Return to The Reign of Mary No. 164
The Reign of Mary No. 164 – Letter from the Editor
Vol. XLVIII, No. 164: Letter from the Editor
May 31, 2017
Feast of the Queenship BVM
Dear friends in Our Lady,
Praised be Jesus and Mary. As I write these words, the religious of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen are completing the current school year. You are probably aware of the fact that, in addition to living and promoting the message of Our Lady of Fatima, we are dedicated to the great work of the education of youth. The Congregation operates a number of schools throughout the United States for youth of all grades (K-12).
It would be impossible to overstate the excellence of Catholic education, which ensures the future of our religious congregation, of our parishes, and of the Church in general. To borrow the words of Father Bruno Vercruysse, SJ, writing in the late 19th century: “Education forms men, molds generations, decides the fate of individuals in time and eternity, the fate of families and of kingdoms. Good education gives worthy priests to the sanctuary, legislators and just magistrates to the state; it supplies good children to families, and forms those who are fitted to be the heads of households; it gives protectors to religion and saints to heaven. There are other works of zeal, more striking to the eye than the instruction of children and the education of youth; but none more solid, more fruitful, more worthy of the esteem of God and men.” These are words of high praise, to be sure, but they are not by any means an exaggeration.
We encourage you members of the laity to do all that you can to support our Catholic schools. For we are all members of the Mystical Body of Christ, and as such, we all have a share in the works of the Church. Above all, pray for the success of our Catholic schools and for many more religious to dedicate themselves to this indispensable apostolate.
In this issue of The Reign of Mary we begin a new column entitled Catholic Heroes of America. We are all familiar with the lives of many of the saints, but are not so well-informed about the great souls who promoted the Catholic Faith in our land. We hope in this column to elucidate the lives of these men and women, to whom we owe so much.
May we all never forget to thank God each day for the gift of faith! In an age of apostasy and infidelity, it is no small grace — one of which we are certainly undeserving — to hold the true Faith. May we never take it for granted. And finally, we look forward to seeing a large turnout at our annual Fatima Conference, to be held this year, the centennial of Our Lady’s apparitions, on October 11-15.
In the service of Jesus and Mary
Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
(Email Father)