Years ago we were all inspired by the many priests and nuns and other good people who marched for civil rights.  Today we should be inspired by the thousands upon thousands of young people who continue to come to the nation’s capital to bear witness to the Gospel of Life.

This encouraging sign

says that young people are able to see the great difference between the current culture and the teaching of the Church which never tires of proclaiming the dignity of human life.

Each year at the Youth Rally and Mass for Life, which is held immediately before the National March for Life, I enjoy the best view because I can look out at the large crowd of eager, engaged faces.  They are smiling even though they have made sacrifices to be there.

Many have come from far away, travelling long hours on a bus.  Some have stayed up all night, participating in the Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception before the Rally and Mass.  Last year a multitude of the young came in the midst of a snow storm, other years there has been a cold rain.  Yet they are smiling because they are happy to be Catholic and they love the things that are distinctive about our faith.  They love Jesus, they love our mother Mary, and they love the Church’s enduring commitment to the pro-life cause and true social justice.  It never fails to bring joy to my heart.

They are an inspiration, a sign of the Spirit at work.  More and more, young people are speaking out for life without hesitation or apology. They are not watching from the sidelines, but are getting involved, boldly and confidently going forth.  More and more young people are stepping forward to say, “It is our turn now.  We say ‘yes’ to God.  We say ‘yes’ to a culture of life.”

These young people serve as leaven in our society and hope for the transformation of culture by the power of the Gospel.  This is not wishful thinking, but confidence in the strength of the Spirit who renews the face of the earth.

At the end of the Mass, as with every Eucharistic celebration, these young new evangelizers will hear the call to go out into the world and announce the Gospel of the Lord to others.  That is precisely what they do with their witness at the March for Life.  There they will be joined by many other Catholics and non-Catholics marching side-by-side.  Each year, many of those marchers who are not now part of our family of faith are inspired to join the Church.

These young people are living proof that our faith is not simply a private, personal act to be exercised only on Sunday.  We are challenged to live it every day and have it permeate every sector of our lives.  We are called to take the saving love and liberating truth of Christ out into the world, to be confident in the truth of our faith so that we can be witnesses to the joy and hope of the Gospel.

Pope Francis has remarked how beautiful it is to see young people joyfully bringing the love of Jesus into the streets, “making common cause before the problems of our world [and] taking up various forms of activism and volunteer work” (Evangelii Gaudium, 106).  Despite many difficulties, like the ones we face in seeking to build a culture of life, our Holy Father assures us that God “will bring to completion the work that he has begun in each one of us by his call. This gives us great assurance and confidence: a confidence which rests in God and requires our active and courageous cooperation in the face of the challenges of the present moment” (Celebration of Vespers with University Students, November 30, 2013)

The annual Rally and Mass for Life, and the March that follows, bear witness to the precious worth of the most vulnerable among us, which includes both the unborn and women who are touched by the scourge of abortion.  We testify also to the quiet work of helping those women who are in crisis pregnancies or who have suffered the wounds of abortion. Every day these sisters of ours receive medical care, financial support, spiritual guidance and healing love from our pro-life and family life initiatives, Catholic Charities, Catholic hospitals and parishes.

Inspired by our young people, may we all join in solidarity to work and pray more fervently for the strengthening of the understanding of the worth of each human life.  Hence, we pray that with God’s grace, our work can help manifest that world of peace, justice, understanding, wisdom, kindness, respect and love that we call the kingdom of God.