“Priests; say your mass like it’s your first one, last one, only one. People, live your days like it’s your first one, last one, only one.” - Canon Dumain
Up until this week, the most interaction I’ve had with the government on any level was voting in a few elections, going to a school board meeting, and being in the back of a car that got pulled over because my brother was speeding. Now I’ve taken a bus halfway across the country to rally for the pro-life cause in Washington DC.
All this came about when my rambunctious colleague Devin texted me and asked if I wanted to go. Immediately I said yes, then learned I would have to skip the first week of classes for senior year’s last semester and doubled down! As I prepared to go, I was advised by some friends that it might be wise to notify my professors of my absence. I sent out the emails and inside of 5 minutes got the following response from my aging and oddly energetic English professor.
“That sounds wicked cool, John! I love D.C……[usual stuff about watch lecture recordings etc]…Have a great week, John, and I’ll see you when you get back!”
All my other professors fit the bill for boring engineering responses that make you fall asleep after the first sentence. I’m certain they said something about watching recordings and doing homework but truth be told I just marked them as read and moved on…
The journey officially began! Almost…. I drove up to KC on Tuesday night after Taco Tuesday with my 10 roommates (a tradition so staunch that all the waiters know our strange taco requests by heart.) The otherwise boring and mundane drive was kindly interrupted by the perfect storm of having to relieve myself, getting lost in north KC, GPS refusing to function, and falling asleep at the wheel. By all accounts, it was a miracle I made it to my buddies house in the strange wastelands of Kansas City, Kansas by 12:30 am.
On Wednesday the official journey began with all pomp and circumstance due a lofty traveler such as myself. I loaded up on a big honkin’ tour bus late in the evening and hit the road for DC. Now, I’m not one to spread rumors, but the legends I’ve heard of Catholic tour bus escapades are incredible. Stories of all night sing alongs sponsored by nuns with guitars, classic bus breakdowns, and men over 6 feet tall being reduced to crying messes over lack of legroom all swirled in my smooth brain. However after my harrowing experience I can safely say that all the hype is true. Long into the wee hours of the morning, we played cards, sang songs, slammed some really shady energy drinks (live the Full Throttle lifestyle), got sketched by local artisans, and slept like an hour. There were some seasoned veterans who knew the road ahead (pun intended) and elected to get their well needed sleep…but that didn’t seem very fun to me!
As the sun crested the horizon on Thursday and I awoke after a few short hours of sleep for a low Mass in St. Leo’s in Columbus Ohio, I was feeling really jazzed. The day started off with a really incredible experience I still can’t explain. During Mass I kneeled a little wrong on my knee wound and reopened it causing some pretty good chaos and to make matters worse when I went to the bathroom to check my hip wound I accidentally ripped the entire scab off and almost blacked out in pain. Things were getting pretty dicey as we boarded the bus and I was saying some pretty serious prayers to my Guardian Angel. Low and behold; before hitting the road, our bus miraculously stopped at a CVS and I was permitted to run in and get some medical supplies.
Bandaged, medicated, and having just started my day with Mass, the rest of the ride got even better. We all sang sea shanties and folk music, I witnessed the chaplain of our bus Judo throw a guy into a snow embankment at a rest stop (snowball fight got out of hand apparently), I won my first game of 8 to 1 which is weird because I’ve been playing it for years but never actually won a game, and then got some Cracker Barrel for Dinner. Finally we arrived in DC after over 24 hours on the road. After changing quickly in the room, Devin, Marcin, and I hit the pavement to go visit all the churches within walking distance (four.)
About to wreck some serious calorie counts at Cracker Barrel.
Much to our surprise the first church was not only unlocked, but the front doors were thrown open to reveal candle lit adoration and an absolutely packed church full of young people in town for the March for Life. After some testimony, adoration, benediction, and praise and worship we left elated. The rest of the churches turned out to be in really sketchy areas but we said a really cool prayer traditionally used to greet Jesus present in the tabernacle when one cannot access the church.
