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.

What The Bishops Say

In a recent interview Bishop D'Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese said he accepts the ruling that nothing in Sr. Mary Ephrem's writings contradicts Catholic teaching.

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, who was asked to review the matter by Our Lady of America supporters, also sent U.S. bishops a letter in May 2007, stating Leibold had approved recognizing Mary as Our Lady of America.

"Sr. Mary Ephrem's spiritual adviser, the Rev. Paul F. Leibold's, opinion opens the way for people to pray privately to Mary as Our Lady of America", D'Arcy said

Bishop David L Riken of Cheyenne told Catholic News Service,"Our Lady of America's message about purity, chastity and growing in one's faith through devotion to Mary and the body and blood of Christ especially resonated with young people, he added.

Bishop Richard J Garcia of Monterey California told CNS, "Our Lady of Guadalupe is important for all the Americas but to have Our Lady of America and the Immaculate Conception as a special patroness for our nation will bring about the peace we so yearn for (and) a resolution to many social issues," including euthanasia and abortion, California Bishop Richard J. Garcia told CNS.

"The Blessed Mother is so important to all of us Roman Catholics, and Christian people in particular, and, specifically for our country, for peace within our land; and the intercession of our Blessed Mother is so important on many issues that affect us morally and socially," Bishop Garcia said.

"Marian devotions, including those to Our Lady of America, also can lead the faithful to really listen to Christ's message that all must be "bearers of the Gospel and bring about Christ's love," he said.

Recently Archbishop Raymond Burke of St.Louis, a world renowned canon lawyer, issued a letter opinion on Our Lady of America. In his letter dated May 31, 2007, he reviews the history of Our Lady of America and the actions of Archbishop Leibold approving this devotion. From Archbishop Burke:

"What can be concluded canonically is that the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. In addition, over the years, other Bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America."

"Although the devotion to Our Lady of America has remained constant over the years, in recent years, the devotion has spread very much and has been embraced by many with special fervor," he wrote. "Our Lady of America calls the people of our nation to the new evangelization through a renewed dedication to purity in love."

Archbishop Burke also noted a distinguished difference between Our Lady of America and Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is considered "Empress of all the Americas." The two devotions, he said, are "completely harmonious," however, Our Lady of America is considered the patroness of the United States.

On October 13, 1956 Our Lady appeared to Sr. Mary Ephrem." She was very beautiful and smiled in her heavenly way. She was dressed in the same manner as I first saw her, except her Immaculate Heart did not appear. Instead of the lily,she held with both hands a small replica of the finished Shrine of the Immaculate Conception."

"This is my shrine,my daughter, I am very pleased with it. Tell my children I thank them. Let them finish it quickly and make it a place of pilgrimage. It will be a place of wonders. I promise this.."

She requested a statue be made according to her likeness and placed, after being solemnly carried in procession, in the Shrine of The Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. She wishes to be honored there in a special way as Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.

This America ,chosen by Our Lady has been asked to seemingly accomplish the impossible, to lead the world to peace by the purity of our lives. Great miracles await us if we do as she asks.

How will we respond?

Valiant Torchbearer

A tribute to Pope John Paul ll The Great.

Pray for us John Paul ll, and intercede with Our Lady that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

A Prayer For Peace

Prayer to Our Lady of America, Patroness of our Land

Written at the behest of Our Lady, October 5, 1956 by Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil)

Oh Immaculate Mother, Queen of our country, open our hearts, our homes, and our land to the coming of Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so pure and so bright with the radiance of Gods light shining in and about you. Be our leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves us with infinite charity.

We gather about you, O chaste and holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land, determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God and without your loving maternal care.

We consecrate our hearts, our homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.

We ask no special sign of you, sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and the purity of our lives according to your desire.

Reign over us, then, O Virgin Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your children of America, as your instruments of peace among men and nations. Work your miracle of grace in us, so that we may be a glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.

May your valiant spouse, St. Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in "renewing the face of the earth." Then when our work is over, come, Holy Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King.

Amen
(200 days)

Nihil Obstat: Daniel Pilarczyk, S.T.D.
Imprimatur: +Paul F. Leibold, V.G.
Cincinnati, Jan. 25, 1963

A girl touches the plaque that hung in the convent where Sr. Mary Ephrem lived. It is one of many Archbishop Paul Leibold made before his untimely death in 1972

Venerable Dominic's Miraculous Image of Mary

OUR LADY OF THE BOWED HEAD

There have been miraculous images of Mary since the beginning of the Catholic Church, some of the very first ones having been painted by St. Luke, the Evangelist.

