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  "What a magnitude of grace will be given in Minnesota" |
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Jesus spoke to Christina on her journey to the United States on Friday 18th March 2011. He said; "What a magnitude of grace will be given in Minnesota! In My Mothers' House in Minnesota, there will be great graces and protection. The non-believers will believe, the diseased will be healed and those who are persecuted by evil spirits will be set free. |
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(This place with its chapel and surrounding district was dedicated to St Athony by a person of great devotion. Great is his reward and blessed are his decendants.) There will be great unrest in Minnesota... Fear not. You are a people I love. You are a people who uphold My Commandments. You are a people of My Heart but when this catastrophe comes upon you, you will be pressurised to take a direction not of Mine. |
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 Inside the chapel at Our Lady Queen of Peace House of Prayer, Minnesota |
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I am advising you now to follow everything I am telling you now - always keep close to Me through the refuge I have placed in your midst. There you will find the strength necessary to uphold you in your need. How My mercy abides with you. Uphold My House in which My mercy flows for you and those who come here." My dear little one and My son Gerard, I thank you and bless you for responding to My desire to come to the refuge of Minnesota. When I say 'refuge', I mean 'refuge' for that is what it will be. It is hallowed ground blessed by Me and those who serve and pray here will experience this reward. All who participate in the workings of My Houses will receive from the abundant graces of the Godhead that will touch and pierce the souls of all the |
inhabitants of My Houses. Great is their reward but little is thier knowledge. My dear little one and My son Gerard, I thank you and bless you for responding to My desire to come to the refuge of Minnesota. When I say 'refuge', I mean 'refuge' for that is what it will be. It is hallowed ground blessed by Me and those who serve and pray here will experience this reward. All who participate in the workings of My Houses will receive from the abundant graces of the Godhead that will touch and pierce the souls of all the inhabitants of My Houses. Great is their reward but little is thier knowledge. I bless you through My Sacred Heart in the Godhead of My Father and in the union of The Holy Spirit and in the love of My Immaculate Mother, your Queen. 
For the next several months I worked together with a small group of like-minded people as we pursued the possibilty of having a House of Prayer in our state. By November 2006 the present property in Padua had been purchased and our group was feverishly scrambling to get ready for Christina’s and Father Mc Ginnity’s visit in early December, when our chapel was to be dedicated as a House of Prayer. |
 Opening and dedication ceremony of Our Lady Queen of Peace House of Prayer Padua Minnesota. |
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Meanwhile, at home, my 45 year old son, Steve, was taking advantage of a nice cool evening to go bike riding. At the time none of us was aware of how the events of that late November evening would change the life of Steve Brown, probably forever; nor could any of us have imagined the journey of faith we would all travel together over the next few years. That night Steve suffered a traumatic brain injury in a random beating when his head was hit repeatedly in the same spot. He was left for dead face down on the ground. Because Steve had no identification on him we were not notified of his injuries until two and a half days later when the police called us, having identified him through a fingerprint check. |
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My husband Phil, daugher Pam, and I left immediately for the
hospitial. This was the first of my daily visits with Steve - which still
continue to this day. Surviving a beating like Steve sustained was in itself a miracle. An individual looking out her second story window due to the noise saw a group of people leave the scene and called the police. We know this was Divine Intervention. The police arrived and took Steve immediately to an emergency room, where he was placed in intensive care. It was assumed initally that he had a simple concussion; however when he remained unconscious for three or four days, an MRI was ordered, and it revealed the traumatic brain injury. My work in preparing for the dedication of Our House of Prayer had to be put on hold for the time being, as I immediately turned my attention to the serious needs of my son. Steve was visited several times by a priest and given the Apostolic Blessing. We stormed heaven through Our Lady Queen of Peace with petitions for Steve, a Matrix Medal pinned to his pillow, and a jewelled picture of Our Lady weeping tears of blood. In those first weeks following his injury I dreamt one night that I heard Steve’s voice speaking to me saying, “Mom, I’m so scared” At the time I was also scared; however knowing we were connected in some way, on my daily visits with him I began to speak to his heart, reassuring him and speaking to him of God and the Blessed Mother, praying the Rosary aloud and sprinkling blessed salt and holy water. During these visits I also played spiritual music, massaged his scalp and spoke of current events in the world. Approximately three weeks later when Steve’s condition stabilised, he was transferred to another hospital for further medical care. It was here that Steve awakened one day - after four months in a comatose condition. He had a tracheotomy, IV and abdominal nutritional feedings, incontinence of bowel and bladder, catheter, nasal oxygen, and an inability to speak, with the exception of occasional mumbling. He was unable to move his right arm or leg, which later cased his foot to become twisted from lack of exercise. His right arm, wrist and fingers contracted as the muscles tighened and fingers bent. The pain was excruciating. A swallow test revealed a likelihood of stomach feedings continuing indefinitely, as he was at risk to aspirate and develop pneumonia. Steve’s progress was very slow; however, as days and weeks passed, there were some areas of improvement. The tracheotomy was eventually removed