To the Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA) Members,

October is the Marian month, the month of the Holy Living Rosary, I would like to share with you, dear brethren, some insights with regard to the Rosary and the Priesthood.

What Is The (Living) Rosary?

At Fatima, in 1917, Our Lady said: "I am the Lady of the Rosary. Pray the Rosary everyday to obtain peace for the world." After saying this, Our Lady demanded that after each decade, one should say the following prayer: "0 my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy."

According to Pope Adrian VI, the Rosary is the scourge of the devil. The devil is not at peace to see one use/pray the Rosary. He is not safe and/or comfortable in the presence of the Rosary. St. Padre Pio, the stigmatic priest said, "The Rosary is the weapon." St. Leo XIII himself wrote 9 Encyclicals on the Rosary.

Our Lady asks us, her children, to pray the Rosary daily. Why?

St. Francis de Sales said that the greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary. St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome, Italy, on just the Hail Mary, and St. Jean-Marie Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a Rosary in his hand.

It was for St. Jean-Marie Vianny, that the Pope decided to inaugurate the "Year For Priests" on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - Friday 19th June 2009 to 19th June 2010, a day traditionally devoted to prayer for sanctification of the Clergy. It is Fr. Vianny, whose celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the "Dies Natalis" we are having.

Pope Paul V said the Rosary is a treasure of graces. St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, wrote, echoing St. Padre Pio, "the Rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, Who so loves His Mother". To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the Face of Christ. "Will you give 1% of each day to God? If so, pray the daily Rosary.”

Our Lady promised, through St. Dominic and Blessed Alain, to Christians who recite the Rosary: whoever shall faithfully serve her by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces. She also promised her special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. She said the Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish. It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.

Oh that souls would sanctify themselves by this means! Our Lady said that the soul which recommends itself to her by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. "Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of the sacred mysteries" she said, "shall never be conquered by misfortune." God will not chastise him in His justice, and he shall not perish by unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the church. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the fullness of graces and, at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.

Our Lady further says she shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven. Everybody shall obtain all he/she asks of her by the recitation of the Rosary. She maintains to say, all who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by her in their necessities. Our Lady says she has obtained from her Divine Son that all advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. She also says all who recite the Rosary are her beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. Devotion to Our Lady's Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Conclusion:

Therefore, dear brethren, as we journey on towards living this Living Rosary during this Holy month of October, honoring our Blessed Virgin Mother, Mary, let us appreciate our God-given gift of Our Lady. For it is said, the greatest gift a Father can give His children is to love their Mother. As Our Lady said, on May 13, 1917 at Fatima, let us pray the Rosary unceasingly, everyday, in order to obtain peace for the whole world.

May we all be blessed by the daily recitations of the Holy Rosary! Ave Maria!

Rev. Fr Remigius Lazarus KASAWA, DP,
Nzama Catholic Parish
Ntcheu, Malawi, Central Africa

Dear Child of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

We welcome the beautiful month of October, Month of the Holy Rosary, Month of Our Lady of Fatima! We celebrate, with jubilee, the victory of the battle of Lepanto and make haste to cultivate a beautiful garden of Roses for Our Queen Mother!

It is a special joy, as October begins, to take a moment now and explain more fully the glorious treasure we possess as we pray daily our Living Rosary DECADE. Truly, it is a double-edged sword, the fire of ardent charity and the very breath of the Holy Spirit, the Heel of the Immaculata which will crush the serpent’s head, our most efficacious means of preventing evils, healing wounds, obtaining abundant blessings and securing eternal life.

Today, more than ever before, this devotion is needed. A great darkness is blotting out the road to Heaven; the boldness of the ministers of Hell is greater every day. Our indifference is the death knell! Before it is too late, before time ceases for us, let us act with all our power. Act to unite our voices and hearts in this universal and irresistible power before the throne of God. Act to hasten the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that Christ may Reign as King!

'The Rosary is the mystic crown which is daily placed upon the heavenly head of the Mother of God. It is the most beautiful flower of human piety and the most fruitful source of heavenly graces. The prayer is perfect because of the lessons it imparts, graces it obtains, and the Triumphs it achieves.' (Pope Benedict XV).

My Decade is a gift to the other members in the Living Rosary - their Decade is a gift to me. The breath of the Holy Ghost and the living fire of charity bonds 11 million of us together in this inferno of grace. What we cannot do alone will be a total triumph when we are united through the two most powerful weapons given to mankind at Fatima: the Rosary and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The magnificent work of Ven. Pauline Jaricot triggered a true spiritual renewal of society in the 19th Century; it can do so again today. Let everyone take up his Decade! Our Lady of the Rosary asks us to take her hand and she will lead us out of the treacherous bogs into which we have fallen. Bon Courage!

Patti Melvin, ULRA Director

Please pray for me as I will pray for you all the days of my life!

1. Carry with us holy cards that can be given to families, friends, neighbors, the sick in hospitals and those in Nursing Homes. You never know when that special moment of grace will present itself. You must be ready.
2. Make Rosaries for the  Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA) missions.
3. Make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
4. Offer your daily sufferings to Jesus through Mary for souls.
5. Please click here to send a box to the missions - $53.95
6. Write us and ask for leaflets and newsletters to share with your prayer group, distribute through the Legion of Mary, school, adoration chapel, or other.
7. String Miraculous Medals for the ULRA missions.

