FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
ON MARY
(Part 24)
JOY AND SORROW
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
March 25, 2022
Today’s readings:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Psalm 40:7-11
Hebrews 10:4-10
Luke 1:26-38
Today is a very special day. Today, as always, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. But also today, Pope Francis will consecrate the whole world, especially Ukraine and Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As Christians we are centered on Christ. But also, we look to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. At the heart of our Catholic Christian faith are Jesus and his mother.
Today is a day of joy but also of sorrow. We rejoice in this most blessed celebration of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus in the womb of Mary (Is 7:14). The Savior has been conceived by Mary through the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:31-35)! But it is also a day of sorrow, as we repent of our sins, in our prayer for the consecration of the world, and we look to a day of solemn reparation.
Being a Solemnity that falls on a Friday, per Canon 1251, the observance of abstinence for Lent is lifted. At the same time, being a day of worldwide repentance, where we seek the elusive peace for the whole world, it is also fitting not just to abstain but also to fast. So we jump high for joy with arms outstretched, even as we kneel with heads bowed low.
This confluence of joy and sorrow, both at one time, can point us to the contradictions that seem inherent in the Christian life. In Christ there are no such contradictions, though peoples of faith have oftentimes, and even today, brought about opposing postures. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but most of the time the world, including Christian nations, is at war. Jesus unites Christians in the one body, but these same Christians bring disunity among themselves. And today the Catholic Church prays for and consecrates Ukraine and Russia, which are of the Orthodox Church, while both churches remain separated, even as they are the two lungs of the one body of Christ.
In Christ there is no confusion, though in Christ’s Church and among Christ’s hierarchs, there are divisions, and with the enemy within, much of the faithful are confused. As Pilate once said to Jesus, “What is truth?” In the presence of Truth himself, Pilate did not know the truth. So too with many Christians today, who carry the name of Christ but continue to live the lies of the world and the evil one. Even some hierarchs mangle the truth and teach heresy.
Then we come to today’s consecration. There is confusion too. Will the prayer of consecration be according to Our Lady’s specific instructions given to Lucia at Fatima? More basically, is the consecration specifically for Russia as Mary instructed?
As it is, Pope Francis will be making the solemn entrustment and consecration of “ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.” The fundamental focus is all humanity. Russia and Ukraine have special mention, but seemingly more as an aside. The prayer could have been, as an example, to more pointedly “consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, together with all humanity.” It is a matter of focus.
On the other hand, perhaps the prayer will indeed fulfill the instructions of Our Lady. It will be done by the Pope, it will be joined by all Catholic bishops throughout the world (are all joining?), it will be all at the same time (will the bishops of the Philippines, for example, join this consecration at 1:30am in the morning of March 26?), and it will be a day of prayer and worldwide reparation (will the Catholic world be feasting or fasting?).
So is the prayer of consecration intended to fulfill Fatima? The Pope does not mention Fatima, even as he included a litany of titles of Mary. The prayer, beautiful as it is, seems to be intended for everyone, the whole world, all of humanity. It asks for world peace. It is a prayer that can and even should be said at any time and in all places, by Christians as well as other people of goodwill.
But in looking at the war in Ukraine, it is important to pray specifically for Russia, as Our Lady directed. Otherwise the errors of Russia will continue. The Ukraine war could even lead to World War 3. And in a nuclear world, that could be the end, or as mentioned by Our Lady to Lucia, could bring about the annihilation of nations.
Our Lady called for “penance, penance, penance!” God is offended by the grave sins of the world, much graver today than then in 1917. The way to avert tragedy was to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was not done, and so the Bolsheviks (Communists) took over Russia. There were several attempts by popes, but not done properly, and so World War II happened and in the Cold War following, the Soviet Union spread its errors throughout the world. Now here we are again. Now it is Russia that has invaded Ukraine, but with the rest of the world rushing to its defense. Where could it all lead to?
While much of the world condemns Russia, there is confusion too, beyond just the daily images of war broadcast by mainstream media.
Who is at fault? Russia of course invaded and caused the deaths of many, including civilians, the displacement of many more, and much destruction in Ukraine. But the West is also complicit. The West pressed on with NATO even as the Soviet Union already collapsed, advancing eastward up to the doorsteps of Russia, reneging on its assurance to Russia that it would not expand eastward. The West in 2014 instigated a coup that overthrew the democratic Ukrainian government that was pro-Russia (to the world it was made to look like a general uprising). The West continued to ignore the red line given by Russia, from the time of Gorbachev, that Ukraine should not join NATO, which directly threatened Russia.
Who are the bad guys? The invaders of course. But also the West. By its pronouncements, Russia today is pro-God, pro-Church, pro-family, pro-life, anti-abortion, anti-LGBT. In 2013, its Duma, the Russian Parliament, voted 436-0 to ban homosexual propaganda from schools. Such school fare has been a staple in US schools for over 50 years, and now LGBT is accepted and even celebrated, and corrupts the nations of the world. What further evil can one have than men saying they are women, and the rest of society accepting it! Such transgenders (biological men) have invaded women’s sports as well as their other safe spaces. What a corrupt and dysfunctional society!
Russia has brought about death in Ukraine, but the West has brought about the culture of DEATH to the whole world. Russia has brought about physical death, but the godless West has brought about spiritual death.
How about the churches? The Russian Orthodox Church, under Patriarch Kirill, is very much orthodox in faith. The Roman Catholic Church, under Pope Francis, fully supportive of the West, has become modernist and many hierarchs are even into heterodoxy.
Our Lady at Fatima in 1917 asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Per Our Lady, Our Lord has a special plan for Russia, basically for the chastisement of the world but also to help bring the world back to God. Such dire chastisement is happening now. How about the second part of Jesus’ plan? We must pray for and consecrate Russia.
We rejoice in the incarnation of Jesus in the womb of Mary. We grieve for our sins and the sins of the world. Let us pray that today’s Prayer of Consecration will indeed end the war in Ukraine and bring peace to the whole world.
May there be conversion, not just for Russia but more especially for the godless West. May the armed assault on Ukraine end, and may the diabolical assault on the unborn also end. May peace be upon Ukraine, but God’s peace (shalom) be upon the whole world.
May the whole world turn back to God, and may we all do His will. “I delight to do your will, my God; your law is in my inner being!” (Ps 40:9). “By this ‘will,’ we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.” (Heb 10:10). Amen.
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Note: For more info, please watch my podcast last Wednesday (March 23) on “Consecration of Russia to Mary.” Please go to https://youtu.be/pYNKCsB5KzM.
