November 2013
Our Lady of Fátima
11 13 , 13:07 Filed in: Mary
The message from Our Lady of Fátima comes from a visitation from the Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children, Lucia dos Santos (9), Francisco Marto (8), and Jacinta Marto (6), in Fátima, Portugal in 1916. The Virgin Mary appeared to them six times from May to October and gave them a message of warning and promise. She said to the children that God’s punishment to the sinning on earth was war, hunger, and persecution of the Catholic church, and that his punishment would become more severe as sinning and unfaithful misconduct become more prevalent. Although her messaged seemed grave, she promised the children that if they prayed everyday, said rosaries, and followed the path of God, they would attain peace. Further, that the same message of peace held true for the population of the world. Specifically, if Catholics had faith and prayed and devoted themselves regularly, following the correct way of God, that they should find peace and be allowed into Heaven.
With her fifth apparition, the Virgin Mary continued to give the children her important message of sinners and sacrifice. It was during this particular visit that she told them and namely Lucia, the oldest child, that she would perform a miracle in October. She said that Saint Joseph will appear with the child Jesus to bless the world. She also said that she would appear as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel to bless the world separately.
During her sixth and final visit on October 17, Lucia asked the Virgin for favors. Lucia hoped that the sick may be cured from illness, and that sinners may be converted. The Virgin Mary then told her that she would cure some, but many sinners needed to change the way of their lives and ask forgiveness. When she left, she reflected light as bright as the sun.
In her recollection of the events from the last apparition, Lucia wrote that she was internally inspired to call out to the people of her town. She called upon everyone to gather at Fátima to observe the miracle Mary said she would produce. While 70 to 100 thousand people gathered, believers and doubters alike, Saint Joseph appeared with Jesus; they blessed the world by making signs of the cross. After that apparition had faded, they were followed by images of Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel, respectively, and they both made signs of the cross as Saint Joseph and Jesus had done. As the apparition of the Virgin Mary faded, the sun became a pale spectacle resembling more silver that normal light. The citizens were able to look directly at it, and while they were observing in awe, bright rays shot from the sun as appeared to rotate on an axis, touching earth’s surface with powerful multicolored rays of light. These horrifying light bursts gave the citizens a direct look at the fire ridden vision of hell. Upon seeing hell, the people of the town collapsed to their knees in absolute fear of God’s power. Seeing their fate, the sinning citizens realized that they truly did not want to die in ways of sin, and many begged for mercy. Lucia and the other two children later wrote that the vision of hell was so powerful, they would have been frightened to death, had they not known that they not known of their promised path to heaven.
The days prior to the final miracle were filled with torrential downpours that soaked the earth and the citizens. The pit where the apparition site was turned to puddled mud. The mantle and garments that were put forth for Mary were soaked with water. After the miracle was performed, it was documented that the pit had completely dried, along with the garments.
The people of Fátima collapse to the ground in awe at the Lord’s power.
Jacinta Marto, Lucia Santos, and Francisco Marto holding rosaries.
Newspaper account of the miracle run by a socialist government, and a journalist who did not believe in God. Even he found the miracle undeniable and unexplainable.
Sources:
http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/fatima.htm
http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/story1.asp
http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/default.aspx
http://www.fatima.org/crusader/truestory/pdf/tspg53.pdf
http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/our_lady_of_fatima.php
http://www.theimmaculateheart.com/
Our Lady of Guadalupe
11 13 , 13:07 Filed in: Mary
The appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe began in December of 1531 with a newly converted Catholic Juan Diego. The virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego and instructed him to build a shrine on Tepeyac Hill, near Mexico City. When Diego consulted a bishop about constructing a shrine to the virgin Mary, the bishop demanded that the shrine would only be built based on a divine proof of Mary’s appearance. Thereafter, in a second appearance to Juan Diego, Mary instructed him to gather a dozen roses and bring them to the bishop. Diego then gathered the roses in his tilma and opened it in front of the bishop. The roses fell to the floor revealing the image of Mary imprinted on the tilma.
The intricate detail of the image is largely significant to the audience for which it was created. Each and every symbol on the tilma was deliberately crafted to hold a divine significance. Many of the details were put in place to build on the trusted beliefs of the Mexican people. Things such as the bright aura surrounding her, which played off of the ancient Aztec faith in the sun. Other details not only entrust the audience, but also profess the incredible nature of the miracle. Within the virgin’s eye, there are human figures no bigger than 8 or 9 mm in length, a detail which experts say would be near impossible to project onto such a rough material cloth.