8. Catherine, Bernice & Patti Melvin

   Sew the Brown Scapulars for the ULRA missions:
   For supplies and instructions, write to:
   Catherine Neises
   C/o: The Scapular Works
   28014 K 42 Hwy
   Conway Springs, KS 67031
9. Don’t be afraid to share this devotion with others and ask them to join our beautiful Family in praying a Daily Decade for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that peace may come to our poor world.
10. To celebrate October, bring in one new member for the ULRA.
11. Contribute to help us print two beautiful new booklets so that they can be distributed.

In 1556, Pius V ascended the Chair of Peter in Rome. Pius V was a Dominican monk with a reputation for piety and austerity. A teacher of philosophy and theology for 16 years, Pope Pius V was very serious about defending Christendom against the Ottoman Turks.

Vienna and the entire of Europe were threatened by Moslem military power and incursions. The Pope tried to alert the great powers of Europe to the coming menace, but they were already preoccupied with the turmoil of the Reformation. Pius V called on the "Holy League" which consisted of the Papal States, Spain, Genoa, Venice and the Knights of Malta to address the Moslem threat.

Don Juan of Austria, the son of the King of Spain, was stirred by the danger and sent out urgent appeals for help and eventually he gathered a sturdy fleet. The Venetians were especially passionate about this battle. The Turks had repeatedly battered an island port they maintained, and their commander pleaded with the Turks for a truce. The Turks finally gave the promise of safe passage to him and his subjects, directly after which, they took Marcantonio Bragadino prisoner, beat him, cut off his nose and ears, put a collar on him and made him crawl into a cage. In a little cage, he was hoisted up on the mast of the galley so that all in the fleet and land could see him. He was then brought down, flayed mercilessly, his skin stripped from his body until he died. Thousands of the Venetians were slaughtered on the spot or driven off in captivity to serve on the Turkish ships in the galleys. Many of these poor souls were the very men who powered the Turkish ships against the Christians in the Battle of Lepanto. Their war was against the Christians and they wielded the demonic weapons of hate, lies, torture and death.

Rosary." />The Pope's fleet took shape and was 300-ship strong with 50,000 serving the fleet as rowers and 30,000 fighters. Still, they were greatly outnumbered by the Turkish fleet. Doom hung over Italy. Pope Pius V called upon all Christendom to pray the Rosary.

Don Juan had a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe on his vessel. And Andrea Doria, one of the Catholic admirals for the Genoans at Lepanto, carried on his ship a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was invoked by these two warriors because when Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego and he asked her name, she replied, "Te Quatlasupe", one who crushes the head of the stone serpent. Our Blessed Mother was standing on a crescent moon, a symbol of the serpent god and also a very important symbol of Islam. The bishop, a Spaniard, thought this name sounded like that of the revered Madonna from Spain with the Islamic name, Guadalupe. He thus named the Aztec Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The stone god was overthrown, the sacrifices stopped and millions were converted to Christianity.

The morning of the battle arrived with a strong wind blowing in favor of the Turkish fleets. Don Juan got in a fast vessel and went to each ship shouting encouragement to the men and a prayer. Immediately, the winds shifted in favor of the Christians. The battle lasted 5 hours and the victory was stunning! At dawn, on October 7th, 1571, Pope Pius V accompanied by a group of faithful, entered the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray the Rosary asking Our Lady to intercede for a Catholic victory. Later that day, the Holy Father abruptly interrupted his business with some Cardinals, and announced that the victory was won! TE DEUM.

The Moors once occupied Portugal. The village of Fatima was given the Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of Ourem. She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and converting to Catholicism. Baptized with the Christian name Oureana, she was named at birth "Fatima" as were many other Moslem girls, in honor of the daughter of Mohammed. It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially the Middle East, make many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine in Portugal. Our Lady came to Fatima with the peace plan from Heaven. It plays today a very vital part in our defense of Christendom and crushing the head of the stone serpent god: materialistic atheism, socialism, communism and Islam.

Sister Lucia wrote these words to Father Fuent's 'God is giving two last remedies to the world. These are the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If we despise and repulse this ultimate remedy we will not have forgiveness from Heaven because we have committed a sin which the Gospel calls a sin against the Holy Ghost ... There is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or spiritual, in private life, religious communities or of Nations that cannot be resolved through the prayer of the Holy Rosary.'

What is needed now is nothing abstract, but rather something concrete and possible for every man’s personal reform of life. As we make our total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we beg pardon for our past sins and past concessions to the Revolution against our souls, and ask for the courage and perseverance to remain in the fight for the Church until the victory is won. If we are generous in this combat, we can be serene and confident. Each one must do his part and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, will supply the rest. She has promised us that she will Triumph! It is the Will of her Divine Son!

