Unite at the Foot of the Cross: February 5 – Good Friday

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Fr Richard Heilman January 6, 2024

Unite at the Foot of the Cross

February 5 to March 29 (Good Friday)

The Very Powerful 54 Day Rosary Novena
Seeking Strength, Unity & Protection

Unity in Truth

Cardinal Robert Sarah recently wrote, “For the time foretold by Saint Paul has come, ‘when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths’ (2 Tim 4:3–4) … Church unity is at stake because there is no unity apart from truth. Jesus told us clearly: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away’ (Mt 24:35). Let us trust in His word above any other because ‘you have one master, the Christ’ (Mt 23:10). Church history offers us the testimony of many Christians who preferred to say no to a world of darkness, perversion, and moral decadence, even if it cost them their lives, rather than to lose the treasure that they had discovered in Jesus (see Mt 13:44; Phil 1:21).” -Cardinal Robert Sarah, Catechism of the Spiritual Life.

We are engaged in a spiritual battle of historic proportions! We are witnessing an overreach of evil never seen before. It is important to understand Satan’s names: “diabolos” means “he who places division or separation,” and “daio,” the root of “demon,” means “to divide.” We have all seen how these outrageous demonic activities and lies have caused great division in our families and communities.

As Satan seductively coaxes more and more people away from the designs of God, these separated people look back, pointing an accusatory finger at those of us who choose to remain in the will of God, saying, “You are the cause of division because you choose not to join us in the ways of the world!!” We are called “extreme” and “fanatical” when we are simply remaining with our Lord at the foot of the cross.

Yes! We all want UNITY! But, as Cardinal Sarah eloquently states, “There is no unity apart from the truth.” Yet, we wonder if we will ever restore this unity in truth again. What can we do?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “All are called to Holiness…The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.”

We must call out to God in prayer. We must stay as close to God and His will as possible. We must trust in God’s supernatural power. We must go to Mary to seek her powerful intercession. We must become holy in God’s supernatural strength. And, we must seek God’s supernatural protection during these historic days of persecution against those of us who are simply choosing to unite at the foot of the cross.

Ultimately, this 54 day “Unite at the Foot of the Cross” prayer campaign is about seeking Strength, Unity and Protection:

Strength

President Ronald Reagan once famously stated, “We maintain the peace through our strength; weakness only invites aggression.”

St. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).

But, how do we get to this place of peace? God has revealed the prescription in so many ways that all boil down to: “When you are well-connected with Me and supernaturally strong, you will find peace.”

The “peace that surpasses all understanding” is what I want for all of us, and why I wrote the Peace Through Strength Prayer Journal. This journal guides us into practicing the very best ways of the spiritual life; the ways of staying as close as possible to our Lord; the ways of becoming strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Eph. 6:10-12).

I highly recommend using this journal – which was formulated with the guidance of Fr. Chad Ripperger – for this 54 day “Unite at the Foot of the Cross” prayer campaign. You can order your Peace Through Strength Prayer Journal HERE.

Unity

As I said, this is a historic time. The devil is emboldened like never before.

What do we do? UNITE!! Don’t get pulled into the temptation of “in-fighting.” That’s a favorite tactic of the devil. He is the great divider.

I am 100% dedicated to UNITING all of us to our Eucharistic Lord and each other. We need to grow our force; our light.

The devil is a totalitarian super power right now. We must do the “David thing” and realize that size does not matter. What matters is trust in the power of God, united as an obnoxiously loving family.

Protection

As it says in Psalm 57 …

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.

There are many prayers and sacramentals, all of which I will get into as we pray together, but the primary way to remain safe and protected is to stay with Him – at the foot of the cross – in fervent love and devotion. Start your day, just right, with the few short prayers that have been revealed to us (these are found in the Peace Through Strength Prayer Journal). Dedication to these revealed prayers are a sign you are not lacking in fervent love of Him; that you want to do it “His way”; that you seek His protection at all times.

PRAYER AND TRAINING IN HOLINESS!

This 54 day prayer campaign is also a Basic Training in Holiness. Each day, along with praying your rosary and cultivating the very best habits of prayer, holiness trainees will be provided with a 1-2 minute reflection on the qualities of excellence. The first 27 days, trainees will read from passages in scripture, quotes from saints and the catechism on one of the following: Theological Virtues, Cardinal Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. The second 27 days will be excerpts from my very first book entitled, Church Militant Field Manual: Special Forces Training for the Life in Christ.

The daily reflections for this prayer and training campaign can be found in these two places.

1) You can sign up to receive the 54 Day Rosary prayers with daily reflection in your email. Click Here to Sign Up.

2) You can join the United State Grace Force Facebook group HERE, to receive the reflections each day.

You can order the “Peace Through Strength Prayer Journal” at romancatholicgear.com