2009 Public Square Rosary Crusade An Ardent Appeal Asking God: ”Through the Holy Rosary, Save America!”

Click here to Become a Rosary Rally Captain

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There are still signs of Catholic militancy in America. This can be seen in the growth of the pro-life movement and in the rejection of blasphemous films like The Da Vinci Code.

However, there is still much work to be done.

Because those who seek to remove God and His holy law from our society fight unceasingly on. Abortion murders innocent unborn babies; the institution of the family is weakened by impure customs and threatened by the legalization of homosexual “marriage;” the sexual revolution pervades popular culture especially in television, media, movies and the Internet.

However, the worst consequence of this secularist offensive is the rejection of God. In so doing, we disdain His wise and loving action and we refuse His grace upon the citizens of our country.

And without His grace, how can we survive?

How can our leaders properly govern our nation? From where will they get wisdom and strength to solve the great and complex problems that abound? Besides the abovementioned moral problems, how can we maintain our treasured national identity, while adopting a just solution for the immigration dilemma? How can we solve our need to become self-sufficient in energy? How can we resolve our economic problems? How can we maintain a wise, strong and balanced military strategy?

Holy Rosary Crusade of Reparation

After World War II, Austria was divided between the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet section was the richest one and included the capitol city of Vienna. The Viennese were subject to the all the atrocities of communist occupation.

In 1946, Fr. Petrus Pavlicek, after making a pilgrimage to Mariazell, Austria’s principle Marian shrine, heard an interior voice that said: “Do as I say and there will be peace.” To obey this inspiration of Our Lady, Fr. Pevlicek founded the Holy Rosary Crusade of Reparation in 1947. This Crusade consisted of a call to the faithful of Vienna to participate in public rosary processions in the streets of the city. The intention of the rosary was for the end of communism in their country and the world. At first, the processions were miniscule, but they gradually grew to staggering proportions.

In 1955, after eight years of spreading the word about the Crusade throughout Austria, the rosary processions would often have half a million participants – about one tenth of the Austrian population. Finally, through the help of Our Lady, the Soviet forces inexplicably pulled out of Austria in October of 1955.

2009 Public Square Rosary Crusade

At Fatima in 1917, Our Lady made it very clear that the Rosary is the supernatural solution to our earthly problems. Father Pavlicek also saw this as a solution and promoted a national Rosary Crusade that saved Austria from Communism.

Just like in Austria, the Rosary can save America.

In The Secret of the Rosary, Saint Louis de Montfort states: “Public prayer is far more powerful than private prayer to appease the anger of God and call down His Mercy and Holy Mother Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has always advocated public prayer in times of public tragedy and suffering.”

That’s why America Needs Fatima is launching the 2009 Public Square Rosary Crusade.

Our goal is to counter the destructive secular agenda, asking God to guide every aspect of our society. As human efforts have failed to solve America’s key problems, we ask His immediate help for our nation’s leadership. He will hear our prayers, especially if we pray the Rosary of His Blessed Mother. Without prayer, and specifically the Rosary, we will not find solutions to our nation’s many problems.

Last year, the America Needs Fatima campaign organized over 3,445 Rosary Rallies. In 2009, we’re planning 3,500 rallies for October 10 – the Saturday closest to October 13 – the day God worked the miracle of the sun at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. America needs a monumental miracle of conversion. And it can happen!

Click here to Become a Rosary Rally Captain

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Catholics Students React to Obama Administration Threat against Belmont Abbey over Contraception Coverage

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Students at Catholic universities across the nation are banding together with students at Belmont Abbey College (BAC) in a stand for religious liberty and conscience rights, after the college was warned by the Obama administration last month that its refusal to cover contraception amounted to gender discrimination.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ignited the First Amendment firestorm earlier this month when it ruled Belmont Abbey College was wrong not to include coverage for contraception in its employee health insurance plan, despite the Catholic Church's prohibition on contraception as intrinsically evil. In addition to the Church's teachings against contraception as such, it is known that hormonal contraceptives often function as abortifacients.

According to BAC president William Thierfelder, while the local EEOC initially threw out the complaint, the decision was reversed after the affair went to officials in Washington.

Students from the University of Dallas, Franciscan University of Steubenville, De Sales University and Catholic University of America are fighting back, saying the EEOC decision is a troubling indication of the Obama administration's ideas on "reasonable" conscience protection.

