tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post7131092946671013482..comments2024-03-08T04:08:09.119-05:00Comments on Miracles of the Church: The Wizard Clip -Adam Livingston's miraculous conversionGlenn Dallairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14335880223972671663noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-9514386311760189462022-01-04T21:19:02.633-05:002022-01-04T21:19:02.633-05:00Thanks SteveD for your interesting comments! Thanks SteveD for your interesting comments! Glenn Dallairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14335880223972671663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-25413889185265754132022-01-04T13:18:59.661-05:002022-01-04T13:18:59.661-05:00I was the first Administrator at Priest Field in t...I was the first Administrator at Priest Field in the early '80s when it was finishing construction and opened. Msgr. John O'Reilly was the Director. He was a witty convivial Irishman who loved to preside at the large round tables in the dining room chatting and swapping stories. After his retirement, he was succeeded by Fr. Ted Midile, TOR. Fr. Ted once shocked us, followed by laughter, when he ordered a raw piece of garlic at a local restaurant. “I need a garlic fix”, he said to the waiter in the Harper's Ferry restaurant.<br /><br />Also on the staff was a nun who received her PhD in psychology over the phone shortly after arriving a year later. I won't give her name since she was not a popular addition to the staff. In fact, she was called Atilla the Nun. I received a long letter from a group who had made a retreat at Priest Field in which she had led some meetings for the group. The letter was decidedly unfavorable to Atilla citing her referring to the group as “hookers” (in jest) – they were an organization composed of medical massage therapists. He joke was not received well, and the letter mentioned other bad actions by the sister which I won't go into here. (Anna Marshall, who wrote a book about Adam Livinsgton and Priest Field said the area was "obsessed", not "possessed". I had not previously heard that term. Anna said it meant the activity of spirits associated with the place, not a person.) <br /><br />On the other hand, Sister Connie was a wonderful nun who was a blessing to all she met. I think they were from the School Sisters of St. Francis but my memory may be wrong.<br /><br />In the note above, Unknown referred to his Grandfather – I think he left out about 5 or 6 “greats” before “Grandfather” since the events occurred almost 200 years ago. <br />SteveDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-58160275220718102952021-12-19T11:29:08.908-05:002021-12-19T11:29:08.908-05:00My grandfather helped build Priest Field. I grew u...My grandfather helped build Priest Field. I grew up with him and my grandmother telling me that the spirits from that land would always watch over us. My grandmother said while my Pop Pop was working on the property his undershirts in the drawer would be cut when he went to get dressed and his hair would be cut when he would get up in the morning. He became close friends with the priest that was there during that time. We had blessed rosaries and items in our home and a sketch of the finished building with I still have. I Was told they stayed with us after my grandfather finished his work there. I was never scared. It’s a peaceful area full of amazing energy. It’s amazing seeing this online. I always felt like it was something personal to myself and grandparents. Their home, that I grew up in, was just down the road from Priests Field. I love that area. The streams and land are so beautiful. I hope people read this and go enjoy the blessings that that land holds. Thank you for sharing this!! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-55190712038484432832021-07-08T21:29:37.648-04:002021-07-08T21:29:37.648-04:00Adam Livingston is my Grandfather. My family is pr...Adam Livingston is my Grandfather. My family is proud of our heritage. There are many versions of this story. The moral of them all is keep God in your Heart a nd treat all people with kindess.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04853313706758503790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-30367433590680128062021-04-29T15:39:09.305-04:002021-04-29T15:39:09.305-04:00High, I am a Spanish catholic priest. I just found...High, I am a Spanish catholic priest. I just found this mysterious story and I would like to translate into Spanish, for it is utterly unknown in the Hispanic world. As you state, some details are not in all accounts and even look like a duplet of the same story. For example, the story of the Irish man who died in the property and the mysterious man who later appeared in the house, stayed there 3 days and then left, look pretty similar, like 2 versions of the same event. Which was the true event? But their similarities could be