Palms for Jesus, Roses for Mary ~ America Needs Fatima

Today is Palm Sunday…a holy day of mixed emotions, if ever there was one. Triumphant joy in one moment, and a sense of betrayal in the next. Please know that my prayers are with you today! Now I have something important to share with you, Stanley– This May 13th, the 102nd anniversary of the first Fatima apparition will fall the day after Mother’s Day. This is a great coincidence so I want to offer you a way to give your motherTHE PERFECT Mother’s Day gift. Here’s my idea–

Flowers are springing up all around us here at America Needs Fatima headquarters. And it got me thinking about a beautiful way for a child to show his love for his mother: by handing her a bouquet of flowers. I am planning a large delivery of roses to Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal on May 13th, the 102nd anniversary of the first apparition Our Lady of the Rosary. Can I place a rose or two at Mary’s feet in your mother’s name and for her intentions? Can you imagine a more pleasing gift? Just imagine … an elegant assortment of lovely roses; nothing melts the heart of a mother quite like flowers. Or brings a warmer smile to her lips. Click here to select your own unique bouquet for Mother Mary. So, Stanley, here is your chance to send flowers to Mother Mary in honor of your own mother, living or deceased. And not just any flowers…no, only the queen of flowers will do for the Queen of Heaven. Roses. In whatever color (or colors!) YOU want to send. Please, let me explain… As you probably know already, different colored roses express different sentiments.

If your heart is full of love and devotion for your mother, choose a RED rose. If your heart swells with gratitude for the many things your mother has done for you over the years, choose the PINK rose. If just the thought of your mother gladdens your heart, place a YELLOW rose at Mary’s feet for her. And, finally, if your mother loves white roses, then you can honor that with a WHITE rose. Click here to send roses to Our Lady of Fatima for your mother — today! The choice is totally up to you! For only $7 a rose, you are invited to design your very own personal message of love to present to Our Lady of Fatima on a very, VERY special day. So as you lift your palm branches high in honor of the King of Kings today… … just think of the smile that will be on the face of the Queen of the Universe when She sees the lovely rose you have offered in your mother’s name! And there’s even something more: Click here to send your personal bouquet to Fatima. How are you going to let your mother know? Here is how:

1. I want you to have a beautiful Fatima Rose Certificate to give to your mother on Mother’s Day. With a place to write your mother’s name on it as a special keepsake! This is so that she will see what a special gift you have sent to Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal in her honor. 2. When we deliver your mother’s rose or roses to Fatima, we will send you photos so you can email them to your mother.  At the same time, Stanley, your gift offering is one that will keep on giving long after May 12th has passed and the lovely flowers have faded… ….and that is because your $7 per rose offering will help America Needs Fatima bring even more honor and glory to Our Lady with our Public Square Rosary Rallies this October. Your gift will help me reach the goal of 20,000 Rosary Rallies on October 12, 2019, to bring the Fatima message out into the streets of America. Click here to select your roses for Our Lady now! That means roughly 1 million people will be out in the public square proclaiming their love for Holy Mary, praying her rosary as she asked at Fatima and calling down graces of CONVERSION on America. Can you believe we can do all of this for just $7 a rose? Thank you for reading my rather long email; I just get really excited when I think about how much we can do for Our Heavenly Mother who has done so very much for all of us. Getting the PERFECT GIFT for your mother on Mother’s Day has never been easier—just click here and check this gift off your list today!

I remain your friend, In Jesus and Mary,

Robert Ritchie Director, America Needs Fatima www.ANF.org

PS: And when we deliver the Roses at Fatima, we will send you photos so you can forward them to your mother!

God, be merciful to me a sinner!

How can we know if our prayer is pleasing to God or not?

The prophet Hosea, who spoke in God's name, said: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). The prayers and sacrifices we make to God mean nothing to him if they do not spring from a heart of love for God and for one's neighbor. How can we expect God to hear our prayers if we do not approach him with humility and with a contrite heart that seeks mercy and forgiveness? We stand in constant need of God's grace and help. That is why Scripture tells us that "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:34).

God hears the prayer of the humble

Jesus reinforced this warning with a vivid story of two people at prayer. Why did the Lord accept one person's prayer and reject the other's prayer? Luke gives us a hint: despising one's neighbor closes the door to God's heart. Expressing disdain and contempt for others is more than being mean-minded. It springs from the assumption that one is qualified to sit in the seat of judgment and to publicly shame those who do not conform to our standards and religious practices. Jesus' story caused offense to the religious-minded Pharisees who regarded "tax collectors" as unworthy of God's grace and favor. How could Jesus put down a "religious person" and raise up a "public sinner"?

Jesus' parable speaks about the nature of prayer and our relationship with God. It does this by contrasting two very different attitudes towards prayer. The Pharisee, who represented those who take pride in their religious practices, exalted himself at the expense of others. Absorbed with his own sense of self-satisfaction and self-congratulation, his boastful prayer was centered on his good religious practices rather than on God's goodness, grace, and pardon. Rather than humbling himself before God and asking for God's mercy and help, this man praised himself while despising those he thought less worthy. The Pharisee tried to justify himself before God and before those he despised; but only God can justify us. The tax collector, who represented those despised by religious-minded people, humbled himself before God and begged for mercy. His prayer was heard by God because he had true sorrow for his sins. He sought God with humility rather than with pride.

The humble recognize their need for God's mercy and help

This parable presents both an opportunity and a warning. Pride leads to self-deception and spiritual blindness. True humility helps us to see ourselves as we really are in God's eyes and it inclines us to seek God's help and mercy. God dwells with the humble of heart who recognize their own sinfulness and who acknowledge God's mercy and saving grace. I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit (Isaiah 57:15). God cannot hear us if we boast in ourselves and despise others. Do you humbly seek God's mercy and do you show mercy to others, especially those you find difficult to love and to forgive?

"Lord Jesus, may your love and truth transform my life - my inner thoughts, intentions, and attitudes, and my outward behavior, speech, and actions. Where I lack charity, kindness, and forbearance, help me to embrace your merciful love and to seek the good of my neighbor, even those who cause me ill-favor or offense. May I always love as you have loved and forgive others as you have forgiven."

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East