received my promises to spend the rest of my life defending the lives of the unborn? Isn't this what the Church means by saying that no right is more fundamental than life, and that abortion deserves urgent attention and priority? Isn't this what the depths of the human heart and conscience say when, faced with the gruesome reality of abortion, they cry out in pain and demand that the killing stop and that justice prevail?

My friends, the alarm of conscience is sounding. If something is going to bother us, let it be abortion, and let our every action be focused on stopping it.

Find this column online at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/3927-the-march

Click here for more updates and articles