The Gift of Hope (Nov-Dec06) A Birth Marks the Begining of Life (Sep-Oct06) Praying One Rosary a Month (Jul-Aug06) May-Jun06 Mar-Apr06 The Gift of Life (Jan-Feb06) Nov-Dec05 Sep-Oct05 Jesus Does Not Get a Vacation (Jul-Aug05) May-Jun05 What Will Be Our Choice? (Mar-Apr05)

Dear WAF Members,

This is a special time in our Church! We have celebrated Rosary Sunday in the diocese of Phoenix and have begun children’s adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Often times, it is easier for us to hear the evil and bad things that are happening in the world. The gift of hope tells us that God does not abandon us and is still working in our world. It is obvious that the works of many dedicated members of the WAF are reaping positive rewards in our harvest for souls.

In November, we remember all the saints, people who inspire us to remain faithful in following the gospel message. This is done by prayer, works of mercy, sacrifice, and bearing witness to the gospel message. We are all blessed in our baptismal call to continue the gift of our ministry in following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary in bringing others to her Son. This is what the saints did in their lives. We are called to be saints today in living fully the gifts that God has given to us to help others along the path of salvation. Saints are not simply people of the past, but are alive and well today. We share in this calling in following the example of Mary and confront the evils of this world with the good works of the WAF. What a blessing to have positive news and activities excite our world and bring a new found hope.

This hope is magnified during the Advent and Christmas season. It is a time of expectation and joy. A hope that is fulfilled leads to joy, and no greater joy can we have than the gift of our salvation. Jesus’ birth is the beginning of our salvation and an annual reminder that our work is not yet complete. Our journey through life is a time for us to give gifts every day of our lives. That special spirit of Christmas should be with us daily in our fulfillment of our Christian calling.

Advent is a time that prepares us to enter more fully into that joy by realizing our salvation is near. This is a time of hope, expectation, and joy. The pessimism of evil would like us to believe otherwise. It reflects upon sadness, fate, and hopelessness. As people who have endured the crucifixion with our daily struggles and sufferings, we are reminded that there is a resurrection. Without that hope, we will never experience joy and fulfillment.

My brothers and sisters,

What a special time we celebrate with the birth of our Blessed Mother in September and the feast of the Rosary in October. Mary’s birth marks the beginning of God’s plan for our salvation in the person of Jesus His Son. Mary gave birth to our salvation by saying yes to the Father’s will. We can give birth to the gift of our salvation in following in Mary’s example of her Son Jesus. This is a blessed time indeed!

A birth marks the beginning of life. We are reborn in baptism to begin a new life with God, and now with the celebration of Mary’s birth in the Church, we celebrate the beginning of eternal life. By honoring her example, we begin a new relationship with her Son that empowers us all with the Holy Spirit to remain faithful to gospel message in bringing the gift of salvation to the world. So many people need to begin a new life by the gift of salvation. The evil in our world cries out for conversion and the gift of new life. Perhaps the world fears this new life knowing the many forms of destruction of life we have in the world today. This is evil’s attempt to avoid the gift of new life given to us by Jesus by his death and resurrection.

Prayer is the one gift that will empower us to be faithful to God’s call to promote life in our world. With the upcoming celebration of Respect Life Sunday, we have an opportunity to bring new life to our world by the prayer of the Rosary. What a blessing to have these feasts in the same month to remind us of the power of new life given to us by the gift of prayer. A daily rosary renews the Church in the work of salvation and brings others to the healing power of Christ’s mercy through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rosary helps us to meditate on the life of Christ and renews us in our baptismal commitment to die to our sinfulness to rise to new life in Him.

By entering more fully into the life of Christ by meditating on the mysteries of the rosary brings new life to all of us. It renews the Church to be a hope for those who are trapped in their sins and greater faith to those who believe to participate more fully in the work of salvation.

Now is that time for us to celebrate new life in Christ. Thanks be to God that we are renewed in the prayer of the rosary that reminds us of God’s plan of salvation that was begun by the birth of Mary. Let us celebrate these months of new life by being more committed to Mary’s Son, so that all of us may rise to new and eternal life.

May the Blessings of our mother be with us as we continue to serve her Son in the World Apostolate of Fatima. Now with our newly elected officers and enthusiasm to increase our membership, we should consider the possibility of praying one rosary a month before the Blessed Sacrament asking for more people to open the hearts to the work of Jesus through Mary. It was a blessing for all of us to spend time together to renew friendships and invigorated by the Holy Spirit to realize the gift of our ministry. Nothing that Satan can do to us should daunt us in our challenges ahead. With effective planning, prayers, and penance, we can forge ahead in living the gospel message. Remember that Jesus started with a small number as well and with the Holy Spirit in charge, a world came to know the Christian message of salvation. I know that Mary is praying for us that we may be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the same. By doing the work of her Son, we enjoy the blessings of His presence in our lives. As we support one another by the gift of prayer, encouragement, wisdom, and the courage that allows us to face our future challenges, the World Apostolate of Fatima will continue to enjoy the growth of new membership as well as blessings of salvation to the world. Now more than ever, our world needs the example of Mary in the love of her Son Jesus. Both gave their entire being for our sake. It is not too much to ask for the same from us in return. We must always remember the more we give, the more we receive. God is not outdone in generosity. My prayers for God’s special graces to be with all of us to live in the Sacred Heart of Jesus in following the example of Mary in the love of her Son.

