A Light in Her Life by Joan Wester Anderson

The following story by Joan Wester Anderson is published in the new updated edition of Where Miracles Happen.

A Light in Her Life by Joan Wester Anderson

One cold, overcast Saturday morning, freelance writer Sue Markgraf sat staring blankly at the TV. The children were occupied, and there were notes on her computer for her next writing project. She really should get on with it.

But a combination of fatigue and discouragement kept her from moving. Were her efforts really leading anywhere? Would she ever make a difference through her work?

Suddenly, an intense ray of light streamed through the window in front of her. It was brilliant, almost white, as if the very air itself were glowing from within. But how? The other windows still looked out on gray and gloom. Where was this light’s source? “I wanted to shield my eyes and look away, but I couldn’t,” she says. “I shifted on the sofa, but the light seemed to follow me.” This was no ordinary sunbeam.

Then in the center of this radiance, Sue saw a shadowy figure. She was drawn to its warmth, compelled to watch it. Although she didn’t hear actual words, she felt the figure speaking to her. “Go back to your story,” it said. “Peace is coming.”  

Awed, Sue drank in the light. She felt unworthy of its presence, yet exalted at the same time. “I forced myself to continue looking, to continue feeling,” she says, until the figure and the light shimmered, then faded away.

Since that time, Sue has continued to struggle with the meaning of the blissful vision. But she does feel more confident about her work and about God’s plan for her. “I know there is a greater force that has an incredible investment in me,” she says. “It pushes me constantly, yet it comforts me. I pray that it stays by my side always.”

***

The following biographical information is from Joan Wester Anderson's website:

Joan Wester Anderson has published 15 books which include WHERE ANGELS WALK, TRUE STORIES OF HEAVENLY VISITORS, which was on the New York Times best-seller list for over a year, has sold almost two million copies and been translated into fourteen languages. Published in fall, 1994, were the sequel to ANGELS, titled WHERE MIRACLES HAPPEN, and for children, AN ANGEL TO WATCH OVER ME. Both books were written in response to suggestions from readers, and were followed in rapid succession by three more in this series. FOREVER YOUNG (Thomas More Publishers), the life story of actress Loretta Young, was published in November, 2000. The actress had read the angel series, and requested Anderson as her biographer. The two became close friends. Anderson’s book, IN THE ARMS OF ANGELS (Loyola Press) covers angelic activity primarily during the past decade, including stories of hope from the 9/11 and Columbine School tragedies. Her most recent books, GUARDIAN ANGELS (Loyola Press), and ANGELS AND WONDERS (Loyola Press), focus on amazing and tender stories of God’s answers to prayers.

Anderson has appeared on national television programs including “Good Morning America,” “Oprah,” “20/20,” “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw” and “Mother Angelica Live,” and was featured in such documentaries as “Angels–Beyond the Light” (NBC), “Angel Stories” and “Stories of Miracles” (The Learning Channel), and many videos. She was a story consultant for the television series, IT’S A MIRACLE, lectures in cities across the country, and has been interviewed on hundreds of radio talk shows.

Anderson is a Catholic and member of St. Edna’s Parish in Arlington Heights IL., a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and a former adjunct professor at Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois. She and her husband live in suburban Chicago, and have five grown children and four grandchildren.

(Clipart supplied by Loci B. Lenar)

Copyright 2010 Joan Wester Anderson

A Reflection of Divine Light?

The photograph and caption appeared on SpiritDaily.com:

Just a reflection?  Mrs. Feargus OCroinin of Edmonton, Alberta took this at Vatican on July 25, 2010.

In Good Faith: Store Manager Invokes Jesus, Dissuades Robber

In Good Faith: Store manager invokes Jesus, dissuades robber - Religion: News and debate about Christianity, Islam and values - baltimoresun.com

The following excerpt is from YouTube:

A remorseful robber left a Broward County, Florida cellphone store empty-handed after hearing what the redemptive power of Jesus Christ can do from the cool-headed manager.

The incident happened on July 23, 2010. To read the story about God's protection, please visit the following link: In Good Faith

Prayers of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Statue of Padre Pio

Photo by Loci B. Lenar

Prayer for the Intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Dear God, You generously blessed Your servant,

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit.

You marked his body with the five wounds

of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness

to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son.

Endowed with the gift of discernment,

St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional

for the salvation of souls.

