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MI Sheffield Bulletin – February 2015
"Lent is like a long 'retreat' during which we can turn back into ourselves
and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One” –
Pope Benedict XVI
The First Saturdays of the month
During Her apparition at Fatima
in July 1917, the Infant Jesus said
to Lucia: “Have pity on the Heart
of your Most Holy Mother. It is
covered with thorns with which
ungrateful men pierce it with
every moment, and there is no
one to remove them with an act
of reparation.” Then Our Lady
said: “Tell them that I promise to
assist at the hour of death with
the graces necessary for
salvation all those who, in order
to make reparation to me, on the
first Saturday of five successive
months, go to Confession,
receive Holy Communion, say
five decades of Rosary, and keep
Me company for a quarter of an
hour, meditating on the fifteen
mysteries of the Rosary”.
Following Our Lady’s request,
The First Saturdays of the
months are held in Our Lady of
Lourdes Church:
9am – Rosary
9.30am – Mass
10.00am
15
minutes'
meditation of all Rosary
mysteries
10.15am Confession
All are welcome. Please join us
every First Saturday of the
month. Let us be generous in our
response to Our Lady’s urgent
request.
02 February - the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life
In 1997 St Pope John Paul II instituted a
‘World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life’
on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
Each year since then on February 2nd the
Church has thanked God for the gift of the
different forms of consecrated life, and prayed that our Church will
continue to be enriched by the life and witness of consecrated
men and women. Pope Francis announced that 2015 will be a
year dedicated to the promotion of consecrated life, and is asking
the Church's religious sisters, brothers and priests to "wake up the
world" with their testimony of faith,
holiness and hope. The Year of
Consecrated Life began on November
30, 2014 (the First Sunday of Advent)
and will end on February 2, 2016.
New painting of Mary Immaculate and St Maximilian
This beautiful painting is a new profile picture and logo of the
Crusade of Mary Immaculate – MI Sheffield. It was painted by a
Sheffield painter and artist Marcin Szuba at a special request of MI
Sheffield. It shows Mary Immaculate and Her devoted servant St
Maximilian Kolbe. The painting was publicly blessed on 1 January, the Solemnity of
Mary, Mother of God and will be displayed at Our Lady of Lourdes church,
Sheffield. May He teach us to be totally Hers and through Her, belong totally to
Jesus!
Healing Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes – 11 February at 19.00
On Wednesday, 11 February at Our Lady of Lourdes
Church, Sheffield at 19.00 will be a special Healing
Mass on the World Day for the Sick and Solemnity of
Our Lady of Lourdes. Special petitions will be put in
the basket and presented to Our Lady of Lourdes
Statue. There will also be a special novena before
the Solemnity and a special prayer for the sick will be
said during the Mass.
MI Prayer Intentions – February 2015
That this Lenten season may be an on-going
preparation for the joy of an increasingly deeper
communion with God.
Become a Crusader and consecrate yourself to Mary
Mary Immaculate invites you to become Her Crusader
and bring more people through Her Heart to the Heart
of Jesus. For more information see the website:
www.mi-sheffield.com
The Crusade of Mary Immaculate is a worldwide
Catholic Church movement founded by St Maximilian
Kolbe, which promotes personal consecration to Mary.
By joining the Crusade, members become willing
instruments of Our Lady and work for the Church and
salvation of others. The visible sign of that is wearing
Her Miraculous Medal.
Dates
to remember in
February
02 – the Presentation of
the Lord – World Day of
Prayer for Consecrated
Life
st
06 – 1
month
Friday of the
st
07 – 1 Saturday of the
month
11 – Our Lady of
Lourdes – World Day for
the Sick
14 – Ss Cyril and
Methodius – Patron
Saints of Europe
17 – the anniversary of
the
arrest
of
St
Maximilian
18 – Ash Wednesday
27 – Lent Fast Day
(England and Wales)
How to enroll in the Crusade?
1) Select the date on which you want your name
recorded in the official register of the MI, preferably
a Marian feast day
2) On the day of your enrolment recite the official act
of consecration
3) Complete the enrolment application and post to
The Crusade Centre in Manchester
(National Crusade Centre, Redclyffe Road,
Urmston, Manchester, M41 7LG, UK).
5) Wear the Miraculous Medal that you will receive.
6) Renew your consecration daily by praying: "O Mary
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse
to you and for all who do not have recourse to you,
especially the enemies of the Church and those
recommended to you".
LOURDES – the Place of Miracles
In 1858 in the grotto of Massabielle, near Lourdes,
France, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 18 times
to Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant
girl. She identified herself as The Immaculate
Conception. She gave Bernadette a message for all:
"Pray and do penance for the conversion of the
world." At the time of Bernadette, the Grotto was a
dirty, hidden, damp and cold place. The Grotto was
called the "pigs' shelter" because that was where the
pigs feeding in the area usually took shelter.
It was there that the Virgin Mary, dressed in white, deigned to appear. At the
ninth Apparition, "the Lady" asked Bernadette to scrape the ground, at the
back of this "pigs’ shelter", saying to her: "Go to the spring, drink of it and
wash yourself there". There was only a little muddy water to begin with,
enough for Bernadette to drink. At first this water was muddy and dirty
then, little by little, it became clear. The water of Lourdes has become
popular because of the miracles. 50 official miracles are apparently linked
to the use of this water, no matter if it has been drunk or used as a bath. Men
have created the fountains, the baths and the way of the water. Bernadette
was asked: 'Did the Lady say something to you?' She replied: 'Yes, now and
say again she would: "Penance, penance, penance, pray for sinners". Since
the Apparitions, Lourdes had to deal with about 7000 cases of unexplained
cures. 69 cases have been recognised as miraculous by the Church at this
time.
On 11 February, the Solemnity of Our Lady of Lourdes, all Crusaders can
gain Plenary Indulgence.
"O my Mother, in Your Heart I placed all my anguish of my
heart and it is there that I gain strength and courage" –
St Bernadette
MILITIA
IMMACULATAE
invites you
to attend a special celebration of the Crowning of Our Lady
of Fatima
at All Saints Friary in Manchester (Redclyffe Road
Manchester M41 7LG)
Saturday 2nd May 2015 (First Saturday Devotions)
The programme of the visit is as follows:
1.30 – Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
(Confession available)
2.40 – Rosary
3.00 – Crowning of Our Lady of Fatima
4.00 – Refreshments
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE
please e-mail the Crusade on: [email protected]
by 20 March
Cost depends on the number going
www.mi-sheffield.com