ORDER OF MALTA MOMENT
All Members of the Federal Association are invited to participate on a pilgrimage to The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is the site of the only Marian apparition in the United States approved by the Catholic Church. Approval was received on December 8, 2010 by Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay. He also approved the Chapel at the site as a shrine.
History of the Apparition:
Adele Brise was born in Belgium in 1831. She moved to the Green Bay area with her parents in 1855. Adele was walking to the mill in early October, 1859, when she saw a woman clothed in white with a yellow sash around her waist and a crown of stars above her flowing blond hair. The woman was standing between two trees, a maple and a hemlock. Neither the woman nor Adele spoke.
On Sunday, October 9, Adele saw the woman again
while she was walking to Mass. She asked the Priest for advice, and he suggested she ask the woman, "In the Name of God, who are you and what do you wish of me?'
After mass on the same day, Adele saw the woman for the third time and Adele asked the woman the question suggested by the Priest. The beautiful Lady replied, "I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same." Adele was also told, "to gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation."
The Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858 as the Immaculate Conception. Our Lady appeared to Adele Brise one year later as the Queen of Heaven. The apparition is considered by the church as the completion of the Lourdes message. For more information on the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, click here.
Lourdes Reunion
July 18- 19
All former Lourdes Pilgrims are invited to the 2014 Lourdes Reunion at Mt. St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
There is a mass and dinner reception on Friday night and a mass and lunch on Saturday where there will be a video and slide show presentation.
Please click here to register.
Annual Appeal
Ends June 30, 2014
June 12, 2014
Auxiliary Trip to Malta
Click the photo to watch a video from the trip.
“… God bade me love one spot and serve it, and do all things however wild in praise of it, so that this one spot might be a witness against all the infinities and the sophistries, that Paradise is somewhere and not anywhere, is something and not anything.” G.K. Chesterton
From April 29th through May 6th Knights Greg August and Bill Williams, accompanied by their wives and 12 young men and women from the senior class of Chelsea Academy in Front Royal, VA to begin their journey into the New Evangelization. No more fitting a place could be chosen than the very spot where St. Paul began the first evangelization of Europe, which is the very spot where the Order gave an impassioned witness to the faith and their love of Christ. The island of Malta is not much more than a mere spot in the middle of the Mediterranean trapped between North Africa and Sicily. And yet the Order was compelled to do all things in praise of it: building defensive walls and churches to protect and defend the faith in an extraordinary way.
It was this extraordinary commitment to witness the faith which these young men and women were able to steep themselves in for a week dedicated to Our Lady, her Son, and the underlying notion that man can never be completely good, but can be noble in service to Christ. Joy, laughter, and prayer were the constant companions for the pilgrims as they sought the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.
The True was found at St. Ursula’s monastery where the students encountered one of the two remaining cloistered communities of women of the Order. They have remained united in prayer with the Order and its members for centuries. It was here the pilgrims encountered the last remaining relic of our founder, Bl. Fra Gerard. It is fitting that all that remains of our founder is his head gently placed on a pillow, poetically in unison with our patron, St. John the Baptist. The nuns came out of the cloister to greet the young men and women. They intimated that now they have names and faces to contemplate as they pray for the renewal of the Order.
The Good was encountered in the shrine of Our Lady of Ta Pinu. This is an approved apparition site of our Lady. For the Maltese this shrine serves as their “Lourdes”. Covering the walls of this shrine are the countless letters, pictures, crutches, back braces, attesting to the abundance of God’s mercy in healing His children through spiritual and physical renewal. It was here that we spiritually joined our beloved malades in Lourdes and prayed in front of the Eucharist for their intentions.
The Beautiful was presented to the pilgrims through the eyes of the afflicted. The students had the opportunity to perform songs and skits for the residence of Dar Tal Providenza. This hospital is a beautiful gift to the severely mentally handicapped in Malta. For one moment these young men and women gave of themselves so completely, one young woman expressed, “We experienced the sacrificial love of Christ. We were His to use.”
“For the first time in my life I desired the Eucharist.” A young man spoke these words on the last night of the weeklong pilgrimage to the ancestral home of the Order on the island of Malta. These words summed up a multiyear spiritual journey to engage the youth, to enliven, invigorate and to animate the hearts and minds of the youth towards Christ through the lenses of the Order. Through the grace of God we were able to witness His love and the renewal of His church.
David Howery, KM, Imogene Mazur, DM, Joseph Mazur, KM and David G. Berger.
Joseph and Imogene Mazur were recognized for their dedicated service to the community by InterServ Community Services. The David G. Berger Community Service Award award is InterServ's highest recognition. The award was presented to them by fellow Knight David Howery, Executive Director of InterServ. There were over 250 people in attendance at the dinner on May 19th. Six members from the Order of Malta are active in the InterServ diversified programs.
Interfaith Community Services, Inc. is a group of volunteers, churches and community organizations that work together in St Joseph, Missouri for change.
Nomination Election Notice
Dear Confreres:
The Nominating Committee is pleased to share the Notice of Election for 2014. Six members of the Board of Directors terms will end this year.
Each of these offices is open for election, even if the incumbent is eligible for a second term. Nominations are due by July 1st. The Nomination form should be sent to the Nominating Committee c/o the Federal Association’s office.
The Ballot will be mailed to the members by August 1st. If a run-off election is necessary, a Run-Off Ballot will be sent by September 1st.
The Federal Association Bylaws set out the election procedures and timing and the Board of Directors’ Resolution on Elections outlines the demands and the necessary experience for a leadership position. The guidelines state that potential candidates must meet a certain degree of active participation in the work of the Order and this Association and provide concrete examples of active participation, but allow for candidates who may not make the letter of the guidelines but meet its spirit. Candidates must demonstrate that they know the Order, the Association, its works, and its members.
In addition, Board members are expected to arrange travel to attend Board meetings in Washington and other cities sometimes usually requiring an overnight stay. These travel expenses are considered personal and not reimbursable by the Association.
We seek servant leaders willing and able to assume the burden of leadership and provide service to our Lords, the poor and the sick as well as to fellow members. While campaigning is prohibited, it is permissible to encourage a member to nominate or to send a nomination letter on behalf of a potential candidate.
Any member of the Nominating Committee will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the process.
Blessings in Christ,
Hugh M. Dempsey, KMOb
Chair, Nominating Committee
Msgr. Dillon and local Members with the graduating class of 2014.
The Solidarity School, an Order of Malta grant recipient, had their graduation on May 30th. Fifteen children graduated and fourteen children matriculated to the fourth grade. Msgr. Dillon opened the graduation with a prayer and encouraged the children to always keep learning. All the parents were present and stressed the importance of education.
Each student was given their diploma with an award. When the students first enrolled in preschool, they did not know any English. At their graduation ceremony they did their performance all in English.
The Atlanta Knights and Dames provided food and drinks for a reception afterwards along with a bucket of toys for each child.
On July 5th join the Federal Association of the Order of Malta and the Johanniter Order for the 5th Annual Walter Reed BBQ at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Please click here to sign up.
Today is the Memorial of St. Fleur of Beaulieu, a nun of the Order. She was known for her piety and care of the sick and poor. Click here for more information.
St. Fleur, pray for us!
Federal Association Calendar
Please click the calendar for a complete listing of all national and regional activities.
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
Federal Association, U.S.A.
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