The history of our small Catholic community obtaining Sacred Heart Church is nothing but a miraculous string of events. Many of the Third Order members who obtained the church, have been friends since the nineties and have slowly grown in grace due to Our Lady's intercession. We began our journey with the Most Holy Rosary. We asked Our Lady to guide us in matters of Faith and in time our Blessed Mother did just that. As a budding community we were still in the post-Conciliar Church, not knowing or understanding the loss of Faith that happened in the sixties. None of the members were born in the times of the traditional Latin Mass, nor were we familiar with the Second Vatican Council or any of the changes that came from it. We were simply Roman Catholics seeking the truth and the truth would indeed be given to us.

In 1999, our community would become more official, as we started a non-profit organization called Community of Hope. This organization, initially, was more secular than Catholic. We were trying to fulfill our Catholic obligations; focusing more on the Corporal Works of Mercy, rather than the more important Spiritual Works of Mercy. Still within the post-Conciliar Church, our spiritual life started to take form, simply by the intercession of Our Lady and the Rosary. When we started praying the Rosary and learning more about the inspiring story of Our Lady of Fatima, our dedication to saving our souls became more and more important. It was a step that would change our lives forever. We began to realize the importance of the Spiritual Works of Mercy especially in these times. With great fervor we started a program called "Spreading Hope", which soon became the main mission of Community of Hope. This mission consisted of visiting parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Boston and New England. We distributed the sacramentals (The Rosary, Brown Scapular, Miraculous Medal and Green Scapular) with information of their history and use. Our goal was to remind Catholics of these heavenly gifts and the necessity for them as an aid to salvation. The mission was very successful. Between 2001 and 2006 we managed to give out over 750,000 sacramentals and since then we have managed to send an additional 100,000 simply through the internet and mail-in requests.

In this time frame (2001-2003) the members of this small community were growing spiritually. After much prayer, discernment and priestly guidance, we started our religious community following a basic rule with a blessing from a valid priest. Of course this journey did not come without the disapproval of many. Many did not want to hear about Catholicism as described by the saints or even of their childhood. The loss of family and friends would be a common occurrence in those years, though admittedly, we were not the most prudent in our young fervor, but certainly sincere. That would be one of the lessons learned to prepare us for what God had in store for us.

By 2003, we had stopped attending the Novus Ordo "Mass" all together and found refuge in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church and the few places that offered the traditional Latin Mass. On the Feast of All Saints, November 1, 2003, we opened a small house of prayer, dedicated to St. Joseph, and started to live out our religious vocations under the guidance of a valid and holy priest. Of course at this moment in time, we did not know the difference between a valid priest and not, but God supplied. We also gave ourselves a name, due to our admiration of the Fatima children, who managed to become shepherds of souls. We would call ourselves the Willing Shepherds of Jesus Christ- simply meaning we were willing to shepherd souls to Jesus in imitation of the Fatima children.

At this time we were at a crossroads. In December of 2003, we were contacted by an auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, and at the same time we were to meet with Bishop Robert McKenna, O.P., a Bishop of the traditional Catholic movement. 1 Our purpose to meet him at the time was to ask questions regarding the changes in the Church. We were to meet with both of them on the same weekend, the Archdiocese Bishop on Saturday, December 27th, and on Sunday, December 28th we were to meet with Bishop McKenna. This of course made us very anxious, because we knew they would speak from opposite sides, so we again retreated to the Rosary and begged Our Lady to cancel one of them, the one she did not want us to see. This was our prayer throughout the week, and as of Friday night there was not a cancellation. Then on Saturday morning we received a phone call from the Archdiocese Bishop, cancelling only an hour before his arrival. Leaving us only with our meeting with Bishop McKenna the following day.

Though we were nervous about the meeting, Our Lady had answered our prayers by canceling our appointment with the Novus Ordo bishop. Through this small but very telling miracle, we knew to trust in the Lord's divine plan and go forward. We arrived at his chapel, attended Mass and had a meeting with the bishop. He spoke plainly, telling us of what had happened to the Catholic Church and even his own Order after the Second Vatican Council. He then proceeded to show us the documentation to back these historical and unfortunate events in the Catholic Church. His last bit of advice was to continue to pray, especially the Rosary and Our Lady would lead the way for us.