"People need to wake up," said Michael Barnett, American Life League's director of leadership development and its LiveCampus college outreach program. "Under Obama, the federal government is forcing a religious institution to commit an act that violates its core values. This is religious persecution and a clear signal of what Obamacare would bring. This is the government imposing its will against the people's will."

In a letter to the Belmont, the EEOC claimed that the school discriminated against women by not covering contraceptives: "By denying prescription contraception drugs, [the college] is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral prescription contraceptives. By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women."

In a letter subsequently sent to EEOC chairman Stuart Ishimaru, Judie Brown, president of American Life League, pointed out, "The Catholic Church teaches that contraception is an evil and certainly not the sort of 'treatment' one would expect to find in a health insurance plan designed for staff at a Catholic facility. Your discriminatory actions against the college are unfounded and unconstitutional."

William K. Thierfelder, Belmont's president, affirmed that rather than provide contraceptive coverage, "We would close the college."

"This debate is part of an ongoing political struggle between the faculty and the administration of the school, and it entirely excludes the students and the monks of the Abbey," commented Ann Visintainer, a senior at Belmont. "We here at the Abbey pray the conflict may be resolved in a respectful and peaceful way, and in the meantime, we will continue to support and cherish human life in all its forms."

Not only are Catholic schools across the country running to the aid of Belmont, many are gearing up for First Amendment fights of their own in light of the Obama health care "reform" plan.

"This is an incursion into private religious belief," explained Larry Meo, president of De Sales University Students for Life. "The EEOC is attempting to impose a set of values on a certain group of colleges, and this is the very thing the president spoke against during his campaign."

Katie Prejean, a Crusaders for Life member at another Catholic college, the University of Dallas, agrees: "True Catholic academies are no longer safe from the Obama administration's desire to manipulate every citizen's health care, regardless of religious freedom."

Martha McAdams, a student at the University of Dallas and president of Texas Students for Life, the statewide student pro-life organization, summed up the issue at the core of the standoff between the Obama administration and Catholic institutions: "At the University of Dallas, as at most Catholic universities, abortion is purposely not included in the university- provided health insurance because it goes against a natural belief that all human life is precious."

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09082003.html

Fatima and the Necessity of Suffering

Written by Plinio Correa de Oliveira

Francisco

Two of the three Fatima seers, Jacinta and Francisco, died young because of the need for victim souls to give the necessary fecundity to Our Lady’s plan. Their lives were proof that nothing great is done without suffering.

Indeed, suffering helps those souls who are absorbed with themselves and unwilling to open up. We should see suffering as normal for man and we should practice it with courage and daring. The acceptance of sacrifice is necessary to combat the Hollywood myth of the “happy end.”

Jacinta and Francisco died as children by Our Lady’s design as she had foretold. The third seer, Lucia, lived for many more years. What was the reason why Jacinta and Francisco died so early? This was obvious for they spoke openly about it.

Jacinta

The reason was that Fatima asked people offer up their sufferings. It called for victim souls to associate themselves with the entire mystery of Fatima, and through their sufferings and pains help bring about all the supernatural fecundity Our Lady wanted to give to the events at Fatima.

This is exactly what happened to both children who died in extraordinarily difficult and arduous circumstances that caused them much suffering.

Such sufferings are needed because when it comes to the salvation of souls, all great works of God are done with the participation of men. In general, this is only accomplished with people willing to fight, suffer and pray for God’s work to be brought to its fruition.

In other words, sacrifice is necessary. Otherwise, nothing great is done.

The importance of this principle stood out especially at Fatima. Our Lady directly intervened there by performing stupendous miracles especially the “miracle of the sun.” She did this to underscore the fact that Fatima is one of the most important if not the most important messages, she has ever given in history.

On that occasion and in those circumstances, Our Lady wanted the sacrifice of two souls who would offer themselves up  for the fulfillment of the plan of Divine Providence. This clearly shows how the apostolate of suffering is truly irreplaceable and how it opens up the way for the Church to act upon souls.

A German painter once painted Our Lord as the Good Shepherd knocking on the door of a simple house. Afterwards someone told him: “You made a mistake, for the door has no outside knob to get in.” He answered: “That’s true, but it is not a mistake. This door symbolizes the human heart. Our Lord knocks on it, but there is no knob outside, only inside. There are certain souls that open up only to themselves and to no one else, and in that case no one can intervene, they are really closed.”

