Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Miles Jesu,

Happy Birthday of our dear Blessed Mother, Mary and greetings to you all!

As you are all most likely aware, this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the apparitions of our Lady to the three children of Fatima. The anniversary is being celebrated throughout the Church in various ways and the Holy Father has even offered a plenary indulgence to those who visit Fatima or do so spiritually. Many local Bishops are taking the opportunity to consecrate their dioceses to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during this centenary celebration, especially on October 13th –the anniversary of the “miracle of the sun” by which our Lady confirmed her presence and her message. In view of this anniversary, I write to you this letter.

The world to which our Lady came 100 years ago was in great crisis and upheaval. The First World War was raging into its 4th year with millions of casualties mounting with every major battle, and without any hope of stopping. Pope Benedict XV pleaded with all for peace and was roundly ignored, except by Heaven. Russia suffered the worst defeats in the war and was left open to revolution led by militant atheists who strove for world domination under Communism.

From March to November 1917, the Russian revolution annihilated the Czar and all resistance to the beginning of the Soviet totalitarian State. The age of the greatest number of martyrs in the history of the Church was beginning in this Revolution.

All but Heaven ignored the Pope’s plea for peace. Pope Benedict XV promulgated a special Novena of Rosaries in Rome to “Our Lady, Queen of Peace” begun on May 5th, 1917, asking her for the end of the war. Eight days later on May 13th, our Lady herself appeared in Fatima to the children—as if directly answering the Holy Father’s prayer. She asked them to pray the rosary everyday, to make sacrifices for the conversion of poor sinners and to help the Lord to spread devotion to her Immaculate Heart throughout the world. Later she requested of others just two things to obtain both peace for the world and the conversion of Russia—so that it would not continue to spread its errors throughout the world, annihilating countries and persecuting Christians and causing the Pope to suffer. One of her requests was the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart by the Holy Father in union with all the Bishops. This has already been done. On March 24th, 1984 when St. John Paul II in union with all the Bishops invited to join him consecrated the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in St. Peter’s Square before the official statue of our Lady of Fatima brought to Rome for the occasion. We were told by the last of the Fatima children that “Heaven has accepted that consecration”. Many of us have witnessed the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s, some few years after the requested consecration was made. For indeed, Our Lady keeps her word and her Immaculate Heart will triumph in the end as she said.

The other request our Lady made was for peace in the world and the conversion of poor sinners. It is something anyone can do. She asked that five consecutive First Saturdays of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary be offered with the reception of Confession and Holy Communion, the recitation of five mysteries of the rosary and spending just 15 minutes with our Lady meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary. Our Lady explained to Lucia that God is greatly offended by sin and in particular by the sins against Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Since sin is the cause of war and strife, if we make reparation for sin, we can have peace in our world. Look at what happened in Austria at the end of WWII when that whole nation prayed the rosary for three years and the Soviets picked up and left without a fight as they had never done at any other time.

My dear brothers and sisters, by our vocation we are privileged to be “Sons and Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of our Lady of the Epiphany” and as such are called to offer reparation and consolation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our dear Mother. One hundred years after the 1917 apparitions at Fatima, our times are filled with crisis and upheaval of a different kind, yet ever more dangerous and widespread—not limited to the battle field! Islamic terrorists threaten to “cut the throat of all the lovers of the Cross”, North Korea threatens to launch nuclear holocaust as soon as it is capable of doing so, while Soviets as such are gone the Russians have invaded Ukraine and threaten other counties of eastern Europe, and Syria has an endless war that characterizes the whole Middle East. We need to pray for peace!

For this reason, I would like to propose to you, my dear brothers and sisters, that we do the same two things that our Lady of Fatima asked for: Consecration and the five First Saturdays of Reparation.

With this letter, I ask each domus community to begin the Five First Saturdays of Reparation this coming month of October on Saturday the 7th —the Feast of our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Then each day after with a communal rosary—as much as is possible together—until the 13th of October. On the 13th of October, as an Ecclesial Family of Consecrated Life, in union with many others world wide, I ask that each community gather sometime during the day or evening as you choose to make an act of consecration of Miles Jesu to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We have within our grasp the opportunity to help bring about peace to our times and the conversions of many poor sinners answering this call from our Lady herself at Fatima. Let’s answer her call with love, devotion and generosity as good Sons and Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the Centenary of Our Lady of Fatima

Mother Mary, we consecrate our entire ecclesial family to your Immaculate Heart. We desire to renew the promises of our baptism and of our consecration to Jesus through your hands, and we place each member of our ecclesial family, through this consecration, into loving union with your Holy Family.

At Fatima, dear Mother of God, you appeared with St. Joseph and the Child Jesus, blessing the world. Intercede for our ecclesial family that each of us grow in the virtues and joy which you lived as a family. Help us to be faithful soldiers of Jesus; help us to grow in unity among ourselves and to grow as a light which gives glory to your Son and helps many to come to Him.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for Jesus’ peace to fill each member and each community of our ecclesial family. Never permit any member of our family to stray from the Catholic Faith or their vocation. For any member of our family who is beset by doubts, we beseech you to be their guide through the darkness back to the light of your Son. Watch over our perseverance so that we may all one day be reunited with you and the whole family of God in our Father’s house.

Our Lady of Fatima, grant to our world the peace that only your Son can give. We join our prayers – especially the holy rosary – with your powerful intercession for the conversion of poor sinners and reparation for sins that cause conflict and tensions in the world at any level. Grant us peace, O Immaculate Heart of Mary!

AMEN

Thank you joining me and all our brothers and sisters in this pious act for the good of our ecclesial family and for peace in the world.

Your brother in Mary’s Immaculate Heart,
Fr. Thomas Cahill, MJ