U.S. needs Mary's help, says priest at Mass at national shrine

Published: 2006-11-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The United States needs Mary's intercession to protect it from terrorism and the threat of war, but it also needs her help "at a time when the moral fabric of American society is threatened," said the homilist at a Nov. 11 Mass in Washington sponsored by the World Apostolate of Fatima. With a rising rate of divorce and cohabitation, the push for same-sex marriage, the breakdown of the family, an acceptance of abortion and assisted suicide, and the "total disregard" for the sanctity of life, the U.S. is "in need of great help," said Father Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal. "Why do we turn to Our Lady at this time? ... It's because the times we live in are critical and crucial to our country and to our church," he said. The two-hour Mass, which drew more than 1,000 people to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, included the U.S. bishops' reconsecration of the nation to the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Bishop David L. Ricken of Cheyenne, Wyo., recited the prayer of reconsecration after the homily.

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