Showing posts with label miracles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miracles. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2014

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

Photo by Loci B. Lenar

Christian-Miracles.com - Signs, Wonders, and Miracles

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

(A Prayer for God's Protection)
 
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our protection against the malice and snares
of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray;
and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who wander through the world
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
 
Saint Michael the Archangel is recognized in Christianity for being the guardian and protector of God's church and people. 

Through a spiritual locution Loci B. Lenar received on September 14, 2009, Jesus called for all to join together and "pray for divine protection" in order to mitigate and extinguish violence throughout the world.

Mr. Lenar says, "The message is now more important than ever before to invoke the powerful name of Jesus and to pray for the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel to protect our families and nation, especially in light of the viloence surrounding our world and the middle east."


"Pray for Our Lady to intercede before the throne of God for divine intervention in order to usher in an era of peace," says Mr. Lenar. 


Read More: Signs of St. Michael the Archangel

The following biblical prophecy is noted in Daniel 12:1, 3-4: "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever. As for you Daniel, keep secret the message and seal the book until the end time; many shall fall away and evil shall increase."

In Revelation 12:7-8 the following is stated:  Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.


Visit the following link for Miraculous Signs of Archangel Michael.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Vatican theologians approve Fulton Sheen miracle



News excerpt and photograph from CatholicHerald.co.uk

The possible miracle needed for the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen took another step toward papal recognition on June 17 when a panel of theologians met at the Vatican, the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation has announced.

As a normal part of the sainthood process, the theologians met to consider whether or not the promoters of Archbishop Sheen’s cause demonstrated that the proposed miracle — the survival of a child delivered stillborn – occurred after prayers for the intercession of Archbishop Sheen alone.

In March, a seven-member board of physicians convoked by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints agreed that there was no natural explanation for why the child’s heart started beating over an hour after his birth.

The child, James Fulton Engstrom, is now three years old and developing normally. His mother, Bonnie Engstrom, said she had no precomposed prayer asking for help from Archbishop Sheen. “I just kept repeating his name over and over in my head: Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen, Fulton Sheen,” said Ms Engstrom.

Archbishop Sheen was a priest in the Diocese of Peoria, which covers central Illinois. He gained fame for his 1950s television show “Life Is Worth Living” and for his 16 years at the helm of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He died on December 9, 1979, in New York.

In a statement released on June 17 by the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria said: “With the recommendations of the medical experts and now the theologians, the case will next be reviewed by the cardinals and bishops,” who are members of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

Read More:  Fulton Sheen Miracle

Monday, June 02, 2014

Delivered from Danger by the Power of Prayer



News story from CBN TV

A heart malfunction caused Steve DeMoss to go into a coma from which he miraculously awakened after being anointed with oil by his pastor.

Doctors told Sharon DeMoss that Steve needed to wake up from the coma within 5 days, or he would suffer major brain damage. On the fourth day, he was showing no signs of recovery. She called a local church for prayer. “They came over immediately and they spent a long time,” Sharon said. “We worshipped. We prayed together. We held hands. We prayed over him. They anointed him with oil.”

By the next morning, Steve was awake and had no signs of brain damage. “When I woke up, my wife says, ‘Do you realize what just happened?’ I had all these tubes in me and everything. Then my kids came to me, my daughter and one of my sons, we huddled and we realized that the worst had passed.”

“I remember just being able to breathe after that,” Sharon said. “Like, it was going to be okay.”

“That was a pretty joyful realization that God’s restored what we had almost lost,” Steve said.

That same afternoon, Steve was walking around the hospital, and he was released just days later. “When I woke up, I heard that people were praying all over the world,” Steve said. “I had friends in Senegal, Uganda. I really believe that the prayers of the people is what brought me back. It was extremely touching for me. It just made me feel like, ‘I am so glad I am a part of the body of Christ.’”

***

"Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven."  (James 5:14-15)

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Miracle Boy Meets Pope Francis

Photo by Andreas Solaro/AFP

News excerpt from Aleteia.org

Born in May 2002 in Milan, little Pietro is the fifth child of Walter and Adele. At his birth, the doctors found that he was suffering from a lung malformation. The infant was doomed. The parents then asked Father Antonio Sangalli, a Carmelite, to baptize him right away. At this critical moment, the priest slid over a picture of Thérèse de Lisieux's parents, the Martins, who had lost four of their own children.