Prayer and sacrifice are precisely the way to influence this type of person. They open up to the grace and find life when they suffer and carry the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ lovingly. They come to understand how normal it is to  suffer. A person acquires greatness to the degree that he suffers. The great men in history are those who bear great sufferings for the love of God.

Clearly, this includes not only passive suffering like, for example, allowing another to strike us. It also means active suffering that is, taking the initiative in find suffering. . This can be done by confronting bad public opinion or overcoming human respect. In short, it means accepting suffering entirely, embracing it fearlessly and daringly, and taking the initiative to look for ways to sacrifice for an ideal.  This is what it means to suffer par excellence and we should seek to do this.

The Hollywood myth of the “happy end” is a great obstacle to accepting suffering and sacrifice.  Not all things turn out well in the end as in the movies.

Not everything is joy and success. Thus, we should not look at suffering as a kind of seven-headed monster that invades people’s lives uninvited. To the contrary, we should realize that everyone suffers and a life without crosses is worthless. Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort goes so far as to say that when a person does not suffer, he should ask for crosses. For a person to whom God gives no sufferings should be wary of his eternal salvation.
All this comes across very clearly in the sacrifice made by Jacinta and Francisco.

In this sense, we should frequently pray to them to ask Our Lady of Fatima to obtain for us this true sense of suffering that is indispensable for all those faithful who want to become a generous and dedicated Catholics.

The Little-Known St. Thérèse

(In honor of Saint Therese, please consider being a rosary rally captain in the 209 Public Square Rosary Crusade.)

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/rrc-signup.html

On October 10, 2009, the liturgy of the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, “the greatest saint of modern times,” in the words of Pope Saint Pius X. The charm of her “Little Way,” with all its sweetness and mercy, admirably harmonizes with the traits of a genuine warrior, “I would die in a battlefield, arms in hand,” she once stated.¹

Her soul had infinite aspirations: she wanted to be a warrior, priest, apostle, doctor of the Church and martyr; she felt the courage of a crusader, of a Papal Zouave; she wanted to die in the battlefield defending the Church; she wanted to preach the Gospel to the four continents and to the remotest islands.  “‘Jesus, Jesus’—she would say—‘if I were to write all my desires, I would have to borrow Thy book of life; I wanted to have achieved all these deeds for Thee . . . .’”²

“A French soldier, defender of
the Church and admirer of
Joan of Arc.”

An Admirer of Saint Joan of Arc
This warrior aspect of Saint Thérèse’s soul is dominant in her moral profile. Yet, even those who love her most, tend to forget this trait.

“In my childhood, I dreamed of combating in the battlefield. When I began to learn the history of France, I was enchanted with the deeds of Joan of Arc; I felt in my heart a desire and courage to imitate them.”³

Saint Thérèse gradually became increasingly aware of the profound similarities between her life and that of the Virgin of Donrémy. Thus, on January 21, 1894, the 101st anniversary of the martyrdom of the unfortunate King Louis XVI, she wrote a theater play titled, The Mission of Joan of Arc. The following year, as Pope Leo XIII declared her “Venerable,” and France celebrated it’s holy martyr and warrior, Saint Thérèse wrote the play, Joan of Arc Fulfills Her Mission, which the whole religious community staged. Saint Thérèse played the role of Joan of Arc.

The play featured the conquest of Orleans, the coronation of King Charles VII, but above all Saint Joan of Arc’s burning at the stake, which to Saint Thérèse meant the apex of the achievement of the  heroine’s mission.

Saint Thérèse signed her Canticle to obtain the canonization of Saint Joan of Arc as “A French soldier, defender of the Church and admirer of Joan of Arc.”

Saint Joan, the Virgin of Orleans, and Saint Thérèse, the Virgin of Lisieux, are two models of militant Catholic combatants against the enemies of the Church and of Christian Civilization. Two great saints, though leading such different lives—one a strictly military life and the other a contemplative one—nonetheless have profound affinities with each other.

Saint Thérèse did not live to see Saint Joan’s canonization, and she was far from imagining that, on May 18, 1925, Pope Pius XI would present her, Saint Thérèse, to the Catholic world as “a new Joan of Arc”; and that during the Second World War, Pope Pius XII would declare her, like the Virgin of Orleans, “secondary patron of all France!”

A Crusader Soul; Apparitions; the Combatant
The idea of fight constantly fed the strong soul of the saint of the “Shower of Roses.”

