NEWS: It was well known that a meeting of America’s most powerful men took place at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago in 1923. Attending the meeting were the following nine financiers and power brokers: the president of America’s largest steel company, the president of America’s largest utility company, the president of America’s largest gas company, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, the president of the Bank of International Settlements, the nation’s greatest wheat speculator, the nation’s greatest speculator on Wall Street, the head of the world’s greatest monopoly, and a member of President Harding’s cabinet. This meeting was said to have been both a celebration of their success as well as an opportunity to plan their future exploits and dominance. These were the captains of their respective industries and some of the most successful businessmen of the era. But things did not turn out so well for these distinguished gentlemen? Within 25 years, all these great men had met a horrific end to their careers or their lives. The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, died a bankrupt man; the president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died penniless; the president of the largest gas company, Howard Hobson, suffered a mental breakdown, ending up in an insane asylum; the president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, had just been released from prison; the bank president, Leon Fraser, had taken his own life; the wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, died penniless; the head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger the “match king”, also had taken his life; and the member of President Harding’s cabinet, Albert Fall, had just been given a pardon from prison so that he could die at home. And as for the Wall Street Bear, Jesse Lauriston Livermore, famous speculator in the stock and commodities markets, his end is perhaps the most tragic of all. A week after Thanksgiving in 1940, Jesse walked into the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York, had two drinks at the bar while scribbling something in his notebook, then proceeded to the cloak room where he sat on a stool and shot himself in the head. He was 62 and left behind $5 million, down from the $100 million fortune he had amassed just ten years earlier. And the note he had scribbled? “My dear Nina: Can’t help it. Things have been bad with me. I am tired of fighting. Can’t carry on any longer. This is the only way out. I am unworthy of your love. I am a failure. I am truly sorry, but this is the only way out for me. Love Laurie ” The gospel passage that comes to mind is “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Matt 16:26, I believe this to be a reminder how important our faith is especially during these times when the world may seem upside down, the most valuable thing we possess is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the Immaculate Heart of his Holy Mother we find a refuge in this life that is passing. We sometimes need to be reminded of who really has charge and control over our lives and stop worrying about those who appear to wheel so much power over us. I suggest that we keep our eyes on the prize as a way of carrying our cross during this Lenten season, knowing the Kingdom of God is at hand. “Repent and believe.”
FIRST SATURDAY: The First Saturday will be held on Saturday March 04th at 9:00 am at the Fatima Shrine Boston. The Most Rev. Anthony Michalik CsSR will preside.
MMP PRAYER CENACLE: The next Marian Movement of Priest prayer Cenacles will be held on Saturday March 11th at the shrine at 9:00 am. The Most Rev. Andre Feain F.I will lead us once again.
PRO-LIFE MASS: The Pro-life Mass on March 18th at 10:30 am at the Fatima Shrine; the third Saturday of the month.
THE INTERNATIONAL PILGRIM STATUE: The International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be visiting us at the shrine on Saturday March 25th. Mass will be held at 9:00 am, followed by adoration, a talk by Patrick Sabat the custodian of the statue followed by a procession and benediction. A short history of the statue; The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue (IPVS) of Fatima was sculpted in 1947 by famous sculptor José Thedim. (The same sculptor who created the statue in the shrine) The image reflects the precise instructions of Sister Lucia (the seer at Fatima). Her desire was that the pilgrim image represent Our Lady’s position when she revealed herself to the Shepherds in 1917. In the presence of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims at Fatima, the statue was blessed by the Bishop of Fatima on October 13, 1947. It was the second “twin” statue commissioned as the Pilgrim Virgin that would carry the blessings of Fatima to the West (including the Americas) while the first statue, commissioned on May 13, 1947, would travel to the East. The purpose of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue tours was and still is to bring the graces of Fatima and Our Lady’s message of hope, peace and salvation to those many millions of people who may never have an opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Fatima itself. The Bishop entrusted the statue to John Haffert, co-founder of the Blue Army, and prayed that Mary herself accompany the statue wherever it goes. Haffert had met with Sister Lucia in 1946 to understand what Our Lady wanted from the Catholic faithful and together they composed what came to be known as the Blue Army Pledge. Six days after the blessing, Mr. Haffert brought the statue to Canada where it was solemnly crowned on the grounds of Ottawa University by the Most Rev. Alexandre Vachon, D.D., Archbishop of Ottawa. On December 8, 1947, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the statue entered the United States in Buffalo, NY. The Buffalo police reported that they witnessed the greatest traffic jams in their history when nearly 200,000 people lined the streets to welcome Our Lady. On May 13, 1951, the statue arrived at Fatima at the close of the Holy Year designated by Pope Pius XII. Over a million people were there for this solemn occasion. During his radio address, His Holiness remarked: “In 1946, I crowned Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the World and the following year, through the Pilgrim Virgin, She set forth as though to claim Her dominion, and the favors She performs along the way are such that we can hardly believe what we are seeing with our eyes.” On October 24, 1952, Pope Pius XII blessed the statue and imparted a special blessing on the work of the Fatima Pilgrim Tours. Largely through the Pilgrim Virgin Statue tours, Mr. Haffert went on to spread the Message of Fatima worldwide and more than 20 million people signed the Blue Army Pledge. The Bishop of Fatima accompanied Mr. Haffert and the statue custodian on many tours and special “world peace flights.” The most famous peace tour occurred on October 16, 1992 when six bishops descended on Red Square in Moscow carrying the Pilgrim Virgin Statue. It was crowned at midnight in front of Lenin’s tomb. An uninterrupted flow of graces and favors have been reported wherever the statue has traveled, including physical cures (which can only be officially pronounced by Church authorities). More importantly, people are converted and return to the sacraments after many years of being away from the Church. The statue has visited more than 100 countries, including Russia and China, bringing the great message of salvation and hope, “the peace plan from Heaven,” to countless millions of people. The custody and mission of this world-famous statue is under the auspices of the World Apostolate of Fatima USA – Our Lady’s Blue Army – which continues her journeys throughout the world with its principal statue custodian Patrick L. Sabat.
SUNDAY ROSARY FOR PEACE: At the shrine every Sunday to pray The Rosary for peace at 2pm.
