Doctors overstepping the mark

I visited the dermatologist the other day (to get the stitches out from my operation to remove a skin cancer). While I was in the waiting room, I picked up a brochure on acne. There were some funny cartoons on it depicting animals worrying about their acne. It had some good information on it about the skin condition and then towards the end of the brochure it mentioned a drug which is used for acne is all else fails and if the acne is severe.

I was impressed that it mentioned possible harm to: unborn babies. They actually used those words, not the word: fetus, so the doctors writing the brochure acknowledged that the unborn are real people. The brochure was spoiled by the last bit of information. It said that the dermatologist should counsel the patient who was going to be prescribed the ‘acne’ drug to take suitable contraception! Doctors have no right to tell patients to do this. Contraception is an intrinsic evil and in some case it is even an abortifacient i.e. causes an abortion.

It is acceptable to tell the patient that a drug will harm an unborn baby, but it is not acceptable to tell a patient to take contraception.

What happens to my prayers, if the person being prayed for, is already in heaven?

If you are praying for the soul of a particular person who has died and that person is already in heaven, your prayers won’t be wasted. God will apply your prayers to another soul in Purgatory, so it is always valuable to pray for the souls of those who have died, even if they are actually in heaven, because you will be helping another soul in Purgatory.

If the church has declared someone to be a saint: e.g.  St Therese, you do not pray for them, but to them!

Purgatory stems from God’s Mercy.

If there were was no Purgatory, anyone who died with even a slight stain on their soul would go to hell. Purgatory is a place of purification.  Make no mistake about it though, it is a place of great suffering. It is not like a waiting room, where there is air-conditioning, a water cooler, a vending machine with drinks, snacks and some magazines to read while you wait for your appointment. Having said all that, God does not want you to go to Purgatory and you don’t have to. God can give you all the graces that you need to go straight to heaven.  You need to respond to them.

Devotion to Maria Bambina

In some countries there is a devotion to Maria as a baby, just as many of us pray to Jesus as an Infant.  This statue is in a church in Italy.

Help from Heaven (Answer to prayer) book

If you have any stories which you think might be suitable for inclusion in this book, please send the story to Mary Ann at:

catacomb@bigpond.com

Please put the words: Story submission in the heading of the email. Thank you.

Foreword

People who pray and call to Heaven for help can and do change the world, by the magnificent grace of God at work in all our lives. The accounts below, a collection of such workings of grace and help from above to us incredibly needy humans here below, call forth a conviction of faith and a real growth in hope. Our God is alive and active in so many ways and it is always exciting to read about it.

I would not be writing this here in Sydney, Australia, had not my mother (Maria in “A Miraculous Escape”) had Our Lady’s mantle put over her shoulders so many years ago and speedily whizzed up a hill to the last train to leave Hungary to the West before the country-wide Communist crackdown. No wonder she had huge faith in her heavenly mother after that, and she never saw her earthly mother or brothers again.

May you be blessed with a deeper faith and greater hope and joy  by reading these stirring and wonderful accounts of God coming mercifully to our aid, so often through the prayers of the Saints who love us and time-polished devotions to so many in the Court of Heaven.

Esther Szabo Nott, BA Dip Ed. October, 2009.

Introduction

This book contains a collection of inspirational stories of answers to prayer that come from my own experiences and from those of family, friends, relatives and acquaintances. A varied range of life’s circumstances are covered in these stories. The intercession of several saints and devotions are involved. The stories detailed in this book took place in Australia, Croatia, Belgium, Hungary, Norway, USA, France, China, Italy, England, India and Malta.

I thank everyone who shared their stories and gave me permission to publish them in the book and hope that these stories will help you to grow in your Catholic faith. This book came about because a friend repeatedly asked me to “write a book”. At first I was reluctant to do this, but eventually started to think about it and wondered what on earth one would write a book about.  Help from heaven (Answers to Prayer) is the result.

Despite the great importance of the Rosary, many Catholics, even those who are practicing, do not have an adequate knowledge of the way that is should be said. They are aware that certain prayers are said, but do not always realise that meditation on the mysteries is also required, other people would like to start saying the Rosary but need guidance in this area. The book has an article which addresses these needs.

A lament which is sometimes heard is that: God never answers my prayers. An article in the book addresses this concern and other aspects of praying for special intentions. It also examines some of the issues regarding miracles.

Mary Ann Matulis

Disclaimers

Whenever the word miracle or miraculous occurs in a story, it is not being used in the sense that the Church uses it, that is in a theological sense, but only in the everyday sense that people use it when expressing amazement or astonishment after receiving a favourable answer to their  prayer.

The names used in this book are not the real names of the people mentioned in the stories, except in the stories where the person or people have specifically requested this.

No longer crippled  (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal)

This following story came from a sister from the Daughters of Charity for inclusion in this collection.

A mother from Mexico took her little crippled daughter on a trip to Paris, to visit the chapel where the apparitions of the Miraculous Medal occurred in 1830. When they arrived at the chapel they saw a nun who was arranging flowers on the sanctuary. The mother asked her if it would be possible for her daughter to touch the chair, that our Lady had sat on while talking to Saint Catherine Labouré during one of the visions.  The nun said that it was not allowed. She then went into the back room to get some more flowers. The area where the chair was, had been roped off. The mother thought to herself, “I did not come all this way, just to look at the chair.” She told her daughter to get down on the floor, work her way on her stomach under the rope, move up and quickly touch the chair and then come back. To the mother’s distress the little girl went up to the chair and placed her head upon it and would not come back for quite a while despite her mother’s pleading. The mother was worried that the nun would come back and that they would get into trouble.

Eventually the little girl came back, and the mother asked her why she had done this. Her reply was “I am sorry mummy, but the lady told me to rest my head on her lap”. After this they returned to Mexico on the plane. During the trip the mother noticed that her daughter’s physical condition was starting to improve. By the time that they had reached Mexico the child was fully healed.  She can now run and jump as perfectly as any normal child.

The prayer on the Miraculous Medal prayer is: “O Mary conceived without sin pray for us, who have recourse to thee”.  Many favours are granted to those who wear the Miraculous Medal and who pray to Our Lady confidently trusting in her intercession. These favours include healings, protection in danger, conversions, help to fight temptations and many other needs such as employment.

The feast day of the Miraculous Medal is celebrated on November 27.

The Blessed Mother called me to the Catholic Church

The following story comes from the U.S.A. The greatest miracle that I have ever received is becoming a Catholic. It was the furthest thing from my mind.   I was going to the Assembly of God Church and had been doing so for years.  As I was driving in my car coming home from Church, I looked up and said,   “Lord I am missing something, what is it?”  I never truly thought that I was going to get an answer. It was just a passing thought for me.

As I began my week someone spoke to me saying, “Go to my Son. He lives in the tabernacle of the Church.” Even though I say someone, there was no mistaking who it was, Mary!  What did I know about Mary, other than she was the Mother of Jesus?  I had never heard of a tabernacle being anywhere on this earth anymore and did not know where it was, but I did know one thing, and that was that I did not know Mary. I did not want to know Mary, and I told her so, many times.  This began a battle of wills for over a year.

I looked up and repeated many times, “Surely not Lord?”  Surely you do not want me to become a pagan?”  “They worship and bow down to statues!”   It would go from there to, “Mary get away from me. I do not know you, nor do I want to.”  Then to, “Go to my Son. He lives in the tabernacle of the Church.”   I truly thought that I was going to lose my mind.

Because of my religious background, I had always connected Mary to the Catholic Church. I have a neighbor who is a Catholic, so I went and asked her, “Do you have a tabernacle in the Church?”  You can only feel my astonishment when she said, “YES!”  Then she explained to me all the beliefs of the Eucharist and it was Jesus in His totality.

The battle between my will and God’s Will started up again.  “No God, this cannot be.”  “Please God do not make me do this?”  “They are pagans God, and worship this woman who will not leave me alone!”

Finally after over a year of this, I was coming down my hall and said, “Okay God, if you want me to be a pagan you can have it, but please get this woman off of my back!”  What made me say this?  Mary, completely wore me out.  She never stopped.  I never saw her, but I heard her continuously day after day.

I called the Church and was placed in touch with my RCIA teacher, and the rest is history.  Now I call it, “One of the greatest blessings of my life.” God sent Mary to call me to the Church.  I realize now, she called me to her Son, as that is what she does.  Mary stayed with me for over 365 days.  I was not nice to her at all, nor did I want to be, but she never gave up on me.  I remember now that when our mothers wanted us to do something and we did not do it, how they would “nag” at us.  It was the sweetest “nag” that I have ever heard or ever will hear.

I owe my spiritual life, to God sending our Blessed Mother to call “me to her Son.”  (There was also someone praying for my conversion). I have never regretted becoming a Catholic and the most wonderful thing in the world to me is living as one. The next most wonderful thing is going to be to die as one.

Never under estimate Our Lady.  She is loving, kind, persistent, and only wants and prays for what is best for us.  We can never go wrong praying the Rosary and asking her to pray for us.  Trust me it is truly a miracle that I am a Catholic today.

A bad case of laryngitis   (Saint Blaise)

Each month I used to meet with a friend.  We attended Mass at the cathedral and then had lunch at the shopping centre afterwards. On one of these occasions my friend showed up with a very severe case of laryngitis. She told me that she had been in this state for a few weeks. I introduced her to the priest. He gave her a blessing in honour of Saint Blaise the patron saint of throats. I jokingly remarked to her, “You should be all fixed up now because Father has blessed you.”  We went into the church. A few minutes later the Mass began and I was amazed to hear my friend singing the hymn in her full strength soprano voice.

Saint Blaise is the saint who is invoked for protection against throat problems. On his feast day (February 3), there is a special blessing.  The priest takes two candles which are held in a crossed position and places them upon the throat of the person to be blessed and invokes Saint Blaise to protect the person from throat troubles.

An emergency transplant   (The devotion of the Divine Mercy)

On the 28th of December, Danielle Karauna, her husband Izaiah and their twelve year old son Nathan left for an interstate holiday. Danielle fell ill, but she pushed on so that her family could enjoy their holiday. On the morning of January 2, 2007, Danielle failed to respond to the efforts of her husband to awaken her. He immediately rang for an ambulance and Danielle was transported to the nearest hospital. She was transferred from there to the Princess Alexandria Hospital in Brisbane. Danielle had by this stage fallen into a coma. Doctors worked tirelessly to find out the cause of her illness.  After extensive testing they discovered that her liver was slowly deteriorating, but they did not know why this was happening.  Doctors told Danielle’s husband and son that her condition was getting worse and that she was in need of a transplant. Danielle was then placed on a waiting list for the whole of Australia and New Zealand, in a desperate search to find a donor.

Izaiah comforted his son and reassured him that his mother was going to be alright, while he struggled with the thought of losing his wife. During this stressful period Izaiah received a phone call to let him know that, Danielle’s mother Lina and her Danielle’s brother Michael were on their way from Sydney to be with her.  During the entire trip from Sydney to Brisbane, Danielle’s mother prayed to the Divine Mercy to save her thirty-two year old daughter. The doctors held a conference with the family and told them that there was very little time left for Danielle. She was on a life support machine and there was little hope for her survival. The family was told that the waiting list for a donor can take between four weeks and four months and sometimes even longer. They were also told that the operation can take up to fourteen hours and that there was a risk that the body would reject the organ. This operation only has a fifty percent chance of success. In addition to this Danielle had a swelling in the brain, and this meant that even if the operation was successful, there was a strong chance that she would end up in a vegetative state. Danielle’s mother placed a picture of the Divine Mercy upon her head. On the third and fourth of January, Danielle’s husband and brother held discussions with the doctors about her condition. Her mother had now been praying to The Divine Mercy for three days. There was still no donor available. On January 5, Danielle was nearing her last hours and when her mother learnt of this she placed a picture of the Divine Mercy on her pillow and reassured Danielle that she was going to pull through. Soon afterwards Danielle’s husband and brother were asked to come into her room.  They feared the worse.  When they entered the room the doctor joyfully told them that a donor had been found.  Danielle was operated on at 11.30 p.m. the same day. At the end of surgery the doctors were amazed.

The entire surgery had only taken seven hours and there were no complications. The swelling in Danielle’s brain caused no problems. The nurse cried with relief. The doctor told the family that it was a miracle. The picture of the Divine Mercy was placed above Danielle’s bed for the reminder of her stay in hospital. Danielle’s family rejoiced and gave thanks to the Divine Mercy.  During the operation prayers were said for her by family, friends and by many other people who did not know her personally. Danielle and her family thanked everyone for their prayers and also pray daily for the happy repose of the soul of the donor whose gift gave her back her health.

Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter.

Loretta Young   (Our Lady)

The following story was told by the late Father Aedan McGrath an Irish missionary priest at a talk which he gave when visiting Sydney, Australia.  Father McGrath was in China during WWII when the Japanese army invaded the country.  The Japanese were advancing towards the area where his parish was located. The local women were terrified of what might happen when they got there. The women begged Father McGrath who was a very short small man to protect them. There was very little that he could do. He prayed to Our Lady for help. When the Japanese soldiers arrived in the area, the soldier in charge of the unit, came to talk to Father McGrath. The soldier had a big crush on the Hollywood actress Loretta Young, who he had seen in movies. He wanted to know if Father McGrath had ever met her.  As it turned out, Father McGrath had actually met her, probably through an association with another Irish priest Father Patrick Peyton the founder of the Family Rosary Crusade. (Father Peyton knew many Hollywood stars and was able to persuade them to be on his radio programs about the Rosary). The officer ordered his soldiers to leave this village in peace, just because Father McGrath knew Loretta Young!

A painful heel spur   (Our Lady of Fatima)

For many months I had been suffering from a painful heel spur. I carried out the therapy which my doctor prescribed for this condition. Despite the therapy, things were not going well. The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was bought to Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, so not wanting to miss this opportunity I traveled for an hour on the train to the city from my home in the suburbs.  After getting off the train I started to walk to Saint Mary’s Cathedral.  As I walked, the pain in my foot started escalating; however it was still bearable so I struggled on and attended the morning devotions and talks about Our Lady of Fatima, and the exhibition of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima. At lunchtime I left the cathedral in order to go and buy some lunch, and had to walk through Hyde Park. The pain in my foot reached an unbearable level.

I was reduced to almost a cripple and was alarmed to be alone unassisted at such a critical time. It felt as though a sharp knife was going right through my foot.  It was probably the very worst day that I had experienced with pain in this foot. After lunch I hobbled back to the cathedral for the afternoon devotions.  Before leaving the cathedral I prayed in front of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima for some special intentions, including the healing of the pain in my foot. After the afternoon session I managed to walk back to the train and returned home.  From that day onward the pain in my foot started decreasing and it was soon gone. Several other petitions which I prayed for in front of the Fatima statue were also granted rapidly. One of these favours was actually granted while I was still on the train traveling to Sydney with the typed up petition list in my handbag, although I did not know this at the time. The next morning I received an email regarding this important matter, which gave me the time of the event which I had prayed about. To my amazement many of the other petitions were granted promptly within a couple of days of praying in front of the Fatima statue.

The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima of Fatima has been traveling the world since 1947. It is always associated with signs, miracles and wonders.

The healing of Anorexia Nervosa  (Blessed Mary MacKillop)

Rose was suffering from Anorexia Nervosa. Theresa a friend of Rose’s mother heard about this and commenced a novena in honour of Blessed Mary MacKillop to obtain a healing for Rose. Theresa travelled the one hour trip to Sydney on the train each Monday of the novena, to attend an early morning Mass at the shrine of Blessed Mary MacKillop. Half way through the novena, it became more difficult for Theresa, because of a train strike. She could still catch a train to the city, but from there on she had to deal with unfamiliar bus routes, however she still managed to get to the Masses on time.

Another event also happened half way though the novena. Rose was rushed to hospital because she was dying. A doctor at the hospital helped Rose face up to what she was doing to herself by excessive dieting. The doctor asked her to have a good look at herself in a full length mirror and then asked her this question: “What do you see?”  Rose’s answer was “Skin and bones.” This was the break through that was needed. Rose was out of her denial about her dieting and what it had done to her.  By the end of the nine week novena, Rose was eating normally. She was healed. Since then she has completed her schooling and has obtained employment and is doing well.

Car engine that had “died” is now running well.

(The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

The following account came to me by e-mail. Right now I am feeling total awe, immense gratitude and the overwhelming feeling of just WOW. I say the Saint Gertrude prayer for The Holy Souls in Purgatory many times a day, since I found it on your web site. Yesterday when I was ready to go to Mass I tried to start my car and there was nothing, no response at all. It just would not turn over. I tried it several times during the day and my son tried it before he went to bed, but it still would not start. Before going to Mass next morning, I went to your web page, (as I do every morning before Mass) to say the prayer. I decided to read some of the things on the web page, which I did the first time that I found your web site, but have not done since then. I read about you not being able to open the lock on your door and about your husband helping. I thought that “I should pray to The Holy Souls in Purgatory about my car”, so before I went out, since I was intending to walk to Mass, I asked them to please pray that my car would start. I put the key in the ignition and said “please Holy Souls, pray that it starts.”  I turned the key and my car started! I was what you could call struck dumb. I could not believe it; they actually heard me and answered my prayer, so I offered up my Mass and my Eucharist for them. I pray that more and more people pray to and for The Holy Souls in Purgatory. They need our prayers, and they DO listen to us and pray for us. Just ask my car.  B.M. (USA)

The home office door   (The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

One morning I was unable to open my home office door from the adjoining room using the key, so I went to the outside of my house and tried to open the front door leading to it.  This also failed. I said a few prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and asked them to help me to get into my home office. I promised them that if they helped me immediately I would publish the favour.  I informed my husband of the problem. He asked me for the keys and went to open the office door (from the adjoining room). It still would not open. There was obviously a fault in the lock. This time he pulled the door handle towards himself, as he turned the key and tried to open it again, the door swung open.  I used his technique until the door lock was repaired.

(The publication of favours granted by the Holy Souls in Purgatory encourages other people to pray for them and to ask for their help)

All Souls Day is commemorated on November 2.

Help in a difficult situation   (Saint Joseph)

When my daughter was about three years old she was displaying severe autistic behaviour.  We first tried to send her to the local preschool.  She was totally unable to cope and cried a great deal and would sometimes vomit because of the stress. The pre-schooling for her was totally unworkable. (She was unable to communicate at this stage of her life, but has since told me that she was afraid that I would never come back to pick her up from the preschool.)  The Autistic Association came up with the idea of sending her to one of their schools which was many miles away.  I was amazed that this was suggested in view of the fact that my daughter could not even cope with one hour at preschool, so I turned to Saint Joseph for his help and for seven Sundays in a row I prayed fourteen Glorias in honour of the Seven Sorrows and the Seven Joys of Saint Joseph. On the first day that she had to travel to the special school in the school taxi I was told that she had acted completely uncharacteristically. So relaxed was she that she had hopped out of the car on arriving at the school and waved goodbye to the lady from the Autistic Association who was helping out.  From then on my daughter had no more difficulties separating from me or the carer in order to go to school.

Finding accommodation   (Saint George)

When Father Joe was on a visit to England, he needed to find accommodation.  Father Joe had not booked a hotel to stay at. He was trying to figure out who the patron saint of accommodation is. Since he did not know who that is, he decided to pray to Saint George because he is the patron saint of England. Father Joe found a room to rent and then he discovered that it was located in Saint George’s Square and next to Saint George’s Anglican Church.  Whenever he invokes Saint George similar signs are given to him.

The feast day of Saint George is celebrated on April 23.

