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THE DIVINE MOTHERHOOD OF MARY! No human tongue can worthily sing the praises of Mary. While God is sovereignly independent from His creatures, He chose to have recourse to the Immaculate Virgin Mary in order to accomplish the greatest designs of His Infinite Mercy. God sent the Archangel Gabriel to solicit her permission. The Holy Ghost miraculously fructified her virginity becoming her Spouse and the Eternal Word drew from her flesh His most Holy Body and infinitely Precious Blood and was nourished for many months while in the cradle of her arms. St. Augustine said, “The Flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary.” By her divine Motherhood, the Blessed Virgin Mary possesses indisputable rights over Our Savior. On earth as in Heaven, Jesus pays His Mother the entire respect and tenderness of a Son. Mary’s divine Motherhood should inspire us with unlimited confidence in her all-powerful prayers for us. At the foot of the Cross, God entrusted Mary to us as our Mother. She holds the key which opens the Heart of Jesus that the flood of His richest Graces may pour out upon the world. It is Our Lady’s role to distribute the Graces merited by the Precious Blood of her Divine Son. She refuses them to no one! Christ died for all men. Mary saw Jesus born in a wretched stable. She was forced to flee into Egypt to guard her Precious Treasure from the murderous rage of Herod. She lost her Child in Jerusalem, finding Him only after three longs days of tears and agony. It was by suffering that Mary united herself to her dying Son for our deliverance at the Foot of the Cross. Her faith was unfailing, her confidence unshakable, and her love knew no bounds! Mary longs to open the door of our hearts so that Jesus might enter into them. In the Holy Eucharist, He communicates His infinite Life to increase the action of Sanctifying Grace within us. He causes His breath of Life to animate our hearts. He brings us His Precious Blood to quench the fires of concupiscence. Here in the Eucharist is the Miracle of His Love: the very Bread of Angels! May the Humility of the Shepherds, the Faith of the Wise Men, the Joy of the Angels and the Peace of the Christ Child be God’s Gift to us and to all Men, this Christmas and Always! ***** UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS GIFTS!
The Holy Mass Crucifix: A sturdy pewter Crucifix dedicated to St. Philomena with St. Benedict Medal on the reverse. Cost of each = $ 60 includes shipping
St. Philomena Tote: Beautiful Tote bag with tapestry of Saint Philomena woven on both sides, full color, sturdy, height 17” and width 17” Cost of each Tote: $ 25 plus $ 5 shipping and handling = $ 30 ****** Receive the Infant King into your heart and give Him to the hearts of your family and friends! Enroll them in the Christmas Mass Bouquet: Thirty one days of Sacred Liturgies will be offered for all those who enroll in the Christmas Bouquet of Masses offered by Fr. Ivan Kolodiy and the good priests in Ukraine. Your spiritual and temporal needs, your family living and dead will be remembered at the Holy Altar every day during December. The Christmas Mass Bouquet will be crowned with a solemn High Mass on the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and during the Christmas Octave. There could be no more precious gift you can give at Christmas time. We will mail the beautiful Mass cards directly to you. These may be sent along with your Christmas greeting cards or placed inside your gift packages. This is a wonderful way to keep Christ in Christmas!!! SUGGESTED STIPEND DONATION: $5.00 each for Enrollment in the Christmas Bouquet of thirty one days of Masses: PRINT VERY CLEARLY EACH NAME! 1. 7. Make your payment online through PAYPAL / CREDIT CARD at: WWW.PHILOMENA.ORG If payment by Check / Money Order / Cash, please click here(Endlish) or here (Spanish) to download a form you can print, fill out and mail it directly to the address below: THE LIVING ROSARY, P.O. BOX 1303, DICKINSON, TX 77539, USA |
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SAINT PHILOMENA, WONDER-WORKER Revolution, war, famine, atheism and persecution had trodden Europe hard during the eighteenth century. The icy Jansenist heresy had withered the spiritual vigor of Catholics. The only spirit that seemed to flourish was the spirit of self-sufficiency. Men were well content to believe in nothing but their own abilities. They talked about the Rights of Man, the right of any man to think as he wished. The nineteenth century dawned while nations fought for kingdoms and colonies, and men maneuvered for power. It was born coarse, boastful, lustful and pompous. Its good men were monuments to their own respectability. Its leaders truly believed they had stamped out superstition by putting priests to death and exiling Catholics. Its greatest man, Napoleon, who was said to have been as great as a man can be without virtue looked over the heads of his contemporaries and admitted that the best day of his life had been the day of his First Communion. But he spoke of it as a dream impossible to recall. To begin with, hard-trodden as Europe was by the forces of revolution and persecution, it was these very forces which, in another way, fertilized it for a spiritual harvest. Wherever martyr-blood is shed, a glorious harvest of new Christian life is brought forth. The 19th century dawned when Europe lay under a heavy dew of martyrdom. Three Bishops, 178 priests were put to death during the French Revolution, 