Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

Dear Apostles and Benefactors of the Living Rosary,

During the month of August, we are especially remembering your families at the Holy Altar. The family is the primary target of the demon in the world today. Our poor youth are besieged by a huge array of things which bring sin and sorrow into their lives and alienate them from God and Family. In most cases, both parents are working. Our times are much like those in which Ven. Pauline Jaricot lived. We must consecrate our lives to Mary, imitate her virtues and go forth united to kindle everywhere the fire of Divine Love: to enlighten those in darkness and in the shadow of death, inflame those who have grown lukewarm, and bring back to life those who are dead in sin.

The world has lost Christ and He must be brought back to the world. In our private lives, self-gratification has supplanted the love of God and one’s neighbor. The goal of industry is not to supply the needs of the individual, but to make a profit. In an Age of plenty, multitudes all over the world are in danger of starvation. We hear far too much about rights and far too little about duties. I need not go on. You know the devastation of contraception, divorce, euthanasia and, now, same sex unions.

One cannot be apathetic in the face of this tidal wave of sacrilege. Every member of the Church must be an apostle! The most necessary thing at the present time is to have groups of laymen, virtuous, enlightened and really apostolic. Many today feel no responsibility for souls at large. They ask, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” YES, YOU ARE! It is not enough to just pray for him. Your prayer must be accompanied by action. Go to him, reach out and embrace him with the Divine Presence which dwells within you. Essential to your work for souls is Mary. Our Lady is part of the principle of fruitfulness. Our Blessed Lord does not choose to be fruitful of Himself; He insists on her action as the condition of His entry into souls. Without Mary, our greatest efforts and strivings will end in sterility! With Mary, every effort brings forth eternal fruit. The Church is made up of its members, and can only stand or fall in them. It follows that, from each individual member, the Church requires responsibility and full cooperation in Its work. The Living Rosary is a beautiful example of this dynamic action of the Breath of the Holy Ghost within the Church. We rejoice with our part in this life-giving Breath which flows between our members throughout the whole world.

Your great compassion and love for the Church Suffering gives all of us courage and hope. We must know our Catholic Faith, cling to It, preserve It, defend It, promote It, love It and be very attached to It. We place your daily needs: spiritual, physical and material on the Altar of God. In doing this, may our mission in the bosom of Holy Mother the Church be strengthened and completed.

I impart to all of you, my priestly blessing:

+ In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Fr. IVAN KOLODIY
Byzantine Rite, Greek-Catholic Church, UKRAINE

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Pax Christi!

Your second shipment of religious articles and pamphlets in Sesotho was very well received by our faithful in Lesotho after Mass on Sunday, July 26. There were about 50 to 60 faithful at Mass, which was larger than the number in the previous month. Children were kneeling very close to the Altar, leaving a bare minimum of room for the priest and Altar boy. Not everyone could fit into the little house, or hut with its thatched roof, so some children had to attend by listening to the Mass outside the door of the house.

Perhaps, the pamphlets that you sent the previous month brought more souls to Mass this month. Word certainly had gotten around the village as we were asked for devotional items even by those who did not come for Mass. This time, the faithful specifically asked for more St. Philomena prayer cards, so I am glad that you sent them as well. You sent such a good supply of the pamphlets and Rosaries that we still have some left to give away during our next visit in October.

A priest in South Africa who often celebrates the traditional Mass told us that the diocese accidentally reprinted a prayer book in Sesotho which contains the Mass in Latin. We went to the publishing house and bought thirty copies with beautiful drawings and old devotions. It was first printed in 1931 by the French missionaries. We also bought the five catechisms which were reprints of a good old edition.
The most impressive event, while we were in the village, was a sick call to an 18 year old boy who has been sick for two or three years. He could not even stretch out his arms fully. He went to a public hospital and, instead of an operation, he received a wheelchair. The faithful wished to come with me and so an older lady, a few young men and many children formed a crowd with me that walked through the scattered small stone houses, which I had never seen before. It reminded me of the crowds that escorted Our Lord. I gave a blessing for the sick boy and, then, one of the faithful handed me one of the Scapulars that I had handed out on the day before, asking me to give it to the boy. I had to instruct the boy about the meaning and history of the Scapular and he wished to receive it. Since I did not bring the correct prayer, I asked a 16 year old boy to run to get it from the make-shift chapel, where we stayed. Meanwhile, the faithful prayed three decades of the Rosary for the sick boy, which moved him to small tears which he repeatedly brushed off his eyes while in bed. The prayer book arrived and then I enrolled him in the Brown Scapular. Then, the faithful began to sing a hymn to Our Lady in Sesotho as we left the very small room for so many people. The boy’s mother thanked me as I left. So your Scapulars are given to some good souls; this one to a boy who has never been seen at the chapel, though his father came for the first time on Sunday.

