This morning ...

... a bunch of us went to pray at an abortion clinic in Pittsburgh.

I've done it a few times at a clinic in Akron with Rock for Life from MUC, but this was a whole lot bigger than I expected. Besided 12 seminarians and a priest, there were about 60 students from Franciscan University of Steubenville praying.

Most of us stood across the street from the clinic (it's messed up even calling it that ... they kill people in there) and prayed. A few people stood outside the doors of the clinic and along the sidewalk to offer information to the women (and men as well) that went inside. It's a powerful, yet disturbing experience. One positive thing that happened was that one woman changed her mind and did not go through with the abortion.

It fires me up to see so many young people out there. I love that many Catholics of my generation are taking their faith seriously. And yes, I think being Catholic means fighting anyone who undermines the sanctity of life. Good job, FUS. I definitely recommend doing it to anyone who wants to end abortion. You get to see the tragedy that it really is and hopefully do some good by your prayers, presence and witness.

One positive aspect that I didn't expect was the response to us seminarians. It was my first time wearing clerics in public (off campus) and I wasn't sure what anyone's response would be to a big group of men in black. However, all of the FUS students were pretty excited to see us in collars there praying with them. One girl said that they were watching the parking lot when we arrived and that they were fired up to see all of us. Several people offered encouragement and said they would pray for our discernment/vocations/etc. It was awesome to see how supportive people were of the priesthood and what we are trying to do. Praise God.