Since the time of St. Luke, thousands of pictures and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been carved, painted, or fashioned in some way, by all kinds of different people from around the world. Some of these pictures become famous, usually due to some form of miraculous intervention. One such picture is Our Lady of the Bowed Head, from Vienna, Austria.

A Carmelite Monk, Venerable Dominic of Jesus and Mary, found one in 1610. He was looking over an old broken down house which he wanted to convert into a Carmelite Monastery. Fr. Dominic walked around the outside of the house and passed by a pile of garbage, but paid no attention to it. But as he entered the house and started looking over the rooms, suddenly he felt the urge to go back to the pile of garbage. Lighting his lantern, the good priest took a closer look at the heap of garbage.

Suddenly his eyes fell upon an old oil painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

He was shocked! "Who would throw a beautiful picture of Our Lady in the garbage," he wondered. Then Fr. Dominic apologized to Mary, "I am sorry, dear Mother, that someone has treated thy image in such a terrible manner. I will take it back to the monastery with me and fix it up, and I will give thee the homage which thou so rightly deserve." After returning to the monastery, Dominic cleaned the picture and repainted the damaged parts. Now he could hang the picture up in his cell and give Mary the devotion and attention which she deserved. He prayed to the Madonna with great confidence, asking her for many graces and blessings.

One evening when he had just finished sweeping his cell, Fr. Dominic noticed that the picture of Our Lady had some dust on it. He was crushed, "Oh, I’m terribly sorry my dearest Mother!" He exclaimed. "I humbly beg thy pardon for forgetting to dust thy picture." Then taking out his handkerchief he began to dust the picture saying, "O purest and holiest of Virgins, nothing in the whole world is worthy to touch thy holy face. Dear Mother, I only have this coarse, old handkerchief and I beg of thee to please accept my good will in dusting thy image." Fr. Dominic continued dusting the picture of Mary, when suddenly the face of Our Lady came to life! She smiled at the holy priest and nodded her head as a sign of thanksgiving. Dominic was afraid that what he was seeing was a trick of the devil. But Our Lady cleared up his doubts saying, "Fear not, my son, for your request is granted! (Dominic had earlier requested a favor of her.) Your prayer will be answered and will be part of the reward, which you will receive for the love that you have for my Son Jesus and myself. Now Dominic I want you to ask me with all confidence, what favor you would like me to give you." The holy monk then fell upon his knees. "O my dear Mother, I offer myself entirely to thee and to thy dear Son Jesus, and I desire to do anything that thou and Jesus will ask of me. O my Lady, I know that the soul of a benefactor is suffering in Purgatory. Wouldst thou please be so kind as to deliver this soul from the fires of Purgatory?"

"Dominic, my son," Our Lady encouraged, "I will deliver this soul from Purgatory, if you will make many sacrifices and will have many Masses offered for this soul." Then the apparition of Mary faded away.

The good monk hurried to do as Our Lady had asked. Some time later, when all had been completed, he again knelt before the miraculous painting of Our Lady. Suddenly Mary appeared to him again, but this time she appeared with the soul of the special benefactor, whom she had delivered from Purgatory. The benefactor was grateful, "Thank you, Fr. Dominic, for helping to release my soul from the fires of Purgatory with your prayers and sacrifices."

"Dominic," Our Lady encouraged, "I would like you to ask me for more favors and blessings. I am the Mother of God and I delight in helping my children to obtain graces for their salvation." Fr. Dominic thought for a moment and then spoke, "Dear Mother, wouldst thou please be so kind as to listen mercifully to the prayers of all those who will honor thy image and ask for thy help." Our Lady replied, "All those who ask for my protection and honor this picture with devotion will obtain an answer to their prayers and will receive many graces. Moreover, I will pay special attention to the prayers which are offered to me, for the relief of the souls in Purgatory."

