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SMWA Letter to Pilgrims Easter 1999 Dear Faithful and True Devotee, Alleluia! Alleluia! With the glorious Easter season upon us now isn’t it appropriate we announce to you some great, great news! • We purchased a building that will be headquarters for Our Lady’s Mission at Bayside • We received formal notice from the IRS that St Michael’s World Apostolate is tax-exempt You’ll read about this and much more in our spring edition of Golden Warrior. Our Lady’s new workshop is a 5000 square-foot complex that consists of a factory with an attached house. "This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice" (Psalm 117:24). The factory was approved by the New York City Building Department on June 18, 1930. The purchase wasn't quick and easy, that's for sure. It was a long and arduous path the Lord set us on. Whoever coined "no pain, no gain" definitely got it right here. We started on this adventure last August and did not end it until seven months later when we finally closed on the new headquarters on March 2, (one of the days Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to Saint Bernadette). In between it was brutal. If it wasn't the endless paperwork and details, the tough negotiations or working with the seller, who wasn't exactly Saint Francis of Assisi, it was the tortuous waiting and "in limbo" feeling. If good things take time and hard work, then we got a jewel. The door “shut” four times on this workshop but mysteriously opened each time. In the end the Golden Warrior, to whom we constantly invoked throughout, claimed this prize for Our Lady and St Michael’s World Apostolate. Saint Michael vanquished the evil one, once and for all, who predictably disrupted things along the way. Indeed, this acquisition is one giant step forward towards the fulfillment of the Order of St. Michael (Our Lady, May 22, 1974). I can't help but think what a difference a few months makes. If you recall, on Christmas Eve ’97 the lay Order of St. Michael was ousted from OLR corp. It was tough, but we knew somehow, someway Heaven had a plan. Turn the clock ahead 14 months later, and we are now proud owners of a workshop and printing presses, machinery, and office equipment we reclaimed from OLR corp. at their June 18th auction. Who would of believed or dreamed all this so soon except: "If God be for us, who is against us!" (Romans 8:31) The Good Lord has a grand plan and see how it is unfolding. All donations, including those dating from January 7, 1998, are tax-deductible. This will help you and us immensely as we honor our pledge to Our Lady to get Her Message out to the world. Whatever you can send us now is truly needed and appreciated.
Did you know that many companies have special Matching Gift Programs? This is a great opportunity to double your donation with a corporate matching gift (see box). This is an exciting time for Our Lady's Mission at Bayside and although we were very pleased with the remarkable progress of the work in 1998, despite very challenging conditions, with the new workshop we can really step it up even more this year. Thanks so much for caring and sharing your prayers and gifts. Your faith and commitment in the past and in the present has made this historic milestone possible. May God bless you and yours abundantly through Our Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of Mothers and Saint Michael, the Golden Warrior. Happy Easter. With Veronica of the Cross, Michael
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