The following are quotes from local marchers with the young adult group from the Diocese of Madison:
“Year after year people from all over the country and around the world come to fight against the holocaust happening right in our own neighborhood,” said Stephanie Dunbar. “As impressive as this showing was, I believe our greatest task on the trip was praying outside Planned Parenthood. I hope this is how we can continue to spread a culture of life: by banging on the doors of our nation’s capital, and through grassroots movements.”
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“Going to Mass at the Verizon Center was amazing. 25,000 strong all there for the same reason and all ecstatic to be there! Hundreds of priests, hundreds of seminarians, bishops, archbishops, two cardinals, and an apostolic nuncio. Amazing . . . and this all before the march,” said David Yallaly. “The march was great! Being my first march I had nothing to compare it to, but many people said it was the largest ever! To think of all those people marching to the place where that dreadful court decision was made . . . it seems unthinkable that our voices could not be heard.”
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“For my first time at the March for Life, I felt spoiled,” said Talia Fehrenbach. “We were blessed with fantastic weather, excellent leadership, and organization. We had the opportunity to sit in the third row at the rally. Wow! The energy, enthusiasm, and faith of the 30,000 people there exuded from the crowd. The Holy Spirit’s presence was inspiring. Taking that feeling right into the march, Planned Parenthood, Dr. King’s speech, private Mass in the basilica, and our travels made this an experience of hope and a call to action. After this trip, I will be idle no more on the topic of pro-life.”
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“It was great to see so many people who were all defending life,” commented Mandie Wilburn. “The walk was packed, the Mass was packed, and everywhere we went in D.C. there were pro-lifers — people who had come far and wide to demonstrate their beliefs. It was really awe-inspiring.”
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“The young adults forming the Diocese of Madison delegation took everything in, from the enthusiasm of the Youth Rally, to the many groups, praying, singing, chanting and praying silently at the March for Life, to the prayerful witness at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception,” said Susanna Herro, director of the Diocesan Office of Justice and Pastoral Outreach. “It was a privilege to be with them, to hear their thoughts on how to engage more people in the respect life effort and to share their enthusiasm to bring more people to the march next year. Katelin Fehrenbach was a stellar volunteer who dynamically recruited, registered, and got us to each event. She is already planning how to make the diocesan trip bigger and better next year.”
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“This was my first time at the March for Life. It definitely was a great experience and something I will try to attend frequently in the future,” said Paul Wilburn. “After some reflection, I did notice that although it was a great witness to the nation, the real battle for life takes place back at our hometowns. I sensed no spiritual warfare at the march, mostly because we had strength in numbers. There were hundreds of thousands of people in attendance. I encourage everyone reading that if you want to witness life, you don’t need to be at the national march, you need to be at the abortion mills in your local towns. It is our hometowns where we must involve the intercession of Our Lady so she may protect us in her mantle. God Bless.”
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“An unsettling experience — one that will awake you from your slumber,” said Katelin Fehrenbach. “It is all too easy in our comfortable lives to avoid the injustices of the world. And perhaps there is fear in exposing those injustices because it requires action to be taken; we may need to leave the comforts of the homes we have created and fight for our brothers and sisters. Never before have I felt heaven and earth meet as I witnessed 35,000 members of the body of Christ join together for Mass. My imagination added endless tiers of balconies, a full choir of angels, and Christ himself before the altar. . . . and there I found heaven. The march witnessed to the world the body of Christ is moving. What great things we can do together. It is when the parts of the body disperse that the real battle begins. Praise be to God we have returned as warriors for life and have a mission to make our slain brothers’ and sisters’ voices heard in Madison.”