30 years since apparitions of Virgin Mary at Medjugorje

30 years since apparitions of Virgin Mary began in Medjugorje

The following excerpt is from RomeReports.com:

Thirty years ago, on June 24, 1981, the Virgin Mary supposedly began appearing to six young people in a small village called Medjugorje in Bosnia Herzegovina. Thus began of one of the most controversial phenomenons in recent memory that turned this tiny village into one of the most visited places in Europe. More than one million visit Medjugorje every year.

However, the Vatican has taken a cautious road and has not made any decisions on these occurrences.

Of the six visionaries, three allegedly see the Virgin Mary every day and the other three just once a year.

In order to make a decision, the pope convened a commission in March of 2010 which was tied to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and led by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. The priest Salvatore Perrella is one of its members.

Fr. Salvatore Perrella
Member, Commission of inquiry on Medjugorje

“If the Lord lets us see the truth of the apparitions that's great, but we must be sure they come from God and they haven't been built up even if they had good intentions. This is what the papal commission does. So there is still no verdict to give. We want to see if the event as explained by the visionaries, which is talked about in the media, and attracts millions to this small town, is truly from God.”

Thirty years after the first apparition of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje there is still no clear judgment about its authenticity. It's something that the 17 experts on apparitions from this commission are investigating, but for now they prefer not to comment.

Read more: Medjugorje

Ambassador says Padre Pio miraculously cured his son

Ambassador says Padre Pio miraculously cured his son

The follwing excerpt is from RomeReports.com:

(Romereports.com) Fernando Sanchez is the ambassador of Costa Rica to the Vatican, but his story has nothing to do with his job. He says, his son is alive thanks to a miracle of Padre Pio. He talks about it in his book “Birth of a spiritual child: Our history with Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.”

It happened three years ago. His child was born with serious heart problems. The doctors said there was no hope for him, but then something happened that changed everything.

Fernando Sánchez
Costa Rica's ambassador to the Vatican
“They called me to say, 'Look, Don Fernando, there is a priest with your son'. I imagined the worst and I ran for the neonatal ward in the intensive care unit and I found the father with a relic of Padre Pio praying over my son's crib. I joined him and nothing else.”

After two hours the child's heart was beating normally and the next day the doctors stopped all treatment and took him off medication.

Since then, Fernando Sanchez and his wife have no doubt that Padre Pio interceded in the healing of their son.

Fernando Sánchez
Costa Rica's ambassador to the Vatican
“Since then we have felt his presence. I have no doubt that he is interceding for us.”

Read more: Padre Pio Miracle

Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua

Gloria.tv: Saint Anthony of Padua Miracle Worker

Bob and Penny Lord have traveled the world to share great stories about saints and miracles. These wonderful stories have aired on EWTN. 

The Feast Day of Saint Anthony of Padua is June 13.  He is recognized by the Catholic church as a miracle worker and for finding lost items.

Prayers for St. Anthony's Intercession

Signs of Christian Unity: Some US Episcopal Churches are Joining the Catholic Church

US Episcopal Churches gaining momentum to form Ordinariate

The following news story is posted on RomeReports.com:

June 11, 2011 - (Romereports.com) - In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI opened the door of the Catholic Church to create Personal Ordinariates, inviting Anglicans to join the Church while retaining many of their liturgical practices. Since then, the United States has seen two Episcopal communities accept the pope's offer to become part of the Personal Ordinariate when it's established in the US.

Mount Calvary Church in Baltimore announced it's decision in October of 2010 and is being followed by St. Luke's in Maryland.

An Ordinariate typically covers an entire country. But this will remain open until the exact number is known of US Episcopal Churches that wish to join the Catholic Church.

When St. Luke's announced their decision, they received the full support of Cardinal Wuerl and the Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane of Washington.

The congregations are in contact with Cardinal Wuerl who is in charge of guiding the incorporation of Anglican groups from the United States and has given them his full welcome.

Please Join in Prayerful Unanimity for God's Spiritual Blessings

Jesus and John the Babtist - Stained Glass Window
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

All are welcome to attend St. Mary's Catholic Church for prayer services.

The church holds a monthly service for general prayer including special prayer intentions which are submitted through the website of Christian-Miracles.com.

Previous services have included prayer for Christian Unity.

The next service is scheduled for Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. (EST). The prayer service is held every third Thursday of each month with a new theme. June will focus on John the Babtist. In addition, prayers for world peace is always included.

There is great power when people join together in agreement while praying for God’s help and intervention. However, if you cannot attend, you can still join in by praying in unity with St. Mary’s Church between the hours of 7:30-8:00 PM on June 16th.

God wants us to approach him with the desires of our heart. Our Lord calls us to connect with his divine grace in order to receive blessings in our lives. Trust and believe in God's word and wait for his timing to receive an answer to your prayers.