Walter and Adele decided to trust in the Lord and confide in Louis and Zélie Martin. And the incredible happened. (Full story here.) Although the doctors predicted he had only a few hours to live, a month later the small Pietro began to show signs of improvement. After a few weeks, he was officially cured.

The Alençon Shrine is dedicated to the Martins. Every year on July 12, it organizes a pilgrimage around this exemplary couple. The family of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus lived in Orne until Zélie's death in 1877. It was then that Louis Martin decided to move to Lisieux with his daughters, near his beautiful family. In Alençon, for obvious reasons, people are interested in news related to the Martins and Thérèse.

And, after the healing of little Pietro Schilirò which made it possible to beatify the couple on October 19, 2008, this is another story that brought joy in recent weeks: Pietro's meeting with Pope Francis on March 29 at the Vatican, at the audience with the deaf and blind. (Pietro has been deaf since age 3.) And the meeting was not trivial. While we know about Francis' attachment to the saint of Lisieux, the meeting also overwhelmed the little boy who had received the miracle from Thérèse's parents.

Read more: Miracle Boy

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Pope could approve a miracle attributed to Paul VI



News story from RomeReports.com

Cardinals and Bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Pope Paul VI

But that doesn't make it official, just yet. The Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Angelo Amato will present the cause to the Pope and wait for its approval or denial. 

The case involves a five month old baby who was inexplicably cured in the womb. The mother's amniotic sac burst open and doctors told her, her baby would have serious birth defects, perhaps even die. The woman refused and abortion and prayed to Pope Montini

The baby was born at eight months, completely healthy. The healing took place in 2001 in the U.S.

As Pope, Benedict XVI recognized the heroic virtues of Pope Paul VI back in 2012. 

If approved by Pope Francis, his beatification could take place in October, when the synod on the family takes place in the Vatican. Ironically, it was Paul VI himself who first introduced the Synod of Bishops. 

Monday, April 28, 2014

Horrific Car Accident Leads to Angelic Encounter



News story from CBN TV

When Dann and Tracey Stadler's car was hit head-on by a drunk driver it burst into flames. With their lives in the balance, a series of miracles were set in motion to save the couple.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Natalie's Easter Miracle



News from CBN TV

A bad car accident put Natalie Elders in a coma for ten days until she experienced a personal Easter Sunday resurrection.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Faithful Gather in Christianity's Sacred Site


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Prayer Heals Man from Sinus Cancer




News story and video from CBN.com

By Tim Smith

Jacob Boger had severe headaches, watery eyes, and felt fatigued all the time. MRI tests showed a tumor in his nasal cavity, behind his eyes. A subsequent biopsy revealed even more… cancer. “I had ignored the symptoms for so long that the cancer had progressed through the 1st stage, the 2nd stage, and the 3rd stage. And by the time we did the biopsy, I was in the 4th stage, and given a less than 10% chance to live. The cancer was eating a hole in my skull and was heading toward my brain.”

Jacob needed immediate chemo and radiation. His doctor told him about the possible side effects. “’It’s going to make you sterile. Your saliva glands are going to be destroyed. Your taste buds are going to be destroyed. The radiation that’s going to go with this treatment is going to destroy your hair follicles. You’ll never have hair on the sides of your head again.’”

The tumor was 4 inches in diameter. Jacob started his treatments immediately. His doctor said he would live only 5 more years. “He said that for the 5 years I’d be battling the cancer. (He told me) even if it went into remission, that at the level that it’s at, stage 4 that it’s at, and the aggressiveness that it’s at, it’s going to come back. One of the warning signs that he gave me was that if I ever wake up, or through the day, have cerebral fluid coming out of my nose, which was a clear, salty kind of fluid, he said, ‘Just rush to the hospital. You’re done at that point.’”