The healing of Anorexia Nervosa

(Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

Helen was employed as a secretary to a doctor. Her employer was extremely concerned about her because she had anorexia nervosa and her weight was very low. He begged her to go to hospital and receive medical help but she refused. Helen had received the Sacrament of the Sick on three occasions even though she was a non-practicing Catholic. At the request of her relatives, I visited Helen and her mother at their home and explained about Saint Philomena’s wonder working power and gave her a book about Saint Philomena, some blessed oil and a Saint Philomena novena card. She regained her health and I was informed later on by her relatives that she was “now seen sneaking down to McDonalds for snacks.”

Prayer stops an abortion at the eleventh hour

A friend telephoned me with an urgent request. She told me about an abortion that was scheduled for the very next morning and asked me to pray that it would be stopped. She also telephoned other people to ask for prayers. It was short notice for such an important petition and I wished that I had been told about the planned abortion much sooner, but I prayed as requested. To my great joy, the man and his girl friend decided to keep the baby.

Protection during a bushfire (Our Lord)

The following story comes from a lady who is now in her seventies. When she was young, she lived in the country with her grandmother. On one occasion their home was surrounded on all sides by a bushfire.  Her grandmother told her that the Lord would save them.  The girl and her grandmother knelt down and prayed.  Their prayer was not formal but was a simple pleading for help from God. The next morning they found that literally everything around the house had been scorched by the fire. Not even a stick or a branch had been left unscathed.  However the house was completely untouched by the fire and their lives had been spared.

Healthy Twins after Seven Miscarriages

(Saint Gerard Majella and Our Lady)

My daughter married and she and her husband had a nice home, travel, good jobs and they were just made for one another, but when they tried to start a family everything went wrong. She kept getting pregnant, seven times in fact and kept losing the babies. Her body does not make progesterone and that is what the babies need to live on, especially during their first three months in the womb, and she lost her babies in this time frame.

With each miscarriage came depression and she wanted a baby so badly that I think that she would have stolen one out of a baby carriage if she could have. I tried to support her to the best of my mothering capabilities, but I could not relate as I had children. I did not even profess to know how she felt, but I began to understand one thing. It must truly be an awful feeling and nothing that I said really made any difference, she just sunk deeper and deeper. I did not even relate to this daughter who used to have so much life in her. The life went out of her.

Then one day I got a call, “Mom I am pregnant with twins.” Well my heart sunk, not for the pregnancy, but all I could think of was, “God if she loses two babies she will die inside.” I truly did not see anyway out of this for her, so I begin to pray the Rosary daily and to Saint Gerard Majella, (the prayer for expectant mothers). I did this everyday for almost nine months as they were born a little earlier than full term. She was on bed rest for most of the pregnancy, so she had to quit her job. Anyhow around eight months later came a little boy and a little girl. That is right, one of each. She is now a very busy and sometimes anxious mother. Every time I look at those babies all I see are two miracles from God. I thank Him for hearing the prayers of our Blessed Mother and Saint Gerard, and for answering those prayers from all of us. I cannot tell you how sweet and precious those babies are. They will be two years of age this October.

Healings from an obsessive fear and flu

(The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

The following two favours took place in Norway. A twenty-one year old girl developed an obsession which caused her to become very fearful. A friend told her to say the Saint Gertrude prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory many times a day and to ask for their intercession in the matter. At first the girl did not want to say this prayer because she was a Protestant, but then she gave in and said the prayer and was freed of the fear and obsession. This convinced her of the powerful intercession of The Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors. She gave the Saint Gertrude prayer to a girl who was suffering from a very bad dose of the flu complete with a high fever. The sick girl had been planning to go on a trip with some friends but that seemed to be out of the question. She too decided to say the prayer and by the next morning felt really well. She was completely free of the flu and was able to go on the trip.

Our Lord told Saint Gertrude the Great that each time the following prayer is said, that many souls are released from Purgatory.

Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great for the relief

of The Holy Souls in Purgatory

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

A miraculous escape  (attributed to Our Lady)

Maria fled her home in southern Hungary because of the impending communist invasion. She left her mother and two brothers behind. Maria never saw them again. She struggled while crying and praying to get to the railway station in the far north west of Hungary, near the Austrian border.  Maria was very afraid. She struggled uphill with a heavy coat on one arm and a suitcase on the other. She knew that this was the last train that she would be able to catch before the border would be closed. Maria was having trouble walking up the hill. A beautiful lady appeared and wrapped her in a blue cloak. In no time at all she was on the train.

Was the lady who appeared, Mary the Mother of God?  We do not know, however that would be a reasonable assumption, because Our Lady is Maria’s patron saint.

The stroller  (Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

When I first moved into my current home, I was given a stroller which I used for transporting my daughter Anne. Although Anne was actually by then about four years of age, unfortunately a stroller was an absolute necessity if I was to get any shopping done, since when I took her to the shops down the street, she threw tantrums on the footpath due to her autism.

Two weeks later after we had moved in, the lady who sold me the house came to our home with a very good stroller which her daughter no longer had a need for. There was something tied to the handle-bar which resembled a Saint Philomena Cord. I showed it to my family and they all thought that it was a Saint Philomena Cord. None of my family guessed otherwise. When I asked the lady what the cord tied to the handle bar was there for, she looked puzzled and she clearly did not know what it was or how it had got there.

It seems that it had not been tied to the handlebar when she got it from her daughter’s house. The lady did not have knowledge of Saint Philomena devotions such as the Saint Philomena Cord and she was far too serious a person to play games in order to try and deceive about a matter like this.

I accepted the stroller with gratitude, but I was also surprised because the lady knew that I had already been given another stroller two weeks earlier by her husband.  Because of the cord that was attached to the handle bar I understood that Saint Philomena had something to do with this gift. I wondered why Saint Philomena was giving me this stroller in view of the fact that I already had one and did not appear to need it.  About lunch time I took Anne to the shops in the old stroller and with her weight and the weight of the shopping it broke just as we were arriving back home. I picked up the broken stroller, my daughter and the shopping and went into my house. Saint Philomena appears to have arranged a new stroller for me a few hours in advance because she knew that the old stroller was ready to break.

Because of this I was able to take the new stroller with Anne to the school in the afternoon to pick up the other children.  Without this stroller I would have had serious problems picking up the other children from school since I could not leave her at home by herself, nor could I find anyone to look after her while I went there. (At the time of this incident, I had been a devotee of Saint Philomena for several years).

Special note: A Saint Philomena Cord is the red and white cord which is blessed and worn around the waist under the clothing to honour Saint Philomena and to seek her protection and intercession.

An explosion in the kitchen (Blessed Teresa of Calcutta)

A bundle of clean clothing which had been brought in from the clothes-line was placed in the backroom.  I walked into the dining room and as I did, I looked towards the backroom and saw a reflection of the various colours of the clothes. Their combined reflection in the window above them, created an image of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  (This was before her beatification). Straight after I saw the reflected picture, I heard a loud explosion from the kitchen (the adjoining room). Through the doorway, I saw large flashes of yellow light shooting across the kitchen. I knew that my husband was in there, but I could not see him from where I was standing.  I was afraid that he had been injured and called out to him.  My husband was unhurt.  The electric kettle had exploded when he turned it on. I believe that Blessed Teresa of Calcutta protected him.

Food for the needy   (The power of the Hail Mary)

The following story should go far to show how acceptable and pleasing to God the Hail Mary is. Jason is a volunteer worker for a charitable organisation which distributes food to the poor.  He purchased eighteen hams from the supermarket on the organisation’s credit card for distribution to the needy.  This would have been an expensive purchase.  For some unexplained reason the hams were not credited to the card. Jason brought this matter to the attention of the supermarket’s manageress. She shrugged her shoulders and said that nothing could be done about it and that the organisation did not have to worry about paying for the hams. Jason attributes this favour to his regular practice at the beginning of each undertaking of saying of one Hail Mary and simply asking Mary to help him with the charity work. Jason has received other striking helps in his work from this simple way of invoking Mary, including a large donation of the exact amount that he had assessed that his section of the organisation was in need of in order to carry out its works and which he was about to apply for from head office.

The Word Processor (The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

I pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and also ask their intercession in all my needs.  Since I left school, I have progressed through various technologies, a manual typewriter, an electric typewriter, a Word Processor,  (a machine that looks and functions like an electronic typewriter, but is also able to store text data onto a floppy disk and print the data out), then I went onto computers which our family has upgraded from time to time. The Word Processor was functional until a few years ago and then the disk drive stopped working, effectively reducing the machine to an electronic typewriter. I have a lot of files stored on floppy disks for the Word Processor, which I want to have a look at and make an assessment of. I prayed for a solution and a lady we know said that her husband had once repaired these machines for a living.  He would have done that for us, but the replacement parts are simply not available and no one sells this equipment anymore. I was told by another mechanic, that even if the parts were available that it would be very costly to repair the Word Processor, (out of all portion to its worth).  In short the situation was hopeless.  I put the broken Word Processor into the shed for storage, in case something could be done in the future and continued to pray.

I prayed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory a few days ago and my brother telephoned me.  He had just purchased a house for his family.  The previous owners of the house left a few things in the shed that my brother and his family were allowed to have. My brother said that there was “an electric typewriter” in the shed and asked me if I want to have it.  I started asking my brother questions about the ‘typewriter’.  It turned out to be an upgraded model of my word processor. It is even the same brand. This is important because the disks were formatted for this particular brand alone and would be incompatible with other brand of Word Processor.  It is in excellent condition and can read the files on the floppy disks. It had one part missing (a plastic knob to turn the carriage), so I took that part from my own Word Processor and put it on the one that my brother gave me. It prints well. Very few people would even require such a piece of equipment and they are almost impossible to obtain. My brother had no idea that I had been praying for exactly this.  His showed it to his wife and asked her what he should do with this ‘typewriter’.  She told him to throw it out!  Then he thought of me and phoned.  It is strange that he did because he is well aware of the technology that I have at my disposal and that would have made anyone else think that I had absolutely no need for this piece of equipment. My sister-in-law was astounded when I came to try it out with a box of disks to test the equipment. She had no idea that it was not just a typewriter. The intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors is amazing.

A land property case (the Holy Souls in Purgatory)

The Holy Souls in Purgatory are not able to do anything for themselves or do anything at all to relieve their suffering: they rely on our prayers and efforts to help them. It is permissible to believe that they can pray for their benefactors.

A lady I know was in a desperate situation where she faced possible bankruptcy. She did not have the money to pay the next month’s mortgage so it was very important for her to sell the property almost immediately.  The local council was determined to make her property a “heritage listed property” which means that she would not be able to make any changes to it without their permission and that she would not be able to sell it either except under almost impossible conditions. This case had been dragging on at council meetings for a whole eighteen months.  On the day of the final showdown council meeting, she was advised to offer her merits for the month for the relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory and to ask their intercession in her property case with the council. At the meeting that night one of the council members suddenly remembered a similar case where the council got their fingers burned financially, when the owner of the property took the case to the Land and Environment Court and won the case. The council got “cold feet over the matter” and she won the case and was allowed to sell her property.

Healing from gangrene and also from staph infection

(Saint Rita, saint of the impossible)

My mother suffers from diabetes. She had a cyst taken off the finger next to the thumb. This is no big deal for those of us without diabetes. I took her for a check up and when the doctor unwrapped the finger it was black from the tip to the first knuckle and had no feeling at all. It had gangrene, what we did not know at the time was that my mother also had MRSA which is a staph infection.

I began to pray to Saint Rita for the healing of my mother’s finger. The next week I took her back to the doctor.  He unwrapped the finger and the flesh was pink and there was feeling in the finger. This was even though she had a staph infection. On account of the infection her finger should have been removed.

When we found out that she had staph about three weeks later, I again prayed to Saint Rita for healing for my mother. She was given antibiotics, but before we caught it, my mother already had boils going completely down her legs and again remember that she had diabetes. (Things like this for a diabetic are always life threatening.) Within the week my mother was healed again. I thank Saint Rita for her intercession and I believe that without Saint Rita’s help my mother would have died.

Saint Rita’s feast day is celebrated on May 22.

The miracles of Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker

The prayer entitled the Miraculous Responsory of Saint Anthony lists the following categories of miracles: raising people from the dead, freeing people from religious error, protection from all calamities, the cure of leprosy, the cure of all kinds of health problems, help in cases of demonic possession, calming the sea (to prevent ships from sinking and people from drowning), freeing prisoners from unlawful imprisonment, finding lost (or stolen) items, curing useless arms and legs (cripples), protection in all kinds of dangers, help in dire need (poverty etc.) and spiritual help.  In the next section are some accounts of Saint Anthony’s help.

A healing through the Nine Tuesdays in honour

of Saint Anthony  

Clare was suffering from an affliction which had been ongoing for several years. She had prayed often about this and then Clare prayed a novena to Saint Philomena on daily basis for more than six months, but she did not receive a healing. Later on she carried out a devotion which is known as the Nine Tuesdays in honour of Saint Anthony. This involves receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive Tuesdays in honour of Saint Anthony.

On the ninth Tuesday during the Mass (which was held in the evening), there was a huge thunderstorm and the electricity to the church was cut for a short while.  The church was in darkness during this time, except for the lit candles,  while this was happening Clare saw Saint Philomena. Because of this event, she knew that the healing would be granted.  In due course Clare was healed of the affliction. (Saint Philomena, as well as Saint Anthony had interceded for the healing).

Special note: The devotion of the Nine Tuesdays in honour of Saint Anthony, was started by people to honour Saint Anthony, but when the practice fell into disuse it was revived by Saint Anthony himself, who recommend it in a vision to a lady of Bologna, Italy in 1616. It is a great way of winning Saint Anthony’s assistance.

The wedding ring at the beach   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

When Stephen was at the beach surfing, his wedding ring fell off his finger and was washed away by a wave.  He called upon Saint Anthony and another wave came in and deposited the ring at his feet.

The lost watch   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

Some years ago I lost my watch. Late one night, a week later I finally prayed to Saint Anthony for help to find it. The next morning we drove to the parish of Saint Anthony of Padua, which was some miles from our home and attended Mass there.  After Mass I stayed behind a little and my husband went back to the car park to wait for me. It has been raining for a week and the grass was long and wet.  The ground was muddy.  My husband saw something shining in the grass and out of curiosity he bent down and scooped up a handful of mud and almost unbelievably my watch was there in the handful of mud. What was the explanation for this? We had attended a Mass at that church the previous week.

John finds a spouse

(Saint Anthony and Our Lady of Lourdes)

John was thirty-eight years old and still a bachelor despite his best efforts to socialise and to find a wife. He made a pilgrimage to Italy and France and prayed at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes and also at the shrine of Saint Anthony in Padua for this intention. When John returned home there was a letter for him from a lady who suggested that he correspond with her goddaughter, who lived in another country. John followed this up. He quickly realized that this was the answer to his prayers.  They have since married and are the proud parents of three daughters.

The feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated on February 11.

 

The jammed bedroom door

(Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

On a very hot day of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I was in my daughter’s bedroom when the bedroom door jammed shut. Nothing that I could do would open it. I was trapped and in a panic. My throat began to dry out and there was no water to drink.  It was only about 10 o’clock in the morning.  My three year old autistic daughter was on the other side of the door without supervision. We lived on the main road. There was just too much traffic and noise for anyone to hear me. My husband would not be home for many hours to ‘rescue’ me.  In fact he was going to work back until 10 p.m., also there would be no one to let my other children in from school when they came home. The air conditioner in the bedroom was not working properly so I soon became stressed in the heat. The air conditioner was actually positioned in the window itself so I could not open it for fresh air nor to climb out of the room.  I had a few statues of saints in the room and an oil lamp lit in front on some of them, including Saint Anthony. I tried a few prayers, but could not even say one Hail Mary in my total panic. Finally I said the shortest of all prayers in a very loud voice. “SAINT ANTHONY HELP!” I tried the door once more with as much force as I could manage and it sprung open much to my great relief.

The Christmas tree light

(Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

My brother-in-law was decorating a very tall Christmas tree which was covered all over with decorations. As he was putting up electric coloured light globes, one of them slipped from his hand.  It was only a very small globe.  He spent ages searching for it without success. He complained to my sister that the other lights would not work because the missing globe was essential to the whole scheme of things. She told him to “wait just a minute” while she prayed to Saint Anthony.  My brother-in-law then retorted “Don’t you think that Saint Anthony has much better things to do than to worry about the light globe?”  My sister then said the following prayer: “Saint Anthony, please show him where it is”.  Immediately my brother-in-law called out “Hey, what do you know, here it is, in the middle of the Christmas tree”.

No petition is too great or too trivial to ask Saint Anthony for.

The missing music CD   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

I had a treasured five CD collection of music by a famous Australian singing group. One of the CDs of the collection was missing and no amount of searching could find it.  I had checked the CD cases several times and it was not in any of them.  After a week I checked the CD cases once more, in order to find out which one of the five CDs was missing. Armed with this knowledge I went outside to say the Miraculous Responsory of Saint Anthony. About half an hour later I had another look in all the CD cases and to my astonishment it was there!  I quizzed the family and none of them had put it there.

The stolen car   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

My husband and I stopped at a shopping centre for about five minutes and then returned to the car park to go home. There was an unpleasant surprise for us, the car had been stolen! My husband said that we should go back into the shopping centre and report the matter to the shop security guard and the police. I then prayed the Miraculous Responsory of Saint Anthony for the return of the car and asked Saint Anthony to ensure that no damage would be done to the car and that the shopping goods in the car would be left there undamaged. The car was stolen at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday and three days later on Sunday morning at 3 a.m. the police phoned to say that the car had been found, in good condition. It had been driven many miles across the Sydney suburbs. None of the goods in the car were missing or damaged, just as I had requested from Saint Anthony.

The big bike ride   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

Some years ago a big bike ride was organized by the road and transport authority (RTA) which involved over two thousand participants. The ride was from North Sydney to Parramatta, a distance of 50 km.  My husband and my daughter were among the participants. I caught the train to Parramatta with my youngest daughter in order to meet up with them at the end of the bike ride. It was a very hot day.  Many thousands of bike riders entered the huge park at the end of the ride.  My little daughter became anxious because of the long wait. It was taking a long time for all of them to arrive and still there was no sign of them.  We persisted, despite our growing anxiety, to wait even longer.  Finally I decided to say the Miraculous Responsory prayer of Saint Anthony.

As we walked down the hill to the bottom of the park I could see an endless stream of bike riders still entering the park.  However I still could not see my daughter and husband. In desperation, I decided finally to ask one of the bike riders if there were still more bike riders to come.  He addressed me by my Christian name and told me that there was nothing to worry about because he had seen my daughter and husband enter the park about half an hour ago.  He said that they were now at the other end of the park.   I was astounded and wondered how this man knew who I was since he was not recognizable to me, because of his helmet and beard.  It turned out that he was my cousin, who I had not seen for about ten years.

The missing sunglasses   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

After Joe and Carol spent some time near the lake, they continued on their drive.  They had driven about ten kilometers when Carol discovered that her sunglasses were missing. They prayed to Saint Anthony and then drove back to the lake in the hope of finding them there.  One more prayer was offered to Saint Anthony. Straight after they had returned to the spot Joe looked down the bank and in the distance he could see something shining.  As he did not recognise what it was, Joe headed down to investigate. It turned out to be Carol’s sunglasses.

