Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

We are on the battle field. We must know God, know our enemies and know ourselves in order to make the right decisions. We cannot simply drift, we must choose, not now and then, but day by day in all the events of our lives. God’s law and authority are supreme. All that leads us away from God stems from the devil and his angels. He is the deceiver, the liar, the denier. We must exalt in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces steadfastness and hope because through it God pours into our hearts His Love. We must choose between God and self. This is the ultimate test. Are we able to admit our dependence upon God? Our exposure to the tyranny of Satan can be made Stair-Steps-to-HEAVEN if we but use each pin-prick, every spot on the table cloth, every temptation and every fall an act of love for God and of confidence in His Power to help us. We must make use of every trial and experience in this life, united with Christ, as part of our training for Heaven.

All sin in the world has come about through the cooperation of man with Satan. The greatest menace to the welfare of souls can be measured by the extent to which Satan has succeeded in making himself unknown. Satan is hiding today behind the almost universal denial of his existence.

Those who engage in the direct practice of Satanic Rites commit a deadly and horrible sin, but their influence is far less dangerous than the overwhelming devotion of so many to the aims of Satan which are fostered by everyone who allows himself to be drawn into the Cult of Materialism! Our profession of faith in Matter independent of God is a direct and most grievous violation of the First Commandment. It is the idolatry of Satan and gives him great power over the minds and hearts of mankind. Christ and His Will are the greatest protection we have against the power of Satan!

I remain, one with you, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

PATTI MELVIN, Director ULRA

Let us pray for one another.

ST. PHILOMENA, WONDER-WORKER (continued)

The ninth of August was the day chosen for the triumphal journey to Mugnano. When the two men who were chosen to act as bearers arrived from Mugnano, poor Donna Angela realized that Philomena, whom she had come to love as her own daughter, was going. She could not bear to part with the shrine. Don Francesco reminded her that she was not necessarily parting with Philomena just because she must part with the relics. Philomena was a saint in Heaven who would be as near her in Naples as she was near to her own relics in Mugnano. Donna Angela continued weeping, saying what she had said before, what the interested bearers could not quite understand, about the way the expression of the figure had changed more than once while she was tending it. The spirit of Philomena had animated this clay made from paper, as it had once perfectly informed and animated the clay of her body.

Don Francesco, being an Italian, understood a mother’s heart. “Come,” he said, taking something out of his pocket. “Here is the one and only key of the shrine. You shall have it. She shall belong to you like a daughter. I will only be her guardian. I shall not be able to touch her without asking you for the key. If there is a demand for relics and I want to touch her with pieces of linen which can be distributed, I shall have to ask you to come and unlock the shrine.”

Infinitely consoled, Donna Angela watched the little procession set out by moonlight, late in the evening of August 9th. One of the men who acted as bearer had been suffering with severe internal pain. The moment came for him to take his share of the burden. Don Francesco said to him, “Have faith, take your share of the weight and you will see the Saint will heal you.” To the man’s wild joy, that is exactly what she did. Praying the Rosary and singing hymns, they traveled on to Mugnano.

Soon, heavy clouds threatened a storm and all became anxious. They prayed to Philomena for help. Just then, a little space in the sky opened and the moon and stars shone bright. It was past midnight when the company came to Cimitile, formerly a suburb of Nola, a place where thousands of martyrs had suffered under the Roman Emperors. About a mile before they reached this village, the porters began to complain of the weight of the case. Both men declared that it was not that they were tired, but that the case had suddenly become as heavy as lead. Their shoulders swelled under its weight and they had to stop every few paces to catch their breath. One of them exclaimed, “O my Saint, you have become so heavy!” When they reached Nola, they said they could go no farther and laid the case down on the ground. Although it was only made of wood, on touching the ground, it gave forth a metallic sound as though it had been made of bronze. This sound was re-echoed by the earth. It was as if a salutation passed between Philomena and those who, like her, had died for Christ.

Don Francesco was afraid they would not be able to go on. He sent one bearer on to Mugnano to bring back a strong man to help. The men succeeded in raising the case and transporting it some distance. By the time they were two miles out of Cimitile, they had no difficulty at all. There was a shout of:

“A Miracle! A Miracle! The Saint has become as light as a feather again, just as she was at Naples!”