32 nuns, the Martyrs of Orange, and many more. This chapter in Christendom is a very different one from the chapter in international history which deals with the same period. When we have duly admired administrative genius, we turn with an unconscious relaxing of our respectful expressions to smile at St. Madeleine-Sophie as she walks down the cloister of one of her convents followed by a cat and five kittens, or at St. John Bosco lost in a crowd of shouting boys. Yet, these were the geniuses: their work is still growing. They would never call it their work, but only work purposed and designed by the Eternal God for Whom they went on a few errands. Let us look at the portraits of our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers, and remember that they were alive when St. Philomena began her miracles. I warn you that it is impossible to write soberly of Philomena. I have consulted some very old-fashioned books, but the more they tried to make her appear a saint of ordinary manners, and the more they appeared to be trying to dress her up in long words and stiff phrases, the more it was impossible not to smile. I won’t dress her up. I will let her actions speak for themselves, so if you are shocked, you will be faced with the ordeal of telling a canonized saint that you do not approve of her behavior. Her story begins quite plainly. On May 24, 1802, work was in progress in the most ancient of all the catacombs in Rome, that of St. Priscilla, which dated almost from apostolic times. An ancient sand pit was being cleared of loose sand. The fossors as they are called (men officially chosen and trained for this work in the holy underground cemeteries) were digging in a remote tunnel. One of them heard his pick ring against a cement surface. He found, by the merest accident, a shelf-tomb in the wall which had never been opened. Most of the graves in the cemetery had been opened, and their relics removed for safety. The fossors held their torches up to see if the tomb had any inscription. Yes, it had – it was clearly the tomb of a martyr. According to their manner of procedure, they ceased work and informed the Monsignor who was Guardian of the Cemeteries. He did not delay in coming and appointed the next day for the opening of the tomb. It was a small one, not more than five feet long. It was closed with three terracotta tiles, on which was roughly painted, in vermilion paint, still bright: LUMENA PAXTE CUMFI Roughly drawn in between the words were two arrows, a lance, an anchor, and something that could be taken for either a lily or a torch. These symbols were arranged in such a way that they had evidently been meant to convey some special message to the beholder, but even the experts could not yet understand their meaning. They were accustomed to inscriptions which, because they had been erected in haste, in darkness or by a workman who could not read, were found to be misplaced. They decided that the first tile should really have been the third, in which case the writing would read: PAXTE CUMFI LUMENA “Peace be to you, Philomena!” or, as some modern scholars read it, just: “Peace be to you, Darling” On May 25, the tiles were removed and the tomb opened. It contained some small, unbroken bones and a fractured skull. Embedded in the concrete which had closed the tomb, was a broken phial still containing a substance which, when tested, proved to be dried blood. Beyond question, this was the tomb of a martyr! The doctors and surgeons convened to give their opinion, stating that the relics were those of a girl not more than 14 years old. The archaeologists said that, from the position of the grave, its inscription and other indications, they were satisfied that it dated from not later than 160 A.D. and might be earlier still. In other words, the relics were those of a girl-martyr who had received the Faith from those who had known the Apostles. Then, according to the usual procedure, the relics were carefully sealed in a silk-lined wooden case, and taken to the Custodia Generale to be kept there until they should be given by Papal permission to some church or cathedral. These relics remained at the Custodia Generale for three years. In 1805, England was at war with France, who had been engaged with Ireland and Scotland, attempting to invade England. Napoleon, who had been the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, was now Emperor. It was the year of Austerlitz and Trafalgar. That summer, the Bishop-elect of Potenza went to Rome to be consecrated. He took with him as his Chaplain, a holy missionary priest who was serving the parish of Mugnano near Naples. This priest’s name was Don Francesco di Lucia. Don Francesco had a heavy heart. His parish was infected with revolutionary ideas, resentment against the authority of the Church, unbelief and immorality. His secret hope was to get the Bishop to use his authority to obtain for him the relics of a martyr – a saint who would come back with him and help him with his parish, which only a saint could convert. He knew exactly what he wanted: a virgin martyr whose name was known. Don Francesco went to visit the Guardian of the Custodia Generale who was impressed by this devout and humble priest. He would help him get what he wanted and told him to choose among the relics in the Custodia. Delighted, Don Francesco looked at the relics. They were those of thirteen martyrs, but only the names of three were known: one was a child, one an adult, one was Filumena. He had wanted a virgin martyr from