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S PEREGRINE•t

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Friends of The National Shrine of St. Peregrine Newsletter • Winter 2012

Dear Friends of St. Peregrine,

Peace be with you! Being involved in the St. Peregrine Healing Community is a wonderful gift and blessing! Gift in the way that not only do we receive God’s healing grace, but we become what we receive from God for others! Our identity as children of God is a blessing to enjoy, treasure, appreciate and share with others. As a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Bolingbrook, IL, said, “Thank you, Fr. Chris, for reminding us of God’s wisdom; we are truly God’s Family!” This is God’s revealing grace throughout creation and our human condition! That is what “Christ in Christmas” is all about! What a powerful message to reflect upon throughout this New Year of 2012! What a healing inspiration from St. Peregrine’s life into our daily life! In a humble way, like St. Peregrine, the porter of the monastery in Forli, Italy, would open the door to Christ in the person who had a great need for God! We can do the same! Christ sends others to us. Like a “St. Peregrine,” we too need to open up our lives in joyful hospitality to listen to the needs of others all year round. Last fall, I heard this at St. Hilary Parish in Chicago, IL: “Fr. Chris, when is the healing Mass at the Basilica? I need to attend.” It’s on the 2nd Saturday in Spanish and the 3rd Saturday in English at 11am here at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica.

Also, I heard this message on our October pilgrimage to The Shrine of Christ’s Passion in

St. John, IN. As one pilgrim commented…“Fr. Chris, what a great experience to connect with this healing spirituality of the Stations of the Cross! We are so blessed to be here! When is our next trip?” Personally, I was struck by the picture of Christ’s third fall. The heavy weight of the Cross on Christ’s back reminded me of the heavy weight of serious illness on our back. Together we can lift that weight with God’s help and walk onward to Heaven. Thank you for reading this newsletter and for sharing it with others.

God bless your New Year, 2012 with healing strength - Fr. Chris, O.S.M.

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St. Peregrine Ministry Mission Statement

With Mary at the foot of the Cross of her suffering Son, Jesus, We, Servants of Mary, promote and sustain the St. Peregrine ministry of healing and compassion.

Through our ministries of prayer, blessing, pilgrimage, reconciliation and evangelization, we accompany caregivers and those persons who live with serious illness, especially cancer, as they seek to find healing, support, peace and God in their daily lives.

Newsletter of the National Shrine of St. PeregrineOur Lady of Sorrows Basilica3��� W Jackson BlvdChicago IL 606��-�7�9Fr. Christopher Krymski, OSM, Director

The Friends of St. Peregrine Newsletter is published three times a year by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary and is available free of charge to all who request it.

©�0��, Order of Friar Servants of Mary, USA Province www.servite.org

On the Radio

Many times I have been on Relevant Radio, on the Drew Mariani Show, to talk about St. Peregrine as an important healing saint for us all. I am glad that we can use the media to get across the message that our Servite Brother Peregrine is still doing his mission today in praying to God for all of us! Sister Patricia of Marillac House said to me, “I heard you on the radio the other day and it sounded good!” Yes, but moreso, God sounds good through our voices to tell others that our champion, our hope and our companion is God. God listens to our prayers and walks with us all the way home! Share your healing story of God helping you and others as your “Good News” story for today! As Karen, who helps us with our

A New Local Devotion

I was so happy to help in the inauguration of the weekly Thursday devotion of St. Peregrine prayers at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Bolingbrook, IL, November 3, 2011. It was a joyous occasion to meet new friends and connect with another local shrine of St. Peregrine.

From East to West, many are saying that St. Peregrine is their saint. As a family from Houston, Texas exclaimed our mother, Cristofina has been in remission from her cancer for three years now. Our sister, Yadira at the age of 2 to 9 years had leukemia and now is 27 years old because of God’s help through St. Peregrine. Praise God!

A special “thank you” to all pastors and parishioners for adopting the St. Peregrine devotion locally in your parishes. Today, we have counted over 72 places of St. Peregrine throughout the country. You, too, can have St. Peregrine devotion in your parish by contacting us for further information and support. Please call Fr. Chris, O.S.M., at 773-638-0159, x. 100. God bless.

email requests, said to me, “Thanks Fr. Chris, this really feels like a ministry to me – being able to impart hope to those in need.”

Relevant Radio can be heard at AM 950 in the Chicago area. The Drew Mariani show is from 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon. It can also be heard in a livestream on the internet. See their website relevantradio.com for more information.

Deacon Gerrie Mempin and Pastor Fr. Herb Essig at the St. Peregrine Relic at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Bolingbrook, IL.