At this time we relied on continuous prayer and study regarding the spiritual crisis in the Church. This period of discernment would only confirm what Bishop McKenna had explained. How the post-Conciliar Church had changed and invalidated almost every tenet of our Faith. The changes or removal of the Seven Sacraments (e.g. the sacrament of Extreme Unction was replaced by Anointing of the Sick, which is not the same), yet all Seven Sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself and therefore cannot be abrogated. The “New Mass,” the new ecumenical prayers and removal of traditional prayers, especially of prayers that would no longer be propagated due to their ultra-Catholic tone. The removal of all reverence and saints that relied solely on divinely revealed history, such as St. Philomena and St. Christopher. Also, our findings clearly showed that the Second Vatican Council was in stark contradiction to prior councils, especially the most profound council of all, the Council of Trent (The council opened on December 13,1545 and closed on December 4, 1563). In addition to the already stated concerns, it is clearly shown that the present post-Conciliar Church has broken with Sacred Tradition, the Doctors and their teachings of Catholic doctrine and the example and written tradition of the Holy Fathers, such as St. Athanasius.

In the midst of all of this, we kept our organization Community of Hope productive, even though we no longer went to the Novus Ordo service. By distributing the sacramentals our intent was for other Catholics to be aware of these gifts from God, and to give them the same chance we had received and hopefully through grace accepted on their part, they would come to the same conclusion. Our Lady wants all souls in heaven, and certainly obtaining valid sacraments and knowing the authentic Catholic Faith would be part of that journey for anyone. It was through the Most Holy Rosary that we were able to understand clearly the ongoing spiritual depletion that has happened in the post-Conciliar Church. We saw more clearly the need to distribute the sacramentals to the faithful in order for the veil to be lifted from their eyes. With this intention in mind, we continued the "Spreading Hope" mission, the last one being in January of 2007, merely a month before we unexpectedly acquired Sacred Heart Church.

In 2005, many members of our small community were drawn to be Third Order tertiaries of the Dominican Order. After discerning this vocation we went through traditional preparation with Bishop McKenna in order to make the next step of our profession. On October 2, 2005, Rosary Sunday, we entered the Novitiate for one year of study. On October 1st, also Rosary Sunday, 2006, we had completed our year novitiate, and were received into the Third Order of Penance of St. Dominic, a branch of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and we took our final profession. The community was twelve in all, half as secular members and the other half as religious brothers living in community.

Just a few months before our final profession, our little house of prayer received many donations of religious items that consisted of large statues, Stations of the Cross, altar linens, priestly vestments and garments, sacred vessels and so on. We were overwhelmed by these donations not knowing why God would give all of this to us, especially since at the time; it was not something we sought after. We accepted the items just in case God had something planned in future for us.
It was also during this time that one of the brothers had found his priestly vocation and desired to go into the seminary. Accordingly, we knew we would need a small church in the future for him to fulfill his priestly duties. At the time we thought we had six years or so to collect the monetary needs, purchase land and have a small chapel built, an ambitious, but plausible plan.

This is where we learned how true the old saying was: "When you make plans, God laughs!" As we were preparing for brother's entrance into the seminary, the Archdiocese of Boston was in the midst of a pedophilia scandal and churches were closing left and right to pay for the settlements for their victims, and also due to lack of attendance (both clear signs that the fruits of Vatican II were from an evil tree and not from God). It was then that we decided to go to several churches that were closing and put a Miraculous Medal in the sacred ground of these churches that were set to close. With the prayer to Our Lady, that if God wanted us to save one of these churches, we would willingly do so. Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence was the first church we buried the Miraculous Medal.

Initially Sacred Heart Church was purchased by a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. But Our Lady had other plans. One of the brothers, the same one who was on his way to the seminary, managed to get a meeting with an owner of another church in Lawrence, the former St. Anne Catholic Church. It was then that we found out he was also an advisor on the planning board for the non-profit organization which purchased Sacred Heart Church. It was this moment that Our Lady really got the wheels turning. The owners of Sacred Heart Church thought it would be more beneficial to have the rectory and upper church remain for religious use, while the two school buildings, vacant convent and basement of the church would be used for their intended purpose. In February 2007, the lease to purchase deal was presented to the community and the public. The Archdiocese of Boston ferociously opposed this deal and did all they could to prevent former parishioners and new ones from coming to Sacred Heart Church's forthcoming opening. Initially the city's planning board did not accept the purposed building plan for Sacred Heart, and therefore the owners had no use for the Dominicans to take over.

