In response to a request from some of the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, I consecrated the Archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on October 7, 2017. The day was the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary; and the year was the centennial of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, where, among other things, she asked for devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
We spent the opening months of 2017 preparing for the consecration through spiritual practices and catechesis. The purpose of the consecration was to rededicate ourselves to responding to God’s call to holiness in our lives by living our vocations faithfully and well, and opening our minds and hearts to God’s grace through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
For this act of devotion to bear fruit we must continue to live out its meaning in our lives, and, in particular, must observe the practices that Our Lady requested at Fatima. I therefore encourage all of our people in the Archdiocese of San Francisco to regularly observe these practices of prayer, penance, and adoration:
Pray the rosary on a regular basis: Every day personally; and for families, at least once a week together as a family.
Receive the sacrament of Penance in confession regularly (at least once a month).Observe Fridays, the day of our Lord’s death, as a day of penance by abstaining from eating meat, and by doing some other form of fasting or work of charity
Pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Spend at least one hour a week in prayer before the Eucharist in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance on the altar.
At this critical time in the history of the world and our Church, we need to avail ourselves of the spiritual resources at our disposition, to plead for God’s mercy upon us, and to ask for the grace of authentic renewal in our lives as His disciples.
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Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone serves the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
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