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Thank you for Making the Great Pilgrimage a Success!
Come, Worship the King of Kings!
Dear Friends,
Last Saturday, October 8, we experienced the fruits of our labor at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Thank you for your prayers and support, and a special thank you to Bishop Loverde and the Diocese of Arlington.
This was an enormous evangelization effort that required listening to multitudes of inspirations of the Holy Spirit. I am grateful to my entire Eucharistic Family Rosary Crusade team, who performed tasks too numerous to mention.
My thanks also goes to the pastors and parochial vicars who diligently promoted the daily family rosary, as well as parish team captains who distributed, collected and counted the pledges, arranged buses, and got prayer petitions from the children.
My gratitude extends to the pilgrims who left home at 5:30 a.m. that morning to take the nearest parish bus to the Shrine, and all those who took part in the Global Living Rosary. The music that filled the basilica on Saturday was absolutely glorious and was in and of itself a heavenly gift.
We now have a renewed sense of the universality of the Church, and the memory of the heartfelt words of Bishop Loverde, as he expressed his love for the diocese and his priests.
Nearly 10,000 commitments to pray the daily family rosary were made, and 4,700 hours of weekly Eucharistic Adoration have been offered for Our Lady.
We came and received abundant blessings!
Fr. James Kelleher, SOLT
on behalf of the Eucharistic Family Rosary Crusade
Blessed John Paul II, a patron of the Eucharistic Family Rosary Crusade, wrote the following prayer for the World Day of Peace in 2002, in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Since we pray our daily family rosaries for peace in our families, our nation,and our world, we can reflect upon John Paul II’s inspiration as we continue our collective journey in prayer.
"Salve, Madre santa!" Virgin Daughter of Zion, how deeply must your Mother's heart suffer for this bloodshed!
The child you embrace has a name that is dear to the peoples of biblical religion: "Jesus," which means "God saves." So the Archangel named him before he was conceived in your womb (cf. Lk 2,21). In the face of the newborn Messiah, we recognize the face of all your children, who suffer from being despised and exploited. We recognize especially the faces of your children, to whatever race, nation or culture they may belong.
For them, O Mary, for their future, we ask you to move hearts hardened by hatred so that they may open to love and so that revenge may finally give way to forgiveness.
Obtain for us, O Mother, that the truth of this affirmation--No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness--be engraved on every heart. Thus the human family will be able to find the true peace that flows from the union of justice and mercy.
Holy Mother, Mother of the Prince of Peace, help us!
Mother of Humanity and Queen of Peace, pray for us!
Prayed at the conclusion of the homily during the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and World Day of Peace, St. Peter's Basilica.
This translation: L'Osservatore Romano, January 9, 2002, p. 3.