With reverence and intense devotion

in the celebration of Mass,

he invited countless men and women

to a greater union with Jesus Christ

in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina,

I confidently beseech You to grant me

the grace of (here state your petition). Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen (Say three times)

Statue of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Photo by Loci B. Lenar

A Prayer for Trust and Confidence in God's Mercy

By St. Pio of Pietrelcina

O Lord,

we ask for a boundless confidence

and trust in Your divine mercy,

and the courage to accept

the crosses and sufferings

which bring immense goodness

to our souls and that of Your Church.

Help us to love You

with a pure and contrite heart,

and to humble ourselves beneath Your cross,

as we climb the mountain of holiness,

carrying our cross that leads to heavenly glory.

May we receive You

with great faith and love in Holy Communion,

and allow You to act in us as You desire

for your greater glory.

O Jesus, most adorable Heart

and eternal fountain of Divine Love,

may our prayer find favor before

the Divine Majesty of Your heavenly Father.

A Prayer

By Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

May Jesus comfort you

in all your afflictions.

May He sustain you in dangers,

watch over you always with His grace,

and indicate the safe path

that leads to eternal salvation.

And may He render you always

dearer to His Divine Heart

and always more worthy of Paradise.

Amen

For other daily prayers, please visit the following link:
Devotional Prayers

***

The life-like statue of Padre Pio is on display inside the Church of Saint Ann, which is located on 704 Jefferson Street in Hoboken, New Jersey.  Loci B. Lenar photographed the statue while attending Saint Ann's Italian Festival on July 25, 2010.

Photographs Copyright 2010 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com 

Where Miracles Happen by Joan Wester Anderson

Where Miracles Happen - Joan Wester Anderson
Author of Books on Angelic Visitations

By Loci B. Lenar

Joan's updated book, Where Miracles Happen, is inspiring and touched my soul with God's spiritual presence. While reading Part One: Miracles through Prayer, I was captivated in Sue Markgraf's interesting testimony.

Joan writes that Sue had wondered if her hard work as a writer would lead to anywhere. After having the thought, Joan says, Sue saw an intense ray of light coming through the window in front of her.

Joan describes Sue seeing a figure in the radiance. Sue says, she felt the figure speaking to her, "Go back to your story." And then said to her, "Peace is coming."

Joan writes that since that time, Sue has continued to wonder about the meaning of the blissful vision.  However, she is now confident about her work and God's plan for her.

After reading the remarkable story, it was "perfect timing" for me to write a letter to my friend, Joan, and share my thoughts about Sue's vision.

Through providence and prayerful discernment, I believe that my testimony about the Miraculous Signs of Archangel Michael, which can be read on Christian-Miracles.com, sheds some light on God's plan.

In a spiritual locution I received on September 14, 2009, Jesus called all to join together and "pray for divine protection" in order to mitigate and extinguish violence throughout the world and to usher in an "era of peace."   The locution was also shared with my spiritual advisor, Father Richard Tartaglia of St. Mary's Church.

Our Lady of Fatima also spoke of an era of peace in her 1917 apparitions to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. For further information on Our Lady's message, please visit the following link: World Apostolate of Fatima, USA.

God indeed works in mysterious ways in connecting people at the appropriate time.

Joan Wester Anderson's book is certainly inspirational and Where Miracles Happen!

Miracle at Knock Shrine - Woman Healed of Multiple Sclerosis

Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland Basilica

Photograph from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Miracle at Knock Woman Reveals All - Irish News - Irish Central

The following news story appeared on IrishCentral.com:

By CATHY HAYES, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

As part of the documentary “Apparitions”, which recently aired in Ireland, Marion Carroll discussed the day that she was cured of her crippling disease, multiple sclerosis, at the Marian Shrine in Knock.

Though many have reported visitations of the Virgin Mary at Knock over the years Marion’s case it the first miracle. The officials at Knock believed that the authenticity of her case warranted that it be sent to the Vatican to be authenticated. It is currently under review there. Hers is the first miracle from Knock to be sent to the Vatican.

Back in 1989 Marion was literally crippled with pain. She was carried into the Basilica at Knock on a stretcher and brought to the alter where a bishop blessed her.

In the interview she said “I was brought over to the Basilica and it was at the time that I got this beautiful feeling, a magnificent feeling. It was like a whispering breeze telling me that if the stretcher was opened I could get up and walk.”

