The first time that I felt awe in the presence of the Holy Eucharist was when I was a university student, a freshman, at the University of California, Los Angeles.

I wasn’t Catholic yet. I had [attended] an Orthodox church at one point. I went to a Baptist church, a Lutheran church in college as a freshman. I went to the church that was meeting in a movie theater.

But this particular Sunday, this friend of mine said, “Lila, do you want to come to this little Mass with me at this women’s center right by campus?” And I said, “Sure.”

I climbed up the stairs; and immediately in this little chapel, [there are] all these women sitting there, many who lived in the house. And there was a priest, and they began the Mass — and already my heart started to be gripped.

I felt this gripping in my heart, this movement in my heart, and then when they got to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and I didn’t know what this all meant yet. I’d been to Mass a couple times before because my uncle was Catholic, when he came to visit, but I didn’t know what it meant yet.

I was raised Protestant, and when the priest held up the Holy Eucharist, there was an explosion in my heart, and I was hungry.

I was hungry for Jesus.

After the Mass was done that day, I turned to this woman sitting next to me in the back of the chapel who lived in the house, and I said: “Is there someone here who can mentor me or something? I want to learn more,” and she said, “Yes, and I can see you this week.”

Eighteen months later, after that encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, thanks be to God, I’ve had my first confession. I was confirmed into the Catholic Church, and I was able to receive Holy Eucharist for the first time.

And I chose St. Joan of Arc as my confirmation saint.

St. Joan of Arc, we love her. Why do we love her? I loved her because when I was 12 years old as a Protestant girl, I read the book Joan of Arc by Mark Twain, and I was captivated. I was captivated by her spirit of the martyr that she held within her heart — that she loved Jesus Christ so much that she was willing to not just live for him and fight for her country, but that she was willing even to die for him.

St. Joan of Arc, my patron saint, she gave herself entirely to God. She gave herself entirely to our Lord Jesus Christ; and so, as a young girl, reading about this saint, I thought, “At least I got to do something. Jesus, I want to live for you. How can I live for you?”

And it was around this time that I became aware of what I believe is the greatest human-rights crisis of our day, which is the killing of our brothers and sisters in the womb and the rejection of the gift of human life.

I discovered more about the problem of abortion as a young teen. I began to pray this prayer to our Lord: “Jesus, use me. Use me to do something to save lives. Use me.”

It’s a very dangerous prayer to ask God, all-powerful God, to use us tiny little creatures for his will because, guess what? He will do it. He will allow us to be part of his plan.

That is how good our God is. We give him a little inch, and he will transform our lives.

As a college student, I started doing investigative reporting. After I started my nonprofit, Live Action, I saw the darkness and the evil in our world.

We struggle with our own personal sins as human beings, and we struggle against the consequences of sin in our families, in our cities, in our nation — and it was dark. And yet, during that time, I saw God use [me], even in the difficulties, even my own weaknesses, for good.

That is the power of our God.

After my first investigative report, I remember going to my dorm room and getting an email, and it was from an international corporation that does abortions, a $1.5-billion corporation that is the leader of abortion around the globe. They had sent me an email to my student address. I don’t know how they got it, [but they were] threatening that they would sue me and pursue criminal penalties against me for my reporting.

And I remember I had no money in my bank account at the time, no lawyer at the time. My organization was very small, but I remember getting on my knees in my dorm room and saying:

“Lord I don’t know what I’m in for here, but I trust in you. Help me trust in you.”

And every step of the way, God has used that challenge to help the work multiply and reach now many more millions of people with the truth — about not just the evil of abortion, but the truth about the beauty and the goodness of human life: of marriage and a family.

Now about almost six years ago, I married my husband, Joe, an incredible man of faith. We have three beautiful children that we have been blessed with, thanks be to God. I’m here with my 3-month-old daughter, Genevieve. She’s in the back somewhere, hopefully sleeping; and every night, this mission for life is now our family mission.

Every night, we pray together not just for an end to abortion, but we pray for our children, that they may grow big and strong and healthy, that they may become saints, and that they may help lead many souls to heaven.

You see, we want our hearts to expand. We want our hearts to be on fire for Jesus Christ.

And it is a daily activity, that we must renew our hearts. We must continue to ask for the grace; we must continue to ask to be used to do things for him, great things.

For him, there are 50,000 people here in the stadium tonight. Imagine if each one of us asked our Lord, “Use me.”

If we said, “Do whatever you want with me Lord.”

Imagine what God can do.

I believe that we can end abortion in this country, that we can build a culture of life, that we can transform the nation into one of life.

I want to tell you about one more thing about St Joan of Arc. She was a martyr. She died a martyr, a red martyrdom. The Church Fathers talk about two kinds of martyrdom: red martyrdom and white martyrdom. St. Joan of Arc gave up her body, was burned at the stake, for all souls.

I want to tell you about a woman named Joan Andrews Bell. Joan, some people know her; Joan, as we sit here tonight, is in a federal prison. She is a 74-year-old grandmother and mother of seven children, six of whom were adopted with special needs. She is the wife of Chris Bell. She founded Good Counsel Homes, maternity homes that have served 8,000 women and their children who are in need, to give them love and care.

When Joan Andrews Bell was 24 years old, she was shocked the state Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand. That act changed the course of her life because she knew that she could not remain silent, that she must do something.

As a young woman in her 20s, Joan helped pioneer what is called “rescue” at abortion facilities. St. Joan of Arc physically went into war for her people in France. That’s what St. Joan of Arc did. Joan Andrews Bell physically goes into abortion facilities, peacefully and prayerfully, using her frail body to obstruct the killing until she is forcibly removed by police.

When Joan was brought to trial for her work, she refused to take a plea bargain for a reduced sentence because it would mean she would have to recant her position and say she would never do it again. This is what Joan said:

“To accept probation would be to accept the lie that I have harmed society by trying peacefully, prayerfully and nonviolently to save children from the brutal death of abortion.”

Joan Bell’s peaceful resistance echoes the spirit of the martyrs.

I believe truly that this sister of ours is living a white martyrdom.

St. Joan was also offered this plea bargain when she was captured by her enemies; and they said if she rejected, and said it wasn’t God actually calling her, she might be saved from burning at the stake. St. Joan of Arc said, “If I saw the fire, I would say all that I am saying to you now, and I would not act differently.”

Joan Andrews Bell says, “It is my humble privilege to follow my conscience and my Catholic faith in defense of the innocent.”

My brothers and sisters, may we humbly ask Our Lord together to use us, to use us to stand up in truth, to speak the truth, to walk with love and to have the gift of the spirit of the martyrs.

And may we ask our beloved Jesus in the Eucharist to give us the strength to follow his call.

Thank you.