Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

I am writing to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to you for the religious objects (Rosaries, Scapulars, medals, holy pictures, etc.) that you send to Sierra Leone and especially to the Archdiocese of Freetown for distribution among the faithful to help them to pray more fervently and with greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I have witnessed several times the distribution of these religious objects among the faithful in the parishes and outstations by Juliana Tommy, your representative here. On some occasions, I have also assisted her to carry cartons of the religious objects to the other dioceses in the provinces.

On behalf of the recipients of the religious objects, and on my behalf, I thank you sincerely for the support of the Universal Living Rosary Association for contributing to the promotion of the Marian devotions in our Church here in Sierra Leone, and particularly in the Archdiocese of Freetown, of which I am presently the resident bishop. I pray that God may continue to bless you and all the members of the Association as you continue to promote devotion to Our Lady in Sierra Leone and in other parts of the world through the distribution of Rosaries and other religious objects associated with pious devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

May Mary, Our Mother and Help of Christians, intercede for you and all the members of the Universal Living Rosary Association for the Grace of health of mind and body, and continuous growth in faith in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

With sincere best wishes, I remain,

Devotedly yours in Christ,

Most Rev. Edward Tamba Charles
Archbishop of Freetown
Santanno House
Freetown
Sierra Leone
West Africa

Love for Love!
Folly for Folly!
Heart for Heart!

Dear Apostle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Thank you so much for your very generous donation at this time. We are witness to incredible pressures in our own country which greatly affect our lives and, abroad, entire Nations are bathed in blood. We have in our hands those spiritual weapons which will repair evil and obtain for the world everlasting peace. God is Good!

Love is the Law of the Gospel. Christ loved us as Our Redeemer not only in spite of our iniquities, but because of them, and without the least merit on our part. He calls to us with a voice of supplication:

“Let Me in, I am Love and Peace Let Me in, I am Love and Peace”

We reply, ‘Yes Lord, but not just now, I am worried about my welfare, my goals; I cannot waste a moment, each second is precious, I am close to success, come back another day.’

Christ comes again, ‘I have come back, hungry for your love; like a poor beggar, I hold out my blood-stained Hand. But, I plead in vain.’

Suddenly, we meet with misfortune and fall into worry, anxiety and poor health. Christ comes again feeling this is an opportune time for us to be open to His knocking:

‘Open to Me. It is I, be not afraid, I am the Consoler.
I am Jesus, your one sure Friend in days of darkness.
Open to Me, I am Mercy.’

The door is then cracked open, and He is bid to return again after the insomnia and pain have passed, at present it is not possible! This is a sad and harrowing story, but alas one very true. Jesus will not force us; for what He seeks is our love. Love is not loved. He does not rule over slaves, but seeks the love of sons and daughters, joint-heirs of the Savior by divine right, although we hardly merit such a title. God is Love, all perfection here below. All reward in Heaven is simply love! No virtue is so strong and virile as love. The great desire to love is within the reach of everyone. Our will to love must be generous and resolute. There is a lack of apostles today because there are so few aglow with love and zeal. Many do good works and labor with goodwill, but how many will exchange hearts with their suffering Savior? Long to be an apostle and do not dwell upon your faults or become discouraged. Plunge yourself into the boundless sea of the Love of the Heart of Jesus!

One with you in the Heart of Mary!

PATTI MELVIN, Director ULRA

HOLY MOTHER THE CHURCH, MY MOTHER, HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!

True Disciple of Jesus Christ, authentic Daughter of Holy Mother the Church, Mother of the Missions! These are the titles which have been awarded to Pauline-Marie Jaricot by the Holy Pontiffs. Cardinal Tomko venerated Pauline as “a great figure of the Universal Church and of Lyon.”

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, Pauline reached the summit. All of her interior life and her active life were founded upon the magnificent impetus of a great love: The Love of Jesus Christ. The fire that Christ had lit within her heart could not be extinguished. As soon as she turned from the glitter of the world, she lived in her person the Passion of Jesus Christ for God’s glory and the Triumph of Holy Mother the Church. Her heart burned with love for the glory of Christ and His Holy Church.

What was the Church for Pauline? The ecclesiastical hierarchy, indeed! She remained in constant communication with the priests, bishops and Rome for the work of the Living Rosary. Cardinal Villecourt supported her all the days of his life. Cardinal Lambruschini, Nuncio of France, helped her by his constant prayers and called her “dear daughter.” He was the first to give his formal blessing to the Living Rosary. Pope Gregory XVI visited her at the Trinite de Mounts in Rome while she was gravely ill. He received her several times in private audience, and gave her authorization to build a chapel dedicated to St. Philomena on her property at Lorette. Pope Pius IX, moved by the distress of her unjust loss of fortune and property, intervened in her favor. It was Pope Leo XIII, who in a brief of June 1881, brought to light the “exalted pious virgin whose memory is a blessing to the Universal Church.”

Pauline had a great veneration for the Priesthood and those who represented it. The sanctification of the priesthood was one of her constant thoughts and the subject of her earnest prayers, for she fully realized how important it was that those whose mission it is to teach holiness to others should themselves live holy and blameless lives in God’s sight. “Pauline united the two most powerful weapons with which to conquer the heart of God and that of man … unlimited self-sacrifice and ardent charity.” … Fr. Ramiere SJ. The Church is a visible society, but She is not reduced to Her visible appearance. An invisible principle is within Her. Christ is Her Chief. She is the Bride of Christ, His Mystical Body. Christ came to set the earth on fire. Our Blessed Lord transmitted this fire that it might embrace the hearts of mankind. How blessed are the children of the Holy Catholic Church, all the resources of divine mercy belong to them! Man is rendered participant to the Life of God by the ministry of the Church. The Church is the depository of the merits of Jesus Christ. She is powerful! She can sanctify and bless all. Christ lives in Her. Clothed in the Sun of Justice, the ardor of Christ’s charity, the splendor of His Truth, the whole of His Life of Grace rests in Her. Down through the centuries, She lives with a youth that is renewed by the Blessed Eucharist. She is Holy. Never have any doubt! The Church is always the faithful and dear Spouse of Christ. She is holy and impeccable to His Eyes. Had She ever ceased to be holy, the world would cease to be, because the world and all that exists in Her regard, exists alone within Her. She alone gives birth to the Saints. The Church is the SECOND Glory of Jesus Christ. The FIRST Glory of Christ is Mary: Preserved from Original Sin, chosen to be His Mother, and to be the Mother of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church! Mary and the Church receive their beauty from Christ as the moon receives the clarity of its rays from the sun.