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Thank you for your prayers for the Family Apostolate! The 40-day preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday starts on Wednesday, March 23rd. Go to www.Familyland.org to access free readings, videos & downloads. Pope John Paul II's beatification on Divine Mercy Sunday 2011 is a sign of the times that points aching humanity to Heaven's plan to overcome the Culture of Death! Pope Benedict XVI is confirming this by raising John Paul II to the altars on this very feast day! From the 40-day preparation readings you'll learn: "Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy" (Diary, 699) "..let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end of times; after it will come the day of justice" (Diary, 848). "I am giving them the last hope of salvation, that is, the Feast of My Mercy" (Diary, 965). Tell everyone you know about Divine Mercy Sunday! It is a phenomenal day of grace, equivalent to a 2nd baptism! Culture of Death I first heard about the culture of death as a newlywed in 1959. It was described as a systematic break down of social morals. I didn't believe it and figured anyone who did was 'out of touch'. What I didn't realize then is that a moral break down was not the 'goal' of the death culture, it was simply the means! The real goal of these social revolutionaries is always power & control. They try to sell their "change" of the social order as the way to utopia, to earthly happiness. So, why do they promote moral degradation? Because they can't gain control over a self-controlled people! However, when people are ruled by their passions, chaos ensues. Then society willingly surrenders its freedoms in order to gain peace, which leads to dictatorship by mandate of the people. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." Benjamin Franklin, April 17, 1787 What is the nemesis to the architects of the culture of death? Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church! Jesus taught that to sin is to be a slave of sin. Freedom from that slavery comes only from living according to God's laws. Pope John Paul II's Brilliant Plan Pope John Paul II experienced firsthand the ravages of immoral & godless ideologies under both the Nazi (the German word for National Socialism!) and the Communist regimes. He dedicated his pontificate to combating the 2 most effective weapons of the Culture of Death that bind the heart & mind of humanity: Fear & Ignorance. 1) Fear Pope John Paul II knew well that fear, the fear of loss and fear of suffering, drives humanity from God and His saving plan for them. Fear tempts men to protect their earthly life to the detriment of their eternal life. JPII took up the charge against fear from the moment of his first pronouncement as Pope: "Be Not Afraid!" He continued in this vein by approving the Divine Mercy Devotion and Feast, which have at their center the saving words, "Jesus, I trust in thee." "Right from the beginning of my ministry in St Peter's See in Rome, I considered this message [of Divine Mercy] my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the church and the world. It could be said that precisely this situation assigned that message to me as my task before God." (Pope John Paul II, Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenza, Italy, Nov. 22nd, 1981) As a Family Apostolate, we promote the 2 pillars of John Paul's spirituality, one of which is Consecration to Jesus, through Mary in union with St Joseph(Totus Tuus). In its essence, consecration to the Holy Family is an act of entrustment of our lives and future to Christ. Every family that we can encourage to trust deeply in God's providence through consecration infuses the whole human family with untold graces and overpowers the Culture of Death!!! Remember Sodom & Gomorrah, only 10 just people could have saved over 300,000! 2) Ignorance Blessed John XXIII wrote, "There is a great urgency in making Christ's doctrine known, because ignorance is a powerful enemy of God in the world, and it is the cause and, as it were, the root of all the evils that poison nations." (Ad Petri Cathedram encyclical, 29 June 1959) Ignorance of who God really is has been wielded within the Culture of Death to manipulate mankind into serving and worshipping creatures (pleasure, possessions & power) instead of the creator!
Again, John Paul II sought to overcome the culture of death as he rallied the church against ignorance of God by promulgating the Catechism of the Catholic Church and numerous papal documents. True knowledge of God leads us to love and serve Him as well as each other! As a Family Apostolate, we also promote the 2nd pillar of John Paul's spirituality: Consecration in Truth. This expression comes from John 17 and refers to knowing God's Word, which is truth. By encouraging families' commitment to ongoing growth in knowledge of the Catholic Faith, the Family Apostolate battles fiercely against the Culture of Death and builds the Culture of Life!
The best and most effective environment to learn, love and live the Truths of our faith is in the family. "The future of humanity passes by way of the family" (John Paul II). For this reason, our ministry has always been family-focused! www.FamilyCatechism.com in 4 languages and our text translated into over 9 languages serves the Church at this moment in history in the unique way needed to defeat ignorance at its root! Please make a sacrificial gift or increase to your giving at this critical time in history. Help us to continue to implement John Paul II's counter offensive to the Culture of Death by promoting Trust in God (Consecration to the Holy Family) and Knowledge of Him (Consecration in Truth)!
Remember to start your Divine Mercy preparation on March 23rd, 2 weeks after Ash Wednesday. May you and your family have a blessed and fruitful Lenten Season. | ||||||||
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| To Jesus, through Mary, in union with St. Joseph, Jerry Coniker |  |
The virtue for the month of March is Deepening of Prayer and the Scripture is Luke 11:1-4.
He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."
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