We had a magnificent Congress at the House of the Immaculate, on August 30th and 31st, and September 1st. We joyfully celebrated our apostles who devoted themselves to enlarge the circulation of our Catholic press, our Polish and English "Michael" Journals, the Spanish "San Miguel" Journal, and the French "Vers Demain" Journal.
The Pilgrims of St. Michael belong to the army of St. Michael. They pledge to be part of it every day when they say the prayer "Enrollment under the Banner of St. Michael the Archangel". They do not fight with swords of steel, but with the sword of the truth, by spreading the "Michael" Journal. Those who take 2,000 subscriptions or more during the year are ranked "Generals" in this Army of St. Michael; those who take 1,000 are ranked "Colonels", and those who take 5000 or more are ranked Lieutenant Colonels.
Here is the list of those who took 500 subscriptions or more among our local workers:
Lionel Bournival 2,564
Mr. & Mrs. Bertrand Gaouette 2,518
Janusz Lewicki, Poland 1,879
Mrs. Simone Gingras 1,854
Dominique Bourdon 1,652
Mr. & Mrs. Yves Jacques, USA 1,586
Mrs. Diane Mayer 1,079
Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Roy 1,024
Mrs. Marie-Jacqueline Potvin 1,007
Lucie Provençal 902
Daniel Fournier 895
Patrick Tétrault 753
Mr. & Mrs. Benoît Ouellet 741
Evelyne Clément 682
Michael-Louis Jacques, USA 658
Guillaume Rodrigue 649
Robert Lambert, USA 580
Vincent Rodrigue 562
Mr. & Mrs. Lucien Parenteau 559
Henri-Louis Blais, USA 532
Gaetan Jacques, USA 528
Mrs. Micheline Thibodeau 521
Roméo Clément 509
Mathieu Couture 500
Mr. Lionel Bournival, grand champion of the local apostles, was the companion in arms of Mr. Bertrand Gaouette in tours of door-to-door apostolate in different areas. He also goes out near his home in Temiscamingue. One weekend, alone, he took 63.
"It is a privilege from God to go door to door," he said at the Congress. "I think that those who go door to door will be rewarded a hundredfold (by God). I congratulate the youth who are doing the apostolate. We need young people to relieve us. The youth have success in the apostolate because of their great simplicity in explaining things. God loves to hide His graces in simplicity."
As usual, Mr. Bertrand Gaouette already has a good number of subscriptions taken for the new year. A short time before the Congress, he went out again for ten days in the Shawville and Campbell's Bay areas, near the Ontario border. He gathered a total of 250 subscriptions.
Mr. Janusz Lewicki, our representative for Poland, comes to visit us twice a year: at the Siege of Jericho in the month of March and at the Congress. He always takes advantage of his visit among us to go on tours of apostolate with Mr. Jacek Morawa, our Polish fulltime missionary. Shortly after the Congress, the two Polish apostles were leaving for Western Canada where they will hold meetings among Polish and English-speaking groups, and visit numerous families.
The Yves Jacques family distinguishes itself by their great devotion in the Order of "Michael". The parents were crowned colonels; Michael-Louis and Gaetan, their sons, were classed as Lieutenant Colonels with, respectively, 658 and 528 subscriptions.
"For the past four years," said Mrs. Yves Jacques, "we have a post office box to receive letters from Americans who want to subscribe to 'Michaeľ or order leaflets. This year, we filled many orders for leaflets. Since the month of January 2003, we mailed 300,000 leaflets on the Rosary, and we received about 500 subscriptions."
Since the family consecrates a lot of time to the apostolate, and since Mrs. Yves Jacques home-schools her children, Miss Marie Anne Jacques, niece of Mr. and Mrs. Yves Jacques, and grand-daughter of Mrs. Cecile Larochelle, will be the new responsible for leaflet orders in the United States. She will answer the telephone and the letters. Theresa Boulrice is staying at the House of Saint Michael to help for one month.
