A knockout story of the intercession of Blessed Mary MacKillop of Australia

Surviving a heart attack

This following story comes from the USA. The priest mentioned in this story was born in Australia and grew up there. He was educated at a school run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the order founded by Blessed Mary MacKillop) in Adelaide, South Australia.

Here is Father’s story. On Saturday the January 29th, 2005 I woke up feeling really out of sorts. I confess that I hadn’t felt this bad since the morning after my 21st birthday party in 1965!  Puzzled, I showered, and then noticed that both shoulders were aching badly; I had been treated a few years earlier for Bursitis in one shoulder, but this was like a double dose!  I fed my dogs and then made a cup of tea. (Things are always better after a cuppa!) and sat on the sofa, looking out the front door, but the aching got worse, and it became hard to breathe. For the life of me, I couldn’t think what was wrong. (At that time my only knowledge of coronary symptoms was numbness in the left arm and jaw.) I was wondering what to do, and what on earth was wrong. I suddenly saw a movement out the corner of my eye, in the small hallway to my right. I automatically turned to see what it was. In the hallway were standing Father David my assistant, and a Josephite nun, being an old Saint Joseph’s Russell Street boy, I immediately recognised “Mother Mary of the Cross” as we called her, the foundress of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, in Adelaide in 1866. Father David, had died of Pancreatic Cancer in 2002! Yet, there they both stood; quite real, no lights, clouds, or music. And oddly, I felt too ill to be impressed or surprised at the time!

I blurted out to Father David (who was 64 at the time of death, but who now looked late twenties in cassock and surplice, but easily recognisable); “is this the big one?” – a private joke of ours from the TV show “Sanford & Son”. He just smiled and shook his head – he never actually spoke. I got the impression that he had somehow wrangled a “ride” on this expedition, and Blessed Mary had agreed, as I’d pay more attention if he was seen(?).  Mary, however, spoke; she was dressed in her usual habit; plus traveling mantle; (I still find Religious, disguised in lay clothes these days to be somehow dishonest, as if they’re ashamed to be identified.) She seemed also to be in her late twenties, quite alive, and solid, like Father David. Her welcoming smile changed to an expression of concern, and she said with a slight Scottish accent; “Quickly now, go and take two aspirin, and start coughing! You are having a heart attack, you must get help!” They then looked at each other, with a smile of satisfaction (I guess at completing their task?) Then they seemed to step back – and weren’t there!

So I got up, took the aspirin, and began coughing; it actually eased the chest discomfort. Then, I drove myself to the medical Center. I had Angioplasty two days later (after the entire nursing staff all peeked in to see the “idiot priest who drove himself here with a heart attack”.) During the Angioplasty, Blessed Mary Mackillop and Father David appeared again, and helped me when a problem developed.  The Cardiologist later informed me that the coughing most likely saved my life, as they were experimenting, and it appeared coughing kept the heart and lungs steady. Sure enough, ten months later, the AMA publicly announced on TV that aspirin combined with coughing was the way to go-until medical help arrived, yet, Blessed Mary of the Cross, came from heaven and gave me that information ten months earlier!  So to (soon to be) Saint Mary of the Cross I owe my life! As soon as I recovered I erected a shrine to her in our Chapel, and we celebrate her feast each year on the first Sunday in August.

The story above is one of several stories that have recently been added to my book: Help from Heaven (Answers to Prayer), that will be added to the second print edition of the book. The online version of the book is at:

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

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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.

This is one of the stories in my book: Help from Heaven (Answers to Prayer), which can be viewed free on-line here.

Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of Blessed Mary MacKillop and also her feast day.

Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Blessed Mary MacKillop of Australia and it is also her feast day.

She was a much misunderstood woman who suffered greatly at the hands of the clergy particularly the bishops.  Blessed Mary MacKillop was unjustly accused of so much, for example, each month she suffered great pain for a couple of days and had to stay in bed on these occasions.  There were no suitable pain killers in those days, so the doctor suggested that she take a tablespoon of brandy to dull the pain. Another nun even measured it out and administered it to her.  Despite this she was accused of being an alcoholic!  She was pronounced “excommunicated” by a bishop when she was just asking for a clarification of his words. This was actually an invalid action on the part of the bishop and was fixed up when he was dying. There is heaps to say about Blessed Mary MacKillop and I can also relate some great stories about her intercession. Do yourself a favour and read the story of her life.

Favours granted through the intercession of Saint Mary of the Cross (Mary MacKillop of Australia) Feast day August 8.

Prayers to find a good spouse

A lady in the USA asked for a petition to be placed at the shrine of Blessed Mary MacKillop in Australia.  One at the petitions was for her 28 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.

Blessed Mary MacKillop “fixes” a microwave oven

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, the little matter of my microwave oven. When I arrived home I tried my microwave oven again.  It was still not working.  After this I slammed the oven door very hard and 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.

These stories are in my book Help from heaven (Answers to prayer) which can be read free-online by pressing here.

Saving paper and money (commonsense)

When I was doing a secretarial course which included learning to type on a typewriter, I did one of the specified exercises, which involved formatting a long business letter. The teacher said that I had done it well, but that it should not have been continued on the back of the paper, but on a second sheet of paper.  I have always thought that was idiotic. What a waste of trees.  Blessed Mary MacKillop of Australia had an interesting approach.  She wrote her letter down the page (in the portrait position) and then turned the paper to a landscape position and wrote the rest of the letter across it!  This would have been a bit of a problem for the reader, but she was a very neat writer and it could be read.  Later on she also learnt to type on a typewriter. No doubt she did her double writing technique on the back of the paper also.

She was a greenie before greenies existed!  Now I hear that the USA wants to save money in order to pay for their immoral health scheme, (which has everything tied to abortion)  so one of the government departments there is saving money by using both sides of the paper!  It is amazing that it took them so long to think of something so simple!