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Your donation will help us to continue the good works of our Ministry Office in publishing and distributing this newsletter. As you can imagine, it costs much to make and mail many of these copies to be sent to parishes, hospitals and prayer centers across the country. Won’t you help us to spread the good word that others are praying for those with serious illness? Thank you for being a St. Peregrine for others and God bless your generosity!

Pilgrimages Near and Far

Here is a schedule of St. Peregrine pilgrimages taking place:

Lenten Spiritual Pilgrimage at the National Shrine of St. Peregrine led by Fr. Robert Pawell, O.F.M., a cancer survivor, on Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 10am to 2pm at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica.

A Spring bus pilgrimage to St. Theresa of the Little Flower Shrine in Darien, IL, is planned for Saturday, June 2, 2012, from 10am to 4pm.

An Advent day of reflection will be held on December 1, 2012, from 10am to 2pm at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica.

A special Holy Land Pilgrimage late January, 2013, will be led by Fr. Chris, O.S.M. and Fr. Hugh Guentner, O.S.M. The calendar is filling up; so we invite you to be with us, in person or in prayerful spirit! Thank you for being pilgrims with us as that is what the name of Peregrine means in Italian: Pellegrino = pilgrim. For more information, please call Fr. Chris at 773.638.0159 x104, or Fr. Hugh at 303.455.0447 x24.

A Sense of Humor is Good Medicine

Norman Cousins once wrote a book entitled, Anatomy of an Illness, As Perceived by the Patient. In the book, he speaks about the necessity of having a helpful sense of humor that can spark the hormone in our brain called the endorphin. This endorphin is needed to lift up our mood in a positive way and to increase our immune system. Even forced laughter is a benefit as the body does not know the difference and will produce the endorphin as you laugh at yourself while looking in the mirror when you rise and shine.

As Cousins wrote… “The Bible tells us that a merry heart works like a doctor... But the evidence that humor works has stimulated the speculations not just of physicians but of philosophers and scholars over the centuries... Robert Burrton cited authorities for his observation that ‘humor purges the blood, making the body young, lively, and fit for any manner of employment.’

Sigmund Freud believed that mirth was a highly useful way of counteracting nervous tension, and that humor could be used as effective therapy (pp. 93-98).”

As Archbishop Timothy Dolan once said, “Humor and laughter have an important place in the life that God desires for us all…happiness is God’s own goal for us: to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with God forever in the next.”

Thank you for using your sense of humor as good medicine today!

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Thank you, St. Peregrine-notes received at the National Shrine of St. Peregrine

“God bless the Servites in their ministry! I was especially gratified recently when I asked for prayers for my mother (age 93) who was to undergo cancer surgery. She is cured and miraculously her old self.

I was personally contacted from the St. Peregrine Office and my mother was enrolled in the St. Peregrine Prayer list. WOW… I’ve often sent in prayer requests to other places and NEVER heard back, much less getting a personal message and request for further information. I’m so very glad to contribute to this cause and I’m glad that you SERIOUSLY promote the St. Peregrine ministry!” signed J. from North Riverside, IL.

One of our senior Servites has joined the team of writing back and praying for our friends. His name is Fr. Jack LeMay, O.S.M. He is 83 years old and has spent 56 years of ministry in South Africa. Even though he has Parkinson’s Disease, he writes to others who also suffer from a physical illness.

Thank You For Supporting Our St. Peregrine Mission

I truly want to thank all our friends who help in continuing the St. Peregrine Mission. Through your financial assistance we are able to provide relic medals, prayer cards, statues, holy oil, upkeep of the National Shrine, tours, pilgrimages, support group and newsletters for Churches and individual persons who want to be blessed by St. Peregrine’s intercession. Thank you to all our friends who are our team members on the internet, and through visits and the mail system. We love to keep in touch and pray with one another in asking for God’s strength and mercy! Thank you for being so helpful and caring!

Prayer for Acceptance

O God, grant us the grace to accept our illness this day and to remember our identity as Children of God. We are bigger than our health condition. Our strength comes from the Holy Spirit, who blesses us with courage and love. Love to overcome our fears and anxieties; that is God’s medicine, to accept the things that we cannot control. And God restores and guides us like He did in St. Peregrine’s life. Thank you God for always giving life and wisdom in abundance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Feast Day Mass Sunday, May 6, �0�� at �pm

The Feast Day Mass in honor of St. Peregrine will be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, Chicago, IL. The 17th Annual Healing Award will be given to Caregivers Sister Rosemary Connelly, Residents, Staff, Families and Friends of Misericordia Heart of Mercy, Rogers Park, IL.

Everyone is welcome to attend for the Mass and Blessing with St. Peregrine’s Relic after Mass. A reception will follow after Mass in the Parish Hall.

Fr. Clement Longa, O.S.M., from Zwaziland, South Africa, blessing pilgrims at the St. Peregrine Mass, OLS Basilica.

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