In six days’ time, the FSSP’s 30th anniversary pilgrimage to Rome commences! But if you can’t make it to Italy with us this year, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out. The Missive will be there, posting from the road, so just tune in to follow the trip every step of the way. From Monday, October 15th through Wednesday, October 24th, the Missive will be dedicated exclusively to the pilgrimage, featuring pictures, videos, reflections and reports from our travels.

The troop of pilgrims, composed of members and friends of the Confraternity of St. Peter, will be led by FSSP Director of Development Fr. Zachary Akers and accompanied by North American Superior Fr. Michael Stinson. We will travel to Rome for the Fraternity’s October 18th anniversary, on which we will attend a Solemn High Mass of thanksgiving celebrated by our Superior General, Fr. Andrzej Komorowski, at Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, our parish in Rome. We will also offer Mass at the tomb of St. Peter for all the friends and supporters of the FSSP. From there we will continue on to many other destinations in central and southern Italy over the course of the ten-day journey, including Pompeii, Naples, the shrine of Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo and that of St. Michael at Monte Sant’Angelo.

Please send us your intentions to take with us as we travel to these holy sites at missive@fssp.com. We will place them near the altar at each Mass.

We’re going to be publishing updates almost every day, so be sure to sign up for our Missive email list to receive post alerts automatically and ensure you don’t miss a thing. Just enter your email address in the blue box right below this post.

Last month we told you a bit about the origins of the Sacred Heart devotions in which many of you participate on the first Friday of each month. First Friday is upon us once again, and tomorrow is First Saturday, a day similarly dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. As promised, we share with you today the origins of First Saturday.

The Five First Saturdays have their beginnings in the message of Fatima, where Our Lady mentioned that she would request Communions of reparation be made on the first Saturday of every month. She explained the details of the devotion to Sr. Lucia in a later apparition in December of 1925, and the great promise given to those who practice it. She said:

“I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the First Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.”

The devotion, therefore, is performed with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart and includes four elements: Confession, Communion, the Rosary and a fifteen-minute meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary. The latter meditation does not necessarily need to encompass all fifteen decades; one can meditate on one or more of the mysteries for the required time. Additionally, the Confession can be made within several days before or after the Saturday.

Our Lord, in an apparition to Sr. Lucia in 1930, explained why the devotion comprised five Saturdays, as opposed to another number such as nine or seven. He said that there are five kinds of offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

– blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception

– against her Perpetual Virginity

– against her Divine Maternity, refusing to accept her as the Mother of God and Mother of all mankind

– for those who try to publicly implant in children’s hearts indifference, contempt and even hate for this Immaculate Mother

– for those who insult her directly in her sacred images

The union of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary is illustrated by the First Friday and First Saturday devotions, which are usually, as they are this month, consecutive. This weekend is the perfect time to begin or continue our devotions to these holy Hearts, to make reparation to Them for own sins and for the innumerable insults and offenses to which They are subjected, and to obtain the great graces and promises attached to these devotions.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Fr. Michael Cunningham, FSSP, ordained this past May in Omaha and currently serving his first assignment at the National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori, our apostolate in Baltimore, was recently interviewed by the National Catholic Register! Fr. Cunningham speaks about his experiences in the world of professional baseball, his call to the priesthood, his work at the Shrine and how we should “play” the Faith.

www.ncregister.com/daily-news/former-pro-baseball-player-completes-transition-to-priesthood

Our thanks to Amy Proctor for her photos of Solemn High Mass at St. Alphonsus, celebrated by Fr. James Smith with Fr. Cunningham and pastor Fr. Joel Kiefer assisting. Fr. Cunningham gave first blessings after Mass.

A happy and most joyful feast day of the Holy Guardian Angels! Following closely on the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, this feast was officially added to the Church’s calendar by Pope Paul V in the early 17th century, and made obligatory for the whole Church by Pope Clement X.

Our Guardian Angels are our protectors in this life from physical and most especially spiritual harm, and are a particular guide to each of us in our journey towards Heaven. We ought to maintain a daily devotion to them, through the familiar prayer to our Guardian Angel in the morning and evening and through regular conversation with them. Your own angel – what an extraordinary gift from God! Let us not forget them or take them for granted, but let us maintain an active friendship with them, call upon them in our struggles, share with them our successes and joys and avoid the things that may displease them.

“In this, therefore, brethren, let us affectionately love His angels as one day our future coheirs; meanwhile, however, as counselors and defenders appointed by the Father and placed over us. Why should we fear under such guardians? Those who keep us in all our ways can neither be overcome nor be deceived, much less deceive. They are faithful; they are prudent; they are powerful; why do we tremble? Let us only follow them, let us remain close to them, and in the protection of the God of heaven let us abide.”

– from a sermon by St. Bernard of Clairvaux

A happy and most blessed feast of St. Michael the Archangel, the leader of the heavenly armies and the great enemy of Satan! Today is a first class feast and a day for much rejoicing. If we are not in the habit of saying the Prayer to St. Michael often, today is a perfect day to start. We ought to invoke his powerful intercession frequently in our struggle against our own sins and imperfections, and for the protection and defense of the Church. If you don’t have a copy of the prayer, you can print out the one below.

The St. Michael Prayer is included among the Leonine Prayers, that is, the prayers which Pope Leo XIII in 1884 ordered to be said after Low Mass. These prayers originally comprised three Hail Marys and the Hail Holy Queen, and in 1886, Pope Leo composed the St. Michael Prayer and added it to the original formula. Although the Leonine Prayers are not mandated in the Ordinary Form, several U.S. bishops have asked their priests to once again recite the St. Michael Prayer with their congregations at the end of Mass in response to the current crisis in the Church.

