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

Prayer Service Scheduled at Saint Mary's Church

St. Mary's Parish

St. Mary's prayer service is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Thursday, May 15, 2014.

St. Mary's Catholic Church holds a monthly service for prayer with Fr. Richard Tartaglia, including special prayer intentions which are submitted through the website of www.Christian-Miracles.com.  

Submit your prayer requests to http://www.christian-miracles.com/prayerrequest.htm

St. Mary's Catholic Church is located on the corner of Myers Avenue and Route 46, Denville, New Jersey.

Directions: http://www.stmarys-denville.org/directions.htm

If you cannot attend the prayer service, you can still join in by praying in unity for all special prayer intentions.

There is great power through the Holy Spirit when people join together in agreement while praying for God’s help and intervention.

Regarding prayer, Jesus said, "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." (Matthew 18:19-20)

(The statue of Jesus is on display inside of St. Mary's Church.)

Photograph Copyright Loci B. Lenar

Prayer for Strength to Forgive

Faultless Lord, enduring death for me,
You have consummated the debt of my sins:
Your sacrifice of forgiveness was absolute!
Grant me the strength to also forgive others,
To excuse their transgressions against me.
So I may truly reflect this spiritual fruit,
Obliterate any persistent feelings of malice.
Let each trespass end as a closing chapter,
My continuing on the road of righteousness.
Forgive my sins as I aspire to forgive others.
You are truly archetypical of forgiveness.
You are a most forgiving Lord!

(Prayer from Catholic Online) 

Photograph Copyright Loci B. Lenar
www.christian-miracles.com

Prayer to the Mother of the Lord for all Mothers

Happy Mothers Day!

Mary, on this day when we honor all mothers, we turn to you. We thank the Lord whom you serve for the great gift of motherhood. Never has it been known that anyone who sought your intercession was left unaided by grace. Dear Mother, thank you for your “Yes” to the invitation of the angel which brought heaven to earth and changed human history. You opened yourself to God’s word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers. Ask your Divine Son to give them the grace of surrendered love so that they could join with you in giving their own “Fiat.” May they find daily strength to say yes to the call to the sacrificial love - the very heart of the vocation of motherhood. May their love and witness be a source of great inspiration for all of us called to follow your Son.
On this Mothers day, Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for us who have recourse to you…
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

(Prayer from Catholic Online)

***
The photograph is a close-up of Mary and Infant Jesus. The beautiful wood icon is part of a display of votive candles used for prayers. The votive display is on the left side of the church as you enter into the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Catholic church is located on 543 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ, USA.

Photograph Copyright Loci B. Lenar
www.christian-miracles.com

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. 

Virgin Mary image seen while restoring church

News story and video from krqe.com

They fought to save it and won.

Now, the work to restore the church has revealed something that has parishioners saying, “We told you so.”

“It is something special, something special for this community,” said Esther Garcia, former mayor of Questa.

Like Garcia, dozens of people are visiting St. Anthony Catholic Church in Questa  this week to take a look.

“It kind of just like, it just hit me,” Garcia said. “To come here to see it, I have to tell you, I had to cry. They’re happy tears, yes, very much so.”

Mark Sideris, the coordinator of the church restoration project, helped make the discovery that is attracting all the attention.

“I felt very distinctly seeing a lamb being cradled in the arms of Mary,” he said. “In my mind that is the Lamb of God and his Mother Mary.”

Sideris said he was working with a handful of others on Monday when he first noticed it.

“Our main saw man made a mistake and, as a result of making that mistake, we had to turn the timber sideways and re-cut it,” Sideris said.

But he said when he noticed the image of Virgin Mary in the beam, he realized it wasn’t a mistake after all.

“This bolsters the energy to see, ‘Wow, we’re on the right path here,’ and we’ve been given this as a reminder,” Sideris said.

Read more: Virgin Mary Image