The CatholiCity Message
Volume XX, Number 7 – July 5, 2016
You and Me at the Vatican
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
Most of today's message involves simple action steps for you regarding my upcoming pilgrimage to Rome on July 14 to bring your intentions right into St. Peter's, offer Holy Communion, pray a Rosary, and do reparations. I also have a few related surprises. First...
Submit Your Petitions Online Now
Remember, I will hand-carry a sealed hardcopy print-out of your petitions directly into St. Peter's Basilica, so you need to submit them now. Pour out your heart. Ask for miracles, conversions, consolations, and healing. Ask for superabundant graces, for mercy, for the grace to be a saint. No one will read your petitions. No digital record will be retained after print-out. I am also going to touch the print-out of your petitions to my first class relics of these amazing saints: Joseph, Jude, Anthony, Therese of Lisieux, Francis Xavier, Maximilian Kolbe, as well as to my powerful Relic of the True Cross. How cool is that?
LINK NO LONGER AVAILABLE
This is the One
If you were ever going to forward an email to everyone you know and get the news out on your Facebook pages and other social media so your family and friends can submit petitions, this is the one. Take a few minutes and help people spiritually after you read this message.
Join Me: Make Your Own Pilgrimage on July 14
Be with me on July 14 no matter where you live. Make your own pilgrimage. If you have a nearby Marian Shrine, great, but the statue of Mary in your local church is okay, too. Receive Holy Communion if you can. Pray a Rosary. I should be starting Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at 11:00 am Italy-time–around 5:00 am U.S. Eastern time, so beat me there! Here is the prayer I recommend, one I composed in 1991 and still use to pray for you every day at Mass:
Dear Lord, I ask You to provide for the spiritual and temporal needs, conversion and sanctification, healing, perfect health, long life, and freedom from all evil for all Mary Foundation benefactors, great and small, past, present, and future, especially those who have asked us to pray for them today, for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and their future spouses, for their family and friends–send them superabundant graces, conversions, and miracles. Continue to send the Mary Foundation generous benefactors and your angels and grace from heaven to guide, govern, and protect our decisions, families, locations, workers, projects, and finances. Amen.
Nice prayer, right? Don't forget to print it out for your own pilgrimage.
Novena to Kateri Tekakwitha Begins Tomorrow
July 14 is the Feast of St. Kateri Takakwitha,. If you want, join me in a 9-day novena to her, it begins tomorrow, Wednesday, July 6, the feast of another virgin, St. Maria Goretti:
Kateri, favored child and Lily of the Mohawks, I come to seek your intercession in my present need. I admire the virtues which adorned your soul: love of God and neighbor, humility, obedience, patience, purity, and the spirit of sacrifice. Help me to imitate your example in my state of life. Through the goodness and mercy of God, Who has blessed you with so many graces which led you to the true faith and to a high degree of holiness, pray to God for me and help me. Obtain for me a very fervent devotion to the Holy Eucharist so that I may love Holy Mass as you did and receive Holy Communion as often as I can. Teach me also to be devoted to my crucified Savior as you were, that I may cheerfully bear my daily crosses for love of Him Who suffered so much for love of me. Most of all I beg you to pray for me that I may avoid sin, lead a holy life and save my soul. Amen.
St. Maria Goretti's story is pretty amazing, too. I am so happy Maria and Kateri are going to be "our girls" for this pilgrimage. Two virgins as spiritual bodyguards.
The Quists and Faith Maier Representing You in Rome
When I announced this trip I heard from your fellow CatholiCity Citizens, Paul and Carol Quist and their friend Faith Maier (all three are Catholic converts), who are already in Rome on their own pilgrimage and will be helping me all day on July 14. They will be your flesh-and-blood representatives. Excellent!
Pray for Spiritual Protection for Me and the Quists
I know from doing stuff like this for a quarter of a century that old sparky is going to throw kitchen sinks at us. I would much prefer smooth sailing, but so be it. More graces. Saving souls never comes cheap. Your daily prayers, especially to St. Michael, for me, the Quists and Faith, are much needed. Please pray for us.
This Rome Trip is an Extension of the Charism
Our newer readers may not recall that last year's pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal, was the result of my third son, Xavier, going to Portugal to represent the United States in a high school rugby tournament. Xavier is entering the diocesan seminary in this fall. He may or may not be the holiest kid there, but he sure will be the best rugby player.
That Palm Sunday in Fatima last year turned out to be a crazy day for me and Xavey's younger brother Clete. I think the CatholiCity Message I wrote for you recounting what happened was one of my best ever. The tragically sad true story I called Soul-Deep Tears and the Surprise Ending are especially jolting. Hard to believe. (By the way, I just checked and we still have a couple dozen of the Christ Crucified lapel pins mentioned if you want one–first come, first serve. Just follow the directions in the Fatima Diary Message.)
So for twenty-five years I've been praying for you every day since Mary gave me the charism to start this apostolate in 1991–so for almost all of you, before Mary sent you to us, and in some cases, since you were a little kid or even before you were born. This trip to St. Peter's is an extension of that charism, which you share whenever you participate in our work in any way–through prayer, by distributing materials, by supporting us financially. Even if you were to drift away from us, I will keep praying for you, until I stop breathing. I consider it the most important thing I do as the founder. We are all in this together.
Because of the length and purpose of this Message, I am skipping other items.
So submit your petitions, disseminate this email far and wide, join the novena to St. Kateri tomorrow, plan your own local pilgrimage on July 14, and as always, let me know what you think by hitting reply.
Praying to Stop Falling Short
Let us, tens of thousands of us, pray this simple prayer, which just came to me a few minutes ago, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...
Dear Jesus, I cannot hide any truth from you. Although I have loved you, and loved others, and accepted your love, over the thousands of days of my life I have not become a saint. I am not holy. I am deeply, deeply sorry for failing you. I resolve to change. Now. Yet I am weak and my mind is darkened by sin and my flesh is tempted by worldly things and my soul is deformed by pride, and selfishness, and bad habits. I need your help. I beg for it. May the words on my lips trace every word your mother speaks: "Help me. Help us." Amen.
And amen. May God bless you always.
With Immaculate Mary and all the Saints,
Bud Macfarlane
Founder
