March for Life 2023
Photo by Mr. George Goss
Dear Friends in Christ,
This year is a historic moment for our country. This January, we gathered on the national mall in Washington, DC to March for Life for the first time in a post-Roe America. Many of us had faith that this day would come but didn’t know if it would be in our lifetime. We must rejoice for the Lord has done great things for us!
We thank God for the victories he has achieved through the prayers and work of so many pro-life men and women. Thousands of lives have already been saved through the passage of many state laws protecting the lives of unborn children! Yet we also know that there are many battles yet to be fought.
As the changed route for this year’s March for Life indicated, the work to establish legal protection for the right to life has moved from the Supreme Court to the Capitol and to the legislature of every state in our country. The court’s overturning of the Roe decision marks not the end but rather a new chapter of our ongoing work to build a true Culture of Life.
This important work extends far beyond courtrooms and legislative assemblies, academia and the media, the ballot box and boardrooms. This is a mission for the heart and mind of every person in this country. Our stance on the dignity of every human person determines the very soul of who we are. As Jesus said, “whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me” (Matthew 15:30).
Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed, “The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as ‘good news’ to the people of every age and culture” (Evangelium Vitae). The preaching of the Gospel must always include the truth of the dignity of every human person made in the image of God and invited to participate in his divine life through adoption as sons and daughters in Jesus Christ.
I am thankful to partner with you in this mission of boldly preaching the fullness of the Gospel and looking for ways that we can live out the Gospel of Life by supporting mothers in need, families, children, the elderly, those with disabilities, and affirming their dignity. As we enter the holy season of Lent, I invite you to consider ways you can help build a true Culture of Life through your words, your prayers, and gifts of your time and energy, your talents, and the resources God has entrusted to you in thanksgiving for the beautiful gift of life he has given to each of us.
May the Lord bless you abundantly,
Fr. John Paul Kern, O.P.
Executive Director
Dominican Friars Foundation
Help the Dominican Friars fight the battle for Life!
