9/18/2022

On May 13, 1917 Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children: ten year old Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco (8 years old) and Jacinta (7 years old) Marto. They witnessed three apparitions of the Angel of Peace in 1916 and six apparitions of the Virgin Mary beginning on the 13th of May in 1917 and lasting until October of that year. These appearances are referred to as Our Lady of Fatima. Two of the children died within a few years in the plague, and Lucia lived until 2005. As a result of the apparitions, they all took to praying and doing penance, even at their young ages, and the Catholic Church has approved these apparitions as valid. On December 10, 1925, Lucia had another apparition in which the Blessed Virgin asked that she establish a devotion known as the Five First Saturdays. According to Wikipedia, Our Lady promised to assist at the hour of death with the grace necessary for salvation all those who, with the intention of making reparation to her, will, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep her company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the (then fifteen, now twenty) mysteries of the Rosary. The practice of going to Mass, receiving Communion, going to confession, praying the Rosary, and meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary is practiced in some places, and unheard of in other places. A similar thing may be said of the practice of nine consecutive First Fridays and the connection to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In any case, I am going to celebrate Mass on the First Saturday of each month at 8 AM. It will be accompanied by confessions before (if there is time) and after until anyone who wants to go to confession is done. Fr. Brian Schieber, a priest of the K.C., Kansas Archdiocese, told me that this devotion and the practice of going to confession has caught on in his parish in Overland Park, and so I thought I would give it a try. We will try this at least until next May, 2023.
In addition on this particular Saturday, October 1st, we will offer the Anointing of the Sick. Those who wish to be anointed should be those whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age. This would include someone who is undergoing a procedure (e.g. surgery) in which the disease or the procedure could be dangerous. On the other hand, one should not wait until at death’s doorstep before being anointed. The sacrament seeks both healing and forgiveness for those who receive it. I do not expect to do Anointing of the Sick every Saturday, but will on this particular one.
Finally, come to the Hangar to view the first installment of “The Search,” entitled: “What Do You Seek?” Not a bad question to ponder this week.
It is a joy to be your pastor.

Father Albert, O.S.B