CATHOLIC MIRACLES – DEFYING LAW OF NATURE

Miracles have been a part of the Catholic religion since it was founded. The miracles which are events unexplained by the laws of nature can be attributed to the Almighty and the great saints. The law of nature says that the body when placed in the tomb decomposes due to the moisture in the body and the environment present around the dead. The decomposition starts immediately after the death and any kind of preservation just delays the decomposition. Yet the bodies of numerous saints have not decomposed for centuries even when the body was tortured so much that it would have hastened the process of decomposition.

St. Sharbel died on Christmas Eve in 1898 and as per the tradition, was buried without being embalmed in a large room beneath the altar of the church. As the rain water in the chamber had converted it into a swamp, the body was put on two planks so that mud and water would not submerge it. For the next 45 days the villagers who resided in the houses opposite the Monastery witnessed a bright light above the tomb. It was decided that the body be moved to a more accessible place for the villagers. When it was opened it was found that the water had turned the grave into a quagmire but the body which was floating on it was incorrupt with muscle remaining supple and even the hair and the beard remaining intact. Even the blood was still oozing out of the pores to such a great extent that the clothing had to be changed twice a week. The doctors who examined the body were amazed by the oozing out of blood which they felt was against the law of nature and could be explained only as supernatural.

One of the greatest miracles of the Bible has been the feeding of the 5000. It is also known as the miracle of ‘5 loaves and 2 fish’. When Jesus came to know that John the Baptist had been killed he moved to a solitary place close to Bethsaida but a large crowd followed him. Seeing the large crowd Jesus started to preach them about many things. By this time it was already evening and so his disciples requested him to send the people away so that they could buy food for themselves from the nearby villages. Jesus did not agree with them and said that it was their duty to feed them. He ordered them to find out the number of loaves that they had. The disciples came back and informed Jesus that they had 5 loaves and 2 fish. On instructions of Jesus the people sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties on the green grass. Jesus took the 5 loaves and the 2 fish, thanked the Heavens and broke the loaves. He asked his disciples to distribute the bread and the fish among the people. Amazingly, all 5000 people that gathered there could eat and were satisfied with what they had got.                     

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BRINGING BACK THE DEAD – MIRACLES BY ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

Miracles can be described as extraordinary events which cannot be proved by the laws of the nature. They can be attributed to act of God or the blessings of the great Saints. Catholics believe that such miracles take place as God wants to send a message to his followers. This could be either to build a church or to convert people into Christianity and many more.

One such great saint was St. Francis Xavier who has brought many persons back to life with the grace of the Almighty. As he was about to begin a Mass in a small church in Combutur, he was approached by a group of people carrying the dead body of a child who had drowned in the well. His mother pleaded St. Francis to save her son. The revered saint prayed for a short time, put his hand on the dead child and asked him to rise. To the bewilderment of all present, the child rose and ran to his mother’s lap.

A pair of youth used to accompany the saint on his Missionary work. One night one of the youth was bitten by a cobra and was found dead the next morning. Shocked St. Francis applied some saliva from his mouth on the foot of the youth, made a sign of cross over him, caught his hand and asked him to rise in the name of the Lord. The youth rose as if he had got up from his sleep and continue to preach the message of Jesus.     

While walking down the streets of Mutan, St. Francis met a bereaved family who had lost a young lad to a malignant fever. The parents fell down on the feet of the saint and showing pity towards the distraught parents. He knealt down and raising his eyes sky wards prayed to god to give life to the young lad. He then sprinkled water over the corps and asked the funeral cask to be opened. When the body could be seen he raised a cross over it. Held the hand of the youth and asked him to rise. The youth rose in good health. To honor the saint the parents erected a great cross at the spot to commemorate the miracle.

While in Coulon, in southern India, St. Francis met a group of people who were very rigid in their views. While preaching at the church there he said that the Lord could even raise the dead to convert them into Christianity. He asked the Tomb of the person who had been buried just a day back to be opened. When it was opened the body had started to stench. Falling on his knees and uttering a short prayer he ordered the dead man to rise in the name of the living God. To the amazement of all present the man came alive in good health. People fell at the feet of the saint and had their child baptized by him. Many onlookers who saw this miracle take place soon converted to Christianity.    

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MIRACLES OF EUCHARIST

Among the several miracles that have taken place in the Catholic religion, Miracles of Eucharist hold a special significance.

In Santarem, Portugal, a woman who was convinced that her husband was unfaithful to her and did not love her approached a sorceress who promised her that if she could bring her a Consecrated host her husband would start loving her. She approached the St. Steven Church and got the communion but did not eat it and after coming out put it in her veil. On her way to the sorceress the Host started to bleed and when this was brought to her notice she got frightened and rushed to her home instead of going for the sorceress. She hid the host inside a trunk and did not tell anything about it to her husband. Later in the night the whole room was lit by the bright light coming out from the trunk. She confessed her sin and they kept praying till the morning when a local parish was called. The host was taken to the church and was encased in wax and kept in tabernacle. When it was opened sometime later the priest was amazed to see that the wax had broken and the host and the precious blood were enclosed in a crystal pyx.