The stolen handbag   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

Patrick drove to the airport to pick up his fiancée Anna. Because it was her first day in the country he took her on a little tour before continuing to drive her to his mother’s house. Patrick stopped the car at a local scenic spot and they got out of the car and went down to look at the river.  Unfortunately she had left her handbag in the car and the window was open. When they returned to the car, her handbag was missing.  There were a couple of people nearby.  Patrick asked them if they had seen anyone near the car. They replied that they had not. Anna was very distraught because, among other things, her passport and other documents were in the handbag.

Patrick then drove her to his mother’s place.  Anna was crying, because of the loss of the documents. In order to console her Patrick’s mother said that she would telephone her daughter Leah and ask her to pray to Saint Anthony. Leah prayed the Miraculous Responsory of Saint Anthony and about twenty minutes later the police telephoned her mother, to say that the bag had been handed in. The police had found Patrick’s mother’s phone number in Anna’s handbag. All the documents, which were the only irreplaceable items in the handbag, were still there.

The lost office takings   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

An office assistant named Catherine was sent to the bank each afternoon with the day’s takings. This often amounted to a considerable amount of money. On one occasion, the pack containing the cheques and money had unbeknown to Catherine slipped onto the ground since she was carrying many items together. She continued to walk a fair distance when finally she became aware of the situation.  She quickly retraced her steps, but had no success in finding the pack. Catherine became distraught, and prayed to Saint Anthony for help. Not only was she concerned about the loss, but she was also worried about being fired from her job as a consequence of the incident. When she failed to find the pack Catherine had no choice but to return to the office and tell everyone there what had happened. As Catherine began crying one of the girls in the office told her to calm down and offered to come with her and search for the pack.  They had gone halfway down the street, when a lady saw them and said to Catherine, “Does this belong to you?”  It was the pack containing the money that they had been looking for. The lady had seen the distraught look on Catherine’s face and had realised that the item that she had found on the street probably belonged to her.

The lost sandal   (Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

Peter was on holidays near the beach. When he returned from the beach his sandals were covered in sand so he washed them and put them on the back of the car to dry in the sun. Later on in the day Peter and his wife decided to go for a drive.  He forgot about the sandals. They drove for about twenty minutes and then stopped at a roadside store to buy ice-cream. The storekeeper noticed one sandal on the car.  He let them know about it and that the other sandal was missing. It was time for their return journey. Their usual custom when starting out on a drive was to say a Hail Mary for their safety. They added another Hail Mary and asked Saint Anthony to help them to find the missing sandal which they realised had fallen off the car. On their way back when they reached one of the three roundabouts that they had driven through previously, Peter decided to drive around one of these roundabouts twice.  His wife asked him why he was doing this.  He answered that he was searching for his sandal. As he drove around the roundabout for the second time he noticed the missing sandal on the other side of the roundabout. Peter stopped and retrieved it.

A return to the sacraments

(Saint Anthony the Wonder Worker)

Saint Anthony was invoked daily by a mother whose daughter was attending Mass but was not receiving the sacraments. To the mother’s relief her daughter came back to the sacraments.

Saint Anthony is the patron saint of lost or stolen items and his feast day is celebrated on June 13.

Help in financial trouble

(Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

Kim was in financial trouble and had debts of about one thousand dollars to pay off. She had no way of doing this and was very worried. Kim made a novena to Saint Philomena for a solution. The bank sent her a statement on an old account which previously had a zero balance in it. She had not used this account in years.

There was a balance of one thousand dollars in the account. Kim was confused and telephoned the bank for an explanation.  They told here that someone had deposited the money into her account. Kim wanted to know who that was, but no one at the bank knew! She was able to use this money to pay off her debts and to this day many years later, Kim still does not know who deposited the money into her account.

Healing of autism   (Mary Help of Christians)

In the 1980’s an outdoor shrine of Mary Help of Christians was built and blessed in Sydney. Our daughter was three years of age at the time. She had severe autism and could not talk. The man who was in charge of the shrine was a friend of our family. He told us that he had a plan to hold regular gatherings at the shrine, where people would pray for specially chosen intentions such as a person with cancer. He selected our daughter as the first person who would be prayed for. We willingly agreed. It was his hope that our daughter would receive a miraculous healing. On the appointed day, a group of people gathered at the shrine. A Jesuit priest brought our daughter up to the microphone and introduced her to the people and explained to them that she had autism.  He asked them to join with him in saying the Rosary for her healing. At the end of the Rosary the priest asked the people to keep this intention in their prayers. There was no instant miracle that day, but in the following years our daughter made spectacular progress.

A severe nagging cough

(The devotion of the Three Hail Marys)

During a long bus trip, Clare developed a very severe cough that was loud and prolonged. The lady who was sitting behind her took out a holy card of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and began to silently and continuously pray a devotion that is known as “The Three Hail Marys”, asking for a healing of the cough. Later on, another sympathetic passenger came up to the lady and touched her with a relic of Saint Philomena. The next morning Clare was completely free of the cough.

The Three Hail Marys Devotion consists of saying three Hail Marys followed by the invocation “O Mary my mother, keep me from mortal sin”. This devotion is in honour of the power, wisdom and mercy that the Blessed Trinity has infused into the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many favours have been granted throughout the centuries to those who practice this devotion.

A speedy recovery and a change of heart.

(The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

Susan’s husband Steve was seriously injured. He sustained many broken bones and was in a lot of pain, because of an accident, in which he was knocked off his push-bike by a car. Susan and Steve made a novena for the relief of The Holy Souls in Purgatory, and Steve made a remarkable recovery in a short period of time. Four weeks later Steve’s father was involved in a serious car accident.  The Holy Souls in Purgatory were again invoked to help him and he also recovered quickly. Susan’s mother had been cool towards Susan and Steve because of their interest in religion. However her attitude towards her daughter and son-in-law improved a lot, after she saw the wonderful recovery of her son-in-law Steve. Susan’s brother Luke who was twenty-four at the time was also very impressed with the recovery of his brother-in-law. He began taking instruction in The Catholic faith, with a view to receiving the sacrament of Baptism. There has been an improvement in the attitudes of Susan and Steve’s relatives toward religion, since they all saw the remarkable results of the intercession of The Holy Souls in Purgatory for Steve.

The early history of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague devotion

The famous statue which is known as the Infant of Prague was brought from Spain to what is now the Czech Republic in the year 1556 by Maria Manriques. Maria gave the statue to her daughter Princess Polyxena for a wedding present.  The statue had been cherished by the members of the Spanish Royal family for many years.

Countess Polyxena became a generous benefactress to the Carmelite Fathers when they were given the Church of the Holy Trinity in Prague. This had been a Protestant church, but in 1624 the victorious Hapsburg, Ferdinand II gave the church to the Carmelites and it was renamed under the title of Our Lady of Victory. After the death of her husband the countess presented the image of the Christ Child to the Carmelites saying the  “I give to you what I prize most highly in the world.  So long as you venerate this image, you shall not want”. Her prophecy was remarkably fulfilled. When the Carmelite community began to venerate the image of the Divine Child many spiritual and temporal benefits came to it.  According to the custom of the Order, the novices fostered a special devotion to the little Son of their queenly mother. Among the novices none loved the Infant more than Brother Cyril. This young religious had suffered greatly from aridity and temptations during the greater part of his novitiate year. However the Infant Jesus restored Cyril’s first fervour, and in his turn Cyril became a most fervent client of the Little King.

The Infant of Prague’s care for children

During the depression years a traveling salesman came to my grandmother’s house with an Infant of Prague statue which my grandmother purchased.  My two uncles who were then small boys came to the door. Among other things the salesman advised them to say three Hail Marys every day in honour of the Infant of Prague and to ask the Infant Jesus of Prague to send them a few sweets every day. This sounded like a great offer because they rarely had any sweets during the depression. They followed his advice and soon afterwards, a rich couple purchased the local hotel. The hotelier’s wife took a liking to the two boys and realizing their dire straights used to call them often to the fence and give them a few sweets every time.

Help in financial need   (The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

When we were young, my mother was short of money to pay pressing medical bills, so she prayed to The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague and a few hours later a man knocked at our door and asked if he could buy some of the building wood which he saw in our yard. Mum did not need the wood, so she gladly sold it. The sale proceeds provided money to help her pay for the bills.

The kindergarten class  (The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

I taught a Catholic Kindergarten Scripture class at the local public school.  It is always a good idea to give Kindergarten children a picture to colour-in because of their limited attention spans. Since I was short on new pictures I asked my eleven year old daughter to try and draw freehand a picture of our Infant Jesus of Prague statue for that purpose. We prayed and then my daughter who only had very limited drawing skills drew a very good picture.  It seems that the picture was of a much higher quality than my daughter’s art ability at that stage of her life. A priest who saw the picture and who had no knowledge of the prayers that were behind it commented, “Your daughter has a lot of talent.”

Instant art ability (Father Paul of Moll O.S.B.)

One of my daughters suffered from a learning disability.  She was having great difficulty learning to speak.  I made up special speech books for her from cheap second hand children’s picture books that I brought in bulk from church and school fetes.

I had exhausted my supply of picture books for this project and wanted to make up some more speech books for my daughter. About that time I read a book about a Benedictine priest of Belgium who lived in the nineteenth century.  He was a wonderworker and a zealous promoter of the Saint Benedict Medal. One day I casually prayed to him in these words, “Father Paul of Moll, you are going to have to get me some more children’s picture books or give me some art ability”.  After the prayer I went and got a large art sketch book.

There was a book in the house which was illustrated with some cartoons of animals doing human activities like cooking the dinner and mowing the lawn. The pictures in the book were small. I sat down and looked at the cartoon book and began to sketch into the art book.  I did not stop to look at the drawings that I was doing. When I finally checked my work, I was astounded to see that I had made sketches of professional quality pictures, scaled up to a large size to fit the pages. I have never had this art ability before or since.

Some comments:

The two “art” favours detailed above were granted because of a need to carry out specific tasks.  The first one was to help with the teaching of a scripture class, and the second one was granted to help with the teaching of speech to a disabled child. These favours were not granted to satisfy an indulgent whim to be artistic.  It is appropriate to ask God for art ability, if that is the way that you make your living or have a special need.

Many of the favours reported in this book were granted because of special needs. For instance, the mother who was cured of her serious illness, so that she could continue to care for her disabled daughter, the financial help granted to the mother of eleven children, and the calming of the storm at sea to save the life of those on board the ship.

Miracles and favours should not be sought to indulge oneself. For example “Lord grant to me a big win in the lottery, so that I can buy myself a mansion near the beach”.  Petitions may sometimes seem to be similar.  Consider the following two petitions; “Lord, please give me a Rolls-Royce”. The unspoken desire behind this petition could be one of pride so that I can show off and impress people as to how important I am.  “Lord, please give me a car”. The intention behind this petition might be so that the petitioner can get to and from his job, in an area where there is no public transport. In both cases, God was asked for a car but that is where the similarity ended.  It is important to have a proper intention and a proper motive when you ask God for a favour. Your petition should be a real need not something to indulge yourself.

Protection from robbery  (The Infant Jesus)

A friend came down from the city to visit me and after we had discussed many things we then decided to say a prayer to the Infant Jesus. Our prayer petition asked the Infant Jesus among other things, to protect and bless our temporal goods from loss and misfortune.  Sometime during my friend’s visit my next door neighbour’s house was broken into and robbed of many valuable items. Our house was spared this treatment and my friend and I attributed this to the protection of the Infant Jesus. Every house on the block had been robbed at some time and one of them was robbed twice, even the primary school across the road was robbed.  We were never subjected to this. I prayed the Infant Jesus Chaplet regularly.

A surprise find (The Infant Jesus)

I had just finished saying the Infant Jesus Chaplet, my son went down to the back shed and sat on an old upholstered swivel chair which was marked for the tip.  He put his hand up inside the material which surrounded the arm of the chair and pulled out a twenty dollar note. We were very surprised and then my daughter told us that her nana (my husband’s mother who had lived with us until about the time of her death), had sometimes put money notes up the arm of the chair for what she probably thought was a safe place for hiding. She must have forgotten to remove this one.

Our family has received many other kinds of favours from the Infant Jesus (invoked under the title of the Infant of Prague), that are quite different from the ones outlined above. Some of the favours are to do with health; others are connected with catechetical work and many other kinds of needs and problems. The following favours are in relation to friends of mine. There are also some comments which have been made to me by people about the Infant of Prague devotion. Special note: around the world the Infant Jesus is invoked under many titles including: The Bambino of Aracoeli  in Rome, Italy and The Santo Nino De Cebu, (the Holy Child of Cebu), a devotion which originated  in the Philippines.

Recovery of debt   (The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

Gemma who had recently been widowed lent her friend about three thousand dollars to put down a deposit on a house. The friend promised to pay it back by a certain date. It was very important that she do so because Gemma needed it back to pay off some off her husband’s funeral expenses. Unfortunately the due date passed and the money was not paid back. The lady who had borrowed the money went out of her way to avoid meeting up with her. Gemma went overseas to visit some relatives and while there wrote a letter to her friend pleading with her to pay back the money. The letter was ignored. The situation dragged on. Another friend of Gemma who knew about this situation said that she would say an eight hour emergency novena to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague to obtain a solution to the problem. The next time that the friend went to see Gemma, Gemma said to her “I know that you have made the novena. Half of the debt has been paid back and my friend has promised to pay back the rest of the money in installments as soon as she can”.

Financial assistance  (The Infant Jesus)

A friend related the following story: she was one of eleven children of a widowed mother.  Her mother was always struggling to feed and clothe the family and to pay the bills. On one occasion when there was no money left to meet their needs, her mother prayed The Infant Jesus Chaplet. Later when she swept the rooms in her house some money was found under the carpet to meet their immediate needs.

A health problem   (The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

A lady had been suffering for some time from a serious problem with her leg and had been in chronic pain.  She prayed constantly about this to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague. One night she felt a young child’s hand rubbing her troublesome leg. There was no one in the room with her.  From then on her leg was fine and gave no more trouble. The lady showed her gratitude to The Infant of Prague by giving out many leaflets on the devotion.

The Eight Hour Novena to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague

In my former parish, a friend who gave me a copy of the eight hour Novena to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague made the following comment: “It would take a whole week to tell you all the answers to prayer which people have received in connection with this particular novena”.

The eight hour novena is said at approximately the same time every hour until the novena is finished. (The prayer is said nine times during the eight hours.)  It is also known as the Storm Novena, because the person is “storming heaven” with their prayers or as the “Emergency Novena” and as the “Flying Novena”.

A comment on the devotion to The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague

A volunteer helper in a Catholic library once told me that her sister prays regularly to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague and that her sister never runs into financial troubles and always does well in this area. The librarian’s comments bear out the prophecy of Princess Polyxena to the Carmelites of Prague. “As long as you honour the Child Jesus you shall never be in need”.

Protection from danger at sea

(The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

A friend told me the following story about her grandfather Joseph.  Joseph was on a ship off the coast of China prior to WWI. A gale blew up and large waves lashed the ship. The ship was in danger of sinking.  Joseph was very devoted to the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague. He went to his cabin and took out his Infant Jesus of Prague statue and then stood on the deck and held it while praying. He received a vision of the Infant Jesus walking on the waves.  The gale stopped and the waves died down. The ship was no longer in danger of going down.

Susan’s weight loss (The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

Susan was a woman in her early twenties who was enormously overweight. She lived with her parents.  There was great tension between Susan and her parents. She desperately wanted to lose weight and to move out of home. In addition, her father needed a hip replacement operation but he was terrified to undergo this operation. The reason for this was that his own father, and also his grandfather had died on the operating table and he was convinced that it would also be his fate. She confided these facts to me and my husband.  Even though Susan was a member of the Anglican Church we told her about the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague devotion. We arranged with Susan that the three of us would do the eight hour emergency novena to the Infant of Prague the following Saturday. The three of us prayed the novena at the same time.

A few years later our family moved to a new home and when we returned for a visit to the site of our previous home Susan’s family had moved. One of our former neighbors saw us and we had a conversation with him.  He asked us if we had heard the news about Susan.  He was excited when he told us that Susan had lost about one hundred and forty pounds in weight, and that Susan had married. Her father had also successfully undergone the hip replacement operation.

Help at Paris airport   (The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague)

Ellen and her husband John, who were inexperienced non seasoned travelers, were going on their first overseas trip to Europe.  Most of the trip was going to be with the support of their Australian group, except for the section from Paris to Rome. The huge Charles DeGaulle airport section  which they would have to tackle by themselves was a source of concern to them, because neither of them spoke French and because they had no experience at all of traveling in Europe.

In Rome they were going to be met by a friend, who would show them around. When the time came, the group coach driver dropped them off at the wrong terminal at the Paris airport fairly close to departure time. Because of the huge size of the airport it was almost equivalent to being dropped off at the wrong airport.  It was a hot day. They had heavy luggage and Paris airport proved to be a large, confusing place to them.  They had limited time to find the right place to go to for their flight to Rome. Before leaving Australia, Ellen who was very concerned about this part of the journey had prayed to The Infant Jesus of Prague, that he would send an English speaking person to help them out at the airport.

Now as they could not find the right terminal in that part of the airport they became confused and Ellen began to fear that the anticipated “nightmare” was coming true. As time was quickly running out, a lady asked her, “Where do you want to go to?”   The lady had overheard Ellen speaking to John in English. She was so relieved to hear this lady speaking in English.  They were at the wrong terminal and they needed to catch a bus just to get to the right section, the airport being so huge. To their relief the lady told them that a bus would be along in a few minutes, which would take them to the exact section of the airport that they needed. They had made it to the check-in counter in time.

A technological miracle

(The Infant Jesus, Saint Philomena and Saint Anthony)

The following story comes from India. My computer laptop adapter got burnt one month ago due to power fluctuations. Due to a sudden high voltage in the power line, the adapter of the laptop started smoking and the next thing I knew it was useless, so I purchased a new adaptor and today the same thing happened; the voltage changed and my new adaptor started smoking. I thought; “not again! I cannot buy other adapter as they are quite expensive”. I made a quick prayer to the Miraculous Infant Jesus and also to Saint Philomena and Saint Anthony, asking them to make my adapter work in spite of all the smoke and burning. I felt a bit silly asking such a thing from the saints. Believe it or not the adaptor is still working!

The Infant Jesus Miracle in Hungary

This story was related by a Jesuit priest, at a talk that I attended some years ago.  It was told to him by a Hungarian bishop in Rome. In Hungary when the communists were in power, an atheist school teacher did her very best to destroy the belief in God of the children in her class. She was always coming up with devious schemes for this purpose, such as telling the children, that God would take care of the plants.  However she made sure that they were not watered. Of course they died, and God was supposed to lose His creditability.

Her most devious trick was to ask the children, to call out to the Infant Jesus to come into the classroom.  If he did not come in, then He obviously did not really exist.  A miracle took place when the children called out in unison, “Baby Jesus come in!” The Infant Jesus did come in!  What happened to the atheist school teacher?  She suffered an instant nervous breakdown and was placed in a mental asylum. The Hungarian bishop who related this story to the priest, said that the miracle is well known to people in Hungary.

 

Employment   (The 54 Day Rosary Novena)

Carmel applied for a position with a particular company.  She was informed that there were no vacancies available, so Carmel and her husband made a 54 day Rosary Novena. On the 54th day of the novena, as soon as they had finished saying the Rosary, the telephone rang.  The call was from the company to let Carmel know that they had a job for her.

Protection during childbirth

(Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

When I was giving birth my blood pressure went up to a dangerously high level. I was wearing a sacramental which is called the Cord of Saint Philomena at the time. Saint Philomena gave me a special sign that I recognised as coming from her. After this my blood pressure returned to a normal level.

