Like the mustard seed of scriptural fame, the seed of 2,000 rallies in 2007 now has grown in size and bore bigger fruits.
Or perhaps better yet, the spark lit back then has now spread like wildfire! Not content with praying inside churches or their respective homes, a rejuvenated band of Catholics are proclaiming their Catholic Faith in the streets and public venues throughout America.
Today, October 16, 2010, America Needs Fatima’s (ANF) successfully carried out 5,963 Rosary rallies all over America including far-off Alaska, Hawaii and Guam, and in some other countries.
Thanks to the zealous efforts of rosary captains around the nation, thousands of faithful Catholics armed with their rosaries and banners trooped to the public square to pray for America’s conversion and heed the message of Our Lady of Fatima.
The response to ANF’s 2010 campaign is nothing short of outstanding!
Not only did ANF successfully reach this year’s goal of 5,000 rallies, it far exceeded expectations and almost hit the 6000 mark (5,963 to be exact) topping last year’s 4, 337 rallies. Once again, throngs of Catholic faithful proudly displayed their Faith on their chest as they publicly recited the Rosary for all to see.
Like virtue, it’s now a habit
In some areas in 2010, rosary rallies are becoming a common sight. Not content with holding the October gatherings yearly, rosary captains carry out these events monthly.
ANF certainly hopes that this initiative will gain a groundswell of support among other rosary captains so that more acts of public reparation and prayer could be offered to God in face of an ever increasing sinful and pagan culture corroding today’s society.
It is to heed and console Our Lady who told Sister Lucia at Fatima on the apparition of October 13, 1917 that, “'Let them offend Our Lord no more, for He is already much offended.”
Spurring and inspiring others to act
In an increasingly secularized atmosphere that pushes religious expression out of the public square, one could only imagine effects these rosary rallies have on the average passerby or onlooker and even the participants themselves. More importantly, one can never underestimate the inner workings of grace engendered by these acts.
A moving example is that of one woman (Kathy Worboys of Honeoye Falls, NY) who chanced upon a magazine article in her parish church regarding public rosary rallies, a subject that’s quite new to her.
Looking more closely at the article the following week, she noticed a picture of a banner accompanying the article that said, "As human efforts fail to solve America’s key problems, we turn to God, through His Holy Mother, asking His urgent help.” Those words captivated and inspired her. She resolved to become a rosary captain and organize a rosary rally herself.
A case of a collapsed disc caused by a speed bump didn’t slow down one ANF volunteer (Mary Ellen Piel of Kansas). She successfully recruited a friend to become a rosary captain while talking to her over the phone in her hospital bed!
A daughter’s due date (which would be on October 16, 2010) of one new rosary captain didn’t faze his resolve to proceed with the rally. He plans to hold the rally at the hospital instead should that happen.
Support for the rallies
Since their inception, these rallies have found support from both bishops and clergy alike.
This year, Guam’s archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, added his stamp of approval as he addressed his pastors and rectors in a letter of Wednesday, October 6,
“In solidarity with AMERICA NEEDS FATIMA, I request that on Saturday, October 16, 2010 … the Rosary be prayed at 12 noon in your parish.” Archbishop Anthony explained that AMERICA NEEDS FATIMA’s goal is to “win the heart and soul of America for Mary by spreading Our Lady’s Fatima message and promoting devotion to Her Immaculate Heart.”
The Rosary is the great weapon of the Twenty-First Century, as in centuries past
There are many benefits that could be gained by praying the Rosary and these are amply covered and expounded in many pious books.
But much closer to home, Sister Lucy had this to say in a 1957 interview she gave to Father AugustÃn Fuentes, postulator of the cause of beatification for the seers of Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta at that time. She said, “The last means that God will give to the world for its salvation are the Holy Rosary and My Immaculate Heart… Father, with the new efficacy Our Lady has given to the Rosary, there is no problem in the life of anyone which cannot be solved by frequently praying the Rosary.”[1]
[1]Fr. Fuentes Conference (on Sr. Lucy's message entrusted to him on Dec. 26, 1957 A.D.) was originally published in "HACIA LOS ALTARES" in October, 1958 A.D., with the Ecclesiastical approbation of Don Manuel Anselmo Sanchez, Vicar General of Vera Cruz containing all the facts stated in the Conference in even fuller detail. The English translation of Fr. Fuentes May, 22nd, 1958 historic Conference was published in a newspaper called Fatima Findings (Vol. XIV, No. 2) in June of 1959 A.D., under the titled, A Recent Interview of Sister Lucy of Fatima.
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