Dear TIA,

I am a devotee of St. Philomena. In 2002 I promised her if she would bring my Navy SEAL son home safely from the war in Iraq, I would try to make her better known. After my son came home, I wrote an article on the background and wonders of this amazing Saint. In 2006 my son was sent for the third time to the Middle East. I made the same promise to my dear little Saint. Not only did she bring him back safely but added other blessings to his deployment to Iraq.

This has been his most difficult and dangerous assignment as the war has escalated, causalities have risen, and many in our country question our being there and have put our troops in harms way with their lack of support. It was with great trepidation that I prepared myself for his departure.

Imagine my delight and surprise when my son came home before he left and gave me a Ranger rosary that he had made for me. The Ranger rosary has become popular in the military. It is made of M14 parachute cord and ranger beads and is easy to carry and conceal. I was so moved that I asked him to give me the materials to make them. He supplied the beads and the cord and I made a rosary for him to take with him. He kept it with him until he returned. I sent them to his teammates. People saw the rosary he had given me and wanted one for themselves or for others. I would give one to anyone who asked for one. A friend also started making them and giving them away. The request for the rosaries grew and grew. Most who received them were deeply touched and thankful to have a way of praying for our troops. Many non-Catholics asked for them. I'm sure that St. Philomena, the anchor of the Living Rosary, was instrumental in spreading the use of the Ranger rosary.

St. Philomena continually watched over my son. In the middle of his deployment he was wounded. He was miraculously spared from what could have been a fatal attack. He escaped with superficial wounds and went back to continue the job he truly believed in. In the last few weeks, some of his teammates were critically injured and one was killed.

It was a time of great anxiety, apprehension and prayer. I kept repeating to myself what Pope Gregory XVl had said, "Pray to St. Philomena. Whatever you ask from her she will obtain for you." He called her "The wonder worker of the 19th century." She is still working wonders in the 21st Century. My son returned safely.

In a vision, St. Philomena requested graces from Our Lady for her clients. Our Lady replied. "To Philomena nothing is refused. I concede to her all these graces." St. Philomena is still asking Our Lady in 2007. I know, I have been the recipient of those graces.

Ask her for help, she will obtain it for you.

     E.M.

TIA,

I am a parishioner at Ave Maria Chapel here on Long Island (NY). Your features are all quite wonderful, and I love to read the Saint of The Day for each day.

In reading your account of the life of St. John the Baptist, and the familiar story of the meeting of St. Elizabeth and the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the babe (St. John) leaping for joy in St. Elizabeth's womb, it just struck me that there is one aspect of this event that is often overlooked, including in your account. This episode, quite unequivocally, is a divine endorsement of the truth that life begins before birth, in the womb of the mother and that this life has an intellect and a soul.

In this account, the divinely inspired writer attributes the attributes of hearing and sensation, intelligence, and a soul able to honor God to a fetus! Moreover, as far as I know, the historical fact of this event is taught and believed, not only by Catholics, but by other faiths that adhere to the New Testament also. So what more proof do Catholics and other people professing to follow the Christian Gospels (i.e., the vast majority of people in the USA) need that abortion is murder and condemnable?

How can any of these people (including many Catholics and Catholic politicians) say, upon literally reading this account, that there is "legitimate room for various opinions" concerning when life begins.

In this account, God has clearly weighed in with His opinion.

     E.B.

TIA,

I read your fantastic article on St. Pius X and the dignity of the priesthood. I am very interested in two pictures of St. Pius X you used in your article; one of him as a young Bishop and one enthroned in full Papal regalia.

I wonder if it would be possible for you to send me these pictures in large format for reproduction, or point me in the direction of your sources for the pictures. I'd be most grateful.

J.K.

Follow us

  St. Philomena - Wonder Worker

  St. John the Baptist

  Pope Pius X on Priestly Propriety and Dignity

  St. Pius X: Prototype of a Counter-revolutionary Pope

  Liberals, Modernist and Progressivists

  St. John Baptist Vianney: Model Parish Priest

  A Problem Within the Conciliar Church