“I went to sleep for a few moments during prayer,” she would tell Mother Agnes. “I dreamt there were not enough soldiers for a war against the Prussians. You said: We need to send Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. I answered that I agreed, but that I would prefer to fight at a holy war. But finally I went all the same.

“Oh no, I would not fear going to war. With what joy, for example, at the time of the Crusades, I would have gone to combat heretics. Yes! I would not have been afraid to be shot; I would not have feared the fire!⁴

“When I think I’m dying in bed! I would want to die in an arena!”⁵
The same combative spirit animated her in the struggles of the spiritual life: “Sanctity! We need to conquer it at the tip of the sword . . . we need to fight!”⁶

Such is the mettle of this extremely active and energetic warrior soul, according to the testimonies of those who knew her: “Under a suave and gracious aspect [she] revealed at every instant, in her actions, a strong character and a manly soul; she would not be discouraged in her dedication to the interests of the Church.”⁷

“This is a manly soul, a great man,” Pope Pius XI later said. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus thus followed the advice of the great Saint Thérèse of Avila to her daughters: “I want you not to be women in anything, but equal to strong men in everything!”⁸

St.Thérèse’s virtue imposes itself
with incredible majesty

Thus wrote Cardinal Vico about the Virgin of Lisieux, “Thérèse’s virtue imposes itself with incredible majesty: the child becomes a hero; a virgin with her hands full of flowers causes astonishment with her manly courage.”⁹

A handwriting analysis of Saint Thérèse’s Act of Profession gives this admirable testimony: “An iron-clad resolution, a great will to fight, an indomitable energy are expressed here. These traits show at the same time the fright of a child and the decisiveness of a warrior.”¹⁰

In 1914, when the First World War breaks out, Saint Thérèse appears some forty times in various battlefields, at times holding a cross in her hand, at times a saber! The soldiers see her; she speaks to them matter-of-factly, resolves their doubts, overcomes their temptations and calms their fears. She protects, consoles and converts them.

French soldiers would invoke her as “my little sister of the trenches,” “my war patroness,” “the shield of soldiers,” “the angel of battles” and “my dear little Captain.” A soldier wrote, “In fact, that gentle Saint will be the great heroine of this war.” Another commented, “I think of her when the cannon thunders with great roar.”

Countless were the artillery pieces and planes named after Sister Thérèse; whole regiments were consecrated to her. Countless relics of the saint that miraculously stopped rifle bullets like real shields, saving the lives of the soldiers who carried them, are in her convent of Lisieux, a testimony to the great prodigies of the one who, in fact, “died with arms in her hand.”¹¹
____________________
Notes:
1. Poésies de Sainte Thérese de l’Enfant-Jésus, “Mes armes,” March 25, 1897, Office Central de Lisieux, 1951.
2. Manuscrits Autobiographiques, dedicated to Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart, Office Central de Lisieux, 1956, folio 4 t’.
3. Lettres de Sainte Thérese de l’Enfant-Jésus, Letter to Father Belliere, Office Central de Lisieux, 1948.
4. Carnet Jaune, 4.8.6 in Demiers entretiens, Éditions du Centenaire, Desclée de Brouwer ­Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 1971.
5. Summarium of the Process of Beatification and Canonization 1, testimony of Celine, 2753.
6. Correspondance Générale, Éditions du Cerf-Desclée de Brouwer, Paris, 1972, t. I (1877–1890), Letter (no. 89) Celine, April 26, 1889; Letter to Leonie, May 20, 1894.
7. Summarium of the Process of Beatification and Canonization 1, testimony of Mother Agnes, 706, and of Mother Therese of Saint Augustine, 1072.
8. Lettres de Sainte Thérese de l’Enfant-Jésus, as quoted by Saint Therese of Avila in a letter to Father Rouland, November 10, 1896, Office Central de Lisieux, 1948.
9. L’Esprit de Ia Bienheureuse Thérese de l’Enfant-Jésus d’après ses écrits et des témoins occulaires de sa vie. Office Central de Lisieux, 1924, Preface, at VIII.
10. Father François de Sainte-Marie, OCDP, Manuscrits Autobiographiques, Office Central de Lisieux, 1956, vol. II, 53.
11. Cf. Interventions de Sr. Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus pendant la guerre, Pluie de Roses, Lisieux, 1920; and Ch. Gabriel Sarraute, Un soldat français: sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus, Imprimerie Morière, 1970.

Last Updated on Thursday, August 20, 2009

Are you a counter-revolutionary?

