March for Life 2011

My first thought at 2:30 am on Monday was, "Who are these people and why are they so loud!?"  The noises coming from my basement didn't seem normal for that hour!   I don't think anyone of us slept for more than a few hours that night.  Between the Packers winning, Joseph's Steelers winning and the excitement for the March for Life building, sleep was tough.

The bus headed to DC at 4am.  Triad Students for Life fundraised for a year to get enough money to rent the bus.  Seats on the bus were free and we were blessed to have Hispanic members of our church there with us and several Protestant families, too.  We arrived at the Basilica at 10:30 and were excited to prepare for the annual NC Life Mass celebrated by the Bishops of Raleigh and Charlotte.  We looked around the Basilica a bit before heading up to the main church for the Mass.

Our bishop, Bishop Jugis, gave a wonderful homily.  He talked about the reason we are pro-life.  It is the love of Christ.  I wish I could have recorded it!  The teens we were with were absolutely precious.  As the two Bishops and other priests processed up to the altar, the Bishop of Raleigh saw Matthew in his Green Bay Packers jacket and said something to him about the Packers.  Bishop Jugis noticed the children, too.  The kids were so excited and the message was sent to our side of the pew like a game of telephone, "Did you see the bishops talk to Matthew!?  Did you see it!?  How cool is that!?"  What a neat thing for kids to be excited over. 

After Mass, we all ate our lunch on the stairs of the Basilica then headed to the Metro for the Mall.  We never expected we'd see our priest friends or the bishop after Mass.  We joined the March for Life somewhere in the middle.  After several minutes, we realized that Fr. John had seen Matthew and taken him to the side.  We made our way toward Matthew, and saw Bishop Jugis standing there.  Bishop Jugis loves these kids!  He was happy to let us get a picture with the kids.... and even remembered Triad Students for Life.  He spoke to them individually and asked them questions-- we could all see the love he had for each one of these kids!  Thank you, Fr. John, for finding Matthew!  The kids were so excited.  One of them said that this was the best pro-life experience of her life! 

We have a wonderful Bishop and I am so thankful that he and Fr. John have taken such an interest in the Triad Students for Life! 

I've seen news reports reporting that there were 300,000 - 400,000 marchers there yesterday.  Amazing.  Here are a few of our pictures.  The ones with the wrong date are from my friend's camera-- it keeps putting the wrong date. 



Our group in front of the Basilica



Some of the TSFL students with Bishop Jugis

Inside the Basilica before the NC Life Mass