A Sword of Sorrow

"O my small one, beloved of my Son's Heart, prepare yourself by prayer, penance, and suffering for what is to come."

These words of Our Lady spoken to Sister Mary Ephrem in 1958 foretold of the pain, she would endure for the most part by her own community. Archbishop Leibold saw the coming storm and warned the sisters to pray for the church, and in a special way for their order.

In a series of messages to Sr. Mary Ephrem Our Lord and Our Lady reveal the spiritual darkness overtaking consecrated souls.

"Oh, the pride of souls! How they resist my grace! O my priests, My religious, what would I not do for you if you would only let me! I come daily laden with graces, which you daily refuse..." The holy cloister of New Regal would not be spared from the attacks inflicted upon it.

What would be the purpose of this suffering for Sister Neuzil? Surely the words spoken by Our Lady in 1958, would be of comfort to the sister's during their exile. "My child nothing is accomplished without pain. Prepare to suffer much. You see the sword in the heart of your Mother. Suffering completed the work of divine grace in my soul. He who refuses to suffer will never abide in the Spirit of Christ, will never be formed into His image.."

Sister Neuzil herself became a victim of the rampant psychology, liberalism, and modernism that all but stripped the Catholic Church in America of its supernatural nature. In the end a move by her order toward secularism and away from "old-fashioned" traditions -- including cloister living -- sent her and several other nuns into a tailspin that ended with her death in a lonely house-turned-tiny-cloister in Fostoria, Ohio.

Such is obvious in Sister Neuzil's personal letters, starting in the late 1970s. It was during this time that the order to which Sister Neuzil belonged headed in a direction that put nuns in apartments, replaced habits with modern dress, and began to make life difficult for Sister Neuzil and six others who were living in a cloister within the order.

Suddenly, that cloister, home to the American apparitions, faced extinction.

"For the past 21 years we, the Contemplative Sisters, have attempted to live our monastic, contemplative way of life within the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood," said a letter signed by the seven cloister nuns, led by Sister M. Florecita. "Through the years it has become progressively more difficult for us to live out our way of life from within the framework of policies and norms intended for the entire Congregation. The difficulties we have encountered along the way have brought us to question whether or not we are trying to do an impossible thing: namely, to live one way of life from within another way of life."

Tensions between the cloister and the "active" community burst forth in the late-1970s to the point where the cloister was forced to leave a monastery they had spent years renovating and move into the lonely, spare quarters in Fostoria, Ohio, where Sister Neuzil lived until her death on January 10, 2000. "There is no way we can recover the monastery, as it has been sold to a lay person," lamented Sister Neuzil in a letter dated March 3, 1982, describing the situation in a previous letter as "the darkness of my exile."

It was all in the atmosphere of changes that swept the entire Church. The underlying disease, indicated the Blessed Mother, was pride, a pride that in many cases caused priests to resist her grace. This the Virgin had warned about as far back as 1959. Years later in 1981, Our Lady of America, speaking to the now-isolated Sister Neuzil, warned that a "web of evil" had therefore ensnared the priesthood.

Indeed the words spoken by Our Lady to Sr. Mary Ephrem are intended for us as well,

"Tell the bishops of the United States, my loyal sons, of my desires and how I wish them to be carried out....make known the longings of my Immaculate Heart to establish the reign of my Divine Son in the hearts of men and thus save them from the scourge of heaven, both now and hereafter."

Because Sister Mary Ephrem suffered greatly, she was graced with the perpetual presence of Our Lady. The words spoken to her were often warnings for America, but also hope.

"My Immaculate Heart will win in the end, and the Spirit of Christ will dwell in the hearts of men.."

The Convent of Our Lady of The Nativity was sold to a lay person in the early 80's. Shortly after the sale, the convent was destroyed by fire. If you ever pass by the village of New Regal Ohio , stop by the ruins and pick up a brick or two. Say a prayer in honor of Our Lady.Take a good look around and you will see what happened to the church in America. A reminder of a place where Heaven touched earth.

Wise Torchbearer

Fr. Peter Damien Fehlner, FI
Fr. Peter was ordained in Rome in 1957, where he received the Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Seraphicum with a study on the ecclesiology of St. Bonaventure. For nearly 40 years he taught theology in various Franciscan schools and seminaries in the United States and in Italy. He has contributed to many theological and pastoral journals in the United States and Europe where, from 1985-1989, he was the editor of Miles Immaculatae (Rome), a Marian review founded by St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in 1939.

He has lectured extensively on Franciscan theology and Mariology, most recently with the series Mater et Magistra on Mother Angelica’s EWTN. Currently he serves as the North American Regional Superior (Delegatus Generalis) of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

Listen as Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner introduces Our Lady of America to worshipers at historic St. Peters Catholic Church, in New York City.

Our Lady's mission for the youth of America

In the approved writings of Sister Mary Ephrem, Our Lady entrusted to her a mission for the youth of America. Already the good sisters were teaching the young students the invocation taught by Our Lady on November 15,1956, "By thy Holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil." Bishop Leibold under the guidance of Venerable Archbishop Karl Alter,
was active in putting into practice a program of propagation of the messages entrusted to his spiritual daughter Sr.Mary Ephrem better know as Sr. Millie.