After she realized what had happened she said she didn’t know what to do. She said “I didn't say anything in case I looked stupid. When I got back to St. John's-the rest home for the sick at Knock, I asked for the stretcher to be opened and I was able to stand up and I even drank a cup of tea unaided. There was no stiffness and no pain, it was like experiencing every bit of happiness you have ever dreamed of".

Marion now spends her time helping in the Church and speaking to those who feel in need of divine aid. She joked “When you work for the lord you’re given a mop and a bucket. So that’s what I do for him.”

She has written her autobiography about her experience and she speaks about it with those who ask but she also feels that her cure was a personal gift to her. She said “I meet a lot of people who tell me that they had this or that experience with our Lord and I tell them ‘That’s beautiful but that’s a gift to you. It doesn’t mean that you should go out and share it’.”

On September 3, 1989, Marion entered Knock Shrine in a stretcher. She had recently been bought an electric wheelchair. She said that she had stopped her family taking any photographs of her in her weak and ill condition as she believed that she would soon die and wished her children to only remember her as a healthy woman.

More than ten years on and Marion has no symptoms of her illness. Doctors are dumbfounded. They agree that no combination of the drugs or therapies, which she had been subscribed, could have cured her so instantly and completely.

She walked out of Knock that day, cured.

Miracle at Knock - Claim Sent to Vatican

Our Lady of Knock Stained Glass Window

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Miracle at Knock claim sent to Vatican - Irish News - Irish Central

Woman with Multiple Sclerosis says she was cured

The following excerpt is from the website of Irish Central:

By PATRICK COOPER, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

The Vatican will shortly receive a petition to acknowledge the first miracle at Knock after a woman has claimed that a visit to the shrine cured her of multiple sclerosis.

Other miracles have been claimed at Knock but none have actually been forwarded to the Vatican for verification.

The Sunday Times reported that Marian Carroll, now aged 59, says she was cured of multiple sclerosis after a visit to the shrine almost 20 years ago.

The claim is accompanied by several medical evaluations that accept that something remarkable happened to her when she visited Knock.

Mrs Carroll wrote an autobiography ‘I Was Cured at Knock’, in which she describes her recovery from the MS condition that left her unable to walk, blind in one eye and without the control of her bladder.

During the ceremony she felt a weight lift from her and she was able to get up and walk. She has had no symptoms since.

Knock shrine is where an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Joseph, St John the Evangelist and Jesus Christ is said to have occurred in 1879.

Diarmuid Murray, a doctor who runs a practice in the shrine grounds, is gathering the evidence to present the case to the Vatican for approval.

Prayer Requests on Christian-Miracles.com

Miracle at Cana

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Post Your Prayer Requests

New Feature Added To Website: Please feel free free to post your prayer request on Christian-Miracles.com. You may also leave a praise report or your testimony on how God has answered your prayers.  Please be assured that everyone is prayed for daily.

Regarding prayer, Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20, "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  (Hebrews 4:16)

For a selection of daily prayers, please visit the following link: Devotional Prayers

The photograph of the stained glass window detail can be seen inside of Saint Peter the Apostle Church.  The Catholic Church is located in Parsippany, NJ, USA.

Copyright 2010 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com

Woman Claims Cancer Cured By Prayer

 

Woman Claims Cancer Cured By Miracle

Archdiocese Of St. Louis Is Investigating And Is Sending Its Findings To The Vatican.

The following story appeared on KPLR11.com:

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2Now.com) - Was a cancer recovery a miracle? The St. Louis Catholic Archdiocese thinks so. They say a St. Louis woman's cancer has vanished because of her prayers to a priest who's now on the verge of becoming a saint. They've asked the Vatican to certify her case miracle.

There are some things medical science can't explain. Rachel Lozano's cure is one of them. Rachel Lozano was first diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when she was fifteen. By the year 2000 it looked hopeless. On a church trip that year to the Vatican for a ceremony honoring Father William Chaminade. she prayed that Father William Chaminade to heal her.

Her prayers continued. So did the cancer. Finally, she was given weeks to live. When surgeons operated they found a dead tumor. Six years later Lozano remains cancer-free. After an investigation the St. Louis Archdiocese concluded it was the prayers and Chaminnade that cured the cancer. If the Vatican agrees chances are good that Chaminade, a French priest and founder of the Marianist order could become a saint.

Lutherans Seek Full Communion with Catholic Church

The photograph and following excerpt is regarding Christian Unity and can be read on Catholic Online.