But in a turn of events, the owners felt secure that the planning board would change their mind and went forward with us. The Brothers were allowed to live in the rectory and repairs to the church and rectory started immediately. Again, Our Lady would have the last say when she granted the prayers of our Dominican community and the former parishioners of Sacred Heart Church, who desperately did not want to see their beloved church turned into who knows what. We were able to save Sacred Heart Church with all thanks belonging to God.

The next problem was now at hand, we did not have the money to pay the monthly lease to purchase payments, the church was completely destroyed inside during its closing process and we did not have a priest to offer the Sacraments. Knowing God would somehow supply, we starting repairing the church immediately. Following are some examples of how God supplies for His children. One of the first major projects was the painting of the Church. We did not have the funds to paint the church, yet a kind man, who was a professional painter, offered to paint the church for only $10,000.00 paid in monthly installments. Quite a difference from the quotes we had received prior to that, which ranged between $83,000.00 to $95,000.00. As he completed his job, after working for nearly a year in the church, the only payment he wanted was our prayers.

Another example of God's divine providence would be the story behind our main altar. Our main altar was totally destroyed in the Archdiocese closing process. Soon after taking over the church, we approached a local man who worked professionally with marble. We explained our situation and how we needed to repair the destroyed altar. It was then that he told us a personal story. In the early eighties, St. Laurence O'Toole Catholic Church of Lawrence, Massachusetts was set to close. This man had gone to the pastor of the church and asked what was going to happen to the altars. The priest simply replied that they were going to be destroyed with the church. He would not hear of this, instead he removed the frontal piece of the altar and knew in his heart that he would be able to once again use this frontal piece in a Catholic Church. It took nearly thirty years for this frontal piece to be placed in a Catholic Church, but it would happen here at Sacred Heart Church. The front of the altar you see today at Sacred Heart is that of the former St. Laurence O'Toole Catholic Church, a fulfillment of his instinct almost thirty years prior.

Yet, another small miracle to note was the opening of the church. By August of 2007, the church was in good enough condition to open for traditional Roman Catholics to come and worship God as He intended. Our priest reconciled the church on August 3rd (due to the worship that existed in it after Vatican II) and would offer, publicly, the first traditional Latin Mass in the church on August 4th, the traditional Feast of St. Dominic, our Holy Father of the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans), yet another sign from God that we were being blessed and protected by His heavenly court. 2

Though we had never acquired monetary support to pay off the church, we were able to pay our monthly payments and continue the process of restoring Sacred Heart Church to its former beauty. We also have been able to have Mass offered on every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation since we have opened the church.3 This is yet another glorious triumph of God, as we did not have a resident priest and our priest had to be flown in or would have to drive in on every weekend, a task that was certainly a hardship on our priests especially since they were all elderly. Yet, they knew the importance of this church surviving in order for the faithful to receive the sacraments, therefore they persevered to fulfill the office God had given them as priest and stay loyal to the Oath against Modernism that all priests had to take prior to the Second Vatican Council.

From the beginning, our lease only included the upper church and rectory. The basement of the church remained the property of the owners. The purposed plan for the church basement was to be used as a parking garage for their upcoming apartment complex. We desperately prayed for this not to happen, for it certainly would interfere with our parish life, as we used the basement often for church functions. It was in the summer of 2009, when we received a letter saying we had ten days to remove our belongings from the basement. The parish immediately started to do a novena in honor of St. Dominic, and by the end of the novena, not only did they lift the ten day deadline, but changed plans altogether. Now the basement would be included in the purchase of the church along with the upper church and rectory, and as if that miracle was not enough the price stayed the same.

