FATIMA CELL PROGRAM FOR SEPTEMBER

Themes

THE HOLY GHOST: The Holy Ghost is the Soul of the true Catholic Church, and the Author of all inward sanctity; He is the Spirit of Truth Who guides and governs the true Church of Christ, speaking through the lawful successors of the Apostles, true Catholic Popes and Bishops. No true amendment of life is possible without the infallible guidance of the Holy Ghost, and the help of His grace, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Church.

OUR MOTHER OF SORROWS: In her final apparition, Our Lady appeared at Fatima as Our Mother of Sorrows, to emphasize the effect the sins of mankind have upon her tender and Immaculate Heart. This apparition is also emblematic of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. Our Divine Lord told Lucia, "Have compassion upon the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, which is covered with thorns which ungrateful men drive therein at every moment, while there is no one who does an act of reparation to withdraw them for her." During this month we especially consider the life-long sorrows which, like seven swords, pierced her tender and loving Heart. (Feast of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary—Sept. 13th; The Seven Dolors of Mary—Sept. 15th)
THE PRIESTHOOD: Our Lady of Fatima told Jacinta, "Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and the salvation of souls. The disobedience of Priests to their Superiors and to the Holy Father is very displeasing to Our Lord." The Sacrament of the Sacred Priesthood instituted by Our Divine Lord provides us with the priceless treasure of grace in the Sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Pray and sacrifice for the perseverance of all true Catholic priests, and for an abundance of priestly vocations to continue the work of the Church as assistants to the Shepherds of the Flock.
YOUTH MONTH: Our Lady appeared to children at Fatima and asked them if they were willing to offer themselves to make sacrifices for poor sinners, to make reparation for the terrible sins against the infinite majesty of God; thus the Angel demanded of them when they were playing, "What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal!" Promote and sponsor Fatima Youth Cells in grade and high school; the Fatima Youth Crusade; spread the message of Fatima to young people to counteract the diabolical forces which assault today's youth on every side.
OPENING PRAYERS: * Come Holy Ghost
* The Litany of Loretto
* Hymn:
What a Sea of Tears and Sorrows
* The Rosary with meditation on each mystery
* Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
* Prayer to Our Mother of Sorrows
MEDITATION: * From the "Imitation of Christ" * Or on the Dolors of Our Lady
                       from "The Glories of Mary"
STUDY & DISCUSS: * Officers' reports; Cell Memos * Reading of the Salve Maria Regina Bulletin.

First Meeting

  1. COME HOLY GHOST: The Feast of the Holy Ghost (Sept. 6) commemorates the continued observance of the Pentecost Season. Study excerpts from Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical on the Holy Ghost, and endeavor to better understand the wonderful role of the Holy Ghost, in the Incarnation and Redemption, in the Catholic Church, and in our own sanctification. Discuss also the importance of the Sacrament of Confirmation and the strict obligation (under pain of sin) of making a fervent preparation for it. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII—Divinum Ilud; Sermons by the Most Reverend Bishop Francis Konrad Maria, "The Holy Ghost and Humility of Heart"; "Preparation for Confirmation: Dispositions"; Catechism lesson on Confirmation and  the Gifts of the Holy Ghost; meditations and reflections from the Community Novena to the Holy Ghost.

  2. MARY IN DOCTRINE AND DEVOTION: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Mother of the Good Shepherd; The Holy Name of Mary; September apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Salve Maria Regina, current issue, "The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"; "The Holy Name of Mary"; "The Glories of Mary" by Liguori; article on the September apparition of Our Lady of Fatima; Sermons by the Most Reverend Bishop Francis Konrad Maria - "Mary the Dawn", & "Who is She That Cometh Forth as the Morning Rising", "The Holy Name of Mary", and "Our Lady of Fatima."

  3. "TO RESTORE ALL THINGS IN CHRIST": This year marks the 100th anniversary of Pope St. Pius X’s encyclical E Supremi, calling for a "Catholic Restoration of all things in Christ". Read and discuss parts 1—5 of the encyclical, which treats of the saintly Pontiff’s trepidation upon his elevation to the Supreme Apostolic Office, but which he determined to fulfill that "Christ may be all in all". Identify the spiritual disease to which he attributed the religious devastation of his time, and trace the footprints of the present apostasy to the Holy Father’s accurate diagnosis 100 years ago. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: "E Supremi" on the Restoration of All Things in Christ."

Second Meeting

  1. FORCES OF ERROR: Unmasking Chardin’s Modernist Manifesto: Chardin’s Posthumous Influence. Following the death of Teilhard de Chardin in 1955, his gross errors against the Catholic Faith were published by his sympathizers, and widely read by numerous priests and religious. Discuss the present "Teilhardian Triumph" as manifested in the heretical "Ecumenism" of John Paul II. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Unmasking Chardin's Modernist Manifesto, "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" on the Errors of the Modernists.

  2. MARY IN DOCTRINE AND DEVOTION: Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sept. 15)-see this month's theme). Discuss particularly the first three Dolors as explained by St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori in his "Glories of Mary". Feasts of Our Lady of La Salette and of Our Lady of Ransom. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Sermon by the Most Reverend Bishop Francis Konrad Maria, "Mater Dolorosa"; "The Glories of Mary" by Liguori.

