tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19833980138772326382024-03-20T19:44:40.944-07:00Father Leo Franklin McNamaraPablo the Mexicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09384415590309803327noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1983398013877232638.post-51063466552701436072011-10-18T07:45:00.000-07:002012-08-03T18:49:30.138-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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The following is taken from a discourse given by one of the Faithful.</div>
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Father McNamara had the stigmata.</div>
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The crucifix pictured is the one that bled on several occasions.</div>
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For your consideration:</div>
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Fr. McNamara slept on a daybed, lived in a loft at <place w:st="on">St.</place> Adrian’s Church, not in the rectory.</div>
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He did not eat meat for 45 years, never had a housekeeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was always faithful to his priestly vows and the true <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">Mass.</state></place></div>
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Ordained in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Rome</city></place> on July 6, 1913, first Mass on July 7, 1913</div>
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In 1928 he was assigned to St. Adrian’s parish in south <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chicago</city></place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Established a beautiful church and school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remained there until death on October 26, 1973.</div>
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He had a Crucifix that bled 12 times, the first time on September 17<sup>th</sup>, 1937 and the last time in 1941.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time the five wounds bled he was blessing Sacred Heart badges, which he gave out by the barrel full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The corpus bled profusely and the corpus became life-sized and sat on the edge of Fr. McNamara’s bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus said, “Seeing is believing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I put you to the test.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“When you speak for me, I will answer for thee.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus said this to him.</div>
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Fr. McNamara calls his torments from the devil “The Evil One.”</div>
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Cooking story:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fellow priests did gourmet cooking on Saturday nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Little Flower appeared to him and laid before him his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said, “What a waste.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. gave up the group after that.</div>
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Dying nun in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chicago</city></place>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went to visit her at the nun’s request.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he arrived she asked why he didn’t bring the Crucifix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus had told the nun about the bleeding crucifix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went back to the church to get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nun asked him to leave it with her and he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other nuns witnessed this event.</div>
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About the 6<sup>th</sup> time the Crucifix bled, he reported it to his superiors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They kept vigilance on him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many called him crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To justify his sanity, Fr. kept three medical affidavits by three independent doctors, one a Catholic, one Jewish doctor, and one protestant specialist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The complete physicals done proved his medical stability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No history of mental illness, yet he was persecuted concerning the crucifix and other miracles.</div>
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Fr. McNamara told this story to narrator Mary:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two burly priests and some of Cardinal Cody’s henchmen came to harass him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed the medical evaluations as proof.</div>
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Fr. McNamara was called by a mother whose son was a seminarian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The son found out he had tuberculosis and could not become a priest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man was distraught to the point of taking his own life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. made a trip to see the young man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the road to meet him, Fr. picked up a young man (who looked like the young priest) hitchhiking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The figure had a red thumb, and really was the devil when he entered Fr’s vehicle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. McNamara immediately felt a burning pain in the back of his neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He reached into his bag and took out a small crucifix, and put it to the sore area on his neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The devil figure disappeared.</div>
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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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lady showed Fr. to another bedroom for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. woke up tied with chains to the bed by the devil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ came alive again and released him from the chains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day Fr. talked to the young man and consoled him.</div>
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Fr. was supposed to take a trip with his mother to <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">St. Louis</city></place>, but she became ill and he went on the trip without her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The devil entered his car again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So instead he went to a motel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The devil was constantly tormenting Fr. McNamara.</div>
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A mother in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chicago</city></place> with an afflicted daughter:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mother borrowed money to take the daughter to see Padre Pio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Padre Pio asked the mother why she came all the way to Europe when there was a priest on the south side of <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Chicago</city></place> she could have taken the daughter to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Padre Pio was referring to and named Fr. McNamara.</div>
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Narrator Mary’s brother from age 49 was blind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brother and his wife were Novus Ordo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went to “communion” and realized the person was giving the host with the left hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brother asked his wife (Mary’s sister-in-law), “when did they allow a priest to use his left hand?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She replied it was a lay person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.</div>
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Fr.’s desk was always disheveled, but he knew what was there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one had told him that she admired it.</div>
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Holy Name of Jesus story:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time Mary met Fr. McNamara was with a group of 10-12 of her family members, cousins, aunts, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He referred to her by name (Mary) although she was certain he had not been told her name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She went home and began telling her very jealous husband about having spent the evening in the company of this holy priest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The husband who was getting ready for his night shift at work was belittling and skeptical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said something to the effect of, “You should choke on those words!” in defense of the priest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The husband began to choke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary didn’t know what to do, so she called Fr. McNamara on the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. saying that was a decoy for the miracle he performed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She watched the husband’s tongue loosely fall back into its proper place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he went on to work as usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day she put the name of Jesus throughout their home, and immediately good things began to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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. </div>
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Mary’s son died after suffering three years of cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. McNamara said the son would go straight to heaven because he had suffered so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary disbelieved Fr a bit and requested to put the Name of Jesus on his death bed, which Fr. allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She went on to tell many people (on behalf of Fr. Leo) to put the Holy Name of Jesus around them.</div>
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Fr. McNamara was a big man, about 6’5”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The devil at one point threw him down with a thud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friends witnessed the sound, and the sound of the devil throwing him around the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This incident was shortly before Fr. died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Sometimes the devil appeared to him as an exotic dancer or a poor soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fr. would take out his Crucifix and the devil would vanish.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">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.</i></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">As for Father McNamara and his life’s story, and having it told in this forum;</i></b><br />
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<em><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“ 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”.</b></em><br />
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Goudi Olde Style";">Deo Gracias.</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Goudi Olde Style";">*</span></i></b><br />
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<br /></div>Pablo the Mexicanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09384415590309803327noreply@blogger.com53