We must be "ambassadors" of Our Lord Jesus Christ, said Yves Jacques at the Congress: "Before in Quebec, we would say to all we met on New Year's Day: 'Have a good, happy and holy Year, and Paradise at the end of your days.' We should wish Heaven for all and meditate on the end times, especially on the existence of hell. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. If someone from our family were in hell, we would be truly unhappy.
"Glory be to Jesus Christ, now and forever!' This is how the Poles greeted each other instead of 'Good day Joseph!', 'Good day Mary!' During the Easter Season, one would say, 'Jesus is risen!' And the other would answer, 'He is truly risen!' Therefore they would immediately put themselves in the presence of God. The conversation was elevated. It was high culture, a Christian culture. Today, they speak to us of the 'Pop Rock' culture. What is this 'Pop Rock' culture? It is the devil's culture. It is the culture of death. It is abortion, pornography, immodesty, immorality. To fight this, we must be on the side of the culture of life. Modesty is a part of this culture.
'We must be truly proud of our Faith. We must be an ambassador (of Our Lord Jesus Christ). An ambassador does not go about half-dressed. He goes about in a suit, dressed in a dignified and modest manner. It would be nice to see all our children in Heaven one day. We would be so happy. To finish, I recommend to all our Social Crediters to meditate on the benefits of Social Credit. If we thought about the benefits of the application of Social Credit, we would feel like doing something to bring Social Credit to the world. And we should think about bringing to Heaven all of our brothers and sisters.
"What would Social Credit be without God? It would not be Social Credit. We must always have the Rosary in hand and spread Social Credit." - Yves Jacques
Mr. Yves Jacques is right: we should always "have the Rosary in hand and spread Social Credit" by soliciting subscriptions to "Michael". It is the Blessed Virgin who asked us to "make Her known and loved through the recitation of the Rosary". Our Rosary Crusade in the door to door is therefore a request expressed by our Mother in Heaven. We should persevere in this magnificent apostolate. Mrs. Diane Mayer and Mrs. Marie-Jacqueline Potvin participate every Saturday on the Rosary Crusade. Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Roy are models because of their regularity on the Rosary Crusade every Saturday.
"The Rosary," says Mr. Bernard Roy "is a whip against the devil. 'Michael' is another whip against the Financiers and Communists. Do not try to separate the Rosary from Social Credit. Both are for justice, for distribution, for peace, for the protection and defense of the family. The pastor in our parish said: 'This year it is necessary that Catholics speak up, move, and act because, more than ever, the family sanctuaries are being openly attacked by Freemasonry.' We no longer have the right to be silent, in hiding. It is the time of the apostolate! All to the apostolate!"
Let us embark immediately on the apostolate in order to reach our subscription objective for the new year. The new Social Credit year began on August 16th. Since the month of August, some pilgrims have put themselves on the way to obtaining their subscription objective.
From August 21st to the 24th, Mr. Yves Jacques, his sons, Michael-Louis and Gaetan, and Raymond Boudreau went to Lewiston, Maine. They gathered about 300 subscriptions to the "Michael" Journal. During the week preceding the Congress, Vincent Rodrigue and Patrick Tetrault gathered 40 subscriptions in two days in l'Islet. These two Pilgrim-warriors were crowned Lieutenant-colonels: Patrick Tetrault, 753 subscriptions; Vincent Rodrigue, 562 subscriptions. We would also like to stress Guillaume Rodrigue, Lieutenant-colonel with 649 subscriptions; Mathieu Couture, 500 subscriptions.
After the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, Mrs. Simone Gingras, Mrs. Marie-Jacqueline Potvin, Mrs. Adrienne O'Donnell, Lucie Parenteau, and Yvette Poirier left for a tour of apostolate in Gaspe, in the regions of Matane and Mont-Joli.
