What Pete Fountain is to New Orleans and to the world of Jazz, Ambros Seelos is to Germany and to the Big Band Sound.Ambros Seelos’ great-grandfather, Ambrose (born 1817), was the brother of Francis Xavier

Seelos (born 1819). Like Fountain, Ambros Seelos is an internationally-known musician whose career began in the 1960s. The Pete Fountain family are devotees of Father Seelos, and the Seelos Welcome Center orientation room was recently named in their honor.

Volume LNumber 7

National Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos

In the Redemptorist Church of Saint Mary’s Assumption

www.seelos.org919 Josephine Street New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 525-2495 / (504) 525-2499 July 2011

Around the time that Francis Seelos arrived in America in 1843, Niagara Falls had become the country’s best-known natural wonder and a major tourist attraction. In 1842, Charles Dickens described it as “Nature’s greatest altar,” and wrote, “What voices spoke from out the thundering waters; what faces, faded from the earth, looked out upon me from its gleaming depths; what Heavenly promise glistened in those angels’ tears, the drops of many hues, that showered around, and twined themselves about the gorgeous arches which the changing rainbows made.” So sacred was this place that some Christians claimed to have seen the face of Jesus in the rainbow mists. The author Longfellow and the artist Frederick Church attempted to capture Niagara’s majestic force in print and on canvas, while Mark Twain approached the commercialization of the Falls with his trademark satire. Even Congressman Abraham Lincoln, standing at Niagara’s edge in September 1848, was inspired to compose an unfinished essay on its grandeur.

Likewise, “the Apostle of the Niagara Frontier,” as Saint John Neumann is called, jocularly referred to the Falls as “his baptismal font.” He could hear it from where he lived, “just like a heavy hailstorm.” Incidentally, hailstorms seemed to follow him. Years later, when Neumann and Seelos were both assigned to a large parish in Pittsburgh, Seelos recalled: “Our dwelling was so poor that one night we had to leave our room in a severe storm and seek protection elsewhere, because the water was pouring down on our beds. I say our room because we were in one and the same room, which was separated only by a curtain. For that reason I could hear [Father Neumann] often saying his prayers during the night. He slept so little that I could not understand how he could keep his body and soul together. Because he generally got up before the regular rising time, he prepared the fire, often bringing up coal himself to have the room warm for me when I got up.”

Saint John Neumann, canonized in 1977, is the first U.S. bishop, priest, or man to receive this honor. Let us pray this his fellow Redemptorist confrere and storm mate will soon follow.

Nature’s greatest altar“About six weeks ago my Mother was rushed to the hospital with a severe gall bladder attack. The

doctors ran a series of tests and after a week told her to go home and get plenty of rest, so that she could build herself up for the operation. The tests had proved conclusively that the operation was necessary. Two years ago a doctor told me that Mother could not withstand surgery because of a heart condition. Mother knew this but gave her whole-hearted approval for the operation. For five nights after the operation her condition was critical and it looked very much as though she would not recover. She would either point to or ask me to read the little prayer of Father Seelos, which she had pinned to her gown. The doctor played a big part in the success of the operation, but my Mother’s faith in Christ, the Blessed Virgin and Father Seelos is what helped her over the hump. Yesterday the doctor told her that she is indeed fortunate to be here and that all she needs for full recovery is rest.”

Volume I, No. 6 of this newsletter, Oct. 1962

Ambrose Seelos

Seelos Center Services Pilgrimages to Seelos Shrine & Museum. Call Center: 504-525-2495 or 525-2499. M-F, 9-3; Sat, 10-3:30 Daily Prayer Message 504-586-1803

Blessings of the Sick with a Seelos Crucifix in designated area hospitals:

East Jefferson Gerry Heigle: 504-482-4404 Teresa LaCour: 504-887-0214Ochsner (Kenner) Linda DiMaggio: 504-287-8732Ochsner Mark/Monica Surprenant 504-895-5371Uptown/Innercity Jack Pitkin: 504-524-6591 Dennis Waldron: 504-442-6336Westbank Elaine Freeman: 504-341-2213 Michelle Wilcox: 504-228-2291Abbeville/Erath/Lafayette Boniface ‘Boni’ Suire: 337-937-5675Baton Rouge Gloria Bacque: 225-753-3800 Marie Giorlando: 225-615-7888Bogalusa Mary Haaga: 985-735-1056Covington Dr. Ann Logarbo: 985-886-0218 April Mayo: 985-892-1828Houma/Thibodaux Dan Montz, L.P.C.: 985-446-1805Lacombe/Abita Springs Billy Bachemin: 985-288-7006Lafayette/New Iberia/Morgan City Fred Roy: 337-380-0646LaPlace Courtney Guidry: 985-653-1343 Mandeville David Brumfield: 985-886-9235 Lisa & Eric Johnsen 985-845-8116New Iberia/Abbeville/Jeanerette Rachel Gonsoulin: 337-224-7855Picayune/Carriere, MS Charlotte Carolla: 601-916-4233 Ponchatoula/Hammond Gasper Corpora: 225-294-5938Prairieville/Gonzales M/M Claude Bourgeois 225-673-6688 Shreveport/Bossier City Tom & Marjorie Rivers: 318-797-3116Slidell Carmelie Mancuso: 985-502-7325 Mary Jo Stewart: 985-502-9033St. Bernard/Arabi Patricia Noote: 504-756-4163

Byron Miller, C.Ss.R.

Message froM the editor

“FOR ME TO BE A SAINT means to be myself,” wrote Thomas Merton. “Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of

discovering my true self. Trees and animals have no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them, and they are perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please.”

Regarding our sa lvat ion, Pascal noted that humanity was lost and saved in a garden—referr ing of course to the Gardens of Eden and Gethsemane. Perhaps then, when Jesus was confused for a gardener after emerging from the tomb (Jn. 20:15), the mistaken identity was not completely erroneous.

Behind the Seelos Shrine in New Orleans is a verdant courtyard where magnolia and palm trees soar, and large cackling birds emit more noise pollution than a bikers convention. At one time this lush green space housed the actual rectory where Father Seelos seemed perfectly satisfied among “the southern plants,” as he described them. “It is good to be here in the bright warm south,” Seelos said. “Here is my home … Here I’ll rest my bones … for I think I have wandered enough. I shall never leave New Orleans.”

In Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” after Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden, the Archangel Michael tells Adam to find “A paradise within thee, happier far.” Surrounded by a monastery garden, Francis Seelos had discovered his true self—and having done so, he could even embrace death to yellow fever in a sanctified manner. Why? Because Seelos cultivated a lifelong belief in his salvation and loudly crowed about it! He unmistakably identified with the Master Gardener, who freed him from the permanent pollution of sin to open the garden gates of paradise!

How rooted are you in your own sanctity and salvation?

People of the nineteenth century were generally more inclined to capture their experiences and feelings in poetic verse. Francis Seelos was a man of his own time, who expressed himself in these words on October 18, 1864, while in New York City:

Beyond, in the beautiful meadow of heaven,

Where the blossoms do not look faded;

Beyond, where everything is budding,

everything blossoming,And gleams fragrant

in the new sun of heaven;Beyond, where the fruits

of life are eternally ripeningAnd cold winds do not whistle

through leafless branches;Beyond, where God’s children

play in green groves,And the joyful heart feels

the glow of pure love;Beyond, where a beam of love

nourishes now the tired heartAnd it now, fully satisfied,

desires nothing more.There, yes there alone

Is my pleasure one day to be;There, where a God loves us,

Nothing clouds our love.There, where our love

will be so pureAnd yet will be so full.

There, where a paradiseWill know how to tell us

Everything God has done—And what he can do—

When he rewards virtueThat then lives in light;

She who once was heavily burdened

Feels herself now fully blessed….

Vintage photo of the courtyard that once included the rectory where Father Seelos lived

Cheerful Ascetic, 480-pg.hard- bound biography by Fr. M.Curley that captures Seelos’ piety & personality; index/photos (Donation: $30, incl.p/h)

.999 Fine Silver Seelos Medal Round, 3/4” dia., with loop; brushed image with polished reverse & edge. Marked with .999 FS on reverse top. (Donation: $58 - includes p/h).

