What a March for Life!
What a great group of pilgrims!
Iowans for LIFE took three busloads of pilgrims to the 47th March for Life which took place last Friday. Our pilgrimage consisted of about 150 students and their chaperones. They witnessed the most historic March in history. Here is our March for Life 2020 recap.
For the first time in history, the sitting president of the United States attended and spoke to a mammoth crowd.
What makes President Trump so interesting is that two decades ago, he said that he was “very pro-choice” although he also said “he hates abortion.”
What changed?
He is now ‘very’ pro-life, the most pro-life president in history. Leaders in the pro-life movement reached out to the president and simply presented the case for life, which is compelling. Let’s face it, the case for life is based on sound science, sound theology, and sound philosophy.
Here’s the what President Trump said:
“Every human soul is divine, and every human life — born and unborn — is made in the holy image of almighty God.”
Wow! IFL stood in the midst of a crowd that roared with delight.
Mothers and sons shared the March for Life
A little later, Melissa Ohden, an abortion survivor and speaker at the IFL banquet a few years ago, got up and spoke. She screened a remarkable new video which puts a face on human abortion. Watch:
The organization that produced the ad, Faces of Choice, wants to air it during the Super Bowl, but has been blocked by the NFL, who evidently considers an ad this honest to be politically incorrect.
How did IFL pilgrims get to this point, standing in a crowd of hundreds of thousand of people listening to the president of the United States speak?
KCCI covered our departure
The pilgrimage began the Wednesday before the March, as we loaded buses at St. Francis of Assisi church in West Des Moines. KCCI actually covered the story!
Our two day journey to Washington DC was enlivened by prayer, as we prayed pro-life Rosaries. We were accompanied by Fr. Ryan Andrew.
A thousand people waited in line for confession!
We screened several videos IFL produced from last year’s March to share with our new pilgrims. The entire trip, coming and going, is an important part of the pilgrimage, as IFL provides pro-life education and prayerful leadership for our youth, both Catholic and non-Catholic.
20,000 people attended the youth rally and Mass
We attended an incredible youth rally where a thousand students stood in line for confession, and 20,000 shared a Mass led by an international cast of clergy, including a Vatican messenger sent directly by Pope Francis.
More than a bus trip
In other words, the trek isn’t just a bus trip. It’s an experience, a pilgrimage, that bonds people together to the most important cause of this generation.
One young man, Max, who is not Catholic, was the lone pilgrim from a Fort Dodge public high school. Max came, he said, because this cause is so important.
Young and old converge at the March for Life
The March ended at the footsteps of the Supreme Court, with a mammoth crowd on full display:
The March ended at the Supreme Court building
Iowans for LIFE’s role in the pro-life boom
Why is the pro-life generation booming? Because IFL and groups like us make the March for Life pilgrimage happen!
The March for Life is more than a March. It is five days of deep immersion into the mystery of our faith. We attend a youth rally in a lively arena with 20,000 youthful pilgrims. Our kids stood in line for up to 45 minutes to make their confession before attending Mass which was led by an international cast of clergy and religious, including an emissary from Pope Francis himself!
The March for Life needs YOU!
The March for Life is hard. The March for Life is fun. The March for Life is deeply moving. The March for Life is a godly event in a person’s life, whether young or old, as you can see in this March for Life 2020 recap.
Do you want to be a part of the pro-life generation? Then circle January 29, 2021 on your calendar, the date of next year’s March for Life in Washington DC! But register by November 1st of this year!
[The March for Life is one of Iowans for LIFE’s biggest events of the year. Your financial support helps us continue to take our youth on this life-changing pilgrimage. Donate today to support life.]
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DAY NINE PRAYER
Mother of little children; Be with the child who is alone or afraid.
Saint Frances Cabrini, In every corner of hemisphere you sought out those whom everyone had forgotten. Mother of immigrants, friend of orphans, protector of the poor, intercede for us who seek to follow your example. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mother of those who care for the sick; Inspire doctors to be apostles for life.
Mother of the homeless; Teach us that all life comes from God and rests only in him.
Mother of little children; Be with the child who is alone or afraid.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …Glory to the Father …
Thank-you for praying for the most vulnerable members of our society: the unborn.
DAY EIGHT PRAYER
Saint Frances Cabrini,
In every corner of hemisphere
you sought out those whom everyone had forgotten.
Mother of immigrants, friend of orphans, protector of the poor,
intercede for us who seek to follow your example.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mother of the aged;
Be with those who are forgotten and alone.
Mother of the oppressed;
Pray for all who are condemned to die.
Mother of the sick;
Pray for those tempted to forget the infinite value of life.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
Check back tomorrow for our Day Nine Prayer as our Novena comes to and end. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
Our Novena comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who encourage us to invoke three powerful pro-life witnesses on behalf of the cause.
We invoked Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton the first three days of our Novena and Saint John Neumann for the next three days. Now we turn to Saint Frances Cabrini. According to the USCCB:
“Frances Cabrini was born in a little village in Lombardy in 1850, so fragile at birth that she was brought immediately to Church to be baptized. While from her youth she dreamed only of being a missionary, she was three times rejected when applying to a convent. Yet in her years of religious life she founded an order, 70 orphanages, schools and hospitals, scattered over eight countries in Europe North, South, and Central America.”
