Mother of God

A 1028 Word Interview with the President of Fatima Family Apostolate

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed John Preiss, president of Fatima Family Apostolate, via phone on October 24th, 2025. Some of the questions/answers have been rearranged, edited, and paraphrased to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.

Carrying on Father Fox’s Legacy

Fatima Family Apostolate was founded by Father Robert J. Fox nearly forty years ago. How do you continue his mission today?

He founded in 1986 and what we do today through our media, our website, and the materials he wrote (over 50 books) we spread the message of Fatima to families. The main thing we focus on is praying the Rosary daily, wearing the Brown Scapular, and doing the First Saturday Devotion.

The Heart of the Fatima Message

Many Catholics know the basics of Fatima—the apparitions, the Rosary, and the call to conversion—but fewer grasp its full depth. What do you think is the most misunderstood or overlooked part of the Fatima message today?

I think just living it out in your daily life. We have Catholics that come to the shrine that haven’t heard about Fatima. We have so many different Marian devotions. People don’t realize that the Fatima message (I call it the CARE- Confession, Adoration, Rosary, and the Eucharist) and the First Saturday Devotion is the nucleus to our faith. 

Family Life and Fatima

The Apostolate emphasizes the family as the foundation of faith. How can modern families—often busy, distracted, and digitally saturated—practically live out the message of Fatima in their homes?

What we have to do as parents is to set aside time for the message of Fatima. After work we are tired, the kids are running around. It’s about commitment. We commit to soccer, swimming, and other things. There’s so many opportunities, but we as parents need to be committed to praying the Rosary together as a family. So we set a time around 7:30pm to pray the Rosary as a family. 

My wife and I were already praying the Rosary by ourselves. When you have a lot of children like we do the more structure you have, especially in prayer it just works out better for everyone. 

Image courtesy of John Preiss.

Mary as Model and Mother

As someone deeply devoted to Our Lady, how has your own relationship with Mary grown through your work? Can you share a moment when you personally experienced her intercession or maternal guidance?

I definitely have grown, it’s been a spiritual blessing to be a part of this apostolate. As a convert in 2000, I didn’t have a devotion to Mary prior to my conversion. Meeting Fr. Fox and learning about Fatima has been helpful in my prayer life. 

There was an instance where my niece was in an accident, hit by an 18 wheeler, and we prayed the Rosary and I got a sense that things will work out. 

I also remember when, before I was a part of the apostolate (around 2008), I was in Adoration. Fr. Fox was ill and stressed at this time. I went to church and asked Our Lady and Our Lord for a sign of how I could help Fr. Fox, and I heard church bells. I didn’t believe it so I asked them again how I could help Fr. Fox. And I heard the bells again. 

Fr. Fox soon after made me the executor of his will and Vice President of the Fatima Family Apostolate.

Evangelizing Through Media

Your website and blog are vibrant resources for formation and inspiration. How do you see digital evangelization—especially blogging and social media—helping to renew Marian devotion in our time?

I see that you can make videos to reach more people. The Internet and social media can be bad but it can be used for good. I see now that I can do 10x more today than I could 10-15 years ago. 

It’s so much easier to create products and start a blog than ever before. God has given us the resources and the ability to evangelize and we have to use every tool at our disposal to bring people to the faith. 

Fatima and the World Today

Looking at the cultural and moral challenges we face globally, how do you see the message of Fatima speaking prophetically into our current moment?

Fatima is a message that is timeless. The thing we need to focus on now is the First Saturday devotions. Some say we need to do the consecration to Russia, we have a letter from Sr. Lucia saying that the consecration was done in 1984 by Saint Pope John Paul II. We can get caught up in various conspiracies, but if we want peace in our world we need to pray for peace. The message of Fatima is even more relevant. We need to live out the messages of Fatima and not the controversies. 

Hope for the Future

What gives you hope as you look to the future of the Church and the families you serve? 

I see that the young people are coming to church. The priests coming out of seminarians are more on fire for the faith. Your age group (millennials) is trying to develop their prayer life. 

What does the CARE program bring us to? It’s to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And First Saturday Devotion is the way to strengthen families. Will we have total peace? Probably not, but it will be a different kind of peace, a peace in our hearts that God is in control. 

