The fruit of prayer

“Let the old self be crucified in us, so that the new self may rise in us. And pray unceasingly for the salvation of immortal souls.” This was the recommendation Bl. Alphonse Marie gave to her Sisters, that they should never count effort or perseverance. The following testimony of a religious Sister is clear proof of this.

“My cousin Ľudmila lived as a believer until her twentieth year. She came from a Catholic family and received the foundations of the faith — as they say — as her dowry. It seemed that she would carry them through life as well. In the 1970s, however, the regime was first one of ‘normalisation’ and then totalitarian, and it was not easy to withstand the pressure and persecution as a believer. So it was with Ľudmila too. After leaving home, in her new job, she at once became politically involved and accepted attractive offers which guaranteed her a happy life. There was, however, one condition: that she give up her faith in God. And so she joined the Communist Party. She forgot about developing her religious life and did not lead her husband or her children to it either. After all, she was building a political career.”

“For me,” the religious Sister writes, “despite the difficult period, it was important to develop the gift of faith within myself, and I looked for ways of entering the spiritual path. A way was found, and I became a religious Sister, though a secret one. Of course, day after day I accompanied the whole family with my prayer, and when I learned how things stood with Ľudmila, I placed her and her whole family daily under God’s protection. With sorrow I lived through the moment when, at one family gathering, Ľudmila told me that she had married and that children had been born to her, but that she had settled nothing sacramentally — neither the marriage, nor the baptism of the children, nor confirmation. This wounded me deeply, and I intensified my prayers for her, for her family, for their return to God, and for the grace of contrition for sins, for contrition is a gift of God, not of man. Only God transforms the human heart and gives it his grace.

Nearly 50 years passed for Ľudmila without God. Serious illnesses began to appear; a complicated heart operation at a specialised clinic followed. Since the treatment was long drawn out, she had to leave the clinic and finally agreed to be hospitalised in a Catholic hospital as well. She shared a room with three other patients who received the Eucharist daily. The Sister who brought the Eucharist to the sick, suspecting nothing, came up to Ľudmila simply to ask how she was and whether she would like a priest. The answer was no, and so the Sister marked her forehead with the sign of the cross. But it did not end there. Together with her fellow Sisters in the community she began to pray perseveringly the Novena to Bl. Alphonse Marie for the salvation of immortal souls, and so they added a prayer for Ľudmila too. Her condition was serious.

A few days later Ľudmila’s husband was at her bedside, but he showed no interest in the sacraments of the sick for his gravely ill wife. Three days later, on Sunday morning, Ľudmila’s condition clearly deteriorated. One of the Sisters on duty on the ward simply remarked that death was expected. The orderly, Mária, called out aloud: “Then let us call a priest for her after all!” Since it was Sunday, this was not so simple. Moreover, the hospital chaplain had travelled to Austria that very Sunday, and another priest was fully occupied that Sunday morning in other hospitals.

The Lord, however, had his plan ready for the salvation of Ľudmila’s immortal soul, for through the powerful intercession of Bl. Alphonse Marie he wanted to save this soul of hers after her long spiritual fast. Events moved quickly. In the attempt to find a priest, one of them calmly answered on the telephone: “I will arrange my affairs and come.” And he really came. He began to attend to Ľudmila, and she agreed to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, the anointing of the sick and the Eucharist (Viaticum). He gave her the last rites and prepared her for the journey into eternity.

The next day her cousin hurried to the sick woman’s bedside, full of grief — not knowing what had taken place at Ľudmila’s bedside the day before. Seeing her rapidly worsening condition, she only wept, saying that death was “on her tongue” and what would become of her. At that moment a religious Sister entered the sickroom bringing Holy Communion. When she told the cousin that Ľudmila had already received the last rites and the sacraments, the cousin could not speak for joy. Only after a very long while did she say: “God is patient and merciful! Thank you, Mother Alphonse Marie, for your intercession and for hearing us.” Shortly afterwards the sick Ľudmila, with peace on her face, gave her immortal soul back to her Creator, that he might raise her up on the last day to new life with him.”

May 2020 – The pandemic and us

As we entered the Holy Year 2000, when we were also entering the third millennium, we were already living in an age of technical progress and information technology. The powerful of this world were ever more certain that they had everything under control. Those who thought rationally were aware that globalisation in almost every field nevertheless brings threats — ecological, climatic and so on. And it happened. From one evening to the next morning, so to speak, we found ourselves in danger from an invisible enemy — the coronavirus Covid-19 — in which we are looking for a way to survive, to help, to be close to those affected, but above all to pour hope into them. The restrictions are being relaxed, life is seemingly returning to normal, but the limitations, above all the hygienic ones, still apply. Looking back a few months, we judge that besides fear and uncertainty it was also a time of blessing and a great school for us. We were learning to live simply. To live with restrictions and measures. People, without distinction, were more considerate to one another and above all more united. Often they helped without a word, did not protest, complied. Reports from countries well known to us brought the figures of grim statistics on the infected and the dead. We felt with the sick and with the bereaved. With the greatest trust we joined, evening after evening in spirit or through TV Lux, the Pauline brothers in the national shrine at Šaštín, and we asked Our Lady of Sorrows to intercede, that God might have mercy on the whole sick world and save it.

During the day we worked in the hospital and also listened to the voices of the people around us. We placed them and their petitions into the intensive prayer of the Novena for the salvation of immortal souls to Bl. Alphonse Marie Eppinger — our recently beatified Foundress.

At the beginning of May, at the wish of my fellow pilgrim Katka, whom I had accompanied to Lourdes, we placed a very concrete petition into the prayer of the Novena. The petition was more than urgent. The whole family had been struck by the coronavirus Covid-19: Katka, her husband, her daughter and most of all her parents. Hospitalisation in the red zone followed, in the infectious diseases department under strict hygienic measures. Their condition worsened from day to day. Fears for their lives grew. They were no longer able to communicate by telephone. Only the ward staff reported that it was serious. No one from the family could visit them any more, comfort them or say goodbye.

