Friday, February 09, 2007

The World Apostolate of Fatima and Pledge

OLOF
One of my favorite places when visiting New Jersey is the Blue Army Shrine, located in Washington, New Jersey. The picture below is a statue of Pope John Paul II near the pond area of the shrine.

JP

To learn more of the history of this amazing shrine and apostolate, click HERE

Which brings me to this post. Have you made your pledge yet? The following is taken from the 2006 Issue 3 of Soul Magazine and my pledge card:

What is the Pledge?

The pledge is a positive way for an individual to respond to Our Lady's Fatima Message of prayer and sacrifice. By pledging, a person offers daily to God the sacrifices in fulfilling the duties of their state in life and keeping His law, as acts of reparation for sinners. This is a daily offering, which includes the Rosary and other prayers, and while it is non-binding, it is an offering one promises to renew often, especially in moments of temptation.

What Are the Essential Conditions of the Pledge?

There are four practices that an individual promises to fulfill to the best of their ability:

1. Pray the Rosary daily.

2. Consecrate one's self to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Wear the Brown Scapular as a sign of your consecration to Our Blessed Mother.

3. In reparation for sinners, offer to God the sacrifices demanded by your daily duty in keeping His law. This can be fulfilled through recitation of the Morning Offering, or a similar prayer.

4. Accomplish the devotion of the Five First Saturdays of the month, including fifteen minutes of meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary.

What is the Morning Offering?

This prayer is modeled after the Eucharistic Prayer recited by the Angel of Fatima at his third appearance in 1916.

"O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus present on all the altars of the world, joining with the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day."

"O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them together with myself, to Mary Immaculate --That she may best apply them to the interests of they most Sacred Heart."

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!


What are the Benefits of Making the Pledge?

There are seven benefits:

1. You know you are fulfilling Our Lady's conditions to obtain the conversion and the peace of Christ for the World.

2. You obtain numerous indulgences through the Rosary and the Scapular.

3. You become eligible for the spiritual graces of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. These are graces received in this life, at the hour of death and after death.

4. Your name is sent to Fatima and buried near the apparition site.

5. You share in the prayers of millions of members of the Apostolate.

6. You become a spiritual child of Saint Pio.

7. You participate in the new Evangelization proposed by the Holy Father.

Is Making the Pledge Enough?

All who Pledge are encouraged to help learn, live and spread Our Lady's message of Hope, Peace and Salvation. This can be done by simply leaving Pledge cards in the back of a church. Or, more effectively, by helping others understand the critical need to spiritually nourish the world and this is accomplished by the Pledge developed by Sister Lucia in response to Our Lady's request at Fatima.

How Do I Obtain a Copy of the pledge?

You can visit their website by clicking the title above or by writing them at the following:

The World Apostolate of Fatima, USA
P O BOX 976
Washington, NJ 07882-0976

or email at service@bluearmy.com

or calling 908-689-1700 ext. 18

2 comments:

Sarah Reinhard said...

Love this! Thanks for spelling it out and including it in the Carnival this week. I am going to print it out and make an effort...

EC Gefroh said...

Thanks Sarah!