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Sneaking a picture after benediction ended of the first church we stopped at. |
Friday is when the real fun began. Our day started with a low mass at a local church in DC that is friendly towards the Institute (there are no Institute churches in DC) and a beautiful sermon by Canon. Then we headed to the March. The ambitious, some might say overly ambitious, game plan was to arrive 3 hours before the March and position ourselves at the Head of the route in order to be at the front. In such an amazing environment and surrounded by so many joyous people who were there to celebrate life in all stages, neither cold nor time could diminish my excitement and joy. I witnessed a multitude of habits, collars, young people, old people, big families, and groups of all kinds pass by and line up behind our group as the time for the March got closer.
The time finally arrived and to begin marching. A booming voice, commanding enough to make grown men shake, emanated from the center of our group as Canon Dumain called us all to enter into prayer. Although I do not know Latin very well, I was treated to the most beautiful rosary I’ve ever prayed; a rosary chanted and sung fully in Latin by not only our group but also total strangers walking in our vicinity. The march itself was incredible and surreal, I could barely talk with my friends or think profound thoughts as we just simply walked to demonstrate our devotion. It was really incredible to see how people of all walks, conservative, liberal, catholic, protest, atheist, young, and old set aside any and all differences in support of the common belief that all life is precious and should be celebrated. I’ll be frank and say I was surprised to see a number of “Secular’s for life” or “LGBT+ Democrats for life”, but it was such a blessing. It was one stroll I shan't soon forget.
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| A few of us at the March! Very easy to stay with your group when your friend is 6 foot 8 and impossible to lose. |
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| I was clearly having a good time |
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| My boy Daniel looking like a beast |
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| Things about to start as we lined up to March. Devin on the left. |
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Marcin having a good time too! |
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| The St.Louis and Kansas city portion of the delegation from the Institute of Christ the King. |
After the march wrapped up, we were granted some free time so a few of us made a beeline for the National Art Museum. There is a ton of beautiful art there…but if you want to see it you’ll have to go. As the son of an artist, it would bring shame to my name if I showed lousy photos of the art I saw.
The ride back to KC was just as equally crazy and amazing. We had a low mass and lunch to follow at Most Precious Blood somewhere near Pittsburg and then a short performance from the local catholic school children's choir. The music was so sweet and nourishing that I felt like a beast or uncultured brute in comparison to anything my hands or voice had wrought into existence. Then things started to get dicey on the bus ride…while getting wrecked playing go-fish (Canon Dumain won almost every game), singing Irish love songs, and trying ranch for the first time (yeah…..) time started to slip away. It soon came to light that the projected arrival time in KC or 1:00am was going to be something closer to saaaaaaay 5:30 or 6:00am. Not great news for an 8:00am Mass to follow. After some quick phone calls, Canon ended up finding all the KC people accommodations in an old convent that the Institute owns in St.Louis affixed to St. Francis De Sales Oratory.
My homely room in the convent we stayed at.
Early the next morning, we rose, went to a Solemn High Mass, and safely made our way back to Kansas City.
After arriving home and contemplating more about this trip, it was truly extraordinary and worth skipping my useless classes. The trip was jammed with such an abundance of little moments and quirks that one cannot possibly and probably shouldn't try recording all of them. So many graces were poured out for me and I gained a great new perspective on the body of the Catholic Church in all its diversities, especially the amazing qualities of the traditional community. Another departure from my norm, instead of meeting loads of new and amazing people, I instead focused my time on meeting just one or two people and really getting to know them over the course of the trip; it is safe to say that I was given a far greater reward in this endeavor. You know who you are, wassap. I also was able to grow closer with my dear friends Devin and Marcin who remain as brothers to me.
AMDG [Ad majorem Dei gloriam, means for the greater glory of God in Latin]
John Rausch
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