Bowel cancer  (Blessed Teresa of Calcutta)

A lady who was suffering from bowel cancer prayed to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. During her last operation the surgeon was astounded to see that there was no cancer left.

The feast day of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta is celebrated on September 5.

“May God bless your busy hands”

Jane did a large amount of crocheting while watching her children play during the school holidays. Unfortunately she overdid it and as a result pain and inflammation set in. Her neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, fingers, legs and toes were all affected. Some weeks later a request was made for one of the crocheted items from overseas.  The item was posted and in due course Jane received a card of thanks from the lady that it was sent to. There was a note on the card which read.  “May God bless your busy hands.” All the pain in Jane’s body left her, as soon as she read the words.

Danger in childbirth   (Our Lady)

When Karen went into hospital to give birth to her fourth baby there were many complications.  She overheard the doctor saying that she might not survive. Karen was not a Catholic, but she had heard of the Virgin Mary and started to pray to her in the only way that she knew how, by simply talking to her. The next night Karen had a vision of Our Lady holding the Infant Jesus. Karen took this as a sign that Mary was protecting her. The next day she gave birth to a baby girl by caesarean section. Both Karen and her baby were well.

Prayers  for rain   (A procession)

A procession was held in India to pray for rain, in order to bring an end to a drought. The people walked and prayed in the procession with rocks placed upon their heads as an act of reparation for their sins.  Their prayers and efforts were rewarded with good rainfall.

A change of heart

(Our Lady and the Servant of God Pope John Paul II)

The following story comes from the USA. My daughter’s husband is one of the stubbornest humans on the planet. If you want something to happen and he finds out that you want it, it won’t happen. I converted to the Catholic faith when my daughter was in high school. She was not interested in joining the church at that time, so I didn’t push it. Later on when she had a child, she wanted to join the church, and as my grandson grew, he also wanted to join the church. He went to Mass with us quite often and used to say that he saw angels and saints standing beside the priest during Mass. We all would try to encourage my son-in-law to “let” his family join the Church, but he refused.

I went to the religious education sister in my parish and talked to her. She recommended prayer and suggested a novena to Our Lady. I began the novena and prayed it daily for three years. In addition to this, after the death of Pope John Paul II in April, 2005 I also said a daily prayer to him for the intention. One day, out of the blue my son-in-law stopped by my house. He grabbed a coke and sat down at my kitchen table. I talked to him about various things. He asked me if I was on the RCIA team at my parish. When I told him that I was, he asked me if I could set up a meeting with the priest for his family to seek instruction in the Catholic faith. I was completely stunned. There is no other explanation for his change of heart, other than the intercession of Our Lady and The Servant of God Pope John Paul II. (This took place in November, 2005).

They joined the classes and were baptised and taken into the church at Easter the next year.  After the Mass that night, I told the religious education sister that I had taken her advice and prayed a continual novena for the three years since she had suggested it. She just smiled and said “of course, that is everyone’s secret weapon!” Since then they have had another son. He was baptised at eight weeks of age. What a joy for my husband and I!

Finding a lost notebook (Saint Anthony)

Michele had recently converted to Catholicism after having been a Protestant all her life and she was still trying to understand Catholic things. She thought “I am going to give this saint thing a try.” Michele was looking for a notebook. She went to the bookshelf and hunted there to no avail. So Michele asked Saint Anthony, “Okay, where is this notebook?” Then she heard the words, “Fourth shelf on the bookshelf.” Her thoughts were, “Yeah right, I have just looked there.” So Michele went into the office and begin looking and it was not there. She thought “This is wrong”. Then Michele heard the words, “I said the fourth shelf.” Michele counted the shelves and discovered that she was actually looking at the third shelf, so she looked at the fourth shelf, and there was the notebook. This incident convinced Michele of the value of praying to the saints for assistance.

On another occasion Michele prayed to Saint Anthony for three days in a row to help her find two items of clothing. On the third day she made this prayer: “St. Anthony I have asked you for three days to find these items, would you please take me to where they are?”  After making this prayer Michele went out to the yard to attend to some jobs.

She then came back into the house and decided to look in the closet one more time for the items. Michele opened the bedroom door and as she walked in, the thought came to her, “Turn around and look on your bed.” And there were the two items of clothing neatly folded and laying at the end of the bed.

Michele was astounded because she had slept in that bed and had made it  that day and on the previous day!

Graffiti in the Alley

(The Precious Blood of Jesus and the angels)

Vandals kept coming to an alley and putting graffiti up on the walls. The local council had to spend time, money and effort to clean it up on three occasions.  David went down to the alley and prayed to Our Lord and asked him to cover the alley with  His Precious Blood and to send angels to protect the alley.  The vandals did not come back.

Healing of severe cramps  (Rosary Novena)

When Sue was dating Brad (her future husband), she was not sure if she could go off the birth control pills that she had been using for five years, since the age of sixteen. Sue had really bad cramps and the pills alleviated the pain. Brad knew of her dilemma. He was thinking of marrying her, but he did not want the use of this drug in the marriage, because it is often used for contraception. Brad prayed a novena of the Rosary for the intention that; when Sue stopped using the pill, that her cramps would not return. Our Lady granted Brad’s request. When Sue was a teenager, she would be in bed for two days with pain every month, but after Brad said the Rosary novena, Sue was pain free and has continued to be pain free every month since then.

The mailing list error  (Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

I used to maintain a newsletter mailing list. On one occasion a nun telephoned to inform me that Sister Philomena had died and asked me to remove Sister Philomena’s name and address from the mailing list.  There were two Sister Philomenas on the mailing list.  I deleted the address for the wrong one from the computer file and to make matters worse I used white typewriter correction fluid to remove the same entry from the printed copy of the mailing list.  Later on I became aware of my mistake and realised that I could not get the address back, because it had been totally removed from all records both printed and electronic. I prayed to Saint Philomena for a solution to this seemingly impossible situation, and then an idea came to me.  I took the page that had the typewriter correction fluid over the printed entry, turned it to the blank side of the paper and then held it up to a strong light, so that the light would shine through that section of the paper.  This enabled me to see the address, however the letters were all reversed. I carefully copied down the reversed letters and wrote each one of them down in the correct order and succeeded in getting the address back.

In a television program that I saw recently, it was mentioned that forensics experts did something very similar to this. They shone a laser light through the back of a diary page, where an entry had been covered up with typewriter correction fluid and retrieved the entry. Judging from this, Saint Philomena obviously knows forensic investigation techniques!

A visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii

(Our Lord)

During a pilgrimage to shrines in Italy and France, we visited the ruins of Pompeii (the ancient Roman city which was destroyed by an eruption of Mt.Vesuvius in 79 AD.) In the distance we saw the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, (the famous church which is associated with the devotion that is known as the 54 Day Rosary Novena, which was revealed by Our Lady to an Italian girl in the nineteenth century). Everyone in the pilgrimage group wanted to visit the basilica. The coach driver and the tour guide firmly refused our request, because of their time schedule. No amount of pleading with them helped. One of the passengers, who had a strong devotion to the 54 Day Rosary Novena, silently made this prayer to Our Lord, “Dear Jesus, Our group would like to visit the basilica. Please let Your Will be done in regard to this matter.” The coach driver and the tour guide changed their minds and we had the joy and privilege of visiting the famous basilica.

Help with arthritis   (Saint Raphael the Archangel)

Richard suffers from pain in the hip due to arthritis.  He sometimes has to write many letters for his organisation. Whenever Richard sits down to do this he gets lots of pain in his hip and has trouble standing up and walking afterwards. Richard was given some oil blessed in honour of Saint Raphael the Archangel, who is known as the healing angel on account of the many spiritual and physical cures that he obtains for people. Richard had a lot of letters to write that day, before sitting down to write the letters he blessed himself with the oil and prayed to Saint Raphael for healing. Richard wrote the letters and contrary to what usually happens, he had no pain and was able to walk well afterwards. (Raphael means medicine of God).

St Raphael’s feast day is celebrated on September 29.

The healing of an alcoholic

(Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

A young year old mother of two small children related to me that she was forced to work at the local greengrocer shop to pay for her weekly fruit and vegetable bill because her husband was an unemployed alcoholic. He was wasting a portion of their very limited income each night on a bottle of hard liquor. I gave her a book entitled Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker and a novena to Saint Philomena, which she gratefully accepted. About a week later I asked how things were going for her. The answer left me stunned because I had not expected problems of that magnitude to be fixed up so quickly. Her husband had stopped drinking and he had also obtained paid employment doing sign painting on shop windows.

A healing before the Blessed Sacrament

Dana was diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder. This is a debilitating condition in which the sufferer is very anxious and restless all day long and is unable to focus on anything, even something simple such as reading. One day Dana attended Mass and afterwards when everyone left the church, she poured out her heart to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, telling him that she felt lost and confused and did not know what to do about it. When Dana was leaving the church, the thought came to her that she should not focus on her illness and on how to get rid of it, but that she should focus only on Jesus. This was a turning point in her life.  She was flooded with peace and relief in a much better way than any medication could have done so. Dana has been well ever since.

The healing of migraine headaches

(Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

A lady came to my house. She was selling cleaning detergents in support of a charity. We had a chat.  She told me that she suffered from constant migraine headaches. I asked her if she would like a book and a novena card on Saint Philomena and explained that this saint is a great miracle worker. Even though the lady is a member of the Anglican Church, she willingly agreed. A year later the same lady returned and I recognised her and asked. “Aren’t you the lady that I gave a Saint Philomena book to?” “Yes” she replied.  I then asked her if she had prayed to Saint Philomena. The lady told me that she had prayed to the saint and that her migraine headaches were healed. In addition she said that she had asked Saint Philomena to improve her ten pin bowling score and this was also granted.

An offering to Our Lady

Tina fell and broke her hip. She offered this suffering to Our Lady for the success of the work of a local group of the Legion of Mary.  At that time it had eight members.  Now it has grown to over fifty members.

Help with weight loss  (Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

Joanne a member of the Uniting Church related to me that her twenty eight year old daughter was dating a man who was of bad character. The problem was that the girl was overweight and lacked confidence. She feared that if she dropped this man that no one else would want her. I encouraged Joanne to pray to Saint Philomena. This she did and in a short time, her daughter dropped the undesirable boyfriend and found herself a much better man and lost weight as well.

A difficult dental problem  (Saint Appollonia)

A friend of mine, who is a member of the Lutheran church, was suffering greatly from a problem connected with her teeth. She had already consulted a dentist, who told her that there was nothing that he could do about it. Since there was no help from the dentist, I told her about Saint Appollonia, the patron saint of teeth, dentists and toothaches. This was opportune since Saint Appollonia’s feast day was coming up in a few days. She took the advice to pray to Saint Appollonia and when she returned to the dentist he was now able to come up with a good solution to fix the problem.

Saint Appollonia was an elderly Christian lady who had all her teeth knocked out during her martyrdom. Her feast day is celebrated on February 9.

The healing of vertigo  (The blessing of a priest)

A young boy of about four years of age was suffering from vertigo attacks.  (This feels as though the room is spinning very quickly around the person. This can be a terrifying experience even for an adult, so it is hard to imagine how a young child would cope with it). He used to cry out in terror: “The room is falling down”.  His mother asked every priest that they met to bless her son.  He was healed of the vertigo.

The air-raid (a protection attributed to a guardian angel)

In WWII during an air raid in Croatia, a mother quickly grabbed her baby and placed him into the pram.  She wanted to get to the air-raid shelter as quickly as she could, however outside the snow was very thick and the pram could not be pushed along.  During this stressful time a man appeared and told her that all would be well.  He then disappeared.  All the difficulties immediately dissolved and she was able to push the stroller along and safely arrive at the air-raid shelter. She believes that the man who appeared is her guardian angel.

The healing of epilepsy  (Blessed Peter Barbaric of Croatia)

During the winter months when it snows, icicles form on the windows.  Children enjoy eating the icicles. Jen ate some of these and became very ill.  She was off school for three months and developed a form of epilepsy. Her father took her on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Blessed Peter Barbaric and made a vow that he would fast every Thursday for the rest of his life if Jen was healed. From that day she never suffered from epilepsy ever again. Jen’s father faithfully kept the vow.

Protection during a gas leak  (Guardian Angel)

A few years ago I was teaching scripture at the local state school. Because I was running late, I did not go to the school office and sign the register, but went straight to the classroom and waited for the bell to ring and for the students to come in. There was a strange quiet feeling in the room and something seemed very odd.  I waited for more than fifteen minutes for the students and wondered why they were so late in coming to the class. I decided to do some preparation work for the class while waiting and took a guardian angel holy card out of my bag and wrote the words of the guardian angel prayer on the back.

As soon as I finished writing the prayer, I decided that since the pupils were twenty minutes late for a thirty minute class that I would leave and go home. When I went out to the playground, I noticed with surprise that the whole school (teachers, students and secretarial staff) were way down the back of the field.  I went down to see why.  There was a serious gas leak in the school and everyone was supposed to be evacuated!

No wonder it felt quiet and strange in there, because no one was in the school except me!  No one could go back into the school to telephone parents, to collect bags etc. My daughter (who was a student at the school) was very worried when she could not find me in the assembled crowd  and mentioned to the teacher with some concern that I was coming up to teach scripture and should have been present. Since the principal deemed that it was too dangerous to continue, school lessons were abandoned for the rest of the day and my daughter was the only pupil in the school who could go home with me straight away! Another bonus was that it seemed to me that my sinuses were a bit better that year. I was left wondering if it was the gas!

Protection from injury

(Favours attributed to my Guardian Angel)

When I was eight years old I was crossing the road, a car was coming towards me and the driver braked hard to avoid an accident. The car managed to stop, but it came so close that it touched my school uniform. Afterwards I caught the bus home. By the time I arrived home, my mother to my great surprise already knew about the incident even though it had taken place several miles away. Someone had obviously seen the incident and telephoned her with the information.

On another occasion when I was an adult, I got off a bus, and started to cross the road.  When I had gone halfway across I tripped and fell down onto the roadway. There was lots of fast moving traffic flowing past me, including semi trailer trucks swishing past very close on either side.  I could feel the force of the wind that they generated as they passed by. Unfortunately I was stranded there for a considerable time unable to cross the road.  Eventually, as the traffic cleared and to my great relief I was able to safely cross to the other side of the road.

Protection in a dangerous situation

(Attributed to my Guardian Angel)

I was walking my children home from school.  We stopped at the corner of the street in order to cross the road.  There was a car stopped there waiting for the traffic to clear in order to make a turn. I deliberately made eye contact with the driver to make sure that she could see me. The lady appeared to be looking at us and acknowledging our presence. We then confidently proceeded to cross the road.

Unfortunately despite this she had not seen us. The vehicle started to move and accelerated towards us as we began to cross the road. The car was almost upon us when at the last second she managed to slam on her brakes missing us by a tiny amount. The lady got out and started to shake and cry uncontrollably, because she realised that if we had been killed that it would have been her fault for not paying enough attention to the situation. My obviously pregnant state would have added to her distress. I thought very little of the incident at that time, and casually remarked to her “It’s okay, I pray to the guardian angels for protection, everyday.”  A lady who had witnessed this incident told me the next day that she was absolutely convinced that the children and I were going to be killed.

Protection from a savage dog

(Attributed to my Guardian Angel)

One Saturday morning, I took a walk near my home. Our neighbor’s dog (a ferocious German Shepard) came tearing down a long driveway towards me. He started to menace me. Unexpectedly a car came down the road. It was practically the only car that had driven down the road that day. There were two sisters in the car, when they saw what was happening and the danger that I was in they quickly opened the car door, and told me to get in. This undoubtedly saved me from a vicious attack by the dog.

Protection from injury: the firecracker

(Attributed to a Guardian Angel)

The following account suggests the intervention of a guardian angel.  During a religious festival in Malta, a six-year old boy named John picked up a firecracker. Thinking that it was unlit he placed it in his front trouser pocket.  Immediately a man came up to him and told him that the firecracker in his pocket was lit and to throw it away. He immediately complied and the fire cracker exploded as soon as it hit the ground.  John then turned back to thank the man, but amazingly there was no one there.

Telephone troubles  (Guardian Angel)

Protecting people is not the only thing that guardian angels do. The mission of a guardian angel is to help you to reach heaven, however they can assist in many diverse situations both spiritual and temporal. They are even willing to give help in the trivial events of life as the following favour demonstrates. John tried for many hours to reach his wife Terry on the telephone.  He worked out that the phone was off the hook. There was not much that John could do about that.  Then a little inspiration came to him.  He instructed his guardian angel to ask his wife’s guardian angel to get her to put the phone back on the hook. Immediately after this prayer, his wife put the phone back on the hook and John successfully telephoned her.

The feast of the Guardian Angels is celebrated on October 2.

A close encounter with a bus

(The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy)

This story is told as it was told to me (editor’s note). When I was returning home from a session at university, I walked along the edge of the road next to the footpath, because there was such a large crowd of people on the footpath itself. I had just finished praying the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy when I got an inspiration to jump up onto the edge of the footpath. If I had done this only a split second later I would have been run over by a city bus. The bus came so close to me, that even though I was on the footpath, I scraped off the dirt along its side as it brushed past me. The driver stopped to see how I was. He gave me the excuse that he was trying to avoid bumping into a car on the other side of him and that I shouldn’t complain, since I had not been walking on the footpath!  After he said that, he realized that he was admitting that it would have been better to run me over than to put a dent in the other car!  I thanked my guardian angel. I very often ask him and thank him for his protection. He has saved me on many other occasions. I give him so much work!

The Scripture Class (The Hail Mary)

For many years Pauline taught kindergarten scripture class at the local state school. Her family circumstances were very difficult and made many demands on her time and energy. In addition to that, there were many other demands made upon her as a result of voluntary work for an organization. Pauline was constantly tired and had no time for herself. Scripture teachers spend a fair bit of time preparing what they are going to teach. However Pauline’s circumstances made this impossible.  She had a bag of beautifully illustrated childrens’ Catholic books on various topics and also pictures of the saints for the children to colour-in. Every week as she walked from her home to the school to teach scripture class, Pauline prayed Hail Marys. Each time the impossible happened, as soon as she started her classes, the tiredness vanished and the lessons seem to come together from nowhere.  Things fell into place. Pauline jokingly referred to this as “her weekly miracle”.

Naming a website  (Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker)

I prayed to Saint Philomena to help me to find a good name for my new website. I then remembered the Californian Spanish Franciscan missions and their mission bells which call people to prayer and also a 60’s hit song named “Mission Bell”, so I settled on Missionbell. Later that day I went up to the state school to teach Catholic scripture to the kindergarten class. It was late in the school year. The children had been told my name many times and knew it well, yet one of the little girls asked me what my name was. I asked the other children if they knew and could tell her. Immediately one little girl jumped up and said that my name was Mrs. Bell. This does not even come close.

On hearing this, another girl jumped up and even more astonishingly proclaimed that my name was Missionbell.  I am puzzled as to how a five-year old Australian girl would have ever heard of the word Missionbell. St Philomena was confirming for me in this remarkable way that the name Missionbell was the one that she wanted for my website.

The healing of hip pain (Saint Raphael the Archangel)

Richard was scheduled for a hip replacement operation, but before it was due he was diagnosed with an infection in his teeth.  Because of this the hip replacement operation was postponed.  The doctors said that they cannot operate until the infection has healed.

Richard daily put oil blessed in honour of Saint Raphael on himself.  He can now walk without pain and no longer needs a walking stick.  In addition antibiotics have healed him of the infection in his gums and teeth.