Mr. Benoit Ouellet, Mr. Patrick Tetrault and Mr. Emile Daigle left for Nova Scotia to visit families in the door to door. Mr. Christian Burgaud went to hold meetings in Saint Georges de Beauce, St. Odilon, and Thetford Mines, on September 12, 13 and 14.
Mr. Lambert Boucher assisted at our Congress for the first time. He signed an objective for 500 subscriptions. He wants to launch himself on the Rosary Crusade in the door to door in his own parish. He often comes to give time in Rougemont. On August 16th, in Lachine, Mr. Melvin Sickler and Mr. Boucher gathered 29 subscriptions.
Many countries were represented at our Congress: Mexico, by Mr. and Mrs. Guillermo Beltran; Ecuador, by Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Armando Reyes; Poland, by Mr. Janusz Lewicki and Father Jaworowski, a professor from the University of Lublin; Ireland, by Miss Evelyn Ward; and France, by Mr. Christian Burgaud. Several of our beautiful families and our good apostles from Connecticut and Massachusetts attended. Mrs. Elaine Zvengrowski came from Calgary, Alberta, and Mr. Lucien Parenteau from Peace River, Alberta. We had good Pilgrims from New Brunswick, Ontario, and every corner of Quebec. There was a Polish group from Toronto and from Montreal.
In front of the stage, one could read the following banner: "Let us follow our Holy father on the road of apostolate. The Rosary and Social Credit will put an end to the scandal of poverty."
It is our young Full-time Pilgrim, Lucie Parenteau, who launched the slogan for the year: AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS.
"We have," she says, "in the year that has just ended, made an exceptional year in leaflet distributions. This year, we should make an EXCEPTIONAL YEAR to solicit subscriptions to 'Michael'. We must make the 'Michael Journal known.
"Mr. Gerard Mercier often spoke to us of the mystique of the subscription. 'Do you know what it means the mystique of the subscription?' Mr. Mercier would ask. 'Mystique means devotion, cult, and ardor for an idea, for an art, for a work, for an apostolate. He who has the mystique of the subscription to 'Michael thinks only of this.' To make AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR OF SUBSCRIPTIONS, we must go on tours of apostolate in the door to door."
The participants at the Congress signed their engagements with determination. Here enclosed is the list of the engagements. Be Social Crediters and courageous, come lend your support to this army of apostles who devote themselves. We must enlarge the battalion to face our enemies who are strong: Freemasonry and Communism.
We need to have 100 colonels to have 100,000 subscriptions to "Michael". If Mr. Mercier was alive, he would say: "Such and such should raise his objective to 1,000 instead of 500." Let us not measure the sacrifices we impose on ourselves. Let us launch ourselves immediately in the apostolate. Let us not wait until winter begins. See the list of people who have fixed themselves a subscription objective. If you have not yet signed up, send us your signature with an objective worthy of your Social Credit convictions and of your possibilities.
Conversion! Conversion! Penance! Penance! Prayers! Prayers! Action! Action! Put an end to amusements of all sorts! Let us put aside worldliness. Let us give all our free time. Among Social Crediters, we should meet only for the apostolate.
The participants at the Congress were filled with enthusiasm by our new apostles from Ecuador and Mexico. Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Armando Reyes, from Ecuador, understand the importance of spreading Social Credit throughout the whole world. Since last April, Mr. Carlos Reyes is the editor of our new Spanish Journal "San Miguel". With a Spanish journal, we can reach the people of South America, Central America, and Spain. There are also many Spanish citizens in the United States. There are 300 million Spanish-speaking people across the world.
"We have the joy of reading, the writings of Louis Even," said Carlos Reyes. "We are all called to work in the Lord's vineyard. Working in 'Michael' is a way of working the Lord's vineyard and arriving at the Kingdom of God."
