Sister Mary Clement Hemler DC

Co-Foundress of The Thursday Night Prayer Group

June 6, 1932 – December 22, 2018

I did not know Sister Mary Clement Hemler very well. I was more acquainted with Sister Mary Bernadette Forney because of the Thursday Night Prayer Group at St. Joseph’s in Emmitsburg. Sister Mary Bernadette was in Emmitsburg upon my arrival and I got to know her then at the prayer group in 1998. Sister Mary Clement was assigned to St. Ann’s Infant Home in Hyattsville, Maryland so I seldom saw her at the prayer group. Both Sister Mary Clement and Sister Mary Bernadette are considered the founders of the Thursday Night Prayer Group. About six months before Gianna and Mike Sullivan arrived at St. Joseph’s Sisters Mary Bernadette and Mary Clement went to Fr. Alfred Pehrsson CM, the pastor of St. Joseph’s wanting to start a Marian Movement of Priests prayer cenacle pertaining to the messages from Our Lady to Fr. Stephano Gobbi. The prayer group was formed and met every Wednesday night in the St. Joseph’s rectory. After the Sullivan’s arrival in 1993 and the subsequent messages from Our Lady to Gianna the prayer group was moved from St. Joseph’s rectory to inside St. Joseph’s Church with Cardinal William Keeler’s permission because of the growing number of people attending. It did not take long before the church could not hold the people attending and overflow crowds had to sit in the parish hall and watch the apparition on closed circuit TV. Sister Mary Bernadette passed away back on April 30, 2013. When I received word the other night that Sister Mary Clement passed away I did not think I would be attending her funeral but that soon changed after the sequence of events I have been describing for years began to happen. I will now describe those events.

Sunday December 23, 2018

I received a phone call from Raymond Sanders today and we talked for about 10 minutes or so. Raymond calls often and I enjoy talking to him. A few hours later Raymond called back a 2^nd time and I wondered to myself what more can he have to say? I answered the phone and Raymond proceeded to tell me that he just received word that Sister Mary Clement passed away yesterday from Leukemia. At the instant I received this news I KNEW to glance at my watch and the time was XX:XX:13 (13 seconds). I told Raymond that I was going to pray a rosary for her. We hung up and I immediately sat down to pray a rosary for the repose of her soul. I glanced at my watch at the instant I began the Sorrowful mysteries and the time was 7:13. I completed the rosary and glanced at my watch again as I finished and kissed the crucifix and the time was then 7:33:33.

Friday December 28, 2018

It took me several days to decide if I was going to attend her funeral. I considered just putting an entry in my daily journal and leaving it at that. The more I thought about it the more likely I felt that I would attend her funeral. What really made me decide to go was thinking back to when Raymond called on the 23^rd   informing me of her death. I then thought about how Raymond had to call me at the precise moment he did in order for us to hang up and then without hesitation sit down and pray the rosary for her from 7:13 to 7:33:33.

Saturday December 29, 2018

When I woke up this morning I glanced over at the clock as I was getting out of bed. It was the last fraction of a second of 6:13. I had to drive S.C.C. to work so I could take the new car to Emmitsburg. After I dropped her off I rode back home and finished getting ready to leave for Emmitsburg. I left and just before I crossed into Maryland my phone rang and it was C.R.C. He wanted me to stop at the Grotto of Lourdes and pick up something he wanted me to give to S.C.C. During our conversation he told me several things that just simply astounded me. I won’t mention them here but it certainly made it very clear to me that he is on the road to the priesthood. We hung up and I glanced over at the clock on the dash and the time was 9:33. I continued driving and arrived at the Grotto at 10:13. I stood in the gift shop and talked to C.R.C. and Fr. Mike M. for a few minutes then left to go the basilica for Sr. Mary Clement’s funeral. I arrived at the Basilica and the time on the dash was 10:33.

I took my seat behind Brother Paschal O’Brien. The funeral mass began at 11:00 and Fr. Marty McGeough CM was the celebrant. He gave a very nice talk on the life of Sr. Mary Clement. The mass continued and at the instant of Consecration I felt a sudden peace run through me. I knew to glance down at my watch and the time was 11:33.

Mass ended and I stood in the back of the Basilica and talked to Mike Sullivan for a while before leaving. At this point I had no real plans and I thought I might go home. I also thought about staying and attending the 4:30 mass at St. Josephs. In the meantime I rode to St. Joseph’s and just sat in the car. I prayed the Joyful mysteries of the rosary for Christopher and Sr. Mary Clement and never looked at my watch until I finished and kissed the crucifix and the time was 12:33:33.

I then rode to Subway for lunch and after that I rode to the Grotto because I still wanted to pray the rosary for both Christopher and Sr. Mary Clement. I arrived at the Grotto and the time on the dash was 1:13. I took a complete walk through the Grotto and when I arrived at the statue of St. Therese I prayed for her intercession for any vocation to the priesthood Christopher may have. I also prayed for our upcoming trip to the Shrine of The Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan. I then walked over the statue of Our Lady of Fatima and arrived there and the time was 1:33. I prayed the Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous mysteries and glanced at my watch when I finished and the time was 2:33:59.

By this time I had already decided that I wanted to stay in Emmitsburg and attend the 4:30 vigil mass for Sunday. I arrived at St. Josephs and there was a car parked directly in front of the church with the license plate of 33. I went inside and the church was beautiful. I think it was the best Christmas decorations I had ever seen in St. Joseph’s. I had a while before mass began and I almost fell asleep waiting. Mass began at 4:33. Fr. Marty was again the celebrant. When it came time to go to Holy Communion the Eucharistic Minister ran out of hosts. They had to go get more. This caused a delay of the Communion line which caused me to receive both the Body and Blood at 5:13. Mass ended and as I was pulling out in my car to go home I noticed the time on the dash was 5:33.

R.C.

Dec 31, 2018

6:33:13 PM