hirteenth hirteenth TTo f t h e m o n t h c l u b Volume 30, Number 2, February 2018

By Marc Massery they were amazed by Bernadette’s change in appearance during each This is the fourth article in a series apparition. Bernadette would stare, on approved apparitions of the Blessed transfixed in ecstasy at the heavenly Virgin Mary. visitor, unconscious to the world n 1858, Mary, the Immaculate around her. Conception, appeared to a poor Finally, during the third apparition, I 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Sou- the woman spoke to Bernadette, ask- birous, in Lourdes, France. ing her to come to the grotto for the On a cold February day, Bernadette next 15 days in a row. went to collect firewood with her Bernadette did as she was in- sister and a neighbor near the River structed, and soon word spread about Gave. Bernadette’s two companions these strange occurrences. Hundreds crossed the water ahead of her. As and eventually thousands of people Bernadette took off her stockings to accompanied Bernadette as she wade across, she heard a great wind. returned to the grotto every day to Strangely, nothing swayed except converse with this mysterious woman. the branches around a nearby grotto Throughout these apparitions, the called Massabielle. woman implored Bernadette to do Suddenly, a golden cloud envel- penance and to pray for the conver- oped the grotto. There, surrounded sion of sinners. by a soft light, appeared the most During one encounter, the woman beautiful woman Bernadette had Our Lady asked Bernadette to drink from a ever seen. The woman was dressed nearby fountain. Not seeing a spring, in a white gown and wore a blue Bernadette went to drink from the sash. She had a draped over visits Lourdes river. But the woman instructed her her arm, and yellow roses were lying to dig in the floor of the grotto. After at her feet. Bernadette rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Full of Bernadette dug for a short while, a small spring surfaced. fear, she took out her rosary beads and started to pray. Upon their 16th meeting, the woman revealed her identity Peace enveloped her as she watched the beautiful woman to Bernadette, saying, “I am the .” following along on her own rosary beads. After the Rosary, the Bernadette did not know what this meant at the time. The mysterious woman smiled and suddenly disappeared. dogma of the Immaculate Conception had only been defined Bernadette told her companions what she had seen. When four years earlier by Blessed Pius IX. Bernadette’s mother heard the story, she thought that her In 1862, Pope Blessed Pius IX authorized the veneration of daughter was telling tales. the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes. Today, more than 3 mil- The following Sunday, Bernadette returned to the grotto lion pilgrims visit Lourdes every year to bathe in the healing full of hope and saw the beautiful woman once again. Though waters flowing from the spring that Bernadette discovered, Bernadette’s companions could not see anything themselves, with thousands reporting miraculous cures. v This month’s activities

Consider: Contemplate Pray: How have Act: Pray a Rosary the Scripture passages Marian apparitions for a loved Lk 1:42 and Lk 6:43-44. affected my faith? one’s health. Quote of the month ‘Except by Prayer’ We are like ivy, which cannot “ By Mark Pollock support itself, but which, if it twines round a tree, can grow to great hrough the Rosary, both my heights. Our , which also need mother and father had pow- support, grow rapidly in perfection T erful healing experiences. Several years ago, my late mother if they trust the Mother of Mercy. had a heart attack. Since the block- We see this in the many saints age in her coronary arteries was too who made rapid progress by long to place stents, the doctors loving and honoring her.” decided to give her a medication — Blessed Sopocko (1888-1975) that would prevent further extension of the clot. They made no plans to remove the blockage. Three to four FATHER CALLOWAY’S BOOKSHELF years later, my mom had another medical event. When I talked to the St. Joseph Gems cardiologist about my mother, he By Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC said that he was surprised to learn that she had ever had such a blockage. According to him, the block- age had not only shrunk but was gone completely. I don’t know how this blockage cleared except by prayer. I know that my large Catholic family said many for her health. More recently, my father was suffering from pneumonia and had a large empyema over one of his lungs. The doctor suggested we gather the family and be with him during his final days. About 15 to 20 of my family members, many travelling long distances, gathered to visit him in the Intensive Care Unit. We decided to pray the Rosary together out loud in his hospital room. Once we finished one set of mysteries, we decided to say an- other. As we prayed together with my dad, we watched his vital signs stabilize on the monitor. I don’t know if it was a , but I do know that it played an important role in his