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Our Lady's New Workshop by William Dykes
SMWA PROUD
OWNERS OF IT IS WITH GREAT JUBILATION that we present to you the new headquarters for Our Lady’s Mission at Bayside. It was your faith, prayers, gifts and unwavering support in SMWA that made this “miracle” possible. Indeed, God’s favor rests with us, the lay Order of St. Michael, as we continue our speedy comeback from a monstrous satanic attack that left us with nothing after being ousted on Christmas Eve ’97 from the workshop we toiled in for many years. Incredibly though, six months later Heaven reclaimed the shop for SMWA when OLR corp. auctioned it off on June 18, ’98 and we won the bulk bid. All we had to do then is find a new place for all the machinery, presses and office equipment we had bought at a bargain price. After what we went through, this should have been a breeze. Well...
We huddled a few times trying to figure out what to do. By this time, we determined that owning a building, the Good Lord willing, rather than renting one was a better option in the long run because it would be more cost- effective, and not to mention, a valuable asset for the Mission. Then following the Veronica of the Cross Anniversary weekend in August, fellow worker, Peter Frank, told us about a place that he had often walked by from church that had previously been for sale. It still had the signpost in the yard but not the for-sale sign. He inquired within, got the owner’s phone number and a few days later we toured the premises. It struck us all right away, especially Michael, who said, “This is it. This is Our Lady’s new workshop.”
The compact backyard has a stone well and is dense in vegetation that includes white and red grape vines, a fig tree (they’re delicious), a peach tree, roses and various herb bushes. The place is enormous and is being transformed into a multimedia facility that will service our global apostolate. It is about ten minutes by car from the holy grounds and just a short distance away from our community residence. We were told the house originally functioned as a bakery and the factory was used as a stable. Then during WWII, the property was used as a secured complex for making aviation parts for the war.
Little did we know we were entering the battlefield from the first day we set foot in the place. Clearly, satan didn’t want us to get this property. The real estate broker who showed us the place said it was owned by a person who lived in Europe. A few days later we found out that it was actually owned by his son who lived down the street. This example only cracks the surface of the ferocious battle that would ensue for the next seven months between Saint Michael and Lucifer for this prized jewel.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, it was this problem or that problem. For example, our application fee to the institution giving us the loan was bounced by our commercial bank due to their error. It was humiliating and would have jeopardized the loan if we did not act promptly. Subsequently, our bank wrote a letter of apology to the lender clearing our good name. This was a typical aggravation. We can’t even begin to get into all the other problems because it would require many more pages.
Our real estate lawyer and mortgage broker were getting more and more frustrated and exasperated. They couldn’t believe what was going on all this time. They had never experienced this before. At one point or another, they separately told us to forget about it, to move on. Everybody was throwing up their hands in disgust. It was a mess. And it dragged on for so long—the waiting and uncertainty was torturous. Every worker now knew that Satan was trying to sabotage the Divine plan. He was fighting fiercely, but we kept our course. We didn’t give up or give in. In our negotiations, we were tough but fair. On two occasions, to end the stalling, we had to fax an ultimatum that the seller responded to at the last possible minute. We “lost” this deal three times but somehow got it back. Every time the door would close, another one would open up. The Good Lord wanted us to have it, but He wasn’t going to hand it to us either.
With
the auction in two weeks the owner was desperate and at Michael’s
prodding, began praying the Rosary (probably for the first time in many
years). With all this dumped in our lap at the last moment we were now forced to get in order in a few days a mound of paperwork that you are usually given months to do.
Even with the closing day scheduled nobody believed it would happen. In fact, true to form, the seller and his lawyer arrived 45 minutes late for the big day, as we all anxiously awaited. Needless
to say, the lay Order of St. Michael was taken to the brink of the
precipice. The test was brutal but the workers hung in there, especially
Michael, who knew deep in his heart that, “Our Lady wants us to have
this place.”
Looking back now brings to mind two Biblical passages and Our Lady’s locution: “And thou hast patience and hast endured for my name and hast not fainted” (Apoc. 2.3), “The devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour (St. Peter 1, 5.8) and “Only by struggle will you be successful” (February 13, 1994).
Pilgrims have already been pouring in. At our recent open house, Dora Desira remarked, “If nothing else, this beautiful workshop proves that the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus wanted you fellows to lead the Mission.” And on the lighter side, part-time worker, Eileen D’Elia said after seeing the new workshop, “We used to complain at the other shop to Our Lady that there were no windows whatsoever, and now look what we have. It’s beautiful.”
William
Dykes is a member of the lay order of St. Michael |