DAY SEVEN PRAYER
Saint Frances Cabrini,
In every corner of hemisphere
you sought out those whom everyone had forgotten.
Mother of immigrants, friend of orphans, protector of the poor,
intercede for us who seek to follow your example.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mother of immigrants;
Give us a love for the lives of all who are rejected or forgotten.
Mother of the oppressed;
Inspire us to work for justice and the protection of all life.
Mother of the lost;
Inspire us to seek out all whose lives are forgotten.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Eight Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
DAY SIX PRAYER
Saint John Neumann,
as a loyal son, a faithful priest, and a tireless Bishop,
you worked to support and defend life in all its wonder.
Intercede for the Church you loved with all your heart
that we may be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Preacher of the truth;
Teach our nation to protect the lives of all its citizens.
Friend of the sick;
Inspire doctors to cherish the lives of all.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
Check back tomorrow for our Day Seven Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
DAY FIVE PRAYER
Saint John Neumann,
as a loyal son, a faithful priest, and a tireless Bishop,
you worked to support and defend life in all its wonder.
Intercede for the Church you loved with all your heart
that we may be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Missionary to America;
Pray for the leaders of our country.
Tireless servant of the cross;
Make our hearts to love Christ suffering in those who have grown very old.
Model of self sacrifice;
Help us not to count the cost in proclaiming the Gospel of Life.
Faithful unto death;
Guide unwed fathers, that they may be true to the Faith.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory to the Father…
Check back tomorrow for our Day Six Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
[Support IFL. Support life. Donate today.]
Our Novena comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who encourage us to invoke three powerful pro-life witnesses on behalf of the cause.
We invoked Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton the first three days of our Novena. Now we ask for intercession by Saint John Neumann for the next three days. According to the USCCB:
“Saint John Nepimucene Neumann came to the United States as one of 36 priests to serve the 200,000 Catholics of New York and New Jersey in 1836. As a priest in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, and as Bishop of Philadelphia, he was tireless in his love for the people of the United States. He died in 1860, while on his way to mail a chalice to a missionary priest..”
DAY FOUR PRAYER
Saint John Neumann,
as a loyal son, a faithful priest, and a tireless Bishop,
you worked to support and defend life in all its wonder.
Intercede for the Church you loved with all your heart
that we may be faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Faithful son of faithful parents;
Teach us to honor our parents when they grow old.
Immigrant and stranger;
Inspire us to welcome the rejected of the world.
Protector of the young;
Inspire us to work for the safety of all children.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Five Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
DAY THREE PRAYER
Saint Elizabeth Seton,
you knew the beauty of all human life
when you carried a child in your womb
and when, as a young widow,
a teacher, and founder of the Sisters of Charity,
you sought to live the Gospel of Life.
Inspire us, intercede for us, and be with us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You know the loneliness of the orphan;
Consecrate us to the protection of children.
You know of the vocation of the teacher;
Inspire us to teach the Gospel of Life.
You know the vows of religious life;
Pray that we might be faithful to the Gospel of Life.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Four Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
DAY TWO PRAYER
Saint Elizabeth Seton,
you knew the beauty of all human life
when you carried a child in your womb
and when, as a young widow,
a teacher, and founder of the Sisters of Charity,
you sought to live the Gospel of Life.
Inspire us, intercede for us, and be with us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You know the cry of a little child;
Inspire us to protect the littlest and most vulnerable.
You known the searching of the adolescent;
Open our eyes to the wonder of their lives.
You know the journey of the dying;
Be with us as we journey toward death with those whom we love.
You know the pain of the widow;
Inspire to us to seek out those who are most in need.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Three Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.
The pro-life movement is powerless without prayer. In fact, the movement is driven by people of faith who pray unrelentingly on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our society, the unborn.
As IFL pilgrims head to Washington DC for the March for Life, we ask you to join us in praying a Novena on behalf of the most vulnerable among us, our unborn brothers and sisters. Their humanity begins at the instant of fertilization, and their little hearts begin to beat at about six weeks.
Pray for passage of the Protect Life Amendment
The Protect Life Amendment makes the Iowa Constitution abortion neutral, and undoes a judicial overreach by the Iowa Supreme Court.
Our Novena comes from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who encourage us to invoke three powerful pro-life witnesses on behalf of the cause.
So for the first three days, we shall ask Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton to pray with us on behalf of the unborn. According to the USCCB:
“Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, a prominent New York aristocrat, had five children with her husband, William, a shipping merchant. Before she turned 30, the Setons went bankrupt and William died. Within five years of his death, Elizabeth had converted to Catholicism, formed New York city’s first charity (the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children), established the first Catholic school and the founded the first religious community of women in the United States of America.”
DAY ONE PRAYER
Saint Elizabeth Seton,
you knew the beauty of all human life
when you carried a child in your womb
and when, as a young widow,
a teacher, and founder of the Sisters of Charity,
you sought to live the Gospel of Life.
Inspire us, intercede for us, and be with us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
You know the sacrament of Holy Matrimony;
Teach us to support all families with faith and truth.
You know the love of a good spouse;
Intercede for all newly married couples.
You know the stirring of the child in your womb;
Intercede for every unborn child.
You know the miracle of giving birth;
Pray for mothers tempted by abortion.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory to the Father …
***
Check back tomorrow for our Day Two Prayer. And thank-you for supporting the cause of Life with your prayers.