November 2018 Battlelines Newsletter

BY MICHAEL MILLER

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rom the minute you meet Ana Burgos, you can sense that she is someone special. A true leader, she has a passion and enthusiasm for Our Lady that is contagious. As a supporter of the America Needs Fatima Public Square Rosary Rally campaign almost from its inception, Ana has single handedly recruited over 700 Rosary Rally Captains, mainly in the Bronx, NY, and has also signed up captains in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. These captains held a Rosary of reparation on Saturday, October 13th at 12 noon, in unison with over 23,000 rallies held all around the world.

A champion of fostering public prayer, Ana also heads monthly rallies to make reparation to Our Lady and Our Lord, praying for the conversion of individual souls and for America. What motivates her? Love for Our Lady and Her message at Fatima, where She called for prayer and reparation, especially through the Holy Rosary. For Ana, praying the Rosary brings her peace and increases her love for Our Lady and Her Divine Son.

Through public prayer, Ana strives to evangelize the average person on the street and find lost souls. It is her devotion, enthusiasm and the simple explanation of Our Lady’s request at Fatima that inspires others to follow in her example.

Ana Burgos is just one of the faces behind the individuals that make up the 23,000 Public Square Rosary Rallies that took place on Saturday October 13th, 2018, uniting over a million souls in prayer and reparation.

You, too, can become closer to Our Lady and Her Son by prayer – just as Ana has! As faithful Catholics, we are certain of victory, and know that it will come through the hands of Our Lady and Her holy Rosary.

Robert Ritchie ...

Dear Soldier of Our Lady, November is a significant month for Holy Mother Church as it dawns with two important Feasts: All Saint’s Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2).

On these feast days, the faithful honor all known and unknown saints who worship at the Throne of God. We must not forget: these feasts are also for the living members of Church Militant. They serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration; a reminder that the ultimate goal and vocation of each soul is sainthood and victory over evil.

Unfortunately, these feasts, which are celebrated to honor the souls who suffer to be purified and made worthy to meet God face to face, are pushed aside and forgotten in today’s society. Mankind instead throws itself into a culture of frenetic intemperance and self-interest. However, as Soldiers of Our Lady, we do not forget! We strive to rise above the evils and distractions the world offers, and strive for the crown of sainthood!

This month, we already look ahead to prepare for Christmas. To counter the spirit of secularism, hold Christmas Rosary Rallies on weekends in December near busy malls and shopping centers were many souls are only looking for material things. Just as the Feast of All Saints inspires the Church Militant to fight and persevere, we should be out in the public square in December to remind all of the Infant King of the World. Be the light and miracle someone has been searching for as Advent and the Birth of Christ draws near!

May God and Our Lady bless you!

BL1803

Robert E. Ritchie Executive Director

BY JEANNE FAIRLIE

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ur Lady has a small office in Rossville, Kansas, where every year, volunteers travel from all across the U.S. to donate their time. These volunteers call people and ask them to sign up and join the Public Square Rosary Rallies, held all throughout the world on October 13, in reparation of sin.

During the period of rally captain recruitment, someone unexpected called the Rosary Rally hotline: a salesman. Initially, he called to try to offer payroll services, but by the end of the phone call, the volunteer had convinced the salesman to become a Rosary Rally Captain! The salesman participated in the international Rosary Rally event for the first time last October.

This is just another example of the power of Our Lady!

By answering Her call to arms, we allow ourselves to be an instrument to save souls.

BY THEODORA BALDWIN n Saturday, October 13, 2018, 93-year-old Roberta Lacey held her Public Square Rosary Rally in Walton, New York. This was the second rally Roberta organized after finding out about the America Needs Fatima Rosary Rallies a year ago.

Motivated to join the Public Rallies on account of her devotion to Our Lady, who has blessed her life with special care and spiritual guidance, Roberta wanted to recite the public Rosary in thanksgiving, and in reparation for the sins of the world.

Even at 93-years-old, Roberta recognized and put into action Our Lady’s plan for peace in the world, and started a beautiful new tradition, which will be carried on by another captain next year.