It is noted that Sr.Floriceta and Sr. Millie as well as other members of their community felt that this invocation to Our Lady would help defeat the scourge of communism. So it was added with the medal of Our Lady of America, under the direction of Monsignor Leibold as a program to underline the basic theme that Our Lady was requesting. In fact Archbishop Leibold outlines in the book Our Lady of America the essential elements of the medal requested by Our Lady. On one side is the image of Our Lady as she appeared to Sr.Millie on September 26, 1956 and on the other side The Coat of Arms of The Christian Family.

It would not be until 1958, that the "mission" given to Sr.Millie would fully realized. That being the youth of America, the medal, the picture or statue of Our Lady of America, the protection of the home, and the statue at the Shrine of The Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Sr.Millie writes:

"Our Lady made known to me that she is particularly interested in the youth of our nation. It is they who are to be the leaders of this movement of renewal on the face of the earth. Their ranks will be swelled by the youths of other nations whom Our Lady also calls to help in the accomplishment of this great renewal.

But the youth must be prepared, and this must be done by instilling into them, not only the knowledge of the Divine Indwelling, but a serious study of It, living It in such a way that the Divine Presence becomes, as it were, an intimate and necessary part of their life and daily living. From this will flow a great love, a conflagration that will envelop the world in the flames of Divine Charity.

This is what Our Lady is working for, because this is the great desire of her Divine Son, and it is to the youth of America
that she is holding out this challenge. A medal which Our Lady asked to be made is to be their shield against evil, the picture or statue of Our Lady, the protection of the home, the statue at the Shrine in Washington, D.C., a special safeguard for our country.

America, the United States in particular, is being given the tremendous, yet privileged, opportunity to lead all nations in a spiritual renewal never before so necessary, so important, so vital."

Our Lady's call to the youth in our country is growing. And though it may seem that devotion to Our Lady of America is new,
already in the eighties youth groups gathered under the banner of Our Lady of America, and lovingly carried her statue in procession throughout our country .

Jannette Cochran a Torchbearer in Northern California had this to share.

"In August, 2003,The Youth Group from St. Dominic¢s Parish, Colfax, California, was housed in a Catholic School in Ontario, Canada for World Youth Day. The statue of Our Lady of America was placed at the entry of the school so that all could see her and meditate and pray. Many questions were asked and answered by all those who passed by it.

The statue was taken to the park on the vigil of the Papal Mass.There were many hands offered to help carry Our Lady of America. Many of the youth prayed rosaries near her that evening. Many had questions about Our Lady of America and Sister Millies story. The statue was never presented as belonging to any one person. It was always presented as a gift to the youth with a message of purity.

Candles were placed by young pilgrims as they passed by. Many stayed and prayed the rosary in the evening. Some of the youth were compelled to keep vigil near the statue all night. When it came time to process her, on Sunday morning after the Holy Father arrived, anyone that wanted and was capable of helping to carry the statue had the opportunity to process through the masses of young people from all over the world. It was truly beautiful. On Sunday morning, as they approached the barriers to the area surrounding the stage for the Mass, the youth were miraculously allowed to carry the statue in the area near the Pope.

As leader of the Youth group, I was amazed at the interest in and enthusiasm shown toward the statue and the history of Our Lady of America."

Audrey Frank has been involved with Our Lady of America since 1992. Sister Millie and Sr. Joseph Therese worked with her to create the first traveling image of Our Lady of America. From the Our Lady of America Center in Ohio Audrey had this to share

"Our Lady of America World Youth Day Statue Travels the U.S. and the
world:

A 300 pound statue of Our Lady of America has been traveling the
country and many parts of the world. In 1993, this statue first processed bythe "Torchbearers of the Queen" Youth Group from Colfax, California, World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado. The statue has since traveled to World Youth Days in the Philippines and France, Peace Masses, U.S. MarianConferences and Pro-Life Walks.

In 1994, this statue was present at The Year of the Family National
Rosary Congress in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, D.C. Our Lady of America's statue reside in
the Shrine during the whole Congress dedicated to "The Holy Family" from
June 19-June26, 1994. Also, in 1994 at Mile High Stadium for the"World Youth Day Reunion" the Youth carried her through the Denver streets to the downtown abortion clinic praying the Rosary and Divine Mercy
Chaplet for the entire 5 miles. Our Lady has been crowned at Youth 2000
Eucharistic Retreats and taken to World Youth Day 2000 in Rome.

From October 2-December 22, 2001, Our Lady of America's Large Statue
travelled across the United States through many states along Hwy 80, Hwy
40, Hwy 10 and Eastcoast I95 to tv, radio interviews, Marianconferences, and was allowed to reside at Mother Angelica's Cloister Chapel for 8 months until picked up to travel with the OH, CA, OR Torchbearers of
the Queen Youth to Toronto World Youth Day 2002.

In Germany 2005, a group from Southern California and New York took thesmall statue of Our Lady of America to World Youth Day.

And so it has come to pass that the youth of America were joined with
the youth of other nations as prefigured in Sr. Mildred Neuzil's Diary.
It is the youth who are to lead this great spiritual renewal...

From Toronto, the Large Our Lady of America Statue now resides back in
the small Our Lady of America Chapel in Fostoria, Ohio."

Audrey Frank
CA Torchbearers of the Queen
Since 1992

Thanks Audrey. We will check back with you soon for more updates on Our Lady of America !

Fr. John Warburton,OSJ is spiritual director for Torchbearers of the Queen.

Sister Millie would later write that those,particularly the youth, who are willing wholeheartedly to follow Our Lady in her great battle against evil would bear the special title of "Torchbearers of the Queen" This torch, of course, is Divine Love, for it is love alone that will conquer hate and all that hate brings with it.