the first. When he stood before the case containing Filumena’s relics, he was filled with spiritual joy and the heaviness of his heart was lifted as though she had instantly taken it from him. This was undoubtedly the helper he needed! The Guardian promised to arrange for him to have her. Imagine his disappointment, then, when the official reply came that bodies of martyrs whose names were known are so few and those found must be kept for special churches or dioceses. His sadness returned and redoubled. Rome is not the best place in which to spend the summer or, at least, it was not in those days when the marshes of the Campagna had not been drained. With overwork and worry, heat and disappointment, Don Francesco lost his sleep, his appetite and his health. A friend offered him the relics of another unnamed martyr to comfort him but he was determined that it was Philomena or nobody, who could and would convert his parish. One night, he found himself burning with fever. He solemnly promised Philomena that, if she would make him well, he would take her for his patron to Mugnano by hook or crook. His fever left him, he fell into a refreshing sleep, and awoke in the morning in perfect health. That decided it. Philomena wanted to come with him as much as he wanted to have her. This time, he went to the newly consecrated Bishop and asked him to use his influence. When the Bishop heard the story, he agreed that the little saint seemed to want to come to Mugnano. He added his request to Don Francesco’s, with the result that the Bishop could not be refused. The Guardian gladly acted on the permission he received to hand over the relics, saying that he felt sure Philomena wished to go to Mugnano and work her miracles there. One wonders what grounds he had for saying that! Had he gotten to know her during the three years she was in his care? Joyfully, the good Bishop and Don Francesco took possession of the precious casket. Determined to bring Philomena to Naples with many prayers and every honor, the casket was to be put in the front of the episcopal carriage. That was the beginning. Philomena had given two gentle little signs that she wanted to come to Mugnano. It was as though she showed signs of being awake after her sleep of seventeen and a half centuries. After so long a time in Paradise, she was ready to come back to work in this troublesome world. But remember, she was not the young mistress of a household like St. Cecilia; she was only a girl of thirteen. |
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TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY (continued) At Meals St. Paul tells us: “Whether you eat or drink or do anything, do all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor.10:31) In a servant of Mary, everything should be holy, even the partaking of food. With what holy sentiments must not Mary have taken Her meals in the company of Her Divine Son and good St. Joseph! St. Gertrude, whenever she partook of food, said this beautiful prayer: “O Lord, I take this food in union with that love in which Thou hast from Eternity destined it for our nourishment and in that love in which Thou didst sanctify it, when in Thy humanity Thou didst partake of the same, for the honor of Thy heavenly Father and the salvation of all mankind.” At every meal, let us practice some slight mortification for love of Mary. At Recreation and Association with Others God, in His Love for us, wishes us to relax, at times, from our labors. But, how often are not God and our neighbor offended in even lawful forms of amusements! A true servant of Mary will also think of Mary during his recreations. He will guard well his eyes and his tongue that sin may not enter through unrestrained senses. What love, what goodness and what modesty did not Mary manifest in Her conversations! Imitate this beautiful model! When possible, try to introduce a few words about the Blessed Virgin into your conversation. A Holy Practice Try, when the clock strikes the hour, to pray a Hail Mary devoutly, mindful of the words of St. Alphonsus that a devout Hail Mary is of more value than the whole world; and resolve to conform yourself to the sentiments of the Immaculate Heart of Mary during the coming hour. Accustom yourself, as the Saints did, frequently to pronounce the holy name of Mary, that name which reminds us of so good a Mother who is the merciful dispensatrix of God’s treasures, the strength, the sweetness and the life of our soul! Imitate the devout servants of the Blessed Virgin in greeting the images of Mary; for, to greet Mary is to greet Jesus. “Hail to thee, O Mary!” Saint Bernard would say when passing a statue of the Blessed Virgin. And, at one time, he heard the voice of Mary responding, “Hail, Bernard!” Give the picture of Our Blessed Mother a prominent place in your home. Retiring Having begun the day with Mary, conclude it also with Her. Through Mary, offer your evening prayers to God. In union with Her, recite the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity; beg of Her, as the Refuge of Sinners, the Grace of a heartfelt sorrow for all your sins, fervently pray Her Litany and ask Mary once more to give you Her blessing. An excellent practice is to say the Hail Mary three times in honor of the Immaculate Conception, adding to each: Blessed be the holy and Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. (Ind. of l00 days each time. Plenary once a month, under the usual conditions) My Mother, preserve me from mortal sin. (Hail Mary – three