Beginning with this miracle and a series of divine actions after, Mexico slowly moved from a nation doubtful in Christianity, to a country which placed great belief and pride in their new faith. Before Guadalupe, Mexicans had only known Catholicism to the extent that they were taught from the missionaries. After the miracle of Guadalupe, the Mexican faith could be based more upon real personal evidence on their native domain. The fact that Catholicism could ring throughout the country beginning with Guadalupe made her a focal point of Mexican Catholicism, and for most Latino Catholics. To this day citizens of Mexico are known for having a strong belief in Catholicism; much of their belief can be attributed to the miracle of our lady of Guadalupe.
Aside from Mexico, the miracle is rejoiced amongst Catholics world wide as a profession of divine evangelism for the catholic faith as a whole. It is just another way of God to shed his light upon people that were in need of faith, and it was done in a miraculous and undeniable manner which is globally recognized as a miracle of God.
Sources
- http://www.virginmotherofguadalupe.com/our-lady-of-guadalupe-image/message-symbols
- http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=456
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/629932/Our-Lady-of-Guadalupe
Eucharistic Miracles
11 13 , 12:55 Filed in: Eucharistic Miracles
Eucharistic Miracles
A eucharistic miracle is an inexplicable holy phenomenon that occurs involving the consecrated host. Many of these miracles happen, but only a select few are approved by the Vatican and officially declared eucharistic miracles. Over the years, a few of these certified miracles have become more famous than others, because of the profound detail of the event, or the general proof of God. Below are a few of the more famous eucharistic miracles.
8th Century A.D.
Lanciano, Italy: The Host Becomes Flesh and Blood
A Basilian monk found himself having doubts in the Eucharist. He had trouble believing that he was consuming the real flesh and blood of Christ. During the consecration of the hosts in Lanciano, the bread miraculously changed to flesh, and the wine turned to blood. Thwarting the doubts of the monk, God provided a miracle that, although not necessarily required for belief, provides hope and belief in Christ. Since 1574, many investigations have been conducted and have found that the flesh is of human nature, and that it is from the heart. Also, recent tests from the 20th century have shown that the blood types of the flesh and of the blood match.
1730
Siena, Italy: A Long Term Preservation of the Host
The hosts sealed in the Church of St. Francis were the victim of a theft while absent of parish and clergy. When the hosts were retrieved by the church, they were found to be unharmed. Through the years following, there is some speculation as to why the hosts remained unused. They were a forefront of prayer from the parish of the Church of St. Francis after being stolen; the parish members said many prayers of reparations. Due to the perceived value to the parish members, it is possible they were refrained from consumption. Also, due to the relative age of the hosts, they were likely spoiled for consumption and were thus kept. Several decades passed as the recovery and conservation was deemed a miracle. The hosts themselves were completely intact after all that time. Many investigations and experiments with the hosts were conducted. One included storing a number of unconsecrated hosts in the same place, which deteriorated completely after 60 years, while the original hosts remained untarnished.
1345
Amsterdam, Holland: The host survives fire
A priest wandered through the village of Amsterdam to give a man of his parish his last rights. The night had a rather cold touch to it, so upon his arrival into the man’s home, he found a fire burning next to the man’s bed. The ritual went through and through with nothing special to note, so the priest departed after giving his blessings to the man and his wife. The sick man began to feel uneasy after the priest had gone. He lurched toward the basin that was by his bedside and regurgitated the contents of his stomach into the basin. Unbeknownst to the man, within those contents was the consecrated host which the priest had given to him. The wife found the man asleep several hours later, and noting his basin was full, she deposited its contents into the roaring fire. The next morning the woman was tending to the smoldering embers of the fire when she noticed something off-putting. The consecrated host from the man’s stomach was intact amongst the other ashes. Acting on a surprised whim, the wife scooped the host from the fire, and found herself unharmed and holding a cold host!
Sources:
Cruz, Joan C. Eucharistic Miracles. N.p.: TAN books and publishers INC, 1987. Web. 24 June 2013. <http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/siena.html>
Erfort, Andrea. N.p.: The Real Presence, n.d. Web. 23 June 2013. <http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/holland.html>.
Harolds of the Gospel Magazine Jan. 2009. Web. 23 June 2013. <http://knightsoftheholyeucharist.com/2011/11/the-eucharistic-miracle-of-amsterdam/>.
Lanciano, Italy, 8th Century A.D. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2013. <http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/lanciano.html>.
Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano Italy. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2013. <http://www.michaeljournal.org/eucharist3.htm>.
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2013. <http://www.piercedhearts.org/treasures/eucharistic_miracles/siena.htm>.