In Amsterdam which in 1345 was a small fishing hamlet, a fisherman who was on his death bed requested the local priest to give him the Holy Communion which the priest acceded to. Soon after the priest left, the man started coughing and threw out the host still intact. His wife threw the Host into the fireplace but soon regretted her action. She could not take out the Host because of the heat. Due to her guilt, she could not sleep properly and when she got up next morning she was amazed to see that the Host nothing had happened to the Host and it was still fresh and brilliant. Taking it out she kept it in a chest after wrapping it in a clean linen cloth. The local priest was told about the story and decided that it was best to take the Host back to the church and it was placed in the tabernacle. The next day he was shocked that the Host had disappeared and was found at the home of the fisherman. Frightened, the wife took the Host to the priest who again placed it in the church but the same thing occurred again. Another Miracle that took place was that the fisherman who was on his death bed recovered completely. 100 years later, a great fire engulfed Amsterdam and most of the houses including the house of the fisherman which now was the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament caved in. But again a Miracle took place and it was found that the Host had remained unscathed along with the silk veil which covered it. One cannot explain any natural reason for the same and can only be attributed to a Miracle of the Great Lord. 

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HOW THE STATUE OF JESUS TURNED BLACK?

Since the emergence of mankind one has been witness to several miracles. Miracles can be described as an event which cannot be explained by the laws of nature. The possible causes of miracles according to religion are that is an act of God or the blessings of a saint or holy man or due to some natural spring. Those who do not believe in the super natural believe that the same as God working with the Law of Nature to make it seem like a miracle.

Catholic Church believes that there is a specific reason for the occurrence of miracles which could be conversions of people or the construction of a church. The Catholic Church has recognized several events including some modern ones as miracles. Before an event is recognized as a miracle it has to undergo a stringent process which is supervised by the Congregation of the Causes of Saints. This is essential to weed out those events which can be explained by laws of nature but are presented in such a way that it seems to appear like a miracle. Before a person is declared a Saint it has to be proved that he has performed two miracles after his death. These miracles can take place in several manners such as the sudden recovery of a person who has been declared terminally ill or the redevelopment of an amputated or the saving of the life of a person by the moving of a statue.

During the year in 1602, in the city of Mexico, many people were unhappy with the conversions that were taking place. These people were making profits playing with the emotions of the public especially the medicine men, who profited fooling the natives. Human sacrifice was also prevalent during that time. These people tried to get even with the bishop and the church which was enlightening the people against these meaningless happenings.

Porta Coeli was a Dominican church where the Seminarians worshipped. This church had a crucifix in white marble. It was a custom followed by the Archbishop to celebrate Mass at the Church daily. Before the beginning of the service it was a ritual to kiss the feet of the Crucified Lord, Jesus.

A man, who sought revenge with the Bishop for the enlightenment of the locals, planned to poison him. Knowing that the Bishop would kiss the feet of the Lord he placed poison on it. As the Lord is always kind and full of love towards his children, to the amazement of all persons present there, He raised his feet up to the extent that the Bishop was unable to kiss it the next morning before the Mass. The Bishop could not kiss the poisoned feet and was hence saved from dying. This venom that was placed on His body by the enemies of the church went up through the corpus of the Lord. This made the statue of the crucified body of the Lord turn black leaving those who had collected there blessed to have seen a miracle with their eyes. 

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CATHOLIC MIRACLES –AMPUTATED FOOT RESTORED

You may have heard on a number of occasions that a person who has been declared terminally ill by even the best of doctors suddenly recovers completely. What would you attribute this recovery to? Most people would attribute the same to miracle.

Miracle can be described as something that is beyond the laws of nature. It can be attributed to a divine intervention or to a miracle worker or to saint or religious leader or to some natural substance for which the modern science has no answer to.

Catholic Church recognizes miracles as acts of God either directly or through prayers and intervention of church. The Catholic Church is replete with stories of miracle that have occurred in the past. One of the well known miracles is the Miracle of Calanda.

In July 1637 Miguel Juan-Pelicer, a 20 year agricultural worker fell from a cart while working at his uncle’s agricultural worker and broke his tibia bone when the cart ran over his right foot. Miguel was taken to hospitals in Calanda and Valencia before being taken on a 50 day journey to the hospital of Our Lady of the Pillar at Zaragoza on whom he great devotion. When he arrived at the hospital the doctors observed that gangrene had set in the leg and there was no option but to cut the same. So in October 1637 the leg was amputated just below the knee and the same was buried as per the customs during that time. Despite being made drowsy he suffered great pain during the surgery and he called upon the Virgin of the Pillar with great fervor. He was then given a wooden leg and after begging for over 2 years he returned to his hometown in middle of March 1640 where he again took up to begging while moving on a donkey’s back. During this period he used to take some oil from the lamp at the Sanctuary of Pillar with the hope that the Virgil would bless him one day. On 29^th March 1640 he went to sleep in the provincial bed in his parent’s room as his bed was occupied by a soldier from the nearby garrison. Around 11 p.m. his mother entered the room and saw two legs emerging from the cloak that covered her son. As would be expected she thought that the soldier and her son had exchanged places but when she and her husband removed the cloak they were stunned to see that the legs belonged to their son. When Miguel woke up he narrated that he had dreamt that he was at the Sanctuary and was rubbing the oil from the lamp. After thorough investigation by medical experts and the testimonies of 24 most trusted witnesses the Archbishop of Zaragoza passed the judgment that recognized the restoration of leg. What was even more amazing was that the leg was the same as that was amputated and buried about 30 months ago as could be identified with bruises and more over the place that the leg was buried was found to be empty.

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