Jacob was a Christian, and believed God would heal him. “I was constantly listening to teachings on healing. I was constantly in my Bible, and I was in prayer. And I would tell God, ‘Your Word says, ‘By Your stripes, I am healed.’ And I believe Your Word. You tell me to stop taking these treatments; I’ll stop taking the treatments, because my faith is in Your Word.’”

Jacob says that’s exactly what happened. “I woke up in the middle of the night one night, and just as clearly as I’m speaking to you right now, I heard God tell me, ‘It’s over. It’s finished. It’s done. Stop taking the treatments.’ The peace of God was on me, and I said, ‘God, You told me to do it, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’”

“That day, I walked in and told him, ‘Doctor, I’m done.’ And he treated me with respect and I appreciated that. I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He said, ‘Will you get one more MRI?’”
“I said, ‘I will.’ I got the MRI that day. He scheduled it that day. He wasn’t kidding around. Three days later, I go back into his office and he put the films up on the board and he says, ‘This is where the tumor was. This is the aggression. This is how big it was, and this is the new film. There’s no tumor. Your tumor vanished.’”

“Medically speaking, these cannot be the same person. Not ‘unlikely’ or not ‘It’s not very probable.’ They absolutely cannot be the same person. There was no scar tissue. The bone had been replaced. (It was) All fresh bone. No scar tissue there. There was absolutely no evidence that cancer had ever been in my body.”

“He said, ‘Nothing we did could have caused this. We don’t make tumors vanish. The bone that had eroded away has been replaced. It looks like you got your miracle.’”

“I said, ‘Yes, sir, I got my miracle.’”

Read more: Healing Miracle

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Healing through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick


Signs, Wonders, and Miracles - Christian-Miracles.com

Loci B. Lenar, the founder of www.Christian-Miracles.com, spoke at Saint Mary's Catholic Church about being healed of several medical conditions after receiving the Anointing of the Sick, a healing Sacrament of the Catholic Church. Mr. Lenar shared his personal testimony during St. Mary's monthly prayer service, held Thursday evening on November 15, 2012.

Mr. Lenar believes that by sharing his testimony with the general public, it will help encourage people to return to God and the church sacraments.

St. Mary’s prayer service is held every third Thursday of each month with Fr. Richard Tartaglia. St. Mary’s head pastor is Fr. Martin Glynn. The Catholic Church is located on 15 Myers Avenue, Denville, New Jersey, USA.

Reflecting on his spiritual journey of faith, Mr. Lenar, a resident of Mine Hill Township, says that through daily prayer and recitation of a 54 day rosary novena, his prayers were answered for healing and for other special intentions which remain private.

The 54 day rosary novena involves praying 27 days in petition for your request and then followed by 27 days in thanksgiving for prayers answered. The prayer is known as the Irresistible Novena to Our Lady.

Mr. Lenar says that nearly two decades have passed since being miraculously healed of a medical condition known as Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) and from severe bouts of headaches.

"I was sitting outside in my backyard on a patio chair and praying the rosary for Our Lady's intercession. It was a warm summer evening, sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. near the end of June. Then suddenly, on the twenty-seventh day of the novena, the Blessed Mother appeared as sign in the sky for about 30 seconds." says Mr. Lenar.

"Our Lady was standing over a full moon, appearing in a tunic that was white as snow, and her arms spread out, similar to the image on the miraculous medal. It reminded me of Revelation 12:1, which states, 'A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head,' " says Mr. Lenar.

At the completion of the life-changing 54 day rosary novena, Our Lady guided Mr. Lenar to receive the Anointing of the Sick from the Catholic church. 

Scripture says the following about receiving God's healing grace: Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. James 5:14-15

God's spiritual remedy for treating Mr. Lenar's medical ailments was to visit St. Mary’s Church (Denville, NJ) and then anointed with oil by Fr. Richard Tartaglia with the healing Sacrament. He received the Anointing of the Sick on several occasions from Fr. Tartaglia before being completely healed.

“Through God’s divine gift, I was healed of the heart arrhythmia and from years of suffering daily headaches. As a result of the healing, I was able to stop taking medication for the ailments," says Mr. Lenar .