A marriage and a conversion   (Blessed Mary MacKillop)

A lady in the USA asked an on-line friend to place some petitions at the shrine of Blessed Mary MacKillop in Australia. One of the petitions was for her twenty-eight year old daughter Lyn to find a good husband. A few days after the petition was placed at Blessed Mary Mackillop’s tomb, Lyn’s mother received a telephone call from a man that Lyn had dated eight years ago. Lyn and her former boyfriend went on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, in France to pray there to discern God’s will for their lives. They have since married. Another of the mother’s petitions to Blessed Mary MacKillop was also answered.  Her son decided to give up living with his girlfriend. They started to attend Mass regularly and also began making preparations to marry.

The microwave oven problem (Blessed Mary MacKillop)

I had arranged to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Blessed Mary MacKillop at North Sydney.  On the morning that I was due to go I discovered that my microwave oven had stopped working. When I went to the shrine I prayed for many important petitions.  I also mentioned to Blessed Mary MacKillop the little matter of my microwave oven. When I arrived home I tried my microwave oven again and it was still not working.  After this I slammed the oven door very hard and to my joy the microwave started working!  It seems that the only thing that was wrong was that there was a fault in the closing mechanism of the door. The microwave oven was not fully closing. It only appeared to be fully closed.

The healing of a friendship  (Blessed Mary MacKillop)

A friendship between two formerly good friends seemed to be in tatters, because of inaccuracies which were presented to one of the friends about the other. The friend who was the subject of the stories understood what had happened and for nearly two years, she tried to be friendly with her former friend, showing good will, by sending Christmas greetings and other messages. Despite this no response was received from her former friend. So she visited the shrine of Blessed Mary MacKillop and said a short prayer there about the matter, but realised that the situation by now was looking hopeless.  Fifteen days later to her great joy, she received a message from her former friend that was full of good will towards her.

Blessed Mary MacKillop was beatified on January 19, 1995 in Sydney, Australia by Pope John Paul II. Her feastday is celebrated on August 8.

Getting rid of a headache   (Saint Denis)

Saint Denis is the patron saint of Paris and of headaches.  I knew that Saint Denis was the patron saint of headaches, but I did not know the reason why. When my husband and I were visiting Montmartre, the site of the martyrdom of Saint Denis in Paris, where the Sacre Coeur Basilica is located, I started to develop a headache. Our guide told us the story of the martyrdom of Saint Denis. After he was decapitated he miraculously picked up his own severed head, carried it and washed it!  The connection between Saint Denis and headaches was now obvious. There were some headache tablets in my carry bag, but a search failed to find them because there were so many items packed in there.  I invoked Saint Denis to heal me of the headache. We had a nice meal and then I felt much better and the headache was gone. This was a small favour, but a welcome one, as anyone who has ever had a severe headache would know.

The feast day of Saint Denis is celebrated on October 9.

An infertility problem   (Saint Anne)

Dawn was suffering from infertility. After she prayed to Saint Anne for help the prayer was answered. Dawn gave birth to a baby girl.

Saint Anne is the patroness of women who are suffering from infertility. Her feast day is celebrated on July 26.

The healing of a serious illness   (Our Lord)

A very sick mother was greatly concerned because there was no one to look after her disabled daughter.  She prayed to our Lord and she says that He appeared to her in a vision and healed her of her sickness. The healing of her sickness was later medically verified.

A financial problem  (Our Lord and Our Lady)

A meeting was held in the church, because unfortunately, the parish did not have anywhere else to hold it. One of the ladies attending the meeting commented on the inappropriateness of the situation. The priest suggested that the parishioners be asked to donate towards the building of a meeting room. The lady said that she would give a good donation. Later when she informed her husband about this, he said that they did not have enough money to make such a big donation. She prayed to Our Lord and Our Lady for help to fulfill the commitment, Sometime later her husband found an expensive gold ring set with diamonds which someone had lost.

They handed this ring to the police who informed them that if no one claimed the ring within a three month period that it would be given back to them. After the three months had elapsed and no one had claimed the ring they received it.  The lady then took the ring and sold it to a pawnshop for eight hundred dollars and donated the money to the parish towards the building of a meeting room.

A large cyst   (The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

Linda had a large cyst on the side of her face. People kept commenting on it.  Her doctor suggested that she have plastic surgery to remove it. Linda prayed a novena for the relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The cyst gradually went right down. There was no longer an need for surgery.

Employment with specific conditions.  (The Holy Souls in Purgatory)

Monica was in need of a job so she prayed for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and asked them to intercede for her so that she would find employment. She had specified in her prayer a job at a particular shopping complex located in a nearby suburb near the railway station for easy transport. The favour was graciously granted.

The healing of panic attacks

(Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and the 54 Day Rosary Novena)

For about five months of this year, I was suffering from severe panic attacks, which caused some very big problems in my life. I was very upset and prayed many prayers for help, including a 54 Day Rosary Novena. One of the prayers that I said was the prayer associated with the Miraculous Medal, “O Mary conceived without sin pray for us, who have recourse to thee”. Our family went on holidays for a month during this difficult period. There was a doll museum in the holiday area which I wanted to see.  It was very interesting to see all the different kinds of dolls, but two interested me more that the rest.  There were two dolls that were dressed as nuns and one of them had a Miraculous Medal at the end of her Rosary beads and the other was wearing a Miraculous Medal.

This unexpected find was very comforting to me and I recovered soon after from these panic attacks which were connected to specific circumstances.  The previous batch that I had suffered from, were related to crossing bridges (fear of heights). They lasted many years. Those were healed as a result of many prayers. The panic attacks which I had this year were far more severe than the previous ones since due to their severity they were sometimes causing me to vomit. An underlying longstanding ear imbalance problem had made these panic attacks much worse. Thanks to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal they were healed within a few months.

The healing of pain   (Saint Charbel)

During one of my pregnancies some of my ligaments had softened up in preparation for childbirth. This caused me a fair bit of pain. The pain had been occurring for several weeks. One night my husband and I went to a Mass which was celebrated according to the Maronite Rite. When I went up to receive Holy Communion it was obvious to many people that I was in pain, because they could see the way that I was limping. After the Mass a group of ladies approached me and said something in Lebanese, (a language which I do not speak) and they then ushered me over to a side chapel. They prayed in front of a large picture of Saint Charbel and doused me with water from a baptismal font that was in front of the picture. The next night we attended Mass at the same church. All the pain had gone. This was also apparent to people by the way that I walked when going up to Holy Communion. After the Mass the same group of ladies approached me and again ushered me to the chapel of Saint Charbel in order to give thanks for the obvious healing of my pain.

Crying in the kindergarten class   (Saint Charbel)

In one of my kindergarten scripture classes a small boy used to cry every week for his mother. This made it difficult for me to teach the other children. In order to try and stop him from crying I decided to have a talk with him.  I asked him what his name was.  He told me it was Charbel. At the time I was wearing a locket containing a relic of Saint Charbel. There was a picture of the saint on the front of the locket.  I showed it to him and asked him “Do you know who this is?” His face lit up with joy. “It’s Saint Charbel!” He exclaimed.  He never cried in my class again.

The feast day of Saint Charbel is July 23.

 

The medal of Saint Benedict

The Saint Benedict medal is one of the most famous and efficacious medals in the church. It commemorates Saint Benedict working miracles through The Sign of the Cross. The blessing formula for the medal has a special exorcism blessing against all things coming from Satan and the evil spirits. It also has a special blessing for the sick.

The undesirable tenants  (The Medal of Saint Benedict)

Jill lived next door to a house that was rented out to tenants. Three successive groups of tenants lived in the house. The tenants in each of the three groups were drug addicts. They usually slept all day and stayed up all night disturbing the neighbours with their noisy rowdy parties. The third group of tenants skipped through without paying the rent. Jill’s mother then placed a blessed Saint Benedict medal beside the house, after that much quieter tenants moved in.

Kim has a similar story. She placed a Saint Benedict Medal close to a house across the road from her own home. The tenants in this house used to blast the neighbourhood with unbearably loud music.  After the Saint Benedict Medal was placed there, the tenants moved out and quiet peaceful tenants moved in.

An noisy blast at the supermarket

(The Medal of Saint Benedict)

Every Friday night my husband and I went to the supermarket to buy our weekly groceries. The supermarket played on the loudspeaker a heavy metal rock radio station.  This caused me to develop headaches during the shopping excursions.  After many weeks of this I came up with the idea of placing a tiny blessed Saint Benedict medal behind the cans of food.  The next Friday when we went to the supermarket to shop, to my relief the supermarket staff had changed the radio station to a much more pleasant music station.

Stress in the workplace   (The Medal of Saint Benedict)

Gail’s father works as a policeman.  He was under constant stress because of the trouble that he was having with a senior police officer. The senior police officer was very argumentative and troublesome. The problem had been ongoing for about a year. Gail gave her father a blessed Saint Benedict medal and said a prayer for him, starting from the very next day the senior police officer was much easier to get along with.

Protection of a house from fire   (Saint Benedict)

While Melanie was working at the back of her house doing the laundry, she said a prayer to Saint Benedict asking him to protect her home. Ten minutes later there was a knock at the front door.  It was a man who alerted her to a fire in her front yard which had been started by someone carelessly throwing away a lit cigarette. The fire had already started to spread.  There was no tap in that area, so she ran back into the house to get a bucket of water. By the time she got back a passerby had put out the fire with his work boots. Without his help the fire could have caused considerable damage.

The feast day of Saint Benedict is celebrated on July 11.

Trouble in the park   (The Medal of Saint Benedict)

A friend of our family lived near a park.  For many years hoodlums gathered in the park at night where all kinds of unacceptable behaviour took place.  The police were called repeatedly over a number of years and despite their efforts they were never successful in improving the situation. Finally our friend placed a blessed Saint Benedict medal under one of the park benches.  From that day on the hoodlums never returned.

Promises of Saint Therese of Lisieux

“I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth”

“After my death I will let fall from heaven a shower of roses”

The “roses” that Saint Therese referred to in the prophecy quoted above: is the term which she used to describe her miracles and favours. The feast day of Saint Therese is celebrated on October 1.

Signs of friendship from Saint Therese: her promised shower of Roses

I recited a five day prayer  which honours Saint Therese.  It is as follows: Saint Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favour, I thee implore, and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more.

The prayer also had the following instructions.

(The above prayer together with five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys and five Glorias must be said on five successive days, before 11 a.m.  On the fifth day, after the fifth set of prayers are completed, offer one more set of  five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys and five Glorias.)

I wondered why the prayer had to be said each day before 11 a.m.  No reason was given.  Perhaps the person who composed the prayer decided to stipulate: before 11 a.m. as a small act of sacrifice. On the fifth day a lady telephoned me and asked if I could come up on the train to her parish for the 9 a.m. Mass.  I said that I was not able to.  At five minutes past 11 a.m.  She arrived at my house with a gift.  It was a statue of Saint Therese!  The lady had attended Mass, then purchased the statue, got it blessed and then took the trouble to catch a train to visit me, so determined was she that I would receive the statue on that particular day.  She knew nothing of the prayers that I was saying to Saint Therese.

On another occasion I prayed a novena to Saint Therese for a special favour and as I walked to and from the pre-school with my daughter, I kept finding roses on the footpath.  I wondered if the roses were a sign from Saint Therese.  On the way home from the pre-school, I went into the news agency shop to make a purchase,  while I was waiting in the queue to pay the shop assistant, I turned to look at the newspapers and magazines. On the front page of the afternoon newspaper was a photograph of a statue of Saint Therese.  My unspoken question about the roses was answered. On yet another occasion I had just finished teaching Catholic scripture class to kindergarten, as I was leaving, one of the children from year one came up to me to show her treasure, a photograph given to her by her scripture teacher.  “Who is this?” she asked.  “It is Saint Therese,” I replied.  As I said this I smelt the roses, which I understood to be a sign of Saint Therese’s presence.

The most recent sign of friendship from Saint Therese occurred soon after I had finished saying a prayer to her. My son called out “come and see Saint Therese on TV”. I thought that he was mistaken. It was an item about Saint Therese’s relics ‘touring’ England and the great interest that people there have in viewing them. This is definitely not the type of story that is usually shown on the secular news programmes here in Sydney.

The healing of cancer  (Saint Therese)

My aunty was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went to her home with a first class relic of Saint Therese.  Her daughter-in-law said that my aunty and uncle were attending Mass at the parish church. My husband and I then drove down to the church. Mass has just ended.  I looked down the hill, and I could see my aunty and uncle leaving the church.  As soon as I saw them I smelt the heavy scent of roses. There were no roses nearby. Saint Therese was giving a sign that all would be well. My aunty underwent chemotherapy and surgery, which was successful in eradiating the cancer. (It is a well documented fact that Saint Therese sometimes allows people to smell roses in connection with her favours and miracles).

Special Note: First class relics are part of the saint’s body e.g. bone. Second class relics are objects which belonged to the saint during their lifetime e.g. clothing. Third class relics are touched to the saint’s body or tomb after their death e.g. cloth.

Help in choosing a Confirmation name   (Saint Therese)

Maree was trying to choose a saint’s name for her Confirmation. She asked her mother for help with this. The mother gave several suggestions of saints’ names but Maree rejected all of them. Then her mother wrote down the names of many female saints on strips of paper and placed them in a box, then she told Maree to invoke Saint Therese to help her draw out the right name. Having done this she then drew out a name.  It was Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. However Maree was not pleased with this result so her mother asked her to put the name back into the tin and to let her draw again.  Again she  pulled out Saint Helen.  Maree wanted one more try.  Yet again the result was Saint Helen.  Finally she asked “Why does Saint Therese want me to have Saint Helen?”  The matter was settled. Helen was chosen as Maree’s Confirmation name.

Help to find suitable employment   (Saint Therese)

My daughter was happy with her job, however, there was some difficulties regarding going to and from the job.  The job was located in a relatively isolated area. My daughter had to catch a train to and from the workplace and she also had to take her push bike on the train with her. When she arrived at the railway station she then had to ride her bike down a long road in an isolated area, where she was in danger because of speeding traffic including semi trailers. We prayed for some time for her to find another job, but to no avail.  Finally, I gave her novena to Saint Therese.  She prayed the novena and some time later, she came home with some roses that she had found at the railway station. Later on, she found a job in a much better location.

Roses are another of the signs that Saint Therese gives when she is granting favours to people.

Saint Dymphna cures a mouse phobia (not the computer type)

Anne suffered panic attacks whenever she saw mice. This was a lifelong problem so she prayed to Saint Dymphna for help. One day when she was standing barefoot on the carpet, she felt a very strange sensation on her foot. She looked down and there was a little mouse scampering across her foot. It struck her immediately that she had not gone into a panic attack from the unpleasant experience. From that time onwards she was no longer afraid of mice although she never grew fond of them.

The feast day of Saint Dymphna is celebrated on May 15. She is the patron saint of those who suffer from mental illness and nervous afflictions.

Help during childbirth   (Saint Gerard Majella)

When I was expecting my fourth child, I prayed to Saint Gerard Majella for help with the birth, since the other births had been difficult and painful. This time it turned out to be short and easy with almost no pain. I was amazed and kept asking myself “Is that it?  Is that all there is?”

The feast day of Saint Gerard Majella is celebrated on October 16. He is the patron saint of mothers and babies and protects mother during childbirth.

One of the consequences of Original Sin is that childbirth is a painful business. Saint Gerard Majella’s intercession in this case shows an example of the Mercy of God towards the human race.

A pilgrimage to the tomb of Father Paul of Moll O.S.B.

Soon after I had read a book about Father Paul of Moll O.S.B. the wonder worker of Belgium who had lived in the nineteen century I decided to attend a local women’s parish craft group.  The craft afternoon was held in my parish hall and in the course of a conversation with one of the ladies I discovered that she was from Belgium. This was the first person that I had ever met from that country and I was keen to find out if she knew anything about Father Paul. I put this question to her:  “Do you know about Father Paul of Moll?” The answer stunned me.  “Yes!  He cured my mother!

My mother went with a pilgrimage group to his grave in the middle of January, when it was bitterly cold and snowing. She was suffering from severe rheumatism, which tended to be at its worst during the winter months. It was her intention to pray for a healing of the rheumatism. Later she noticed another person in the pilgrimage group who was in greater need of healing than herself and forgetting her own needs she began to pray for this person.  While she prayed for the other sick pilgrim she herself was cured of the rheumatism”.

The babysitting job

Wendy had been studying the topic of Divine Intervention in her religion class. When she came home from school, she asked her mother to explain this to her. Wendy’s mother gave the following explanation: “It is when God intervenes for you, to aid you in something and there is no earthly explanation for the outcome of what happens. Another word for that would be miracle”. Wendy replied: “I still don’t get it.  What do you mean?” Because Wendy was only twelve years of age, her mother decided to explain Divine Intervention in terms of Wendy’s personal experience. Her mother knew that Wendy wanted to earn some pocket money. In relation to this, she had done a babysitting course the previous year, but had become discouraged because no one had hired her.

Wendy’s mother said to her: “Suppose you prayed very hard to get the ideal babysitting job that you have been wanting and then someone calls you out of the blue and hires you on the spot to baby-sit for good pay and it turns out to be an easy job and the  kids are really good. Wouldn’t you say that was like a miracle as you’ve  been thinking that it would never happen?”

The next day, Wendy came home from school very excited and said to her mother;  “Guess  what, Mom! boy, do I believe in God!”  “What  happened?” her mother asked. Wendy replied “Remember how we were talking about Divine  Intervention yesterday?  Well, my teacher said a woman called the  school looking for a mature 6th grader to baby-sit. She asked me if I would be available to walk a 2nd grader home from school twice a week, stay with her, help her with her homework and baby-sit until her Grandmother comes  home from work.  She’s going to pay me fifteen dollars a day! And the clincher is, she  lives a block away from our house!” Wendy kept that job the whole school year and was  extremely happy with it.  She learned a lot about responsibility and what  praying can do!

A brain tumour healed through prayer and the use of Lourdes Water

Joseph had a brain tumour which was due to be operated on. He stopped off on his way to the hospital where he was due to have a pre-op, to be prayed for by a group of people, who also put Lourdes water on him.  When he was examined at hospital, the brain tumour was gone.

Finding Employment  (Saint Joseph)

Michael was in urgent need of employment. He had mortgage repayments due in two weeks time. Michael sent his résumé to a company in the hope of getting a particular position there. He telephoned his mother and asked her to pray that he get the position. His mother started a thirty day novena to Saint Joseph for the intention.  Half way through the novena Michael telephoned his mother in great distress.  He told her that he had blown the interview. 

His mother told him to hang on because she had not yet finished the novena. The company called Michael in for a second interview. They recognised his ability and gave him a much better job than the one that he applied for. It also had a higher salary. Michael was sent to America to set up computer systems for the company. This was the first time that Michael’s abilities had been recognised and financially rewarded by any of his employers.

The Lost Dog   (Our Lord)

A few years ago my daughter’s dog Maxi went missing. She was ten years old at the time and was devastated by the loss.  After three days I suggested that we pray to Our Lord that; either Maxi would return home or that we would find him. We were sitting in the dining room. The back door was open but the screen door was closed.  As soon as we finished the prayer, right after we said Amen, we heard a scratching sound on the screen door.  It was Maxi letting us know that he wanted to come in!

Was this a choir of angels?

During a trip to the city, three sisters decided to visit a nearby church and as they walked into the church’s vestibule they heard a choir singing. The singing sounded angelic. The sisters refrained from going into the church because they did not want to disturb the choir. After waiting for some time they decided to walk into the church because their time was running out and they would soon have to leave and catch their train home. As they walked into the church the singing stopped and to their amazement the church was empty.