We also wish a happy patronal feast day to St. Michael Parish, our apostolate in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and to all our priests, parishioners and friends named for St. Michael!

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

During the summer months, families often take advantage of the long, warm days and the kids’ time off school to take a much-needed vacation together, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. But sometimes on vacation, when we are outside our normal schedule and traveling away from our home parish, it can be difficult to keep up our daily spiritual life, and rest for the body can sometimes mean extra stress for the soul. But what if there was a vacation that incorporated both physical rest and spiritual growth?

St. Stanislaus Parish, our apostolate in Nashua, New Hampshire, tackled the challenge with resounding success this past August. The parish hosted its inaugural Family Camp, a week-long event that took place on the grounds of Camp Fatima, a spectacular facility owned by the Diocese of Manchester and situated on Upper Suncook Lake in the beautiful hills of central New Hampshire. The Family Camp offered a full schedule of events designed to rejuvenate both body and soul and to give families a chance to have fun and to grow together spiritually. To learn more, we talked to Fr. James Smith, assistant pastor of FSSP Atlanta, who formerly served as assistant at St. Stanislaus and was the primary mover behind the Family Camp.

Fr. Smith drew inspiration from a similar camp run by Holy Family Parish, our apostolate in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Fr. Smith served while in seminary. The East Coast edition took place from August 19th – 25th, with each day divided into a schedule that included Mass, the Rosary, the Divine Office, organized activities such as rockclimbing and archery and plenty of free time to go swimming or exploring. Bonfires were held in the evening, complete with spiritual talks, and Wednesday featured a big hike up Mount Major, a special dinner and a talent show. All activities were optional except for meals, and that only because of the cost of food: all meals were included in each family’s registration fee along with accommodations in a private cabin.

If it sounds like a dream vacation for a family, the popularity of the event among the parishioners of St. Stanislaus certainly supports that description. 22 families attended, about 130 people altogether, and most said in a post-camp survey that they would return again. The cost of registration was incredibly low due to the nature of the venue: in keeping with the constitutions of Camp Fatima, the Diocese does not charge St. Stanislaus a cent to use it. Vacations can be expensive, especially for families with several children, and so the Camp offered an affordable option. The fee was just $50 per person over two (no fee for children under two), with a $400 maximum per family. And where there was need, generosity abounded: parishioners donated $1,550 to send families that could not afford it and to reduce the overall cost of the camp.

Fr. Smith’s hope is that these camps can become a more common thing throughout the North American District, with apostolates in the same geographic regions teaming up to build and grow the camps. We certainly share that hope, and with such a turnout as St. Stanislaus saw this year, it seems that such a hope is well-founded. +

On November 2nd, we commemorate the Souls of All the Faithful Departed. You can enroll the names of your departed friends and family in our All Souls’ Day Novena of Requiem Masses offered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary from November 2nd through the 10th. These souls will be remembered at this Mass and also in the daily prayers of the priests and seminarians of the Fraternity, both at the Chapel of Sts. Peter and Paul and at the Seminary cemetery.

You can read Fr. Stinson’s letter for All Souls’ Day 2018 here, and you can download the holy card, with a prayer that can be offered during the novena, by clicking the image to the right. Enroll your intentions by clicking the button below.

Enroll in the All Souls Novena 2018

Fr. Daniel Heenan, FSSP, pastor of our apostolate in Guadalajara, Mexico and director of the St. Francis Xavier Mission Trips, was recently interviewed on EWTN’s Life on the Rock program! Fr. Heenan talks about the purpose of the mission trips, the experience of the young people who participate, the place of the Latin Mass in mission work and what originally inspired him towards such work. Watch the interview below – it includes the stunning video put together by the missionary team from the Piura, Peru mission trip last year.

Missive from across the water! The sister of one of our German priests recently sent us information about a wonderful event taking place in October, and we wanted to share it with you. The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need is hosting “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” on October 18th, which, incidentally, is the Fraternity’s 30th anniversary. The initiative is an international one that aims to gather together children across the world in praying the Rosary for peace. Parents, teachers and educators are encouraged to pause their schedules to pray the Rosary with the children under their care at 9am, or any time that is suitable for them. We encourage you to join in with your own children at home, with the children you teach at your school or homeschool co-op, or with other families at your parish.

You can read more about the campaign, watch the introductory video and download materials for praying the Rosary with children at the website here.

On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of this week, we commemorate the autumn Ember Days. The Ember Days take place four times a year near the commencement of the four seasons: on the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following Ash Wednesday, and on the same days following Pentecost, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14th, and the feast of St. Lucy on December 13th. Observed in Rome at least as far back as the 3rd century, the practice of the Ember Days aims to offer thanks to God for the gifts of Creation, to ask for His grace in using them in moderation and to assist the needy.

The days consist of prayer along with fast and abstinence or other forms of penance. The September Days come at a fortuitous time, when a great deal of reparation and penance are necessary to remedy the ills in the Church. Moreover, the Ember Days were often a time on which ordinations took place, so they are a good occasion to pray for priests. Although all penances and extra prayers on the Ember Days are voluntary, let us join in as we are able and to pray for the Church and her ministers.

Convertére, Dómine, aliquántulum, et deprecáre super servos tuos. Dómine, refúgium factus es nobis, a generatiónes et progénie.

Return, O Lord, a little, and be entreated in favor of Thy servants. Lord, Thou hast been our refuge, from generation to generation.

– the Gradual on Ember Friday and after the Third Lesson on Ember Saturday