A Day with Mary

The editor of Into the Deep, a monthly Catholic newsletter, wrote the following about the Day with Mary that we had on the on 13 May 2017.

The Ordinariate Parish of the Most Holy Family hosted “A Day with Mary” in Cowwarr, Victoria. This day marked the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. The theme of the day was “Our Lady, Queen of the Holy Rosary”. Fr Ken Clark gave two talks during the day. Following are some points I made in my notes while listening to the talks:

• We forget the apparitions of the angel prior to Our Lady’s. The angel prostrated himself before the Blessed Sacrament and prayed. The children, being children, did the same. We must learn to follow the same way. We must acknowledge Christ in the sacrament of the altar.
• In all the tabernacles of the world, God resides. Give him his due honour.
• When I was Anglican, I thought all Catholics pray the rosary. Since being a Catholic priest, I realise how few pray the rosary!
   So much is written and people get confused about the messages. It’s hard to understand how we, with the sacrifice of a sore finger for example, can help in the overall salvation of the world.
• We must unite our pain, our small sacrifice, to the pain of Christ.
• Offer sacrifice. Tell Our Lady: “I’m sorry for the blasphemies against you and all the sacrileges against you.”
• The messages of Fatima are relatively simple. We have trouble doing them because we don’t like to be obedient. We like to think we’re all grown up.
• Fundamental to the message of Fatima is that we must pray the rosary daily in reparation for our sin and the sins of the whole world.
• Make sacrifice – in our situation, where we find it. Not big, just little. Offer up arthritis pain, things we don’t like doing, mundane daily tasks.
• Do penance. Not for oneself but for millions who are doomed to Hell unless we do something about it.
• Unite your prayers with self-denial.
• Hell is the destination of all who commit mortal sin without repentance. It is a place we choose; a place where we are separated from God; where we are still loved, but we don’t know it.
• Mary is the perfect disciple, the Living Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies. If we do nothing except imitate her faith and obedience to what her Son has asked her to do, then we walk in the path of God.
• Peter said we live in troubled times. Pope Pius X said the world is moving away from Christ. All down the ages the world has done what it likes. We are to pray for the world to be converted.
• God’s plan at Fatima was to point out the destination of those who do not believe, and show us the way to save them.
• God made us out of love and wants us to be with him.
• The call of Fatima: Pray the rosary. Do penance. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pray for all to be converted. Five First Saturdays.
• The Five First Saturdays is in reparation for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It entails: Holy Communion on the first Saturday of five consecutive months; Confession within 8 days either side; say the rosary and meditate for 15 minutes on the mysteries.
• If we pray the rosary and do the Five First Saturdays, the world will improve.
• Fatima is a call to love.
• If we want the world to change, if we want what God wants, it has to start with us.
• Holiness spreads. We must be true to what God has called us to be. Be obedient.
• What are you doing? Praying. Who are you praying for? Sinners. How? The rosary.

The Day with Mary also included Confessions, Mass, the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, a procession with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima around the grounds of Cowwarr parish and the crowning of the statue. The Day with Mary will be an annual event hosted by the Ordinariate parish and everyone is most welcome.