times) (Ind. of 300 days each time) O Mary, help me to live in God, with God and for God! (Ind. of 300 days each time ) Offer your sleep in honor of Mary’s, whose sweet communication with God was never interrupted, even while She slept. Commend your soul to Mary, as if you were to die that night. Say a word to your patron Saint, and a Hail Mary in honor of your Guardian Angel that he may keep you from all illusion of evil spirits. How beautiful and precious is this life of union with Mary! What an abundant harvest for the great day of reward! What glory for Mary and Her Divine Son, what joy for the angels, and what happiness even here below for a soul who applies herself to live in conformity with the sentiments of the Heart of Mary! At the hour of death, you will bless every day thus spent in union with Mary. Yes, happy are those souls who practice True Devotion to Mary and receive Her choicest favors. For them, Mary is a Mother, model, guide and protectress. They call upon Her and cling to Her as a little child does to its mother, and never take a step unless holding Her hand or commence a prayer or perform a work without interiorly approaching Mary. The holy Heart of Mary is their oratory. Their prayers, labors and trials offered in this sanctuary of Grace give immense pleasure to the Most Holy Trinity and win for themselves ineffable treasures of Grace. |
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| Dear Patti Melvin,
I have received all the Sacramentals and materials you sent. These have been blessed and distributed, and received with joy by the faithful in the Diocese in Puerto Rico. On 9th October, we met with the Superintendent of the Catholic Schools in Arecibo Diocese, Mr. Juan Valdas, with the idea of presenting the ULRA and the Congregation of the Children of Mary to motivate teachers, children, youth and their families to imitate St. Philomena, St. Therese and St. Dominic Savior as role models for the youth. Mr. Valdas invited us to make a presentation at the meeting of 14 Catholic schools of the Diocese in the month of December. Here are few of the testimonies I have hosted on our website for the Glory of God: 1. My sister, María Gómez, residing in the United States, was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. Because of her condition the doctors told her she could not go back to P.R. She was hospitalized awaiting surgery. With all my faith, I kept her and her health present in my daily Decade of the Living Rosary knowing that I had an army of brothers and sisters praying for one another, and each of us prayed our Decade for her. When the analysis prior to her surgery came back, the physician in charge of her case first consulted with two of his colleagues and then went to talk to her and the first thing he asked her was “Do you believe in miracles?” She answered “Of course, I do!” The results were negative and they released her from the hospital glorifying God. Now, she is in P.R. with us and doing very well. Thanks be to God and our brothers and sisters who helped me with their prayers, and to the Living Rosary, through which I have received blessings and I love it. < Julia Gómez – San Lorenzo > 2. I am a missionary of the Living Rosary for some time now and promote it wherever I go. One day, I had more than 60 envelopes with material to send to new members I had enrolled, but did not have money for the postage. I asked Ven. Pauline Jaricot to help me to send these envelopes with so many blessings to these persons. The next day, a person visited me and gave a generous donation. I was able to send all the envelopes; not only that, more persons came to join the Living Rosary. < Áurea – Arecibo > 3. There are several brothers and sisters in our family. One of my sisters was enrolled in the Living Rosary. Another sister has a serious condition of lung deficiency; she was hospitalized for 21 days in Hospital Metropolitano de San Germán; my sister would pray fervently her Decade for her health. The doctors discharged her because, at the most, she only had three more days to live. The day after getting home she started eating and walking happily – she tells us that she also feels different inside, her life is different, likeable, with a contagious cheerfulness, something which surprises even her; then our other sister told us of her prayers in the Living Rosary. I am calling because I, too, want to want join in praying and thanking God for this miracle, since approximately six months have gone by and, even though she continues with her oxygen, she now is independent and totally happy, contrary to everything the doctors said. < Evelyn Cruz – Lajas > 4. I have belonged to the Living Rosary for some time now and I promote it everywhere I go. Some months ago, a neighbor approached me to keep her son in my prayers because he was going through a great depression and, on two occasions, he had tried to take his own life. Immediately, I placed him in my intentions every time I prayed my Decade of the Living Rosary. After 15 days, my neighbor told me that her son had stopped all medicines for depression and his medical treatment had improved unbelievably. Then, he told his grandmother that he wished to go to Mass and this surprised her, since he never wanted to go to Mass. Ever since, he goes faithfully to Mass, being a testimony to his community of this great miracle and has been instrumental that more persons, including his mother, join the Living Rosary. < María Rivera – Vega Baja > May you be blessed in the Names of Jesus and Mary!
