August 2006

Official Feast Day

August 9^th is the date of the "passing on" of Blessed Marianne Cope not Mother Marianne’s feast day, but a day not to be forgotten.

On August 9, 1918, God called Mother Marianne home from her ministry on earth. Usually the date of death of a Blessed is designated as feast day but this date, August 9th, was already taken. In our visit to Rome in March 2005 to learn from Fr. Peter Gumpel how to prepare for Mother Marianne's Beatification, we were in time to attend a meeting scheduled for postulators of causes of the impending beatification; this ceremony is unscheduled as yet. We already were briefed by Father Peter in a positive way before the meeting with a learning session and 16 written pages of helpful data for action and decision aides.

Sr. Grace Anne and I were guided by Fr. Ernesto through the beautiful Vatican Palace, up a few flights of stairs and then all the way downstairs to the bottom floor in another section of the palace. In a small room we met with a leading official of the Congregation of Divine Worship.  Surprisingly we were the only invited cause delegation to show up. Usually there are three planning meetings--all very important for the postulator to attend. The Congregation official was Msgr. Guilio Viviani, who asked a number of questions for discussion, specifically, to select a feast day date for Mother Marianne. We logically agreed to ask for January 23rd, the date of her birth because August 9th is the feast day of Saint Edith Stein whose miracle for canonization was in the Boston Archdiocese. It is desired that Mother Marianne have her own feast day, so we were pleased that our request was honored.

Celebration

Although August 9th, the date that we once believed would be Mother Marianne's feast day is not the same joyous occasion as the officially designated date of celebration, there is every reason to honor her gladly on this special date.  It is appropriate to do so. Kudos to Sr. Marise May who will have a prayer service in honor of Blessed Marianne Cope on Sunday afternoon, August 13th, at which a group of Associates will renew their commitment for three years and another group will make an Initial Commitment. Congratulations and thank you.

Reports of Miracles

There have been reports of favors of all kinds received through Mother Marianne's intercessory influence. Regarding miracles there have been at least three reported to date that we have thought significant enough in view of the two main requisites (inexplicable recovery and one intercessor) to bring to the attention of our Medical Expert, who consults with other medical people if the circumstances so deserve.  To date, it is felt by these devoted doctors who seek to advance Mother's status that there is insufficient evidence in records and x-rays in these cases to be able to receive an unreserved affirmative response from a Vatican appointed Commission in Rome.

If there were a chance at all indicated of our succeeding, the next step would be to send the case to Rome for a preliminary evaluation by a doctor on the Medical Commission knowledgeable about the particular illness.  If this report shows sufficient affirmation that the doctor felt that the miracle would be accepted by an officially appointed physician of the Medical Commission for an opinion if an inexplicable cure, we then would proceed to ask the Bishop of the Diocese where the miracle happened to set up a Tribunal for a complete study of all of its circumstances. (witnesses, records, etc.)  Please read details carefully if you want to help.

Those Seeking Cases to Present

It is essential that in a miracle case to present to Rome that the cure is a complete one. Even when it can be proved that the patient survived a ninety-some percentage chance of death in order for a cure to be considered miraculous it has to believed by the medical profession that the person will die or if the case involves injuries it has to be shown that none at all remain.  No percentage opening for recovery can be left at all or it can be argued that the patient still had a slight chance of survival and made it.

For example, in our miracle case for Mother Marianne's Beatification the key doctors on the case agreed (confirmed in hospital records) that it was believed the patient's death would be the inevitable outcome. In written testimony in one place in this case accepted by the Medical Commission the patient's prime doctor in Syracuse says statistically there was a 98 percent chance of death but [note well] he adds "that was not when the patient was the sickest."  In another place he also says he expected the patient to die.

Spiritual Circumstances a Must

In two cases presented lately to physicians as possible miracle cases for Mother's canonization, it was a pleasure to say that the spiritual requisite of one intercessor likely would not be a problem to authenticate:

In Case One, a relic was applied by the patient to her affliction while saying the prayer for Mother's intercession with the result that she felt "an intense burning sensation."  It was thought by medical people with some degree of scientific reasoning that the patient had a cancerous organ --however, to date we cannot positively show this malignancy.  ---The organ was not cancerous.

In Case Two, the words published in his Sunday church bulletin by the gentleman who reported the case were as follows:  "I had a newspaper article [about Blessed Marianne Cope] and held it to my aunt's head and said by the intercession of Marianne Cope may you be cured.  Well, she is alive and well. “The doctor told the gentleman that the patient would die within 24 hours but to date we cannot positively show by records that she would have died.  Our Medical Expert keeps trying to think of ways to illustrate that the change in condition was inexplicable in these cases and is kind enough to check on cases himself and to ask for specific materials. To date he has to have more proof.  In these cases we did not have the challenge of being unable to document the identity of the intercessor, Mother Marianne, nor have the problem of having too many intercessors.  This is incredible since many causes have not gone through because too many intercessors were claimed.

Gratitude for Priests’ Response to Invitation

We thank our priests who have already visited the shrine or who are making plans and/or having their parish ministers respond to our invitation to visit the Blessed Marianne Shrine and Museum.

These facilities are open Wednesdays and Saturdays from one to five p.m. Appointments for group visits and tours can be made by calling the Mother Marianne office 315-422-7999.

Suggested Petitions at Mass

For all those who have placed confidence in the intercession of Mother Marianne, we pray to the Lord they be helped in a fruitful way; for a verifiable miracle case through the intercession of Mother Marianne.

Period of Gratitude

Amazingly, there now are only about two handfuls of Blesseds in our United States:  Bl. Marianne Cope, Bl. Damien De Veuster, Blessed (Mother) Theodora Guerin, Bl. Carlos Rodiguez, Bl. Francis Seelos, Bl. Junipero Serra, and Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha.  We certainly are in a period of gratitude that Blessed Marianne has been beatified and that so many more persons are now inspired by her and are gaining help through her intercession. How grateful and proud we are of our Franciscan woman of valor and holiness--and of "cheery courage" as so many who knew her personally remarked.

A Canonization Coming in October for an American Saint

Blessed Mother Theodore (her community's preference for her being addressed) will be canonized at St. Peter's, Vatican City, on October 15th,  along with three other Blesseds, two from Italy and one from Mexico. The biography of Bl. Mother Theodore tells us that she was asked by her Bishop in France to do missionary work in the United States and she arrived here in 1840. (Mother Marianne was two years of age at the time).  Mother Theodore worked in a wilderness area in Indiana and established a religious congregation, schools, orphanages and a college, St. Mary of the Woods, the oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women in the USA.

Bl. Mother Guerin died in 1858 (two years before our Franciscan sisters came to Syracuse).  Her cause was opened in 1909. The miracle recently passing in Rome was the complete inexplicable healing of a gentleman's eye before he had cornea surgery. The gentleman himself was the key witness having implored the help of Mother Theodore in the Motherhouse chapel which hold the remains of Bl. Mother Theodore.