Miracles happen when least expected!

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24)

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)

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)

If you live in the area or plan on visiting New Jersey, please consider attending and joining in the evening prayer service with Fr. Richard Tartaglia.

The service begins with singing of hymns followed with psalm prayers and then reading of the gospels. After the reading, Fr. Tartaglia gives his homily which is followed with a prayer of intercession for Special Prayer Intentions (prayer requests). The Lord's Prayer is recited and after that there is a closing prayer with a blessing given by Fr. Tartaglia. The prayer service is concluded with closing songs.

St. Mary's Catholic Church is located on 15 Myers Avenue in Denville, New Jersey. Father Martin Glynn is the head pastor of the church.

For directions to St. Mary's Church, please visit the following link: http://www.stmarys-denville.org/directions.htm

With the support of Father Richard Tartaglia, prayer requests that are submitted through Christian-Miracles.com are also prayed for every Monday morning after the 8:00 A.M. Mass, during Holy Hour Adoration, which is between the hours of 8:30 to 9:30 AM.

Regardless of your religious denomination, please feel free to submit your prayer request at the following link: http://www.christian-miracles.com/apps/prayers/. Your email address will remain confidential.

Loci Lenar visits Father Richard Tartaglia on a regular bases for spiritual guidance and shares with him the prayer requests. As a result, Mr. Lenar will hand deliver all emails requesting prayers to Fr. Tartaglia.


Monthly Prayer Schedule with Related Topics for 2011:

St. Joachim and St. Anne - Thursday, July 21, 7:30 P.M.

Assumption of Our Lady - Thursday, August 18, 7:30 P.M.

Mary's Birth - Thursday, September 15, 7:30 P.M.

All Saints and Souls - Thursday, October 20, 7:30 P.M.

Thanksgiving - Thursday, November 17, 7:30 P.M.

Advent and Christmas - Thursday, December 15, 7:30 P.M.

***

St. Mary's Weekly Mass Schedule:

Sunday: 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 AM

Saturday: 5:00 PM

Weekdays: 8:00 AM and 12:05 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

First Fridays: 8:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 8:00 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

Holy Days: 7:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 noon, 7:00 PM

Eve of Holy Days: 5:00 PM

HOW SMALL PRAYERS BUILD INTO BIG MIRACLES

St. Padre Pio Statue
Photo by Loci B. Lenar

FORGIVENESS AND CONFESSION BRINGS 'BLESSINGS' THAT CAN THEN TURN INTO 'MIRACLES'

The following excerpt is from SpiritDaily.com:

When coupled with forgiveness, the sacrament of Reconciliation brings tremendous healing.

First, however, ask God to reveal any sins you need to confess or anything you need to forgive -- then watch the blessings flow!

The holy practices we have been taught – in whatever aspect of the Church – have real benefit. During the Eucharist, the stream is channeled through the Host in the same way that light streams from the sun. Perhaps this is why so many see "sun miracles" with a Host in front of it.

From such practices come blessings you didn't even know were there: happiness, security, contentment among them.

He may well be ready to give you what you have sought for so long but may be waiting for you to see His goodness in every aspect of life and to completely turn over your life to Him.

Know that there are blessings around the corner. Have faith! That potent combination will loose many gifts and lift you in a way that will exceed your best Christmas. See every problem as an opportunity, for thankfulness in all situations unlocks grace. When that is kept in mind, it brings the realization that there's never the need for desperation.

It is mindful of a remarkably well-documented case in San Giovanni Rotundo, Italy, in which the missing eye of a construction worker was said to have rematerialized after St. Padre Pio prayed for him. When the bandage was taken off, there was the eye despite detailed medical descriptions of how it had been obliterated in a blasting accident.

Doctors had seen the empty socket.

Miracles are all around, if we would only notice.

Read more: How Prayers build into Miracles

St. Maria Goretti

St. Maria Goretti, originally uploaded by Loci Lenar.

The following biography is from Catholic Online:

Maria Goretti was Born in Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy, on October 16 1890; her farmworker father moved his family to Ferrier di Conca, near Anzio. Her father died of malaria and her mother had to struggle to feed her children.

In 1902 an eighteen-year-old neighbor, Alexander, grabbed her from her steps and tried to rape her. When Maria said that she would rather died than submit, Alexander began stabbing her with a knife.

As she lay in the hospital, she forgave Alexander before she died. Her death didn't end her forgivness, however.

Alexander was captured and sentenced to thirty years. He was unrepentant until he had a dream that he was in a garden. Maria was there and gave him flowers. When he woke, he was a changed man, repenting of his crime and living a reformed life. When he was released after 27 years he went directly to Maria's mother to beg her forgiveness, which she gave. "If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withold forgiveness," she said.

When Maria was declared a saint in 1950, Alexander was there in the St. Peter's crowd to celebrate her canonization. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950 for her purity as model for youth.