Mr. Lenar was initially treated for the Atrial Fibrillation with the medication Lanoxin by his family physician, Dr. Gilbert Mandel of Denville Associates of Internal Medicine, Pocono Road, Denville, NJ.  Mr. Lenar visited Dr. Mandel on February 7, 2014 and requested documentation that he is no longer treated for Atrial Fibrillation. A copy of the medical note is posted on this page.


Mr. Lenar was inspired to write a prayer as a result of his healing. The prayer is written for anyone in need of God's healing grace especially families with children. The prayer is posted on this website and can be read at the following link: Prayerful Healing 

Loci B. Lenar has also shared his spiritual journey of faith with The Standard-Times, and was interviewed by Linda Andrade Rodrigues for the newspaper. The article was first published on December 29, 2012 in the Religion section (Page B7) of The Standard-Times newspaper from New Bedford, MA. The article also appears on the internet and can be read on SouthCoastToday.com. The news story is also reprinted on www.Christian-Miracles.com with additional photographs on the following link: The Seeker of Spiritual Phenomena

In Addition, Mr. Lenar has shared his personal testimony several times as a guest speaker on the Catholic program, Sacred Treasures, hosted by Kathie Duggan of Radio Maria.

On May 7, 2012, Fr. Richard Tartaglia and Mr. Lenar were both interviewed on Radio Maria regarding a Cross of Light that appeared on Mr. Lenar’s residence in Mine Hill, NJ, during Lent and Good Friday.

Fr. Tartaglia validated the sign by photographing the cross of light that was visible on Mr. Lenar’s backyard fence. A video with documentation regarding the Cross of Light can be viewed on
Gloria.tv at the following link: Cross of Light Appears in New Jersey

Mr. Lenar believes that Our Lord is calling the church to share our faith with others in order to open their hearts to the teachings of Christianity through God's love and healing grace: "Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonderful acts."  (1Chronicles 16:8-9)
  

***

Contact Information: St. Mary's Catholic Church: Parish Directory

Contact:  Mr. Loci B. Lenar
                P.O. Box 312
                Denville, NJ 07834

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

"Brain Dead" Teenager Awakens From Coma After Her Family Sings Hymns



News story from LifeNews.com

LifeNews has repeatedly chronicled cases of people who were prematurely declared dead or said to be in supposedly persistent vegetative states who ultimately recovered.

Now comes the story of Levi Hansen, a BYU student who suffered critical head injuries last week after being hit by a car. Hansen, 18, was alert and breathing on her own Tuesday, though she was still listed in critical but stable condition. She even tried to get out of her hospital bed. While she has a long road to recovery ahead, her family believes they have witnessed a miracle.

“When they brought her in, the doctors gave her less than a 5 percent chance of survival,” said Doug Hansen, Lexi’s father. “They told us to call our family and get them here quickly because she wasn’t going to last too long.”

In a Thursday evening interview with ABC News, Marcia Hansen, the teen’s mother, said tests indicated her daughter had essentially been brain-dead when she was brought to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo.

The Deseret News has more:

Just before 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 26, Lexi was riding her longboard while crossing the street in a crosswalk at the intersection of University Avenue and Canyon Road when the accident occurred. No alcohol, drugs or texting were believed to have played a role in the crash, police said.

Lexi suffered head injuries and was in a coma for several days. But Sunday, she came out of the coma as her family sang hymns around her.

“We had the most amazing experience today at the end of everyone’s fast,” the family wrote on the Pray for Lexi Facebook Page. “Lexi opened her eyes and kept them open for nearly an hour while we sang hymns to her as a family. While we were singing, she hand signed, ‘I love you,’ moving her arm around so that everyone could see. She then reached for each person’s hands individually so she could squeeze them. We could hardly sing due to the tears streaming down our face. We knew we were witnessing a miracle.”

Read more: Lexi Hansen

Monday, March 10, 2014

‘It’s a miracle:’ Baby starts breathing again after being declared legally dead


News excerpt and photo from MetroNews.ca

Robin Cyr’s fourth child has already packed a lifetime’s worth of emotional turmoil into her first 28 minutes in the world.