Today, our Brother in the seminary will soon be ordained, the church itself has gone down in price twice and the option to buy the church is now a growing possibility. God has now blessed us with a resident priest and the daily sacraments. Souls are receiving the last sacraments (Extreme Unction, Confession & Holy Communion) and the growth and miracles of conversion are happening frequently. We must recognize how truly blessed we are, owing all of this to the intercession of Our Lady who took pity on our lost souls and brought them to the Truth. Indeed this life comes with many crosses, crosses that are impossible to bear without the grace of God and the sweet intercession of His holy Mother. There is no point in going on about the constant slander that comes from those in the post-Conciliar Church and even those of the traditional movement. It is understood that we all have to give an account of every thought, word and deed, done and omitted, and our enemies are certainly in our daily prayers. It is important for the faithful Catholic in these times to always remember Our Lord's words found in John 15:18, "If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you." Our hope is that all will hear the call of Jesus Christ and respond in these latter times for the salvation of your soul. We beg that you may be on the side that has the teachings of centuries of popes and saints, a valid liturgy and sacraments that find their origin with Christ and His Bride, follow the true Councils, and the teachings of the Doctors and Fathers of the Catholic Church, especially St. Athanasius. Adhere to the warnings of Our Lady, that we find in Our Lady of Good Success, LaSalette, Lourdes and finally at Fatima where she said: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." Hold on to the guiding hand of our Blessed Mother, pray your Rosary and wear your Brown Scapular, as we should never forget her promise: "One day through the Rosary and the Scapular I will save the world." These were the words spoken to Saint Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1208 when she appeared to him. So be diligent in being devout children of Mary. As Our Lord chose to come to this world through Mary, it is His wish we go to heaven through His blessed Mother, most especially in these times. If you do this, you will save your soul.4 We humbly ask for your continued prayers and support as we continue to strive to do the Holy Will of God with the guidance of the Holy Ghost and the intercession of our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and St. Dominic.


ENDNOTES:
1 It should be noted here that we were received into the Dominican Order by Bishop Robert McKenna, O.P., a priest since 1958 and traditional Catholic Bishop since 1986. He was consecrated by the Most Reverend M.L. Guérard des Lauriers, O.P. Bishop Guérard des Lauriers, O.P. became a professor of philosophy at the famous clerical Dominican university of Le Saulchoir in Belgium in 1933. Under Pope Pius XII (1939–1958) Fr. Guérard des Lauriers served as a professor at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. Guérard des Lauriers O.P. was an advisor to the Pope on the dogma of the Assumption of Mary (proclaimed in Munificentissimus Deus) before 1950. From 1954 until 1955, he served as personal Father Confessor to Pius XII. His credentials were more than impressive.
With the advent of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, Guérard des Lauriers became concerned with the events taking place in the Church. In 1969, he co-authored the exposing Ottaviani Intervention which was a critical study of the new Mass. In 1970, Paul VI made public a document demanding the resignation of certain conservative professors at the pontifical universities of Rome whom adhered to the authentic Catholic Faith, among them was Guérard des Lauriers.

2 The post-Conciliar Church has changed St. Dominic's feast day to August 8th, but his feast is actually on August 4th.

3 With the exception of Ascension Thursday in 2008, which was a reminder to us all not to take for granted what God has provided.

4 At Fatima, Our Lady had confirmed St. Dominic’s prophecy as recorded by Fr. Marianus Ventimiglia author of an ancient history of the Carmelite Order, published in Naples in 1773. His work revealed how God inspired St. Dominic to prophesize that someday the Blessed Mother would give us two devotions to be known as the Rosary and the Brown Scapular. The following account is given as recorded: "In 1208, three famous men of God met on a street corner in Rome. They were Friar Dominic, busy gathering recruits to a new Religious Order of Preachers; Brother Francis, the friend of birds and beasts and especially dear to the poor; and Angelus, who had been invited to Rome from Mount Carmel, in Palestine, because of his fame as a preacher.
At their chance meeting, by the light of the Holy Spirit each of the three men recognized each other and, in the course of their conversation (as recorded by various followers who were present), they made prophecies to each other. Saint Angelus foretold the stigmata of Saint Francis, and Saint Dominic said: "One day, Brother Angelus, to your Order of Carmel the Most Blessed Virgin Mary will give a devotion to be known as the Brown Scapular, and to my Order of Preachers she will give a devotion to be known as the Rosary. And one day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, she will save the world.” She in fact gave the Rosary to St. Dominic in 1214, some six years later. Holding the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady’s Requests at Fatima were for all men to consecrate themselves to Her Immaculate Heart. In this request she has asked us to pray the Rosary, do penance and wear her Brown Scapular. In the final Fatima vision on October 13, 1917, the Virgin appeared clothed as Our Lady of Mount Carmel holding the Brown Scapular in Her hands. During this time no words were spoken. Lucia, later said: "Our Lady never looked so beautiful as when she appeared in Her Carmelite habit." The very fact that she was holding the Brown Scapular tells us that she wants us to take it and use it! Lucia again said of the Brown Scapular and the Immaculate Heart of Mary: “Our Lady wants everyone to wear it (brown scapular); it is the sign of consecration to her Immaculate Heart.”