"Clouds are gathering on the horizon. At times, it seems that darkness is blotting out the road more and more, and the boldness of the ministers of Hell seems to grow greater. We believe that all humanity must flee to this port of salvation (The Immaculate Heart of Mary)." Pope Pius XII 1954

Before it is too late, before time ceases for us, before unspeakable calamities befall the whole world, let us be warned, and let us act with all our power trusting in Our Blessed Mother.

"Behold thy Mother, do what she has asked!"

Saint Philomena statue in Saint Philomena church build by Father Damien

Photo by Robert J. Miley

On October 11, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI will canonize Father Damien de Veuster.

Father Damien dedicated his life to serving the banished lepers on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai and named his church there after his favorite Saint, St. Philomena. On June 4, 1995, Fr. Damien was beatified. His official feast day is May 10. Fr. Damien is the patron of lepers, outcasts, HIV/AIDS and the State of Hawaii!

We rejoice greatly during the Year for Priests and the month of the Holy Rosary, that a priest very dear to our apostolate will be canonized.

Joseph de Veuster was born on January 3, 1840, to a farming couple in Tremeloo, Belgium. His home was near the border of France at the time when our holy foundress, Ven. Pauline Jaricot lived. The fame of St. Philomena had traveled far and wide and he developed a deep love for the Saint. He became a Brother in 1860 taking the name of Damien.

On March 19, 1864, Damien arrived in Honolulu in the kingdom of Hawaii. Damien was ordained a priest on May 24, 1864 - the Feasts of the Finding of the Relics of St. Philomena and Our Lady, Help of Christians.

As Hawaiians became afflicted by diseases foreigners brought to the islands, King Kamehameha IV decided to segregate lepers and moved them to a settlement on the Island of Molokai. These poor souls, all facing a horrible death, had no one to tend to their spiritual needs. Every priest, at the time of ordination, offers himself as a victim soul for souls, and missionary work requires first and foremost, being prepared for martyrdom. Knowing the risks, Fr. Damien asked to be sent to Molokai. His bishop presented Fr. Damien to the colonists as "one who will father you and who loves you so much that he does not hesitate to become one of you, to live and die with you."

Father Damien’s first action was to build and establish the Parish of St. Philomena. In the beginning, he tried to protect himself from their disease by avoiding contact with his parishioners, but it was not long before Fr. Damien knew that he had to be one with the afflicted in order to truly comfort, counsel and guide them. He was not only their priest, but their doctor, dressing wounds. He helped to build homes. He built coffins and dug graves. The colony of death became a colony of life as grass shacks became painted houses, organized farming took place and personal pride and dignity were restored to these outcasts.

Fr. Damien served the lepers with startling humility. One of the symptoms of leprosy is that the sufferer salivates excessively. In the chapel of St. Philomena, Father had holes burrowed in the floor so that the lepers could spit their foul and contagious secretions on the floor, which would drain into the church’s crawl space. After Holy Mass, it was Fr. Damien who would enter these crawl spaces and perform the humbling task of cleaning up this spittle.

Saint Philomena church build by Father Damien

Photo by Robert J. Miley

King Kalakaua awarded Damien the honor of Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakaua. When Princess Lydia visited the settlement to present his medal, she was speechless and saddened to see the conditions there. She shared what she had seen with the world and helped raise huge amounts of money, food, clothing and medicine for the Island.

When Fr. Damien contracted leprosy in 1884 he worked more vigorously than ever to build homes, organize programs and make sure that his parishioners could tend for themselves. He died in 1889 at the age of 49.

Fr. Damien brought hope to the hopeless through his humble life as a victim soul. He gave the lepers of Molokai the gift of a glorious patron, St. Philomena, the Princess of Paradise, so that dignity could be found amidst rotting flesh. Fr. Damien often preached of Heaven to those who soon would be facing death. What an example for our priests today: Total oblation of self for souls through the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

To read more about the relationship between St. Philomena and Fr. Damien, please click here.

1. International Week of Prayer and Fasting, October 2 – 12, 2009, Washington D.C., United States(click here to read their press release) - Website
2. Rosary Sunday, October 11, 2009, Phoenix, Arizona, United States - Website
3. National Catholic Youth Conference - Christ Reigns, November 19-21, Kansas City, Kansas, United States - Website
4. Patti Melvin interview with Dorothy Westfall (Rosary Sunday foundress) on Radio Family Rosary, 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Thursday, October 8, Friday, October 9 and Tuesday October 13, 2009 – Website (click on KXXT)

Other Announcements

Saint Philomena Brought To Life in Vianney Drama

VIANNEY is currently touring the U.S. and Canada. For a complete list of performance locations, and for information on bringing this professional production to your church or community, visit www.vianneydrama.com or call 1-800-683-2998.

Announcing the Opening of Faith and Flowers, founded by two ULRA members

"Every flower is a sign that God is present."

Did you know that before modern-day botanical names were assigned to plants and flowers with the introduction of printing, that every flower was first bestowed a name that reflected a virtue of faith lived by Jesus and Our Blessed Mother Mary?

To learn more, send us your e-mail address and we’ll notify you when Faithandflowers.com officially opens in the month of October. Faith and Flowers, founded by two ULRA members, will offer flowers and gifts for sale and a portion of all proceeds will be donated to support the culture of life.