Brother
Knights,
As
many have heard, Pope
Francis has agreed to consecrate Russia (and Ukraine) to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary at 12 noon Eastern on Friday March 25, the feast of the
Annunciation. This came at the request of the Ukrainian
bishops who requested it be done as Our Lady of Fatima requested. As
you can imagine, there may be spiritual obstacles thrown up to prevent the Holy
Father in offering the consecration, and properly.
To
counter this, we share a prayer which Bishop Athanasius Schneider penned to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
imploring her to assist in obtaining the graces for Pope Francis to consecrate
Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
If
we may suggest, members of our network, fellow Knights, and their families may
consider praying this prayer for 9 days, beginning today Wednesday
March 16, and concluding Thursday March 24, the feast of St. Gabriel, the
day prior to the Annunciation. The prayer is as followed:
Prayer for the Holy Father to Consecrate
Russia
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, you are the
holy Mother of God and our tender Mother. Look upon the distress in which the
Church and the whole of humanity are living because of the spread of
materialism and the persecution of the Church. In Fatima, you warned against
these errors, as you spoke about the errors of Russia. You are the Mediatrix of
all graces. Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope:
that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart, so that Russia will
be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world, and your
Immaculate Heart will triumph, through an authentic renewal of the Church in
the splendor of the purity of the Catholic Faith, of the sacredness of Divine
worship and of the holiness of the Christian life. O Queen of the Holy Rosary
and our sweet Mother, turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this
our trusting prayer. Amen.
+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop
of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
One can also find it
on Bishop Schneider’s Confraternity of
Fatima website (which we encourage all to join in): https://www.livefatima.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PrayerCard_09.pdf
The
message of Fatima is something many members of our network are devoted to, and
the closing prayers after Low Mass (Leonine prayers) since 1930 were (and still
offered) for conversion of Russia.
Lastly, if you wish to help the Knights help Ukranians affected by the fighting, visit: https://www.kofc.org/en/what-we-do/charity/ukraine.html
