Fr. Thomas Frederick Price and Philip Gerard Johnson

In December of 2008, I read this post on Fr. Price.

Philip kindly sent me a few prayer cards and I promised to pray for him daily.

The back of the prayer card reads as follows:

"In Caritate Non Ficta"

Please pray daily for Philip Gerard Johnson who is battling a brain tumor:

Father Thomas Frederick Price, intercede for our brother, Philip Gerard Johnson. Heavenly Father, who desires that the faithful be drawn to the heroic virtues of Your priest, Fr. Thomas Frederick Price, grant Your healing gifts to Your son Philip Gerard Johnson. We ask this in the Holy Name of Your Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

- Reverend Father Philip Tighe
Diocese of Raleigh, NC

Imprimatur:
+ Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge
Bishop of Raleigh, North Carolina
December 4, 2008

Father Price was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1860. He studied at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and was ordained to the priesthood in 1886. Within a few years of ordination, Father Price, infused with a zeal for evangelism, took the teachings of the Catholic Church statewide. In 1899, he established an orphanage near Raleigh, and three years later began a preparatory school to train men for the North Carolina missions. In 1908, he began writing the Blessed Virgin Mary a daily letter, sharing with her the challenges and joys he encountered that day. In 1911, Father Price's vision of spreading Catholicism was moving beyond the border of North Carolina. He joined with Father James A. Walsh in founding the American Catholic Foreign Mission Society, popularly known as Maryknoll. In 1918, Father Price accompanied the first three Maryknoll missionaries on their assignment to China. One year later, he died of a ruptured appendix. His heart was removed and buried in Nevers, France, near the body of St. Bernadette Soubirous, to whom he was extremely devoted.

Diocese of Raleigh

Maybe I should have started praying the prayer on the back immediately (although I had been praying for Philip daily, asking the two Hawaii Blesseds to intercede and heal him), because then I would have known right away that Fr. Price was one of the Maryknoll founders! The Maryknoll Fathers hold a very dear place in my family's heart. One need only read a book like The Maryknoll Fathers by Glenn D. Kittler, to know Father Price was a saint.

The prayer card will be posted on the side bar. I would ask that you join me in praying the prayer daily for Philip's healing.

Mahalo!