The Great Sign
Blog
2005 01 17 - Sacramento
March for Life
It
was
Friday
night,
January
the
17th;
the
day
Frances,
Maria,
Marianne,
Tom
and
I
boarded
the
bus
to
Sacramento.
I
was
glad
to
hear
from
Frances
that Father Martin had sent us his blessing.
Frances
and
her
sister
Maria
are
members
of
Saint
Gerard
Magellan
Unborn
Jesus
Adoration
group
in
Culver
City.
Marianne
is
a
Pro-life
representative
of
Nativity
in
Torrance.
And
Tom
is
a
member
of
SS
Peter & Paul in Wilmington.
Marianne,
Tom,
and
I
had
previously
participated
in
the
Buses
for
Life
event
and
we
knew
what
to
expect
from
it.
Nevertheless,
for
Frances
and
Maria,
this
was their first time.
This
year
we
boarded
bus
65681
at
Calvary
Chapel.
Little
by
little,
Catholics
and
Evangelical
Protestants
filled
the
bus
resulting
in
a
mix
of
young
teenagers
and
mature
participants.
Interestingly
enough
the
Evangelical
Protestants
were
not
bothered
with
our
Catholic
presence.
I
was
honored
by
having
their
pastor
sit
next
to
me.
He
and
I
told
stories
of
our
previous
Pro-life
experiences
and
shared
our
favorite Bible verses with each other.
This
peaceful
coexistence
is
so
because
in
the
Pro-
life
movement
there
exists
a
true
ecumenical
spirit.
And
this
spirit
of
unity
allows
for
an
opportunity
to
share the faith.
When
the
bus
took
off,
I
glanced
around
looking
for
familiar
faces.
I
recognized
a
couple
I
meet
every
time
I
participate
in
this
event.
This
year
they
brought
their
11
children.
He
is
proud
to
be
a
Catholic
convert
and
he
has
a
wonderful
way
with
kids.
We
arrived
in
Sacramento
early
in
the
morning.
Tired
from
an
attempt
to
sleep
in
a
sitting
position,
we
got
off
the
bus
at
a
rest
stop
where
I
was
able
to
find
a
restroom
for
shaving,
changing
some
clothes
and brushing my hair.
After
a
substantial
breakfast,
we
headed
back
to
the
bus
for
our
final
stop
at
Saint
Elizabeth
Catholic
Church.
There,
we
met
Bob
Cielnicky,
who
after
having
greeted
us,
he
gave
us
a
lesson
on
how
to
lobby
for
life.
He
advised
us
to
express
our
opposition
to
the
euthanasia
bill
and
to
kindly
request our representatives to oppose the bill.
When
the
lobbying
training
was
over,
Frances,
Maria,
Marianne
and
I
walked
towards
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe
to
assist
the
Archbishop's
Mass.
I
had
previously
contacted
the
parish
Pastor,
Fr.
Salvador,
requesting
permission
to
lead
a
Holy
Hour
dedicated to the Unborn Jesus.
Right
after
our
arrival,
I
introduced
myself
to
the
secretary.
She
recognized
my
voice
from
our
phone
conversation
and
introduced
me
to
the
schedule
coordinator.
I
requested
her
to
announce
the
adoration
session
after
the
Mass.
To
my
surprise,
she
declined,
since
the
Pastor
had
not
mentioned
anything about the adoration plan.
Nevertheless,
when
the
Mass
was
over,
I
approached
Fr.
Salvador,
introduced
myself,
and
reminded
him
about
the
adoration
session
I
requested.
He
smiled
back
at
me
and
assured
me
he
would
expose
the
Blessed
Sacramento
once
he
was
free
to
do
so.
It
took
him
half
an
hour
to
take
care
of
things
before
he
exposed
the
Blessed
Sacrament
for
us.
We
looked
at
each
other
silently,
that
half
hour
was
to
be
used
for
our
walk
back
to
the
Capitol.
It
was
evident
we
were
going
to
sacrifice
the
March
for
Life
so
that
the
Unborn
Jesus
would
be
worshiped
in
Sacramento.
It
did
give
us
consolation
in
praying
for
those
participating
in
the
march.
Since
the
schedule
coordinator
did
not
announce
our
adoration
session,
we
had
a
small
group
of
12
worshipers;
some
of
them
spoke
only
Spanish.
I
decided then to have a bilingual session.
The
Unborn
Jesus
Holy
Hour
went
well.
A
young
man
wanted
to
know
if
we
were
the
regular
adoration
group
of
that
parish.
He
wanted
to
join
us
from
then
on.
I
explained
to
him
we
came
from
Los
Angeles
to
participate
on
the
March
for
Life
events
in
Sacramento.
I
then
gave
him
a
copy
of
the
prayers
and
suggested
that
he
start
an
Unborn
Jesus
Adoration Group at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish.
We
then
walked
back
to
the
Capitol
hoping
the
Pro-
life
rally
had
taken
longer
than
expected
and
at
least
make
it
to
the
last
part
of
the
March,
but
that
was
not
to
be
so.
When
we
arrived
at
the
park
the
March
was
over.
There
we
recognized
a
familiar
face:
It
was
Ray
riding
his
bicycle!
On
the
back
of
his
bicycle
there
was
a
sign
attached
that
displayed
the
words:
“Stop
abortion
now!”;
and
a
funny
picture
of
himself
with
a
baby
doll
body
holding
a
sign
with
the
message
“Thank
God
I
am
alive.”
Ray
is
also
a
member
of
Saint
Gerard
Magellan
Parish
and
he
has
participated
in
the
Unborn
Jesus
Holy
Hours
there.
He
was
in
the
area
visiting
relatives
and
he
planned
to
participate
in
the
Sacramento
March
for
Life
and
in
the
San
Francisco
March
for
Life.
He
joined
us
until it was time to depart for the bus.
We
then
lobbied
Frances’
representative,
and
my
representative.
In
both
cases
we
got
the
“buffer
treatment.”
No
representative
came
to
meet
us,
but
their
young
assistants
received
us
and
took
notes
of
our
Prolife
concerns.
At
the
end
we
visited
the
Capitol
points
of
interest
and
went
back
to
the
park
to
meet
our
bus.
We
arrived
back
to
Calvary
Chapel
to
pick
up
our
cars
from
its
parking
lot.
It
was
about
12
midnight
when
we
all
said
goodbye
to
each
other
and departed for our homes.