The faithful ask us each time to build them a chapel, as the local parish is five kilometers away. The older parishioners say that they wish to continue to attend the Latin Mass as they did in their youth. A chapel would not be expensive to build as they use their local materials of cut stone for the walls, long grass from the fields for the thatched roofs, and mud mixed with fresh cow dung to seal the outside of the walls with a brown plaster surface. We hope to be able to do this for them in time, so until then we ask the great Saint Philomena to make this possible for these simple Catholics in Lesotho one day.

Thank you again for your valuable support in sending especially the pamphlets on the Rosary, Brown Scapular, Miraculous Medal, and St. Michael medals. There were many hands outstretched eager to receive each of these. May God bless you and all who help put together all of these devotional items!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Paul Kimball
Our Lady of Sorrows Priory
Roodepoort 1725
South Africa

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Please Father Ivan,

Pray for the Conversion of my Loved One!
Pray that my Children will return to the Sacraments!
Pray that our Grandbabies will be Baptized!

Progress is the watchword of our modern Day. Progress should be likewise the watchword of our spiritual advancement: progress in making use of the means of Salvation God has given us for these perilous times. Our families are plagued with opportunities for sin, which are innumerable and divisive. Dangers, which are so incredibly menacing, attractive and enticing, surround us on every side. We cannot overcome them by our own power. Without God’s help, we will drown in the mire. Witchcraft and Satanism abound, drugs and alcohol, pornography and nudity have found their way into our schools and homes.

We have been deceived by the devil. Setting our hopes on material comforts, possessions and future security, we have forfeited family, faith and eternal beatitude. How can we best appeal to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary? How can we attain the salvation of our families? How can we help those who have lost the faith and abandoned themselves to this vacuum of greed, pride and hate?

Our Lady of Fatima came to bring peace to the world. The foundation of Peace is the possession of Grace. Man must cease offending God. Sanctifying Grace is the Life of God Himself imparted to the soul, whereby man is raised to a supernatural level and becomes a friend and child of God, and an heir to Heaven. The presence or absence of Sanctifying Grace in our souls, at the moment of death, will decide our eternal salvation or damnation. Through the Sacrament of Confession, all is gained and saved, and the repentant sinner is restored to the friendship of God. Washed in the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God, he receives the source of life, the medicine of salvation, the fount of healing and the beginning of all that is good. There is no more effectual means of preservation from the dangers and temptations which beset our families, than frequent union with Our Lord in Holy Communion. Misled by false teachers, many have given up the Faith, Love and Hope of Christ. We must turn back to God by whom we are loved so very much. When man restores God to the temple of his soul, Mary will reward the world with a lasting peace.

Thirty one days of Sacred Liturgies will be offered by Father Ivan Kolodiy in the Ukraine during the month of August for our loved ones who have fallen away from the Sacraments, for grandchildren who need to receive Baptism, and for the conversion of those you entrust to God. The names of those enrolled will be placed on the Altar during the entire month of August.

SUGGESTED STIPEND DONATION: $ 5.00 each for Enrollment in the thirty one days of Sacred Liturgies for your Loved Ones: PRINT VERY CLEARLY EACH NAME!
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Make your payment online through PAYPAL / CREDIT CARD at: WWW.PHILOMENA.ORG

If payment by Check / Money Order / Cash, please mail it directly to the address below:

THE LIVING ROSARY, P.O. BOX 1303, DICKINSON, TX 77539, USA.

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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.

Please Click here to Share Your Gift of Faith