March 2024 - Chairman’s Corner Friends – As I write this note, Lent is drawing to a close while Good Friday and Easter are right around the corner. Even the weather here in Northern Virginia is rejoicing with an early Spring. It seems that creation is joyfully crying out in celebration of our Lord’s upcoming Resurrection but…Lent is not over yet. I keep thinking about how Father Vincent freely gave his life for “his” men. His gift was a dim but true reflection of our Lord’s gift to each of us from the Cross. Both our Lord and Father Vincent were driven by the same motivation – a love of souls that surpassed any instinct for personal preservation. I ran across a quote from John Cardinal O’Connor that captures this idea much better than I can, “….Christ died to pay for our salvation….Christ suffered and died because of the dazzling value of each individual soul. Had only you been alive in all this world, He would have come and suffered and died for you.” I feel strongly that we can say the same thing about Father Vincent – Father would have suffered and died even if there had been only one man on the battlefield.
Supporter Stories: Bob had a devotion to Father Vincent for several years and kept Father’s prayer card in his car. One morning after Mass, he and several friends gathered for coffee and had the opportunity to honor and pray for Father Vincent’s intercession. Then he headed off to work. A few hours later, Bob was in a terrible car accident. A car pulled out from a side road and clipped the back of his car while he was going about 55 mph causing his car to roll over multiple times. Miraculously, an EMT was getting off work and was right there to help Bob escape through the passenger side window that had been shattered. Surprisingly, he had no internal injuries or broken bones. Below is a photograph of his vehicle, and as you can see, Father Vincent “left his calling card” on the driver’s side window. It was Bob’s prayer card which somehow made its way there during the accident and was firmly lodged inside the window. This is one of those “favors granted” that we will never be able to prove as a miracle, but we know that our Grunt Padre was there. Thank you, Father Vincent, for keeping Bob safe.
God bless, Steve Stanley Status of our Cause: Recall that our next step is to submit answers to the questions posed by the theological consultants from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome. To do this work, Archbishop Broglio assembled a new Historical Commission and they have been hard at work collecting new testimony and documents that are responsive to the questions. Great news: They have completed their work and submitted their answers. Now we just need to complete the administrative work – things like oaths, depositions and other validating documents and submit the whole package to Rome. This is exacting work and must be completed properly but the end is near. www.capodannoguild.org Like us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/capodannoguild Follow us on Instagram! - Father Vincent Capodanno Guild (@fathercapodannoguild)