Dear Friends,
In April 1976 a Carmelite priest started up a club for singles. I was then 20 years of age. Our club attended a dance some miles away. I met my husband Chris there. He joined our club. I liked him very much but he took no interest in me. To make matters worse I was extremely shy.
A novena was needed. I went down to a Catholic bookshop (in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta) during my work lunch hour. I asked the shop assistant for a novena to a good miracle working saint. She was very busy with customers who were picking out First Holy Communion gifts, so she pulled out a box full of prayer cards and leaflets and told me to go through it and select whatever I needed. I found a leaflet on St Philomena the Wonder Worker. It had a novena and some sketchy information and picture on it.
I had never heard of her before, although I know now that my great aunty Rose’s second name was Philomena, so that implies that my Irish great grandmother (who had migrated to Australia) had known about St Philomena and my mother has since told me that the Church of St Brigid, which was built in the middle of the nineteenth century* which was near our home (on the corner of the street that we lived in) had at one stage had a statue of St Philomena in it. (This must have been when I was very little or even before my birth because I had absolutely no recollection of it).
I made the novena to St Philomena for a boyfriend. I did not specify anyone in particular and Chris took me out to the pictures on October 15. St Philomena was fast!
We were married on December 3, the following year. On Monday it will be our 30th wedding anniversary.
Since then she had done a great deal in my life and I have seen her work wonders for myself and for many others.
Greetings and prayers for all your intentions,
Mary Ann
*St Brigid’s was demolished in 1975.
**Our family’s website apostolate: **
homestead.com/missionbell/index.html
(saints, devotional items, prayers, miracles, articles on autism, poems, panic attack management, educational items and more).
**Novena to St Philomena the Wonder Worker for the healing of autism: **
homestead.com/missionbell/novenaforautisticchildren.html
Each person (who has autism) whose name is sent to be included in this novena, will be prayed for regularly by a priest of Lourdes, France at the grotto. Only the first name of the person is needed for the purpose of this novena. Everyone is invited to send names: parents, grandparents, teachers, doctors, aunties, therapists etc.
(Chris and I have five children. Four of them are on the autism spectrum.)
St Philomena Topics (miracles, prayers poems etc)
homestead.com/missionbell/StPhilomenaTopicsMenu.html
**The powerful intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors: **
missionbell.homestead.com/Afavourgrantedbytheholysouls.html
The web page has accounts of the intercession of The Holy Souls in Purgatory, for their benefactors in cases of illness, addictions, cars that won’t start, infertility problems, protection in accidents, their help for people who are experiencing major trouble with city councils, success with projects, finding lost property and trouble with relations, etc. and prayers and ideas on how to help The Holy Souls in Purgatory.
. Thanks!
