Now is the Time

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

This was the sentence that my Dad and his classmates used during their typing class to measure their typing speed. I've always thought these words were very fitting for my Dad and the rest of his class. During their final year of high school every one of these young men and women in that Class of 1945 knew they would either be drafted or would volunteer to confront the ferocious evil that existed over the eastern and western horizons.

75 years after my Dad and his classmates graduated, here's the updated version of that sentence:

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their Church, their country, and to their world.  

Our Church, our country, and our world need you and I to confront the evil that is markedly visible in the streets of our beloved country, providing surreal videos and images that previously, mostly came from elsewhere in the world. The evil of COVID is seen in the suffering, the division, and the fear it creates. We no longer have the luxury of letting someone else fight the battle. We need to do our part.

Today's evil is more threatening to our way of life and civilization than anything else we've ever encountered. Like the heroic brave men and women who flocked to recruiting offices over the past decades, now is our time - to commit to at least one hour per week of scheduled Adoration.

During the time we spend in the presence of our Lord, we can thank Him for our lives, our country, our family, and for so many other gifts. We can beg Him for mercy, peace, and protection to be upon our country, our state, and our communities. We can pray for ourselves and for our family members to find inner peace, and to be forgiving and strong during these times. We can pray for our priests and our bishops who are the shepherds of our souls. We can pray for our seminarians who are preparing to be our shepherds.  There is so much to pray for in this fight against evil.

In Mandan we are blessed with Christ the King Church, Spirit of Life Church, and St. Joseph's Church all offering scheduled Adoration. But they all need more adorers. Here at Christ the King, we'd like to grow our Adoration back to the pre-pandemic schedule and even bigger.  At Spirit of Life where there is 24x7 Adoration, they have many empty time slots and other time slots that need more Adorers. St. Joseph's also needs more adorers for their scheduled times. The parishes in Bismarck also offer Adoration. No matter where you live in the Bismarck-Mandan area and no matter your schedule, you will be able to find one or more hours to be with our Lord.

To get signed up for an hour (or more!) at one of the Mandan parishes - please contact:

Christ the King:  Call Margy at 701-663-0022

Spirit of Life:  Call the Parish Office at 701-663-1660

St. Joseph: Call the Parish Office at 701-663-9562

Now is the time, now is our time, don't delay.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may God bless and protect us.

Deacon Bob