Dear Knights of the Immaculata!

Allow me to inform you, that I was received on 17 December 2014 by His Eminence Cardinal Ranjith, archbishop from Colombo, and on January 17 by His Grace Gregory Antonysamy, archbishop from Chennai. To each of them I could give my books „Who are you, o Immaculata”, and „The Immaculata Our Ideal”, and both Cardinal Ranjith and Archbishop Antonysamy were very thankful for these modest gifts. In April I will be received by the archbishop from Delhi. Also meetings with the archbishops of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are foreseen.
Therefore I want to write you this letter, to ask your fervent prayers for the good issue of these meetings. Why they are so important? Because the glory of God and the salvation of many souls is at stake!

You know about the terrible crisis afflicting the Holy Mother Church since 50 years. The reasons of this crisis has been pointed out by the highest authorities in the Church. Benedict XVI e.g. just before his election stated, that it is the indifference and relativism, the abandon of the eternal values. This means, that nowadays almost nobody cares to give the Most Holy Trinity all glory and honour in seeking God’s will and trying to please HIM and not to offend and insult him. Others, like Cardinal Ottaviani or Prof. Romano Amerio stated, that it is the abandon of the missionary spirit, which is about to destroy the Church. Pope Paul VI used the very strong image of the “smoke of Satan, that entered the Church”. In fact, the last half century the great majority of Catholics has been focusing on life on earth, and even today this is the main occupation of the large majority of the clergy. Almost nobody speaks out the eternal truths about heaven and hell, about the short life in this “valley of tears”, which is a constant battle between good and evil, between the “City of God” and the “city of man” guided by the enemy of our souls. It seems, that the solemn order of Our Lord Himself is ignored by many: “Go, teach all nations, baptise them … Who believes and will be baptised, will be saved, who does not believe will be damned!”
The fruits of such an abandon of the very essence of Our Holy Faith are so catastrophic, that more and more priests and bishops come back to their essential obligations as pastors of the souls: to remind the faithful about the necessity of living in the state of grace, to fight against sin, and so to save their souls. And when they see, that nowadays so many Catholics loose the faith and join various sects or becoming atheists, they would like to do something to spread the Faith again, to convert the infidels and heretics to Our Lord Jesus Christ. However, immense obstacles arise before them and they will say: “these truths are not any more attracting to anyone, and certainly not to the youth. If we start to preach like a John Mary Vianney or Saint Francis Xavier, everybody will be bored and many will run away completely. Materialism and principles of Freemasonry govern the whole world. We can’t do anything.” And an even worse argument: “Nobody of my collaborators is interested in such matters. They prefer to continue the habitual way etc.”

These arguments are very serious, and humanly spoken cannot be overcome. There is only ONE chance: the Immaculata! She has proved her power ‘to crush Satan’s head’ and to ‘vanquish all the heresies all over the world’ by innumerable miracles all over the world in all times, but specially in the two last centuries. One of these miracles is Saint Maximilian Kolbe and his Militia Immaculatae. Another is Fatima and the devotion to the Immaculate Heart. How many millions of people have been miraculously converted to the Catholic Faith, how many Catholics have become fervent, how many children and youth got fascinated in contemplating the example of the Knights of the Immaculata, and especially THE knight, Saint Maximilian himself!

So we want to say to these bishops and priests: try it! Consecrate your parish, diocese to the Immaculate Heart, let the people know the life of Marian saints like Maximilian Kolbe, Grignion de Montfort. Enroll your faithful in the Militia Immaculatae, so they may become HER children, slaves, apostles, soldiers, knights!

And again: unfortunately those bishops who desire to work for the salvation of souls and even bring back to them a certain Marian devotion are nowadays generally so full of other issues, so occupied, that they have no time, and because nobody of his collaborators knows about this, there is no chance, that they may really get involved in these marvels of God’s grace through the Immaculata.

But as prayers obtain everything, I asked humbly and beg your prayers for those bishops willing to speak with us. That the Immaculata herself may touch their hearts and guide their intelligence towards these great means of salvation. And if only one bishop in the whole world would get enthusiastic with the MI and spread it amongst his flock, the transformation of his faithful will be a visible sign of HER VICTORIES for the rest of the world.

Just to make you understand, that the simple benevolence of a bishop brings already good fruits: on January 17 – 18, I could have a recollection weekend in “Stella Maris” college in Chennai, one of the most important girl’s colleges in India run by good religious sisters. The good mother Superior received my very kindly as she knew about the positive attitude of His Grace towards us. You cannot imagine, how thankful I was, when some of those 39 new knights, which were enrolled in the Militia Immaculatae the 18 January told me, how many graces they have received since they know about the importance of Our Lady. Other were happy to hear about Mary, what they never heard before – what a wonderful mother and queen SHE is!

In advance thank you, that each one of you in this above mentioned intention would say one decade of the Rosary during one week, or maybe even during one month?!

God bless you.

Yours very thankfully in the Immaculata

Fr. Karl Stehlin