We began the Novena for the salvation of immortal souls at once. It was 1 May, and we continued day after day in the hope of healing. On Sunday — the last day of the Novena — 9 May, Katka got in touch and with a joyful voice thanked us warmly for the prayer, for she was convinced that the power of the intercession of Bl. Alphonse Marie had helped. We were convinced that her parents were out of the worst, and that this was why she was giving thanks. Katka, however, announced that on that very 9 May the Lord had called her father to his house. She added that when his condition was worsening and the doctor saw that none of his relatives would visit him any more, the thought came to him to call a priest, to give him the sacrament of the anointing of the sick and viaticum for the journey into eternity. We know that this was risky in every respect. But observing strict hygienic and safety measures, the priest came without hesitation, gave the father the last rites and prepared him for his final journey. After many years. An amazing grace.

Katka went on: What happened cannot be expressed, there are no words for it! God is mighty, God is great, God is almighty! And one can only thank him in one’s heart for an undeserved grace. Neither the doctor nor the priest was obliged to do it — dispensations applied to almost everything — but they acted, and they acted out of love.

When we ask what the pandemic has taught us, the answer is simple. It has also taught heroism — of health workers, of priests and of people of good will. In spite of human limitations.

God arranged things so as to convince us that living according to the Gospel is worth it: “Ask and you will receive, knock and it will be opened to you” — the doors of eternity as well.

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May 2020 – The pandemic and us

As we entered the Holy Year 2000, when we were also entering the third millennium, we were already living in an age of technical progress and information technology. The powerful of this world were ever more certain that they had everything under control. Those who thought rationally were aware that globalisation in almost every field nevertheless brings threats — ecological, climatic and so on. And it happened. From one evening to the next morning, so to speak, we found ourselves in danger from an invisible enemy — the coronavirus Covid-19 — in which we are looking for a way to survive, to help, to be close to those affected, but above all to pour hope into them. The restrictions are being relaxed, life is seemingly returning to normal, but the limitations, above all the hygienic ones, still apply. Looking back a few months, we judge that besides fear and uncertainty it was also a time of blessing and a great school for us. We were learning to live simply. To live with restrictions and measures. People, without distinction, were more considerate to one another and above all more united. Often they helped without a word, did not protest, complied. Reports from countries well known to us brought the figures of grim statistics on the infected and the dead. We felt with the sick and with the bereaved. With the greatest trust we joined, evening after evening in spirit or through TV Lux, the Pauline brothers in the national shrine at Šaštín, and we asked Our Lady of Sorrows to intercede, that God might have mercy on the whole sick world and save it.

During the day we worked in the hospital and also listened to the voices of the people around us. We placed them and their petitions into the intensive prayer of the Novena for the salvation of immortal souls to Bl. Alphonse Marie Eppinger — our recently beatified Foundress.

At the beginning of May, at the wish of my fellow pilgrim Katka, whom I had accompanied to Lourdes, we placed a very concrete petition into the prayer of the Novena. The petition was more than urgent. The whole family had been struck by the coronavirus Covid-19: Katka, her husband, her daughter and most of all her parents. Hospitalisation in the red zone followed, in the infectious diseases department under strict hygienic measures. Their condition worsened from day to day. Fears for their lives grew. They were no longer able to communicate by telephone. Only the ward staff reported that it was serious. No one from the family could visit them any more, comfort them or say goodbye.

We began the Novena for the salvation of immortal souls at once. It was 1 May, and we continued day after day in the hope of healing. On Sunday — the last day of the Novena — 9 May, Katka got in touch and with a joyful voice thanked us warmly for the prayer, for she was convinced that the power of the intercession of Bl. Alphonse Marie had helped. We were convinced that her parents were out of the worst, and that this was why she was giving thanks. Katka, however, announced that on that very 9 May the Lord had called her father to his house. She added that when his condition was worsening and the doctor saw that none of his relatives would visit him any more, the thought came to him to call a priest, to give him the sacrament of the anointing of the sick and viaticum for the journey into eternity. We know that this was risky in every respect. But observing strict hygienic and safety measures, the priest came without hesitation, gave the father the last rites and prepared him for his final journey. After many years. An amazing grace.

Katka went on: What happened cannot be expressed, there are no words for it! God is mighty, God is great, God is almighty! And one can only thank him in one’s heart for an undeserved grace. Neither the doctor nor the priest was obliged to do it — dispensations applied to almost everything — but they acted, and they acted out of love.

When we ask what the pandemic has taught us, the answer is simple. It has also taught heroism — of health workers, of priests and of people of good will. In spite of human limitations.

God arranged things so as to convince us that living according to the Gospel is worth it: “Ask and you will receive, knock and it will be opened to you” — the doors of eternity as well.

In April 2018 the relics of the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger had to be prepared for her beatification (the beatification took place on 9 September 2018). It was an exceptional and unique event for all who were preparing the celebration of the beatification. The candidate for beatification herself — Mother Alphonse Marie — was also preparing, as if waiting for an opportunity to intercede with the heavenly Father for those who would ask her in these exceptional moments. Among those working on the preparation of the relics was the permanent deacon Luciano, who had much experience with the preparation of relics and knew what an extraordinary opportunity it was — to touch the bones of a candidate for beatification.

Luciano writes in his testimony:

“Before leaving for France, for the Mother House in Oberbronn, I went to say goodbye to my friend Angelo, a doctor and head of department at a clinic, and I told him that I was going to prepare the relics for the beatification of a new candidate. Dr. Angelo is married, a man advanced in years and above all in his career, who alongside his professional practice among the sick had nourished within himself an ever growing desire to become a permanent deacon and thus to serve the Church more, also by administering the sacraments, especially to the sick and the suffering. He was therefore thinking of studying theology. Since this is a very serious step, Angelo needed the consent of his wife Anastasia, also a doctor. At a suitable moment Angelo joyfully confided his desire to her. But he met with a reaction he had not counted on. Anastasia categorically rejected the study of theology and the desire to become a permanent deacon. For her, who rejoiced in her husband’s professional and career advancement, it was out of the question, for only shortly before Angelo had become head of department at a prestigious clinic in Milan, and so she feared for his career. She saw the study of theology, diaconal ordination and the service of a deacon in the Church as a ‘threat to his career’. Angelo sincerely loved his wife, but as a believer he had not expected such a reaction. Her refusal wounded him deeply. Nothing remained for him but to ask again in prayer for God’s help and light through the intercession of the saints.

