Once again, the Dominican Friars gathered in Washington, D. C. on January 21-23, 2010 to witness to the value of human life. In addition to participating in the March for Life, the Dominicans also participated in the National Prayer Vigil for Life, both by attending the Solemn Mass For Life and by leading Lauds and preaching at the conclusion of the all-night vigil.

View a slideshow of pictures from the weekend.

Listen to the homily preached by student brother John Devaney, O. P. at the conclusion of the National Prayer Vigil for Life

The text of Br. John's Homily, "The March of Mercy," is below:

The first time I took part in the March for Life, a fellow Dominican Friar shared that a friend of his who worked in the Justice Department stated that of all the marches that take place every year here in our nation's capitol, the March for Life is the most peaceful. I have never forgotten this. What a beautiful observation of the March for Life, and this is due to the fact that is a march of mercy, Christ's Divine Mercy.

Today, here we are as a nation 37 years after Roe vs. Wade, and almost 50 million babies are gone. In fact, the largest provider of abortion in the United States claims on their website that over 1 in 3 women in our country will have an abortion by the time they are 45.

For each mother this accounts for there must also be a father affected by this, and in a country of 300 million people split almost equally between men and women, it seems as if almost one third of our population is, or has been, affected by this evil.

What an unspoken darkness in our land that seems to result in no mercy for the child in the womb, the mother and the father, and the communities in which we live.

What can heal this, and who can heal this?

Only Christ, and only His divine mercy. At a moment when humanity has such a dark outlook towards life in its very self, Our Lord again makes good on His promise to be with His church until the end of the age, as He is here with us right now in the Blessed Sacrament. He is also with us by the gift we have received through the first saint of the third millenium, St. Faustina---His message of Divine Mercy.

Is it a coincidence that we have this message of Divine Mercy, now at this moment in human history? No. St. Faustina records these words from our Lord:

"I have opened my heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust. Tell souls to place within their own hearts no obstacle to My mercy, which so greatly wants to act within them. My mercy works in all those hearts which opens their doors to it. Both the sinner and the righteous person have need of my mercy. Conversion and perseverance is a grace of my mercy."

Yet, even if we did not have this treasure of the diary of St. Faustina, we would still know that Divine Mercy is the only answer to this plight. It is this mercy that fuels our march year after year.

Every single one of us in this room, regardless of age and background, has experienced mercy first hand personally from Christ. From our light faults to the worst sins we have committed against God---even being involved with abortion---we know that when we approach our Lord in the confessional and offer an act of contrition with true repentance and a firm resolve to sin no more, a supernatural contact with our creator and His mercy takes place....undeniably.

We know it. This is why we have stayed up all night, this is why we have driven countless hours and countless miles, this is why we can sit right here adoring Him, talking with Him, pleading with Him for those who do not or refuse to know Him. This treasure of Divine Mercy is hard to put into words, but today we are putting it into action, a work of mercy, a march of mercy.

Often, to the bewilderment of those who disagree with our stance on the truth about human life, they still are drawn to the beauty of what we have and what we show. Like the observation of that office worker to my Dominican Brother. We have supernatural grace and we radiate Christ's Divine mercy in this time of darkness as we peacefully assemble.

Do not forget this!

This year we will be marching on the day Christ poured out His mercy to us once and for all mankind: Friday. This year we will be marching during the hour He made the ultimate sacrifice of mercy. At the 3:00 hour, remember His five wounds and place our nation in them for healing. We do not march for ourselves, but for the unborn and those who have hardened their hearts. Again, we can turn to our Lord's revelation to His secretary of Divine Mercy:

In the Old Covenant I sent forth prophets wielding thunderbolts to my people. Today, I am sending you with My Mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it pressing it to my Merciful heart.

Now my brothers and sisters in Christ, it is the age of mercy, for when abortion leads mankind farthest from Christ's Divine Mercy, the more we need His mercy and the greater the priority of mercy to those whose hearts are the hardest. As Cardinal Dinardo commanded us last night:

Today, let us go forth with joy and love for we have spent the night with our Lord in Garden of Gethsemane, exposed to the rays of His mercy like the blood and water which gushed forth from His side on Calvary, prepared to speak of the sanctity of life to the congregations beyond us, with the Mother of Mercy as our guide and the great trust Jesus asks us to have in Him.

Amen.