On Friday, the traditional 53rd “March for Life” was held at the National Mall in Washington, which takes place once a year in the center of the American capital, as a protest due to the many millions of unborn children who have lost their lives since January 22, 1973, when abortion was legalized in the United States of America.
On this occasion, the gathering is held every year on the Friday closest to that very date, January 22, and this year it began with a prayer by a Serbian bishop, Irinej Dobrijević.
Over the past years, the “March for Life” has grown into a significant event in America. Each year, an average of about 100,000 people take part in the protest. In the last few years, it has been noticeable that the vast majority of participants are youth. In the past, speakers at this event have been Presidents and Vice Presidents of the USA, members of Congress, religious dignitaries, and people from public life.
THE FIGHT FOR THE UNBORN, BUT ALIVE: Bishop Irinej opens this year’s “March for Life”
At this year’s March, the delegation of all Orthodox churches was led by His Grace the Bishop of Washington-New York and Eastern America, Mr. Irinej. He also received the honor of opening the gathering with welcoming words and a prayer.
With very poignant and chosen words, Bishop Irinej delivered a prayer for the preservation of the sanctity of life, and appealed for the innocent little ones in the mother’s womb to be protected.
All those gathered accepted the words of Bishop Irinej and the prayer he offered with great enthusiasm. Present members of Congress, religious dignitaries, and many guests personally expressed their gratitude to him.
After the Bishop, the Vice President of the United States of America, J.D. Vance, came out onto the stage and addressed those present with chosen words and an inspiring speech, in accordance with the “PRO LIFE” policy of Donald Trump’s cabinet.
AN INSPIRING SPEECH AT A SIGNIFICANT GATHERING: US Vice President J.D. Vance
Serbs, who were in Washington that day, and also across America, could be proud that a bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church was granted the honor of opening such a large and noble gathering as the March for Life.
Speech and prayer of Bishop Irinej at the “March for Life”
“Honorable Mr. James David Vance, Vice President of these United States of America — truly, One Nation under God! Your Excellency, our host, Most Reverend Bishop James Conley! Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Your Graces, esteemed Hierarchs, reverend and honorable clergy, monastics, and faithful people! Brothers and sisters, and children!”, Bishop Irinej began his speech, then continued:
“As our Lord Jesus Christ taught us — and as it has truly come to pass and is now here — where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is among them (Mt. 18:20). Gathered thus today, here in the very heart of our Nation, for the sake of life itself, let us listen to the words of the holy Fathers of the Church, who teach us that whenever we find ourselves faced with personal and social conflicts of heart and mind, feelings and reason, we should lower our mind into the heart, so as to offer a correct and worthy prayer, praying for the strength to strive for justice, love, and mercy, and to walk humbly seeking God’s help for righteousness and truth, peace and healing.
Most beloved, let us therefore bow our heads and lift our hearts, together and individually, offering an earnest Prayer for Life!
Lord Jesus Christ, Only-Begotten Son of God, Born of the Father before all ages without a mother, and Incarnate in time without a father from a Mother, Who dwelt in the womb of the Ever-Virgin Mary, Your Most Holy and Most Pure Mother — we pray to You, look upon us who have gathered in prayer for the unborn and for the preservation of the lives of the innocent.
ORTHODOX CLERGY SUPPORTED THE “MARCH FOR LIFE”: Bishop Irinej with church dignitaries, PHOTO ABOVE: With Metropolitan Tikhon (Primate of the Orthodox Church in America) and Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia (Greek Archdiocese in America) PHOTO BELOW: With Bishop John (left, Antiochian Orthodox Church) and Bishop Andrei (right, Romanian jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America)
Just as Your Mother, carrying You in her womb, became the image of the Old Testament Burning Bush, which Moses saw — which burned, but was not consumed — so also in our hearts kindle an unquenchable fire, that it may always burn brightly and never be consumed, so that we may constantly offer prayer for those who are conceived in the warmth of the mother’s womb, and for their mothers, that they may be enlightened with the wisdom and love necessary to carry their children in the womb, to give birth to them and raise them, so that they may know life and worship You, the Creator and Giver of Life.
Let them be born, so that they can breathe the air that we also breathe. Let them see the beauty of creation and see that which You have sealed with Your goodness. Let them hear the singing of birds. Let them feel the wind — Ruah [רוּחַ; rú-ah] — that breath which manifests the presence of the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, which carries with it the scent of flowers and the fragrance of this world, of life itself. Let them live their lives filled with inspiration and the joy of living, so that they may know that You are the only true God and that in You is the Source of Life.
We further pray, Lord, for all mothers who now carry within them these newly conceived lives, that they may truly understand that life is destined for eternity. That they may gain full knowledge of that selfless, unconditional, and fundamental maternal love — στοργή (storgi; storgē) — tender, nurturing love. For this gift of love is the love of a mother for a child: unconditional, irreplaceable, simply existing, dwelling in every woman, whether realized or realizable.
Let no unborn child be deprived of such love in the life-giving, nurturing body and tender heart of its mother. Let the womb not become a grave! May Rachel never again weep without consolation, because her children are no more (Jer. 31:15). We also pray, since You are truly the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:25), for those mothers who will meet in eternity with their little angels, who are now praying for their mothers and their salvation.
Lord, bless us all in our holy mission in the name of life, and bless this gathering in Your Holy Name. We pray, abundantly pour out Your blessings on our President and on all who are in positions of civil authority. Remember our Vice President, who today stands unwaveringly by us, with conviction and determination; remember his beloved family and especially his wife and our Second Lady, Usha, who is now carrying, to the great joy of our Nation, their fourth child.
And as we prepare to depart in peace, bearing in mind Your commandment to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48), grant that we too may strive to be a perfect community of Your love. Grant us to re-establish a society whose culture is based on human dignity — on the awareness of Your image in man and the realization of Your likeness — and thereby on the dignity of life itself. For such a culture is a true communion of people who act thoughtfully and responsibly, placing their mind in the heart, constantly glorifying Your Most Honorable and Magnificent Name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Let us all say: Amen,” Bishop Irinej Dobrijević uttered, before yielding the stage to US Vice President J.D. Vance.
Author: Serbian Times Photo: EWTN, Fox 26 (Printscreens)