August 12, 2023

Miracle of the Oil of St. Philomena to Milagros Balagat

I am John Dominique Lorayna, a member of the National Center of the Living Rosary –
Manila. They sent me a package upon registration and it included the oil of St. Philomena.
At that time, I didn’t know what to do with it although I have a grandmother who has just
got out of the hospital due to a stroke. I researched about St. Philomena and the sacramentals
included in the package, and I learned that the oil is used for healing. It didn’t cross my mind to
use it with my grandma because we knew she was okay and was only recovering. But, only 20+
days after she was discharged from the hospital, she had another stroke. We brought her back to
the hospital and doctors said she was in critical condition. The doctors didn’t allow her to undergo
surgery to drain the blood in her head because it was too deep, and she was unconscious and
unstable.
When I visited my grandma for the first time in the Neuro Critical Care Unit, she was in a
coma and was unresponsive. I had the oil of St. Philomena with me that time and I started applying
it to her every day. She remained unconscious during the first week and the doctors said, a week
in a coma is too long especially for her case. The stroke damaged her brain stem and they said she
had a blood clot and water was building up in her head, so she was in danger of hydrocephalous
as well. I made sure I applied the oil to my grandma every day no matter what happens, even when
there was a very strong typhoon was hitting our area. Every time I wasn’t able to visit her, I would
pass the oil to a family member and made sure they would apply it to her.
Her doctor couldn’t tell us when she would be awake or if she would ever be awake. She
would tell us that it’s not getting worse, but it’s not getting better neither. Our family wept almost
every day because from time to time, her doctors would subtly tell us that we should be ready in
case she would give up because “she has been through so much.” On her 2nd week, she was still in
a coma but was gradually becoming stable enough to be a candidate for surgery. On her 9th day,
her doctor suggested that she should undergo a VP shunt operation because they suspected that she
might still be unconscious due to the water inside of her head. Her doctor clarified that this
procedure would not guarantee 100% that she would be awake after, but they were hopeful. Her
exact words were “If there would be a miracle that she would wake up after the operation then
that’s great.” I still applied the oil to her religiously every day.
Our family discussed the matter and agreed to proceed with the operation and signed all
the documents needed for it on her 10th day. In our shock, on the 11th day, a day or two before her
operation, she woke up. Her doctors monitored her that week and they agreed that the operation
was not necessary anymore. In her CT scan results, the water in her head was gradually draining
and she was getting better.
 We are now more than a month here in the hospital, but since the miraculous event, she has
been moved to a regular room. We are now getting ready for her to go home, hopefully next week.
I learned only yesterday (August 11, 2023) that her feast day is on the 11th of August. The same
number of days when my grandma regained her consciousness, the 11th day. My grandmother’s
name is Milagros Balagat. Please do pray for her still for her recovery.
Thank you, National Center of the Living Rosary for giving me the oil of St. Philomena
and introducing her to our family. I now have a devotion to her. She really is a powerful intercessor.
May God bless your center every day!

JOHN DOMINIQUE B. LORAYNA

Member