The vision of Our Lady soon disappeared and Fr. Dominic thought about what he should do: "Our Lady made her promises to all who would honor and pray to her, before this miraculous image. Therefore, I can no longer keep this holy picture in my cell, I must have it put in a church, where the people can honor it. "

He then took the picture and had it placed in the Oratory of St. Charles, which was attached to the Church of Santa Maria de la Scale. Many people came to pray before the picture of Our Lady and it became a source of many graces and blessings. The holy image remained at the Oratory until Fr. Dominic’s death, which occurred in Vienna, on February 16, 1630. Some copies of the miraculous picture were painted and soon they were honored in many places.

Maximilian, the Duke of Bavaria, had been one of Dominic’s good friends, and also a friend of the Carmelites. One day he asked Fr. Nicholas, the Vicar General of the Carmelite Order, if he could borrow the miraculous image of Mary. The priest said he could borrow it and the Duke was overjoyed.

Arrangements were made, and Br. Anastasius of St. Francis was chosen to take the holy picture to Munich, Germany. He had been Fr. Dominic’s travelling companion for over 15 years, and was most worthy of this honor. On August 7, 1631, Br. Anastasius also wrote and signed a special document telling about all the things which Dominic had told him about the miraculous picture and all the miracles related to it.

The Duke of Bavaria took the miraculous picture when it arrived in Munich, and kept it for a while. He then gave it to the Carmelite Priests in Munich, who received it with great joy.

Some time later, in 1631, the Carmelites loaned it to Emperor Ferdinand II. He was a very generous man, who founded the Carmelite Monasteries in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Vienna, Austria. The Emperor and his wife, Empress Eleanor, were delighted when the picture of Our Lady arrived at the palace. They placed it in the palace chapel and had it richly adorned in a splendid fashion. Thus, they honored the Queen of Heaven in a most glorious manner, a manner that she so much deserved. The Emperor had great confidence in "Our Lady of the Bowed Head," and always begged her to help him with all his difficulties. Ferdinand loved the Most Blessed Virgin very much and he is even supposed to have taken the picture with him every time he had to travel somewhere. Time passed, and one day the good Emperor died. Empress Eleanor then joined the convent of Carmelite Nuns, which she and her husband had founded in Vienna. The miraculous picture of Our Lady was also transferred to the convent, and Eleanor placed it in the chapel, over the main altar.

When the Empress died in June 1655, the picture was given back to the Carmelite Fathers. Now the picture was back in a public church where people could pray before this miraculous image of Our Lady. Soon crowds of people were coming to pray before the holy picture. Our Lady did not forget her promise that: "All those who ask for my protection and honor this picture with devotion, will obtain an answer to their prayers and will receive many graces. I will pay special attention to the prayers which are offered to me, for the relief of the souls in Purgatory."

When people prayed to Our Lady of the Bowed Head, she heard their prayers and granted them special favors and graces; souls were comforted or released from Purgatory, people were cured and sinners were converted. In time a new Church and Monastery was built, and on December 14, 1901, the miraculous image of Our Lady was transferred to its new place of honor. Benefactors had built a beautiful altar in honor of Our Lady of the Bowed Head and the holy picture of Mary was placed by this altar. From here it can still be venerated by loving devotees and pilgrims.

I found this story the day after a dear friend of mine died of cancer. A reminder to always pray for the holy souls in purgatory.
History is full of brave torchbearers. God is limitless in His goodness.

Short Biography

Father Dominic of Jesus and Mary was born in 1559. He became a Carmelite at an early age, but desiring to live a stricter life, he joined the Discalced Carmelites founded by St. Teresa of Avila, and became its fifth General.

During the Thirty Years War between the Catholics and the Protestants, Pope Paul V sent Father Dominic to Emperor Ferdinand II, who was preparing to engage in what was hoped to be a decisive battle. Father Dominic brought with him a picture of the Nativity of Christ, in which the Protestants had poked the eyes out of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the shepherds. "With a crucifix in one hand and the picture suspended around his neck, he moved among the combatants, animating the Catholics to fight for their Faith and to gain the victory he promised would be theirs." The Catholics won a decisive victory.

He died on February 16, 1630, while on a mission for Pope Urban VIII to settle some differences between the nobles of Austria. His biographers relate numberless miracles alleged to have been wrought by him during his life for which he was called the "Thaumaturgus" (wonder-worker) of his time. Fr. Dominic was declared Venerable by St. Pius X, in 1907.