Every Person, Every Moment, Every Condition: Macon’s March for Life

By Franci Revel Eckensberger, Lead Editor

“The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message.” 

These words from Pope St. John Paul II ring in our ears as we reflect on the recent March for Life. In both solemn remembrance and hopeful witness, hundreds of thousands stood together across the United States to protest an attitude toward human life that has profoundly shaped our society’s understanding of choice, freedom, and human dignity. 

Since 1974, participants in the March for Life have raised their voices in peaceful protest and mourned the countless lives lost to abortion on or around the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This shared mission strengthens and emboldens those engaged in the patient, often lonely work of nurturing a culture of life to envelop a society that has lost sight of the sacred. Not every individual who walks for the fundamental right to life is a Christian. But the cause itself offers an unmistakable chance to share the Gospel’s singular message about the inherent worth of every human person.

It is God the Father who said:

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5)

It is our salvation story that offers the beautiful image of John the Baptist, still within St. Elizabeth’s womb, leaping with joy at the approach of the pregnant Virgin Mary. Even before birth, it is our God who was with us, and who offers the whole, full-circle argument for the sanctity of life. It is through Christ that we know that these lives—the very possibility of life—have sacred worth.

This year’s National March for Life theme was “Life is a Gift.” As Pope St. John Paul II wrote: 

“Man’s life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills.” 

Every human life bears the imprint of the divine. Each person is infinitely valuable, unrepeatable, and worthy of protection from conception to natural death. Not one slips through the cracks. Entrusting each precious soul to God’s infinite mercy, we proclaim the hope that anchors our faith: the promise of everlasting life in Christ, who conquered death itself.

March for Life | Macon, GA

Paloma & Fig’s hometown is Macon, GA. We enjoy an exquisite home parish—St. Joseph Catholic Church—and a wonderful pro-life pregnancy center. This year, we held a morning rosary before Mass at The Kolbe Center led by Director Andrea Bird and Fr. Robert Phillips. 

Mass was celebrated by Most Reverend Stephen D. Parkes, Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, and concelebrated by priests of the Diocese. We enjoyed the company of St. Joseph’s Catholic School, Mount de Sales Academy, Sacred Heart Catholic School, and St. Peter Claver Catholic School—all of Macon’s Catholic schools. St. Joseph’s choir graced us in song and Mount de Sales and St. Peter Claver provided transportation. 

The March for Life rally followed Mass, beginning outside St. Joseph. Fr. John Johnson, pastor of St. Joseph, kicked off the march with a speech and prayer for the victims of abortion and all those involved in an abortion, and for God’s mercy upon our country. He reflected on the “significant fact” that the first miracles of healing in both the Old and New Testament were miracles of fertility—Abimelech’s wife and St. Elizabeth, respectively—and on the privilege priests have of often being present not only during the final moments of a life but the first moments, too.

Fr. Johnson told a moving story of a visit to the neonatal intensive care unit in which he was asked to baptize a very premature baby, so small that he could fit in the palm of your hand. Sticking a gloved hand below the plastic protective shield to baptize the boy with an eye dropper, Fr. Johnson was astonished by the perfection of creation he saw displayed in the baby’s perfectly formed hands and nails. He likened it to looking through a high-quality telescope for the first time, seeing “the flash of stars” in infinite numbers, a sense of sacred mystery blanketing him. As he dropped the holy water onto the boy, the baby reached up and squeezed Fr. Johnson’s pinky with surprising strength. “This baby wants to live,” he thought.

As Fr. John Johnson said, “our love for mother and child does not end in the delivery room.” We have a responsibility to accompany one another through this life with support and compassion, particularly for those who struggle. The magnitude of the March for Life event gives us great hope, but to truly build a culture of life, this effort must continue every day of the year. It must render moot the common criticism that Catholics cease caring for mothers and babies once they are born. These vulnerable children of God need our support now and in the years to come, through faithful love of neighbor and heart of service.

Find a pro-life pregnancy center near you today and consider donating your time, money, or belongings to their cause. Visit marchforlife.org for more information on the March for Life and many more ideas about how you can support mothers and babies facing this crucial choice. Consider spiritually adopting an unborn child and their mother by praying for them daily, asking for the intercession of St. Gerard Majella, St. Joseph, and Our Blessed Mother in their lives. Speak with free-flowing compassion to and about those considering abortion or mourning past abortions—we can all strive to let others experience the love of Christ through our words.

Enjoy photos of our March for Life rosary and Mass by the very talented Tiffany Wade, Paloma & Fig photographer. Our hearts go out in gratitude to everyone who helped plan this event and participated, some traveling from hours away to join us. Watch Fr. Johnson’s beautiful speech in a Facebook livestream from The Kolbe Center, starting at minute 6:54, here.

Click here to read Pope St. John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae.

“Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person . . .

at every moment . . .

and in every condition of that person’s life.”

—Pope St. John Paul II

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Lead Editor Franci Revel Eckensberger holds a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from Cornell University. With years of experience as a copyeditor for academics, fellow writers, and various small businesses, she takes pride in maintaining clarity, consistency, and beauty in each client’s voice. 

Franci finds grace and insight in the Catholic Church’s rich relationship to language and invites that relationship to influence both her literary and editorial work. Saint Cecilia and Catherine of Siena continue to play a vital role in her journey to the faith as an artist. She lives in coastal Delaware with her husband and daughter.