Day 3 – Day of our Consecration to the Unborn Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe
The morning began with Father Michael leading us in morning prayer (the Liturgy of the Hours) and then Mass for the pilgrims at St. John Neumann Monastery.
We left for the St. Alphonsus Monastery in Winnsboro, TX to meet with Father Dominic Long for a tour and the Redemptorist seminarians from Houston for lunch. The day was cloudy and cold, a windy wintery day. We were greeted at the front door by Father Dominic and he brought us into the Monastery. St. Alphonsus is not a typical Monastery. It was actually a family estate home. The owners had bought the acreage for their children and grandchildren. The Redemptorists have made a few changes to the home. They added a Chapel and a meeting room. The house has several bedrooms and bathrooms which are used for Redemptorist and Religious retreats. Behind the house is a pool and further back is a fishing pond.
We toured the main house and enjoyed the beautiful Christmas trees and manger scenes that decorated the house. After we toured, Father Dominic, left us to prepare for the lunch. We prayed the Angelus and midday prayers with Father Michael. Then Father Dominic invited us into the dinning area. Lunch was lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and dessert. We ate lunch with the priests, brothers and seminarians on retreat there.
It was a blessing to sit with the four brothers who were going to be Ordained Deacons in Houston on December 31st. They were so excited and looking forward to their ordination. We had a nice conversation learning about each other. I asked them about themselves and they wanted to know about PAPA. Especially, they pleaded for PAPA prayers while they continue their discernment. They wanted to be a part of PAPA and to pray for us.
After lunch we left St. Alphonsus Monastery and headed to Tyler, Texas to meet with our PAPA Bishop Joseph Strickland.
We met Bishop Strickland at the Diocese Office of Tyler. The Bishop met with us in a large meeting room.
So, we began with a prayer and then Olivia reintroduced ourselves to the Bishop. Olivia explained that we were on a pilgrimage to consecrate to the Unborn Jesus through Our Lady of Guadeloupe. She also recalled when we met him last year and interviewed him in Winnsboro. She mentioned that on the day we met, he was dedicating the Redemptorist’s St. Alphonsus Monastery and there was a lot happening. We wanted to meet him personally to explain what PAPA’s apostolate is about. Bishop Strickland remembered us and said that he wears his PAPA T-shirt and cap often.
Olivia continued to tell Bishop Strickland that PAPA is an international nonprofit lay organization whose sole purpose is to pray for priests and to spread our prayer to others. We are an apostolate of prayer. She told him that we have 154 priests and 138 members which is a total of 292 members within our 3 years of formation.
Then Mary Jo asked Bishop Strickland if he would mind telling us his story of how he responded to the Lord’s call. His story was beautiful. He was born in Fredericksburg, Texas. His parents moved to Atlanta, Texas when he was a young child. His family was very involved with St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Atlanta. There were several uncles in his family who were priests and priesthood was always in his mind. He decided to pursue the priesthood at the end of his high school days. He went to Holy Trinity Seminary. There, he began to realize that the priesthood was his vocation.
Bishop Strickland was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1985 in the Diocese of Dallas. His first assignment was Immaculate Conception Parish in Tyler, Texas. Father Joe served the diocese in many ways before he was assigned to study canon law at Catholic University of America. He received his title Monsignor by St. Pope John Paul II. Monsignor Joseph E. Strickland was appointed as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler by Pope Benedict XVI on September 29, 2012 and consecrated by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo on November 28, 2012.
Bishop Strickland or as he preferred Father Joe was shaken a year later when Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement as Pope. Then Bishop Strickland said that he seemed to be involved in more administrative work than in pastoral. During these times of confusion, he realized that he needed to go back to the Gospel. He felt that he needed to catechize his community. So, as Bishop/Father Joe explained, “I began to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church to my people.” Then he used YouTube to reach further and started the Philip’s Institute.
Mary Jo told Bishop Strickland that we follow him on the Phillip’s Institute, YouTube and Twitter. She mentioned that our members share when he makes statements especially concerning pro life issues and moral issues and immediately, we pray for him and for his protection. Then she asked Bishop Strickland if there was anything more that we could do to help him. In answer, he suggested that we encourage priestly vocations. He asked that we pray for and encourage young men who are prayerful or thinking about the priesthood.
Then Olivia asked Bishop Strickland if he would pray the PAPA Prayer for the Unborn with us and bless us on our consecration day to the Unborn Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe. He blessed us after we prayed together and then he blessed our mementos of our Consecration.
We were so blessed to have had the chance to visit Bishop Strickland, a Good Shepherd, a humble down- to-earth man, and a defender of our Catholic Faith.
After our visit with Bishop Strickland, we visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler. There we prayed Divine Mercy Chaplet and Our PAPA Prayer for the Unborn. Father Michael led us in a reflection of the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He left us with many questions regarding Our Lady of Guadalupe for us to seek the answers.
After we prayed we went to eat dinner and then return to Dallas. Father Michael wanted us to go to the St. John Neumann's Monastery to drop him off and to receive his Christmas gift -
PAPA Top Secret II - The Secret to Eternal Life
What a beautiful gift! What a blessed day! Thank You, Father Michael!
