I know how you feel right now. You loaded the bus and you’re ready for the journey ahead. Your soul is clean from the Penitential Act you recited at the launch Mass. You are freshly showered so you can last two days without one, and you made sure to get a full night of sleep in your warm bed.

Your group leader made creative picket signs and packed them in a place where they won’t get bent. He also gave you a detailed check list of what to bring and what NOT to bring. You remembered to wear clothes that are comfortable enough to sleep in and brought a small pillow to cushion the edges of the bus seat, that will become your very upright bed. The cold weather gear is packed, along with the hand warmers. You tucked a portable charger into your pocket because you KNOW that your phone battery will die before you get there…and your earbuds are in place to drown out the snores of your seat-mate. Lastly, your chaperones are fresh from their studies of the complex D.C. Metro system, and are also armed with a detailed schedule of the trip, maps, and locations of the sites that need to be explored the day after the March.

But, are you really ready for the March for Life?

You may have all these things prepared, but are you really ready? Are you ready to proclaim the Gospel of Life? Was Mary ready when she found out about her unplanned pregnancy? When Mary said her “Yes to Life”, did she know all the hardships she would endure? Did she know that there would be a death threat on her unborn child and she would have to worry about his protection? That the donkey would not be a comfortable ride for a full term pregnant woman on the journey to Bethlehem? Did she know that she would have to deliver a baby in a place that would qualify as HUD’s definition of homelessness: “not meant for human habitation”?

God doesn’t always offer us comfort. He didn’t even provide his own son these luxuries for his grand entrance into the physical world. But he does some of his greatest works in humble and uncomfortable places! Yes, God lowered himself by confining himself to a human body. He could have stopped there, but he didn’t. He confined his greatness to the body of a baby. The weakest of all flesh! Incapable of walking, unable to feed himself or even utter a word. Totally dependent. In this miraculous act, he not only lowers himself, but he also elevates the human body. He elevates life in all forms, but especially life in the weakest form- a totally helpless baby.

THIS is why you are here.

God took on unique, human DNA at the moment of conception and formed a beating heart six weeks later. The Sacred Heart of Jesus fluttered years before any technology would be invented to detect it. We know so much more now, but we are still here…fighting for the respect of life at all stages- but especially life at the moment of conception until it is safely born. This is where our hearts should be as we prepare for this journey- united with his when he was in his most helpless form. Only then can we truly become a voice for the voiceless. Contemplate that on your bus ride. Then you can answer my question again. Are you ready?

Follow this link for more tips on getting spiritually ready for the March for Life.