Cyr, 34, was told her baby girl had died just after being born in the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Canada around 3 a.m. Saturday, March 8th.

But shortly after getting the devastating news, a stuttering, breathless nurse rushed back into the room to say the baby had started breathing again. 

“My aunt was there, and it’s a blessing because her prayers are very deep and strong,” said Cyr on Sunday, speaking in a whisper through tears at the hospital. “When she started praying, my baby came back.”

The big baby girl – who weighed nine pounds 14 ounces – got wedged in the birth canal during the delivery. Once she was born, Cyr lay on the bed waiting, for 25 minutes, for any sign of life.

A flummoxed surgeon told Cyr’s family that he had no explanation for the seemingly impossible recovery.

“He said it’s a miracle,” said Cyr. “He said, ‘I’m very sorry I gave up on your baby when I did, because I turned around and she’s breathing on her own.’”

Cyr’s family and friends say they’re still processing the miracle that trumped the miracle of birth.

Read more: It's a Miracle

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Vatican panel approves Archbishop Fulton Sheen miracle


News excerpt and photo from Catholic News Agency (CNA)

The Bishop of Peoria has rejoiced at a Vatican medical panel’s unanimous approval of a reported miracle attributed to the famous television personality and evangelist, Servant of God Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

“There are many more steps ahead and more prayers are needed. But today is a good reason to rejoice,” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill. said March 6.

“Today is a significant step in the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of our beloved Fulton Sheen, a priest of Peoria and a Son of the Heartland who went on to change the world.”

The approval came from a seven-member board of medical experts advising the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Diocese of Peoria reports.

The reputed miracle involves the unexplained recovery of James Fulton Engstrom, a boy born apparently stillborn in September 2010 to Bonnie and Travis Engstrom of the Peoria-area town of Goodfield. He showed no signs of life as medical professionals tried to revive him. The child’s mother and father prayed to Archbishop Sheen to heal their son.

Although the baby showed no pulse for an hour after his birth, his heart started beating again and he escaped serious medical problems.

The Vatican’s medical advisory panel ruled that there is no medical explanation for the healing of the baby. The ruling means that a board of theologians will now review the case. If they approve the case, its consideration could pass to the cardinals and bishops who advise Pope Francis on beatifications.

If the case reaches Pope Francis, his approval would recognize Archbishop Sheen as “blessed,” the final stage before possible canonization as a saint.

Read more: Fulton Sheen Miracle

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Dr. Michael Moran Evaluates Lourdes Miracles Reports



News Excerpt and Photo from the BBC

When Belfast doctor Michael Moran began volunteering in Lourdes 17 years ago, he had no idea that he would end up becoming part of a small, select team that evaluates miracles at the Catholic religious shrine in France.

The small market town lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees, and is famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes that are reported to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous.

The trainee ENT surgeon is the first doctor from Ireland to take a place on the panel.

Dr Moran said his appointment came "very much by surprise".

"I'd been volunteering in Lourdes for years and had the normal contact that any doctor would have with the medical bureau there," he said.

Since 1858, there have been 69 verified miracles or cures in Lourdes.

"The most recent one was a lady with extremely high blood pressure who had a benign tumour on her adrenal gland that was secreting adrenaline and keeping her blood pressure very high and she felt suddenly well.

"That's a characteristic, that you suddenly feel something different has happened, she felt it when she was in the bath in Lourdes and that was in the 1980s and that was only just confirmed in 2011."

He said the first cure was of a paralysed arm that regained function suddenly.

"Another classic example of that is a gentleman from Italy who had a tumour of the pelvis and although you can see the destruction of the pelvic bone on x-rays which are available for the public to view in Lourdes, the bone actually re-grew, both in the pelvis and the femur in an anatomically correct way that would be very hard to explain," he said.

Michael said miracles were just the "tip of the iceberg" at Lourdes.

Read More: Dr. Michael Moran

Sunday, February 09, 2014

The 'miracle' recovery of last rites patient

Mary Young


Barnsley News from the Barnsley Chronicle

(News Excerpt)

A woman who was given the last rites stunned her family when she started to talk hours later.

