Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrated a Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life Jan. 20 at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, hours before participating in the March for Life in Washington.
Bishop Burbidge, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in his homily that this year march participants are filled with gratitude and joy for the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. This week, he said he was asked repeatedly why pro-lifers continue the national march in light of the court’s ruling.
“The answer is obvious: Because our work is just beginning,” he said. “We have to acknowledge the sad reality that abortion remains legal in our commonwealth and throughout our country.”
He encouraged Massgoers to join him at the Defending Life Day Feb. 1 in Richmond, when participants will meet with their legislators and march through the capital streets in support of human life. He reflected on the day’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus asks the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” before curing a man’s withered right hand in the synagogue.
“The pressures of society can never deter us from doing what is right and just, especially as we seek to limit abortion, its funding and, God willing, to ban it altogether,” Bishop Burbidge said. “But our work, dear friends, is not only about changing laws, it must be about changing hearts and changing minds.”
That will come, he said, through respectful dialogue, conveying to others the damage abortion inflicts on so many, what pro-lifers are for as well as what they are against, and how the Catholic Church walks with those in need through ministries such as Catholic Charities, the Gabriel Project and Project Rachel.
Students from the cathedral school attended the Mass, which was concelebrated by Bishop Emeritus Paul S. Loverde and other diocesan priests. Members of the faithful carrying signs in preparation for attending the march also attended. Across the diocese, many parishes celebrated special Masses for life Jan. 20 and sent delegations of priests and parishioners to the national march.
Bishop Burbidge recalled joyfully the many young people who were among the thousands who attended the Opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Jan. 19.
“My hope for them is that they realize, looking around, that they’re not alone, because sometimes that’s how young people feel, especially at school and in their communities when they have the courage to let their pro-life convictions be known,” he said. “We certainly have to lift up and encourage one another in faith.”