There’s one parish in our diocese that has four Latin Masses each Sunday. It’s neat to see the young families. And the goal is to have them pass the faith onto their children. 

We have to have a generational change in the Church. Where we can teach our children to pass on the faith to their children. And I hope that continues. That’s how the world gets better, when we are practicing our faith. It might take a few generations to notice the changes. 

Are there upcoming projects or initiatives from Fatima Family Apostolate that readers can look forward to?

The main project is promoting Fr. Fox’s books Eucharist: Heaven and Earth Unite. We also have a museum and it’s on the road to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville. We have first class relics of Saints Jacinta and Francisco. 

We are looking to do an event at our center in May 2026. 

About John Preiss: 

John C. Preiss is the Director of the Fatima Family Apostolate and an accomplished Catholic author dedicated to promoting devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and deepening the faith of families worldwide. As a convert to the Catholic Church, John brings a passionate and personal perspective to his ministry. John and his wife Teresa, reside in Hanceville, Alabama with their ten children.

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3 Reasons Catholics Celebrate the Birthday of Mary

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: Post originally published on September 8, 2019.

According to 20th century Scottish author William Barclay, “There are two great days in a person’s life—the day we are born and the day we discover why.” Everyone had a birthday. Birthdays are universal. Celebrations of life. Reminders of impending death. Or a view somewhere in between. Why do you celebrate your birthday?

Each new year of our life allows us to learn from our past shortcomings and hope for future successes. Celebrating our birthday helps us to live in the present moment. On September 8th, the Catholic Church observes the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The topic of the Mother of God is a point of contention for Protestants. There are a lot of misconceptions that Catholics worship Mary. I even had a conversation with a co-worker last week who asked me, “Why is it that some Catholics worship Mary?” My reply was concise and the same as the official stance of the Catholic Church, “Catholics don’t worship Mary. She is not God. We never, ever worship her. Instead, we honor her.”

Honor Mary not Worship her

Some of you might still be skeptical. You might be thinking, “Well, if you don’t worship Mary why does the Church have a specific feast to celebrate her birthday [along with the countless other feasts!] It all seems too much.” That certainly is a valid concern. I can understand how non-Catholics perceive Catholics’ devotion to Mary as being excessive or over the top. This article will discuss three reasons why Catholics celebrate the birthday of Mary— and how authentic honor should always end in the worship of Jesus Christ!

An Anchor to the Incarnation

Birthdays celebrate a real and historical event. Your parents received a birth certificate a few weeks after you were born. In the modern era, people use their date of birth on loan applications, online activity, account openings, as passwords, and other situations where you have to prove your identity.

Jesus Fully God and Fully Man

When the Catholic Church celebrates the birthday of Mary, her existence as a real figure, in history, is recognized. Why is it important that Mary was actually born, a real person like you or I? Her existence is absolutely necessary for the doctrine of the Incarnation—the teachings that Jesus is fully God AND fully human. During the Nicene Creed, the priest and the laity bow at the following line: “He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.”

Before I studied theology it always seemed peculiar that we would bow during those words. For my master’s course on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I had to write a paper discussing the internal consistency and unity of the doctrines. The doctrine I chose to study was the Incarnation. I discovered that Mariology [the theological study of Mary] was closely related to the Incarnation.

The Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. formally rejected the Nestorian heresy— a belief that rejected Mary was the Mother of God and thus also rejected the humanity of Jesus. Mary as the Mother of God secures the reality that Jesus was fully human along with being fully God.

Obeying the 4th Commandment

Another reason Catholics celebrate the birthday of Mary is out of honor. According to the Second Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, ” [Mary] she is our mother in the order of grace” (no. 61). This truth is in keeping with Scripture when Jesus gives her mother to the Apostle John (see John 19:26-27) and Sacred Tradition.

The vast number of Marian feast days throughout the year point to her holiness and complete obedience to God. Just like our earthly mother, we should honor our spiritual mother as well!

True Devotion of the Mother Ends with Worship of the Son

Early Christmas

Each year it seems like retail stores put out Christmas displays and products earlier and earlier. Already I have heard people at work lament that the radio is not yet playing Christmas music. The birth of Christ is definitely something to get excited about. Catholics celebrate the birthday of Mary as a type of early preparation for Christmas!

