In the West, a Pale Light Lingers

Remember, o most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother! To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but hear and answer me. Amen.

~The Memorare of St. Bernard

As a Catholic and as a busy homeschooling wife and mom, I know we are all concerned about our families, friends and neighbors and our collective spiritual and temporal futures. For those reasons, I wish to again mention our ongoing Collegial Consecration Campaign. In addition to the intentions of the 9-Day Rosary Novena, the collegial consecration is an ever greater intention we must not forget. So as we pray for this nation, we should - above all else - pray and sacrifice for the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, every day, all year long. That is the thrust of Keeping It Catholic's Collegial Consecration Campaign, which was initiated in May of this year.

It's very easy to begin: Simply start by praying the Rosary every day (5 decades a day is called a Rosary; 15 decades a day is Our Lady's Psalter) , with the primary intention being the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you are ready, there are two more things you can do: If you are not already doing so, wear the Brown Scapular (please be sure it is blessed by a priest or, better yet, ask a priest to enroll you in the Brown Scapular) and offer your daily duty as a sacrifice for sinners.

Our Lady said at Fatima: "If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace." Years later, Sr. Lucia summed up what Heaven asks of all the people:

Dear Queen and Mother, Who promised at Fatima to convert Russia and bring peace to all mankind, in reparation to Your Immaculate Heart for my sins and the sins of the world, I solemnly promise: 1) to offer up every day the sacrifices demanded by my daily duty; 2) to pray the Rosary (5 decades) daily while meditating on the Mysteries; 3) to wear the Scapular of Mount Carmel as a profession of this promise and as an act of consecration to You. I shall renew this promise often, especially in moments of temptation.

When we pray the daily Rosary we can and should, of course, add other intentions as well: including personal intentions, intentions for all those in their last agony, intentions for the poor souls in Purgatory, intentions in which we ask for the grace of final perseverance. We do not fear that we are asking for too many things when we pray at Mass, do we? Neither should we fear asking for many graces when we pray the Rosary. The Rosary is also a most powerful prayer, the second highest indulgenced prayer of the Church after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Since penance is a necessity for the sins we have committed and confessed, and since we should also sacrifice for the conversion of others, it's well to know that daily duty is the main sacrifice Our Lord asks of us. Heaven made clear to Sr. Lucia that the sacrifice Our Lord asks of us is the faithful accomplishment of daily duty - which means 1) our duties first as Catholics and 2) our duties in our states in life. The Angel of Fatima said, "Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord may send you."

Every morning, in order to remember this daily intention, we should say a prayer in which we offer to God our every thought, word and action of the day. This one practice will cultivate the habit of prayer as well as our recollection of God's Presence. It makes us immediately aware of our venial sins and immediately make an act of reparation for them. It helps us guard our thoughts, the words that come out of our mouths, and how we behave. The following prayer is a most appropriate Morning Offering:

O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary (here kiss your Brown Scapular), I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, present in all the Tabernacles throughout the world, joining with It the offering of my every thought, word, and action of this day.

O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them, together with myself,to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them to the interests of Thy Most Sacred Heart.

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Amen.

This week, the response to this specific request [praying the Rosary for the Collegial Consecration, as well as the other intentions of the nationwide 9 Day Rosary Novena] has been so heartening! If you haven't yet joined us in the Collegial Consecration Campaign, may I ask:

-Are you too busy to let us know that you are joining us in this endeavor?

-Is it that you don't know 'what' to think about the requests Our Lady made at Fatima?

-Is it that you have given up on ever seeing the era of peace?

-Are you afraid of making a commitment to daily praying the Rosary because you might forget a day or two?

-Or is it that you somehow cannot see the shadow of Mordor extending over this nation and all the world?

But if you can see that pervading shadow - do you still hesitate to pray and work for the collegial consecration out of some fear of disloyalty to the popes - past and present?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Even Inside the Vatican magazine recognizes that now. The historical facts prove the specific collegial consecration of Russia has never taken place - so it is to save the Church, the Holy Father, and the world that we are asking for this grace. The Virgin asked for it, and that should be enough for us.

In the meantime, my fellow Catholics, Mordor is assembling for battle once more. I think most of us feel it, even if we can't see it.

Remember the lines from LOTR (Lord of the Rings): "But in the west, a pale light lingered"? That pale light is Our Lady...She wishes to save not only Gondor [Western civilization] but all of Middle Earth [the whole world]. The Age of Mary must precede the Social Reign of Christ the King. The overwhelming sins of this era make the world most unworthy. In humility, we must heed our Queen and Mother; when we listen to our Mother, God will grant the world this stupendous grace.

Just like the Fellowship, we may be separated in distance and face various dangers but our goal is the same. Like the Fellowship, too, every thing we do [even though we may not know it at the time] means we are somehow helping each other. 'Small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.' That means you and me, dear people ---Catholics who strive to remainin the state of grace, praying and working and sacrificing all over the world -separated in place as we are and yet universal!

Please...won't you join us in the daily Rosary and our special intention for the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Pray much for the Holy Father! Heaven said that the collegial consecration will eventually be done - but it will be late.

We're already there.

Email me and tell me you're joining us - won't you? Or, if you prefer, you are welcome to say you're joining the Collegial Consecration Campaign by leaving a comment on the blog. Finally, would you forward this message to others by using the appropriate 'mail' link at the bottom of this post? It will take just a moment of time, but think of the great blessings we might be given if many people learn of this Campaign and join us!

Btw, I ask you to alert me that you're joining us for one reason and one reason only - to know how many of the faithful we've reached with Our Lady's requests at Fatima, so we can encourage each other in praying and working together for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,

Marianna Bartold

We're Keeping It Catholic on the Net!

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

"...it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform himself spiritually. Each person must not only save his own soul but also help to save all the souls that God has placed on our path."

~Sr. Lucia of Fatima

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+