United Around the Fatima Message
We just returned from a beautiful pilgrimage to Fatima. The past eight days were spent with the members of the Apostolate for Family Consecration who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their founding. We congratulate them and are honored to have shared this time with them. We appreciate that they came to us to organize […]
Sister Lucia was a Martyr to Daily Duty
If there is anything we can learn from Venerable Sister Lucia, it is heroic patience and perseverance, which she embraced fully as each day unfolded – one to the next – until her death at age 97 on Feb. 13, 2005. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of her holy passing, Lucia is a good reminder of how to become a saint through what she called “the long, hard road of martyrdom that has to do with daily living.”
Blue Army on the March
As we gathered under the towering presence of the Washington Monument, the excitement of the Pro-Life Marchers was palpable. For many in our country it seemed that the great pro-life victory achieved by the overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022 marked the end of the Pro-Life movement on the national stage. But nothing could be further from the truth. Our drive to transform the culture of death into a truly pro-life generation and to end the victimization of the most innocent in our society has only increased, as political support and a great awareness of the sanctity of life continues to spread. Listening to the Vice President of the United States address the captivated crowd we could feel the winds of change stirring above our nation’s capital.
When Christmas Preparations Truly Matter
It all began the day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday. Navigating the sales and offers for material goods, many of which will be discarded the next day I was buried in the confusion of the season which hadn’t even started yet. The police were on high alert as the potential for violent clashes at retail outlets across the country was high.
Extra, Extra! Read All About It – In More Ways Than One
Times change. The institutions that seemed to be enduring without extinction are, in fact, showing a new face. The free press is a necessary piece of the social political structure in a democratic representative society. Newspapers and broadcast news were traditionally the trusted sources of information, and a window to the events of the world. Everything evolves, and as change can be unnerving to some, it must be looked at as inevitable and, in some cases, exciting. I remember the big three networks as the only source of major broadcast news, with a few local channels in large cities. Cable TV and talk radio began the downward spiral of influence for these legacy institutions. The introduction of the news channels with their 24-hour cycle brought constant coverage which also led to fatigue.
Peace is Found in Unity – Which Comes from God
St. Paul said that we are going to win. Our Lady promised that in the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph. Like most of us I look around and wonder how this will come about. Doom and gloom are fed to us daily. By watching the news and following the flow of pessimism that rules the day it is easy to understand why despair is on the rise. A priest once suggested that I stop watching the news. It is said that “no news is good news.” I often think of former Vice-President Spiro Agnew’s famous depiction of the press, referring to them as the “nattering nabobs of negativism.” Obviously, we cannot totally ignore world events, but obsessive focus on things that we cannot directly affect is counterproductive. Strong devotion leading us to proper action is how we effect change.
The Rule of God and the God of Rulers
We saw the new motion picture “Reagan” last week. It brought me back to the time of my own political coming of age in the 1970s. The first presidential election in which I participated was in 1976. The United States was reeling from the disruption of both a presidential and vice-presidential resignation. The country was in the hands of two appointed men in the executive branch of our nation. In 1972, by an overwhelming majority, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were reelected. Two years later, Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller held the offices of president and vice-president. The political and social turmoil of the time was redefining the United States.
Pray, Hope and Sleep Peacefully in the Arms of God
We were sitting having dinner the other evening. Outside on the deck on a patio chair was one of our neighborhood cats. She was curled up, peacefully asleep, unaware of the turmoil that defines our present day. I commented to my wife that this reminds me of the Scripture passage when Our Lord states:
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one hour to his life?” (Mt 6:26)
A Sign from Our Lady? News from the Pilgrim Virgin Tours
There have been a number of reports of supernatural manifestations stemming from the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, during her visitations to parishes, particularly in the dioceses of Youngstown, OH this past week, and Rockville Center, NY in May.
In Memoriam: Father Charles Fanelli
On July 17, 2024, the World Apostolate of Fatima USA/Our Lady’s Blue Army lost a long time member when Fr. Charles Fanelli passed away.