The Catholic Church is quite clear that Jesus is the sole Mediator. According to St. Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5-6, “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human,d who gave himself as ransom for all.” We only honor Mary as a means to get closer to Her Son. St. Louis de Montfort said it best, “We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son” (True Devotion to Mary ).

Nativity of Mary

While we are members of the Body of Christ, Mary is the “neck of the Body of Christ” connecting us to the Head—Jesus. Celebrate the birth of Mary because it was through her decision to fully obey God that the Savior of the World was born. Happy Birthday Mary and happy early birthday Jesus!

Related Sources

http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19740202_marialis-cultus.html

https://thesimplecatholic.blog/2019/05/13/reconciling-mary-as-mediator-with-1-timothy-25/

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Book Review— Mary of Nazareth

/ chicoinematt

“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” — Luke 2:19

Reflection has been an elusive activity for most of 2020. It appears life continues to slam us with unexpected situation after another (Kayne West is running for President?! What next?)

Reading centers me during times of upheaval. I enjoy learning new information and thinking about it afterwards. My minor in college was philosophy so René Descartes’ maxim “I think therefore I am” has been imprinted in my brain.

Because of the pandemic our local library still has restricted hours. This forced me to visit my living room bookshelf for my next book. Thankfully, I forgot to finish reading Michael Hesemann’s Mary of Nazareth: History, Archeology, Legends.

I finished the book in less than a week this time. I love Mary, history, archeology, and legends. But did I enjoy all those subjects combined into a single book?

Enter into the Life of Mary

Advocata Nostra Mary Icon

Hesemann begins Mary of Nazareth by detailing out a brief history of the oldest surviving Marian icon— the Advocata Nostra. Christian tradition holds this icon is Saint Luke’s painting of the Mother of God after the events of the Resurrection of Jesus.

The author goes on to spend a chapter on each of the significant events in Mary’s life: the Annunciation, Visitation, Christmas, Flight to Egpyt, Wedding at Cana, at Calvary, the Ascension of Jesus, and Pentecost. Hesemann relies on a multitude of sources to provide a complete understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He quotes Scripture, cites early Church Fathers, ancient secular historians, interviews archeologists, and sifts through pious legends.

At the end of the book, Heseman discusses the Death and Assumption of Mary. He sketches out various theories for location of where Mary died and how old she was when she rejoined Christ in Heaven.

The best part about Mary of Nazareth was Hesemann’s ability to draw the reader into the life of the Mother of God. I felt transported to the Holy Land reading this book. He also did a phenomenal job of presenting the information with little to no bias. Hesemann simply presented the information and rarely interjected a personal opinion (even with regard to the legends about Mary).

I highly recommend you buy Mary of Nazareth as your next addition to your personal library. If you’re a Catholic who loves history this book is going to be in your Amazon cart later today (or purchase it directly from Ignatius Press).

Related Links

The Dormition of Mary

The Protoevangelium of James

The Marian Room

Reconciling Mary as Mediator with 1 Timothy 2:5

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Mother of God Help Us

/ chicoinematt

This past year has included its ups and downs–my grandfather passing away in January 2018 and our pregnancy starting off scary and ending with a beautiful daughter. Through all the changes, stresses, joys, and everything in between my faith life buoyed me. What buoyed my faith life and deepened my relationship with God was my increased reliance and petitioning to Mary, Mother of God for help and intercession.

The Universal Church celebrates the Feast of Mary as Mother of God. It is a feast to remind us that while Jesus is fully God he is fully human as well. The only difference is he never sinned. However, being fully human Jesus endured hunger, thirst, tiredness, and suffering. The closest way to the Son of God is through a frequent petitioning to his mother Mary. St. Louis de Montfort once wrote, “[Mary] is the safest, easiest, shortest and most perfect way of approaching Jesus and will surrender themselves to her, body and soul, without reserve in order to belong entirely to Jesus.”

May your new year start off with peace and joy. Below is a short prayer to recite daily as a simple means to grow your Marian devotion.

Mary, our model and mother, by your obedience and patience you have taught us how to be true children of God. Please help us by your powerful assistance to overcome all our weaknesses, and to fulfill perfectly our tasks in life. 

Thank you for sharing!