We’ve all heard of Joshua and how he led the Israelite army around the walled City of Jericho but I bring this to your attention to encourage you to attend a short English Mission at St James, April 6, 7 & 8 with Fr Rick Heilman. 

Fr Heilman teaches, inspires and warns millions of viewers in his podcast, “The Grace Force” and recently announced a 54 day rosary campaign for God’s grace to fall upon each of us individually and on our nation at large. In a recent podcast he said, “I believe, the Holy Spirit has called me to pray this 54-day novena every morning at 6am in a rosary walk around the Wisconsin State Capitol. While I am letting others know I am doing this, I fully expect to be walking alone.” Maybe he will be walking alone or maybe he won’t. But you gotta love a guy who is willing to repeat one of God’s old-fashioned strategies to defeat the evils of the day. “So, the people shouted and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat.” (Joshua 6:20) Praying the rosary is kind of like shouting to heaven. Yet I’m glad Mary doesn’t require us to shout the prayers, aren’t you? 

Jesus is transfigured in today’s gospel as a way of showing Peter, James and John that God wins in the end. Period. God’s enemies might look like they are winning, but they won't. St Paul in his letter to the Philippians laments the enemies of God, who he renames, “the enemies of the cross of Christ” by declaring, “they are proudest of things they ought to think shameful.” Fr Heilman will encourage us to pray, pray and pray. I believe he named his podcast “Grace Force” after the new branch of the military “Space Force” was formed not long ago. Be that as it may, there are many things going on in our nation and even in our homes that can easily be seen as examples of things we should be ashamed of, yet sadly are things people are proud of. 

Some might say walking around a State Capitol praying a rosary is silly. Do you? I don’t think so. It’s a very humble sign of a man who believes we need God’s divine intervention. God’s ways are indeed mysterious. In fact, that story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho is part of those “dark passages” of the Bible, as Pope Benedict XVI says in a wonderful Encyclical “Verbum Domini”. B XVI acknowledges that the meaning of the conquest of the lands of Canaan, with all the killing and violence are most “obscure and difficult” to understand. Such a fighting spirit can only be appreciated if the extent and deep rootedness of evil practices is appreciated. Jericho and indeed all of Canaan was home to the violent and gravely immoral practices of false gods, like: Baal, Asherah, Yam, Mot and one we need to be quite aware of today, Molech. There were cults of child sacrifices, shrines for incest, homosexuality and bestiality. 

Will you pray a rosary everyday till Divine Mercy Sunday for a revival of the true faith?