Healing from autism   (Saint Jude)

My daughter was born with severe autism.  She was still unable to speak at the age of three and half.  I turned to Saint Jude for his help and went to Holy Communion for eighteen consecutive Saturdays in his honour to obtain a healing of the autism.  At the end of the eighteen weeks my daughter’s condition became even worse. I was in a panic. I pulled myself back together and continued to pray to Saint Jude and to other saints for a healing. My daughter learnt to speak well and has made such astounding progress that people find it hard to believe when I tell them that she was born with autism.

Saint Jude is the patron saint of hopeless cases.  His feast day is celebrated on October 28.

Financial help   (Saint Jude)

Stephanie informed her mother Clare that she was going to be married in three months time.  Clare was very short of money.  She realised that there was no way that she would be able to provide Stephanie with a decent wedding reception. Clare turned to Saint Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases, for his help. She won a modest amount of money in the lottery and this was sufficient to cover the costs involved.

The bushfire crisis   (Our Lady of the Rosary)

Bushfires were headed towards the homes in a mountain area. One of the home owners stood in front of his house, which was in the path of the fire and prayed the Rosary. The wind changed direction and the houses were saved.

Timely help  (Our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Some years ago, there was a period when it rained almost continuously for ten weeks.  This made it difficult for people to get their washing dry. On one occasion because everything was still drying, I literally had no jumpers (known as sweaters in the USA), left to clothe my children with. The weather was cold, so this was needed. It was time for them to walk to school and all that I could do was say a prayer for some help in the matter. I prayed the prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Flos Carmeli, (The Flower of Carmel). After saying the prayer, I opened the front door. There on the verandah was a cardboard box filled with clean ironed jumpers, slacks, jeans and blouses. I later learned that they had been put there by a lady who lived in the next street. She had received them from a cousin and had no need of them. This gift was the answer to my prayer.

The feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is July 16.

The healing of pain   (An offering to a Marian shrine)

Lisa was suffering from a lot of pain in her arm for a period of six months.  The treatments that the doctor tried did not alleviate her suffering.  Lisa could not lift her arm up to get things off the shelf.  This was particularly troubling because at that time, she was working in her family owned grocery store. The doctor said that he thought that she might have damaged a nerve in her arm.  Before going to sleep one night Lisa prayed and made a promise that if she was healed, that she would send a quantity of olive oil to a Marian shrine in Lebanon. This oil is blessed at the shrine and then distributed to the sick who receive healing through its use). The next morning she woke up completely healed of the problem.

A healing of severe arthritis

(The Sacred Wounds of Our Lord)

Alana was suffering from severe arthritis and was in so much pain, that she could no longer raise her arms above her head. She could not fix her pony tail, so she decided to have her hair cut short. So severe was her condition that she needed help from other family members to remove her dress in order to change her clothes.  On one occasion none of the members of the family were available to assist her, so she was forced to use a pair of scissors to cut her dress so that she could remove it in order to change. For several months Alana recited the following prayer:  By His Wounds we are healed.  This prayer is a quotation from Isaiah in the Old Testament of the bible. It refers to the sufferings which Our Lord was to undergo. Through this prayer she was healed of the arthritis.

Instructions for saying The Rosary of the Holy Wounds

of Our Lord Jesus Christ also known as the Chaplet of Mercy

(May be said on the Rosary beads)

On the large beads say: “Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of our souls.”

On the small beads say: “My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Thy Holy Wounds.”

These two invocations were taught by Our Lord to Sister Mary Martha Chambon in the Visitation of Chambery, France, March 21, 1907. The sister received from Our Lord a double “mission”, to constantly invoke the Holy Wounds herself and to revive this devotion in the world.

Promise of Our Lord to Sister Mary Martha: “I will grant all that is asked of Me by the invocation of My Holy Wounds. You must spread the devotion.”

A Method of meditating on the Rosary

This article outlines one particular method of saying the Rosary. It is not necessarily the best one; however it may be a valuable aid to some people.

The Rosary consists of two parts. The first part; is the actual prayers; The Our Father, The Hail Mary, The Gloria, etc. The second part is meditation upon the mysteries of the Rosary.

At the Catholic secondary school that I attended, all the teachers and students would recite the Rosary in the church before Mass. I do not recall even one class lesson being given to us on how to say the Rosary. My family also recited the Rosary during the Christmas season.

When I married, I learnt from my husband that the mysteries should be meditated upon while saying the prayers of the Rosary. This came as a great surprise to me. Actually it was more like a shock. I kept asking myself why the Catholic schools that I attended didn’t tell me about this. To be fair they did teach me the catechism.

The business of meditation while saying the prayers of the Rosary; conjured up visions of something like juggling balls in one hand and playing the piano with the other hand.  It was hard for me to imagine how you could do both of them at the same time. I also looked upon the business of meditation as something for mystics who lived in caves in the desert. Meditation didn’t seem to be anything remotely connected with me.

After the initial shock wore off, I started to learn how to meditate on the mysteries, while saying the vocal prayers.  The first stage of this process was the use of books which contained ten scriptural verses for each decade of the Rosary. My eyes slowly scanned each scriptural verse, while I said the vocal prayers (Hail Marys) etc. This method felt somewhat artificial and mechanical, but at least I was combining both the meditation and the prayers at the same time.

When the scriptural verses were partly memorised, I did not use the books anymore.  The “walking stick” was thrown away.  The verses went through my mind, while saying the prayers vocally. Pictures from books, depicting the decades were also utilised. The next stage was that as well as scriptural verses going through my mind, the pictures that I had seen in the books were also visualised. I closed my eyes and literally could see these scenes as though they were in the room. These scenes filled up the whole area that I was viewing. All of this was in colour.

The vocal prayers receded into the background, like background music that is played softly, while you are eating dinner and talking in the restaurant. The meditation came to the forefront.

As well as visualising scenes from the actual decades (such as the Archangel Gabriel appearing to Mary), for variety I added at the beginning of each decade, a visual image of either the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or the Divine Mercy and at the end of each decade an image of Mary as she appeared to Saint Catherine Laboure in the Miraculous Medal vision, which depicts Mary distributing graces, as rays coming from her hands. Studying the pictures on holy cards was useful in helping me to visualise these images.

By the time that this stage was reached it was a great deal easier for me to say Rosaries even when I was very tired. A good way to keep up your motivation to say the Rosary is to make a 54 day Rosary novena for a special intention.  It is amazing how this will keep you going when your motivation to say the Rosary is running on low.

The method described above also can be employed when saying other chaplets: such as The Little Chaplet of the Holy Infant Jesus and the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. In the Infant Jesus Chaplet, you can visualise a picture of the Infant Jesus of Prague. In the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy you can mediate on the Divine Mercy picture and also visualise Saint Faustina having a vision of the angel who is about to carry out God’s just punishment on a particular part of the world, and the angel becoming helpless in carrying this out as Saint Faustina prayed the words of the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy.  There are many other appropriate scenes which you can visualise while saying the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.

Some benefits of meditating on the Rosary.

Meditation on the Rosary puts before our minds, the true purpose of our lives and also keeps us focused on where we hope to spend our eternity (heaven). It counteracts the blatant messages in the media, which seek to corrupt our behaviour and get us completely preoccupied and interested in things like, money making, pleasure seeking and many immoral practices. The thoughts in our minds will greatly influence the choices that we make in how we live our lives.  Saying the Rosary will tilt the balance heavily to the side of making good moral choices.

It is well known that people sometimes act out criminal activities, even murders and robberies that they have seen in movies.  It is because these things occupy their minds, because they had been viewing them and thinking about them. On the other end of the scale, if your mind is filled with images from Rosary meditations: such as Mary going to visit her elderly relative Elizabeth to help her, you will be more inclined to practice the virtue of charity.

If you like the method that has been offered of saying the Rosary try it. When you are familiar with the method modify it to your own special needs. It is like learning any other skill. First you learn the basics and then you adapt it as your ability develops.

Meditation on the Rosary prevents it from being a mechanical repetition of vocal prayers. If you learnt the art of meditation on the Rosary and then attempted to just say the prayers again, without meditation, you would find it a very dry and tedious exercise.

Meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary helps lift our minds out of the bog of everyday things that we see and experience, to things eternal that we cannot see.  We are reminded that the here and now is not all that there is. Meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary stops our mind from focusing too much on the unimportant.

Rosary beads

Rosary beads help you to keep track of where you are up to in the Rosary. It also gives a soothing feeling as you move the beads through your fingers. It is best to have one pair of Rosary beads for use at home and one pair to keep in your handbag or pocket.  Seeing your Rosary beads will remind you to say the Rosary.  If you do not have a pair of Rosary beads with you, remember that you have ten fingers to pray the Rosary with. There are occasions when a one-decade set of Rosary beads comes in handy. One decade Rosaries are sometimes made into rings and bracelets.  (On my First Holy Communion day, I was given a bracelet made with pearls that had the beads for five decades. It has a small silver coloured crucifix.  I don’t think that they are available anymore). Remember to get a priest to bless your Rosary beads.

Audio and Visual Aids

CDs, DVDs and audio tapes can be useful aids for people who are learning how to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary.  Some of the videos have film clips of places in the Holy Land. This helps the mind to get a better feel for the settings that the Rosary events took place in.

The requirement for obtaining a favour or miracle

The usual requirement for obtaining a favour or miracle is faith and trust in God. It does not take a lot. Our Lord tells us that our faith has only to be as small as a mustard seed. (Luke 17:6).  Don’t go in asking for a favour from God in this frame of mind: “I will try this novena and see if it works”.

Faith as a special way of seeing (believing)

In the natural order of things we see people as they are on the outside. When an X-ray is taken we see inside the body. Praying can be compared to that. It lifts us up and provides a more in-depth way of seeing (believing) in God’s ability to grant our request.

It enables us to pray successfully for things that do not seem to be likely to happen: such as a job for someone who has been unemployed for many years, a baby for a married woman who has failed to conceive despite extensive medical investigation, rain after a lengthy drought and for projects to be completed against all odds.

Childlike faith

You need to pray with childlike faith. A person with childlike faith expects prayers to be answered. The sophisticated person says “That will not happen”. Remember the words of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary regarding her relative Elizabeth who was expecting a baby for the first time in her old age and who people called barren: With God all things are possible” (Luke 1:37).

You will get exactly what you expect

A lady that I know was in a lot of pain. To relieve her sufferings she was given a sacramental (some blessed oil) to use. Later she commented, “I knew that this would not work”. It is not surprising that she did not receive help. She had no faith. Our Lord Himself experienced this problem. In one of the towns that he traveled through He was amazed at their lack of faith. He worked few miracles in that town (Mark 6:5). Many people who use the blessed oil with confidence and faith receive help.

Expectant faith

When you pray for a favour expect results. The following story stretches the point a bit, but will help you get the general idea. A parish priest in outback Australia was greatly concerned about the extended drought. He informed his parishioners that a novena was going to be held to pray for rain. On the first day of the novena all the farmers and their families came to the church. The parish priest looked around in disgust. He then went up to the microphone and made the following announcement. “What a lack of faith! You have all come here to pray for rain and not one of you brought an umbrella!”

The following example is from real-life. A whole parish prayed a novena for an infertile couple to have a baby. An elderly nun in the parish had such confidence in the intercession of the saint to whom they were praying that she started knitting baby clothes. Needless to say, the prayer was granted.

Do whatever you can

Do whatever is in your power about a situation and pray for a successful outcome.

Perseverance and patience

In the Gospels, Our Lord tells us the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. The widow kept coming to the unjust judge until he finally gave in, and gave her the justice that she was seeking, just so that he could get rid of her (Luke 18:1).

Some miracles are worked quickly, but often there is a waiting period and things might become much worse, for a time. This is often for our own sanctification. The “vending machine expectation” approach to praying may lead to frustration and to the giving up of praying for a petition too soon. Sometimes, the longer that we have to pray for a favour, the bigger and better will the results be.

Don’t give up

Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII, once visited a university to give a speech to the students there. His whole speech consisted of the following text: “Never, never, never” etc. He repeated the word  “never” about eight times. Apply this philosophy to praying when you are asking God for a favour. Never give up asking.

Saint Monica

If you think that God is taking too long to answer your prayers, remember the example of Saint Monica. She had to pray for sixteen years, for the conversion of her son Augustine. Finally he turned away from his immoral life. The fruits of his mother’s prayers did not end there. He became a priest, a bishop, one of the greatest saints in the Catholic Church and also a doctor of the Church. A friend of mine prayed continuously for about thirty-eight years for the conversion of her husband. He is now a frequent communicant.

Possible answers to prayer

All prayers to God are answered. Consider some of the answers: yes; no; not at this time; this is not what you really need; I will give you what you actually need; I have something much better for you. Remember that no prayer is ever wasted.

A sign to an unbelieving world

If a miracle is worked and is plainly obvious to an unbeliever, this places him in the position of being able to rethink his ideas in regard to the existence of God and God’s place in his life.

For a considerable amount of time, I suffered from severe dizziness and vertigo. I consulted two general practitioners and three different types of specialists over a period of up to three years. None of them were able to help me. Since there was no help, from doctors, prayer for healing was an absolute essential. Finally after about three years I am well again. One of these doctors, who I consulted for another reason, asked how my dizziness was going. I informed him that I was well. He wished to know how this had come about. I informed him that it was the result of prayer.

His reaction to this was slightly comic. He wanted to give the remedy to his other patients who are also suffering from dizziness. “I can’t tell my patients that!” More than one Catholic upon hearing my doctor’s comment have smiled and asked “Why not?” The doctor thought about it some more and mentioned that a (Catholic) doctor in the next suburb encourages his patients to pray for healing.

Praying for many people and intentions

If you have many people and intentions to pray for, imagine with conviction that your prayers are going out to all of them.  It is a good idea to see some of the people in your mind e.g. if you are praying for a person who has cancer or someone whose conversion you are seeking, visual them in your mind. Say before you start praying, that the prayers are for all the intentions that you have been asked to pray for.

Gratitude and conversion of heart

Remember the ten lepers (Luke 17:12-19); only one of them came back to give praise to God. When you receive a favour remember to thank God for it. One aspect of gratitude is to change your life for the better and live a holier life. Our Lord instructed one person that He cured to “Go and sin no more” (John 5:14).

The state of your soul

If you wish God to grant you a favour, you should make sure that you are in a state of grace. A good Confession and Communion are recommended when praying for miracles and favours.

Taking things for granted

God grants some favours very slowly because if they are granted too easily the recipient sometimes does not appreciate them sufficiently.

The doubting Thomas syndrome

It is an insult to God, if you pray for a favour, but don’t expect it to be granted.

The Will of God

When you ask God for a favour or miracle that you hope to receive, you must be prepared to say, and really mean it “Your will be done”. This is the way that Jesus prayed to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:29). God may grant exactly what you ask for, or something more appropriate. Regarding this Our Lord asks us in the Gospels “What father among you would give stones when asked for bread, or a serpent, when asked for a fish?” God knows exactly what you need (Luke 11:11)

Bathe seven times in the Jordan – simplicity of prayer

Many simple novenas obtain stunning results. One man, mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, was asked to bathe seven times in the Jordan, in order to be healed of his illness. He was disgusted by such a simple instruction. He wanted to bathe in one of the “better quality rivers” in his own country (4 Kings 5:10). Simple novenas said with faith achieve good results. Complicated novenas are not necessary.

Acceptance of the outcome

Sometimes we do not get the request that we prayed for. Your relative dies instead of getting healed of his or her illness. Other things appear not to come out well after we have prayed for them. What is the answer to this? It may become apparent later, that the thing that we asked for was not good for us. A woman might be disappointed that her prayers for a certain man to marry her were not granted. Later on, she might meet and marry someone who is even better than the one that she had hoped to marry.

It is worth remembering that the suffering which is offered up in union with the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ gains merit in eternity. This suffering  can obtain graces for others, or can be applied to the holy souls in Purgatory to alleviate their suffering. Suffering also shortens our own Purgatory and can atone for our sins and for the sins of others.

It is not that God likes suffering, but that we remain united to Him in trust even though we suffer, something we would not do if it were not for His grace within us: it is a kind of proclamation that Jesus is saying “Yes!” to our Heavenly Father in us, for we, in our weakness, would never do this on our own.

Alleviating the sufferings of the Holy Souls in Purgatory incorporates all the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We will be asked about this on the day of  judgment. What are these works of mercy?  The corporal works of mercy are: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, giving shelter to the homeless, clothing the naked and burying the dead.

The spiritual works of mercy are: warning the sinner, instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving all injuries and praying for the living and for the dead. Helping the Holy Souls in Purgatory is the highest form of carrying out these works of mercy. The Holy Souls in Purgatory are always grateful when we help them and will intercede for us in our spiritual and temporal needs.

Sometimes there seems to be no good reason for a prayer to be refused. Refusal to accept the situation leads to much frustration. An acceptance of God’s will leads to peace of mind and soul and might even bring about that which was desired inasmuch as the person has become closer to God than ever before. We are not meant to be fully satisfied while on this earth. That is reserved for heaven. Our life on earth is a time of testing before entering eternity.

The Mercy of God

All miracles stem from the mercy of God. We are not entitled to anything because of the fall of the human race on account of the original sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve.

The intercession of the saints

One of the best ways to obtain a favour or a miracle is to invoke the help of the saints. They are able to help us by interceding for us and are very willing to do so. It is part of their mission of bringing glory to God.

The intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors

To encourage people to pray for the relief for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, God sometimes grants favours through their intercession. Some people have obtained favours from them, which they failed to receive from the saints in heaven. This book outlines one case where The Holy Souls in Purgatory came promptly to the aid of a lady who was facing bankruptcy through circumstances over which she had no control.

Does God really want to work miracles?

The answer to this question is a resounding yes. The following initiatives were started from heaven; just to mention a few; we have the Miraculous Medal, the miraculous spring of water at Lourdes in France and the Green Scapular. The Nine Tuesdays Novena in honour of Saint Anthony was recommended by the saint himself, who appeared in a vision to a lady who was praying for his intercession for a need that she had. This novena has proved to be a powerful way to receive Saint Anthony’s assistance. The 54 day Rosary novena was also recommended by Our Lady in a vision to a seriously ill girl. Like the Saint Anthony novena it too is very efficacious.

In the Bible we read about the pool at the sheep gate in Jerusalem, where the sick used to be bathed. An angel would come down and stir the waters. Whoever was in the water first, after it was disturbed, would be healed of their illness (John 5:2). These are just a few of the many examples of heavenly initiatives that show that God is willing to help us.

It is good to keep in mind that, without exception, the biggest miracle for us is that we unite ourselves with Jesus in His agony in the Garden of Gethesemane. Our Lady told Saint Bernadette that the water was not for her. God calls all of us to Himself in different ways. Sometimes this will include miracles; sometimes it will not, but in either case, God is always providing for our needs and, yes, wants to be with us, so much so that He walked among us, and died for us.

What was the main purpose of Our Lord’s

miracles during His public ministry?

The main purpose of Our Lord’s miracles during his public ministry was the confirmation of his teaching and proof of his divinity. This was also the main purpose of the miracles which were performed by the apostles. Acts 5:12, Mark 16:20. When our Lord says “Your faith has saved you”, it must be remembered that this is supernatural faith, grace given by God, not the person merely thinking correctly about things.

