<\/p>\n Now more than ever it is crucial that you be \u201cwatchers of the dawn\u201d, the lookouts who announce the light of dawn and the new springtime of the Gospel <\/p>\n FOR <\/strong>a couple of weeks, I have sensed that I should share with my readers a parable of sorts that has been unfolding recently in my family. I do so with my son’s permission. When we both read yesterday’s and today’s Mass readings, we knew it was time to share this story based on the following two passages:<\/p>\n In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. (Yesterday’s first reading)<\/span><\/p>\n Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers… (Today’s first reading)<\/span><\/p>\n You see, when my eldest son Greg was born some 19 years ago, I had an overwhelming sense that I needed to take him to my parish, and before the altar, consecrate him to Our Lady<\/em>. The “anointing” to do this was so strong… and yet, for whatever reason, I delayed, postponed, and put off this lingering “divine directive.”<\/p>\n Several years later, around the age of twelve, something suddenly changed in Greg. He withdrew from his brothers and his family; his playfulness and humor dissipated; his incredible giftedness in music and creativity became buried… and tensions between him and I increased to the point of breaking. Then we found out, about three years later, that our son had been exposed to pornography and that he had found a way to view it without us knowing. He shared how, the first time he saw it, he was horrified and wept. And yet, like a rope tightening itself around the hook of curiosity, he found himself being dragged into the darkness of the lie that the world of porn is. Nonetheless, tensions increased as our son’s self-esteem plummeted and our relationship deteriorated.<\/p>\n Then one day, at my wits’ end, I was reminded of that interior and unrelenting call: that I was to take my son to the local church, and there, consecrate him to Our Lady. I thought, “Better late, than never.” And so, Greg and I knelt before the Tabernacle and a statue of Our Lady and, there, I placed my son firmly into the hands of that “woman clothed in the sun”<\/em>, she who is the “morning star”<\/em> heralding the coming of Dawn. And then, I let him go… Like the father of the prodigal son, I decided that my own anger, frustration, and worry was doing neither of us any good. And with that, Greg left home a year or two later.<\/p>\n Through a series of situations and events over the next year, Greg found himself unemployed and with no where to go\u2014that is, except for an open invitation to join a Catholic missionary team that his sister had once been on. Knowing his life had to change, Greg sold his car, packed a small bag, and headed toward home on a small motorbike.<\/p>\n When he arrived at our farm, I embraced him in my arms. After he packed a few more things, I took him aside and we talked. “Dad,” he said, “I see what I’ve put mom and you through and what has to change in my life. I really want to grow close to God and become the man I am supposed to be. I’m seeing so many things now in the light of truth….” Greg went on for the next hour sharing what was stirring in his heart. The wisdom that came out of his mouth was remarkable; the contrition, unexpected and deeply moving, was like seeing the first ray of dawn after a long, dark night.<\/p>\n Coming to his senses he thought, ‘… I shall get up and go to my father’… his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ (Luke 15:20-21)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n With tears in my eyes, I held my son and told him how much I loved him. “I know dad. I know that you love me.” And with that, Greg gathered his things and drove off into the country to join his new brothers and sisters to become ministers of the Gospel. Like Peter, who was still in his boat when Christ called him… or like Matthew the tax collector, who was still sitting at his table… or like Zacchaeus, who was still up in his tree… Jesus invited them, and Greg (and me)\u2014not because they were perfect men\u2014but because they were “called.” As I watched Greg disappear into the evening dust, the words rose in my heart:<\/p>\n …this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found. (Luke 15:24)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n With every week that passes, my wife and I are utterly amazed at the transformation taking place in our son’s life. I can barely speak of it without welling up with tears. Because it was totally unexpected, totally unforeseen… as if a hand from Heaven swooped him up. The light has returned in his eyes; his humor, giftedness, and kindness is touching his family all over again. Moreover, he is witnessing <\/em>to us what following Jesus looks like. He knows he has a long journey ahead, as do the rest of us, but at least he has found the right road… the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Recently, he