  3. PRAYER, THE CHIEF DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN: Introduction to the Ascetical Doctrine of St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori on Prayer. The absolute necessity of prayer is taught all throughout the Holy Scriptures and by all the Fathers of the Church, but Christians are woefully careless in their practice of this critical means of eternal salvation. Sadder still, many of those who preach do so but little concerning the doctrine of prayer, and confessors often fail to communicate it to their penitents. There are, moreover, many popular spiritual books that do not speak sufficiently of it. But there is hardly anything that preachers and confessors and spiritual books should insist upon with more vigor and energy than prayer. Our temporal and spiritual necessities are so varied, that we must have recourse to prayer as the best means for communicating our wants and receiving whatever we need. Since God owes nothing to anyone, we must ask of Him in prayer those things we need, seeing that He has established prayer as a necessary means to obtain what we need. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Prayer: the Chief Duty of the Christian, Introduction.

Third Meeting

  1. THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS: Discuss the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the blessed sign of Christ's Victory and our Salvation; recall the command of Christ to carry our own cross after Him by a daily crucifixion, to sin, self-love, and the world; witness the fulfillment of this fundamental doctrine in the heroic self-denial of St. Francis of Assisi, who attained such a union with Jesus Crucified that he merited to have the holy Stigmata imprinted upon his body -- the Feast of the Imprinting of the Stigmata of St. Francis. Discuss the ways in which we are called to be "crucified with Christ" if we, like the saints, are to rise with Him to eternal life. (15 min. report & reflection; briefly discuss application)
    Reference: Sermon by Bishop Francis Konrad Maria, "The Exaltation of the Holy Cross", and "The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi"; Proper of the Mass for the Feast of the Stigmata; books: "The Little Flowers of St. Francis", and "The Life of St. Francis" by St. Bonaventure.

  2. FATIMA & YOUTH: Words of the Angel of Portugal to the Fatima children: "What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal!" Discuss the diabolical forces which assault today's youth on every side, threatening to pervert them morally and destroy them spiritually -- materialism, secularism, relativism, state-sponsored "correct thinking", sex education, moral depravity, immodesty, permissiveness, heresy; decay of church, family, and society; over-emphasis on secular education and social prestige, etc.; the Church's true teaching on the guidance of Christian youth; example of the Fatima children; the urgent necessity of Fatima Youth Cells for all Catholic children and Espiritu Cells for all Catholic teenagers to safeguard their Faith and save their immortal souls. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Encyclical on Christian Education of Youth by Pope Pius XI; selected sermons by the Most Reverend Bishop Francis Konrad Maria.

  3. OUR GLORIOUS CATHOLIC HERITAGE: The True Origins of North America—Long before the Dutch and British established their Freemasonic Republic in 1776, the first foundation of American settlements (after, of course, the tribes of the native Indian population) were the Catholic missions and cities established by the zealous French, German, and Italian missionaries in the North and Midwest of the continent, and the equally zealous Spanish missionaries throughout the Southern and Western parts of the continent. This comprises the glorious Catholic heritage of North America, established by the intrepid missionaries, Catholic explorers, and zealous martyrs long before the pollution of American shores by the Puritans, Anglicans, Methodists, Dutch Calvinists, and other heretical sects, sowing the evil seeds of a Freemasonic empire. Among the courageous early Catholic missionaries were the renowned North American Martyrs of Quebéc, Upper New England, Ontario, and upstate New York. Read excerpts from "The Mission to the Hurons" and discuss the valuable spiritual lessons to be gained from these heroic spiritual pioneers. (10 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: "The Mission to the Hurons".

Fourth Meeting

  1. FORCES OF ERROR: Unmasking Chardin’s Modernist Manifesto: Following in the Footsteps of Disobedience. Conclude our study of the Modernist master by identifying his descendents in heresy, especially the independent, false traditionalist priests who openly denounce the Apostolic Authority of true Catholic Bishops. Discuss the absolute necessity of a permanent teaching and governing authority in the Catholic Church, which is precisely what Christ established, to protect the faithful from the spiritual anarchy which results from the pride and disobedience of men such as Teilhard de Chardin. (15 min. report, 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Unmasking Chardin's Modernist Manifesto, "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" on the Errors of the Modernists.

  2. THE HOLY CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD: Discuss the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and how it makes mere men participate in the eternal Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Review the seven steps to the Priesthood, and recall the reverence and honor that this gradual elevation teaches us for the priesthood and the episcopacy. Distinguish the invalidity of "orders" in the Modernist sect, which has destroyed the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the chief function of the Holy Catholic priesthood. Finally, review the words of Jacinta regarding priests, and discuss the critical importance of prayer and sacrifice for priests and priestly vocations. (15 min. report - 10 min. discussion)
    Reference: Leaflets - "The Sacrament of the Sacred Priesthood" & "Why Pray for a Priest"; catechism lessons on the Sacrament of Holy Orders; Sermon by Bishop Francis Konrad Maria, "Feast of Christ the King: Anniversary of Ordination to the Holy Catholic Priesthood."

  3. COURT OF THE QUEEN: How does meditating upon the lives of the saints inspire us to a more perfect living of our consecration to our Heavenly Queen? Discuss two or three of the following: St. Eustachius, the Holy Helper; St. Jerome; Sts. Cosmas & Damian, Heavenly Physicians; St. Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia. (10 min. report & reflection; briefly discuss application)
    Reference: Martyrology.

CLOSING PRAYERS: * Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost
* Commemoration of the Stigmata of St. Francis
* The Fatima Prayers
* Hymn: "Mary, How Sweetly Falls that Name"
LEAFLETS OF THE MONTH: * "The Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood" (.20)
* "Why Pray for a Priest" (.50)
* "A Pattern of Work and Prayer for Fatima Youth Crusaders" (.15 ea.)
* "Children, Your Mother is Calling" (.20 ea.; 30 for 5.00)

Cell Plan of Apostolic Action for September
* To promote the Message of Fatima * Sanctification of self, family, neighbor
* Conversion of sinners, salvation of souls * Adoration, reparation, total consecration


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