Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad

https://www.saintritashrine.org/novena-prayers

I offered my novena prayers tonight for all of you. Please join in.

https://www.saintritashrine.org/novena-prayers

You all should know by now what time it is…

It’s Rita time!

May 22nd is the feast day of the Pearl of Umbria, St. Rita of Cascia – my most special patron.

Click below for the novena prayers.

https://www.saintritashrine.org/novena-prayers

Starting May 13 and proceeding nine days will take you right to the door of the feast itself.

Remember, she loves to help out with your most “impossible cases”.

Thanks to Andrew for sending me this beautiful shot from the National Shrine in Philly (coincidentally where my wife and I got married).

I’ll leave it here. This dropped on the NY Post this evening.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/11/us-news/new-pope-leo-xivs-brother-shared-gross-post-calling-nancy-pelosi-a-drunk-c/

Don’t click the link if you’re offended by started out foul language.

On a related note, the Post famously ran a headline in the 1980’s about a mafia hit outside a strip club. The victim had been decapitated. The headline read, “Headless Man at Topless Bar”.

Friends, I have written before of my devotion to the Blessed Mother under her beautiful title and image of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

For the majority of my life I belonged to a parish in Newark named in her honor. As a boy I used to gaze up to the fresco painted above the high altar and look upon her (especially when the sermon was banal and boring, so most of the time).

I also have a great devotion (understatement of the century) to St. Rita of Cascia. Rita was an Augustinian nun who lived in the time when the devotion to Good Counsel had just taken off. The church in Genazzano where the image of Good Counsel rests is under the care of the Augustinians. So it is no surprise that on the day of my wedding at the Shrine of St. Rita in Philadelphia I gazed up from my kneeler before the altar to behold the image of the Mother of Good Counsel.

I bring all of this up because I read today that Leo XIV took a trip to Genazzano today to pray before the miraculous image of the Blessed Mother.

Again, it is far too early to tell what way things will go and there are some very troubling signs thus far but for my part I will pray for this man that Our Lord’s Mother under the title Our Lady of Good Counsel will give him just that – Good Counsel.

It’s something we all could use.

Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Good Counsel, pray for us all!

I know that title is absolute garbage. I once told a dear friend of mine, the late Anita Crane (please pray for her soul) that I struggle with writing a post until I have picked a title. the title is that thematic to me. And for now, that’s the best you get. But here now the story I wanted to relay.

In the midst of all the hand wringing and general fretting over what we all face in store, there are some touching scenes playing out. Watch the video below and tell me if you cannot relate to this moment. For the moment, simply take in the surreal nature of a man answering a phone call from his brother who now happens to be the pope.

This doesn’t look good.

But I am entrusting one Augustinian to the prayers of another…

St. Rita of Cascia, glory of the Augustinian order, pray for us all!