St. Philomena was teaching them that ground saturated with the blood of martyrs is holy. There was something affectionate, dignified and almost mischievous about her. Especially, today, these appealing qualities are needed to draw and convert the unaffectionate, the undignified, the pompous and the un-childlike. Mugnano had been preparing since the previous evening for the arrival of their new helper and patroness. The bells had been rung at noonday to remind every one of her arrival. Bombs had been fired because, as I said, it is an explosive country and that was how they expressed themselves. Amidst clouds of dust and the grueling sun, the villagers decorated the road by which she would come. “My word!” they said, wiping their foreheads, “If the new saint wishes to introduce herself, let her put an end to these months of drought!”

1. Two young girls, aged 9 and 11 years respectively, accompanied their mother on a maize plantation field to do the weeding. Eventually, the girls left their mother and went in search of mice. While digging for mice, the younger one stopped to ferret through the heap of soil which the older girl had dug as she thought she had seen a mice buried therein. Unaware of her younger sister’s intention, the older girl desiring to dig more, raised the hoe and, while bringing it down, accidently inflicted a deep cut on the head of her sister and blood oozed out profusely. She cried out loud for her mother who came running and could not believe her eyes. They were very far from the road and the hospital. In her desperation, she remembered that she had a little bottle of St. Philomena holy oil. She fished it out, prayed to the Blessed Virgin and to St. Philomena, shaved the wounded area and applied the holy oil. Believe me, the oozing of blood stopped instantly! As the night approached, the wounded girl started to see visions. She was seeing a very beautiful young girl, wearing a crown of flowers around her head with a little bottle in her hand, touching her head and massaging her wound with the contents of the bottle in her hand. The mother was dumbfounded and thought her daughter’s condition was getting worse. The mother had an intuition. She rushed to where she had laid her bag, got the Decade card and showed it to her, asking if this is the girl she was seeing. “Yes! Yes!” She cried out, “This is the very one!” The mother was delighted realizing that the wound of her child was indeed being massaged by St. Philomena. The wound healed without the medical doctor’s touch!

2. A one year old baby was ill to the point of death. She had severe diarrhea and the mother took her to Our Lady’s hospital here and the doctors admitted her in the ICU. On the second day of admission, the mother sneaked out of the hospital leaving the child behind, to prepare for her child’s funeral at home. The grandfather happened to be a friend of mine. He shared this information of the plight of the little one with me. Together, we set out to the hospital where we found a good Samaritan old woman attending to the deserted little girl! We knelt down on our knees, prayed to the Virgin Mary and to St. Philomena. I laid the Decade card on the bed, and gave the holy oil to the woman and said, “Drop a little oil in the baby’s mouth and smear a little on the baby’s anus.” At this point, the child’s grandmother and mother came in, and the grandmother took over the process of anointing the baby. In two days’ time, the child’s condition improved. On the fourth day, the baby had to be shifted to the general ward and, a week later, discharged from the hospital. Today, the child is alive and healthy!

3. Rosaria, a mother of five children, had gone to her maize and groundnut field with two of her children, Clement aged 13 and Raymond aged 15. They had carried with them a two and a half liter plastic water container, not opaque and without a lid. They toiled in the field till late in the day. Clement became more exhausted and very thirsty. He sat down to quench his thirst. He picked the container and gulped down the water. Alas, there was a swarm of bees in the container and he was stung by some bees. His throat became swollen in no time. He was rushed to the hospital, his condition worsened and he could hardly eat anything or swallow water. The doctor recommended an operation. Rosaria’s neighbor, Pascalina, had the holy oil of Saint Philomena and asked Rosaria to pray with her to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St. Philomena. They prayed intensely. Then, Pascalina put a few drops of holy oil into Clement’s mouth and smeared a bit of the oil on his throat. Later that evening, they were joined by a group for a prayer session. Pascalina again poured a little holy oil into his mouth. After this, Clement was able to swallow the water. Eventually, he was able to eat solid food! The doctor averted the operation.

The young people can definitely benefit from the YOUTH FOR PURITY campaign at home and in the schools. We only have to organize ourselves for it. I am a lay person, 77 years old, widower and a father of 13 children. We need Decade cards, Rosary numbers, Sacramentals, St. Philomena cord and oil, two or three small statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, large posters of St. Philomena pictures and printed materials.

You are always remembered in my prayers.

Aloysius Kunda
Mpika, Zambia – C. AFRICA

Share Your Gift of Faith

For 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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