On September 6th, Mr. and Mrs. Guillermo Beltran and Mrs. Carlos Reyes participated on the Rosary Crusade in the door to door in Nouveau-Bourdeau, Montreal: Mrs. Patricia Beltran and Marcelle Caya, 50 subscriptions; Mrs. Carlos Reyes and Lucie Parenteau, 42; Mr. Guillermo Beltran and Benoit Ouellet, 16; Mrs. Micheline Thibodeau and Diane Guillemette, 32; Mr. Melvin Sickler and Mr. Christian Burgaud, 43 subscriptions. Our visiting pilgrims were delighted with their day of apostolate. They will do the same in their own countries.
Before knowing the work of "Michael", Mr. Guillermo Beltran and Mrs. Patricia Beltran went on a trip to Jerusalem, Belgium, and other places. During their trip, they met homeless people, very poor immigrants, and people who suffer a great deal. They would have liked to help them. Here are Mrs. Beltran's words:
"All these homeless, these poor immigrants are our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. We were happy to do apostolate work around these poor people. But at the same time, we were sad to see them suffer. We asked ourselves if this apostolate was a failure. The people told us: we want a solution to fix the problem of poverty. We returned home to Mexico. My husband is always very enthusiastic, very optimistic. He has a great confidence in Saint Joseph. He said to me: Let us go to Canada. I answered: You are not thinking it through. We cannot go to Canada. We have no money. — Don't worry, he answered me, God will provide."
During their visit to Canada, Mr. and Mrs. Beltran met Mr. Pierre Marchildon and Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Reyes, in the church of Saint John the Baptist in Toronto. They saw the picture of Saint Michael in the church.
"Mr. Marchildon was very enthusiastic," said Mrs. Beltran "he spoke without stopping. I realized while he was speaking that he brought the solution to eliminate poverty in the world. He left us four journals to read. We began to study this. We understood that this was the solution against poverty. Therefore we said to ourselves: Now we can go back to our homeless, and we will say to them: We have found the solution to take care of the problem of poverty in the 'San Miguel Journal'. It is Social Credit that is the solution for all.
"When we returned to Mexico, we went to an area we had visited 20 years ago. The church in this parish is consecrated to Saint Michael. The people in this area are very spiritual, but they are not educated. We did not speak much. But there are words that they understood: justice, the defense of the family, stopping poverty. We gathered 24 subscriptions at $5.00 each. We were very touched because this $5.00 represents for them one day's meals. What I like a lot is that you are a movement of families: father, mother and children. Our three children told us: Don't forget to bring us berets and medals. We also want to accompany you in the door to door. Finally, I would like to say: Long Live 'Michael'! Long Live Louis Even! Long Live Mrs. Cote-Mercier! Long Live Social Credit!" - Mrs. Patricia Beltran
Mr. Beltran, a live-wire, is wildly enthusiastic for the Work of "Michael". He wants to set ablaze all of Mexico and the whole universe. On the Monday morning of the Congress, Mr. Guillermo expressed his admiration for the distinguished and modest dress of the Pilgrims of Saint Michael, the young as well as the old, and the Christian decency of the ladies. The two couples of great Spanish apostles are truly people who needed to be found in Latin America to spread Social Credit. They are profoundly Catholic and Social Crediters. They love the work of "Michael". Mexico and Ecuador will each receive their own container of leaflets. Mr. Melvin Sickler went to Mexico for two months to support Mr. and Mrs. Beltran in their apostolate.
