August 22nd, 2019, 2:00 - 3:00 PM
Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Our Lady is calling us to pray for Canada
In October of 2018, I got a call from a long-time acquaintance, Dennis Girard, who runs a wonderful Marian ministry. At the time of his call, I was at the Queenship of Mary's Stella Maris convent on Merivale Road, doing some last minute plaster-sanding of their Chapel. I was working furiously trying to finish up as the painter was coming in the very next day, so this job had to get done that night. (Readers might recall Socon or Bust's efforts in this regard. We ended up raising over $11,000 for the Convent's renovation, thanks to the generous support of Socon or Bust's readers and friends.)
Anyhow, as I was sanding like a madman with plaster dust all over me, my cell phone rang. Somewhat annoyed, I glanced down to see who it was. I saw Dennis's name pop up. I was curious about why he would be calling, so I answered the phone. After the introductory pleasantries were out of the way, Dennis asked me if I would help get the word out concerning a Rosary Mission which he was organizing. I told him that that should be no problem. An email to my list, a posting on Facebook, announcement to the Men's Breakfast group I belonged to....no problem. Easy-peasy. Then the discussion turned to his efforts about putting Lansdowne Park on the map as an integral part of a Catholic pilgrimage site here in Ottawa.
"Whoah", I thought to myself, "what's this about?" My mind immediately connected his efforts to the Marian consecration which occurred in the previous year, on Canada's 150th anniversary.
And then he got right into the whole story about the 1947 International Marian Congress at Lansdowne Park which attracted over 200,000 pilgrims from around the world.
What?! How come I had never heard about this? That's not all that I had really little or no clue about. The other thing that I had only a faint knowledge about was our national Marian Shrine at Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec (“the Cape”). To read about this amazing story about Our Lady's visit to our home and native land, click here. What a tragedy it was that, as Canadian Catholics, we have devotions to Fatima, Lourdes, Guadalupe, etc. but not so much to Our Lady appearing in our own backyard! This has got to change! We need a Canadian solution to our cultural mess
and the endless Church scandals, and Our Lady of the Cape is the key to the Canadian restoration. In fact, she is the key to the re-evangelization of our country and yet her role in this arena is scarcely acknowledged or realized. I am absolutely convinced of that.
The reality here is that we cannot win this fight or evangelize without Our Lady being front and center of our efforts. It's as simple as that. Canada is a culture of death, a frozen spiritual tundra where it's winter 365 days a year, but like in Narnia, there is a thaw happening everywhere. From Brazil to Chicago to the recent pro-life gains in the U.S., the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the victory over Satan, and the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 are playing out right before our eyes. In Canada, there are signs of hope and victories too, and with the historical pedigree of the 1947 International Marian Congress, that victory is taking place at Lansdowne Park with Our Lady and some unfinished business.
The year 2022 will represent the 75th anniversary of the Congress and the 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Ottawa. Canadian Catholics need to recognize the signs of the times and act as if we really and truly are participants in salvation history because we are. We, at the Marian Movement Devotional Trust, are convinced that Our Lady is leading us to another event at Lansdowne Park in comme
moration of the original Congress. We don't know how big it will be, but we are convinced that it will be significant. To get there, we are planning various events, pilgrimages, and retreats to build up to the 2022 National Marian Pilgrimage to Lansdowne.
The first event is something called the Rosary Bowl, a cheeky appropriation of U.S. College Football Bowl venues. To read more about the history of the Rosary Bowl, click here. To learn more about this exciting and unusual event at Lansdowne Park on August 22, click here. And here is your personal invitation to join us for this kick-off event:
(As an aside, given that this event is happening at Lansdowne Park with its rich football history, the Rosary Bowl and Lansdowne Park are a natural partnership. In fact, the proverbial last-second "Hail Mary" pass in Football also has a rich Catholic heritage, reaching back to 1922.)
So when you come, bring your Rosary and your Football, and throw up some real Hail Mary's in the spiritual battle we're in! But we need your help to promote this amazing event, and in particular, raise a few bucks to pay for some promotional material, and other organization expenses. We've set a modest goal of $4,000.
Here's the donation link.
In the "Additional Note" box, proudly state "I am a Buster" to indicate that you are coming from Socon or Bust! Thank you! Besides donating a few bucks to our efforts, here are a number of other things you can do to help us:
Pray
Rejoice
Spread the Word
Actually show up at Lansdowne's Rosary Bowl on Aug. 22 (Oh, and by the way, if you're employed, take a vacation day and come.)
Volunteer in the future
Keep Donating and Praying
Pope Pius IX once said: "Give me an army praying the Rosary and I will conquer the world."
Based on the existential crisis we face today in the Church and society, we should clue-in if we have not yet figured it out: our army is in disarray and therefore we are being conquered instead of doing the conquering. But we are going to change that in a big way. The Rosary and Our Lady are essential and irreplaceable in our evangelization efforts. We need to bring Marian piety into the center of our evangelization efforts. Do we want to conquer the world for Christ, or do we want to kick tires with useless programs or more bureaucracies, where we recycle the Faith in our Catholic ghettos? Time to break out of the echo chambers and really evangelize by just being ourselves PUBLICLY, Catholic.
I would also like to personally make a special appeal to Catholic men.
Dear brothers! The time has come to step up and take some responsibility and leadership in bringing our country back to the Lord through Our Lady's intercession. In 1947, 40,000 men processed the Pilgrim Statue of our Lady of the Cape from Notre Dame Cathedral to Lansdowne Park. Can you imagine if that scene was repeated again in 2022?! It would be an incredible sign of hope -- not only in Canada but around the world. It would light a fire under us, and inflame a zeal in this country (and internationally) that has never seen before. We need to do this! So let's do it!
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