Digital Marian Helper Winter_2019

in nothing—55 percent of them believe in no organized religion whatsoever. They particularly have a disdain for Christianity, Catholicism especially. They want nothing to do with it. You know this. And even for the people who remain and call themselves Catholic, many of them believe it’s OK to have an abortion; OK for two men or two women to get married; and OK to practice contraception. These are the times we live in. The flames seem to be consuming the Church. Is it going to fall? When I was looking at the footage of those flames over Notre Dame, I was convinced it was going to burn to the ground. But it didn’t fall. Is our Church going to be overcome by the darkness of our time? No. Jesus promises that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church— never — even though the times are horrible (see Mt 16:17-19).What does God send to us in times of crisis, when it looks like everything is going to be destroyed? Priests. Zealous priests. Men who desire to save souls, to step off the safety of the sidelines and rush into the fire. That’s what God does time and time again. [Pointing to newly ordained Fr. Michael.] There is one. No more than 24 hours ago, that man was ordained to the sacred priesthood. He could’ve had everything the world offers. As a matter of fact, he kind of did. He had a home. He could’ve gotten married, enjoyed all of the good things in life, but he gave it all up. To do what? To be a celibate social worker? No. To be a warrior, a fighter. More than a firefighter. To be a soldier, a knight. To save the sacred. We need holy priests today. We need themmore than ever. We need men willing to go into the fire—when everybody is leaving. This man was ordained so that your children could be bap- tized, so that they could receive sanctifying grace in their souls. This man was ordained so that he could transform bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to feed you with the Bread of Everlasting Life. This man was ordained so that God could use him as an instrument to absolve you from your sins. This man was ordained so that, through his preaching and his teaching, you could know the truth and have the Light in your mind and in your soul, so that you can avoid the flames of hell and go to that mansion that is being prepared for you. And this man was ordained on the First Saturday, devoted to Our Lady. There is nothing more powerful on this planet than a Marian priest. A Mar- ian priest will have the power to convict souls quickly and easily, because Our Lady will be with him. This is what we need today. We need holy priests. We need Marian priests. My brother, thank you. Your ordination is a sign of God’s love for us. Many people today have given up hope. They’ve abandoned God. They think God has left us, that He’s left the Church. This ordination is a sign for us that God will never abandon us. In times of difficulty, He will raise up men to respond to the call. It’s a sign of great hope for us, that God loves us. He will never leave us. pray for you, and you must pray for me. This I ask of you most fervently (George Matulaitis-Matulewicz, Journal , Appendix I, page 341-342). ‘One large family’ It’s telling that Blessed George referred to this partner- ship in God’s work as “one large family.” Remember, it was Blessed George who envisioned the Association of Marian Helpers. He realized that a priest cannot reach everyone. “The laity must come to the aid of the clergy,” he said, “so that both could work together in this most important task of spreading true Catholic teaching.” Herein lies the purpose of the Association of Marian Helpers — our “Marian family.” Our ultimate common goal, simply put, is helping souls to Heaven. Why is praying for priests so important to this mission? Remember that without our priests, we do not have anyone to administer the Sacraments — sources of the Was the April 15 fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame a symbol for the universal Church? M illiped MH M arian H elper • W inter 2019-20 • marian . org 13