Wednesday, May 5, 2021
God Desires All Men to Be Saved

God does not leave the souls of virtuous pagans who obey the natural law to eternal death. In one example, in the 1600’s Franciscan missionaries arrived in the New World in modern day Mexico and came upon a group of natives. They were intent on teaching them the Faith and to their amazement, they already knew it without having yet met any European. How could this be? The natives revealed that a woman would appear to them every Friday to teach them and that she had done so for the past five years. After describing her, the Franciscans recognized it as Sister Maria of Agreda. 

After returning home and notifying the bishop regarding this astonishing event, Venerable Maria of Agreda was questioned and asked to swear under oath if this was true. It was. God had sent her to instruct these pagans by means of bilocation on account of their obedience to the natural law. As related in the Life of Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda:

“This holy virgin burned with a most ardent love for God and for the salvation of souls. One day, she beheld in a vision all the nations of the world. She saw the greater part of men were deprived of God's grace and running headlong to everlasting perdition. She saw how the Indians of Mexico put fewer obstacles to the grace of conversion than any other nation who were out of the Catholic Church, and how God, on this account, was ready to show mercy to them. Hence, she redoubled her prayers and penances to obtain for them the grace of conversion. God heard her prayers. He commanded her to teach the Catholic religion to those Mexican Indians. From that time, she appeared, by way of bilocation, to the savages, not less than five hundred times, instructing them in all the truths of our holy religion, and performing miracles in confirmation of these truths. When all were converted to the faith, she told them that religious priests would be sent by God to receive them into the Church by baptism. As she had told, so it happened. God, in his mercy, sent to these good Indians several Franciscan fathers, who were greatly astonished when they found those savages fully instructed in the Catholic doctrine. When they asked the Indians who had instructed them, they were told that a holy virgin appeared among them many times and taught them the Catholic religion and confirmed it by miracles.”

Pray for Pagan Souls

God desires that all men be saved. He desires for us to pray for the souls of all pagans – those still alive in faraway lands and those who have died. We can pray for all the pagans who still die in far-off places who have never heard of Christianity and who died separated from the visible Church. We pray that their souls are not lost but are united in a mystical way with the Church before their death.

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Saturday, May 1, 2021
Help Me Run the 2021 Chicago Marathon And Support Catholic Outreach

I’m happy to announce that for the first time in my life!

I am planning to train for and run a marathon! God willing, this October 10th, I will be running the 2021 Chicago Marathon for Mission Our Lady of the Angels, a Catholic Mission serving the poor on Chicago’s Westside. The Mission has been serving over 3,000 families a month with food and other basic material needs during the pandemic- this is three times the normal number of families they serve! They have been processing and distributing 175,000 to 200,000 lbs. of food a month.

The Mission also assists at-risk kids in after-school programs, serves bi-weekly community meals, and, most importantly, brings the hope of Christ to a neighborhood plagued by gangs, violence, and poverty. 

I am committed to train (running over 400 miles) over the long, hot summer and run 26.2 miles on Marathon Sunday (October 10) . . . and I am counting on your support as my blog reader! I need your prayers to persevere through training and finish the race. Your prayers are needed so I can successfully spread the good news about the Mission through my running. 

Finally, I need your financial support. The Mission is able to provide all of its services to its neighbors for free because of many generous donations from people like yourself. In order to run the Chicago marathon, I need to raise $1,750 for the mission. 

Can you please chip in and make a donation? Donations of any amount will help me toward crossing this finish line as well. Your contributions are to a 501(c)3 registered charity that will directly receive the funds.

The financial need is particularly great this year as the Mission continues their expanded COVID time outreach and finishes the renovations of their new outreach center. The Mission is in process of renovating its new outreach center that will dramatically improve its ability to distribute material resources, host neighborhood groups for meetings, and house the volunteers they rely upon for their work. 

Thank you in advance!

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