After some time Angelo again tried to persuade Anastasia and asked her to give her consent to his decision. Anastasia’s answer was ever more dismissive. It needed time. Angelo did not give up and used every favourable moment to talk with her, but in vain. Then came the day when I told Angelo that I was leaving to prepare relics in France, because the beatification of Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger was being prepared in Strasbourg — of her who greatly honoured priests, guided them spiritually and prayed for them. When Angelo heard what a grace I would have, that I would touch the bones of the future Blessed while preparing her relics, with great trust and confidence he entrusted to me his desire to become a deacon. Above all he laid his petition before the new candidate, Alphonse Marie, that she might intercede before God’s throne for his wife Anastasia, that she might give her consent. At that moment Angelo believed in the intercession of the saints and did not give up, despite the obstacles and his wife’s refusal. Moreover he was not angry with her and did not reproach her; he simply prayed for her, and now he could entrust the petition for her to the candidate for beatification, Mother Alphonse Marie. As a father of a family and at the same time a permanent deacon, I was best able to understand Angelo, what he was going through and how much it mattered to him that someone should help him on this path, which I myself had already walked.

During the several days of work on the relics of Mother Alphonse Marie in Oberbronn I worked with the relics in deep concentration. Above all, as evening drew on, I stayed alone in the room where the relics were and prayed there long into the night, asking for her intercession for Anastasia, that she might agree to Angelo’s diaconal ordination. The next day I also asked the community of Sisters of the Mother House in Oberbronn to pray for this intention. Over several days we intensified our petitions for the intercession of Mother Alphonse Marie, that Angelo’s desire might become reality and that through service to the Church he might reach his longed-for goal — the reception of the permanent diaconate.

At the end of the week we concluded the work on the relics with a solemn Holy Mass with the diocesan archbishop, and at this Mass too we placed our petition for Anastasia, that she might give Angelo her consent, in the hope that prayer is a dynamic force and transforms the mind and heart of a person.

Later I learned something interesting: that at the time of the preparation of the relics Angelo noticed that it was no longer only he who was troubled, but that Anastasia was troubled even more. Silence fell in their family and both Angelo and Anastasia fell silent. The silence was broken by Anastasia when one morning she woke, came to Angelo and briefly announced to him: ‘You have my consent, you can begin the study of theology and become a deacon. I want you to be happy!’ For Angelo these were words which at that moment carried more weight than all the gold of the world. He sincerely thanked his wife for it… and also Blessed Alphonse Marie, for he had not doubted the power of her intercession.

Time passes and Angelo is approaching his longed-for goal. He is completing his study of theology, which is proceeding with all serenity and joy in view of the diaconal ordination which Angelo’s whole family awaits with gratitude in the coming year 2021.”

Luciano continues in his testimony:

“May the Blessed Mother Alphonse Marie — Angelo’s great intercessor — continue to intercede for him and above all for his family. May her intercession bring the Church many holy vocations — priestly, diaconal and religious — for the good of God’s people, for the proclamation of the Gospel of salvation and for the rescue of every immortal soul, which lay so close to the heart of Blessed Alphonse Marie. May this testimony too be for the glory of God and the honour of his saints and blesseds, and an encouragement to the many who must overcome obstacles! God is great, let us trust him!”

“Have courage! God is with you…” With these words Bl. Alphonse Marie encouraged her Sisters and everyone who suffered and felt that with their suffering and pain they had to set out on a long journey and live in hope despite hopelessness in their own time — and she does so today as well. This is how Martin also experienced it; he called his story IT IS NOT YET THE END when he sent his testimony about her intercession in his difficult situation to the Postulation of Bl. Alphonse Marie. We believe it will encourage everyone who reads these lines…

Martin writes: “My story began at the start of July 2017. Summer was beginning, and not quite a month earlier we had celebrated with joy, together with the whole family, the fifth birthday of our daughter Anna. I began to feel tired, and in the last days of June I put it down to having started to do more sport. I explained the heavy night sweats by the warm nights.

Since I live in Ostrava, we decided to go to my parents in Slovakia for the weekend. In the evening, after arriving, I was so tired that I could not even sit and talk with my parents, but had to go to bed. In the following days a raised temperature was added. My parents, who have served people all their lives as doctors, responded to my wife’s worries about my health. The next morning they took my blood and sent it for testing to the hospital in Martin. Shortly after midday the telephone rang from the hospital in Martin with the news that it did not look good and that it was probably an acute form of the disease. Everything had apparently been arranged and they were expecting me that evening at the admissions clinic of the haemato-oncology department in Ostrava. So we quickly packed our things and set off back to Ostrava. In the evening at the clinic in Ostrava, by agreement with the doctor, I was given the chance to spend one more night at home with my family. At that moment I did not yet suspect that it would be the last for a very long time.

After the first twenty days or so of chemotherapy I received good news: the acute disease had been suppressed and I had gained time. But I needed to find someone who would give me a gift I had never even dreamed of. A suitable bone-marrow donor was being sought. Then came a period in which I could be alternately with my family and back in hospital. Further phases of treatment continued. And encouraging news came too — a suitable donor had been found, from Poland. From the country of the beloved Holy Father John Paul II, my great protector and friend.

