July 20: Responsibility
Dear Brothers and Sisters, under Our Lady of Divine Providence,
I write this half-way through my pilgrimage, praying for our church family and community. As I pray, I am more and more impressed by the weight of responsibility that we all share – a responsibility for our brothers and sisters, and most importantly, to the future. I pray that we will not miss our opportunity to move into the future, by remaining stuck in the past, seeking our own security and satisfaction. Every human tends by default to incline towards inertia and comfort in what is familiar, but this attitude precludes growth.
I am praying in many beautiful churches dedicated to Our Mother Mary, and I marvel at her love and care for each one of us. I was most moved in a place I didn’t expect and visited almost by accident. It was the church of Our Lady of Victory, a devotion closely related to Our Mother of Divine Providence, and very important to Saints like Therese of Lisieux and Louis and Zelie Martin, important saints for our day. In the spirit of Our Lady of Victory, I ask each of you to pray this prayer, composed by St. Maximilian Kolbe, a martyr killed by the Nazis, who died for the oppressed during the Second World War. (Please continue to pray the prayer to Our Lady of Divine Providence published last week in the bulletin as well!) Together, united in prayer with our Mother Mary, we can shoulder the responsibility of moving into the future. This is one of the prayers that I have learned by heart, and love to repeat frequently:
Oh Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and Earth, refuge of sinners, and my most loving mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death, and eternity, whatever most pleases you. If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you “She will crush your head” and “you alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and the growth of holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us through the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Allow me to praise you, oh sacred virgin, and give me strength against your enemies. Amen.
It is our responsibility to extend the kingdom of Jesus to all the many strayed and indifferent souls. We must do this, but we can only do it united under Mother Mary’s mantle. We can do so with her help, if we unite ourselves to her, and take her as our mother, standing below the Cross, as she did, following Jesus through crucifixion to resurrection.
Our Lady of Divine Providence is the mother and patroness of those who are going through trials. We certainly find ourselves at a difficult time for our family of parishes. But strength rejoices in the challenge, and if we stay close to Mary, we can rejoice in the challenges we face. If we embrace the Cross, like the beloved disciple, the first child of Mary, we can all become her children and rejoice with her providential guidance.
To carry responsibility means making difficult choices, and especially sacrificing, for the sake of the future. I am inviting you all to share in setting aside your personal preferences and convenience, to become truly united with the Cross and children of Mother Mary. Life comes from sacrifice, not self-centeredness, and if we embrace the sacrificial love of Mother Mary, we can also experience her heavenly life. It is essential for us to realize that the only path for life is moving into the future. If we remain attached to the past, we become stuck, stagnated, and succumb to the natural course of time. If on the other hand, we choose to accept the mantle of responsibility, we can make the sacrifices that ensure a bright and vibrant future.
Yours with Mother Mary,
Fr. Henry
