“We love babies, yes we do! We love babies, how ‘bout you?” A recurring chant could be heard throughout the streets of Washington D.C. as an estimated 650,000 people gathered to defend life on the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The 4Life Ministry of Jesus Youth of America under the patronage of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Apostolic Exarchate and SyroMalabar Diocese of Chicago took the initiative to gather families, youth, and children to attend the March for Life on January 25th. Furthermore, the first national gathering of the 4Life Ministry, hosted by the St. Jude SyroMalabar Catholic Mission of Northern Virginia, accompanied the annual March For Life.

Friday morning before the march, we celebrated Holy Qurbana (Syro-Malankara Divine Liturgy). During the homily, His Excellency Thomas Mar Eusebius said that “the [pro-life] movement is getting younger, while the pro-“choice” opposition is graying.” I realized how true this was when I stepped into the massive crowd of people marching for life. All around me were men, women, Catholics, non-Catholics, adults, youth, and children walking, just like me, to save tiny babies in the womb. I was overwhelmed and inspired by how many young people were present in the freezing cold snow to give a voice to the voiceless. Their chants and songs echoed through the streets and I realized that I was not alone in fighting this culture of death in our country. Life starts in the womb, at the moment of conception, and it our duty and privilege to protect it.

The night after the march, our group when to a concert by Matt Maher; the stadium was packed! The music combined with an awesome talk given by Chris Stefanick added to our enthusiasm and conviction of the importance of defending life. That weekend, the National 4Life Gathering was held at St. Jude SyroMalabar Catholic Mission of Northern Virginia. During this time, different speakers spoke about the beauty and dignity of each human life, sexuality and relationships, the legal issues of abortion, how contraception affects negatively couples, and many other topics.

After hearing what these people and the Church had to say about abortion, I left the gathering with a deeper conviction of how “human life is precious because it is a gift from God, whose love is infinite, and [that] when God gives life, it is forever” (Pope John Paul II). We are being urgently called to mobilize our minds and hearts to stand against this unethical action of killing children in the womb (Evangelium Vitae). So therefore, you are being called to build a culture of life. Are you ready to build it?