Graces Received

I am writing as a member of Teams of Our Lady (Fresno Sector, Western Province, United States of America) to communicate a blessing that I believe we received through intercessory prayer through Father Caffarel.
We joined Teams of Our Lady in 2023 after being on the waitlist and attending retreats independently for 3 years. Our first pilot meeting was August 2, 2023 (unbeknownst to us – Father Caffarel’s baptism day) and since my husband and I had been on the waitlist the longest as well as were familiar with TOOL from the retreats, we were asked to host that very first meeting. I had struggled with infertility for several years. It took 2.5 years to conceive our first son who was born in April 2022 after being diagnosed and treated for endometriosis. By summer 2023, we were trying for a second child but a lot of the red flags that my fertility was low were evident again.

The day before that first TOOL meeting in August 2023, I had an ultrasound on my ovaries due to a lot of pain and abnormal bleeding that I was having. I didn’t expect to hear anything for a week or so, but the next day, which was just a few hours before our meeting at our home, I got a call from my doctor informing me that “something” had been found on my ultrasound and I needed to come into the office first thing in the morning. My doctor was even out of town and I was told it couldn’t wait. My mom had battled breast cancer just a few years earlier, so with that trauma, I was a complete mess. As our new Team members arrived at our house, I was fighting back tears. During our first prayer time together,
I cried, and when we stood to pray the prayer for canonization of Father Caffarel, I stood and asked him to intercede for me – that I wouldn’t have cancer and that the problem could be easily fixed.

The next morning, my husband and I drove to my doctor’s office. We were informed that a dermoid cyst was found on my ultrasound. We breathed a sigh of relief that cancer wasn’t a concern and immediately called my endometriosis surgeon as I suspected that this was actually a return of my disease, not a dermoid cyst. Within 4 weeks, I had surgery that removed an endometrioma from my ovary – no dermoid cyst to be found.

Two and a half months later, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Suzanne Rose Jacobsma. She was born on July 30, 2024 – which happens to be Father Caffarel’s birthday, and I know could potentially be his
feast day once canonized. Her due date was on his baptism date – exactly one year after that first meeting that I prayed for his intercession. I didn’t realize this until this summer when I saw an Instagram post from Teams of Our Lady on my daughter’s birthday. While not necessarily a scientific miracle, I see now the blessing of her life being clearly connected to that desperate prayer at our very first Teams meeting on the anniversary of Father
Caffarel’s baptism day, resulting in her due date being exactly one year later, and her birth on his birthday.
I wanted to share that story in case it helps his cause in some way.

Sharla and I would like to share when, we believe, Fr.Caffarel intervened in our lives. We need to celebrate and share events that we, as members, feel in our hearts are occurring due to the intercession of our Founder. Fr. Caffarel truly speaks to us today! He intercedes before the throne of God. The veil between Heaven and earth is very thin. We need to be in constant communication with our Saints and especially, Our Blessed Mother and our Founder of this beautiful Movement. He is ready to help us continually. We only need to ask. We ask you to contemplate the Canonization Prayer: “You planted deep in the heart of your servant, Henri Caffarel, a fountain of love…..and inspired him with a wonderful capacity to speak of Him.”
Sharla and I began speaking to Fr. Caffarel daily in about 2003. We developed a deep friendship with him through his writings, especially, Being Present To God, Letters On Prayer. We bring
our most serious problems to him. We have received miraculous answers to our prayers and want to encourage you to write to the Bulletin to share your stories about Fr. Caffarel. We feel these testimonies will encourage others.

For 9 years, two of our children would not communicate with one another. We prayed during those 9 years for Fr. Caffarel to resolve this relationship. On Fr. Caffarel’s birthday, July 30, 2024,
our son and daughter miraculously resolved all differences! Remember, like Christ, he said, “Come Follow Me” . In fact, these words were put on his grave marker: “VIENS ET SUIS-MOI”
We look forward to your stories of Fr. Caffarel’s intercession in your lives.

Your servants in Christ, Rob and Sharla Walsh
Northwest Region,
USA Super Region

In the spring of 2023, our 32-year-old son had just ended a long but fragile romantic relationship. It was a healthy but very difficult decision for him, who dreamed of getting married and starting a family. This was a time when Father Caffarel’s beatification was often mentioned at Teams of Our Lady events (mass in Paris, Sector day…)

We had made a habit of saying the prayer for Father Caffarel’s beatification every day at the end of our conjugal prayer. Faced with our son’s distress, with ardent faith, we chose to say his first name at the end of this prayer and thus invoke Father Caffarel. Eighteen months later, in January 2025, our son announced that he had met the woman who was to become his wife on September 27. The woman he met shares the same ardent faith as his. It was an immense joy that we fully experienced and we thank Father Caffarel that our son’s long-desired vocation of Christian marriage could be accomplished.

