I have a proclivity for intensity and confrontation. I am perfectly at home at an anti-abortion protest, in a good versus evil mindset. My experience on the March for Life was not of my own making. Since departing a dimly lit church parking lot in at 5 a.m. on Thursday with a bus full of my own students and other high schoolers from the Archdiocese of Boston, my entire group, and I, have been transformed.

"You are a beloved son or daughter of God" has been the recurrent theme of this pilgrimage. A ninth grader witnessed on the bus; he is adopted, and he came because he is so grateful that he was given life. Throughout the trip, students such as he were challenged to draw close to Christ, to courageously surrender their lives to Him, where they would find true peace.

I thought seeing Mike Pence would be the highlight of the trip. It was exciting definitely. However a tiny religious sister from Iraq, Mother Olga, was the highlight for me. She met with our group at the end of the March, in front of the Supreme Court. She led us in prayer and song, and then I brought one of my students who is discerning the religious life to meet her. Mother Olga's presence radiated the love of Christ to all who were present. She was not shouting nor preaching politics. She was quietly, barely audibly, leading a prayer for the protection of human life. Many, many students were dramatically affected. One later said, "Mother Olga just looked at me, and I knew I was being seen by Christ."

Mother Olga, and many others holy inspirations we met along the way, reflected Jesus' loving care for every one of us. We are beloved children of God. When we encounter Christ, we would love to stay in that state, those moments. We recognize we are valued, we are loved. This is why we march. We are a movement of love and thus, we love.