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ctober 13 marked the 101st anniversary of the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima to the three shepherd children. This date also marked the anniversary of the incredible “Miracle of the Sun,” in which the sun danced in the sky and seemed as if it was going to crash into the earth. On this day in 2018, America Needs Fatima organized 21,145 Rosary Rallies in the United States and a total of 23,018 in 27 countries around the world. Here are some reports from the battlefront.

Topeka, Kansas Mr. Slobodnik reported, “At our rally on October 13, 18 [people] were present. At first the honks were few, however they gradually increased. What helps a lot is someone who holds the honk sign being very animated as well as the arm signal to encourage honking. The rally was a little cold and very cloudy and damp. At the very end of the rally the sun peaked out. All of us thought that was the smile of Our Lady.

One of the participants at our rally was a lady who had been a Rally Captain before in another city. She recently moved to Topeka, and wanted to find a rally to attend. She decided to drive down to sthe busiest street in Topeka (Wanamaker) hoping she would find one.

She found ours!”

Houston, Texas Rally Captain Mrs. Leyva writes: “We had our rally with 16 other people, as those who usually attend our monthly rally went on to have their own rallies. We prayed with devotion and love to Our Lady, asking Her for the conversion of our country and Her intercession in many other issues. It was really windy and hot, so it was a challenge; the wind blew one of our banners away. We held our rally in an intersection with a lot of traffic, where a few people pulled their phones and snapped pictures. Many people were trying to read the banners as they were stopped at the traffic light.

At the end of the rally, we released a very big helium balloon Rosary into the air. It was very challenging because of the wind; we were afraid it was going to get tangled in the palm trees or buildings. We were finally able to release it and it was the most beautiful site watching the Rosary float into the air and go up to Heaven with our prayers. Many of the people driving were in awe looking at the Rosary going up.”

BY BEN BROUSSARD n Saturday, October 13, Monica Braicu held her Public Square Rosary Rally at Holy Spirit Catholic Church In Montgomery, Alabama. She had arranged with Mr. Celso Costa, a TFP-Louisiana director and Fatima Visits custodian, to have the statue of Our Lady of Fatima present. Since he was out of the country, I filled in for him.

The rally began with a procession from the church to the street corner, the Fatima statue overseeing the prayerful procession. Monica’s rally encompassed approximately 90 people of all nationalities, and various decades of the Rosary were led in different languages.

After the Rosary and prayers concluded, John Eidsmoe, professor at Oak Brook College of Law and member of Lutherans for Life, gave a short talk. Though a lifelong Lutheran, John prayed all 15 decades of the Rosary with the rest of the procession, and participated in the rally.

His talk was titled, “Defending a Higher Law.” During his talk, John connected public prayer with the larger culture war - one would hope to hear such words from thousands of Catholic Church pulpits!

Monica Braicu had given John a copy of Defending a Higher Law, by the American TFP, which he just recently completed. As a counsel member for the Foundation for Moral Law, John was thoroughly impressed with the message of the book. Hopefully, by the grace of Our Blessed Mother and Her son, John will continue on his present trajectory, and will soon become a Catholic! There is no limit to the power of grace.

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BY JOSEPHINA BLAKE

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avern Breland from Garden Valley, California, joined Our Lady’s army last year in Her Rosary Crusade for the 100 anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. This year, Lavern continued to honor Our Lady with public prayer.

Lavern’s first experience as a Rally Captain began when she called America Needs Fatima to order some materials. She and the ANF customer service representative began to talk about religion, and he told her about the Public Square Rosary Rally Crusade. Even though she had never heard about the campaign before, Lavern decided to become a Rosary Rally Captain.

With little time to prepare, Lavern went to her parish priest and asked him to help spread the word. He was supportive, and made many announcements from the pulpit in the weeks that preceded the rally. At times, Lavern would get intimidated while organizing her rally but because she knew that the discouraging thoughts came from Satan, she would say “Get away from me Satan!” and continued to work and pray, fighting to overcome negative thoughts in order to honor Our Blessed Mother. “I want to give Our Blessed Mother all I can give Her,” Lavern said.

On the day of her Public Rosary Rally, about 17 people joined Lavern in prayer. Lavern is a great example of how, with the help of prayer, we can persevere and overcome the obstacles Satan throws in our path.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

“Act, and God will act.”

—St. Joan of Arc