Willy Finds Victory: A Blessed Francis Seelos Story, Introduce youth, ages 7-12, to Fr. Seelos in this 110-page illustrated book by Joan Stromberg (Donation: $13, incl. p/h)

Statue of Bl. Seelos, Roman Inc. exclusive 8-1/4” hand-painted finish, fine detail, resin-stone mix. (Dona-tion: $38 - includes p/h)

Seelos Scapular: B&W images of Bl. Seelos & Mother of Perpetual Help, each measuring approx. 3/4” on cord necklace. Made in Brazil. (Donation: $12 - includes p/h)

Seelos Healing Card: a deluxe remembrance card for someone in need of healing. (Donation: $12, contact Seelos Ctr. for enrollment)Seelos, Tireless Intercessor, a 68-min. documentary on Seelos’ miraculous life; seen on EWTN. (Donation: $25 for DVD - incl. p/h)

Seelos Hematite Rosary, round rosary beads & silver-colored cross with Bl. Seelos image as the divider medal. (Donation: $26 - incl.p/h)

Seelos Bust, plaster with deep gold finish, weighs over 5.5 lbs. Hand-crafted in New Orleans, approx. 11.5”H x 8”W x 5.5”D (Donation: $97 - incl. certified p/h)

A Seelos Vigil Candle will burn near his sacred resting place in Seelos Shrine, New Orleans, for an offering of $4.

Seelos 1st, 2nd & 3rd-Class Relics/ See-los Pamphlets & Prayer Cards in English, Spanish, Vietnamese. Call Seelos Center, 504-525-2495 or 2499.

Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.

Seelos Center Devotionals

Sponsor Seelos Book Collection: Death, Where is Your Sting?,Cheerful Ascetic,Sincerely Seelos, The Cumberland Years, The Little Way of Faithfulness to any U.S. library, campus, or seminary of choice in a personal way or in a loved one’s memory. Contact the Seelos Center or kindly designate your intentions in the enclosed envelope. A book plate on the verso of each book’s front cover will inscribe your name as donor & the person(s) in whose honor or memory these cherished books are given. Sponsorship for the 5 books is $100 (+ $10 s/h). Please consider a unique and useful legacy that will inspire future generations of readers!

GREAT GIFT IDEA!

Kingston, NYI look forward to this newsletter. Besides being informative, it is spiritual. Bl. Seelos has become very special to me, my husband, and many of my friends. He does hear our prayers and petitions always.Whitehall, PAYour newsletter is always interesting and spiritually uplifting. I have sincere devotion to Bl. Seelos and pray for his cause often during the day and at Holy Mass. Thank you for your diligent reporting. St. Rose, LAI’ve been receiving my newsletter for the last few months, and really have enjoyed all the wonderful information in them. I decided to order one for my Mom because I knew she would love it too. Duson, LAOur visit to the Shrine was very enjoyable and inspired. The St. Benedict Church Altar Ladies gave the most feedback on the peace they found in the Shrine and the beauty of the church. Thanks to you and your staff for being so nice to us.Prairie du Chien, WII’ve been to the Seelos Center and was given a very nice tour. Since that time in 2008, I have been praying to Fr. Seelos for many favors; although they were mostly personal, he never has let me down. Liguori, MOWe [Three Redemptorist Brothers] traveled to New Orleans to visit the Bl. Seelos Shrine and it is always a spiritual moment visiting his resting place. Want to say “wow” to what was done to the old convent to make it the new visitors center. Makes me proud of what has been done for our brother, Bl. Seelos. Truly beautiful.

NATURE & NURTURE The SWC landscaping is

lovingly maintained by:Ronald & Joan LeBlanc,

Zack Myrick, Gasper & Cindy

Bivalacqua, Mary Biundo, Sis Pertuit

harahaN, laNote to the wonderful staff at the Seelos Center: I wish to thank all of you for your kind assistance on the day of the Healing Mass. My grandson was dangerously ill in ICU on Friday; moved to a room on Saturday, and then released that night so we could attend the healing service. He, his parents, and I all experienced peace, and the hours we spent there seemed like minutes. His chances of survival were slim only five days before the Mass with his kidneys shutting down, high fever and bleeding at one point with his Crohn’s disease difficulty.

siMMesport, laOur grandson has cancer and the doctors gave us no hope. The FDA has a new drug which can kill the blood supply that feeds the tumor on his spine that left him paralyzed. Now the tumor has shrunk so much, the doctor could not even measure it. Thank you, Fr. Seelos. We are seeing a miracle happen before our eyes.