As we have experienced the birth of our salvation in the birthday of Jesus Christ, we move on to a New Year. The two are related in the sacrament of reconciliation that gives us new life and salvation.

Mary was the only person who experienced both the birth and death of Jesus first hand. His birth marks the beginning of new life for us. He was born to die, we are born to live. However we could not live if Jesus was not born to die on a cross. For this reason, Mary was conceived without sin to be the pure vessel to give birth to our salvation.

She was also present at the cross as her Son died for our sins. We cannot experience new life until we are willing to die to our sins. We can do this in the sacrament of reconciliation to experience the gift of new life, a new beginning, that marks the beginning of our salvation.

We will make many new resolutions this year. However, only one matters. The one that gives us eternal life. It is time for us to chose life, not death. The great gift of Christmas was life. We are given the opportunity to live again in the sacrament of reconciliation. It should be our resolution to go to confession frequently to experience the grace of the sacrament and be prepared to live eternal life.

Why not give a gift to yourself, the gift of life/? This is the true meaning of Christmas. It is a great way to begin the New Year. Make only one resolution, one that will last forever. What do you have to lose, except your very self?

Love and prayers,
Rev Fred LeClaire, CMF
Spiritual Director

May this find you in the joy and peace of Jesus and Mary! I am certain that many summer activities are keeping us busy. Many of us will take the opportunity to travel and see loved ones and new and familiar sites. The warmth and laziness of the time of year will make it easy for us to relax. While we are busy with this enjoyment, what are we doing for the Lord?

Jesus does not get a vacation nor should we take a vacation from Him. It can be easy to do with summer time activities. It may be difficult to get to Mass due to traveling, or we don’t pray as we normally do when visiting loved ones. The real challenge is to continue our prayer and spiritual growth despite the time of year or distractions we may face.

This could be a perfect time to do more reflection and meditation with the longer days and warmer evenings. It might give us the opportunity of pondering the life of Jesus from the perspective of Mary His Mother. We can get too busy enjoying ourselves that the only person we are thinking about is the self. It is good to remember that the word busy is an acronym for Being Under Satan’s Yoke. It is time for us to slow down and listen to the gentle whispers of Mary to draw us closer to her Son.

What a blessing this time of year can be for those who have peace, the peace of Christ in their hearts since the Holy Spirit is alive in them. Let us be thankful to have this restful and relaxing time to gain greater peace in our lives to be able to share it with those who are troubled, anxious, and far away from the Lord. When they see the gift of peace we have, they will be attracted to it. It will then give us the opportunity to do as Mary did, and lead others to the peace we find in her Son Jesus. Have a restful and relaxing summer and may Jesus and Mary be your traveling companions to bring you safely home after visiting loved ones.

In Mary’s love of her Son,

Fr. Fred LeClaire

This is a significant time in our church year as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. His mother Mary was at His side at His greatest moments of need. Our choice is similar. Will we do the same in time of trial and persecution and carry our crosses or will we drop them and hide.

The first disciples did the same, but the resurrection brought the Holy Spirit and a new energy that gave the disciples the courage and strength to offer their entire life in service of Jesus. Inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives helps us to live the Lenten experience in the way of Christ, dying to our sinfulness by repentance and rising to a new life by conversion.

Mary experienced the crucifixion watching her Son die on the cross, knowing that it would liberate us from our sinfulness. She shared fully in the resurrection by joining the disciples in their ministry in proclaiming the good news of the Gospel.

We will also be celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation as well. The date has been changed due to conflicts with Easter, but a great time of joy and celebration in our church. Lent has no meaning if we do not experience the peace and joy of all that God does for us. To suffer for the sake of suffering is sadistic and provides no spiritual gains. Mary had to experience the difficulties of being pregnant before marriage, the angel’s appearance, not having a full understanding of all that God was asking her to do. Yet, the faith to accept which would being many joys and sorrows. The ultimate sorrow of the crucifixion, but the ultimate joy of the resurrection.

Let us pray that this Lent will renew us in the joys of Jesus and Mary to give us the courage to carry our crosses and come to the resurrected life of heaven.

Love and prayers,
Rev Fred LeClaire, CMF
Spiritual Director