explained by the fact that the second visitor was the soul of the man who died there, revisiting them from Beyond. <br />Without the story of the first visitor the reason of the preternatural phenomena that took place there would remain unexplained, but it is not easy to suppose that those phenomena were caused by the poor souls of Purgatory… They did not seem very harmful, either, though finally an exorcism was performed there. I see there a certain ambiguity of the story, some attributing the phenomena to the poor souls, others to diabolic powers. Everything also seems to be oriented to cause the conversion to Catholicism of that Lutheran family. Brief: the origin of those phenomena is not quite clear. In regards to the question of the name of the place, Priest’s field, most probably it comes from the Voice, which most people believed to be the soul of a former priest. <br />Juan de Dios Joséhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05482280319260704151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-31107570234073364272020-10-26T06:32:05.510-04:002020-10-26T06:32:05.510-04:00Interesting story.Thank you for taking the trouble...Interesting story.Thank you for taking the trouble to engage in this. If there are any similar stories it would be an opportunity to read about these also. <br />The obvious link between purgatory and Catholic Eucharist is part of the genogram experience. When a family tree is made available and used in conjunction with Eucharist (incorporated with prayers for the dead) things can change dramatically- that has been my personal experience. "Healing the family tree" by Dr. Ken McCall has various examples - the first edition included haunted castles- and the emphasis here again is on the power of the Catholic Eucharist. [McCall began his operative as an Anglican]Healing the family tree is a regular feature of the catholic charismatic renewal, which is a more recent mystical experience in the Catholic church.<br />One story told to us as boys (about 1953), was of an unknown woman who 'appeared' and gazed sadly at one male child of a family at night, when the latter was asleep in bed (seen by a second boy who was awake it seems in the same bedroom) then disappeared. A priest was sought, and a mass said after it was discovered that a woman who previously occupied the house had committed suicide when she learned her husband had been unfaithful (the details were omitted probably because college boys aged about eleven were highly impressionable). After the mass was said, the appearances of the woman ceased. <br /> Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-61054542130728771552018-06-08T20:35:24.943-04:002018-06-08T20:35:24.943-04:00https://jesuitonlinelibrary.bc.edu/?a=d&d=wlet...https://jesuitonlinelibrary.bc.edu/?a=d&d=wlet19070201-01.2.12Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11791033849994465458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-75298891107460709512016-06-26T13:52:13.358-04:002016-06-26T13:52:13.358-04:00Some hand-me-down stories say all types of things ...Some hand-me-down stories say all types of things happened. His money disappeared. Some of his chickens’ heads fell off. His barn burned down and his cattle all died. All the crockery in the house suddenly fell to the floor and broke. Wood jumped out of the fireplace onto his floor. But all agree that the clipping started.<br /><br />The strangest manifestation of all was the sound of invisible scissors and the clipping of cloth. Blankets and sheets and clothing were clipped by the invisible shears, and though the sound could be heard, nothing was to be seen until the holes appeared in the garment or the sheet or whatever was attacked. The holes were in the form of half moons. <br /><br />This attracted attention from near and far. Many from Shepherdstown visited. Though some came with skepticism, most left believing. <br /><br />One woman had a shawl clipped full of holes. Before she entered the house, she had placed the shawl in her pocketbook for its protection. When she came out of the house, she took her well-liked shawl from her pocketbook only to find it clipped full of little half moons. <br /><br />One man seemed to have been treated extremely badly. He was a non-believer and entered the house wearing his swallowtail coat. When he came back outside, his swallowtails had been snipped to shreds.<br /><br /><br /><br />The dream<br /><br />One night Livingston had a dream. He envisioned himself toiling up a steep mountain. Reaching the top, he saw a man in clerical robes and a voice said, “This is the man who can help you.” Things continued to happen. <br /><br />Finally, he humbled himself and went to Leetown to see Richard McSherry, a Roman Catholic.<br /><br />The following Sunday, Adam Livingston accompanied McSherry and Mr. Minghinni to the service in the little Catholic church in Shepherdstown to hear the Rev. Dennis Cahill celebrate Mass.