Bishop calls England to conversion to Christ. Wherein Fr. Z rants.

Disease with global killing potential is on the rise.

Militant Islamism is on the rise.

Homosexualism is on the rise.

The Dictatorship of Relativism has weakened Western Civilization to the point of collapse so that hostile forces with satanic direction are roaming and devouring at will.

We barely know who we are anymore, even within Holy Church which is the last – teetering – bastion against such forces.

In times of crisis we Catholics have always turned to prayer and popular – public – devotions.  For example, the threat of contagion prompted processions and the threat of invasion spurred the development of Forty Hours Devotion.

I saw this encouraging piece at ZENIT.

Bishop Calls for Earnest Prayers for Conversion of England

Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, England, is marking October, the month of the Rosary, by distributing free recordings of the devotion to every parishioner in his diocese.

The bishop, who is to make the announcement in a pastoral letter due to be released on Sunday, says the CD will contain all the mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

[…]

“The Church in our time is calling us to an evangelisation ‘new in its ardour, new in its methods and new in its expression’,” he says. “This is why we need to pray for enormous creativity.”

Underlining the importance of prayer, Bishop Egan says it takes us “out of ourselves” facilitating “a person-to-Person encounter with God.” He says he hopes that by dedicating oneself to prayer, each person will become “less inward-looking and more outward-looking, that is, people who constantly pray for those in society around us, for their needs and their salvation.”

“We should work and pray earnestly for the evangelisation and conversion of England,” he says, “that all may have the chance to hear the Gospel and be inspired to convert to Christ.”

St. Pius V attributed the victory of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

If the Rosary was effective on the level of nations in their time, why could it not be effective on the level of nations in our time?

It depends on you.

One of the first things you can do is GO TO CONFESSION.

One of the ongoing things you can do is recite the Rosary.

You might start saying the Rosary especially for the intention of your bishop and your priests.

The Enemy of our souls hates bishops and priests with a fury and plotting malice that our limited human minds cannot wholly comprehend.    To create a good spiritual zone for our families and personal spiritual health, we must have courageous bishops and priests who can give proper formation to the lay faithful who, in their turn, shape the world.  Please designate a bead for me, a poor sinner and priest.

And for the lay faithful of the more traditional type, I say that the Enemy will sow division among us who are faithful and true, pitting one part against another, precisely to prevent us from being leaven and light and salt in our failing societies.   The Enemy must keep us all off balance with each other.

GO TO CONFESSION.

Pray the Rosary.

Support and strengthen your priests and bishops.

Finally, I firmly believe that the restoration, renewal, reinvigoration, restitution of our sacred liturgical worship is the sine qua non which must accompany, if not precede, every other initiative that we undertake in the Church at every possible level, whether in the parish, in the diocese, in the nation, or in the Roman Curia.  For the family home, which is the domestic Church, the daily common prayer of the Rosary – with specific intentions for the good of bishops and priests, renewal of our sacred worship, safety from harm of disease and the attacks of debased movements – can be the mortar which holds fast the foundation of the Church.  We are the Church’s living stones.  We must play our role in the building and the defense of the Church.  When Nehemiah set about to rebuild the walls of the city, the workers wore their swords in case of attack.  Let your Rosaries be your sword and your trowel.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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13 Comments

  1. Bea says:

    Thank you Father, for your exhortation. I have started a daily rosary for Cardinal Burke and the valiant bishops and cardinals who stood and defended the Faith at this Synod. May they not lose heart and may we the laity, also, not lose heart. There are a number of laity here who are confused and questioning the goings-on.

  2. Bea says:

    PS I have included you and other certain priests in my rosary prayers too.

    [Thank you. And pray for WEAK priests and bishops too.]

  3. lucindatcm says:

    Given the mess in the Church, Father, the rosary is the only hope I have. Holy Church has been in messes before and has come out of them (my husband reminds me of this continually), but the storm clouds look very menacing for next year’s synod. I almost can’t read any spiritual book, sometimes can’t even think about my faith (outside of when I am praying the rosary – I don’t make the kids. Perhaps I should, but usually I don’t have the faith. It takes lot of firmness and faith to make kids pray the rosary). I can read the Bible, and that’s it. I can go to Mass, and confession. Can’t receive because I’m usually too worried about what is going to happen.

    I’m not a big worrier in any other capacity. But this thing has got me really freaked out. So yeah, I’m glad you’re encouraging recitation of the rosary as a remedy. Thank you for all you do!

