The following is taken from a discourse given by one of the Faithful.

Father McNamara had the stigmata.

The crucifix pictured is the one that bled on several occasions.

For your consideration:

Fr. McNamara slept on a daybed, lived in a loft at St. Adrian’s Church, not in the rectory.

He did not eat meat for 45 years, never had a housekeeper.  Was always faithful to his priestly vows and the true Mass.

Ordained in Rome on July 6, 1913, first Mass on July 7, 1913

In 1928 he was assigned to St. Adrian’s parish in south Chicago.  Established a beautiful church and school.  Remained there until death on October 26, 1973.

He had a Crucifix that bled 12 times, the first time on September 17^th, 1937 and the last time in 1941.  The first time the five wounds bled he was blessing Sacred Heart badges, which he gave out by the barrel full.  The corpus bled profusely and the corpus became life-sized and sat on the edge of Fr. McNamara’s bed.  Jesus said, “Seeing is believing.  I put you to the test.”  “When you speak for me, I will answer for thee.”  Jesus said this to him.

Fr. McNamara calls his torments from the devil “The Evil One.”

Cooking story:  fellow priests did gourmet cooking on Saturday nights.  The Little Flower appeared to him and laid before him his life.  She said, “What a waste.”  Fr. gave up the group after that.

Dying nun in Chicago:  He went to visit her at the nun’s request.  When he arrived she asked why he didn’t bring the Crucifix.  Jesus had told the nun about the bleeding crucifix.  He went back to the church to get it.  The nun asked him to leave it with her and he did.  She had it held up so she could venerate it, and the cross bled all over her bed spread and clothes so that they were soaked.  Other nuns witnessed this event.

About the 6^th time the Crucifix bled, he reported it to his superiors.  They kept vigilance on him.  Many called him crazy.  To justify his sanity, Fr. kept three medical affidavits by three independent doctors, one a Catholic, one Jewish doctor, and one protestant specialist.  The complete physicals done proved his medical stability.  No history of mental illness, yet he was persecuted concerning the crucifix and other miracles.

Fr. McNamara told this story to narrator Mary:  Two burly priests and some of Cardinal Cody’s henchmen came to harass him.  He showed the medical evaluations as proof.

Fr. McNamara was called by a mother whose son was a seminarian.  The son found out he had tuberculosis and could not become a priest.  The man was distraught to the point of taking his own life.  Fr. made a trip to see the young man.  On the road to meet him, Fr. picked up a young man (who looked like the young priest) hitchhiking.  The figure had a red thumb, and really was the devil when he entered Fr’s vehicle.  Fr. McNamara immediately felt a burning pain in the back of his neck.  He reached into his bag and took out a small crucifix, and put it to the sore area on his neck.  The devil figure disappeared.

Fr. continued on to the mother’s house, but the son had gone to bed, and they decided Fr. would speak to him in the morning.  The lady showed Fr. to another bedroom for the night.  Fr. woke up tied with chains to the bed by the devil.  Christ came alive again and released him from the chains.  The next day Fr. talked to the young man and consoled him.

Fr. was supposed to take a trip with his mother to St. Louis, but she became ill and he went on the trip without her.  The devil entered his car again.  The devil told him to have a car accident and end his life because the people Fr. was going to meet with wouldn’t believe what he would say anyway.  Disturbed, he drove to a place that would have a crucifix, so he went to the Bishop’s home, but the Bishop wasn’t home.  So instead he went to a motel.  While looking out the window at the motel, he saw what looked like an ocean, and out of the water the devil appeared as a serpent and tried to climb up the motel wall to get to him.  The devil was constantly tormenting Fr. McNamara.

A mother in Chicago with an afflicted daughter:  The mother borrowed money to take the daughter to see Padre Pio.  Padre Pio asked the mother why she came all the way to Europe when there was a priest on the south side of Chicago she could have taken the daughter to.  Padre Pio was referring to and named Fr. McNamara.

Narrator Mary’s brother from age 49 was blind.  The brother and his wife were Novus Ordo.  He went to “communion” and realized the person was giving the host with the left hand.  The brother asked his wife (Mary’s sister-in-law), “when did they allow a priest to use his left hand?”  She replied it was a lay person.  The brother was upset and this incident allowed Mary to coax her brother to go see Fr. McNamara for a blessing hopefully to cure his eyes.

Fr.’s desk was always disheveled, but he knew what was there.  When the brother and sister-in-law went for the blessing, Fr. read the woman’s mind and gave her a silk piece of Our Lady of Taiwan she coveted.  No one had told him that she admired it.

Holy Name of Jesus story:   The first time Mary met Fr. McNamara was with a group of 10-12 of her family members, cousins, aunts, etc.  At the end of the night she said goodbye last purposely so she could share a concern of hers and ask a private prayer request.  He referred to her by name (Mary) although she was certain he had not been told her name.  Fr. told her to put the Holy Name of Jesus under the pillows and around her home, and that invoking the Holy Name was very powerful.  She went home and began telling her very jealous husband about having spent the evening in the company of this holy priest.  The husband who was getting ready for his night shift at work was belittling and skeptical.  She said something to the effect of, “You should choke on those words!” in defense of the priest.  The husband began to choke.  Mary didn’t know what to do, so she called Fr. McNamara on the phone.  He told her to get a tea bag and warm water in a cup (along with some other ingredient she couldn’t remember), and slowly pour it down his throat.  Fr. saying that was a decoy for the miracle he performed.  She watched the husband’s tongue loosely fall back into its proper place.  Then he went on to work as usual.  The next day she put the name of Jesus throughout their home, and immediately good things began to happen.  Mary swears that after that incident she and her husband talked out their difficulties, he apologized and they went on to have a wonderful marriage.

Mary’s son died after suffering three years of cancer.  Fr. McNamara said the son would go straight to heaven because he had suffered so much.  Mary disbelieved Fr a bit and requested to put the Name of Jesus on his death bed, which Fr. allowed.  She went on to tell many people (on behalf of Fr. Leo) to put the Holy Name of Jesus around them.

Fr. McNamara was a big man, about 6’5”.  The devil at one point threw him down with a thud.  Friends witnessed the sound, and the sound of the devil throwing him around the room.  This incident was shortly before Fr. died. 

Sometimes the devil appeared to him as an exotic dancer or a poor soul.  Fr. would take out his Crucifix and the devil would vanish.

******************************************************************

May God our Lord in His infinite and supreme goodness be pleased to give us His abundant grace, that we may know His most holy will, and entirely fulfill it.

As for Father McNamara and his life’s story, and having it told in this forum;

“ I entrust this whole matter in the hands of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “Mother of the Priest par excellence, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through Him, of all priests in whom she forms her Son”.

Deo Gracias.

*