January 22, 2025

Miracles

Prayer of St. Anthony of Padua that said to have “never been known to fail”

Mother & Refuge02 mins

O Light of the world, Infinite God, Father of eternity, giver of wisdom and knowledge, and ineffable Dispenser of every spiritual grace; who knowest all things before they are made, who makest the darkness and the light: put forth Thy hand and touch my mouth, and make it as a sharp sword to utter eloquently Thy words. Make my tongue, O Lord, as a chosen arrow, to declare faithfully Thy wonders. Put Thy spirit, O Lord, in my heart, that I may perceive; in my soul, that I may retain; and in my conscience, that I may meditate. Do thou lovingly, holily, mercifully, clemently and gently inspire me with Thy grace. Do Thou teach, guide and strengthen the comings in and goings out of my senses and my thoughts. And let Thy discipline instruct me even to the end, and the counsel of the Most High help me through Thine infinite wisdom and mercy. Amen

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Holy Name Prayer from ‘the Rural Life Prayerbook’

Mother & Refuge01 mins

LORD JESUS, we humbly pray You to give us all a great reverence and respect for Your most holy name. Forgive us for ever having used the name of Jesus in vain, or without due respect. Help us remember how reverently and lovingly Your Mother Mary used the name of Jesus, and how humbly Saint Joseph called You and spoke to You by name. Your name, dear Jesus, is above every other name in heaven or on earth, because You are Jesus, the Savior of all men. You have saved us, and You have told us to ask God anything in Your name, and it would be granted. We ask You, humbly and confidently, to bless us and our work, and give us the rich treasures of Your divine grace, without which we cannot even so much as pronounce the name of Jesus.

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Miraculous Prayer to Our Lady of Manaoag for Urgent Needs

Mother & Refuge04 mins

According to recorded history, the Augustinians came to Pangasinan in 1575 and established the missions of Lingayen, Bagnotan (which is now called Dagupan), and Santa Monica (now called Manaoag) as part of their evangelization efforts.   Because the Pangasinenses prefer to believe in paganism, the missionaries decided to leave. But this was just the start of the evangelization of the missionaries in the province. In fact, there were also undocumented missionaries serving in Pangasinan.   In addition, the Franciscans made an effort to spread the gospel across the region. However, their efforts were in vain, since they were unable to convert the residents of Pangasinan. The Dominican Missionaries built a mission at Binalatongan (now called San Carlos) in 1587, under the patronage of its founder, Saint Dominic De Guzman.   The town of Mangaldan, which is nine (9) kilometers from Santa Monica, was a “visita” for the Augustinian monastery of Lingayen. It is also the place where the Dominicans began their missionary work.   Given that Lingayen was 30 kilometers from the Augustinian convent of Santa Monica, the Augustinians were happy to give up its care to Bishop Diego de Soria, OP, who gave it to Fr. Juan de San Jacinto, OP, Vicar of Mangaldan. As a result, Fr. de San Jacinto had the idea of creating a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary when he accepted this post in 1605.   The apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Manaoag got its name from a story about an appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a farmer on a treetop, according to local lore.   The story goes that the Virgin of the Most Holy Rosary and her most pious Son, the Child Jesus, arrived in the middle of a cloud. She stated her desire for a shrine to be built in her honor in the same location so that her followers might travel there in the future and ask for her maternal protection.   This apparition of the Virgin of the Rosary became famous in other parts of the globe. People from all over the world would go to the spot where the apparition occurred to see it for themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DhBGanrA08

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Sister Wilhelmina in guiding us as Apostles of the End Times

