You Are Never Alone in the Battle

Volume XXVI, Number 10
June 24, 2022

Hello There,

Wow. My last message really touched a nerve!

I can barely wait to tell you about your reactions. These were a shot in the arm for me and the entire crew here—from your prayers for me to the giant pile of orders, donations, and priceless "prayer" gifts that greeted us every morning over the next few days (and yes, it did comfort me).

You changed my life. As I write below, I see things more clearly now.

This week I would love to get your suggestions for a new initiative to thank our priests, but first...tomorrow begins the twin Feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and I'm celebrating by taking a day off from my daily fasting for America and the conversion of your relatives.

Pizza, Chocolate, Kettle Chips! MORE Chocolate!

Let's begin with a cool feature for new readers. I'm in the mood to tell a joke, too.

As you can see from our new header, we're honoring Our Lady's name from now on. This will always be the CatholiCity Message, and you will always be her citizens!

BUDDY'S BEST

Old Messages for New Readers

With new readers joining us every week, I figured we should curate links to some of my killer Messages over the past few years. For my longtime readers, maybe new insights reward a second reading:

Miracle Saved Me from Certain Death 2018
(plus Grand Canyon Stupidity and Rumor Weeds)

The Jesus Emoji 2019
(plus Podcast Recommendations)

The Surprise Within the Sacred Heart 2020
(plus the bracing Fire or Fire)

Our Apostolate of Little Apostolates 2021
(or Why I Wouldn't Trust a Mediocrity Like Me)

Insanity, Holiness, and Courage: Preview 2022
(plus a dozen great Catholic Quotations)

WIDESPREAD SPIRITUAL OPPRESSION?

You Are Not Alone

Your responses to my Dark Cloud message were loving, generous, and a surprising confirmation that I'm not the only one sensing something nefarious. So many of you are clearly enduring a similar spiritual oppression. In fact, most of you used the same terms to describe it. So I called a few devout Catholic friends. Same thing.

My guess is that hundreds of thousands of humble "salt of the earth" Catholics are probably shouldering a similar burden. I'm pretty sure my case is not "a dark night of the soul," and I'm certainly not clinically depressed. I don't blame you for mistaking my situation; I was a bit incoherent! The cloud is still all around me (even in my thoughts), but not "inside" my soul or heart.

Multiply and Redirect

And your prayers for me are being answered. I am receiving sublime graces and the courage to keep fighting no matter what occurs. Before I composed this, I asked Our Lady to intercede to multiply and redirect God's grace from me to whomever needs it the most among all of us. If we share the cloud, let's share the graces!

It eases the yoke to realize I'm not alone. Frankly, I welcome the yoke if that's what God wants.

My working theory is that God is allowing the meek and humble in His Mystical Body to suffer a kind of generalized spiritual oppression during this pivotal battle in the realm of powers and principalities over the fate of our country and the world.

If the dark cloud is around you some or most of the time, there are probably millions of other humble Christians just like you in North America and many more worldwide. Take heart that God trusts you to carry this cross. The dark cloud confirms you're in the spiritual battle and you're contributing effectively. (If you're not experiencing the cloud, remember that God's ways are mysterious. It does not mean you're not doing your part.)

It is no coincidence the Mantle of Mary project has been growing.

It is no coincidence Roe v. Wade is about to be overturned.

If so, I urge, and urge again: Bring It On! Let's press the advantage. More prayer! More fasting! More souls converted! More babies saved! More mothers spared! Let God bless America with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit!

"THANK A PRIEST" PROJECT

Your Suggestions Needed

A longtime benefactor named Mike asked me a few months ago if the Mary Foundation could somehow expand upon what has become his own personal apostolate. Basically, whenever he sees a priest, he makes a point of telling him, "Father, I just want to thank you for giving up your whole life for us!"

He says the reactions are wonderful, often moving. Look, you can personally start doing this every time you see a priest right now. Be like Mike. He says there seems to be something special about using the specific phrase "your whole life."

If you have any suggestions, let me know. Perhaps we could offer specialized Thank You cards you could hand to Father?

GIANT JOE SCHIEDLER

Godfather of Pro-life Activism

Twenty-eight years ago, I drove to Chicago and I placed a microphone on the desk of a physical and spiritual giant, Joe Scheidler. Joe passed away last year in the bosom of the sacraments, surrounded by his large, loving family.

His classic talk, The Most Important Work on Earth, is inspiring and timely. We recently added it to our expanding podcast library, which you can listen to on our website and all the major streaming networks:

Listen to Joe's Talk

For sheer talent, Joe was one of the four greatest speakers I have ever heard, along with my father, Fulton Sheen, and a priest named Father James Viall. He packs everything with inspired teaching. I will forever support his Pro-Life Action Network, now run by his lovely wife Ann, and their son, Eric.

JOKE

What's the secret to telling a good—Timing!—joke?

LITTLE FLOWER QUOTATIONS

"I found the secret of suffering in peace. I don't say joy—to suffer in peace, it is enough to will all that Jesus wills."
- Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

"The paradox in Thérèse is the power of her powerlessness since it calls forth the might of God. The appeal of weakness is for divine strength to work in and through it. When we acknowledge our weakness, no longer demanding the right to be in control of our lives, divine power becomes infinitely available to us."
- Margaret Dorgan

"I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this heart was burning with love. I understood that love comprised all vocations, that love was everything, that it embraced all times and places."
- Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

LET US PRAY

(Raise your heart to heaven and begin...) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

Dearest Jesus, give me love and courage,
not for me, but for those I love.
I know your generous Sacred Heart will grant this,
not for me, but for those I love.
I trust in you, for me and for those I love.
I offer my gratitude in return,
from me, for those I love. Amen.

Thanks for being a part of it all. I'll be back soon. No more talk about "my feelings." But don't let that stop you from continuing to "console me" and my crew with big piles of orders, by becoming monthly donors, and with your prayers beyond all value!

Knowing that our materials are heading toward your door and the souls you'll touch through them, is enough. I remain yours, here on earth in time, and eventually, through eternity in heaven, with...

The Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Bud Macfarlane
Founder

Console Bud Again

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