For us, worry gave way to joy and this happy event is a sign of the effectiveness of prayer and the invocation of Father Caffarel, who so greatly magnified the sacrament of marriage. Our attachment to Teams has been strengthened and has led us to take on a responsibility within the movement.

Over the last 2 years, our lives have changed, as Monique & I, at the ages of 76 and 78 years and being free from the burdens and stress of managing our careers, gave up our retired lifestyle with hopes of going on long vacations and trips, and made a total sacrifice for the caring of our grand-daughter. We took her into our home to tend to her medical issues and health, ensure she attended and did well in school, and provided her with a home of love, security, and personal safety. As Jesus did for us, we made a total sacrifice of our personal desires for the good of ourngrand-daughter.

We became aware in June of 2023 that our grand-daughter suffered an unknown illness for several months and that she was attended by her private doctor without success. While she was with us, we took her to 2 different children’s hospitals, during which she had many specialized tests, saw an infectious disease specialist, a rheumatologist, had genetic and bone marrow testing, to no avail. After 9 months of praying for a miracle, (grandparents, Teams of Our Lady couples, and others) from the intercession of Father Caffarel, her symptoms disappeared in mid-March 2024 and have not reappeared.

Here are more details of that miracle involving our grand-daughter, Brieanna M. Harris. In June 2023, Brieanna began to suffer from chills. According to Brieanna, she would sit outside in the sun during the heat of the day in the middle of summer just trying to get warm and to stop her body from having cold-like shivers. In August 2023, we took Brieanna on a short trip and saw Brieanna shivering outdoors on a warm day in the sun. During the night she woke up shaking so violently, that first thing in the morning, we took her directly to emergency room. Randall Children’s Hospital gave her IVs, pain medicine and ran several blood tests. Without finding a cause for her chills and fever, the hospital discharged her.

We took Brieanna back to her home. Several days later Brieanna called us on her cell phone nearvmidnight as she was unable to reach her parents. Her temperature was elevated and she had painful shakes and tremors. (Her bedroom was on the lower floor and her parents room up on the floor above.) We picked up Brieanna and took her back to Randall Children’s Hospital, where they admitted her and scheduled more tests. Her hemoglobin was quite low so Brieanna received a unit of blood. The hospital kept her for several days, consulting with an infectious disease doctor and a rheumatologist. No definitive diagnosis was found and Brieanna was discharged. Several days later, we took Brieanna back to our home on the recommendation of the hospital counselor and we persuaded her parents to let Brieanna stay with us to attend school near our home. In the meantime, while at school and at home her high fevers and uncontrollable shakes continued several times a day. The recommendation of the rheumatologist was to use the max dosage of Tylenol to try to control the cyclic chills and fevers. In spite of this protocol the following week she had a couple episodes of high fever of 105 F, so we took Brieanna to the premier Children’s hospital in Portland, OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. They brought in a team of specialists from the hospital complex and still could not come up with a cause or cure for Brieanna’ pain and suffering. Finally in January of 2024, results from bone marrow testingindicated Brieanna has a genetic marker for severe autoimmune disorder, but she still continued to suffer from periodic chills and high temperatures. We continued to keep Brieanna in our home to give her a safe and loving home as best we could. Chills and fevers continued but became more manageable. Then in March 2024, having prayed consistently to Father Caffarel for her healing, her chills and fevers disappeared.

As Teams of Our Lady Liaison Couples for Father Caffarel, Monique and I prayed daily that Father Caffarel intercede for Brieanna and our family. Our team couples continued to pray as well. On every Friday, for over 2 years and continuing to this day, we joined other 4 other Team couples via Zoom video to pray for Brieanna and another Team member who was undergoing treatment for cancer.

The graces received are not be easily explained. First Brieanna’s medical issues appear to have been cured and not reappeared. The situation brought Brieanna into our home where we find ourselves as “New parents”. Brieanna has done extremely well in school getting high grades and has found many good friends. In the past 2 years, Monique and I have seen a total transformation in Brieanna’s attitude. Previously she exhibited rebellious and angry behavior towards adults. We are blessed to see Brieanna grow into a wonderful person as she brings new life and fresh and youthful love into our home, as we comfort her, she comforts us. We also go to church together and Brieanna is often the one who choses the church; she is certainly family to us.

Impact on our family. Our lives are forever changed. We sacrifice all for the will of God and the good of another over our selves. Brieanna needs a safe, loving home which we believe she was denied for the most part of her life. We are committed to being her refuge and supporting her growth for the next several years. What we are doing for Brieanna is more important and gives us more in return than anything in the world could do. Without Brieanna, I fear our life would be a void and dull existence. With her, we have challenges and joys one could never imagine.

We call the joys receive each day our “Angel Droppings”. Thank you, Jesus.