Catholic Standard El Pregonero
Latest Paper Classifieds Buy Photos

Catholic youth gather virtually to rally and pray for life

Members of the Archdiocese of Washington Youth Leadership Team pray during a Jan. 29 Mass for Life celebrated by Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. The Mass and a Youth Rally were held before the annual March for Life. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the event was held virtually and live streamed across various social media platforms. (Catholic Standard photo/Andrew Biraj)

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic and strict restrictions intended to slow its spread did not stop young people and others from rallying, praying and standing up for life Jan. 29.

As it has done for nearly 30 years, the Archdiocese of Washington hosted its regular Rally and Mass for Life prior to the annual March for Life. However this year, because of the ongoing pandemic, the event was virtual, with no traditional large in-person gathering at the Capital One Arena.

Using YouTube and other social media platforms, young people from across the country – and as far away as Australia – “gathered” for the rally and Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.

The event – which included a recitation of the rosary, talks, musical performances and reflections – was hosted by the Archdiocese of Washington Youth Leadership Team.

“I hope it is a joyful time for all those who are participating virtually. Our young people bring with them an energy that is life-giving,” Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said. “I hope we realize as we do this from a distance that we are really close and united.”

He asked young people to be “persistent in highlighting the importance of human life.”

“Our young people know how to use social media and I ask them to use it effectively, persistently and consistently to flood with the truth and do it in such a way that the truth is undeniable,” he said.

He also asked young people to pray because “we are people of faith, and we have to anchor whatever we do in prayer. If our prayer is sincere, we will be successful.”

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory prays during a Jan. 29 Mass for Life he celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. The Mass and a Youth Rally were held before the annual March for Life. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the event was held virtually and livestreamed across various social media platforms. (Catholic Standard photo/Andrew Biraj)

Cardinal Gregory was the principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass for Life. Concelebrants included Washington Auxiliary Bishops Mario Dorsonville, and Roy E. Campbell Jr.; Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Washington archbishop emeritus; Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States; Baltimore Archbishop William Lori; Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout and other bishops from throughout the region.

Prior to the start of Mass, Archbishop Pierre noted that rallying, praying and marching for life is “so important because life is a gift from God. We do not possess life, we receive it and we have to be careful about it.”

Reading a message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, that was issued in the name of Pope Francis, Archbishop Pierre said “His Holiness trusts this generous public witness to the deepest conviction of our faith will contribute to fostering a culture of life.”

Speaking to “my dearest young sisters and brothers in Christ,” Cardinal Gregory during his homily reminded those virtually attending the Mass of “the inalienable value of human life at every moment of its existence. The Word of the God exhorts us that it is no longer fashionable to hate – and it never was.”

“For 48 years, regrettably the people of our nation have been given all types of deceptive excuses to continue our dreadful practice of killing infant children within the womb,” Cardinal Gregory said. “Various people have called it merely a choice, others claim it as a human right, some have defended it as a personal decision, a few even suggest it as just a womanly act of self-determination – anything to keep from accepting God’s standard of respect and love for every human life – even that which is waiting to be born.”

He said that society has found itself “hopelessly mired” in other “acts of brutality” against the terminally ill and aged, immigrants, and prisoners “who may have committed heinous crimes, but are still human beings.” Assisted suicide and support for capital punishment, he added, are also attacks against life.

“We continue to pursue unspeakable human brutality against other people with whom we might disagree,” he said. “We look for any grounds to avoid the divine standard of respect for every living person.  Yet we are called to a standard that dares to demand that we become perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect.”

Referring to the Beatitudes as “categorically the greatest and most enduring transformation in standards that any of us will ever be asked to accept,” Cardinal Gregory said that Jesus’s words call the faithful “to a new standard, a higher standard, a divine standard – and one that will not pass away as ever being outmoded or obsolete.”

“The Beatitudes are the new standards that dare to suggest that we are to view life itself and our opinions about other people in a different way,” he said. “These new standards are even so revolutionary as to propose that no life, no person, and no class of people are beyond our love and respect.”