immediate improvement. These experiences have encouraged me to continue to pray the Ro- To order: ShopMercy.org l Product code: TH-SJEM sary. I intend to pray it every day, although that does not always hap- , saints, and blesseds have much to teach us pen. I usually pray with a cheap set of rosary beads, but I also have about St. Joseph, the second greatest saint next to a wooden-beaded rosary that I had blessed in Rome by Pope Francis Our Lady. St. Joseph Gems is the third book in the when my wife and I were there for the canonization of Pope St. John Gems series. In Marian Gems and Rosary Gems, I Paul II and Pope St. John XXIII. collected quotes for each day of the year for you to Frequently, I pray the Rosary in the Adoration chapel at my parish, use as a daily devotional. Now, in St. Joseph Gems, in Washington, Missouri. I also use my time you can spend your entire year with St. Joseph! in the chapel to read. I read Champions of the Rosary by Fr. Don- Visit marian.org/13th/bookshelf ald Calloway, MIC, and now I am reading the Diary of Saint Maria to see the entire bookshelf. Faustina Kowalska. Though does not speak to me like He did to this saint, for a while, I have experienced some unusual occurrences MARIAN DATES where it seems like Jesus is in agreement with what I am saying. He Feb. 2: The Presentation of the Lord; First Friday answers me with sudden and intense emotions and tingling sensa- Feb. 3: First Saturday tions. At times, these have caused a sudden outburst of tears and a Feb. 11: Our Lady of Lourdes deep sense of humility. Feb. 14: Ash Wednesday In the end, I say the Rosary because I am a huge sinner, and I real- ize that I need all the help and grace I can get. Feb. 15: Blessed Michael Sopocko Do you have a testimony to the power of the Rosary? E-mail it to Feb. 20: Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto [email protected] v February 2018 Thirteenth of the Month Club † Marian.org octor Mark Miravalle, these people have not often had professor of theology and very much education. Mary uses Dmariology at Franciscan these men, women, and children to University of Steubenville, explains assist in the purity of the transmis- Marian apparitions, Marian dogma, sion of the message. and why we live in a particularly Marian age. What else should we know about the age of Mary? What’s consistent about the In addition to the many Marian approved Marian apparitions? apparitions, we’ve had more defini- Mary gives messages specifically tions of Marian dogma in this time focused to a given culture, taking than in any other comparable age. into account the particular needs In 1854, [Pope Blessed] Pius IX of the region to which she appears. defined the third Marian dogma: Mothers are great the Immaculate Conception. In with details. 1950, Pope [Venerable] Pius XII But even defined the fourth Marian dogma: though there are Mary’s Assumption. many approved Apparitions can influence dog- apparitions, Mary matic definitions. For example, it has been giving us was the apparition to St. Catherine Dr. Mark one fundamentally Laboure, the “ Miravalle unified message. apparition,” in 1830 that served She calls us to re- as a form of final confirmation to turn to the Gospel and to live gen- Pope Pius IX to define the dogma erously, especially through prayer of the Immaculate Conception. and penance. Mary reveals herself The prayer that must be said in these private in the along with the medal is, “O Mary, hopes that we will receive the full- The Age of conceived without sin, pray for us ness of public . Public who have recourse to thee.” comes from Scripture revelation helps direct the develop- and Tradition. Private revelation is ment of doctrine. It encourages ongoing and accentuates something ary M the Church to highlight aspects of in the Gospel that wants us to the Gospel that are particularly important for a given age. focus on and appreciate in a new and higher way. What are some common misunderstandings regarding Have there been more Marian apparitions recently? Mary’s Immaculate Conception? There have been more approved Marian apparitions since Many Catholics only see Mary’s Immaculate Conception in 1830 than any other comparable period in the history of a negative context — that the dogma simply means Mary was the Church. We, therefore, call this time “the age of Mary.” conceived without original sin. While that is true, we must Numerous Marian apparitions have become necessary for our understand what this dogma means in a positive context. It modern times because we have not been living the Gospel underscores the fact that Our Lady is full of grace. The saints with authenticity. We desperately need to return to the mes- excel in grace, but Our Lady alone has the plenitude of grace. sage of the Gospel and the Church. Mary is God the Father’s greatest masterpiece of creation, after the humanity of Jesus. To whom does Mary generally appear? In general, she tends to appear to those who have simple What does the dogma of the Assumption tell us about Mary? faith. Often, these people are not at the height of wealth or The