I have many memories from this past weekend – the trip to Washington D.C. with 800 or so teens from St. Louis – Life Really Matters.

Friday Night, Jan 20 6:00 PM: The House Band plays as groups begin to arrive at CBC High School. Mr and Mrs Incredible make an appearance, the L.I.F.T. team does a skit and Mass is led by Fr. O'Toole.

9:00 PM We load up the buses for the lonnnnng bus trip to DC (though not as long as the people who had the flat tire). There almost isn't enough room for sound equipment. Whew! We made it.

Jan 21 2:30 AM (now on EST) The bus stops somewhere in eastern Indiana.

8:00 AM What's round on the sides and high in the middle..? OHIO -- only now we're in West Virginia. I must have gotten SOME sleep...

2:00 PM Arrive at hotel in Arlington VA. A much appreciated meal and a shower.

7:00 PM IN hotel ballroom, band plays, the Incredibles return, Super Crowder makes an appearance, and finally Daniel DiSilva shares his faith and performs music. Reconciliation too.

8:45 PM Matthew Baute and I play our guitars and sing praise and worship songs in the hotel lobby – this is a first.

Midnight: Crash.

Jan 22 8:30 AM Our group from St. Clements and St. Catherine’s meet in the lobby. We have a great time on the metro (the train system that connects DC), the Spy Museum, and then eat some genuine Chinese food in Chinatown. Then, we go to the National Archives where several of our teens plot to pilfer the Declaration of Independence. Not really, but they saw the movie.

5:30 PM Sound check back at the hotel. Mass soon starts with Jonah shouting out a call for everyone to repent. Homily is killer -- more about that later... Incredibles return one last time...

8:00 PM Rockin' fun concert from Janelle, followed by adoration. Sweet.

11:30 PM Papa Johns Pizza with those pepperoncini peppers, yummy.

Jan 23 5:30 AM Awake early, Starbucks, and load the buses.

8:00 AM Arrive at MCI Center -- rally, followed by Mass, love Tony Melendez and the gospel choir.

11:30 AM March to the march. Actual march starts at 1:30 PM or so.

4:00 PM Hanging around Union Station waiting for bus to board. Hanging around Union Station waiting for bus to board. Wait, didn't I just say that..?

7 PM: We board bus, the lonnnng bus ride home begins. Not really awake, not really asleep, but still pretty ok.

11:30 AM Back in STL, need sleep.

Of all that I remember from the weekend, two things stood out and both happened during Mass. The first was Sunday night where Fr. Steve Robeson told us the march “starts on our knees”. It put everything into focus, as we prepared to go forward with God’s grace and power. Even Monday as we began to march down Constitution Avenue with 100,000+ mass of humanity, I imagined all of us on our knees praying and God’s hand over everyone.

The other thing that stood out was Monday at Mass. It was not any one thing, just the 25,000 people at the MCI Center (and 2,000 that were turned away) with cardinals, archbishops, bishops and hundreds of priests, seminarians and religious. In that moment, I felt so proud and blessed to be Catholic, to be Christian, to be in that place and time.

I don’t know how soon it will be until Roe v Wade gets overturned and laws are allowed to limit or ban the killing of innocent life. Nor can we be sure if and how the lives of the teens and other marchers were transformed by this pilgrimmage to DC. But I do know this: if we remember the march for life starts from our knees, God’s love will lead us home.

back in STL... Need sleep...

A quick check-in from D.C. Long bus trip from STL, survived in pretty good shape, reconciliation, visited the Spy Museum and National Archives today. Now getting ready for Mass, then Eucharistic Adoration tonight.

That's like just the facts. In reality, God is very much present in this pilgrimmage to our nation's capital on the eve of the Pro-Life March. Pray for us, but mostly, pray for all those who are struggling, who don't see their own preciousness in God's eyes, or the life of the unborn or the sick, or aged, or whoever.

Had fun with Matthew, Ron, and the SCL gang today! Lots of dead fish and such...

It's the day before Life Really Matters and I am feeling a little vulnerable -- just all the details of traveling, leading a band, running sound (Friday), shipping equipment, planning two Masses in St. Louis while I am in D.C., and oh yeah, I have a job.

Still, there is nothing else I would rather be doing -- a few years ago, I felt as if God gave me a word, and the word was "Now". In other words, now is the time for me to be doing youth and music ministry -- it just burns in my heart. And when I am done playing (like last night at St. Gerards), I feel more energized and excited than before.

A shout out to Fran. Last night, we had a competition between the guys and girls on who could yell the loudest AMENs on Trading My Sorrows -- Lisa and I voted, Fran was the tie-breaker. Naturally, Lisa voted for the girls, I voted for the guys, Fran steps up to the mike, "this one is easy, who loves me more..?" The girls won.

24 party tonight!!

Yesterday had two more amazing Masses -- for totally different reasons...

When we got to SCL at 11:40 to prep for the Noon Mass the power was out -- a transformer had failed evidently... Anyways, we decided to go unplugged --piano, guitar, congas, and vocals -- the church was mostly dark except for some ambient light from the skylights and a little bit from the windows. We played our opening song which starts out "Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes let me see..." You can't plan that stuff.

Then all the readings were about hearing the Lord's voice and responding. And with no sound system, of course, we all had to listen very intently...

Then Clements. We played the same lineup, but of course, the band is so talented, just sounds so full. After Mass... talked to a guy named Mike who is a musician and attended 6 PM for the first time. He was just so generous with kind words and affirmation about the band, the Mass, our ministry... turns out he is related to a parishoner and this was a real blessing for him. Hoping we can get together some time. Fr. Steve related a few more stories how this Mass has welcomed several people and families back to the Church in a way none of us could imagine. And not to play the numbers game, but he told me 575 people had attended the 6 PM just a few weeks earlier. Dang...

Then I got to play with Greg the Radical Dude at Life night and go out for a beer afterward. That was like major double bonus.

Didn't even mention MQP with Kathleen, Lynne, Bridge and Jake...

I love Sundays.

Some random thoughts -- first, our Luke 18 retreat at SCL was a really special experience. It was cool because our speakers all shared their faith and love for God, and so many people from the parish helped. I mean wow!

But then this morning Nancy was in a car accident and was subsequently hit by a car -- we don't know how serious, but if you read this, even if you read it tomorrow or next week, PLEASE pray...

A few weeks late but here is greg bridget and i at her b-day party