Can’t Make it to the March for Life? Then March from Home

March for Life crowd shot of the beginning of the march in Washington, D.C. taken January 22, 2009.
March for Life crowd shot of the beginning of the march in Washington, D.C. taken January 22, 2009. (photo: Credit: Eric Martin and Rick Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Last year when I missed the March for Life, I swore I’d make sure I got there this year.

Well, that’s not going to happen.

The way the chips have fallen, I’ll be missing out on the March for Life this year as well.

Or maybe not.

When I didn’t make it last year, I pouted, felt sorry for myself and miserably watched EWTN’s live feed of the March. All the while I allowed myself to think about one thing and one thing only:

I wish I could be there.

About half way through my sulk, I realized that my behavior was counter-productive. There was nothing I could do to change the circumstances, and I was only making myself miserable.

I changed my game plan.

I put aside my self-pity, lit a candle, pulled out my rosary, set the laptop up in the dining room – the central location of our house – and “marched” along with the other pro-lifers in Washington DC. I fasted, as well, as a symbol of my spiritual solidarity with those who were actually present at the event.

As the marchers progressed, so did my decades and chaplets. I did have to step out for an errand somewhere in the middle, but I made sure to keep the same prayerful attitude throughout. When I returned home, I took up my marching once again.

Eventually, my spirits began to lift as I focused more on the purpose of the March and less on where I was (or wasn’t) physically. True, it’s important to show up to the March in numbers and no doubt the larger the number, the strong the voice.

But the voices coming from afar count, too.

As this year’s March rolls around and I see that I again have to miss it, I’m less distressed than I was last year. I’ve already got plans to fast and spend as much of the day in prayer as possible. My rosary and prayer book will be out and my laptop will be strategically perched in the center of the house with the volume turned up so I can keep abreast of the happenings.

I won’t be there in person, but I will definitely be at March for Life 2016 with all the spirit I’ve got.

Perhaps you’ll be in my same predicament on March 22. In spite of the dozens of local Marches for Life, it might not be possible to march physically in any of them. Yet marching spiritually will definitely help.

We absolutely must take a visible stand for life. We need activists, lawmakers, counselors, teachers, health care providers, students, clergy, religious – basically folks from every walk of life (no pun intended) – to do what is right and godly and to protect life from conception to natural death.

At the same time, we also need the “quiet” ones. We need those who may not be able to march in DC or anywhere for that matter, but who can offer earnest sacrifice and ardent prayer. In the end, that is what will work the miracles of transformation that will turn hearts and minds toward life.

So, to all of you who can’t literally march in the March for Life, I extend this invitation.

March from home with me, won’t you?

Join us in fasting this Friday, January 22, in petition to end the atrocity of abortion and turn the tides toward a culture that will respect, love, and support life. But please don’t stop there. Share this post and use the #FastFriday hashtag on your social media. Let’s go viral with this initiative, and get as many folks on board #FASTFRIDAY as possible.