gulf breeze, flMy grandson was born with a congenital heart defect; four problems with his heart, one of which was a hole in his heart. Doctors wanted to wait until at least 3 or 4 months to have corrective surgery. Spells that caused him to turn temporarily blue determined that the surgery be done as soon as possible. I had been praying for Fr. Seelos’ intercession and prior to the surgery, my husband, the baby’s mother and I put the Seelos relic on the baby’s chest and joined in prayer in a circle around him. After his pre-op tests and another EKG the next day, the surgeon

astounded us when he announced that the baby’s heart showed that he did not need surgery and that in fact, if he wanted to play football when he is older, he could! Another pediatric cardiologist said this was nothing short of a miracle.

lafayette, laI had been suffering with a Baker’s cyst behind my knee. I began putting the Seelos oil on my knee and praying the Seelos prayer that I obtained from my visit to your Welcome Center. I did this for 2-3 days, and to my delight, the pain subsided. It seems like a minor event, but it meant a lot to me, and I attribute this to prayers answered by Bl. Seelos.

thibodaux, laSince I first “met” Bl. Seelos 12 years ago, I’ve always felt that he was there to pray with me. My mom’s health was in decline and congestion made it difficult for her to breathe or swallow. She soon became dehydrated and fell into dementia, but she continued to whisper my name over and over – she must have said it thousands of times. Though she was Protestant, I told her that I was pinning my Seelos relic & picture on the wall above her bed in the nursing home. The next day I could tell that the end was near. My wife and I placed the Seelos relic on her as the death rattle became more pronounced. For the first time that day, she didn’t respond at all, didn’t say my name. We began the Divine Mercy chaplet for her. When we entered the final decade, she began breathing deeply and calmly, and I saw

that her continence had relaxed. At the chaplet’s completion, I placed my hand on my mom’s face, kissed her on the forehead, and told her that I loved her. Though her eyes remained closed, she smiled for the first time in weeks, and a tear rolled from her eye onto my hand. My wife kissed my mom and told her she loved her too. Mom smiled again, took a long, relaxing breath, and passed. I’ve never experienced such joy. We both knew that Bl. Seelos and St. Faustina had been with us the whole time, and that through their intercession, Jesus had bestowed his awesome divine mercy at the hour of my mom’s death.

PLEASE VISIT WWW.SEELOS.ORG AS WE celebrate a quarter MILLION HITS!

Make a Self-Guided Retreat with Bl. Seelos: All 6 for $13, incl. p/h

testiMoNials

Dear Father Byron: In my own way, I want to support the cause of Blessed Francis Seelos in gratitude for Graces Received & Prayers Answered. $_________ to be used for:

the ministry & maintenance at the National Shrine of Bl. Francis Seelos. furnishing & completing the new Seelos Welcome Center. Other item(s) designated below:

My Intention(s) at Weekly Mass for Seelos Benefactors:

Please make donations payable to “National Shrine of Blessed Francis Seelos”.

Contributions to the Seelos Shrine are income tax deductible, less items purchased.

Seel

os C

ente

r New

s A monthly newsletter for friends of BL. FRANCIS X. SEELOS

Denver Provincial Superior:Very Rev. Harry Grile, C.Ss.R.

Seelos Center Executive Director / Editor: Rev. Byron Miller, C.Ss.R.

Seelos Center Administrator: Joyce BourgeoisVice-Postulators: Frs. John Vargas & Byron Miller

Seelos Center News (USPS 4472) published monthlyby the Redemptorists / National Shrine of Bl. F.X. Seelos

Subscription is $12 per year.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS!The Ho ly Apos t le & M a r t y r , S t . J u d e Thaddeus is known as the helper in “hopeless” cases. Solid 12” statue f rom the DiGiovanni Sta tua ry Co l l ec t i on weighs a full 5 pounds (no resin!), painted in tasteful, lifelike colors. The 45-page booklet o f f e r s p r a y e r s & novenas and explains how St. Jude earned h i s repu ta t i on as a p o w e r f u l h e l p e r i n extreme need. Limited offer, while items last! ($29 includes s/h)

Please delete me from your mailing list.

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Kindly return in the enclosed envelope with any corrections or

call 504-525-2495 or 2499or e-mail bmiller@seelos.org Allow a minimum of 30 days

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