Tonight the pilgrimage begins for approximately 900 participants set to arrive in Washington, D.C. tomorrow afternoon. Boarding buses from four different locations across St. Louis, teenagers and their fearless chaperones will join the OYM staff and about 30 volunteers for this year’s iteration of Generation Life.

Confronting a world that wants us to believe our dignity is tied to what we do, the Pro-Life message calls us to understand that all life deserves to be celebrated. Because God created each person in His own image and likeness, our existence is good.

At one launch site, Fr. Detwiler reflected on the cross of Jesus. He reminded everyone that mercy flows from that cross. Everyone who arrives in D.C. tomorrow does so extending that same mercy to the world. The Pro-Life cause is not a “shot in the dark. We go with confidence, empowered by His mercy.” Similarly, Fr. Fallon reminded another group to have open hearts, knowing “the Lord will fight for us.”

No one travels alone tonight. The Lord, who never gives up on the people He created, goes behind, before, and alongside us.