March for Life, Washington DC

For the March for Life, I was granted special permission from Fr. Nathan to spend the day with my family. As my dad and little sister came up from South Carolina for the occasion and my older sister already lives in DC it was a fun day with Dad and his girls.

I spent the evening before the March with Eagle Eye and we went to a Vigil Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. My grandmother used to be a tour guide there, so it’s a very special place to me. Part of the joy of the Vigil Mass is finding enough seats for your group. Last year I sat in an aisle, so this year I wasn’t going to mess around. We had two groups of two go into the Shrine and walk up the two sides of the Church. Emma and I found spots near the back, an entire row with one girl on the end. I moved in and sat with enough seats for EEI as one option and the other team secured closer seats with a group from North Dakota that knew Fr. Nathan.

During the time where we were waiting to see if there would be room enough for everyone near the front I discovered from the one girl on the end of the row that the seats I’d stoically saved were being saved for a group of nuns. Seeing as she was only one girl with no other guardian at the end of the row, not even a bag, I felt free to remain where I was. Couple with that the possibility that we’d be moving forward, I didn’t worry about it too much. This young saint took out her rosary and I’m sure she was praying for my heathenish soul, and so I too entrusted the row to Our Lady. A group of Dominicans, Mary Mother of the Eucharist (who were featured on Oprah) did arrive and I spent some time talking with one of the Postulants. By the time Fr. Nathan came to call our group forward, I’d made good friends with them and in the end saw the fruit of Our Lady sending me to help the one girl on the end save seats. She’s got a beautiful sense of humor.

Angie, my older sister, is a Youth Minister in DC and as such, was able to get the family tickets into the Verizon Center for the Youth Mass on the day of the March. Before the Mass started they had all kinds of entertainment for the teens, and as I’d been up until 2am the night before talking to my cousin, I saw those raucous moments as an opportunity to take a nap. It’s one of those delicious moments for which I’m glad to be an Italian who can sleep through anything. Right before the Mass started, they prayed a rosary to settle the teens down. During the rosary, my dad, my younger sister and I all fell asleep. For a family who prays a daily rosary together, it was highly suspect, but still a moment where I felt blessed to be within the comforting arms of my family.

It was the first time my dad has ever been to the March and he and I helped Angie keep her teens together as we marched toward the Mall. Once there we ate lunch and I took the moment of rest as an opportunity to find my Pen-Pal of 15 years. She and I have been meeting up at the March for Life for at least 5 years, so it was good to see her for a moment before my dad started calling me because he was nervous since I’d been gone for thirty minutes cutting through crowds. That was the only time I ran off and left them behind the rest of the day I spent in amazement of all the people I ran into simply by walking with the group. The most joyful reunion for me was with my household brother, Luis, who I haven’t seen in maybe three years. He’s in Medical School right now, and it was such a joy to hear his voice from across the crowd and be able to see him.

My dad and I got to spend a few moments together when we lost the group. It was pleasingly ironic to have to two adult-helpers get lost after they’d kept the teens together for so many hours. It was near the end of the March, so it worked well for us to get separated, as it was only a subway ride away from home and my dad could ride back with my Uncle Frank’s group since they had room on the bus still.

After spending some time with my uncle and dad, I made my way back through the crowds to meet up with Fr. Nathan and the Eagle Eye Institute at the art gallery. I got there maybe ten minutes before it closed and caught up with Fr. Nathan easily. It was a gift to be able to spend the day with my family, but being reunited with the Eagle Eye Institute was such a joy itself, that I couldn’t help but marvel at how close this little community has become.