The Family – An Earthly Paradise to Fight For!

The Family – An Earthly Paradise to Fight For!

Thousands of people marched through the streets of London for this years Annual March for Life, for the sake of millions they can never meet, and for millions that will need all the help they can get to meet anyone at all. It was a beautiful sight to see so many people from across the nations united for Life in the face of a culture and Government that is so intent on devaluing human dignity and human life. If 2025 has shown us anything it is that as a Nation we want to normalise unnatural death for the youngest, weakest and most vulnerable at the hands of the strong. 

I was there on Saturday, my wife and three young daughters with me and like so many other families we saw real hope from the crowd, bold in their convictions that we are all human, and as such, all equal. I was particularly struck by the number of teenagers and younger people confidently making their way through the streets for a cause that affects everyone, here and now. 

It made me think of a moment from the summer when my family and I were at a café in Aveiro, Portugal and an elderly Italian man stopped with his wife to ask if he might take a photograph of our family, from behind. I was a little unsure of his intentions, but he explained to me that in Italy, he and his wife are saddened by the lack of babies being born, the issues that contribute to this and that it was so encouraging to see a larger than normal (although three is not that many!) family, out together and happy. He wanted to share it with his grown-up children because he said “they do not know, but this, what you have, is Paradise.” I could not agree more and so it was with joy that we saw thousands of youngsters on this March who I am sure will be sharing similar sentiments!

Westminster Cathedral was packed for Mass prior to the March and there was a real feeling that God is hearing all our prayers, and that he really sees us all. He sees and knows all his babies before they are born, and he sees the evil done on them. He certainly sees the efforts of those who would fight against this people, and that is reassuring. From those on their first March, to those veterans who have fought this fight for so long, the hope that we can and will push back on the idea that somehow this is a settled debate and we can affect real change. The archbishop made the point well that this fight is not just one day, but must be fought in our parishes, communities and in our prayers and sacrifices, in our willingness to be there to support those at the most risk from abortion. 

This time and this work are never wasted. Gestures of support from so many other people we passed not on the March but witness to it is proof that even though thousands of us marched on Saturday, we are but a fraction of the number of people for whom Abortion is abhorrent, anti-woman and anti-human.

A group obviously not in agreement with the ethos of the March for Life were visible and audible from outside the Emmanuel Centre, and it was such an accurate picture of the situation we face however it’s dressed up. As my family and others unable to get into the at-capacity Emmanuel Centre, we ate some lunch and watched as those on the side of death screamed at us, blew whistles, wore slogans and carried signs about unrelated issues ranging from foreign wars to trans-ideology and everything in between. It was incoherent, unclear, noisy, distasteful and in utter contrast to those of us who did not come to protest them but to make a statement. The pro-abortion lobby in Parliament and elsewhere may not be trying to make points so grotesquely but their position is equally incoherent, illogical and unrepresentative. 

I often wondered what the police officers made of the sharp difference between the two groups. The loudest response I saw from Marchers was the singing of hymns. Perhaps one group has more idea about peace, freedom and human value than the other. In either case, I would challenge anyone to be unmoved by the cheerful, family atmosphere the March has, given the horror that we march against. I am convinced people will be moved to think differently about this issue when the witness of thousands is done with so much grace.

As those who fight for these babies and their mothers full time continue to endure the battlefields, and the babies themselves continue to perish needlessly, the joyful attitude and hopeful boldness I saw in the streets of London must continue in our communities, as the archbishop said. This is a war, we need to use this boost in morale and carry it forward, for the babies, the mothers, the families and the one who made them all. 

Daniel

March for Life UK Content Creator

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Homily – March for Life UK, Westminster Cathedral 2025Uncategorized