<br /><br />When Father Cahill appeared and began his sermon, Livingston was very agitated. “This is the man I saw in my dream,” he gasped. “His is the voice that said he would relieve me.”<br /><br />After the service, Livingston told the priest his story and urged Father Cahill to come to his home. The priest sprinkled the house with holy water. Some of the manifestations were modified, but the clippings continued. <br /><br />Then Father Cahill celebrated Mass for the repose of the soul of the stranger, and the clipping stopped. <br /><br />The deed for the 34 acres was executed Feb. 21, 1802. The trustees died and the land was taken over by the Minighinni family. <br /><br />Eventually, a court case was brought over the 34 acres. Judge J. M. Woods decided in favor of the church and appointed J.A. Curran of Harpers Ferry and William Butler of Shepherdstown as new trustees. <br /><br />On June 23, 1922, Fathers Curran and Butler had a large gathering to celebrate the restoring of the property to the church. <br /><br />Priestfield is now a pastoral center and retreat. It is located along W.Va. 51, in Jefferson County near the creek and Berkeley County division line."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-73975539984229414122016-06-26T13:50:42.303-04:002016-06-26T13:50:42.303-04:00Regarding the comment above concerning Fr. J.A. Cu...Regarding the comment above concerning Fr. J.A. Curran:<br /><br />From the article <a href="http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/500237.html?nav=5004" rel="nofollow">The mystic of Priest’s Field</a>:<br />"Wizard Clip<br /><br />One of the first stories I remember that my mother told me was of the Wizard Clip. <br /><br />As I got older and interested in history, I found that the story was recorded in local history books such as the 1883 Hardesty history. <br /><br />The deed, dated Fev. 21, 1802, states that the Rev. David Cahill, clergyman of the Church of Rome, had “given particular pleasure to the said Adam Livingston who wishes to bestow on the Rev. Dennis Cahill some lasting proof of his intent.”<br /><br />The deed was conveying for $1 from Adam Livingston and his wife, Mary, to Richard McSherry and Clement Price, for a tract of land lying along the east side of the Opequon Creek containing 34 3/4 acres and 20 perches for the use of Richard McSherry, Joseph Minghinni, Clement Pierce and their heirs.<br /><br />The tract of land originally was part of 203 acres granted by Thomas Lord Fairfax in 1760 to William Hiett, who sold it to Christian Fox, who sold it in 1772 to Adam Livingston, who was from Lancaster County, Pa.<br /><br />The Shepherdstown Register on Thursday, Nov. 9, 1922, carried an article titled “At the Priest’s Field.”<br /><br />It started by stating that an interesting service was held on All Soul’s Day at the Priest’s Field near Middleway, Jefferson County, where the Right Rev. Dennis J. O’Connell, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Va., celebrated three Masses of the repose of souls connected with a strange event in our local history. <br /><br />The article stated that the Rev. Alfred E. Smith, editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Catholic Review and secretary to the late Cardinal Gibbons, said that the Priest’s Field story is the truest ghost story ever told.<br /><br />Adam Livingston came from Lancaster County, Pa., and purchased 70 acres and all went well until a stranger appeared in the night at Livingston’s house and asked for accommodations. <br /><br />He was taken in and cared for by the Livingstons. He appeared to be ill, and after several weeks, became much worse. The stranger realized his end was approaching, and told Livingston he was a Catholic and begged that he contact a priest. <br /><br />Livingston told him he did not know of one in the neighborhood and if he did he would not care for him to come to his home. The stranger died unshriven.<br /><br />The corpse was laid out and one of the neighbors, Jacob Foster, agreed to sit up with the body that night, it being the custom at the time. Foster lit candles in the room where the body lay, but the candles flickered and went out. Others were lit by both Foster and Livingston, but were mysteriously extinguished. Foster soon excused himself and went home.<br /><br />Livingston was not superstitious but just could not stay in the room with the dead body. It was a full moon night and the moon seemed almost as bright as day. <br /><br />As Livingston lay in an adjoining room, he heard horses galloping around and around the house. He jumped up and looked out the window at the moonlit lawn and road but there were no horses. He was glad when daylight came. He buried the stranger that same day in unconsecreated ground.