Speaking of Miracles: The Faith Experience at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Ann in Scranton, Pennsylvania

I have seen Father Yuhaus with online mass at their website [...] and he is the holiest man I have seen next to the pope. I knew I had to read his book. I found it very interesting. He has gone in to great extent to bring you up to date of the history of St. Ann. As a genealogist I appreciate that and really enjoyed it. Father Cassian has a great sense of humor as well. If you want to feel the presence of holiness then I suggest you read this book. It will move you. There is nothing dry or boring about it. The letters are very moving and inspiring. Father Cassian I am sure will be a great saint. Thank you Father Cassian for opening my eyes! May God Bless you more and more. May St. Ann the grandmother of Jesus bless us all.

Incredible book. I've actually met Father Cassian in person. He is an amazing man. I understand he is sick right now. My thoughts and prayers go out to him.

This is the story of the Passionist community of the Catholic Church and more directly the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Ann in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which was founded as a monastery in 1902. This is the story of and about the many Priests and laypeople who have worked so hard over the years to make the basilica what it is today and it is the story of a great Novena that draws thousands to Scranton every year. Most importantly though, this is the story of the many miracles attributed to the intercession of Saint Ann, the grandmother of Jesus. Much of this book is taken up with the history of the basilica and monastery and while the story is fascinating it does tend to be a bit dry in places. The authors obviously didn't want to leave anything or anybody out of their account but the final product would have profited if there were more letters and less history. On the other hand, there were places where the history was truly fascinating. One such narrative involved problems caused by mine shafts under the property that almost caused the entire project to slide right off of the hill upon which it is located and the miraculous end to that crisis. Father Frechette actually offers up some of the more interesting and moving stories as he tells of his work in Haiti, which is of course a long way from Scranton. I am sure however that the stories of the shrine's history would be far more interesting for locals than they were for me. The highlights of this book are the letters sent in from people who have visited the shrine and have asked St. Ann for her intervention. Letter after letter relates accounts of sickness and hard times that people were facing and of the miraculous cures and solutions that came after requests for help were made to St. Ann. Despite some very noticeable grammatical errors, these letters highlight for the reader a faith that can and has moved mountains and many of the letters are extremely moving for their simplicity and unequivocal trust in God and His Church. One letter in particular contained a prayer written by St. Francis de Sales entitled, "Your Cross" that I had never come across but it is not a prayer that I shall soon forget. That gem alone was well worth any effort that I put into reading this book. Sometimes the writing is a bit disjointed and some parts of the book are as dull as dishwater but the bright spots more than make up for the rough edges. For devotees of St. Ann this book is a must and anyone who reads it will find that their faith in miracles is strengthened. Miracles still happen every day and this book serves as a potent reminder of that fact.