‘The Antidote Is Love’: Archbishop Golka Highlights Faith-Filled Witness at Snowy Colorado March for Life
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 2 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Pro-life advocates gather in Denver to promote a culture of life rooted in Christ, compassion and support for mothers and children.
“Cold, snow, wind!”
“Bless the Lord!”
“The gift of human life.”
“Bless the Lord!”
The meteorologically appropriate revision of Daniel 3:52-90, led by Denver Archbishop James R. Golka, rang out from the Colorado State Capitol through Downtown Denver on Friday morning as hundreds gathered to pray and witness to the gift of life at the annual Colorado March for Life. Though temperatures and hefty snowflakes plummeted in Denver, spirits remained high.
“What a wonderful witness to the beauty and the dignity of life that so many hundreds, thousands, even of Coloradans have come out here. Rain, shine, snow, we are always out here ready to advocate for pre-born children and their mothers,” said Brittany Vessely, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference.
“For people to show up, it tells you we don't care what the weather is. We want people to know that we're here for women and children and that we are happy to be here together. To me, it's a lot of joy here because we're celebrating something. We're celebrating life,” added Dr. Catherine Wheeler, an OB/GYN and a board member of Pro-Life Colorado, a coalition of pro-life organizations across Colorado.
Whether because of quality gloves, hand warmers or, more likely, the warmth of the Spirit, this March for Life stood out among the rest.
“Faith is everything, and I lean on the Lord Jesus Christ for everything. He gives me the strength to be out here and obviously in the snow. He's going to be here to keep me warm, and the Holy Spirit's going to be with me, and you know we're here in joy to show people that life is joy, and joy is life,” added Elena Jones.
(Photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
A Prayerful Beginning
The day began with Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, celebrated by Archbishop Golka, concelebrated by Bishop Jorge Rodríguez and archdiocesan priests, and offered for life. In his homily, the archbishop emphasized the radicality of that gift.
“Who would not want to march for life? Who would not want to stand up and say life is a gift from God?” he asked at the start of his homily. “We have received it. We did nothing to merit it or earn it. We must steward it well, care for it, out of charity and love, and hold up the life of those around us. Who would not want to do that?”
But beyond one Mass or one march per year, Archbishop Golka emphasized, the call to foster a culture of life is one that ought to be heard at every moment of our lives.
“A March for Life is not just a couple of minutes of walking through the streets of Denver. A March of Life is an image of our life, how God made us. Our whole life should be a March for Life. Our whole lives should be a life where we recognize that everything we receive is an utter gift of God,” he said, pointing to the early Church fathers who taught that God’s continuous love for us is what sustains us in existence; if he were to stop thinking of us, the archbishop noted, we would cease to exist. “That's how much we depend upon God. That's how much we receive everything as gift. To receive everything as gift is how we live our life, that's the arc of our life. Make your entire life receiving all the gifts that God wants to give you, so that you can share those gifts and have those gifts.”
Recognizing that everything in our lives is gift, the question then becomes what will we do with them? Will we offer those gifts back to the Lord?
“This is the pattern of our life. If there's something in our life that is a gift, we bring it to the altar,” the archbishop exhorted. “If there is something in life that is lacking and missing, hurting, we bring that to the altar. We give it all to Christ. And whatever you give to Christ, he can transform and change and multiply.”
Believe it or not, the archbishop emphasized, Jesus can even transform our communities, state, country and world — if we let him, and if we cooperate with him.
“So as we march today, recognize Christ wants to work in and through you,” he said. “He wants to help change our entire state, our entire world, our entire universe, and you and I get to be part of it. That's how much he thinks of us. We have such a dignity and honor because his life is in us.
“Today, we pray for our state,” he later added. “We bring him all of our legislators, we bring him the entire state of Colorado and say change us, make us to be more like you. Change us so that we can hold up the dignity of life you've given to us.”
At the core of this call to convert Colorado is a deeper and more radical one: love.
“The antidote is love. If abortion is one of the most harsh realities in our world, the killing of a life, we must respond with love, the strongest antidote in the world. We don't respond with anger or violence; we respond with love,” Archbishop Golka emphasized. “And if you're not sure what love is like, look at Jesus on the cross behind me. Christ, who gives everything away, God of sacrificial love, changed the world, and he wants to change you and me and our state today. So walk today with love, walk today in Christ in your heart, Christ who sacrifices everything for you.”
(Photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
An Easter March for an Easter People
With Christ on their lips and in their hearts, Mass goers walked down to the State Capitol, braving the cold, snow and wind to show a glimpse of that sacrificial love for life. More than a simple political rally, the gathering in Downtown Denver was characterized by a spirit of joy-filled, prayerful witness.
“I came out here to witness to the beauty of life at every stage: the beginning, the middle and the end. And to try to do whatever we can to help turn the culture towards that beauty of life,” said Mary Catherine Froula, a teacher at Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory in Centennial.
That this March for Life — nearly overshadowed by clouds and cold, not to mention the profound suffering around the world — took place during the Easter season, when Christians celebrate Jesus’ triumphant Resurrection, was not lost on Froula.
“Everything is part of God's plan, which is not at all to mitigate the horror and the violence of what goes on in our culture every day. But I really think that the beauty is going to be even greater than the horror. We can't see it right now, but it's there. And just today is an example of that, and it's been so beautiful,” she explained. “Christ is already risen. Christ has already conquered all evil. We're living in it right now, but God is outside of time, and the triumph is already here.”
No matter the weather, the world’s challenges or the real difficulties each of us might face, one truth remains valid: every life is a gift.
“Every day is a big day for life because every life is a gift. Whether we are planned or unplanned, whether we come in ideal or completely inconvenient circumstances, every single life, to the exclusion of no one, was first wanted by God,” explained Sr. Mary Grace, SV, of the Sisters of Life, a Catholic religious order devoted to fostering a culture of life. “It's the why, literally, it's the why behind every breath that you take and every beat of your heart. Every life is literally saturated with the sacred.
“No life is forsaken. No gift is forgotten. You know, this is actually the result of the resurrection that every dark day now has better days to come when we follow the risen one,” she continued. “And believing that life is a gift isn't nice talk; it's the fundamental worldview that allows us to see reality with clarity. You know, it takes courage to believe, but you know, I think it takes heroism to refuse to give up on it when things don't make sense, when things don't go to plan, when things seem difficult. It is then that heroes like you step forward. You may never see the impact of your work. But every act of love has eternal impact.”
Marching On
Beyond the short march through Downtown Denver and back to the State Capitol, pro-lifers are called to make their lives a march for life, as Archbishop Golka challenged in his homily, going forward boldly to witness to the beauty of every single human life.
“Whether you are a young person, whether you have a few seasons of life under your belt like I do, I am asking you to speak the truth about life with boldness. The truth is that every single life has value! Every single life is a gift! The value in a human person does not depend on how that person was conceived or what that person can or cannot do. We are pro-life Colorado,” said Julie Bailey, president of Pro-Life Colorado and the Respect Life director for the Diocese of Colorado Springs.
No matter what others may say in response, Bailey challenged marchers to carry the faith-filled energy and enthusiasm into daily life, inviting others to consider true freedom and life in Christ.
“Let's pledge to one another today that we will not be afraid, we will not be quiet, we will loudly and boldly reject the idea that freedom is taking the life of the most vulnerable among us,” she concluded. “We will loudly and boldly reject the idea that the solution to an unplanned pregnancy is the death of a child. Let's boldly proclaim our intent to honor life and to protect women.”
In the end, the pro-life movement is about more than politicking or partisanship, Representative Brandi Bradley of Colorado House District 39 shared. It’s about “love in action.”
“It is about the child whose heartbeat begins long before the world ever hears their name. It is about the mother who deserves real support, real resources, real hope, not pressure, not fear and not abandonment. And it is about a society that must decide whether we will protect the most defenseless among us or turn away,” she said, noting the state’s laudable emphasis on compassion and challenging the community to extend that same virtue to the unborn. “Today we march, not in anger, but in conviction, not in division, but in unity, not in despair, but in hope. Hope that one day every child will be welcome. Hope that every mother will be supported. Hope that our laws will reflect our highest values.”
Whether you're supporting life at the beginning, middle or end, the message of beauty, meaning and hope is the same.
“There’s an inherent goodness and dignity in every human life. Obviously, we focus a lot on conception,” said Michaela Fullerton, volunteer program manager at Emmaus Catholic Hospice, a local faith-based medical hospice provider. “We particularly focus a lot on the end of life, but in every life and every season of life, there is beauty and goodness.”
“There's hope; there's beauty,” added Rachel Guerrera, Emmaus’ spiritual care and bereavement coordinator. “There's hope, and that can be found in Christ.”