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| MISSION SOUTH SUDAN- June 29th – November 2014
Dear Patti, I am profoundly grateful to you for your tender concern and follow ups whenever I am on mission. You boost and light up our glorious work! This mission has taken four months! The first time for me to take such a long duration in the history of my travels! Dear glorious Mary has followed all our steps to spectacular success. I have reached many souls and created awareness of her work, and it has helped us to harvest many new members! Transport remains a major hurdle! First on agenda, when I immediately arrived into South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, I was to oversee two successful Sacramental deliveries to two dangerous hot spots: (1) Malakal diocese – vast region and epicenter of the renewed conflict where human life has been jeopardized by unpublicized genocide since mid-December, 2013. (2) Another lift went to the commanding officer in the disputed Abyei region where Islamists and South Sudan soldiers fight a war shadowed by unsettled border demarcation disputes! Your powerful prayers have propelled my visits more than ever before. I met with different types of anxious people and enthusiastic audiences ready to learn: Visited village homes, clinics and schools in addition to Catholic churches and chapels! The Rosary is the central emphasis of the intensive lessons preached. The Youth for Purity groups launched last year have multiplied and are now expanded to cover three dioceses. I encouraged for more! Immodesty in dress and mind, prostitution, idleness, drugs, abortions, devil worship, disease (AIDS) and polygamy are the main vices they fight! I met with elderly Msgr. Erkolano Lodu Tombe of Yei. He poured enormous blessings to ULRA work with wishes for multiplied rosary missionary zeal; to curb the evil disunity forces out his diocese. I met with a group of Catechists from the Holy Family Parish and through them folds of people flocked to hear my talk. We discovered that over half the population is still Catholic but no one knew about the Rosary! I distributed close to 1,000 Rosaries to Catholics and interested Protestants; The Miraculous Medals were given to everyone! The Main question is when shall we reach them all to guide and protect every South Sudanese from the evils that trounce their new nation? I am thankful once again, for your passionate love towards me and the poor South Sudanese! Real missionary work is in Sudan! I beseech each of our benefactors, not to get tired of our requests for help to South Sudan where urgent help is needed to assist our poor brethren that have spent their lifetime fighting forced Islamization. Please join us in praying for peace in the Malakal diocese. They need our support, not with foods but more Sacramental help to protect in deteriorating camp lives! Angela in Darfur has lost her high hopes for any lifts. Severio in Dungu, Arafa is in the furnace of Libya! All of them would be so happy for any trace of Sacramental Christmas Gifts. Though it is still impossible, we continue to pray over it! Thank you so much for your endless prayers to the Souls in Purgatory, most especially those who have innocently perished from human greed for power! Talks have helped some to understand the treasure of suffering! May you please tell all the benefactors that they have not escaped the unified prayers of the suffering Sudanese since I came here! Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, convert us, South Sudanese! Our Lady, Consoler of the Afflicted, pray for us! Emmanuel Kitandwe
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Share Your Gift of FaithFor centuries, our cherished Catholic faith has been passed from person to person, parent to child, etc. Each of us carries in our heart a special memory of how God first graced us with the knowledge of the faith and how Our Blessed Mother, Saint Philomena, Venerable Pauline Jaricot and other saints changed our lives and brought us closer to Christ. In our work in the Universal Living Rosary Association, we see first hand how millions of souls are currently living without that knowledge of God and are living outside of His grace. We have been given a beautiful opportunity to carry out Christ’s work and pass on our faith and blessings to others who would otherwise never be introduced to Our Lord, the Savior of all mankind. Just as we pray for the souls in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them, we should also make it a part of our life’s mission to pass on our faith to as many souls as possible who have no one else to pass it on to them, who don’t know Our Lord and His promise of salvation.
This is the box we send out to the foreign Missions $77.95. It contains Rosaries, Scapulars, Miraculous Medals, Cord & Oil, Newsletters, Calendars, Catechism books, 2 TAN books, large color prints, lists and encouragement for our Promoters. |
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Tags: Association, Catholic, Filomena, Living, Philomena, Philomene, Rosary, Saint, Santa, Universal