She is called a martyr because she fought against Alexander's attempts at sexual assault. However, the most important aspect of her story is her forgiveness of her attacker -- her concern for her enemy extending even beyond death. Her feast day is July 6. St. Maria Goretti is the patroness of youth and for the victims of rape.

***

The statue of St. Maria Goretti is displayed inside the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, (Blue Army Shrine) which is located on the grounds of The World Apostolate of Fatima, Washington, NJ, USA.

Photograph Copyright 2011 Loci B. Lenar

Heaven is for Real: Boy describes seeing Mary and Jesus

Near-death experience led to heaven's door - Winnipeg Free Press

The following excerpt is from Winnipeg Free Press:

WHILE on a family road trip in 2003, a small-town Nebraska boy just shy of four years old survived a brush with death made all the more maddening by how preventable it was.

A simple case of appendicitis took a malevolent turn when medical miscalls, parental errors in judgment and the vagaries of winter travel conditions lead to Colton Burpo suffering a rupture and rampant infection.

Heaven Is for Real, by Colton's father, Todd, a Baptist preacher,

In conversation, Colton starts to drop the names of some remarkable religious figures, saying that he had met them in heaven during the moments he was nearest to taking his last breath.

Todd, a pastor at a Nebraska Wesleyan church, wonders about his son's otherworldly comments that pop up in the midst of otherwise normal little-boy chatter.

Colton goes on to describe meeting Jesus's cousin, John the Baptist, and knowing that Colton could not possibly have had prior knowledge of the experiences and people he describes, interprets the situation as a calling.

"We'd been given a gift and our job now was to unwrap it, slowly, carefully, and see what was inside."

From this point forward, Todd faithfully presents a complete record of Colton's visit to heaven, as revealed to him in a naturally unfolding conversation over the course of months.

The Burpos' middle child (his younger brother was not born until 2005), Colton reveals that he has travelled extensively throughout heaven, meeting dearly departed family members, and luminaries of the faithful, including God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Todd is even able to report to Catholic friends that Colton "saw Mary kneeling before the throne of God and at other times standing beside Jesus."

For believers who like to share the Good News, Heaven Is For Real is manna in a couple of ways. For the Christian-centred family, the book is perfect to share and discuss around the dinner table as a means to grow and deepen faith.

Read More: Heaven is for Real

Our Lady of Medjugorje: Messages from Heaven

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

The Medjugorje Web - Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje's Message to Visionary Mirjana Soldo on June 2, 2011:

"Dear children!  As I call you to prayer for those who have not come to know the love of God, if you were to look into your hearts you would comprehend that I am speaking about many of you. With an open heart, sincerely ask yourselves if you want the living God or do you want to eliminate Him and live as you want. Look around you, my children, and see where the world is going, the world that thinks of doing everything without the Father, and which wanders in the darkness of temptation. I am offering to you the light of the Truth and the Holy Spirit. According to God's plan I am with you to help you to have my Son, His Cross and Resurrection, triumph in your hearts. As a mother, I desire and pray for your unity with my Son and His works. I am with you; you decide. Thank you."

Read More Messages

Pope Benedict XVI proposes leap of faith to overcome all difficulties

Benedict XVI proposes leap of faith to overcome all difficulties

The video and following excerpt is posted on RomeReports.com:

RomeReports.com - While praying the Regina Coeli, Benedict XVI highlighted the presence of God in the world and asked for others not feel like “Orphans of God” and to overcome the difficulties by renewing their faith every day.

Benedict XVI
“I invite everyone to joyfully renew the Christian hope which is born from the mystery of Easter, to face difficulties, ward off discouragement and efforts to build a world worthy of man , following God's wishes.”

The pope stressed that everyone is responsible for helping others come closer to God. He said this could be done by introducing the Gospel to others and to help rejuvenate the “ancient Christian roots.”

Benedict XVI
“Today the vocation of the Church is the evangelization of the people who are not familiar with the Gospel, as those with ancient Christian roots that need new blood to rediscover the beauty and joy of faith.”

Read more: A Leap of Faith

Editor of Vatican paper says he received miracle from St. Pope Pius X

CNS NEWS BRIEFS

The following news item is from the Catholic News Service:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The editor of the Vatican newspaper said he was cured of a childhood disease through the intercession of St. Pope Pius X. "I have an authentic veneration for him because, according to family tradition, I was miraculously cured because of him," said Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of L'Osservatore Romano. In 1954, when Vian had just turned 2 years old, he was struck by "an almost deadly form of diphtheria," he said in an interview with Il Consulente Re, an online Italian Catholic magazine. Vian said that on the eve of Pope Pius' canonization in May 1954, a Spanish priest who was a friend of Vian's father said the family should pray for the intercession of the late pope. Family members already felt a close tie to the Treviso-born pope because they were from the same part of northern Italy, Vian said. After the priest celebrated Mass "on the pope's tomb" in St. Peter's Basilica, "I was cured," Vian said.