Miracles obtained through sacramentals

Miracles, graces and favours, obtained after a relic or a sacramental (e.g., a blessed rosary, holy water, a blessed medal, blessed salt) are venerated or used, are not obtained because of the physical nature of these things. These are only the outward signs. It is the official prayer of the Church and the merits of the Passion and Death of Christ crucified and of the saints which obtains the favour for us. Relics and sacramentals in themselves have no power. They are instruments of grace.

Miracles obtained through the use of relics

When a relic of the saint is used to obtain a healing, it is meant to draw our attention to the saint and to ask for their intercession.

Lourdes water

It is well known that God works great miracles through Lourdes water. In one case that I was told about, a very sick lady was promised by her friend that she would bring back some Lourdes water for her from the grotto in France; however, she did not get to make the trip. Instead of owning up to this fact, she passed off ordinary tap water to her friend as Lourdes water. The sick lady faithfully used it. She was cured of her sickness. Our Lady rewarded the sick lady’s faith. Faith and trust in God are the most important elements.

The prayers of more than one person

Our Lord’s words should be kept in mind: “When two or more are gathered in my name I will be with them” (Matthew 18:20). “If two or more of you on earth agree on anything in My Name I will grant it” (Matthew l8:19).The best examples of this are attending holy Mass, and also the Rosary when it is said with a group.

The Holy Name of Jesus

The Holy Name of Jesus pronounced reverently is the shortest and the easiest of all prayers. It can obtain any favour from God. The reason for this is the great love that God the Father holds for God the Son. Many miracles had been obtained throughout the centuries by reverently pronouncing the Holy Name of Jesus. These miracles still continue to occur today. Father Paul O’Sullivan O.P. wrote a book entitled “The Wonders of the Holy Name”, that outlined the history of this devotion.

A Word about Tobias

In the book of Tobias in the Old Testament of the Bible, we read about how Tobias spent his life doing great works of mercy even when his life was threatened by the king. It seemed that he received nothing but trouble for his good deeds. He was severely tested for a time. Eventually, God sent the Archangel Raphael to heal Tobias of his blindness and to provide for his family’s welfare. See Tobias 11:13. Generosity brings down help from God.

Forgetting yourself and concentrating on the needs of others

In one of the stories in this book there is an account of a lady who made a pilgrimage with other people to the tomb of a holy priest. She had come to pray for the cure of her serious disease. She noticed someone else in the pilgrimage group who was much worse off than herself. The lady forgot to pray for her own needs and started to pray for the healing of the other person. She was healed of her own illness.

Surprises sometimes happen

One of my friends prayed relentlessly for a few years to have another baby. Finally she decided that it was not God’s will. Straight after this decision she gave away all the baby clothes. Within a week she found out that she was expecting. Within a month she found out that she was expecting twins.

Other couples, who pray for a baby finally adopt one and then find out that they are expecting their own baby. Two factors come into play here; one is the acceptance of God’s will and the other is generosity which draws down God’s mercy upon people.

Offering up suffering

Sometimes offering up your suffering in union with the Passion and Death of Our Lord can bring about alleviation or even the entire healing of a sickness or situation.

Almsgiving

Some prayers are answered if almsgiving is practiced. This can take the form of donations to the poor or having Masses said for the relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Confidence in God

The apostles, Peter and John displayed this confidence. They had seen the miracles that Jesus had worked and trusted in Him. When they went up to the temple, there was a crippled beggar sitting at the gate. He hoped to receive a donation from them. They informed him that they had no money, but would give him what they had. In the name of Jesus they ordered him to get up and walk. He was cured immediately and went into the temple to give thanks to God. See Acts 3.

Don’t be lazy

Do not expect God to do for you what you can do for yourself. God gave us many gifts to use and he expects us to use them. If we get sick we are supposed to use the usual avenues for healing. There are of course, things like consulting the doctor, or dentist or physiotherapist. We are supposed to take medicines, do exercise and eat the proper foods. It is a bit silly to expect God to give you good health if you don’t do the things that he has placed at your disposal to achieve this. Even when we carry this out we are sometimes still sick. Prayer has its rightful place here. We should also pray that the doctor is guided to the right diagnosis and treatment for our condition.

Prayer leads to good solutions

God often works through ordinary means but prayer can lead you to them. In one particular case a woman was suffering from a painful heel spur on her foot. She consulted a doctor, who gave her an injection of steroids to relieve the pain and inflammation. This treatment did not help much. The lady prayed for relief of the condition. She came across information on the internet, which was posted by an athlete who had suffered from the same condition. He outlined a simple exercise that some doctors recommend to their patients, which involved rolling the foot over a dowel stick. The internet also provided information on the condition that made it clear why this particular exercise was an appropriate remedy for the problem. She used this technique and received a complete cure.

Ditching the “shopping list” (Letting Go)

If you have been praying for a lengthy period of time for a favour, and it is not coming about, you need to stand back and examine your petition. In general it may be good, but you may have surrounded it with all your own unnecessary specifications. It might be a bit like an item on a shopping list: ice-cream (not any kind of ice-cream mind you, but Neapolitan with three layers: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla).

What is wrong with this approach is that you are no longer the passenger in the car. One is grabbing the steering wheel from the driver (God) and trying to drive the car the way that you want it to go. It is fine to pray for something, but let Our Lord do the driving.

Imitation of goodness

When God grants a miracle or favour, He is showing His goodness and mercy towards us. He expects us to imitate Him by also showing goodness and mercy to all the people that we come into contact with.

How to say a novena

The word novena is Latin for nine. A novena is a prayer or good work which is said for nine days in a row. There are also various kinds of emergency novenas e.g. The Mother Teresa Emergency Novena. In an emergency say the Memorare prayer nine times in a row. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta said this novena whenever she needed a favour. Sometimes it brought about fast dramatic results.

The Eight Hour Novena to The Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is said at approximately the same time every hour until the novena is finished. (The prayer is said nine times during the eight hours.)

Information on the history of the devotion of the Nine Tuesdays Novena in honour of Saint Anthony is located at:

http://missionbell.homestead.com/anthonycustoms.html

The 54 Day Rosary Novena: In this novena the Rosary is said for 54 consecutive days  i.e. 3 novenas in petition (27 days) and 3 novenas in thanksgiving (27 days). The 54 day Rosary Novena was revealed by Our Lady herself.

All of these novenas receive marvelous results. If you choose any of them, please also pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and help them, and ask them to obtain the favours that you need. Saint Catherine of Bologna assured her sisters that: she obtained many favours by the prayers of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, which she had asked for in vain, through the intercession of the saints. Saint Theresa of Avila affirms that she always obtained the favours which she asked from God, through the intercession of the Poor Souls.

The following link has accounts of favours granted through the intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors and ways in which we can help the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

http://missionbell.homestead.com/Afavourgrantedbytheholysouls.html

It is important when making a novena to be in a state of grace, to have faith that God will help you, and to persevere in the prayer. It is recommended that you give a donation to a charitable organisation: such as the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.

The Memorare

Remember O most loving Virgin Mary that never was it known in any age that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided, inspired by this confidence, therefore I fly to thee O Virgin of Virgins my Mother, to you do I come, before you I stand sinful and sorrowful, do not O Mother of the Word Incarnate despise my prayers but in thy mercy graciously hear and answer them.  Amen.

The Miraculous Responsory of Saint Anthony

If you seek for miracles,

death, error, all calamities,

The demons fly and leprosy,

and health succeeds infirmities.

The sea obeys and fetters break,

and lifeless limbs thou dost restore;

whilst treasures lost are found again,

when young and old thine aid implore.

All dangers vanish at thy prayer,

the direst need doth quickly flee.

Let those who know thy power proclaim,

let Paduans say these are of thee.

The sea obeys and fetters break,

and lifeless limbs thou dost restore;

whilst treasures lost are found again,

when young and old thine aid implore.

To Father, Son may glory be

And Holy Ghost eternally.

The sea obeys and fetters break,

and lifeless limbs thou dost restore;

whilst treasures lost are found again,

when young and old thine aid implore.

V. Pray for us, Blessed Anthony.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

O God, may the votive commemoration of Blessed Anthony, Thy Confessor, be a source of joy to Thy Church, that she may always be fortified with spiritual assistance, and deserve to enjoy eternal happiness, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

The Holy Souls in Purgatory

The Holy Souls in Purgatory are suffering in great pain.

Please send them your good works and prayers

So heaven they’ll attain.

Ask them for all the favours of which you are in need;

And now; just as later when in heaven;

For you they’ll intercede.

When at last they behold God and see Him face to face;

Gratefully they’ll obtain all you ask

And even some more grace.

From heaven they’ll watch over you;

As on the earth you still roam;

and do all in their power to lead you safely

towards your heavenly home.

by M. Matulis

The Little Chaplet of the Holy Infant Jesus

The origin of this devotion is due to the zeal of the Venerable Sister Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, religious of Carmel, who died in the odour of sanctity at Beaune (France), on May 26, 1648, aged 29 years. This worthy servant of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is remembered for her devotion towards the Divine Infant. Inspired from on high, she made a chaplet composed of three Our Fathers in honour of the Holy Family and twelve Hail Marys in memory of the twelve years of the childhood of Jesus.

Each Our Father and each Hail Mary is preceded by the words: “And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt amongst us.

The Infant Jesus deigned to make known to His faithful servant how pleasing this holy practice is to Him, by revealing to her that He would grant special graces, above all, that of purity and innocence, to those who carry this chaplet with devotion and recite it in honour of the mysteries of His Holy Infancy. As a sign of His approval, He showed to her this chaplet all shining with supernatural light.

Prayer to the Holy Infant Jesus

O Divine Infant, source of all good, the goodness of Thy heart is infinite and the bounty of Thy little hand immeasurably great. Like a river, Thou pourest forth Thy gifts over thirsty mankind and fillest us with blessings in time and in eternity. If Thou preservest not our temporal goods our industry is in vain. Almighty Infant, lift Thy little hand and bless our temporal possessions, take them under Thy powerful protection and keep them from misfortune and loss.

Give us the necessary grace to use our temporal goods according to Thy Will, to employ ourselves usefully after Thy pleasure and to give joy to our neighbours through love of Thee, so that we may lay up treasure in heaven, where no thief can enter, nor moth nor rust destroy. Amen.

The Rosary

In the Rosary

There is great power.

Miracles on earth,

It can shower.

Miracles of healing

And every kind of grace,

The Rosary can bestow,

Upon the human race.

Take up the Rosary,

And say it well,

It’s a weapon against,

All the powers of hell.

by M. Matulis

How to say the Rosary

While saying the Our Fathers, the Hail Marys and the Glorias in each decade meditate upon the particular mystery of the Rosary which you are saying.

The Mysteries of the Rosary

(The Five Joyful Mysteries)

The Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Word

The Visitation

The Birth of Our Lord

The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

(The Five Sorrowful Mysteries)

The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden

The Scourging of Our Lord at the Pillar

The Crowning of Our Lord with thorns

Jesus carries his Cross

The Crucifixion

 

(The Five Glorious Mysteries)

The Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven

The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles

The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven

The Crowning of Our Lady in Heaven

(The Five Mysteries of Light )

The baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan

The wedding of Cana

The proclamation of the kingdom

The transfiguration

The institution of the Eucharist

The prayers of the Rosary

The Apostles Creed

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty

Creator of heaven and earth

and in Jesus Christ

His only son Our Lord

Who was born of the Virgin Mary

Suffered under Pontius Pilate

was crucified, died and was buried

He descended to the dead

On the third day he rose again from the dead

He ascended into Heaven

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty

From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead

I believe in The Holy Spirit

The Holy Catholic Church

The communion of Saints

The forgiveness of sins

The resurrection of the dead

and the life everlasting.  Amen

 

The Our Father Prayer

Our Father who art in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done on earth

as it is in Heaven

Give us this day

Our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those

who trespass against us

and lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Hail Mary Prayer

Hail Mary full of grace

The Lord is with thee

Blessed art thou among women

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus

Holy Mary Mother of God

Pray for us sinners now

and at the hour of our death.  Amen.

The Gloria

Glory be to the Father

and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit

As it was

In the beginning is now

and ever shall be

World without end.  Amen.

Say the following prayer after each decade

The Fatima Prayer

O my Jesus

forgive us our sins

and save us from the fires of hell

and bring all souls to heaven

especially those who most need

of Thy mercy. Amen.

At the end of the Rosary say the following prayer:

Hail Holy Queen prayer (Salve Regina)

Hail Holy Queen

Mother of Mercy

Hail Our life, Our sweetness, and our Hope!

to thee do we cry

poor vanished children of Eve

To thee do we send up our sighs

Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears

Turn then most gracious advocate

Thine eyes of mercy towards us

and after this our exile

Show unto us the Blessed fruit of Thy womb Jesus

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

The fifteen promises of Mary to those who recite the Rosary

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.

3. The rosary shall be powerful armour against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctity themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary shall not perish.

6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly;  applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His Justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.

10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

(Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)

Imprimatur

PATRICK J. HAYES.  D.D.

Archbishop of New York

Information about the Rosary

Our Lady has 117 titles. She selected this title at Fatima: I am the Lady of the Rosary.

St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying

is – Pray the Rosary.

St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome Italy on just the Hail Mary.

St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.

The rosary is the scourge of the devil” – Pope Adrian VI.

“The rosary is a treasure of graces” – Pope Paul V.

Padre Pio the stigmatic priest said: “The rosary is THE WEAPON”.

Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary.

Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times about our Lady and the Rosary. He prayed 15 decades daily.

St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote: The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who so loves His Mother.”

If you wish to obtain a favour: Pray The 54-day ROSARY NOVENA. Pray 3 nine day rosary novenas – 27 days of petition; Pray 3 nine day rosary novenas – 27 days of thanksgiving.

The Flos Carmeli (Prayer of Saint Simon Stock)

O beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, Splendor of Heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a Pure Virgin, assist me in this necessity.  O Star of the Sea, help and protect me! Show me that Thou art my Mother.

O Mary conceived without sin,

Pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Mother and Ornament of Carmel, Pray for us!

Virgin, Flower of Carmel, Pray for us!

Patroness of all who wear the Scapular, Pray for us!

Hope of all who die wearing the Scapular, Pray for us!

St. Joseph, Friend of the Sacred Heart, Pray for us!

St. Joseph, Chaste Spouse of Mary, Pray for us!

St. Joseph, Our Patron, Pray for us!

O sweet Heart of Mary, Be our Salvation!

Daily prayer to your guardian angel

Angel of God

My guardian dear

To Whom His love commits me here

Ever this day

Be at my side

To light and guard

To rule and guide. Amen.

The following poem was based on the  revelations to Mother Luisa and also on the finding of the relics of Saint Philomena on May 24, 1802 and the miracles which followed.

Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker

The king and queen no baby had;

They longed to be a mum and dad;

To pagan gods they prayed each day;

But still no baby came their way.

Then good advice was given to them;

It proved to be a priceless gem;

Christians are what you should be;

Then a baby blessing;

You shall see!

When this was done;

The grace was granted;

And with little Philomena;

They were enchanted!

When little Philomena

had reached twelve years;

Bad news filled up their eyes with tears;

On their country small and poor;

The emperor of Rome;

declared a war!

Let’s go to Rome;

The King told wife and daughter;

To plead with the emperor;

to prevent this slaughter.

At the mighty

emperor’s court;

They pleaded with him;

the war to abort.

The emperor

had a new idea;

He said there’s nothing

more to fear.

Give me your daughter;

To be my wife;

And I promise her;

A wonderful life!

The offer took them by surprise;

A refusal would mean;

Their country’s demise;

The king and queen were filled with gladness;

But Philomena was overcome by sadness.

To be a bride of Christ;

She’d already taken a vow;

No way would Philomena;

Let it be broken now.

The answer was a steadfast no;

The emperor now his force would show!

To the dungeon Philomena was deployed;

All manner of torture was employed;

It was all to no avail;

The emperor’s methods were doomed to fail.

Because God Himself defended her soul;

Philomena kept her eyes on her heavenly goal.

The maiden Philomena;

Was strengthened by faith and grace;

Until the day she could behold;

God face to face.

Finally the maiden Philomena was beheaded;

And the onlookers wept;

For many centuries in the catacombs;

she silently slept.

At last her relics were located;

And the excavators were elated;

When Philomena’s relics,

Were bought up to the ground;

Miracles started to abound !

Some folks thought that miracles;

Had stopped with the Bible;

With Philomena;

They had a revival.

The sneering cynics;

Who had announced God’s demise;

Were by Philomena’s miracles;

Dealt a surprise.

Saint Philomena’s fame;

Spread everywhere;

And people ran to her;

Pleading in prayer.

No one was forgotten;

No one was left out;

The cripples;

The dying;

The sad;

And the needy;

All of them found;

Her miracles speedy.

From heaven she surveys;

All of our needs;

And on our behalf;

With God she pleads.

Say a prayer to Saint Philomena;

And light her a candle;

Because there is no problem;

That she cannot handle.

There’s one thing more;

We should not ignore;

From her grave of silent obscurity;

She has come back to teach us;

About goodness and purity.

by M. Matulis

Acknowledgements

The information on the history of the Infant of Prague, is based mainly on an Australian leaflet. The leaflet has no information about its author or publisher. The Chaplet of the Holy Infant Jesus and Prayer to the Holy Infant Jesus is also taken from this source.

Copyright  2009    Mary Ann Matulis

Cute Koala

Cute isn’t he?  Koalas are not bears. They are marsupials.

Working better with computers (tips)

When you visit a website and find something that you want to read, or you receive an email or an E-newsletter, that you want to read on the screen,  select the text (Control +A), copy it to the clipboard (Control + C), open the word-processing programme and paste in the text (Control + V).

Select the text again (Control + A) and then select a larger size font from the menu. (This will help you to see the text better and make it easier to read). Save the file. (I usually choose a name like junk and then continually overwrite this file as needed).

Read the file and then when you are finished with it, delete the file.  Some people have probably thought of this already. I am writing this for the people who did not think of it yet!

Also if you are composing an email or an article on the computer, do it first in a word processing program in a large text size.  Then you will be able to see your text better and  find your mistakes.

The Mother Teresa Emergency Novena is a real winner!

A mother and father were trying to talk their daughter out of going to a particular social gathering, which was going to place her in a situation that was bad for her. They tried to reason with her, but she is by nature a stubborn person and did not listen. Later in the day the mother made one Mother Theresa Emergency Novena to ask Our Lady to change her daughter’s mind. She also gave a donation to a charity on behalf of the Holy Souls in Purgatory and asked them to obtain this important favour. The daughter was determined to go to the party and even started dressing for it and putting on her makeup. When the parents saw that, they felt depressed. The mother thought that her prayers had not been answered.  The father asked the mother to go and talk to the daughter again.  The daughter informed her. “I am not going”.  She decided to go to the Saturday night Vigil Mass instead. It was amazing. The parents were so relieved.

(The Mother Teresa Emergency novena consists of saying nine  Memorares  in a row.) It is the novena which was made famous by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta who used it when praying for favours.

This is the Memorare prayer:

Remember O most loving Virgin Mary that never was it known in any age that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided, inspired by this confidence, therefore I fly to thee O Virgin of Virgins my Mother, to you do I come, before you I stand sinful and sorrowful, do not O Mother of the Word Incarnate despise my prayers but in thy mercy graciously hear and answer them.  Amen.

Other stories of how the Mother Teresa Emergency novena has helped people.

Bring an end to the Culture of Death with the help of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

We have to get on top of the culture of death; contraception, abortion, sterilization and euthanasia. This is a spiritual battle.  Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory and then ask their intercession to bring an end to the culture of death. You won’t wake up the next morning and see the culture of death ended.  There will be a gradual process until things are greatly improved.

Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory and gain their help as well in fighting the culture of death.

An observation on modesty or more correctly the lack thereof

TV ladies apparently get paid very poor salaries.  Why do I say this?  Because I have noticed that their clothing does not have enough fabric to cover their top sections and also their legs, at least down to their knees.  TV station companies please kindly pay these ladies enough so that they can buy modest clothing. Blessed Jacinta of Fatima warned that immodest fashions offend Our Lord.

Read testimonies of the Miraculous Medal

Read this week’s  testimony regarding the Miraculous Medal.

from the Association of the Miraculous Medal.

This is the archives of previous weeks’ letters.

Here is one that I really enjoyed.

No nobility anymore in the Nobel Peace Prize

There is nothing noble about a Nobel Peace prize that is given to an abortion minded politician. At least they gave it to Mother Teresa once.  She is the opposite to Obama.  Her words are: the fruits of abortion are nuclear war. Note to President Obama and the committee awarding the Nobel Peace prize to him, there is no peace for an aborted baby.

A pilgrimage to Italy and France (with a London extension) for people in Australia in May, 2010

Pilgrimage to Italy and France

(Package tour BBQD00515)

Day 1 – Saturday 15 May – Rome, Italy

After arrival check into your hotel. At 6 pm, meet your tour director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 2 – Sunday 16^th of May – Rome

Attend the weekly general audience of the pope (subject to availability).  This afternoon, visit St Paul Outside the walls and the catacombs.  During the persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Next, visit St John Lateran Basilica and the Holy Stairs, which were brought from Jerusalem to Rome around 326 AD by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and consists of 28 white marble steps. As a favourite of pilgrims everywhere, these steps may only be ascended on the knees, then, visit the impressive St Mary Major Basilica. (B)

Day 3 – Monday 17^th of May – Rome

This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and the Last Judgment. Continue to monumental St Peter’s Square and Basilica. Cross the Tiber River and visit the Colosseum, one of the New 7 wonders of the world, and the Roman Forum where Roman legions marched in triumph (B)

Day 4 – Tuesday 18^th of May – Rome – Mugnano Del Cardinale – Naples

Visit the Abbey of Montecassino, the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St Benedict around 529 Ad, and its museum. Then, continue south to the small town of Mugnano Del Cardinale to visit the sanctuary of Saint Philomena. Spend time here before spending your night in Italy’s most colourful city, Naples. (B)

Day 5 – Wed 19^th of May – Naples – San Giovanni Rotondo.

Journey to Italy’s eastern coast and San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St Padre Pio.  Enjoy time at leisure this afternoon.  (B, D)

Day 6 – Thursday 20^th of May – San Giovanni Rotondo. Excursion to Monte Sant’Angelo

Visit the Friary of Padro Pio, including his tomb, cell, confessional and the old church where he received the stigmata. Also visit the new church. Afterwards, visit the nearby shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo, one of Christendom’s most celebrated shrines and where St Michael the Archangel appeared in 490 AD, 492 AD and 1656 (B, D)

Day 7 – Friday, May 21 – San Giovanni Rotondo – Lanciano – Cascia – Assisi

Visit Lanciano and the church that is home to an 8^th Century Eucharistic Miracle. Afterwards, visit the Basilica of St Rita of Cascia. Arrive at the hilltop village of Assisi, home of St Francis and St Clare. (B, D)

Day 8 – Sunday, May 23 – Assisi – Siena – Florence

Celebrate Mass this morning followed by a guided walking tour of Assisi. Visit the Basilicas of St Francis and St Clare. See the crucifix that spoke to St Francis.  Also visit the St Mary of the Angels Basilica and the  Portiuncula. On the way to Florence, stop in Siena and visit the Sanctuary of St Catherine and the Basilica of St Dominic.  (B,D)

Day 9 – Sunday, May 23 – Florence

Your walking tour with a local guide features a visit to the Academy of Fine Arts to see Michelangelo’s David, the Cathedral and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Balance of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 10 – Monday, May 24 – Florence – Padua – Venice

Depart for Padua and visit the Basilica of St Anthony to see the tomb and reliquaries of this miracle-working saint and patron of lost and stolen articles. Journey on to Venice, one of the world’s most romantic cities. Enter by private boat and meet your local guide. Visit St Mark’s Square and its Basilica and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)

Day 11 – Tuesday, May 25 – Venice – Turin

First to nearby Vicenza for the included sightseeing which will take in the main highlights and inside visit of the famous Teatro Olimpico. Then continue on to Turin, home of the Shroud of Turin. (B)

Day 12 – Wednesday, May 26 – Turin – Lyon, France

Spend the morning visiting the Turin Cathedral where the Shroud of Turin is housed and can be viewed. Then cross the border and enter France. Spend the night in Lyon a UNESCO world heritage site. (B)

Day 13 – Thursday, May 28 – Lyon – Nevers

Continue your journey to Paray-le-Monial, home of the chapel of the apparitions and where Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque. Also, visit the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Arrive in Nevers. (B, D)

Day 14 – Friday, May 28 – Nevers – Avignon

Visit St Gildard in Nevers, where St Bernadette spent her life as a nun. See the beautiful incorrupt body of St Bernadette. Retrace your journey south and visit the St John Vianney Shrine. See the saint’s incorrupt body, walk through his home, and explore the church, where he preached and heard Confessions. Continue around Lyon and arrive in Avignon for overnight. (B)

Day 15 – Saturday, May 29 – Avignon – Carcassone – Lourdes

Enjoy a walk through this pretty town where the papacy resided in the 14^th century. Head to Carcassonne, a medieval town and UNESCO world heritage site. Finish your day in Lourdes, one of the world’s most famous places of pilgrimage. Visit the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St Bernadette in 1858 (B, D)

Day 16 – Sunday, May 30 – Lourdes

Your walking tour with a local guide includes visits to Our Lady of Lourdes shrine and St Bernadette’s birthplace and family home. You may wish to bathe in the healing waters or attend the ‘Blessing of the Sick.’ Also, you may wish to join this evening’s Rosary and candlelight procession. (B)

Day 17 – Monday, May 31 – Lourdes – Bordeaux

Skirt the sandy dunes and swamps of the Landes region in Gascony on the way to Bordeaux. An orientation tour on arrival acquaints you with this historic port. (B)

Day 18 – Tuesday, June 1 – Bordeaux – Paris

Travel through the Grand Champagne wine growing area, north through Saintes. Take the comfortable Autoroute L’Aquitaine for a short stop in Tours. Pass the castles of Amboise and Chaumont for an afternoon arrival in Paris. (B)

Day 19 – Wednesday, June 2 – Paris

One full day to explore the city that’s known throughout the world for its fashions, art and museums, delicious food and joie de vivre. Included sightseeing with a local expert of many of the best known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides and the Champs Elysees. Optional excursions are also available. Celebrate the success of your tour with an optional French farewell dinner. (B)

Day 20 – Thursday, June 3 – Paris

Your tour ends this morning after breakfast with a group transfer to the airport for your homebound flight. (B)

Pilgrimage to Italy and France with London Extension.

(BBOD00515)

Day 1 – Saturday 15 May – Rome, Italy

After arrival check into your hotel. At 6 pm, meet your tour director, then enjoy this evening’s welcome dinner with wine at a local restaurant. (D)

Day 2 – Sunday 16^th of May – Rome

Attend the weekly general audience of the pope (subject to availability).  This afternoon, visit St Paul Outside the walls and the catacombs.  During the persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Next, visit St John Lateran Basilica and the Holy Stairs, which were brought from Jerusalem to Rome around 326 AD by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and consists of 28 white marble steps. As a favourite of pilgrims everywhere, these steps may only be ascended on the knees, then, visit the impressive St Mary Major Basilica. (B)

Day 3 – Monday 17^th of May – Rome

This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and the Last Judgment. Continue to monumental St Peter’s Square and Basilica. Cross the Tiber River and visit the Colosseum, one of the New 7 wonders of the world, and the Roman Forum where Roman legions marched in triumph (B)

Day 4 – Tuesday 18^th of May – Rome – Mugnano Del Cardinale – Naples

Visit the Abbey of Montecassino, the first of the Benedictine monasteries founded by St Benedict around 529 Ad, and its museum. Then, continue south to the small town of Mugnano Del Cardinale to visit the sanctuary of Saint Philomena. Spend time here before spending your night in Italy’s most colourful city, Naples. (B)

Day 5 – Wed 19^th of May – Naples – San Giovanni Rotondo.

Journey to Italy’s eastern coast and San Giovanni Rotondo, home to the beloved St Padre Pio.  Enjoy time at leisure this afternoon.  (B, D)

Day 6 – Thursday 20^th of May – San Giovanni Rotondo. Excursion to Monte Sant’Angelo

Visit the Friary of Padro Pio, including his tomb, cell, confessional and the old church where he received the stigmata. Also visit the new church. Afterwards, visit the nearby shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo, one of Christendom’s most celebrated shrines and where St Michael the Archangel appeared in 490 AD, 492 AD and 1656 (B, D)

Day 7 – Friday, May 21 – San Giovanni Rotondo – Lanciano – Cascia – Assisi

Visit Lanciano and the church that is home to an 8^th Century Eucharistic Miracle. Afterwards, visit the Basilica of St Rita of Cascia. Arrive at the hilltop village of Assisi, home of St Francis and St Clare. (B, D)

Day 8 – Sunday, May 23 – Assisi – Siena – Florence

Celebrate Mass this morning followed by a guided walking tour of Assisi. Visit the Basilicas of St Francis and St Clare. See the crucifix that spoke to St Francis.  Also visit the St Mary of the Angels Basilica and the Portiuncula. On the way to Florence, stop in Siena and visit the Sanctuary of St Catherine and the Basilica of St Dominic.  (B, D)

Day 9 – Sunday, May 23 – Florence

Your walking tour with a local guide features a visit to the Academy of Fine Arts to see Michelangelo’s David, the Cathedral and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Balance of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 10 – Monday, May 24 – Florence – Padua – Venice

Depart for Padua and visit the Basilica of St Anthony to see the tomb and reliquaries of this miracle-working saint and patron of lost and stolen articles. Journey on to Venice, one of the world’s most romantic cities. Enter by private boat and meet your local guide. Visit St Mark’s Square and its Basilica and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)

Day 11 – Tuesday, May 25 – Venice – Turin

First to nearby Vicenza for the included sightseeing which will take in the main highlights and inside visit of the famous Teatro Olimpico. Then continue on to Turin, home of the Shroud of Turin. (B)

Day 12 – Wednesday, May 26 – Turin – Lyon, France

Spend the morning visiting the Turin Cathedral where the Shroud of Turin is housed and can be viewed. Then cross the border and enter France. Spend the night in Lyon a UNESCO world heritage site. (B)

Day 13 – Thursday, May 28 – Lyon – Nevers

Continue your journey to Paray-le-Monial, home of the chapel of the apparitions and where Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque. Also, visit the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Arrive in Nevers. (B, D)

Day 14 – Friday, May 28 – Nevers – Avignon

Visit St Gildard in Nevers, where St Bernadette spent her life as a nun. See the beautiful incorrupt body of St Bernadette. Retrace your journey south and visit the St John Vianney Shrine. See the saint’s incorrupt body, walk through his home, and explore the church, where he preached and heard Confessions. Continue around Lyon and arrive in Avignon for overnight. (B)

Day 15 – Saturday, May 29 – Avignon – Carcassone – Lourdes

Enjoy a walk through this pretty town where the papacy resided in the 14^th century. Head to Carcassonne, a medieval town and UNESCO world heritage site. Finish your day in Lourdes, one of the world’s most famous places of pilgrimage. Visit the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to St Bernadette in 1858 (B, D)

Day 16 – Sunday, May 30 – Lourdes

Your walking tour with a local guide includes visits to Our Lady of Lourdes shrine and St Bernadette’s birthplace and family home. You may wish to bathe in the healing waters or attend the ‘Blessing of the Sick.’ Also, you may wish to join this evening’s Rosary and candlelight procession. (B)

Day 17 – Monday, May 31 – Lourdes – Bordeaux

Skirt the sandy dunes and swamps of the Landes region in Gascony on the way to Bordeaux. An orientation tour on arrival acquaints you with this historic port. (B)

Day 18 – Tuesday, June 1 – Bordeaux – Paris

Travel through the Grand Champagne wine growing area, north through Saintes. Take the comfortable Autoroute L’Aquitaine for a short stop in Tours. Pass the castles of Amboise and Chaumont for an afternoon arrival in Paris. (B)

Day 19 – Wednesday, June 2 – Paris

One full day to explore the city that’s known throughout the world for its fashions, art and museums, delicious food and joie de vivre. Included sightseeing with a local expert of many of the best known Parisian sights: La Sorbonne, Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramid near the Louvre, the Invalides and the Champs Elysees. Optional excursions are also available. Celebrate the success of your tour with an optional French farewell dinner. (B)

Day 20 – Thursday, June 3, Paris – London

Drive through the French countryside by way of the fast autoroute to Calaise. Board your ferry for the UK and travel through the lush English countryside to London for the next two nights. (B)

Day 21 – Friday, June 4 – London

Morning sightseeing with a local guide includes all the famous landmarks: Knightsbridge with Harrods, the houses of parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  The morning’s highlights are a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral and the ceremonial pageantry of the Changing of the Guard, if held.  The afternoon  is free for you to sightsee on your own or join an optional excursion to the Tower of London with its fabulous Crown Jewels. Tonight, we recommend our optional Taste of London excursion with dinner followed by a guided illuminations cruise on the River Thames. (B)

Day 22 – Saturday, June 5 – London

Your tour ends this morning after breakfast with a group transfer to the airport for your homebound fight. (B)

The prices of these two pilgrimages will reduce a fair bit, if there are thirty or more people.

For full details including pricing:

Contact: Felicity Tunhavasana (group organiser)

Mobile phone number 0412 437335

Email:    felicitastunhavasana@yahoo.com.au

Cute Dog

The Sydney Opera House

Good works and their hidden flow on effects

Good works that you do in this life, may have hidden flow on effects, which you might not see until after your death e.g. if you give a prayer card with the St. Gertrude prayer for the relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory to someone, they might say it many times, but might also teach it to someone else. That person might put it on a blog or a website or make cards with the prayer on it to distribute.  People who come to that website or receive one of the cards, might recommend it to their families, who then might spread it elsewhere. From there the good works might continue to spread.

You may have tried to promote a good work and no one appeared to be interested, but there are sometimes factors which you do not see, and the work might also have a good works flow on effect.

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son,  Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

http://missionbell.homestead.com/Afavourgrantedbytheholysouls.html

The web page has accounts of the intercession of The Holy Souls in Purgatory, for their benefactors in cases of illness, addictions, cars that won’t start, infertility problems, protection in accidents, conversion, chronic insomnia, their help for people who are experiencing major trouble with city councils, success with projects, employment, real estate, television sets that don’t work properly, finding lost property and trouble with relations, etc. and prayers and ideas on how to help The Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Prayers requested

Please pray for the following people who are very sick:  Dorothy, Rose, Rosalie, and John and for Anne and Karen for healing.  Thank you.

Do lawmakers know that unborn babies are people?

Abortion is murder whether a politician believes it or not, just as my second name is Ann whether a person believes it or not. Being an abortionist is not a great doctoring job. Many abortionists are there because it is a good money making venture. Fortunately they are not beyond help. Father Pavone has helped many of them in their conversion process and the converted abortionists now help to fight against the ugly business that they were once involved in.

There was a case here in (Sydney) Australia, where a man kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach, causing her to lose the baby, (which is also his child). He went to jail for 10 years for killing the baby and I think that he is still there. This is a correct decision and I applaud it, but  it is in an Australian state where abortion is practiced, as it is practiced just about everywhere else. What a contradiction.  I am glad that I am not an unborn baby today. It is a dangerous time for them. Cases like that of the Sydney woman which highlight the contradictions in law regarding the unborn, at least give a faint glimmer of hope, that there will one day be some sanity and proper protection of the unborn. I have been told on another forum of similar contradictions in U.S. law. It also makes me wonder if some politicians actually know that the unborn are real people, but chose in the case of abortion to ignore what they clearly understood when it came to the case which is mentioned in this posting of the Sydney woman who was kicked in the stomach.  I also wonder what those who favour and push for abortion think about the Sydney woman’s case. It must be a thorn in their side.

Abortion is murder whether a politician believes it or not, just as my second name is Ann whether a person believes it or not. Being an abortionist is not a great doctoring job. Many abortionists are there because it is a good money making venture. Fortunately they are not beyond help. Father Pavone has helped many of them in their conversion process and the converted abortionists now help to fight against the ugly business that they were once involved in. There was a case here in (Sydney) Australia, where a man kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach, causing her to lose the baby, (which is also his child). He went to jail for 10 years for killing the baby and I think that he is still there. This is a correct decision and I applaud it, but  it is in an Australian state where abortion is practiced, as it is practiced just about everywhere else. What a contradiction.  I am glad that I am not an unborn baby today. It is a dangerous time for them. Cases like that of the Sydney woman which highlight the contradictions in law regarding the unborn, at least give a faint glimmer of hope, that there will one day be some sanity and proper protection of the unborn. I have been told on another forum of similar contradictions in U.S. law. It also makes me wonder if some politicians actually know that the unborn are real people, but chose in the case of abortion to ignore what they clearly understood when it came to the case which is mentioned in this posting of the Sydney woman who was kicked in the stomach.  I also wonder what those who favour and push for abortion think about the Sydney woman’s case. It must be a thorn in their side.

Parents go to jail for using homeopathy to teat their daughter’s eczema and for refusing other medical help when that was failing. (The child died).

On the news yesterday there was an item about a Sydney husband and wife who have just been sentenced to jail for several years each. What are they going to jail for?  Apparently they are going to jail for making a big mistake and for the husband’s stubborn refusal to obtain medical help for their daughter. Their baby daughter developed eczema and they treated the child with homeopathy. This was clearly failing, but the couple did not seek medical help. Eventually the child died. Doctors say that they could have saved the child. The judge told the mother has badly she had “failed” in her duty as a  mother. I think this means that she did not talk her husband out of his way of dealing with the child’s illness. We have abortions in our hospitals. That is murder of the unborn.  I do not see many abortionists going to jail.

Offer it up (poem)

Offer it up when you are in pain

Offer it up when you’ve missed the train

Offer it up when you are rejected

Offer it up when your not selected.

Offer it too when your troubles pile up

And when sorrow and suffering

Overflow your cup.

If you offer up whatever comes your way in union with the Passion and Death of Jesus, you can release souls from Purgatory, obtain the conversion of sinners and the perseverance of the just, make reparation for your sins and the sins of others and shorten your own Purgatory.

Help in financial trouble (A favour granted through the intercession of St Philomena the Wonder Worker)

The following story was told to me by a friend. Irene was in financial trouble and had debts of about $1,000 to pay off. She had no way of doing this and was very worried. Irene made a novena to St Philomena for a solution.  The bank sent her a statement on an old account which previously had a zero balance in it. She had not used this account in years. There was a balance of $1,000 in the account.  Irene was confused and telephoned the bank for an explanation.  They told here that someone had deposited the money into her account.  Irene wanted to know who that was, but no one at the bank knew! She was able to use this money to pay off her debts and to this day many years later, Irene still does not know who deposited the money into her account.

This is one of the stories in My book (Help from Heaven) answers to prayer, which can be read free on-line by clicking on this link.