The cardinal stressed that “there is no such thing as an inopportune life or a reason, no matter how grave, no matter how serious, no matter how convincing that renders any life useless and deserving of hatred or destruction.”

“Let us pray for a widely accepted way of viewing and valuing all human life – God’s way – an old fashioned yet perfectly contemporary way of seeing every life as sacred, holy, and inalienable.”

At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Gregory also asked young people to consider a religious vocation because “the Church is in need of joyful, energetic holy men and women.”

“If the Lord is calling you to a vocation, please say ‘yes.’ We need you,” he said.

A plenary indulgence was granted by Pope Francis at the request of Cardinal Gregory for those who participated virtually or in-person in the Mass for Life and for those who participated virtually in the National Prayer Vigil for Life that was held Jan. 28 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The conditions for receiving a plenary indulgence include making a sacramental Confession, receiving Holy Communion, praying for the intentions of the Holy Father and making a profession of faith.

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory gathers with members of the Archdiocese of Washington Youth Leadership Team who hosted the Jan. 29 Rally for Life prior to the Mass for Life. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the event was held virtually and livestreamed across various social media platforms. (Catholic Standard photo/Andrew Biraj)

The Youth Rally prior to the Mass focused on training young people how to engage in in civil dialogue and pro-life apologetics.

“Talking to people who you disagree with can help you to understand just how complicated these issues are,” said participant Anne-Marie, a parishioner at Mother Seton Parish in Germantown, Maryland. “Being pro-life isn’t always easy, but open and honest conversations can help us to really live out our values in an authentic way.”

For Gabriel, a parishioner of St. Peter Parish in Washington, the rally and Mass was an opportunity to “pray in a special way for all those who are vulnerable. We pray that our country and our world will strive to protect the life and dignity of the human person from conception until natural death, and at every stage in between.”

“This year, we are very excited to be focusing on the theme of pro-life apologetics. We want to encourage young people to speak about their pro-life values with authenticity and conviction. We also want to model the importance of respectful and civil dialogue,” said Kathryn Windels, director of life issues for the Archdiocese of Washington.

Josh Brahm, president and co-founder of Equal Rights Institute – a national organization training pro-life advocates to think, reason and argue persuasively – urged young people to “utilize practical dialogue” when speaking of the pro-life movement.

In a series of videos, he taught “three essential skills” for presenting a pro-life argument: asking clarification questions then responding with your own thoughts, listening to understand and find genuine common ground when possible; and making a compelling argument for the rights of the unborn.

In a video message during the pre-Mass rally, Archbishop Pierre told young people that “if we open our hearts to our Lord,” it would “generate trust and peace.”

He said “the Word of God is not just something to hear or speak, but to live.” He urged young people to reject “injustice, violence, slander, lying discrimination and poverty… (and) commit to build communities of love, places of encounter and generous service where life is respected and promoted.”

Also during the rally, singer Ivan Diaz told participants how his mother was diagnosed with lupus while pregnant with him and was counseled to get an abortion. “By the grace of God, I was born,” he said. “We are here today to be the voice of the voiceless.”

“We are the pro-life generation,” he said. “We are called to say ‘yes’ as Mary did. We are called today to say ‘yes’ to the Lord and ‘yes’ to life.”

Noting that the rally and Mass were virtual events this year, Cardinal Gregory said “it is my hope and prayer that we will be together this time next year.”

“We are grateful for this opportunity and the wonders of technology that we can gather,” said performers Adam and Lori Ubowski of Florida.

The annual Rally and Mass for Life is held each year in conjunction with the national March for Life which marks the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions making abortion legal in this country. For more than 25 years, the Archdiocese of Washington has hosted the rally and Mass on the day of the March for Life.

“On behalf of the Archdiocese of Washington, I thank you all for being here today,” Archbishop Gregory told those following the events virtually. “We stand for the dignity of human life in every stage.”


Menu
Search