During the wait for the bone-marrow transplant came another great trial. I did not feel well, and after a marked deterioration in my condition an ambulance took me to hospital in the morning. At that moment I did not yet know that my body was fighting blood poisoning. My closest family knew it, however. After the prayer of more than 600 people — sick pilgrims travelling by train to Lourdes that day — an improvement came. I only learned all the connections in time later. After my parents returned from the pilgrimage of the sick to Lourdes, a picture of Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger came into my hands, which my parents had received in Lourdes as a gift from a religious Sister. Until then I had not known Mother Alphonse Marie. Before the transplant I asked Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger, among other intercessors, especially for a good outcome, and afterwards for a good course of the further treatment and convalescence, with the promise that if I were granted special graces of healing I would bear witness to it.

Time went on and the date of the bone-marrow transplant in Prague drew near. A few days before departure I received, after many years, forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation, the Eucharist and also the anointing of the sick. Armed in this way, I underwent very aggressive treatment in Prague (strong chemotherapy and several cycles of total body irradiation) in preparation for the transplant itself. On the last day of November we then waited from morning for the delivery. A courier was bringing “hope” from Warsaw. In the evening I received this “hope”, in the form of bone marrow, into my veins. Then came the waiting. After about twenty days the doctor of the transplant centre came with the news that the first “swallow” had appeared — the first blood cells of the new haematopoiesis. Christmas came, which I spent with my family, but only connected by Skype. As usual I left the untouched hospital supper on the table and listened to the carols sounding from the hospital corridor. A few days later came the departure HOME. Then more than a year of frequent check-ups and great restrictions for the whole family. My immunity had to be deliberately suppressed. At the end of the year I plucked up courage to go to church. Being welcomed in the parish, in a community of good people, helped me greatly.

Today I can say that the demanding preparation as well as the bone-marrow transplant itself passed with only minor difficulties, literally negligible in view of the possible complications which as a rule can accompany this procedure. Today, as I write these lines, it is more than 1000 days after the transplant, and I believe that, thanks also to the powerful intercession of Alphonse Marie, now Blessed, everything is in order. The leukaemia is undetectable and the process of convalescence is proceeding with only minimal difficulties. Our life is returning to normal again… or rather, it is not entirely returning; it is different from what it was, and I think that is a good thing. It is time that we have been given as a gift from the good Lord God. My only concern is not to waste it. That is why I ask very much for prayer; we need it greatly. My story is a story of how, even from full health, a person can in a moment be counted among people with a diagnosis which before that he could not even read about without anxiety. A story of how making plans in life is fine and necessary, but it is not good to cling so much to those plans. But above all a story of how the good Lord God can change everything and use it for good. I know that God is a God of good endings. And so situations in which things do not look good at present mean only this: that it is not yet the end.

With respect, gratitude and a request for prayer, Martin.”

Faith is a dynamic force, and God shows his power and encourages us to trust that he is our Father in every situation of our life. Such a testimony, full of deep faith and unfailing trust in the power of the Most High through the strong intercession of our now Blessed Foundress Mother Alphonse Marie, is also the testimony of a candidate of our sister Congregation of the Sisters of the Redeemer from far-off Tanzania, which they wish to share with us. The candidate Klaudia writes:

“On 7 August 2016 I fell into a reservoir full of water. The reservoir is 5.5 metres deep and 5 metres wide. I am 1.7 metres tall and I cannot swim. Although I was in the reservoir for about an hour, I was saved. How did it happen? We were drying maize starch on the reinforced cover of the reservoir. When we came to the refectory to eat something, it soon became clear that it was going to rain. We went to the store for iron screens to cover the drying maize starch on the cover of the reservoir. There were four of us. We took two screens, so two candidates carried each screen. The other three candidates were Anastasia, Rita and Irena. I carried a screen with Anastasia. We covered the starch. As we were returning, I stepped on the cover at the place where there is an opening through which we draw water from the reservoir. The cover shifted and I realised that I was falling into the reservoir. My first thought was that I could not survive this and that I was dying, because, as I have said, I cannot swim and the reservoir was full of water. The walls of the reservoir were smooth, without any hooks to hold on to. With these thoughts I fell until I found myself at the bottom of the reservoir full of water. For about 30 minutes I stayed at the bottom, occupied with the thought that this was my end. After a time I noticed a burning torch with which they were shining down from above as they inspected the reservoir, and I even heard human voices outside calling: ‘Klaudia, Klaudia!’ Some were weeping, thinking that I was already dead. By the light of the torch I glimpsed a short ladder, about 3 metres long, which someone had lowered into the reservoir. But the ladder was far from me. After trying to reach for it, I tried to stand, and I do not even know how I caught hold of it, but several times it slipped from my hand. I tried once more, in the hope of catching it. When I succeeded, I held it firmly and my fellow candidates began to pull me out of the water by it. Suddenly I felt a hand reaching out to me. It was the hand of one of those standing around who were trying to help me. I pulled myself together with my very last strength and gripped the outstretched hand firmly, and it pulled me out of the water. Standing on the ground beside the reservoir, I checked in disbelief whether I was all right. I found that I could not hear and that my ears were blocked. My fellow candidates took me to the refectory, where they signalled to me to lie down so that they could give me first aid, since I had been drowning. They pressed hard on my stomach with their hands, but there was no water there, so I had nothing to bring up. I told them that I had not swallowed any water at all. Then they took me to my room, where I changed, so that I could return to my activities. We went back to the refectory to wash the dishes.

When we had washed the dishes, we went to the church to thank God for this great miracle which he had worked in me. In the evening I went to bed and slept until morning. The only thing that troubled me was the thought of how I had got out of the reservoir full of water. In the morning the director took me to hospital so that a doctor could examine me, but he only confirmed that there was nothing wrong with me.

