Dear members and friends of the Sodality of Charity,
This Saturday, January 22, is the day to pray for the conversion of America. The intention of that day in the Church’s Chair of Unity Octave is that Christians in America may be one, in union with the Chair of Saint Peter. This octave actually started in America in 1908 by Paul Wattson, who was an Episcopalian minister from Maryland. After he converted to the Catholic Faith, Pope St. Pius X sanctioned the octave devotion in England as an aim of encouraging other Anglicans and Episcopalians to convert.
On Saturday we will also pray for an end to abortion in our land, that day being the sad anniversary when justices without any authority declared abortion “legal”. Please consider to make the sacrifice to spend a pro-life holy hour with us. There will be Rosary and Benediction at 8 AM, followed by the votive High Mass of the Holy Innocents.
After the High Mass, there will be a Sodality meeting of our Sodalists. Sorry about the short notice; the illnesses of our clergy, with the fact that in January we had to function by a week-by-week schedule, made it too difficult to schedule a monthly meeting earlier. This time we will be making Rosaries to be sold at the Seminarian Sunday. Mark this in your calendars; it will be on March 27, the Lætare Sunday, and sales will be used to raise money for our seminarians. Think also other goods and services or raffle items to donate, or some other ways to contribute. Hopefully many of you can make it this Saturday, to pray for our country, and have fun with the other Sodalists. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and we’ll end, as usual, around 1 PM.
If you are unable to attend, here is a little prayer you can say for the conversion of our country:
Almighty and eternal God, Who savest all, and wilt have none to perish, have regard to those souls who are led astray by the deceits of the devil, that rejecting all errors, the hearts of those who err may be converted, and may return to the unity of Thy truth: through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Also for Saturday, this beautiful prayer against abortion is addressed to St. Gerard Majella, the patron of expectant mothers:
O Great Wonder-Worker of our day, St. Gerard, powerful protector of the mother and her unborn child, beg God, we beseech thee, to crush the mounting forces of anti-life; and to enlighten those who walk in this deadly way, that they may see the enormity of their sin and return to the generous observance of the divine law. Pray, too, for mothers, that they may prize the great privilege of motherhood, and that they may bring up their children in the holy love and fear of God; so that saving their own immortal souls they may further the honor and glory of their Maker; through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
SJL has published a new book, very good for our trying times. It’s called Guide for the Dying, and it’s the perfect little guide for helping souls to die a good death. It includes instructions for what to do in case of an emergency, including helping with baptism, if needed, as well as many prayers to help the soul prepare for death and ready their soul to meet God. The book is a short one, 70 pages, costs $6.95, and is good to keep in your glove box for emergencies in these times.
Father Cekada’s tombstone was – finally – put up at the Saint Stephen cemetery recently. Here’s a picture of it.
Today is the feast day of Saint Prisca, who was only thirteen when she suffered martyrdom in the first century city of Rome. Her life is very heroic and exemplary for every Catholic girl. You can read her story here:
Yours in Christ and Mary,
Fr. Lehtoranta
