Today is the 32nd annual March For Life in Washington, DC, it seemed a little strange not going on the "Parish Church" bus. I allowed C.R.C. to miss school so he could also attend the march this year. Dr. Joe F also allowed his son Peter to miss school for this event. S.C.C. had to work. C.R.C. and I pulled out of the driveway this morning to go catch the bus at St. Joseph’s and just as we did the odometer on my truck switched to 1.3.
We arrived at St. Joseph’s and the bus was nearly full. Fr. O’Malley who is the pastor at St. Joseph’s attended the march. When we arrived in Washington we walked to the MCI Center to attend the March For Life mass that was scheduled to begin at 10 AM. During the walk Joe, Peter, C.R.C. and myself somehow got separated from the rest of the group.
We arrived at the MCI Center just as mass was beginning. We were standing in the isle and spotted some seats at the very top of the stadium. Just as we were walking up the stairs to go to the vacant seats a woman who worked at the MCI Center told us we could take the seats that were reserved directly behind the priest. It ended up we had some of the best seats in the house.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was the main celebrant along with many bishops and priest. The stadium was packed with the exception of a few empty seats at the very top which is where we thought we were going to have to sit.
I was surprised that receiving Holy Communion was as orderly as it was considering the many thousands of people. It went very smoothly. After Communion when Cardinal McCarrick stood back up he said “I just had a thought hit me just now and I want to share it with you. We have just received the Eucharist and at this very moment this stadium is filled with Jesus.” There was a very loud roar and cheer come from the huge crowd and it was at that instant I was suddenly filled with the peace I have come to instantly recognize. I looked at my watch and the time was 11:33.
Mass ended and we tried to walk back to the rallying point for the March For Life but some how we lost our map and got twisted around. It was very cold and at one point we walked into the Museum of Natural History just to warm up a little. We ended up looking at the dinosaur fossils and the Hope Diamond. When we walked out of the museum we joined near the front of the March for Life that was directly in front of us. The time was 2:13.
We marched and at one point when we were near the top of a hill Joe told me to look at the crowd behind us. I looked back and it was very impressive to see a river of people marching for life and far as the eye could see. It started snowing. We were supposed to meet our bus in front of St. Joseph’s church in Washington.
When we got to the end of the march we walked in St. Peter’s parish hall to warm up. We thought that was the church we were supposed to be at. We realized that we were not at the correct church and left to find the right one. The time was 3:33.
We made our way the 5 or 6 blocks to the St. Joseph’s which was the correct church and did not have a lot of time to spare before the bus left at 3:45. We took our seats on the bus and Fr. O’Malley was seated directly in front of me. After we were on the road Fr. O’Malley initiated a conversation with me. The conversation ended up centering around the Thursday Night Prayer Group. He asked questions and I answered them. I volunteered some information and he listened. He told me that other people had told him the same things I was telling him.
I could tell he had read the papers I had given him because we talked about some of the things that happen to me at St. Joseph’s. When the conversation was over I could tell he was very interested in the truth. After the conversation was over I felt a sudden surge of peace of what had just happened. I glanced at my watch and the time was 5:13:59
We arrived back at St. Joseph’s and I drove home and pulled in my driveway at 6:33. I had not been home very long when I felt the strong urge to go back to St. Joseph’s for the Miraculous Medal Novena. I arrived back at St. Joseph’s and the odometer was 3.3. I glanced at my watch as I walked in the church and the time was 7:33:00. Fr. Steve was the priest and when it was over I started my truck to go home and the time on the dash was 8:13.
R_____ C___January 29, 2005
2:33 Pm