You may or may not know, the Diocese of Phoenix is currently celebrating our 50th anniversary. To celebrate the past 50 years of blessings in gratitude, and to assure continued blessings and growth for years to come, Bishop Olmsted would like at least 100,000 Catholics in the Diocese to Consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary, but also strongly encourages parishes to consecrate themselves. As your pastor, I would greatly like our parish to be one of those parishes, not only for the good of the Diocese, but so that we can be lead to become the Corpus Christi we are meant to be. Personally, I first consecrated myself when I was in college using St. Louis de Montfort’s Consecration. But a couple of years ago I consecrated myself to Jesus through Mary using Fr. Gaitley’s Consecration, which personally I find more inspiring. For those who don’t know, Fr. Gaitley describes 4 Saints- St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Mother Teresa, and St. Pope John Paul II- all who have all had a special devotion to Jesus through our Blessed Mother. As a parish we’ll have an introduction on this Thursday, May 2, especially if you haven’t Consecrated yourself in the past, and the 33 days of daily reading and praying will begin Thursday, May 9. You can purchase your own book to have for your own to renew each year, or we’ll give you a free handout to help lead you through the Consecration. In addition, we’ll meet each week on Thursday evenings, for those who can, to watch the video and discuss what we have read about that Saint’s devotion through Mary. Finally, we will Consecrate ourselves on Monday, June 10- the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church- the Monday after Pentecost. Then we will reap the blessings.

So here I am on the Feast of Divine Mercy inviting, encouraging, and asking you to consecrate yourselves and our parish to Jesus through Mary. Some of you might be thinking- Why? And Why are you asking today? Some might be thinking why should I consecrate myself to Jesus through Mary at all, I believe in Mary as the mother of Jesus but what good would it do me to deepen my devotion to Mary, and how will that impact my relationship with God? All good questions, let me start to answer those questions today with- Why today?- Why am I here on Divine Mercy Sunday talking about Mary? Well, in a word, because Mary leads us in a special way to God’s mercy. Let me explain how using the amazing true story of John Paul II, Our Lady of Fatima, and Divine Mercy.

On May 13, 1917 at 5pm- Mary began appearing to 3 young children- siblings Francisco and Jacinta, and their cousin Lucia, in Fatima, Portugal. But the year before, an Angel appeared to these same 3 children preparing them for Mary’s visits and asking them to Pray, and pray a lot. The Angel said to the children, “The Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of Mercy on you”. From the beginning, the Mission of Fatima, the desire of Mary is for us to pray and to lead us to God’s Mercy. Our Lady of Fatima asked for continued devotions on 5 First Saturdays in which one would go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, and pray a rosary to console Mary’s sorrowful heart because of the sins of people. You might also know that one of the messages of Our Lady of Fatima was for a strong call to conversion and for people to pray, fast, but also for the Pope with the Bishops to Consecrate Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Even though no one knew the evil Communism that was brewing in Russia, nor of World War II that the world was headed to, Mary did, and she wanted to prevent the war and evils from happening. Right away, we see that Mary has a deep love for the world and is saddened when we stray far away from God. Well, we know that not enough people heeded Mary’s message of prayer, including the Pope and Bishops at the time did not adequately Consecrate Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Therefore, World War II happened and Communism spread in Russia and world.

You might also know, one of the children of Fatima, Lucia, received 3 secrets from Mary- it was later discovered that the 3rd predicted that “a Bishop dressed in white (obviously a Pope) would be shot and killed”. Flash forward exactly 64 years after Mary’s first appearance in Fatima, and I do mean exactly- the same exact day and even time. On May 13, 1981 at 5pm, a small, open-air jeep rode out into St. Peter’s Square, carrying Pope John Paul II, who warmly greeted pilgrims gathered in the square. At one point, the jeep stopped so the Pope could take a little girl in his arms. After he gave her back to her jubilant parents, the jeep continued on its way through the sea of waving, cheering faithful. Suddenly, a gunman fired two shots at the Pope from close range. The first bullet grazed his elbow. The second struck him in his abdomen and ricocheted inside him, shredding intestines and piercing his colon, which caused massive internal bleeding. However, the bullet missed all major organs and missed a main abdominal artery by only a tenth of an inch- if it would have even grazed the artery he would have bled to death on the way to the hospital. Recovering in the Hospital room, John Paul II reflected on the date- because he had a deep love for Mary- the date and time, May 13 at 5pm was not lost on him. There in the hospital room, John Paul II had Fatima’s 3rd secret- that a bishop in white would be shot and killed- brought and read to him for the first time. He was convinced that Our Lady of Fatima had prevented him from dying. In fact, he said, “one hand fired the gun, another hand (meaning Our Lady of Fatima’s hand) guided the bullet”.

After a couple incomplete or failed attempts, in May 1984 Pope John Paul II, with enough bishops present, did finally consecrate Russia, and this time the whole world, to the Mary’s Immaculate Heart, which Sr. Lucia a few years later confirmed was sufficient. Almost immediately after the Consecration the strong-hold of Communism began to weaken and a few years later, in 1991, Communism in Russia was finally dissolved.

So why did Mary prevent her servant, John Paul II from being killed? Because she and Jesus had a mission for him. As John Paul II said, “Right from my ministry in St. Peter’s See in Rome, I considered this message of Divine Mercy my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church, and the world”. You see, in addition to Our Lady, John Paul had a deep devotion to Sr. Faustina and Jesus’ message of Divine Mercy. In fact, the Holy Father’s 2nd encyclical published in 1980 was called “Rich in Mercy”. Even though there already was Feast of Divine Mercy, as Jesus says to Faustina, “Who knows anything about this feast? No one! Even those who should be proclaiming My mercy and teaching people about it often do not know about it themselves”. Therefore, on the 2nd Sun of Easter in the year 2000, Pope John Paul declared it to be the Feast of Divine Mercy. And he even canonized Sr. Faustina that day too. He declared that day to be his greatest day.

It was his greatest day, at least until, 5 years later, on the Vigil of Divine Mercy, which providentially also happened to be a First Saturday, after receiving his Final Viaticum, the servant of Jesus and instrument of Mary was called home to his eternal rest. Next week, I will continue my invitation for us as a parish to Consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary, but for today, let me conclude with part of Pope John Paul II’s final homily, which was read on the Feast of Divine Mercy, the day after he died. “As a gift to humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness, and fear, the Risen Lord offers his love that pardons, reconciles, and reopens hearts to love. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy”. Amen! So, will you Consecrate yourself, perhaps on behalf of a fallen-away loved one or for the whole world, so that Mary can lead us closer to Jesus’ merciful love?