I want to add one more important piece of information. On 10 July 2016, that is, a few days before I fell into the reservoir, our regional superior, Sr. M. Tadea Mpanda CSR, announced in the church of our regional house that every Friday would be dedicated to prayer to the foundress of our congregation, Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger, who in her life meditated on the suffering of Jesus and on the mystery of the Redemption and tirelessly helped the sick. She announced that one miracle was needed for our foundress to be declared Blessed by the Church. We began to pray on Friday 15 July 2016, and I was saved on 7 August 2016. I believe that this miracle happened by God’s power through the intercession of our foundress Mother Alphonse Marie, because it happened shortly after our regional superior announced that we should pray for a miracle, so that our foundress might be declared Blessed.

Before this we had never prayed in community in the Tanzania region for the beatification of Mother Alphonse Marie. This was the first time, and God at once tested us thoroughly, to see whether we believe him.”

Your Klaudia, August 2016

Testimonies written down by Elise Rico de Zamar from San Salvador de Jujuy (Argentina):

“I am a simple Christian mother, and together with my husband I was looking for a school for our children which would bring them up in the faith and be guided by the Christian principles by which our family lives. In our search we also visited the School of St. Barbara. Already on entering the school we felt a peaceful and good atmosphere. We knew at once that this would be the place of education for our three children, who indeed began their lessons there. Each day began with prayer, and gradually they also became acquainted with the life of the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie, foundress of the congregation of religious Sisters who run the school. What is more, the children quickly remembered that they should ask Ven. Mother Alphonse Marie for help in everyday situations, especially before a test in a difficult subject. When the children told me all this one by one after coming home from school, I thought about it and I too began during the day to ask Ven. Mother Alphonse Marie for her intercession with God. I was convinced that she intercedes in heaven for us, for children and for young people. One day my eldest daughter Anna Clara discovered that she had a cyst in her eye. After a visit to Dr. Muñoz, an excellent surgeon, and after assessing the diagnosis, he advised us, among other things, not to touch the eye, because it was dangerous. I was frightened. At night I could not sleep and I called on Ven. Mother Alphonse Marie for help, until, completely exhausted, I dozed off shortly before morning. The next day, when I woke my daughter Anna Clara, her eye was clear! I was completely astounded and I no longer doubted the help of this wonderful Mother. Out of gratitude I felt that I had to spread devotion to her all around me — in the family, among friends and acquaintances.”

The power of common prayer

“During one visit to us my friend Graciela Reinhold confided to me a heavy cross. Her daughter Paola was taking drugs and she did not know what to do about it. Moreover the doctors had found that Paola was in the sixth month of pregnancy… Paola took no account of the fact that she was expecting a child and went on living ‘her own life’ with her friends. By ultrasound the doctors found that the child was deformed, that its size did not correspond to the sixth month of pregnancy, and that it had cysts. Paola remained under medical supervision. At the next examination they found that the cysts in the lower part of the child’s body were growing and that surgery would be needed, which was very dangerous both for Paola and for her child. The lives of both were at stake. Then young Paola felt very guilty, because she began to realise what pain she had caused to herself, to her child and to her parents. After a confidential conversation with my friend Graciela I at once suggested to her that we should begin to ask the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie to intercede for Paola and her child. I gave her a picture of the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie with the prayer for her intercession, trusting that Mother Alphonse Marie would understand us mothers all the more. During the pregnancy Paola experienced such great anguish that she did not even choose a name for her child. The prognosis kept getting worse, and so she did not believe that the child would be born at all. The truth was that those days of waiting were the worst in the young woman’s life. She felt very bad and did not know what to do. The day of the birth came, 17 October 2011. The doctors decided on a caesarean section. On that day we formed a great living chain of people who prayed together. We all asked the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie to intercede for Paola and her child, because the doctors — on the basis of regular ultrasound examinations — maintained that the child would be disabled. To everyone’s surprise, however, the child was born completely healthy, weighing 2750 grams and measuring 51 centimetres. The doctors could not believe it. For Paola it was a great gift of heaven, and she named her daughter Solange. Two days later the doctors examined little Solange by ultrasound and stated that the prognoses indicated during three months of ultrasound examinations had not been confirmed. For several more days little Solange was carefully watched by a number of specialist doctors, and they could not believe what they saw. It was a miracle! Only later did Paola learn that her mother, together with a wider circle of people, had prayed for her and her child most fervently and had asked the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie together to intercede with God. At first Paola understood it to mean that the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie was still alive and working at the School of St. Barbara, and she wanted to visit her. When she discovered that by then she was a candidate for beatification, she began to ask her even more intensely. She still feels her living presence in her own life and in the life of her daughter Solange. She left her former way of life and began to pray that she might bring her daughter up well. Thanks be to God and to the Venerable Mother Alphonse Marie, little Solange enjoys good health. Paola and the whole family, and their acquaintances too, love her very much. Paola is aware of the chance God gave her with the birth of Solange, and therefore she asks everyone to continue to pray.”

2 January 2010 – A prayer heard in the matter of my son

The period which I have just lived through was one of the worst and full of anxiety. My only son, a physician, always diligent and honoured, unexpectedly lost his post after a successful period of work at a research institute. It seemed that nothing serious had happened and that everything would soon be resolved, because there were several promises of a new post — he is truly a specialist in his field.

But months went by and nothing happened. My son was driven to the brink of exhaustion; he even needed the help of a psychologist.

Throughout this long period I prayed daily, asking all the well-known saints and also our dear departed to help him find a way out of this difficult situation. But nothing happened, and I became dissatisfied and disappointed. Further months went by, full of fear.

The situation changed in the first days of November, when I went with relatives from Sicily to our beautiful Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. My relatives, seeing my difficult position, did not want to trouble me. But I persuaded them that I would gladly accompany them. We arrived at the basilica late in the afternoon. It seemed already closed. But we found one door still open — it was the side gate.

Vespers were being prayed by the Benedictine fathers, assisted by a few Sisters — which I only learned afterwards. At first I really did not understand what was going on, so I asked the Sisters present for an explanation. After the explanation, one of the Sisters gave me a leaflet about their Foundress, Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger.