Are Lutherans Next? Lutherans Seek Full Communion with Catholic Church - International - Catholic Online:

By Deacon Keith Fournier 

The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Benedict XVI's first Papal message: 'With full awareness, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome which Peter bathed in his blood, Peter's current Successor takes on as his primary task the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers. This is his ambition, his impelling duty.'

CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) -  On Tuesday, Peter Kemmether,  a married 62 year old father of four children was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller.  Fr. Peter was granted a dispensation from the canonical discipline of celibacy attached to priestly ordination. He had been a Protestant Pastor who came into the full communion of the Catholic Church as the fruit of a sincere search for the fullness of the Christian faith. On June 6, 2010, I read a story in the Philadelphia Enquirer entitled "The Priest and his Mrs."  concerning now Fr. Philip Johnson, a Lutheran Pastor for 19 years, who followed a similar path. He was ordained for the Diocese of Camden with the same exception, under the sponsorship and invitation of Bishop Joseph Galante.  

Catholics are becoming aware of the former Anglican and Episcopal ministers who have followed the same journey home. Fewer Catholics are aware of the marvelous welcome the Church has extended to many more through the historic apostolic constitution approved by Pope Benedict XI. I have written extensively about this and recently shared my joy with our readers at the ordination of lifelong friend and pro-life hero Fr. Paul Schenck, whose ordination I had the privilege of attending last month. You can read my account here.  

I am in a dialogue with Archbishop Irl A. Gladfelter, CSP, the Metropolitan Archbishop of the  Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church, a group of Lutherans who have embraced the Catholic Catechism and the teaching of the Magisterium. They are humbly knocking at the door of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeking a way into full communion. You can read about this amazing group here. I am working on a fuller story of their journey. Some have said that their smallness and placement on "the fringes" of the Lutheran community makes them less representative. I recall that those were the same comments made about the "Traditional Anglican Communion" in their early efforts. They became the prophetic vehicle the Holy Spirit used to open up an historic breakthrough.

To read the complete story, please visit the following link: Lutherans Seek Full Communion with Catholic Church

Heart Relic of St. John Vianney to Visit Diocese of Oakland

St. John Vianney Stained Glass Window - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

The Catholic Voice - An Online publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland

The following excerpt is from The Catholic Voice:

The heart of St. John Vianney, among the most renowned relics of the Catholic Church, will visit the Diocese of Oakland, CA, July 16 – 18, as part of a global tour during the Year for Priests which was proclaimed last summer by Pope Benedict XVI to mark the 150th anniversary of the acclaimed saint known as the patron of parish priests.

The relic will arrive from the Diocese of Stockton on July 16 for the first of three stops in the diocese. St. John Vianney Church, 1650 Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek, will host the relic with Vespers at 7 p.m., a talk on the life of St. John Vianney at 8 p.m., followed by veneration until midnight. At 8:30 a.m. the following morning (July 17) Mass will be celebrated in the presence of the relic.

Then the relic will be transferred to Holy Spirit Church, 37588 Fremont Blvd. in Fremont, where prayers will be offered at noon, confessions at 3:30 p.m., Mass in the presence of the heart at 5 p.m. and a talk about the relic at 6:30 p.m. with veneration until midnight.

The relic’s third stop will be at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, 2121 Harrison St. in Oakland, on July 18. Mass will be celebrated in the presence of the relic at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Bishop Emeritus John Cummins will be the principal celebrant at the 10 a.m. liturgy. A talk on the priesthood is scheduled at 7 p.m., followed by veneration until midnight. The relic will depart for France, the homeland of the saint, on July 19.

Jean-Marie Vianney was born near Lyons, France, in 1786, the son of a farmer.

He died on Aug. 4, 1859, at the age of 73 and was canonized in 1925. Pope Pius X proposed St. John Vianney as a model for parish priests in 1929.

When his body was exhumed in 1904 as part of the process of canonization it was found to be incorrupt, meaning that his remains did not show signs of typical decay despite not being artificially preserved.

His body rests above the altar at the basilica in Ars. His heart is enclosed in a gold reliquary that is normally kept in a separate building called the Shrine of the Cure’s Heart.

Nick Vujicic: Life Without Limbs

Nick Vujicic: Life Without Limbs - CBN.com @ Yahoo! Video

He was born without arms nor legs. However, God is using Nick Vujicic to share the gospel around the world.