Mother & Refuge05 mins

This week we have all witnessed what appears to be a great miracle for the Catholic Church in the United States: the discovery of a new Incorruptible body of a possible Saint. The Benedictine Sisters are allowing the body to be touched physically until Sunday, May 28. Those who are able to travel to this apparent miracle are wonderfully blessed. Like Thomas, they are able to put their hands on what appears to be a sign of the Resurrection, a preserved body of a holy woman.    Some have been blessed to have seen Incorruptible Saints before, and I doubt many of us had the opportunity to touch a body in this condition. Travel to places where Incorrupt bodies are on display for the faithful provides a unique sign for the Catholic Faithful. In the years to come, much will come to light about the life of Sister Wilhelmina, and certainly God has provided us a sign for us to take a close look at her life and ask, what is it that we can learn from this Holy woman.  A well-known Catholic Youtube personality stated his belief that the Faithful ought to not focus on the fact that Sister Wilhelmina was African American or that her congregation worships according to the Extra-ordinary form of the Latin Rite Mass. However, I believe that both of these facts should be known and celebrated. Firstly, what a blessing it is that we have our first African American woman incorrupt saint in the United States! Noting that Sister Wilhelmina’s great grandmother was a slave provides great reason to celebrate that in overcoming such prejudices, this family has been blessed with an amazing grace and miracle. This is a great honor for those who African American and this is something that can indeed be a source of great pride for their culture.  Secondly, it is not insignificant that Sister Wilhelmina was called to found an order founded in the traditions of the extra-ordinary form of the Mass. There is much to be said upon reflection of Sister Wilhelmina’s own spirituality that led her down this path. She left one order to found another in the middle of the 1990’s. At this time there were several people attempting to found new orders with the Latin Mass as its center and many of them failed. Sister Wilhelmina not only succeeded, but she had success in the most phenomenal of ways. In the end, the order that Sister chose to found was a Benedictine Convent – which is structured according to a very contemplative way of living. Thus, as Catholics living after Vatican II, and after the turn of the 21st century we must take a serious look at the Traditions of prayer in the Church and at least acknowledge that in the case of Sister Wilhelmina, the traditional way of prayer both as Benedictine and as centered around the Extraordinary form of the Mass led her to a very high form of Sanctity.

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Unveiling the Divine Encounter: America’s Exclusive Recognized Marian Apparition

Mother & Refuge04 mins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDbZ5t7p3UE By Aleteia On October 8, 1871, in or around a place called Peshtigo, Wisconsin, several men were setting small fires in the woods. This was a common practice in clearing land for expanding railroads or for expanding farm land. Except, on this particular day, something unexpected happened. A cold front moved into the area creating winds that were close to hurricane force. The winds fanned the flames and the resulting Peshtigo Firestorm still can claim the ignominious title as the “deadliest wildfire” in American history. To this day, no wildfire in the U.S. has ever caused more deaths. It is estimated close to 2,500 people perished in the raging 2,000-degree inferno. But there is an incredible side-bar to this story. Miraculously, there was a small group of people who were not harmed at all and they were right in the middle of the blaze. They were with Adele Brise. Adele Brise was 24 years old when she arrived in Wisconsin with her parents from Belgium in 1855. A devout Catholic, Adele had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother and prayed daily. On Sunday, October 2, 1859, Adele was walking home through the woods when she saw a woman clothed in white standing between a hemlock and a maple tree. The woman was encased in a bright light and had a yellow sash around her waist.  A crown of stars was above her long, blond hair. Adele, filled with fear, began praying and the vision disappeared. She told her mom and dad about it and they told her that maybe it was a soul in need of prayers. The following Sunday, Adele was on her way to Mass with her sister and another woman when she saw the apparition a second time. But her sister and friend, who were walking a bit ahead of her, did not see anything. As Adele returned from Mass, the Lady appeared to her for the third time. Adele, who had confided in her parish priest about the mysterious lady, did as he had told her. She asked the Lady the question, “In the Name of God, who are you and what do you wish of me?” The Lady answered, “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners… Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.” Read more…

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Virgin Mary Appears to a Man Who Wanted to Kill the Pope

Mother & Refuge11 mins

There were celebrations throughout the city of Rome for an anniversary dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. On this day in 1947, a Protestant who later said he planned to assassinate the Pope saw the Blessed Virgin several times in Rome. She called herself the Virgin of Revelation and her words caused him to convert to Catholicism. 9 years later, Pope Pius XII approved the construction of a chapel on the site sometimes called Tre Fontane, because it is near 3 fountains. Member of the Missionaries of Divine Revelation, Sister Emanuela Edwards, joins to tell us what the celebrations were like. Sr. Emanuela takes us back to the Virgin’s appearance on this date in 1947. She shares what more we know about the appearance and the man to whom she appeared. Sr. Emanuela discusses how this apparition is relevant for the faithful today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmiXlCQAOrI&t=131s

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The Mingling of Faith and Reason: Miracles and the Catholic Church 

Mother & Refuge01 mins

As a medical doctor and professor at Queen’s University, Dr. Jacalyn Duffin has an interesting CV. Her specialty? Miracles. In her career, Dr. Duffin has surveyed more than 1,400 miracles pertaining to 229 different canonizations and 145 beatifications from 1588 to 1999. In this edition of Catholic Focus, host Jenna Murphy will examine the place of miracles in the Church and their impact on the lives of those affected by them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N4vlZtMWW0

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