and the oxygen disconnected. The attending physician then suggested that it would be appropriate to transfer Steve to a rehabilitatin centre, stating that he would likely be institutionalised for the rest of his life, with some accompanying behaviour problems. The transfer to this new setting took place in April 2007 and almost immediately the situation changed to four times a day instead of a constant drip. As I drove into the rehab centre that first Sunday, Steve and my daughter Pam were outside sitting in the sun. As I walked over to sit with them, I heard Steve’s voice saying, “Mom, I love you!” and of course, I melted. I began taking him outside in his wheelchsair each day. Twice while outside he sobbed with many questions about why this had occurred and what it meant for his future. Each time the Holy Spirit seemed to prompt me as I shared my thoughts of Divine Intervention and God’s love for us. Steve gradually became more peaceful, gaining an understainding that Our Lord would lead the way and with His help, we would follow. This was the Divine Will of God! In the weeks and months that followed, Our Lord and Blessed Mother were constantly blessing Steve with more changes and upgrades in his condition. He began working with a speech therapist and little by little started becoming more verbal. As we ventured out for our daily walks, we greeted God together, expressing gratitude for Steve’s life. Each day my question to him would be “Why are we grateful to God? and Steve would answer “Because I’m a miracle!” And then he would point up to heaven and say, “He loves me!” |
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 Pilgrims attend the Saturday Novena in Honour of the Most Holy Trinity in Our Lady Queen of Peace House of Prayer Padua Minnesota. |
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These words filled my heart with peace - because prior to Steve’s traumatic injury his church attendance and spiritual life had been almost non-existent. It was obvious to me that Steve’s faith had been re-ignited through all the occurrences of the past year. As Steve and I spent many days, weeks, and months together, he often heard me talking about Our Lady’s House of Prayer on the telephone. Shortly after the Novena to the Holy Trinity began, Steve asked to go the House of Prayer with me. Although this seemed like an impossibility because he was unable to bear any weight on his legs, we decided to do whatever it would take to get Steve to the House of Prayer. With the help of our friend, who lifted Steve from his wheelchair into a vehicle and back again into his wheelchair, Steve was able to attend his first Saturday Novena in Padua in December 2007. Since that first trip, |
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he has been determined to go with me every time I go to the House of Prayer and he has become a regular attendee at the Saturday Novenas! We always sit in the near of the chapel - Steve in his wheelchair and I in the last pew, and on each visit I wheel him up to the front to visit with Our Lady through her lighted image on the altar. Steve hears the voice of the Blessed Mother in his heart, and he feels Her love for him. All who come to the Saturday Novenas are familiar with his outgoing smile and quiet reverence for Our Lady. Along with his growing spiritual fervor, Steve’s physical condition has continued to improve. Surgery to straighten his foot took place in January 2008. This was successful; however, an open wound developed, which finally healed after one year and many applications of blessed oil and medical prescriptions. In the summer of 2008 - despite earlier predictions - the stomach tube was actually removed, and Steve began to eat a regular diet without difficulty. In the midst of all these challenges for Steve, my husband Phil had been diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2007 During his illness Phil was Steve’s room-mate in the rehabilitation centre on several occasions. Later, while my husband was in his final weeks at Our Lady of Good Counsel Cancer Home in St Pau, Steve was transported there several times a week and was able to spend precious time with his father, who was called home in December 2008. In March 2009 doctors successfully performed surgery to correct the wrist and finger contracture of Steve’s right hand. He is now gradually regaining some usage of his right arm and fingers. Through months of bi-weekly physical therapy Steve has been progressivley learning to bear weight on his legs and take steps slowly with assistance. For a number of months during his recuperation his prayer was to be albe to walk down the centre aisle at the House of Prayer in Padua to the image of Our Lady Queen of Peace. In June of this year his heart-felt prayer was answered! With Mom on one side and sister Pam on the other, Steve got up out of his wheelchair and, for the first time, walked with tiny baby steps 15 feet down the aisle to the sanctuary! It was an emotional time, and with tears in our eyes, the three of us offered our love and gratitude to Jesus and His Holy Mother. Without a doubt, the challenges and blessings of the past three years for Steve, Pam and me have been enormous, and yet somehow, our faith has carried us through. As the doctors initally informed us, Steve could easliy have become bitter and resentful with severe behaviour problems after an ordeal like this. However this has not been the case. His loving attitude is obviously a gift from heaven. The Blessed Mother has passed Her smile and love to Steve, who now demonstrates this gift to all around him. T h rough it all, our little trio has grown in our faith walk. We continue to listen to God’s plans for us through Our Lady Queen of Peace House of Prayer in Padua. Although Steve’s speech is often-times difficult to understand, in a clear voice he recently spoke these words, expressing his feelings about all that transpired since that November evening three years ago: “I am a better man because of what happened to me.” Through a long and difficult road, Steve has returned to Jesus and His Holy Mother. Joan Brown USA | ||
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Official Website of Christina Gallagher Our Lady Queen of Peace House of Prayer, Achill and the Houses of Prayer in New York, Minnesota and Florida Fr Gerard McGinnity, parish priest of Knockbridge Co Louth, is the spiritual director of Christina Gallagher. |
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