<br />(continued below)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-15770346587831536742014-03-07T17:17:21.671-05:002014-03-07T17:17:21.671-05:00The crescent shape clipped to ruin items in the Li...The crescent shape clipped to ruin items in the Livingston's home is surely symbolic: <br /><br />In the image ("not made by human hands") of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the crescent under her feet is a symbol of Satan, which in the Aztec-Mayan culture was called "the feathered serpent" whose symbol was the crescent moon. It means that Our Lady and conquors the Devil, in the same way that she tramples the snake on the Miraculous medal.<br /><br />I also note that the crescent moon is the symbol of Islam; in the animism of pre-islamic Arabia, "allah" was the name of the moon-god; Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-64666125771146873602013-07-03T01:05:17.815-04:002013-07-03T01:05:17.815-04:00Dear Readers.
The audio book named " A Royal ...Dear Readers.<br />The audio book named " A Royal Mother and Son " by Pauline Von Hugel can be downloaded free on<br />http//archive.org for anyone wanting to know the background of Fr Gallitzin.<br /><br />A very good website, thankyou Glenn. God Bless.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-30239506555908626802011-12-04T18:34:09.523-05:002011-12-04T18:34:09.523-05:00Hi Betty,
It is nice to meet you. Thank you for yo...Hi Betty,<br />It is nice to meet you. Thank you for your comments.<br /><br />I am glad to hear of your devotion to Father Demetrius Gallitzin---he was an extraordinary priest, and I am joyful that his cause is progressing, and I pray that he might be canonised someday, God willing.<br /><br />This article is really a collection of information from a large variety of sources, primarily the ones that I listed at the bottom of the article, however I did take a good deal of info from newspaper and magazine articles that are on the net, along with tidbits from various books by searching within "Google books" which I have found to be an excellent resource.<br /><br />Thanks again for your kind comments and may God bless you and your loved ones,<br />Glenn DallaireGlenn Dallairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14335880223972671663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-90332898617558668512011-12-03T21:02:29.007-05:002011-12-03T21:02:29.007-05:00Dear Glenn-My research on Gallitzin has been exten...Dear Glenn-My research on Gallitzin has been extensive-25 years now. Your article was well researched & you used my fav. pic of him!I have a few questions of you and of Tina & Anon. of Nov.21 @ 10:49pm if this is possible. You may give them my email if they want.<br />BettyBettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-34331307965825477922011-12-03T20:58:16.959-05:002011-12-03T20:58:16.959-05:00Mr. Dallaire- I would love to know where you recei...Mr. Dallaire- I would love to know where you received your info for this article-it is well done & you show my favorite pic of Gallitzin! I have been researching Gallitzin for 25 years, interviewed A. Marshall,Franciscans@ Priest's Field, have collected & read ALL Gallitzin letters communicated w/the gr-daughter of the judge who released land to Church & read all possible on Clip (but not Fr. Curran's book) I would very much like to communicate further w/you and Tina & Anon. of Nov.21@10:49pm-you may give them my email if they would like.<br />BettyBettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-27403942045545357782011-11-21T22:49:21.207-05:002011-11-21T22:49:21.207-05:00The man who died in the home who was deprived of t...The man who died in the home who was deprived of the Last Rites was, in fact, a priest, secretly sent by the Vatican to investigate the amazing events. He was buried on the farm, and a rose bush was planted on his grave to conceal the burial spot. This bush could be seen in 1972, when I heard of the details of this remarkable event. I undersatnd this wild rose bush was well known into recent years. It may, in fact, still be there. Your article does mention a "cemetery" was located on the property. The name "Priest's Field" was designated by the burial of the priest, not the use of the property by the Church. The clipped artifacts (clippings always in the shape of a crescent) saddle, boots, curtains, papers and other relics were shipped to the Vatican via the Hague by Gallitzen, under diplomatic protection. The ship was lost in the North Sea appraoch to Amsterdam. Many details of the Wizard's Clip I read in a remarkable account written by Fr. Curran, a Marist priest. The Marists at one time had a summer retrat at Harper's Ferry. The booklet was in the the library stacks at Catholic University, where I read it in the Summer of 1972. The book eventually disappeared, along with all other books on mystical, occult and other miraculous events. For many years I had my own copy of Fr. Curran's book. Through time and circumstance, I have lost that treasure. There is more to this story, and I wish you had uncovered it. The present ministry, I believe, is still under the auspices of the Franciscans. I knew a Franciscan ten years ago who said he visited there many times and he thought there was a rose bush in Priest's Field. PilgrimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-63561826211705230512011-11-21T19:08:54.045-05:002011-11-21T19:08:54.045-05:00Thank you Joseph, Anonymous, Betty, Tina and Victo...Thank you Joseph, Anonymous, Betty, Tina and Victoria for your kind comments.