Mary Young had received end of life care following a heart attack and was visited by Barnsley Hospital chaplain Fr. Peter Needham.

Mary, 87, of Taylor Crescent, Grimethorpe, was taken to hospital on January 11.

Daughter Marie Gledhill, of Bank End Road, Worsbrough Dale, was contacted the next day by staff to say her mother was deteriorating and that she and her brother Tommy should come.

"My mum was out of it, the nurse said she could have hours or days.

"She didn't even know Fr Peter was there but he came and gave her the last rites.

"I stayed with her after and was talking to her and all of a sudden she started answering me.

"It's a miracle, there's no other explanation. You take it as gospel what the doctors say, but they couldn't believe it."

Mary was allowed home on January 24.

Read More: The Miracle Recovery

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Miracles of Thomas Aquinas - Catholic Exchange


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Man Attributes Miracle Survival to Psalm 54



CBN News - CBN.com

Video of a man's miracle survival after being trapped underwater for three days has gone viral.

Harrison Okene, a Nigerian cook, is the lone survivor of a 12-member crew of an upended tug boat. He attributed his survival all to prayer.

Footage of his rescue, which happened more than six months ago, was just posted online this week.

During the time he was trapped, Okene found an air pocket in the boat and said he was praying to God the whole time, reciting Psalm 54, also called the prayer for deliverance.

That was the last Psalm his wife had sent him via text message. Okene said he believes his rescue after more than 60 hours at 100 feet underwater is a sign of divine deliverance.

Friday, December 06, 2013

St. Nicholas: Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa

News excerpt and photo from Catholic Online

By Peg Luksik

HARRISBURG, PA. (Catholic Online) - Years ago, a little girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the editor of the New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real.  His answer, which spoke of skeptical men in a skeptical age who only believed in what they could see, is as relevant today as it was when Frank Church wrote it.

The name and face of Santa has been plastered over advertising, billboards, movies and television.  We have single Santa's looking for wives, reluctant Santa's trying to escape their destinies, drafted Santa's to replace one who is "retiring", and even bad Santa's.  The stories all have happy endings, with the magic of the North Pole somehow saving the day.

Thankfully, none of them is Santa.  Because Saint Nicholas, like every saint, is real.

He was born in Asia Minor and was bishop of the town of Myra in the fourth century.  When he died he was buried in the cathedral there.  When the Saracens conquered Myra in the early eleventh century, his remains were moved to the Italian city of Bari in 1087. His tomb is visited by thousands every year, even to this day.

His bones exude a clear liquid, called the "manna of Saint Nicholas", which is extracted from the shrine every year on May 9 in a formal ceremony conducted by the Rector of the Basilica in Bari, in the presence of the delegate of the Pope, the Archbishop of Bari, an Orthodox Bishop, civil authorities, the local clergy and the faithful.  This has happened every year since 1980.  The manna is distributed and is considered a relic with healing properties.

Nicholas is the patron saint of children, Russia, Greece, Sicily, sailors, prisoners, bakers, and pawnbrokers.  His image is second only to Mary's in religious icons of both the Eastern and Western churches.

The stories of his generosity and kindness are legendary.

Santa Claus is a translation of his name.

Saint Nicholas is a person who made that connection.  When people pretend to be Santa, they act with levels of generosity and charity and kindness that they do not normally exhibit.  In other words, they get closer to God.  In doing so, they discover happiness.

And even in the convoluted versions of Santa being pushed by today's secular media, that message of happiness through goodness continues to resonate.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  He is not just an idea.  He was, and is, a saint.  A saint who reminds us that we are loved without limits.  A saint who challenges us to remove the limits on how we love others.  A saint who calls us to holiness as we prepare to celebrate the greatest gift mankind has ever received.

Read more: Saint Nicholas

How One Prayer Healed Autism



CBN TV

Gina and Brian witnessed their son Ethan experience victory over autism.

Monday, December 02, 2013

The Divine Rescue on Highway Six



CBN TV

It’s been called The Miracle on Highway 6. After a fiery car crash and desperate prayers, witnesses say angels showed up and performed a miraculous rescue.