EagleBank Arena in Fairfax filled with more than 5,300
people for the morning Life is VERY Good rally and Mass Jan. 19. The crowd was
greeted by Father James R. Searby, chaplain at George Mason University in
Fairfax. Ennie Hickman, president of the missionary organization Adore
Ministries, gave the keynote address.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge welcomed the crowd and read a
letter from the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre.
During his homily, Bishop Burbidge shared examples of light
dispelling the darkness.
“The power of God to
transform hearts and lives, to dispel darkness with light and to conquer evil
with goodness is the faith that unites us today,” said Bishop Burbidge. “I am
sure all of us could give examples of how God has done that in our lives and in
the world around us.”
Bishop Burbidge reflected on the opening
of the Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinic in Manassas in the place of a former
abortion clinic. “The Mother of Mercy Free Clinic stands as a visible sign of
the power of God to make all things new, a gift for which we pray as we sadly
acknowledge the horrific reality that abortion is legalized in our country,” he
said. “This is not God’s law and, as today’s Gospel teaches, it is the Lord to whom
we are ultimately accountable. So, we go forth today in His Truth and march
peacefully and confidently in our nation’s capital to proclaim what St. Paul
reminds us: We are God’s beloved children, created in His very image and
likeness and, thus, life at every stage and the dignity of all people must be
celebrated and protected.”
Between the evening and morning rallies, 11,109 unique
participants attended from 50 dioceses and 26 states.
The largest group attending the morning rally came from
Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries with 461. Diocesan
middle and high school students totaled 1,635 participants. Between the two
events, the state with the most attendees this year was Virginia with 2,978
participants from the Dioceses of Arlington and Richmond combined. More than
2,600 of those were from the Arlington Diocese.
The state with the second-most attendees was Louisiana, with
1,195 for the evening rally from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Dioceses
of Baton Rouge and Houma-Thibodaux.