on September 15, 2022
September 15, 2022 – Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrows
Dear Pope Francis,
I humbly plead with you not to permit your Bishops to take away the Traditional Latin Mass from dioceses throughout our country. I am not a Rad Trad. I grew up under the Novus Ordo Mass and know many beloved Priests who celebrate this Mass. My father and mother who have been married for over 61 years continue to attend a local Novus Ordo Church in our diocese and we respect each other’s desire to attend either the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo Mass.
Part of my desire to serve Holy Mother Church is in the choir. About 4 years ago our Priest had to hire a new Choir Director because the current director needed to move. When the position opened up he hired a person who was rather famously known for training choirs in the art of solfège. Volunteering in this choir I noted beauty in our singing that I had not noticed before. Being a first-timer of this new way of singing it was a bit difficult to learn at first, but I continued the journey, and I gradually fell in love with singing solfège and learning Latin. I cannot tell you the joy and peace I sense within myself learning this new language and new way of singing.
Prior to and during this process, something unexpected happened. Within my heart grew a longing to wear a veil at Mass. I have to tell you that I fought this desire for some time. But the desire kept growing within me, so I checked with my husband and asked him how he would feel if I wore a veil at Mass. After a few moments of consideration, he said that he would be fine with this. As the desire did not go away I decided the next Sunday to wear a veil and from that moment on I always wear one for Liturgy. Dear Pope Francis, I share with you that I do not in any way see myself as better than those women who choose not to wear a veil but for myself, my worship at Holy Mass has become richer and deeper.
Pope Francis, you are in our family’s daily prayers. I hope to share with you a photograph that was taken next to an outdoor altar on June 6th, 2021 during the Diocese of Phoenix Eucharistic Procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi. The photograph is of myself holding our family’s Pope Leo XIII Holy Face Relic. The way our family became guardians of this Relic is extraordinary which I am happy to share with you, but I will leave a link here: https://itdoesntendhere.com/2019/03/04/st-therese-holy-face/ should you like to learn how we were introduced to the Holy Face Devotion.
When I had an opportunity to look at the photograph later in the day, I thought there was a smudge on the Face of Our Lord. However, when I zoomed in on the Image I was taken aback because what I thought was a smudge is clearly seen and appears to be a beautiful Veil wiping the Face of our beloved Lord! What might this anomaly mean? In all sincerity Holy Father, I am not sure, though I have some prayerful thoughts. For now, I will leave it for you to pray and discern.
“Oh Lord, show us Thy Face, and we shall be saved!”
Humbly, in His Holy Name,
Dawn Marie Roeder
Holy Face links: