Heads Up: On Vacation

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Keep Calm - Vacation

I am taking a break/vacation/unplugging from blogging over the next two weeks. It’s been a glorious year of blogging since my vacation last year. So many blessings to speak about – writing projects, teaching at the parish, and still having a great job, although this vacation is definitely needed. It’s also been a difficult year, but it seems that suffering is very much of my life.

While I am gone this week, please share my blog with your family and friends!! Including this post, there are 772 blog posts/articles. Check out my archives from the past year.

If you have suggestions or topics you would like me to write on in the future, please leave those suggestions in the comment box below or email me.

See you all soon!

In Christ through Mary,

– Tom

Ordination to the Priesthood Homily (Prince of Peace Abbey) – Bishop Steven J. Lopes

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Here is the homily that my college friend, Bishop Steven J. Lopes, gave at the Ordination to the Priesthood, for my other college friend, Fr. Bede Clark, OSB, on Saturday, July 8, 2017 at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California.

In his homily, Bishop Lopes mentions The Rule of St. Benedict. If you have never read The Rule, I would encourage you to do so. It’s a spiritual classic and one that we all read in the Saint Ignatius Institute over 20 years ago. I still have my original undergraduate copy.

Venerable Brother,

Three years ago, nearly to the day, you professed your solemn monastic vows in this abbey church. On that occasion, Father Abbot reflected on monastic life through the lens of obedience, the first of the three Benedictine vows. I mention this not only because it was a particularly good homily, but also because it disclosed a fundamental insight, one which also provides the context of our celebration today. That foundational insight is simply this: the true nature of a monk cannot be known from outside. Monastic life is like a stained glass window. To observe it from some safe distance gives us perhaps some sense of its shape, some idea of its content…but the figure remains darkened and somewhat obscured. It is only when enters the church and looks at the window from within that its true brilliance is revealed in all its intricacy and vibrant color. And so too with monastic life. It is only when it is lived in integrity, when the monk plunges himself into the life of obedience, stability, and conversatio morum that its true brilliance is revealed in all its intricacy and vibrant color.

The same can be said of priesthood, which is after all, an interior conformity with Christ effected in and by the Holy Spirit. The priesthood of Christ into which you will be ordained today is one. By the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Sprit, you will be conformed to Christ the Teacher, the Priest, and the Shepherd. Indeed, Priests are established by Christ himself as co-workers to the Order of Bishops, so that by their ministry the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is built and grows into the people of God, a holy Temple. At the same time, priesthood conferred and lived out in the monastery is a particular expression of the one priesthood of Christ, an expression whose glory and beauty is to be discovered in the interior dynamism of monastic life itself. And so we have to return to obedience, stability, and conversatio morum to see the true brilliance of what God is doing here today.

In the Rule, Holy Father Benedict specifies of priests: “Let him who is ordained beware of arrogance and pride, and presume to do nothing that is not commanded him by his Abbot, knowing that he is now all the more subject to the regular discipline. Let him not by occasion of his priesthood forget the obedience and discipline of the Rule, but let him progress ever more and more in the Lord” (RB 62:2).  The emphases here on “all the more subject” to the Rule and “progress ever more and more in the Lord” situate priesthood firmly in the monastic observance. There is not monastic life on the one side and priesthood on the other, but priesthood in the monastery is to be seen as a further unfolding of the consecration you made when you sang your Sucipe before God and this community. Saint Benedict would have you understand your priesthood first as service to your brothers, to be lived in concrete charity in this Abbey. The sacramental grace you are given is for this monastery to thrive, so that by building up the community in which you live out your stability, the monastery might truly be a beacon on the hill drawing men and women to experience something of the Divine Life in Christ. And while from time to time you will be sent forth from this house for Mass and sacramental duties in the surrounding communities, this too is a pastoral service of this monastery to which you contribute.

Newly ordained Fr. Bede with Bishop Steven J. Lopes behind him.

Father Bede, see your priesthood, then, as part of the monastic conversion of life to which you have vowed yourself. For you, priestly virtue consists in continually striving for personal conversion so as to persevere in living the monastic observance. Priestly holiness consists in careful attention given to performing your religious duties in community life. Ultimately, this conversatio morum is the interior conformity to Christ, which is the principle work of the Holy Spirit poured out to us in the Church’s Sacraments.   It is no wonder, then, that the evangelical counsels of poverty and chastity arise like flowers from this root, which is Christ himself.

Another insight about priesthood as it is lived in the monastery can be drawn from the insistence of the Rule about the primacy of the sacred liturgy: Nihil Operi Dei praeponitur – Let nothing be put before the Work of God (RB 43:3) With these words, Saint Benedict established the absolute priority of the Divine Office and the Mass in respect to every other duty of monastic life.  In the face of other legitimate claims on a monks time such as study, apostolate, and the physical works at support the house, Saint Benedict unequivocally underscored the priority of God Himself in our life: “As soon as the signal for the time of the divine office is heard, let everyone, leaving whatever he has in his hands, hasten with all speed, yet with gravity” (RB 43:1).

The priority of the Work of God informs a liturgical consciousness, which is just another way of describing a monastic consciousness.  You, dear Brother, have been formed in this consciousness since the day you entered this monastery. Now as a priest, your celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments are in deeper service of the Work of God. And given the absolute priority of this Work in the monastic life, it is no understatement to say that the attention and preparation you give to your homily and to liturgical celebration, through which you lead your confrères in the contemplation of the Divine Mystery, is the most important thing you do. Not only important for the monks of this house, but also for the witness it offers to the Church and the world. The priority of God, which is so often neglected and forgotten in the rising tide of secularism, is essential for maintaining the good of human society.  If God is not important anymore, the criteria for establishing that which is important are overturned, which has disastrous consequences for human dignity and flourishing.

Commenting on this insight of the Rule, Pope Benedict XVI sounded a note of alarm regarding the situation of the Church in our own day. He said: “Man’s ‘doing’ almost led to forgetting God’s presence. In this kind of situation, it becomes ever clearer that the Church’s existence lives from the proper celebration of the liturgy and that the church is in danger when the primacy of God no longer appears in the liturgy and, therefore, in life…the true renewal of the liturgy is the fundamental condition for the renewal of the Church” (Benedict XIV, 11 July 2015, Preface to the Russian edition of volume one of his Opera Omnia). Your attention to the primacy of God, the primacy of the celebration of the Church’s liturgy, is of central importance: not just for your own personal sanctification, or even for the sanctification of your bother monks. But, indeed, the rest of us are relying on it so that our Church can be renewed and enlivened.

Monastic life is like a stained glass window. When one enters the edifice of obedience, stability, and monastic conversion of life, what is revealed is a brilliant intricacy of light and color as the glory of Almighty God is directed and refracted in the Church through this privileged form of religious consecration. The image that emerges in that window is the refulgence of Divine Life to which, in God’s mercy, we have been called in Christ. And how is that Divine Life to be described, to be enfleshed in our own life and in our own day? Well, according to the wisdom of the Rule, the Divine Life is reflected in the very monastic life you are ordained to serve:

“Let monks, therefore, practice zeal with most fervent love: that is, let them in honor anticipate one another; let them bear most patiently one another’s infirmities, whether of body or of character; let them endeavor to surpass one another in the practice of mutual obedience; let no one seek that which he accounts useful for himself, but rather what is profitable to another; let them practice fraternal charity with a chaste love; let them fear God; let them love their Abbot with a sincere and humble affection; let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ; and may Christ bring us all alike to life everlasting. Amen  (RB: 72).”

A Benedictine Priest, the Saint Ignatius Institute, and True Friendships

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Over this past weekend, it was a great honor to witness, along with many other friends, not only the Priestly Ordination of another long time friend, Fr. Bede Clark, OSB, but also his Mass of Thanksgiving the following day. The ordination took place on Saturday, July 8 at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California through the apostolic authority of Bishop Steven J. Lopes, the college roommate of Fr. Bede, and our mutual friend. Bishop Lopes is the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Here is Bishop Lopes’ Ordination to the Priesthood Homily.

Laying on of Hands

I have known Fr. Bede since 1994 (we graduated in 1997), when we were students in the Saint Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco. Along with others, many who attended this weekend, quickly became friends over twenty years ago because of our mutual interest for Catholic culture, philosophy, literature, theology, sports, and the overall love of being university students in a city as beautiful as San Francisco.

These friendships were planted in such rich soil, that even now, over 20 years later, many returned this past weekend to witness Fr. Bede ordained to the Catholic Priesthood. As one friend said, we all have skin in this game. It was a long journey filled with many pitfalls and sufferings for not only Fr. Bede, but for many of us who accompanied him along the way. In his toast to Fr. Bede during Friday night’s dinner, Bishop Lopes quoting Fr. Joseph Fessio said that Fr. Bede is the glue that has kept us all together. Although some friends were not able to make it due to difficult circumstances, they were there with us in spirit.

With Fr. Bede after he blessed me during his first blessings.

Personally, the weekend was a token into the past, into the city, and into the friendships, where I truly learned about Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church for the first time, just as I experienced in June 2015. It was in the Saint Ignatius Institute where my heart was spiritually awakened and my mind began to understand my Catholic faith intellectually, the beginning of my true conversion to Christ and his Church. The three years I spent in the Saint Ignatius Institute were the best three years of my twenties.

I can remember spending many nights in the library, in the dorms, and in the classroom with Fr. Bede and many of the friends who attended this weekend. Some of my most memorable laughter comes from the words and actions of Fr. Bede, like when he threw a book out the window or when he called the aforementioned order that was educating us a bunch of crackpots.

The weekend was not only a look into the past, but an apparition of the present and the future. When friendships are planted, watered, and pruned as these friendships have been for over 20 years, you may not see them frequently, but when you do, you can pick up right where you left off. Since these friendships are rooted in virtue, goodness, and beauty, they are rightly true friendships [bold is mine], as the Greek philosopher Aristotle says.

For me, this weekend was very needed. It seems to be a pattern that when I need to see these true friends, they are there to spend time with, laugh with, and reminisce about the past and talk about our present lives. The ability to see another long time friend ordained as a priest forever, as well as seeing many true friends and the religious and lay people who taught us and guided us was needed and appreciated. It was a blessed weekend!

Fr. Bede blessing Sister Ignatius.

As I conclude this article, I ask you to pray for four things –

1. Please pray for Fr. Bede Clark as he begins his priestly ministry among his Benedictine brothers and to the people the monastery serves in San Diego.

2. Pray for vocations to the Catholic Priesthood and also among the Order of St. Benedict.

3. Pray for the rise and continued growth of good Catholic universities and institutions, like the once great Saint Ignatius Institute.

4. Pray for good, selfless, self-sacrificial friendships rooted in virtue, goodness, and beauty. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “there is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”

This blog post is dedicated to not only Fr. Bede Clark, but to all the administrators, students and professors of the St. Ignatius Institute between the years of 1976-2001. 

Newly ordained Fr. Bede with Bishop Steven J. Lopes behind him.

“Mondays with Mary” – Our Lady of Einsiedeln

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Over this past weekend, I spent most of my time at Prince of Peace Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery in Oceanside, California for my friend’s Ordination to the Priesthood (see my article later this week). Although I have been here many times before to visit Fr. Bede, I saved this article on Our Lady of Einsiedeln for today simply because I wasn’t aware of it until today.

I knew that I wanted to incorporate today’s “Mondays with Mary” with the Benedictines but didn’t know how to do so until about 5 minutes before departing to drive back to Arizona. One of the women working in the gift shop showed me a picture of Our Lady of Einsiedeln hanging in the gathering area at the monastery. Once I arrived home, I looked it up online and found some history in regards to this Marian title, which is obviously closely associated with the Benedictines. The story is as follows –

A Benedictine monk, St. Meinrad (the Archabbey here in the US is named for him), in the 9th century, departed from a local monastery to construct a hermitage in the wilderness, which would later come Einsiedeln. As he left, he took a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a gift from Abbess Hildegarde of Zurich, which was known to be miraculous. Once arriving in the village, his reputation grew because people knew him to be kind and holy – he often received many visitors.

On January 21, 861, St. Meinrad was killed by two thieves who struck him with a candlestick. They thought he would have a large treasure in his hermitage. Legend says they were both captured after two ravens followed them all the way back to Zurich and began squawking very loudly near them. It is believed that the two ravens were guardians to St. Meinrad.

Many years later, in the year 940, a small band of Benedictine monks turned St. Meinrad’s small hermitage into the Lady Chapel. It has been said that Jesus Christ himself consecrated the chapel on September 14, 948. Although the local Bishop was to consecrate the chapel, he had a vision where he saw the entire chapel lit by a very bright light, where Christ himself approached the altar. When he went into the chapel the next day, he heard a voice saying that the chapel had already been consecrated through divine intervention. Sixteen years later, in 964, Pope Leo VIII confirmed the miracle with a papal bull.

Our Lady of Einsiedeln

In his possession with him till his death, St. Meinrad had the Black Madonna statue as an altarpiece in his small hermitage. After his death, the statue was placed in the Lady Chapel so that others could venerate it. The statue became known as Our Lady of Einsiedeln. There were many miracles that were attributed to it and around the year 1000 A.D., pilgrims began to show up to view the statue as well. During the Middle Ages, it is believed that 50,000 pilgrims would pass though the monastery on a weekly basis.

In the year 1620, the Benedictine monastery at Einsiedeln became a school of theology for it’s own clerics and men training to become priests. It’s a small school only having more than 30 students once in its history. Even with attacks and setbacks during the Protestant Reformation and French Revolution, the shrine continues to welcome pilgrims to this day.

The statue that is currently at the shrine is not the original statue but a copy that was made and finished in the year 1466. The original is said to have burned in a fire. It’s a work of art measuring around four feet in height and is art of the late Gothic period. It was brought from Southern Germany or Switzerland. The figure, which is made of wood, is painted strawberry red and gold.

The Mother and child faces were first painted, but have since darkened due to the smoke from the votive candles below it, making it silvery black. It’s been black for many years. For festive occasions, the Benedictine monks dress up the statue. There is a replica of this statue in the abbey church at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California.

Our Lady of Einsiedeln…Pray for Us

St. Meinrad…Pray for Us

“Mondays with Mary” – The Blessed Virgin in The Spirit of Catholicism

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Although I read many fantastic books during my two years of graduate school at Franciscan University of Steubenville (2008-2010), one of my favorite books became The Spirit of Catholicism by Karl Adam. Since reading it, I usually suggest it to Catholics that are seeking a deeper understanding of the organic nature and growth of the Catholic Church from the time of Christ till today. When I read it in graduate school, I was pumping my fist in the air often in the John Paul II Library because it truly makes you feel proud to be a Catholic, especially in a culture like today.

Even though I have never suggested it to any non-Catholics, it would be good to give to your non-Catholic friends, because it could help them understand that organic nature as well. As you read it, you can see that he is answering many of those non-Catholic objections. Some of the most notable Catholic converts in the Church today were brought to Catholicism through this great work. To learn who these individuals are, I would suggest reading my Book Reviews on here. It’s the first book on that page.

As I was sitting around my house yesterday, because I went to our monthly Ordinary Form in Latin last night, I had some ideas for today’s “Mondays with Mary” but nothing that was solidified. Two weeks ago, I gave a talk on 6 Reasons why Mary should not be forgotten in a time of crisis, a talk based on my grad school notes and an interview given by Cardinal Ratzinger in 1984. In that talk, I speak briefly about this book.

Madonna of the Chair – Raphael

Realizing I have never shared with you the words of Karl Adam about Mary from The Spirit of Catholicism, I thought I would give you some of those thoughts today –

“But however wondrously glorious all these holy figures are [the saints], each in his own way, yet all are outshone by one, by the Queen of all angels and saints, Mary, the Mother of God. Like every creature in heaven and on earth, she too was called into existence out of nothingness. An infinite distance separates her from the Infinite, from Father, Son and Holy Ghost. And she has not grace, no virtue, no privilege, which she does not owe to the divine Mediator. Both in her natural and supernatural being, she is wholly the gift of God, ‘full of grace’.”

“The mystery of Mary’s divine Motherhood does not merely comprise the bare fact that the Word took flesh and blood, our human nature, in her womb. The Catholic is not content merely to repeat with gladness the words of the inspired woman in the Gospel: ‘Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.’ He listens with a far deeper attention to Our Lord’s answer: ‘Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it’.”

“Mary’s importance in the work of salvation does not lie chiefly in the purely bodily sphere, but in the sphere of morality and religion. It consists in this that Mary, so far as lay in her, gave the best of herself, even her whole being, to service of God, and that, however infinitely small all human doing and suffering are in comparison with the Divine Perfection, she surrendered this infinitely small without limitation or stint to the visitation of Divine Grace, and so prepared herself to be the sublime instrument of the divine redemption.”

“Her whole subsequent life was lowliness and simplicity on the one hand, and on the strong and joyful faith. Bethlehem and Golgotha are the two termini of a way of sharpest renunciation, of heroic resignation, of complete ‘self-emptying’, such a way as our Lord himself traveled (Phil. 2:7). The sword foretold by Simeon (Lk. 2:25) pierced ever more sharply into her soul as the process of her self-abnegation advanced.”

“All the sublimity of Mary’s moral personality, all the depth of her virginal devotion, and all the strength of her faith culminate in the word which she spoke to the angel: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word.’ These were no common, everyday words; no words such as fall from men in the changing circumstance and casual course of life. They were words out of the depths and recesses of a soul that was pure and noble beyond all earthly measure, words that were her being, her expression, her achievement. By them of a truth she consecrated her body to a ‘reasonable service’ (cf. Rom. 12:1), and that is the source of all blessedness.”

“She is mother not of the Redeemer alone, but also of the redeemed; and so she is the mother of the faithful. The Catholic acknowledges in heaven not only a Father, but also a mother…When the Catholic speaks of his Heavenly Mother, his heart is full with all the strength of feeling that is contained in that word. Mary is as it were a gracious revelation of certain ineffable and ultimate traits in the nature of God, which are too fine and too delicate to be grasped otherwise than as reflected in the mirror of a mother. Ave Maria!”

I don’t know what you are thinking, but just from typing these words, my only word is – Wow! Allow these words to penetrate your heart and mind this week. Reading them more than once is a definite and I would imagine each time you will get something new from each one.

Mary, Mother of the Redeemed…Pray for Us.

Sacred Art is Inspiring and Flourishing…in Scottsdale, Arizona

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In his April 4, 1999, Letter to Artists, Pope Saint John Paul II said this in regards to sacred art,

“Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration!” In this spirit of profound respect for beauty, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium recalled the historic friendliness of the Church towards art and, referring more specifically to sacred art, the “summit” of religious art, did not hesitate to consider artists as having “a noble ministry” when their works reflect in some way the infinite beauty of God and raise people’s minds to him.”

This quote mirrors perfectly what I experienced yesterday during my first visit to The Sacred Art Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. I can honestly tell you that sacred art, as John Paul II speaks of it, is very much alive and well in this inspiring and flourishing gallery. I had heard many wonderful things from friends about this place, but was not expecting to experience what I did with my own mind and heart. Two of the pieces were so moving, that I was nearly brought to tears just looking at them. It’s transcendent – like walking into a beautiful ancient basilica – you forget that you are in the middle of downtown Scottsdale.

In a world filled with waves of relativistic thought and art, The Sacred Art Gallery is answering the call, in their own way, of the Council Fathers of the Second Vatican Council and the words of Pope St. John Paul II by allowing a space to exist where sacred art can be viewed, commissioned, and bought by the individual person. Because sacred art like this is often not seen in secular galleries, and Phoenix doesn’t have a museum with such art, this charming gallery is filling the void for those who are seeking goodness, beauty, and truth through the art that has spanned the centuries in the Catholic Christian world.

With the rise of more beautiful churches being built again, there is going to be a need for those churches to be filled with beautiful art. I can think of no better place to assist in this new endeavor, this new Renaissance, than The Sacred Art Gallery. If you have the means of supporting your diocese or parish by seeking a commissioned piece, I would encourage you to reach out to the galleries page for Commissions. If you want to assist in a project being overseen by the gallery, here is their Patron page.

Not only does The Sacred Art Gallery display sacred pieces, but also if you are local to the Phoenix Metropolitan area or spending an extended period of time in the area (when it doesn’t feel like the surface of the Sun), they offer classes and workshops, most notably an Icon Writing Workshop.