shared with me that he has found grace in the most difficult times through the Rosary, <\/em>and thus, Our Lady’s help. Indeed, as I entered my office this morning to begin writing this, Greg was leaning over his open Bible, a Rosary in his hand, immersed in prayer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE PRODIGAL RETURNS<\/p>\n The reason I share all of this with you is that Greg’s story is a parable of what is happening with Russia. In 1917, just weeks before the Communist Revolution broke out in Moscow Square, Our Lady appeared to three children with a message:<\/p>\n [Russia] will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated<\/strong><\/i>… To<\/em><\/strong> prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if <\/em><\/strong>not, she will spread her errors throughout the world\u2026<\/strong><\/em> \u2014visionary Sr. Lucia in a letter to the Holy Father, May 12th, 1982; The Message of Fatima<\/em>, vatican.va<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But for whatever reason, the popes delayed, postponed, and put off this “divine directive.” As such, Russia did indeed spread her errors throughout the world causing untold pain, suffering, and persecution to break out across the globe. But on March 25th, 1984 in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II in spiritual union with the Bishops of the world, entrusted all men and women and all peoples to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:<\/p>\n O Mother of all men and women, and of all peoples, you who know all their sufferings and their hopes, you who have a mother’s awareness of all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, which afflict the modern world, accept the cry which we, moved by the Holy Spirit, address directly to your Heart. Embrace with the love of the Mother and Handmaid of the Lord, this human world of ours, which we entrust and consecrate to you, for we are full of concern for the earthly and eternal destiny of individuals and peoples. In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be thus entrusted and consecrated. \u2018We have recourse to your protection, holy Mother of God!’ Despise not our petitions in our necessities\u201d…<\/strong> \u2014The Message of Fatima<\/em>, vatican.va<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Without wading into the controversy that lingers today over whether the “consecration of Russia” was as Our Lady requested, we can, at the very least, say that it was an “imperfect” consecration. Like the one I did with my son. It was late, and I made it in desperation… probably not with the words that I would have used years earlier. Nonetheless, Heaven seems to have accepted it for what it was, along with John Paul II’s Act of Entrustment, because what has happened in Russia since then is utterly remarkable:<\/p>\n On May 13th,\u00a0less than two months after John Paul II\u201ds \u201cAct of Entrustment,\u201d one of the largest crowds in Fatima\u2019s history gathers at the shrine there to pray the Rosary for peace. On the same day,<\/em> an explosion at ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/moscowdawn-1024x737.jpg\")
Moscow at dawn…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\nof which the buds can already be seen.<\/strong>
\n\u2014POPE JOHN PAUL II, 18th World Youth Day, April 13th, 2003;<\/span> vatican.va<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"collapseussr_Fotor\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/collapseussr_Fotor-2.jpg?resize=223%2C209&ssl=1\")
the Soviets\u2019 Severomorsk Naval Base destroys two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets\u2019 Northern Fleet. The blast also destroys workshops needed to maintain the missiles as well as hundreds of scientists and technicians. Western military experts called it the worst naval disaster the Soviet Navy has suffered since WWII.
\n\u2022\u00a0December 1984: the Soviet Defense Minister, mastermind of the invasion plans for Western Europe, suddenly and mysteriously dies.
\n\u2022 March 10, 1985: Soviet Chairman Konstantin Chernenko dies.
\n\u2022 March 11, 1985: Soviet Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev elected.
\n\u2022 April 26, 1986: Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident.
\n\u2022 May 12, 1988: An explosion wrecked the only factory that made the rocket motors for the Soviets\u2019 deadly SS 24 long-range missiles, which carry ten nuclear bombs each.
\n\u2022 November 9, 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall.
\nNov-Dec 1989: Peaceful revolutions in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania.
\n\u2022\u00a01990: East and West Germany are unified.
\n\u2022\u00a0December 25, 1991: Dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [1]<\/sup><\/a>reference for timeline: \u201cFatima Consecration \u2013 Chronology\u201d, ewtn.com<\/a><\/span><\/span>