I had never heard that name before and it meant nothing to me, but her photograph struck me at once: her serious, daring, resolute and at the same time kind look immediately gave me courage. At that moment I also noticed on the last page the prayer for obtaining graces.

After returning home, that same evening I set everything else aside and began to pray, with the intention of continuing for nine days, asking Mother Alphonse Marie, as a mother, to intercede for my son’s troubles. Praying so intensely, on the third or fourth day the news came that my son could start work. I no longer doubted the grace from above. I thank Mother Alphonse Marie and all the saints!

Every evening I continue my prayer to Mother Alphonse Marie, who has meanwhile become my confidante in small and great troubles, from which I am not spared in life.

I also thank all the Sisters who devote themselves to those who suffer, and I shall rejoice at every new piece of news about your dear Mother Alphonse Marie.

Elvira Rubino, Rome

“Trust in the Virgin Mary is a grace of heaven, for which we must ask unceasingly. If only I could tell everyone with what confidence they should turn to the Mother of God, and with what fervour they should intercede for them in their prayers, so that they may obtain help from God.” Blessed Alphonse Marie spoke these words 170 years ago, and they express her highest longing: holiness and heaven. Today these words have lost nothing of their relevance, for we too long to cooperate with the Virgin Mary for the sanctification of ourselves and of the world, also through the prayer of the holy Rosary in the month of October.

Especially when we are living through a time full of worry, uncertainty and fear. It is enough to show a person a willingness to listen and to be close to them, as it was in the case of Elvira, who writes:

“The period which I have just lived through was one of the worst and full of anxiety. My only son, a physician, always diligent and honoured, unexpectedly lost his post after a successful period of work at a research institute. It seemed that nothing serious had happened and that everything would soon be resolved, because there were several promises of a new post — he is truly a specialist in his field.

But months went by and nothing happened. My son was driven to the brink of exhaustion; he even needed the help of a psychologist.

Throughout this long period I prayed daily, asking all the well-known saints and also our dear departed to help him find a way out of this difficult situation. But nothing happened, and I became dissatisfied and disappointed. Further months went by, full of fear.

The situation changed in the first days of October, when I went with relatives from Sicily to our beautiful Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. My relatives, seeing my difficult position, did not want to trouble me. But I persuaded them that I would gladly accompany them. We arrived at the basilica late in the afternoon. It seemed already closed. But we found one door still open — it was the side gate.

Vespers were being prayed by the Benedictine fathers, assisted by a few Sisters — which I only learned afterwards. At first I really did not understand what was going on, so I asked the Sisters present for an explanation. After the explanation, one of the Sisters gave me a leaflet about their Foundress, Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger.

I had never heard that name before and it meant nothing to me, but her photograph struck me at once: her serious, daring, resolute and at the same time kind look immediately gave me courage. At that moment I also noticed on the last page the prayer for obtaining graces.

After returning home, that same evening I set everything else aside and began to pray, with the intention of continuing for nine days, asking Mother Alphonse Marie, as a mother, to intercede for my son’s troubles. Praying so intensely, on the third or fourth day the news came that my son could start work. I no longer doubted the grace from above. I thank Mother Alphonse Marie and all the saints!

Every evening I continue my prayer to Mother Alphonse Marie, who has meanwhile become my confidante in small and great troubles, from which I am not spared in life.

I also thank all the Sisters who devote themselves to those who suffer, and I shall rejoice at every new piece of news about your dear Mother Alphonse Marie.”

Your Elvira, September 2009

From childhood I was very thin, of fragile build, and later in life I was diagnosed with tachycardia. In 1968 I was hospitalised in the oncology department because nodules were found on my thyroid gland. I had to undergo radiotherapy. I was supposed to remain under medical supervision, but apparently my medical records were lost and I paid no further attention to it. The tachycardia, however, continued to trouble me; I used to have dizzy spells, and so I was prescribed the medicine Trimepranol. With this medicine I kept my health in order for almost 38 years. In 2008 I was at the seaside, and while swimming I got cramps — so severe that they had to pull me out of the water. There followed rapid weight loss, nervousness, tachycardia, blood pressure of 80/60, fatigue and severe dizziness. At my height of 172 cm I weighed only 50 kg. On 14 June 2008 I visited a doctor, who immediately performed a magnetic resonance scan of the cervical spine and ordered a visit to an endocrinologist.

A series of examinations followed: an ultrasound of the thyroid gland, blood tests, a puncture of the thyroid gland, histological examinations and so on. The finding was harsh: carcinoma of the thyroid gland at an advanced stage, consisting of two malignant tumours — on the right side measuring 1.9 × 1.6 cm and on the left side 1.6 × 1.1 cm, reaching as far as the vocal cords. Immediate surgery was necessary, with the risk that my vocal cords would certainly be damaged and that I would lose my voice. At that point I already knew that besides medical help I had to seek above all spiritual help and support. In the community of Sisters where I celebrated Holy Mass I asked for prayer and spiritual accompaniment. I shared with them my worry, my pain and the risky operation awaiting me. The Sisters did not ask many questions; they simply handed me a picture with the portrait of their foundress Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger, on the back of which I found a prayer for her beatification and, most importantly, a prayer for obtaining graces. I left in silence. The Sisters too went in silence to the chapel and began to pray a novena to their foundress for a good outcome of the operation and for my healing. They also passed this news on to other fellow Sisters and friends, so that they might join in the prayer for the healing of Father Alexander — that is, of me.

On 18 June 2008 I was admitted to hospital. I must admit that I was not indifferent to it all, but with great trust I turned to Mother Alphonse Marie, that she might intercede for me before God’s throne. After admission there was not much time for thinking, because the pre-operative examinations began, and the next day, first thing in the morning, they were already taking me to the operating theatre, and on 19 June I was operated on urgently. The only thought that crossed my mind was that things were evidently very bad with me and that I had to be prepared not to wake up.

