(Ed. Note: the following incident was reported by a participant at the recent Ontario Student’s for Life Skate for Life in Ottawa).
During the walk, an event that boosted our morale considerablely took place. A young man named Joey boarded a bus for part of the trip. One commuter, upon seeing his banner, began to curse at him. She became extremely abusive and vulgar. Joey, however, retained his outer calm and only responded to the woman by telling her, “Jesus loves you too.” The woman left the bus still cursing. When Joey came to his stop, the driver turned to him and said, “You know, you have really changed my view of pro-lifers. Thank you.” Several of the other passengers also gave him warm smiles and waved to him. Hearing the effects of Joey’s actions made the weekend well worth our efforts.
After praying the rosary around the eternal flame on Parliament Hill, we returned to the school we were staying at for a pizza dinner. After dinner we enjoyed a fascinating talk by Rev. Dr. Bob McDonald who is both a deacon and a psychiatrist. He spoke in depth on the issues of abortion, birth control, and contraception and gave us some very valuable information. He gave us both the perspectives of the Church and of the medical profession, giving us both religious and practical advice. His talk had a profound impact on several of the students. We finished off the evening with a beautiful Mass given by Fr. Roger Vandenaker, a vibrant young priest belonging to the recently established religious order called “Companions of the Cross.”
The following morning, the students met one last time for a short talk and pep rally. Afterwards, we gathered our packed lunches and prepared for the drive home. The weekend was a very enjoyable one, an excellent combination of fun and education. We all made new friends, and although we didn’t get much sleep, we were glad we had the opportunity to attend this pleasant weekend.
