Most Reverend Bernard A. Hebda 12 October 2023
Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis
“She was pleasant, but sad.” At the question of Father Thomas McGlynn “was She always sad?” Sister Lucia answered “She never smiled. She was pleasant, but sad.”
Our Lady’s sadness may stem from one act of disobedience, which enabled the horrors of the French Revolution and the bloodshed of the Napoleonic wars.
In 1689, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received a private request from Jesus to urge the King of France, Louis XIV, to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart, so that he may be “triumphant over all the enemies of Holy Church.” The King chose to ignore the command and thus condemned his dynasty to the guillotine.
In April 1792, the French Revolutionary Wars broke out, clearing the path for Communist Ideology. Civilians and priests were massacred, the Catholic faith was condemned, and Europe was drawn into the
Napoleonic Wars.
33 years later in 1848, the Communist demon revealed himself again and Springtime of Nations began. This was the most widespread revolutionary wave in European history.
The lies and evils spread by atheistic secularists in our day are the same lies and errors that have plagued Christians through the ages. Today’s version, at least up to this point, however, is more subtle, as it is often cloaked in Christian terms that have been co-opted and flipped upside down from their true
meaning.
In contrast, there were historical moments that Our Lady and Our Lord were pleased. One instance is when an Army fought, for the first time, under the sign of the Cross. At the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on the 28th of October, 312 AD, Emperor Constantine I followed the commands of his dream and ordered his soldiers to mark their shields with a Latin cross. For this act of obedience, God rewarded Constantine with victory.
On the 7th of October, 1571, a fleet of the Holy League confronted a superior fleet from the Ottoman Empire. Leading up to the battle, Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory, and personally led a rosary procession in Rome.
Our Lady interceded and a major defeat was inflicted on the Ottoman fleet.
In 1683, King John III Sobieski was enroute to relieve the Siege of Vienna. He stopped at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, entrusting his forces to her protection.
His petition was granted, and Our Lady ensured a magnificent victory over the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Vienna.
In August 1920, when Soviet forces stood at the gates of Warsaw, on the morning of August 15th, on the Feast of Her Assumption, Our Lady answered the prayers of the entire country. She personally appeared on the battlefield to repulse the Red Army. To this day, the event is called the “Miracle on the Vistula.”
Prime Minister Wincenty Witos commented, “Whatever you want to write and say – whoever you want to dress in laurels and merits – this is 1920’s ‘Miracle on the Vistula’.” Diaries from many participants of the battle attribute the outcome to the Blessed Virgin Mary (citing multiple reasons, including widespread national prayer beforehand and subsequent reports of her appearance on the battlefield).
In the last legislative session in our state of Minnesota, the devil raised his head and enacted laws contrary to the order established by God.
Your Excellency, Our Lady can easily achieve a glorious victory over this enemy, but there are two obstacles. One is our free will, and the second is the Justice of God. Our Lady showed the way to overcome these obstacles. First, by surrendering our wills to Her Immaculate Heart through an act of consecration. Second, we must offer our prayers and mortifications to Our Lady, so she can balance the scale of Justice. In Fatima and other apparitions, Our Lady asked for recitation of the Rosary. In 1939 She asked Sr. Lucia to spread the First Saturday devotion. If fulfilled this will bring about another victory of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, humiliating the devil and his cohort.
Always ready to help, truly yours in Christ.