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Dear Friends and Benefactors,
The Rosary Crusade was successful, at least in numbers but, I trust that it was
also, much more importantly so, in the eyes of Our Blessed Mother. Bishop Fellay
announced Easter Sunday at Econe, that the 12 million rosaries were greatly
exceeded. We will give you the final world-wide number of Rosaries offered, as
soon as we receive it.
I am pleased to announce that the United States District has offered over 5.5
million rosaries—a sign of great generosity and trust in the Society of St. Pius
X, in His Excellency Bishop Fellay, especially in launching such an important
Crusade. Congratulations to all of you for your generosity!
Let us not stop our efforts in praying and offering sacrifices here; may I
remind you that the first and main goal of this Rosary Crusade was our own
conversion, that we may give ourselves completely to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, offering all our merits and actions, that She may use them for the
salvation of souls, the good of the Catholic Church, and indeed of the world.
This was definitely the purpose for renewing the Consecration of the United
States District to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the end of the Crusade.
The fruits that I trust we will gain from this Consecration and from the Crusade
are fruits of sanctification. Holiness is the greatest sign of the love of God
for us—the more one submits himself to the will of God and the more sanctifying
grace grows in a soul, the more God loves him. This is why Our Blessed Mother,
the Immaculate Heart, is holier than all the saints together. She is blessed
because, from all Eternity, she was and is the most loved by the Holy Trinity.
Holiness in our personal lives, in our homes, in our parishes and our schools,
will be the true and important result of our prayers, sacrifices and
Consecration, because it is the authentic sign of the Love of God for us.
However, we also know that in God’s Divine Plan, if holiness is a fruit of
grace, a gift from God; it never comes without our own sincere commitment. The
Blessed Virgin Mary never stopped growing in holiness during her entire earthly
life because she was absolutely faithful to every grace she received—not an
imperfection, not a spot of selfishness, but always motivated by generosity in
serving God; “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy
word.”
We expect many graces from the Rosary Crusade, and from our Consecration to the
Immaculate Heart; but our progress will also depend on our faithfulness, our
generosity, our desire and motivation to sanctify every moment of our lives,
especially in doing our duties of state.
Let us not stop our efforts, prayers, and sacrifices here; but on the contrary,
let us continue to be the servants of the Immaculate Heart.
What shall we expect from the Rosary Crusade for the Church and for the world?
First of all, we leave it all in the hands of God, as the plans of God are
different from the human ones, “The wisdom of flesh is an enemy to God.” (Rom.
8:7) “How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways.” (I
Rom. 11:33) “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” (I Cor.
3:19)
God has His plan and we trust that our Rosary Crusade enters into it, and that
is why we expect huge things with great confidence. We have been happily
surprised by the outcomes of our previous Rosary Crusades and have no doubt that
once again Our Lady will certainly amaze us in big ways.
We are, and we wish only to be through Her, the “handmaid of the Lord”. Let us
remain in that spirit of mind, with great confidence and with a lofty desire to
lead a holy life at the service of the Immaculate Heart to whom we have
consecrated ourselves. Let us, especially during this month of May dedicated to
Her, remain faithful to our daily family rosary.
With my prayers and blessing,
In the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. Arnaud Rostand |
