Posted on July 30, 2022 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus! Gelobt sei Jesus Christus! Sia lodato Gesù Cristo! Praised be Jesus Christ!
August is the month the Church has set aside for devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In these difficult times, may we have confidence and take much hope in the words of Our Lady that in the end, “my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
It may not always seem as if that will occur. Unfortunately, many within the Church continue to sow confusion and spread false doctrine. The most recent was confusion from the Pontifical Academy for Life, which called for reopening the conversation on artificial contraception and euthanasia. In addition, there is the ongoing persecution of the Traditional Latin Mass and the basic traditional orientation within even the revised Mass, while the most egregious liturgical abuses continue to be tolerated and even promoted. This is all the more reason we ought to be grateful for Archbishop Schnurr being a good shepherd! Be sure to pray for him daily as well as his successor!
Even with this and all the problems that our country and society face, may we always call to mind those words of Our Lady, “in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
In this month of August, may we place our trust in Our Lady. Our Lady, who by the snows showed the Pope where she wanted the most prominent Church dedicated to her built, St. Mary Major in Rome. Our Lady, who was assumed into Heaven at the completion of her earthly life after total faithfulness to the will of God. Our Lady who has been crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. Our Lady’s reign may not be apparent, but rule she does. When we have placed enough of our confidence in her and done enough penance, she will reveal her triumph and give all things back to her Son so that all can be made new. This is also a reminder that on August 15, we will celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. The Assumption is a Holy Day, and you can find the Mass schedule within the pages of this newsletter. We will also have a special parish event at Northland Ice Center on August 4 to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Snows a day early. You can find more details inside these pages as well.
The Oratory often gets asked what our daily schedule looks like. In its basic form, we generally have morning silent meditation at 6:30 a.m. for thirty minutes. Afterward, everyone goes off to their various pastoral responsibilities for the day. We rejoin on most evenings at 5:30 p.m. for another period of silent meditation followed by dinner. Dinner is also held in silence, and readings from books are listened to. Brief community recreation is held after dinner before returning to whatever duties are required or preparing for the next day. On certain days of the month, we have “Chapter,” when various faults against the rule are discussed and corrected. We also have once a month what is called General Congregation, which is the main legislative body for the Oratory to make decisions. A few days in a month are also set aside for dinner with parishioners or other events. This schedule gives us the ability to have our proper Community prayer and recreation times, fulfill our pastoral responsibilities, and also provide time for personal prayer and study. I hope this gives a glimpse into our life!
I pray you each have a blessed month ahead, and may Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart keep and protect each of you!