<br /><br />Tina:<br />I especially wanted to thank you for the stories and additional information that you shared. The details you shared are very interesting!<br />Thanks again,<br />-Glenn DallaireGlenn Dallairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14335880223972671663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-25235506602111119642011-11-21T14:01:29.720-05:002011-11-21T14:01:29.720-05:00What a beautifully written story. I felt I was the...What a beautifully written story. I felt I was there. I decided yesterday , come January , to have monthly mass for me while alive and for the holy souls in purgatory. $20 a month is an eternal investment. Now that you can take to the heavenly bank.victoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06507815196530049726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-22820576988137828142011-11-21T13:30:33.554-05:002011-11-21T13:30:33.554-05:00Thanks for writing up this story, one that I have ...Thanks for writing up this story, one that I have been familiar with since childhood.<br /><br />This place is not far from where I live. I grew up hearing this story. The local pastor told my mother about it in the 50s. We used to visit the vacant field there once in awhile and walk around saying the rosary. <br /><br />All that was there, was a vacant little wooden church which had fallen into disuse and disrepair. My mother even came across the wooden Tabernacle which had been put into the nearby stream there as a table on which to cut bait! My mother rescued and kept it for years, later returning it to the Diocese after the retreat center had been established.<br /><br />I hope readers will search for more of the details from your links. <br /><br />One detail I remember was that the Voice put the Common Book of Prayer in the chamber pot to dissuade the now-Catholic family from using it. Yup, a rather politically-incorrect occurrence that gets overlooked in the re-telling. LOL.<br /><br />Another detail, when the Voice imprinted the cloth with the burning hand print, it cried out saying that the burning flames of Purgatory were indeed real, inflicting real pain. [It is theorized that because souls do not have their body in Purgatory, that the pains are much more excruciating than on earth, since here on earth, our bodies help mitigate our suffering].<br /><br />The Livingstons left the land to the Church for devotional use. At one point, because of the disuse of the land, the Church eventually established the retreat center because of the risk of losing that land. The land was to revert back to the family if the Church didn't use it!<br /><br />Thanks again for posting this story - maybe you can add more!Tinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04564556582097190035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-73870634371839724342011-11-21T11:13:01.802-05:002011-11-21T11:13:01.802-05:00Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blo...Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family, Amen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-12054830379463685772011-11-20T12:48:44.884-05:002011-11-20T12:48:44.884-05:00I have read alot about the Catholic church but I h...I have read alot about the Catholic church but I had never read about this great story...it is an awesome and inspiring read! Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-9039319503970631012011-11-20T11:20:27.545-05:002011-11-20T11:20:27.545-05:00If anyone from the Bedford or Blair Co.PA area kno...If anyone from the Bedford or Blair Co.PA area knows the location of the farm where A. Livingston died in 1820 it would be historically important as the "voice" promised to stay with him. Many of the local Livingston's are unaware of this "Clip" history.Bettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-23408053627165808572011-11-19T19:07:49.574-05:002011-11-19T19:07:49.574-05:00I have read portions of this story on small tracts...I have read portions of this story on small tracts on the holy souls. I didnt realize who the people were until know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267679816903991197.post-46734772584039703592011-11-15T12:06:12.125-05:002011-11-15T12:06:12.125-05:00WOW! This is really amazing and inspiring. I had n...WOW! This is really amazing and inspiring. I had never heard of this story before. Thanks for posting this!Joseph J.noreply@blogger.com