Father Joseph Writes Here’s why. This is a time of testing, but I trust Our Lady. I know she’s trustworthy because God almighty entrusted her with His Son. That Son trusted her enough to be obedient to her (see Lk 2:51). God found Mary to be utterly trustworthy, utterly reliable, utterly committed to Him. In fact, apart from God Himself, you could call Our Lady the most trustworthy person ever to exist. So I trust her enough to have given my life to her service — I made vows in the Congregation of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. I trust her enough to follow her, knowing she will always lead me to her Son. All that means I also trust her when she said at Fatima in 1917, 105 years ago: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” My Marian brother Fr. Anthony Gramlich, rector of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, laid out in his March 25, 2022 homily (which you can watch on YouTube) the Holy See’s position that, according to Sr. Lucia of Fatima, the requested consecration took place on March 25, 1984. Subsequently, in a series of events, the USSR collapsed. Soviet atheistic communism broke and went away, something no one would have believed possible before it happened. But as Pope Benedict XVI said in 2010 at Fatima, we still await the full Triumph of the Immaculate Heart. On March 25, 2022, the 38th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s consecration, Pope Francis led an explicit consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart, an act of trust and love of Our Lady in the face of a Russia still in the clutches of the same errors she’s been wrestling with for well over a century, including “caesaropapism” (the secular head of state claiming dominion over the church, as well). The consecration was a great act. Pope Francis trusts Our Lady. He’s shown that throughout his pontificate, especially by visiting the icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani (Protector of the Roman People), before and after each foreign trip he makes, asking her help and protection. But our trust in Our Lady should mean we answer all her requests. That’s why I and my Marian brethren have been leading First Friday and First Saturday devotions, livestreamed from the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, for well over a year now. Our Lady made multiple requests at Fatima, after all. The consecration of Russia was one. The First Saturdays in reparation for the blasphemies and outrages against her Immaculate Heart was another, required in order for us to see the conversion of Russia, the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, and the era of peace. The daily Rosary for peace in the world, another. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart alongside devotion to the Sacred Heart — well, that’s the heart of the whole of Fatima. Because we trust Our Lady, I and my Marian brethren continue to lead all you faithful folks to Our Lady. Hence the reason we’ve put Mary Immaculate on the front cover of this magazine, and dedicated funds to helping restore the classic image of “Our Lady, Immaculately Conceived.” You’ll read more about that and other good works of members of our Marian family in this issue of Marian Helper. In all things, trust in Our Lady, and let her bring you home to her Son. May God bless you. Recently, a man approached me with a direct question. “Father,” he said. “Are you hopeful for the future?” I responded without hesitation: “Yes, absolutely!” I TRUST OUR LADY “Father Joseph, MIC,” is the honorary title of the director of the Association of Marian Helpers. The current director is Fr. Chris Alar, MIC. Marian Helper • Summer 2022 • Marian.org 3
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