“The following lines were penned by a religious Sister, Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil), from her cloister cell. She was professed as a religious in 1933. Exteriorly she was much like any other Sister in the Community, trying to be faithful to the Rule and the religious practices of the Community. She received her assignments to work in various houses, mostly in domestic work. From 1951 to 1954 she taught kindergarten classes in a parish school and enjoyed very much working with the little ones.
About 1938 she began to have what seemed like mystical experiences. They may be described as flights of the spirit, interior locutions, etc. Having these did not disturb nor overawe her in any way. In fact, by her own admission she thought they were a common thing to all religious.
In 1948 these experiences were brought to the attention of her confessor. He prudently advised her to be very cautious, lest it be a case of an overactive imagination. The experiences became more vivid and the messages more pressing. She considered seriously entering a cloister, perhaps to find her fulfillment of God's Will there. But various events indicated otherwise. Finally, her own Community established a cloistered group within the active, and in May 1958 she was permitted to enter this cloister.
These supernatural happenings, referred to above, included many things that concerned only her own personal spiritual life: special espousals with Christ, designation as the Little White Dove, etc. During all this time there were no external signs that she was different from any other member of the Community.
After some years she began to write down briefly the happenings during these occasions of special communication with God. These were read by one of the other priests to whom she had gone for direction, and in general they never found in them anything contrary to faith and morals, nor anything to indicate mental debility. On the contrary, some points, especially the great emphasis on the Indwelling of the Blessed Trinity, showed a theological understanding beyond what this Sister had been able to obtain from her regular courses in Religion.
Finally, in 1954 these visits took on the nature of a specific program of special devotion to Mary which this Sister was commanded to propagate. In fulfillment of these expressions of Our Lady which this Sister is convinced Mary wants her to carry out, she has set down in writing this Message of Mary, who presents herself here as Our Lady of America.
Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil) died on January 10, 2000 in Fostoria, OH.
Nihil Obstat: Daniel Pilarczyk, S.T.D.
Imprimatur: †Paul F. Leibold, V.G.
Cincinnati, OH – January 25, 1963”