Pierre Marchildon 3,684
Jacek Morawa 3,413
Melvin Sickler 3,030
Lucie Parenteau 2,333
Yvette Poirier 2,108
Marcelle Caya 2,093
Diane Guillemette 1,678
Christian Burgaud 1,658
Diane Roy 1,597
Gerard Migneault 1,413
Rejean Lefebvre 1.080
Mr. Pierre Marchildon, Mr. Jacek Morawa, and Mr. Melvin Sickler are the Full-time Pilgrims on the road. They have excellent results in all their apostolate tours across the United States, in Ontario, and sometimes in Western Canada. They have the mystique of the subscription. At the Congress, Miss Marcelle Caya showed us that the "apostolate is divine":
"You have noticed," she said, "that the apostles who spoke were happy because they had done the apostolate. It is the same thing in the Gospel, when the apostles returned from the missions; they were all happy because they had chased away the demons. Our Lord said to them: "But do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you; rejoice rather in this, that your names are written in heaven." (St. Luke, 10:20)
"The name of the apostle is written in Heaven. Our name is written in Heaven because God has chosen us. It is not we, ourselves, who have chosen to follow 'Michael'. It is God Who chose us for our mission: the mission of the apostolate. It is divine — the apostolate. "Michael' is also written in Heaven because 'Michael' is a journal of light. 'Michael' needs carriers of light. We must put ourselves to the apostolate. To do the apostolate is to follow Our Lord, it is to take up one's cross and follow Him."
Mr. Marcel Lefebvre, our printer, gave us a report of the amount of leaflets printed and distributed during the year that just ended. Here is Mr. Marcel Lefebvre's information:
A total of 31,655,000 4-page "Michael" leaflets were printed during the year that just ended, of which 7 million were on the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II on the Rosary. These leaflets were published in six languages: French, English, Polish, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. 2.5 million 16-page leaflets on the Rosary were distributed in Quebec. 34 people came to help in the printing room.
Mr. Salvatore Barresi, Jr. and Mr. Peter Sacco distributed 300,000 leaflets during the year in the big city of Boston. Paul-Emile Julien's family covers the area of Sudbury and Chelmsford with leaflets. In France, we also have some zealous leaflet distributors. Mr. Ernest Duranceau and his son cover the cities of Limoges, Larochelle, Bordeau and many other cities and towns. They travel across the departments of Charente, Dordogne, Gironde, Haute-Vienne, etc. Mr. Pierre Guillemot distributes thousands of leaflets in the streets of Paris. Mrs. Trappler and Mrs. Sy flood Alsace with them.
Mrs. Lyne Mason, from the area of Midland, Ontario, puts bundles of leaflets in the back of churches, with the pastors'permission. In Hamilton and its surroundings, Mrs. Adrienne O'Donnell and Mrs. Lyne Mason put leaflets in 17 churches. On those days, they distributed 4000 leaflets in all and gathered 10 subscriptions.
Mr. Guy Rodrigue himself led leaflet assaults in different areas of Quebec. They were 48 to 55 people on each assault. There are 109 pilgrims who participated in the leaflet assaults, of whom many were young people. Mr. Guy Rodrigue had the leaflet distributors who were present come up on stage at the Congress. There were some from all age groups, complete families; father, mother and children. A total of 128,000 16-page leaflets were distributed in these assaults.
"We must act to counter evil," said Guy Rodrigue. "With each leaflet that we distribute, we say an "Ave Maria". Imagine, a city that receives 50 distributors in one day. The road, the apostolate, it is our vocation."
On September 13th, Andre and Joel Roy, grandsons of Mr. and Mrs. Leopold Soucy, invited all the distributors to come cover the Madawaska, New Brunswick, area. They were a battalion of 75 distributors. Among the group, Mr. Yves Jacques and Guy Rodrigue; and Mrs. Yves Jacques with Mrs. Guy Rodrigue did the door to door to subscribe to "Michael'. The men took 48 subscriptions and the wives 30, and they recited 26 decades of the Rosary in the home. Meals and sleeping accommodations were furnished to everyone by the Soucy, Roy, and Bernier families. Bravo, dear parents and dear young people! Cover the entire world with "Michael".
Let us undertake an EXCEPTIONAL YEAR with the Rosary and the "Michael" Journal in hand. Solicit subscriptions to "Michael", a Catholic and patriotic press to overcome Freemasonry and High Finance. Let us recite the Rosary every day. The Immaculate will crush the head of the infernal serpent.
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