A part from the beautiful sacred art experienced yesterday, I was blessed and glad to visit the gallery for the first with a friend. I had told this person about the gallery months ago knowing their love and study for art, as well as their instruction of the subject, but had never visited myself. It was good to have my friend there with me because they were very helpful in allowing me to see things through their eyes and expertise.

I’m also grateful for the guidance from Grace Minton Rivera, one of the art consultants at The Sacred Art Gallery. You can see her passion for the sacred art hanging all around her because each time she talked about a piece her eyes lit up and it was as if she was talking about it for the first time.

To conclude, I leave you with the words of Grace after asking her – what the response has been from people passing by or walking into the gallery. She said,

“So this is really just a spectacular place because of what happens when people step into the gallery. Sometimes someone will walk through the door, take a look around and say “Huh! So this is like, a church place.” And then they’ll turn around and walk straight back out the door. Others will come into the gallery and walk around the entire thing, looking at every piece of art and expressing their negativity for all of the pieces. They will stand in front of a sculpture of Mary in audible disgust. Nevertheless, they continue on through the entire place.

But there are times when something really amazing will happen. I’ll watch someone walk through the door and it’s like they automatically just shed a layer off of themselves. Almost like that feeling that you get when you walk into your house or your church. It’s a visible feeling that you see on these people, the feeling of being at home. That layer that you keep on yourself when you go along your way in the world to protect yourself kind of comes off when you go into a place and feel like you’re at home. It’s so beautiful to see because this gallery is really like a home for us all. The imagery that you experience in the paintings and the sculptures are familiar. They depict the stories of our faith and they visually connect us to our heavenly family.

When people walk through the door and are able to shed that layer it reminds me of the universality of our faith and the reason why we’re here, in this gallery, in the middle of Scottsdale. This gallery is a home. It doesn’t just belong to the owners and it’s not just a place where we hang art. The Sacred Art Gallery belongs to Catholics and Christians. It’s a place where you can walk in and shed that layer, and connect with something truly beautiful.”

I encourage you to share this article with your family and friends, because beauty such as this must be experienced, shared and reflected by us all.

Note: Images reproduced with the authorization of the Sacred Art Gallery.

“Mondays with Mary” – Our Lady of Mylapore

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The National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica built over the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle in Mylapore, India, houses the shrine of Our Lady Mylapore, whose feast day is today, June 26.

In the year 52 A.D., St. Thomas the Apostle more than likely traveled from Antioch to India to evangelize the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Because he was so successful and God blessed his work, many people converted to Christianity. Finally, after many years of persecution, St. Thomas was martyred by having lances thrown at him, penetrating his body.

The original church was built by St. Thomas the Apostle in the first century. Years later other churches were built, most notably one by the Portuguese. Here is where the remains of St. Thomas the Apostle was laid along with St. Francis Xavier, who I will talk about more shortly. In 1606, the church was given the title of Cathedral. On March 16, 1956, Blessed Pius XII elevated the cathedral to a minor basilica to honor Our Lady of Mylapore. A great devotion to Our Lady has happened here along with many conversations to Jesus Christ through her intercession.

The shrine of Our Lady of Mylapore is in Mylapore, India. The ancient statue is about three feet in height. Below is a picture of the statue.

It is here that St. Francis Xavier; the great Jesuit missionary came to preach the gospel message of Jesus Christ around the year 1541. Because Christianity was already in place here, and due to the love the people had for Our Lady of Mylapore as their Mother, St. Francis through her intercession was able to sow the seeds of zealous Christianity into the hearts of the people.

During his time in India, Our Lady of Mylapore was a foundation for St. Francis. He often prayed in front of the statue seeking inspiration, fortitude, and strength, because although Christianity was here, missionary work is still extremely difficult. St. Francis was also given the ability to raise people from the dead, heal the sick, bring sinners to Christ, and save thousands of souls. Even if he were far away from the shrine on journeys, he would return to give thanks to the work he could do through the intercession of Our Lady of Mylapore. She was his most beloved Mother.

Our Lady of Mylapore still resides today in India blessing all that come and see her as Mother, and leading them closer to Jesus Christ.

Our Lady of Mylapore…Pray for Us

Source:

“Our Lady of Meliapore.” Roman Catholic Saints. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2017.