Assumption is the capstone of a life full of grace. Mary power in society. Our Lady has not appeared in any major ap- was not only free from original sin, but also, as the Catechism paritions to theologians because if she appeared to one of us, of the Council of Trent teaches, had no actual sin, despite we would, of course, very quickly confuse the message with having free will. The Assumption calls us to imitate Mary’s unnecessary distinctions and commentaries. Our Lady ap- freedom from sin. Of course, we all fall short of that. But we pears to those who are simple so that the message can be con- want to have a high standard, and Our Lady sets the highest veyed surely, without unnecessary commentary. Simple faith standard. The Assumption also confirms the promise of the does not imply any lack of depth of faith. It simply means resurrection of the body. v February 2018 Thirteenth of the Month Club † Marian.org Deacon Joseph Lappe, MIC if I would say a Hail raying was al- Mary. I said, “No.” ways important I was shy and did P in our family, not like to stand up especially the Rosary. and talk in front of a When I was very crowd. My mother, young, my mom, my however, encouraged brother, and I would me to participate. I go out in early spring did fine even though I with holy water to was nervous. bless the fields on our Watching my fam- farm in Carroll, Iowa. ily and older members We would pray for of my parish reverently good weather for our take part in such crops throughout the devotions had an year. These prayers impact on me. These would always include experiences taught the . me at an early age to I have been blessed Deacon Joe Lappe, MIC, stands with this family after making his perpetual profession foster a respect and with parents and of vows at the National of The on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2015. reverence for Mary. I grandparents who learned to have con- reinforced prayer fidence in asking for and attending Mass. Growing up with her intercession. My mother and When I was in father would make college, my faith was my brother, Pat, and the Blessed Mother challenged, and I me sit at the dinner began to lose what I table in our kitchen and listen to the had learned over the years. I did not Knights of Columbus broadcast of the Lappe ordained to deaconate fall away, but I knew that I needed to Rosary on the radio. We would often On January 6, 2018, Dcn. Joseph Lappe, improve my prayer life. kneel in a circle and pray it together MIC, was ordained to the transitional Then I joined the Knights of Co- as a family. During our time of prayer, deaconate at the National Shrine of the lumbus and began carrying my rosary Immaculate Conception in Washington, I would look at a children’s booklet with me at all times. I started to pray D.C. Please keep him in your prayers as that had pictures of the Mysteries Dcn. Joseph continues to make his way it more often. First, I prayed for a new of the Rosary. When I was a little toward the priesthood. job, which Our Lady provided. Finally, older, Mom allowed me to lead the the Rosary led me to my vocation with Rosary. I thought that was pretty cool. the Marians. Now, I am a perpetually We prayed the Rosary regularly, but most especially dur- professed brother with the Marian Fathers, and I am looking ing storms and tornadoes when we would go down into the forward to being ordained to the priesthood soon, God willing. basement and ask for God’s protection. During this time in community life, I have fostered a devotion Our parish, St. Mary’s in Willey, Iowa, had a beautiful to Our Lady of the Ten Virtues. Our community was originally annual tradition. We had made this large rosary, so big that founded on the Rule of the Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin each person could hold one bead. It was the size of the Mary. Our Lady has helped me in times of struggle, in my circumference of our small church. One person would say studies, and in community life. She gives me the grace to per- an Our Father, and then the next person would say a Hail severe, and to grow in humility and patience. With her help, I Mary, and so forth. One of those years, the pastor asked me hope to become a better Marian and a better priest. v

As a member of the Thirteenth of the Month Club, you show your love of Our Blessed Mother and help us spread devotion to her. Answering the call of Our Lady of Fatima, you pray the Rosary daily for peace in the world and make the Five . You include the Club’s intentions in your Rosary on the 13th of each month and are remembered in a special Mass that day offered by the Marian Fathers in Fatima. Your monthly pledge helps support the Marian Fathers’ ministries. You receive this monthly newsletter, published by the Association of Marian Helpers. Thirteenth of the Month Club, Association of Marian Helpers, Eden Hill, Stockbridge, MA 01263 Editor: Marc Massery l 1-800-462-7426 l email: [email protected] For membership information, call or visit us online at marian.org/13th 15210304 © 2018 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.