By Julia Rose
jrose@Marian.org
With new pavement laid in front of the National Shrine (above) and the trees and flowers in bloom, everything is looking just lovely on Eden Hill. And it's time to celebrate, as Ordination Weekend begins!
We have, not one, but two Ordination Masses taking place at the National Shrine, both celebrated by the Most Reverend Juan Miguel Betancourt, SEMV, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut.
Today at the 9 a.m. ET Mass, three Marian seminarians will be ordained to the transitional diaconate: Br. Ryan Asensio, MIC; Br. Christopher Orante, MIC; and Br. Ruben Veloz, MIC.
Tomorrow, at the 9 a.m. ET Mass, Deacon Patrick Lynch, MIC, will be ordained to the priesthood.
Congratulations to all! Read all about it. And please join us in prayer and watch online!
Due to limited seating, attendance at these two Masses is by invitation only. The Masses will be livestreamed here and on YouTube, at 9 a.m. ET. today and tomorrow.
The Founder of the Marian Fathers, St. Stanislaus Papczyński (1631-1701), is no doubt smiling from above! Please enroll in the Novena that begins tomorrow, leading to his feast day on May 18. Details here.
"Our Lady of the E-ZPass"
On Sunday, we celebrate Mother's Day! Where would we be without the incredible women (especially my mom, Jessica!) who have devoted their lives to caring for us? Of course, this includes the Mother of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Be sure to also thank Our Lady, too, this Sunday for being an example of steadfast faith, grace, and love.
Speaking of honoring Our Lady, long-time Marian Helpers Arthur Dutil (above) and his wife, Chris, built an amazing monument on their property that abuts Interstate 90 (or the Mass Pike, as we call it here) and can even be seen in the distance (circled below) from the main parking lot on Eden Hill.
The 6-foot 4-inch fiberglass statue of the Blessed Mother overlooks Mile Marker 7 of the turnpike, heading west. She has been affectionately christened “Our Lady of the E-ZPass.” As Arthur says, “If you pray to Mary, you get an E-ZPass to Heaven!” We sure hope so! Here's the story on the statue produced by "Reel to Reel" of the Diocese of Springfield:
On the road to Heaven
Speaking of Heaven, a remarkable book has just been published by Marian Press: Get on Board the “Mercy Train”: Journeys of a Marian Helper on the Road to Heaven. It’s a collection of stories by Therese Tirpak, a long-time Marian Helper who was dedicated to sharing the message of Divine Mercy far and wide, right up to her death in 2022. Her son, Tom, collected the stories into a book.
A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Therese carried a first-class relic of St. Faustina with her as she shared her faith and love with strangers, friends, and loved ones. Airports, hospitals, driveways, grocery stores — you name it! Therese was spreading Divine Mercy everywhere she went.
In her words, “Divine Mercy is for everyone — for every parish, every city, every country, every person, everywhere. And if you say yes to sharing it, Jesus Himself will come along.”
Tom and his sons honored Therese last week in a very unique way: making the “Walk to Mary” pilgrimage in Wisconsin, from the National Shrine of St. Joseph to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion. They all wore custom t-shirts (above) featuring the book cover! What a great idea! Can I please have one?!
On the horizon
There are two big Church feasts next week. Wednesday, May 13, marks the 109th anniversary of Our Lady’s first apparition at Fatima, Portugal. Our Lady continues to invite us to renewed hope, deeper conversion of our hearts to Christ, and to remind us of her loving intercession before her Son for all our needs and prayers.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! Honor her request to make reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart by praying the Rosary and attending First Saturday devotions. And check out Marian Fathers' Superior General Fr. Joe Roesch's wonderful video series from Fatima on DivineMercyPlus.org. Here's Episode 1:
For some of you in the United States, Thursday, May 14 is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. But Ascension Thursday is only a Holy Day of Obligation here in Massachusetts as well as a few other states; for the majority of the country, the Solemnity is transferred to Sunday, May 17.
Whenever you celebrate, we all can share in the joy that, hopefully, we will ascend to Heaven and meet our Savior one day!
God bless, everyone, and have a lovely weekend!
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