Let's get to a couple of items. First we hear from Patrice Dietz, who -- at this time when abortion clinics are so prominent in the news -- writes us about an interesting intervention at one such place. Says she:
"It started out as any other Wednesday at the Red River Women's Clinic in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. Abortions are held on that day usually ending the lives of twenty to twenty-five precious babies. In recent years, a generous man donated the use of the third floor of an office building next door for Mass and Adoration. On that Wednesday, we streamed out of the little chapel after Mass and took our places in front of the mill.
"The public sidewalk where we stand to pray is very close to the building, so we can edge our heels right up to the ragged outdoor carpet that indicates the business property. We were in place ready to pray our Rosary. The usual young woman escort was stationed there as well, in her low-cut dress and neon green vest, ready to snatch the scared and often uncertain young women that come in for abortions. She had her earbuds in place and was singing cheerfully to some tune or other in an effort to drown out the Hail Marys of our Rosaries. J&L Beers, the bar and restaurant next door, was setting up their small tables and chairs getting ready to serve burgers and beer to the lunch crowd. It is so hard to believe that people would want to come and eat right next door to a house of murder.
"After a few minutes we noticed the clinic manager and several of the clinic workers walked by us, dressed in medical scrubs with covered coffee cups, ready to carry out their grisly work in the upstairs offices of the mill. Then a local priest showed up and began sprinkling us and the sidewalk and the building with Holy Water. He led us in prayer of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet, over and over, calling on the Precious Blood of Jesus to end the scourge of abortion.
"As we prayed I noticed that directly across the street from us, a woman was pacing back and forth talking on her cell phone and staring at the abortion mill.
"Finally she turned around and walked back to her car. I felt the prayers were working.
"After a few more minutes of intense prayer, a few strange events started to happen. The abortion clinic manager came flying out the door and stopped directly in front of father, who by this time was kneeling on the sidewalk. She screamed, 'What is going on out here?' Evidently business wasn't all that good today. Then she aimed her cell phone at father, taking a close-up picture that was meant to intimidate him. He hardly looked up. This was just too much for her to take and she turned around and stormed back up into the building.
"After a few more minutes and some frantic texting by the mill escort, a young woman on her bike showed up.
"She handed the escort a Starbucks coffee and proceeded to get something round and shiny out of her pocket. She held it up in front of the priest's face and chanted something strange, stood there for a while, laughed, and got back on her bike and left. We stood there not knowing what to think and father told us that she had just tried to cast a spell on him. We resumed our prayer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a new arrival. He got off his bike just far enough to let his feet down and begin honking a red rubber ball- horn on his bike. I remember his face well. It looked very clown-like and he had huge grin on his face and delight in his eyes. I had to laugh, he looked so ridiculous. Father also laughed, although there was nothing at all funny about it. Father said he was just trying to distract us from our prayers.
"Undisturbed by all this, father's prayers became more and more intense as he continued to call down the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Then suddenly the lady next to me and I heard a deep growl that seemed to come out of the abortion clinic near our feet.
"We both looked down and said nothing, knowing what we had heard. Neither of us were afraid as we knew Our Lord was there protecting us. That day I knew that Satan cannot stand the Precious Blood!
"And that day a precious baby was most likely saved! The next week, before the abortion mill opened, four priests were on each corner of the block of the Red River Abortion Clinic saying prayers of exorcism. Praise be to God!"
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Praise Him indeed! He likes to be called. Jesus likes to be called in our midst directly.
Does the Lord take care of us -- the Lord and the Souls -- even in worldly circumstances? Never underestimate Mercy! From a dear friend, Andrea Walsh, of Long Island, we received a note a while back saying:
"Concerning your article on the 'Souls in Purgatory,' I would love to add one of my favorite stories. Both my husband and I have a great devotion to the Holy Souls and we always have Masses offered for them along with our own prayers. They have never abandoned us when we were in our hour of need.
"About five years ago friends of ours had gotten married in church, but never had a reception. The wife often said she was sorry and would have loved to have had one. It was about a year later and friends of ours ask us if we would like to participate in giving this couple a wedding. Naturally we agreed and the plans were set in motion. One of our friends has a beautiful mansion on the North Shore and she offered her home to use for the wedding. My husband's boss purchased the most magnificent wedding cake, and everyone agreed to bring a special dish for dinner. I volunteered to bring the main course: filet mignon for twenty people.
"The week before the party I went out and purchased two big suitcases of filet, which was about fourteen pounds (seven pounds per case) and put it in our upstairs refrigerator where we have an apartment. Every night I would ask my husband to go up and look at the meat to see if it was okay. He still had to marinate and season it because he was going to barbeque it the morning of the party.
"The night before the party, he finally went upstairs to open the sealed suitcases of meat and started trimming, and trimming, and trimming...
"When he finally finished we had two little filets that looked like two large frankfurters.
"Now panicked, I started screaming, 'How are we going to serve this?!' My husband and I immediately got into the car (it was about 8:00 p.m. the night before the party) and we started going to butcher stores and supermarkets looking for this meat!
"We must have gone to about five different stores and no one had what we needed.
"Now it was almost 11:00 pm and we were in the parking lot of a supermarket and I cried out to the Holy Souls for help! My exact words were 'if there is just one soul that we have helped get released from purgatory, please help us now!'
"Naturally feeling very confident, we went into this last store and asked the manager if he could help us. He told us we were out of luck -- that everything was closed for the night, and that they did not have any filet mignon.
"I was now in shock and could not stop crying. My husband (God bless him) still felt it was going to be okay. He said if need be he would go to every restaurant and buy the dinners which we needed within the next twelve hours. So -- feeling dejected -- we went home to bed. Naturally I couldn't sleep, but my husband, who was now exhausted, did.
"I started to doze off when all of a sudden I woke up and then woke him up saying [for some strange reason], 'Go to the butcher up the block; he is just coming in to work.' I had no idea where that came from. Half asleep, Patrick started getting dressed to go. I don't even think he was aware it was quite three a.m.
"He came back a half hour later with the largest filet mignon (about fifteen pounds) and told me that the butcher was just pulling up to the store and that he never comes in this early but there was a delivery he needed to take care of. When Patrick asked for a large filet mignon, he said that he never gets a filet that big, usually it is from a cow, but this came in from a steer which is why it was so large.
"So in the morning we barbequed it and it was ready for the afternoon brunch!
"When I tell you the meat could be cut with a fork it was so tender and delicious. All thanks to the Souls in Purgatory."
He made wine at Cana, didn't He?
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Last but not least:
"Find enclosed lovely photograph taken on the sixth of August, the feast of the Transfiguration, by a friend's daughter in Limerick, Ireland [left]. Notice the white cross in the centre of the sunset! Feel free to use this photograph if you should wish. Kind regards, Cathy Shanahan."
That we will, Cathy.