The operation took place under full anaesthesia and lasted almost two hours. I remember nothing, but from the testimony of the medical staff I later understood that after the operation they could not wake me from the anaesthetic. It apparently took a long time; my vital functions were failing, and so the doctor in charge informed my superior at the monastery where I lived what was happening and added professionally: “The operation was demanding, we must reckon with everything; bring his clothes just in case.”

The then prior, Father Norbert, and the bursar, Father Elio, tried to come to the hospital at once, though that too took a little while. In the meantime the staff succeeded in waking me. They wheeled me on the operating bed to my room. When I looked properly around me I was surprised to see what caring confrères I had, already there beside me. I sat up abruptly and got out of bed to greet them, which thoroughly alarmed the attending doctor and the staff watching over me, and in their surprise they began to remonstrate with me: “What are you doing? Your head will spin and you will fall.” I wanted to lighten the situation a little, so I said that my head only spins after five litres of wine. At that the doctor looked at me in astonishment and, thoroughly surprised, said: “You are speaking!” For before the operation I had had to sign that I accepted the risk that with damage to the vocal cords I might lose my voice, because the tumours were already on the vocal cords and it was necessary to operate on them. Of course the doctor and the staff immediately put me back to bed, and my confrères did not reveal that they had already come with my clothes.

The next day, on Saturday 21 June, they removed the drain, and so I could walk calmly around the room without any help. The following day, Sunday 22 June, I already walked down a floor on foot so that I could celebrate Holy Mass in the hospital chapel. On 23 June, three days after such a serious operation, the doctor informed me that the tachycardia had disappeared, that I no longer needed any Trimepranol, that the dizziness had stopped and my blood pressure had settled at 120/80, and so he discharged me from hospital. That same day, when I returned home, something was missing in my room, so I went to the shop, and in the street I met friends who knew that I was to have an operation and thought that I was only just about to go for it. I told them that it was already behind me. When they noticed the scar on my throat they saw that there was only a tiny wound there, almost healed. I could not believe it myself, so on returning to my room I looked in the mirror, and indeed there was only a fine scar there.

After such a demanding removal of the tumours on the goitre and the vocal cords, at the regular check-ups almost every two weeks, to the great surprise of the doctors, I did not have to undergo any chemotherapy or radiotherapy. They assessed it as an inexplicable phenomenon and put my entire medical documentation at my disposal.

At the check-up a year later the doctors looked at the images uncomprehendingly, seeing that everything was healed without a trace, and they confirmed that after the operation, in view of the advanced stage of the thyroid carcinoma, the healing in my case was sudden, complete, lasting and without recurrence.

Today, as I write this testimony, more than 12 years have passed. I feel very well, my body weight has increased and I feel enough strength and energy to be able to serve all those whom God sends me.

For this healing I am indebted to the powerful intercession of Alphonse Marie, now Blessed, for which the Sisters and friends prayed. To this saint I have kept to this day an extraordinarily intense relationship, and I feel ever more that she has become my daily spiritual companion and mother.

On every occasion, in every difficulty and problem of my own and above all of others who confide in me, I turn to her, and her intercession with the Lord is very intense and strong. Many people tell me of graces received through her intercession. May Blessed Alphonse Marie intercede for us unceasingly! God is great and mighty and listens to the petitions of his faithful saints and blesseds, who — when we ask them perseveringly — can obtain for us many graces from the Most High, including the grace of healing! May almighty God be glorified and praised for this healing!

Father Alexander, August 2008

January 2005 – Awakening from a coma; Diagnosis: cancer of the pancreas

On the feast of the Divine Redeemer, October 23, 2004, Margita (24) was admitted to a hospital in Vienna (SMZ Ost) with the diagnosis of cancer of the pancreas. The doctors stated that surgery was out of the question and placed her in an induced coma. She lay in the coma until January 15, 2005.

The doctors could do nothing more and almost all of them were of the opinion that Margita would never wake again. I prayed to our Mother Foundress for a miracle, and I always imagined that Jesus, through the intercession of Mother Alphonse Marie, would take Margita by the hand as he did the daughter of Jairus in the Gospel. I even said so in my community at Christmas, when many had already given up any hope of her survival.

Almost three months passed. We consoled Margita’s mother and encouraged her to pray with us to our Mother Foundress.

On January 15, 2005 Margita suddenly opened her eyes, began to talk, and her mind was clear. She is slowly recovering and there are no traces of the previous diagnosis.

When we heard this joyful news from Margita’s mother, we spontaneously cried out: “I prayed to Mother Alphonse Marie!”, and another: “So did I.” We are convinced that this is a miracle through the intercession of Mother Alphonse Marie.

Sister N.N.

November 22, 2004 – Diagnosis: Sclerosis multiplex

My illness began with numbness in my feet and in the tips of my fingers, and from about May 10–27, 2004 I was unable to work. Treatment began, but the problems receded only slightly, which led to further examinations. From August 10, 2004 I had to be admitted to the neurological department of the hospital in Topoľčany, where a lumbar puncture followed. The result of the examination was: Sclerosis multiplex. I do not need to describe what I went through. Thanks to the Religious Sisters and the members of the Spiritual Family, we prayed together and asked Mother Alphonse Marie to intercede with God for me.

At that time I felt a great need to attend Holy Mass and to pray the rosary. I felt the power of prayer and the grace of God.

Meanwhile further examinations followed, one after another. The result of the last examination, on November 22, 2004, was: “Unambiguous signal changes typical for the cerebral form of MS are not present.” I immediately sent a text message: “Thanks be to God and to prayer, my diagnosis has not been confirmed.”

My faith was greatly deepened. I feel God’s presence in prayer, at home, everywhere I go, when praying the rosary and most of all at Holy Mass. I understand this as a call to further humility, to prayer for the beatification of Mother Alphonse Marie, and to still greater devotion to God for the grace he has granted me.

Mrs. N.N.

1962 – The healing of Sister Lukrécia Straková; Diagnosis: pulmonary tuberculosis

In 1951, under the communist regime, the Sisters were gathered into a camp. Sister Lukrécia was sent to work in a factory in Bohemia. After some time she fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis (caverns). She trusted greatly in the intercession of Mother Alphonse Marie and prayed to her, asking for her intercession in heaven.