  4. ts says:

    Timely rant Fr. Z. A personal case-in-point wherein the “the Enemy will sow division among us who are faithful and true….” I was volunteering at the local public school and two students began helping me with a task. Long story short, they learned that I am Catholic and they offered that they were Catholic, one confirmed and ‘practicing’. Another day I asked about the Confirmed student’s saint name. The next day, I asked the Catholic student to join in the Angelus as it was noon. He agreed but did not know the Angelus but did know the Ave…We prayed the Angelus.
    The outcome: I was called into the principal’s office and told that I could not pray with a student even though the student is Catholic, I am Catholic and,he was not coerced. The Catholic parent called the school to complain. Is this an example, do you think, of how the Enemy is to divide, etc?
    The punch line is this. There is a Muslim worker in the school who prays at noon on a prayer mat with her daughter, a student in the school. But for Catholic, Christians…no way. No praying with the students! The Muslims have permission and is praying with her child…I am a volunteer and someone else’s child. My words to the principal: a Confirmed Catholic is one who is ready to be martyred for the Faith. I quoted St. Paul from Hebrews to her about ‘not to the point of shedding blood’. I did experience persecution this week for professing the Kingship of Our Lord and attempting to re-insert Him into the public arena. Much push-back. I carry my rosary to the school each day and I pray the Angelus and other prayers while there. My thoughts: the Bishops need to claim their diocese for the Lord in all realms, private and public.
    We Catholics need to claim our homes, our spouses, our children, our property boundaries, our neighborhoods as the domain of Christ the King. If one doesn’t not plant their ‘garden’ then anything will and can sprout in it!

  5. majuscule says:

    Here’s a resource I’ve probably mentioned before. At Praying for Our Priests you can download a PDF book that has meditations for praying the mysteries of the rosary for priests. There are more prayers and Stations of the Cross.

    There is also a book with prayers for vocations.

    Take a look at it. Print out the meditations and keep them handy. Pray for our bishops, priests and seminarians. Those you know and those you don’t. Priests who are being attacked for their faithfulness. Priests in purgatory. All priests. You get the idea!

  6. Supertradmum says:

    The restoration of the Faith in England is in my soul and blood. I love the Dowry of Mary so much and pray to Our Lady of Walsingham for England’s return to the true faith.

    Pray for seminarians and more converts. In my son’s diocese, there are only five young men coming up through the ranks for 100,000 Catholics. Continue to pray for him and his few confreres.

    The problem, of course, has been compromise-from both the laity and the clergy, especially the almost complete rejection of Humanae Vitae there.

    God bless Great Britain, God bless the good priest and bishops and the not-s0-good ones, May the laity realize that all lay people are called to be the Church Militant.

  7. Suburbanbanshee says:

    lucindatcm – First off, I’ve never heard that “worry” counted as a reason not to be properly disposed for Communion, unless you’re so worried you’re throwing up. You should be receiving. He is medicine against worry.

    There are devotions out there which are specially designed for people who worry, or for people who need “the peace beyond all understanding” to become a little more obvious in their daily lives. I suggest you try one or a few, and see if it helps: look for Catholic prayers for “trust” or “confidence”. But even if you can’t pray verbally, just addressing yourself to God and groaning and crying at Him is a perfectly good prayer! The Holy Spirit prays for us that way, as it says in the Bible.

    A really easy aspiration to say or repeat as needed:
    “Jesus, I trust in you.”

    Here’s a longer prayer:
    “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.
    “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me.
    “Sacred Heart of Jesus, Your kingdom come.”

    The Jesus prayer, repeatedly said out loud or mentally as you exhale:
    “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Or variants of that.)

    No matter what happens, you know that God will make it be helpful for our eternal lives. Trust His plan and His providence. Trust Him to look after you and your family. He will not give you any cross heavier than the one He bore for us, He will not look down on you for stumbling under the load, and He will help you up again. He is strong to help us, and all He asks is that we just keep trying.

  8. visigrad says:

    Dear ts…..God Bless you. I am a DRE and hear kids stories all the time about how they are persecuted. Parents too complain but are fearful to shake the boat. We all need to stand up for Jesus and His Church NOW. We need to disciple the youth to “Be not afraid”
    We need to support one another….this is a great reminder..
    “for the lay faithful of the more traditional type, I say that the Enemy will sow division among us who are faithful and true, pitting one part against another, precisely to prevent us from being leaven and light and salt in our failing societies. The Enemy must keep us all off balance with each other.

    GO TO CONFESSION.

    Pray the Rosary.

    Support and strengthen your priests and bishops.”

  9. Mike says:

    Thanks, Father, for all you do. I’m going to Confession within the hour here in the USA. Will pray for all priests and bishops, especially the confused ones.

  10. joan ellen says:

    Thank you, Fr. Z for your excellent direction. Thank you ts for writing of your experience. Suburbanbanshee…your words to lucindatcm above are most helpful. The above words, for me, are good “grounding” words, as well as being hopeful.

  11. Bea says:

    ts says:
    24 October 2014 at 10:28 pm
    “We Catholics need to claim our homes, our spouses, our children, our property boundaries, our neighborhoods as the domain of Christ the King. If one doesn’t not plant their ‘garden’ then anything will and can sprout in it!”

    TS: Right on!
    Have you had your house blessed with the enthronement and consecration of the home and your family to The Sacred Heart of Jesus? This brings much peace and blessings to the family. We had this done when our children were small and we have been greatly blessed.
    Here is a link to a consecration: (there are also others you can google).
    http://www.olrl.org/pray/enthrone.shtml

    We also sprinkle holy salt and water around the perimeters of our property.
    Make sure the salt and water are blessed with the old Traditional formula. It has the power of exorcism.

  12. O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests, for your unfaithful and tepid priests …

  13. Bea says:

    FrZ

    And pray for WEAK priests and bishops too.]

    Thanks for the reminder. I tend to forget and give up on them.
    Will add them to my prayers, also.
    With God nothing is impossible.

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