February 2015

Dear Friend,

Before leaving this earth, Jesus reminded his disciples that they should not be afraid of this evil world.  Why?  Because he has conquered the world, as well as won for us the gift of eternal life.

Each spring the Church asks us to remember, not only Christ’s miraculous Resurrection, but also the same resurrection which awaits you and me after our short passage on this earthly life.

I know it’s not always easy to remember this wonderful promise when someone dear to us dies or when death comes knocking at our own door.  At these moments of serious crisis, we often forget to meditate on the suffering Christ in order for us to have the courage to overcome the sting of death of our loved ones.

At those times we must try our very best to remember Christ’s promise that everything in this life will pass away eventually. We must also remember the promise that a life of eternal peace, joy, and happiness awaits each of us when our timely journey on this earth has ended.

Please let that be your prayer when you celebrate Easter on April 5.

That will most certainly be my prayer for you during the Easter Season.  Besides my personal prayer, I have also registered you for a personal remembrance in two solemn Mass Novenas to begin on Easter Vigil.

One nine-day Mass Novena will be prayed in Jerusalem where Our Lord rose from the dead, and the second here at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Shrine in Carthage, Missouri.

If there are some important needs in your life which you would also like prayed for, or if you wish to enroll all those you love in the Easter Mass Novenas, please write them on the enclosed form.

Please send a donation if you could along with your prayer request form.  Your generous help will be

directed to the financial support of our seminarians and for our Shrine’s many important ministries.

If you have children or grandchildren in school, you then know the very high cost of education in today’s society.  The cost for educating our seminarians is certainly one of our community’s biggest financial burdens.  Any financial help you can send will be most deeply appreciated.

An Easter Votive Candle will be lit at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Shrine for anyone sending an Easter donation of $30 or more. And, you will also receive the Divine Mercy Gift.

Wishing you and your family a Blessed Easter Season,  filled much with God’s rich blessings.  And lastly, all those enrolled in our two nine-day Easter Mass Novenas will also have each of their own personal needs prayed for in both Mass Novenas.

In the peace of the Lord’s resurrection,

Fr. Raymond M. Dien, CMC

P.S. If your Easter donation is $100 or more, I’ll see that a memorial plaque, with your name inscribed upon it, is placed in the Shrine’s Peace and Prayer Garden.  I’ll also see that a gift tag is attached to one of the large Easter lilies to be displayed in the Shrine’s sanctuary this Easter.