She was admitted to a special hospital in the Tatras. When she was discharged she found herself in a difficult situation because of the regime. She could not go back to the factory. She came to the Sisters in Jasov to recover and went for regular medical check-ups. Lung surgery, however, was unavoidable. Sister Lukrécia then intensified her prayers (she prayed novenas and asked for the grace of healing).

At her next check-up at the pulmonary clinic in Moldava nad Bodvou, after thorough examinations her doctor, Dr. Müller, told her: “Your lungs are clear; the surgery is not needed.” Sister Lukrécia was convinced that this was a miraculous healing. She at once asked the doctor for a confirmation that her previous diagnosis had, inexplicably, not been confirmed. The doctor acknowledged the healing, but he was afraid of the regime of the day and did not put it in writing.

Because of the pulmonary tuberculosis Sister Lukrécia had been receiving a disability pension, and so a strange situation arose. The doctor still called her in for examinations, but he had to confirm that she had been healed, and so she lost her right to the pension.

She began to work as a nurse in a home for the elderly in Pilníkov in Moravia. The pulmonary tuberculosis never returned until her death. To the end of her life she recalled this testimony with gratitude among the Sisters and was convinced that she had been healed through the intercession of Mother Alphonse Marie. She died in 1997 in Vrícko.

Sister Bonavíta

November 2, 1949 – The healing of five-year-old Jacques Baumgartner;
Diagnosis: double ear inflammation

Five-year-old Jacques suffered from a double ear inflammation and diarrhoea and lost a great deal of weight. In hospital he was treated with a double paracentesis (piercing) and penicillin. The next day the boy complained of cramps and later he stopped moving. They thought he was dead. The boy’s mother asked the Sisters for relics of Mother Alphonse Marie and prayed with unbounded confidence to our Foundress. Two doctors were called, who decided to operate on the ear on October 9, 1947. After the surgery the boy felt well, but suddenly, on October 11, his condition worsened. With little hope, the doctor ordered a blood transfusion. The boy was swollen. The swelling went down after a few hours. Eight days after the surgery his condition became complicated. The boy grew very weak, was fed by tube and did not move. At that moment his mother, in great hope, placed the relics of Mother Alphonse Marie on his eyes, saying: “Now sleep, my dear child.” Then the child slept for eight hours. The doctor confirmed that he had exhausted every human means to save this boy, and that the fact that the boy was saved can only be attributed to a supernatural intervention from heaven.

St. Joseph Clinic, Colmar

December 29, 1932 – The healing. Diagnosis: inflammation of the leg

A sick man came to the hospital with an inflammation of the leg. The pain was unbearable! Nothing brought him any relief. The x-ray showed that it was tuberculosis of the bone. The doctor decided to operate on his leg to help him. A Sister who heard this decided to pray a Novena to our dear Foundress. On the morning of the ninth day of the Novena — it was the First Friday — the sick man received the Eucharist and said that he had no more pain. The healing cannot be explained in a natural way.

Sister Albana

Five-month-old Franz was very seriously ill, and on November 11, 1931 the doctors gave up hope of his cure. The community of Sisters decided to pray the Novena to Mother Alphonse Marie. They prayed three times the “Our Father”, the “Hail Mary” and the “Glory be”. They expressed gratitude to God for the graces granted to their Foundress — to her personally and to the whole Congregation. On November 14, 1931 the doctor left the boy’s room with the words that the boy would die within half an hour. Despite this, the boy was still alive on the second day. Sister Valesia, who took care of him, saw that it was his last hour. This condition lasted until evening. When the parents left the room there was an improvement. The boy got well, began to take fluids, and in a short time he was completely healed.

It should be noted that when the Sisters ended the Novena, the boy cried unceasingly, day and night, without any known cause. The family prayed the Novena to Mother Alphonse Marie again, but this time in thanksgiving to God. Then the boy calmed down.

Sister Marie Catherine

May 13, 1932 – Diagnosis: Double pneumonia

Mr. T. (42) was admitted to hospital on March 12, 1932 with double pneumonia. His temperature was 40.5 °C. This temperature lasted for 10 days despite treatment. The condition of the patient became hopeless. He received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick. His condition was even worse. The doctor gave him 48 hours to live. The Sisters began to pray the Novena to Mother Alphonse Marie together with the sick man. The patient’s temperature was 40.3 °C. The next day it dropped to 38.3 °C and then further to 37.5 °C. The doctor was truly astonished and said that it was a direct miracle — a supernatural intervention that can only be received as a grace.

Sister Ambroise

February 27, 1932 – Diagnosis: Septicaemia of the left shoulder

Florenz (37), a war invalid, suffered from tuberculosis in the left shoulder. On November 23, 1931 the surgeon opened his shoulder, and he suffered much. The bone fell apart because of the intense formation of pus. The doctor ordered surgery for December 21, which was moved to December 23, 1931. The condition of the patient grew worse. The Sisters began to pray the Novena to our Foundress to obtain the healing of the sick man, or at least the saving of his shoulder. After two days of prayer the patient got better and the pain eased. Some days later the doctor stated that the bone had grown again. After an x-ray of the shoulder on February 27, 1932 the doctor ruled out surgery and noted the improvement. The sick man recovered soon afterwards.

Sister Leontina

April 2, 1931 – Conversion

In the hospital, there was a patient who did not want to hear anything about religion. No one dared to hope that this patient would approach the Sacraments at Easter. Even the priest said: “Do not tell me about him!” The Sister who took care of him asked the elderly Sisters in Niederbronn to pray with her to Mother Alphonse Marie, that all patients in the hospital would receive the Sacraments. The Sister did not hope in vain. She was not disappointed. Without anyone talking to the patient, he asked for a priest to hear his confession, and the next day he received Holy Communion.

Sister Adolphine