Letter #162, 2023: Giving Tuesday, November 28

    “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” —Jesus, Gospel of Mark 3:25

    “To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father’s plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of Christ’s prayer: “Ut unum sint.” —Pope John Paul II, encyclical letter “Ut Unum Sint” (“That they may all be one”), May 25, 1995 (link)

    “The Church must breathe with her two lungs!” —”Ut unum sint,” Paragraph 54

    “In what is necessary, unity; in what is not necessary, liberty; in all things, charity.” —Saint Augustine

    Letter #162, 2023: Giving Tuesday, November 28    

    Dear friend,

    I am coming to humbly ask you to consider giving a generous Christmas gift to Inside the Vatican magazine.

    The holy season of Advent is upon us. 

    This time of longing and waiting invites us all (including me) to stop, to breathe in the stillness of the winter nights, to pause and reflect on the world’s first, very protracted “Advent” — the waiting for Christ which lasted thousands of years after the Fall.

    And then came the first Christmas Eve… 

    The shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem were watching their flocks “by night,” Scripture informs us.

    It was not only dark outwardly. Interiorly, in the shepherds’ hearts, things must have felt very dim as well. Generation after generation had passed away, and it probably seemed that God had totally forgotten His promise.

    During those endless years of waiting, there had been wars and pestilences, exile, famine, poverty, sin and despair, occupation by the Romans… Did God still care? Was He ever going to send the Savior to redeem His people? Perhaps His promise was just a myth, a false hope?

   August 1, 1993, at Castel Gandolfo, Robert Moynihan and Gregorio Galazka present the first issue of Inside the Vatican magazine to Pope John Paul II

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    Startling news 

    And then, suddenly, the most astonishing words met the shepherds’ ears: “Be not afraid… I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

    “This day?” each shepherd must have thought, in shock. “He has come? And I am alive to witness this?”

    Darkness all around us 

    Right now, for me, keeping an eye on the news from Rome and elsewhere, sifting through it and bringing it to you can be an experience of darkness that is hard to bear. Hearing and reading it, I am sure, can also be a heavy burden for you to bear.

    We know that God has promised not to abandon us. However, perhaps we, like the shepherds, have become weary of waiting, weary of the evil and sadness which have seemingly conquered the world, weary of feeling so small in the face of such great evil.

    But, here we are, like the shepherds, each of us watching over his or her own little “flock,” our own affairs and concerns, enduring the darkness, wondering whether it will ever end.

    A day of light and solace 

    And each year, without fail, Christmas comes, almost startling us all over again, reminding us, “To you is born this day… a Savior…”

    So, each Christmas since His birth, the burden seems lifted for a while, because we see that God, in the flesh, has indeed come to fulfill His promise. He has come to be Emmanuel, “God with us.”

    Profound Gratitude 

    So in my Advent ponderings, remembering all of this, I am filled with gratitude — and hope. In gratitude for the gift:

    the Gift of the Father for our salvation: the Word, the Logos, Emmanuel, God-with-us. 

    the gift of being able to carry on my journalistic work for the past 30 years, proclaiming to you and all the world this good news, “which shall come to all the people.” 

    the gift of you, who have made this work, this proclamation, possible.

    And, like the angels, I do have good news to share! 

    1. First of all, Inside the Vatican continues to be available in print, because of your generosity!

    2. We are now offering (for free) frequent interviews, in video format and in print, with Fr. Charles Murr, Archbishop Viganò and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, and with others you will want to hear from.

    3. God willing, we plan to continue our European Inside the Vatican pilgrimages in 2024, to places like Vatican City, Assisi, Lourdes and La Salette! We have now also made four U.S. pilgrimages. Two to Wisconsin, where there is a shrine in Champion, not far from Green Bay, dedicated to “Our Lady of Champion,” who appeared to a young woman named Adele Brise in 1859 and said, “Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.” This was the simple beginning of Adele’s mission to become a teacher for the Lord and the Blessed Lady. And two pilgrimages to the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia, including a shrine to Our Lady in Emmitsburg and Christendom College in Front Royal. Here is what one pilgrim wrote: “It truly was a pilgrimage and truly grace-filled. It left me with the realization that we have a very vibrant and unique Catholic heritage in our country and it is still growing.”

    Come with us — to holy and beautiful places, in Europe or here in the United States, to see where “God has visited his people.” Visit InsideTheVaticanPilgrimages.com to see the special destinations we are offering in 2024 and beyond!

    Filled with hope, I ask for your help 

    So, filled with hope along with gratitude, I come, urgently asking for your assistance. I can’t keep the magazine going alone. This has always been a collaboration with you.

    Would you consider once again making a generous gift, a Christmas gift, to Inside the Vatican, to contribute to our financial stability in the upcoming year?

    Your help is not just needed, but is urgently needed, to keep our magazine available in print, a format appreciated by many, and the only format accessible to prisoners and various others who do not have internet access.

    If you love Inside the Vatican magazine, give yourself a Christmas gift today — contribute to its continuation!

    Special offer 

    We have two beautiful special issues of Inside the Vatican which we will send as free gifts to any donor who gives more than $100. Readers have told us the Mary issue is the best issue we have ever produced. They say the issue is a wonderful magazine to have in their homes. Readers have also praised our Special Issue on Pope Benedict XVI. They tell us the issue is extraordinary and much-appreciated, and they love it. So, any donor who contributes $100 or more will receive these two special issues as a free gift in a sign of our thanks for your support.

    If you prefer to make a donation by check or by credit card over the phone: 

    1. Mail a check payable to Inside the Vatican to:

    Inside the Vatican
    PO Box 1320
    Front Royal, VA 22630 

    2. Call and make a donation by credit card: 1-800-789-9494 or +1-202-536-4555

    My gift to you 

    Whatever you are able to do, please be assured of my prayers and gratitude for your support. May God bless you and yours with holy Christmas joy.

    As my Christmas gift to you, I have arranged to have 3 Holy Masses offered by the Dominican Friars at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, for all benefactors and readers of Inside the Vatican.

    I hope to hear from you very soon.

    Please do not forget about us today.

    Please, do not overlook this opportunity to work with us. We very much appreciate your gift, whether small or large.

    Thank you.

    In Christ, 

    Dr. Robert Moynihan and the rest of the Urbi et Orbi Team