By Plinio Correa de Oliveira

            The actual counter-revolutionary is not as rare as one might think at first.  He has a clear vision of things, a fundamental love for coherence, and a strong soul.  For this reason he has a lucid notion of the disorders of the contemporary world and of the catastrophes looming on the horizon.

            But his very lucidity makes him perceive the full extent of the isolation in which he so frequently finds himself in a chaos that to him appears to have no solution.  Thus, many times, the counter-revolutionary keeps a disheartened silence -- a sad condition: "Vae Soli” ("Woe to him that is alone"), the Scriptures say. ⁴³

            A counter-revolutionary action must seek, above all, to detect such persons, acquaint them with each other, and lead them to support each other in the public profession of their convictions.

           That's one more of the reasons why we do the Public Square Rosary Rallies.

            Please become a rosary rally captain today by calling 866-584-6012 or by signing up online at:

 http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/rrc-signup.html

Abomination in Australia: Court Legally Recognizes Two Women as Men

August 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two women who consider themselves men have won the legal recognition of their "masculinity," reports ABC News in Australia.

The two women, who have undergone mastectomies and testosterone treatment, believe that even though they still have female reproductive systems, their outward demeanor and hormone regimens make them men.

The two so-called "transgenders," whose identities have been legally suppressed, applied for a change of sex in 2008 to the Gender Reassignment Board in Western Australia, who initially denied the women their request due to the fact that they still had female reproductive organs.

The Gender Reassignment Act of 2000 states in section 15.1.b that the board will assign a new gender to the person if the person "believes that his or her true gender is the gender to which the person has been reassigned" and "has adopted the lifestyle and has the gender characteristics of a person of the gender to which the person has been reassigned." Also, the person must receive counseling for the gender change.

The State Administrative Tribunal ruled, however, that the Reassignment Act did not specify that reproductive surgery was needed for a gender reassignment and thus granted the two women legal recognition as men.

One of the women, commenting on the case, said "It means that it opens up lots of opportunities for lots of other people who until now have never tried to get their sex legally changed because they didn't think they'd be able to."

This case is not the first time that an Australian court has ruled that physical sex is not the determination of gender.

In 2001, in a case known as Re Kevin, the Family Court of Australia ruled that a woman who had undergone surgery to make herself look like a man could get married to another woman. That case set a legal precedent that has been reaffirmed in this most recent case, that gender is not essentially biological, but rather psychological.

According to the court files, the judge "rejected what he called an essentialist view of sexual identity that individuals have some basic essential quality that makes them male or female."

Further, the court files expressed the opinion of the court when they said, "that the task of the law was not to search for some mysterious entity, the person's 'true sex', but to give an answer to a practical human problem, that is, to determine the sex in which it is best for the individual to live."

Thus, later in the case, the judge, Justice Richard Chisholm, ruled that the "brain sex" of a person should be a determining factor in their state recognized gender.

Noting that transexualism is not considered a disorder, the court concluded, "There is no reason to exclude the psyche as one of the relevant factors in determining sex and gender."

However, Babette Francis, leader of the Endeavor Forum, a pro-life, pro-family group located in Australia, has for years fought the increasingly popular myth that objective gender can be altered merely by wishing it to be or through hormone treatments and mutilating surgery.

In an article entitled ""Is Gender a Social Construct or a Biological Imperative?" she writes, "Biological sex is not determined by external organs but by genetic structure."

"Every cell of the human body is clearly marked male or female," she points out, "and the human brain, which is the primary sex organ, is masculinized or feminized in the fetal stage of development by the presence or absence of testosterone."

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09081902.html

Marvelous story: how Our Lady answers our prayers

One of our volunteers, a convert from Alabama had this beautiful story to tell.  He spoke with a lady whose husband had recently died. 

    She was writing her thoughts on paper to her deceased husband telling him that without him she was looking for some kind of work to serve Our Lady.  As she was writing this, Bill, our volunteer called and she answered. 

    She happily signed up to become a rally captain.  Our Lady responded so fast to her earnest desire that she didn't even have to finish her letter, before America Needs Fatima called on behalf of Our Lady.

    This is an example of the importance of the work of the Public Square Rosary.  Our Lady desires that we offer prayer and reparation to Her Immaculate Heart.  She desires this so much, that sometimes She acts in marvelous ways as with the above rally captain. 

    Will you respond to Our Lady's call?  Will you become a rosary rally captain too?

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/rrc-signup.html