Science and Faith Merge in Pope's Space Station Talk

Science and Faith Merge in Pope's Space Station Talk | Space.com

The following excerpt is from Space.com:

In a first for The Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI called to the heavens on Saturday, but instead of reaching God, he spoke to two Italian astronauts and their 10 colleagues working on board the International Space Station (ISS).

"Dear astronauts, I am very happy to have this extraordinary opportunity to converse with you during your mission and especially grateful to be able to speak to so many of you as both crews are present on the space station at this time," the Pope said.

Love is a Key to God's Blessings



Jesus said, "This is My commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you."
John 15:12
Photo by Loci B. Lenar

 

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

This beautiful scripture is written by St. Paul (Paul the Apostle):

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Experiencing a Double Miracle

Eric and Nancy Pierre: Experiencing a Double Miracle - CBN.com 

The above video and following excerpt is from CBN TV:

When Nancy lost her first baby, the Pierre's grieved. Years later another troubled pregnancy not only had their baby's life in danger, but Nancy was in critical condition too.

Monthly Prayer Service being held at St. Mary's Church in Denville, New Jersey

St. Mary's Church Window
Photo by Loci B. Lenar

All are welcome to attend St. Mary's Catholic Church for Mass and prayer services.

The church holds a monthly service for prayer including special prayer intentions which are submitted through the website of Christian-Miracles.com.

Previous themes have included prayer for Christian Unity. This months theme is May and Mary.

The next prayer service is scheduled for Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. (EST). The prayer service is held every third Thursday of each month. However, prayers for world peace are always included.

With arrangements made with Fr. Richard Tartaglia and St. Mary's Church, prayer requests that are submitted through Christian-Miracles.com are prayed for every Monday morning after the 8:00 A.M. Mass, during Holy Hour Adoration, which is between the hours of 8:30 to 9:30 AM.

If you live in the area or plan on visiting New Jersey, please consider attending and joining in the evening prayer service with Fr. Richard Tartaglia. The service begins with singing of hymns followed with psalm prayers and then reading of the gospels. After the reading, Fr. Tartaglia gives his homily which is followed with a prayer of intercession for Special Prayer Intentions (prayer requests). The Lord's Prayer is recited and after that there is a closing prayer with a blessing given by Fr. Tartaglia. The prayer service is concluded with a closing song.

St. Mary's Catholic Church is located on 15 Myers Avenue in Denville, New Jersey. Father Martin Glynn is the head pastor of the church.

For directions to St. Mary's Church, please visit the following link: http://www.stmarys-denville.org/directions.htm

Regardless of your religious denomination, please feel free to submit your prayer request at the following link: http://www.christian-miracles.com/apps/prayers/.

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)

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)

St. Mary's Weekly Mass Schedule:

Sunday: 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 AM

Saturday: 5:00 PM

Weekdays: 8:00 AM and 12:05 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

Holy Hour Adoration is held every Monday morning after 8:00 AM Mass.

First Fridays: 8:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 8:00 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

Holy Days: 7:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 noon, 7:00 PM

Eve of Holy Days: 5:00 PM

***

Devotional Prayers

Husband Celebrates Miracle as 'Brain Dead' Wife Wakes Up in Hospital

Husband Celebrates Miracle as 'Brain Dead' Wife Wakes Up in Hospital - FoxNews.com

The following news story appears on FoxNews.com:

DARWIN, Australia -- A woman who was diagnosed as being brain dead has recovered three days after her husband begged doctors to put in a breathing tube before switching off a ventilator at an Australian hospital, the Northern Territory News reported Wednesday.

Gloria Cruz, 56, underwent brain surgery after a tumor was discovered when she suffered a stroke on March 7 and was rushed to the Royal Darwin Hospital in Darwin, Northern Territory.

Doctors told her husband Tani Cruz, 51, the case was “hopeless” and she would probably die within 48 hours following the surgery.

After two weeks, a breathing tube was inserted in Mrs Cruz's mouth and the ventilator was turned off. Hospital staff were stunned when she woke from her coma three days later.

When a doctor recommended that the ventilator be removed and Gloria Cruz be allowed to die, her husband told them, "I'm a Catholic -- I believe in miracles.”

“I told him that God knows how much I love her -- that I don't want her to suffer but I don't want her to leave us,” he said.

A doctor described her recovery as "a miracle."

Mrs Cruz is now alert and getting around in a wheelchair at the hospital.

"She's well on the way to recovery,” her husband said.

Pope Benedict XVI: "We need Christians convinced and convincing"

Gloria.tv: Benedict XVI: "We need Christians convinced and convincing"

The following excerpt is from Gloria.TV:

The Church of today needs "disciples of Christ who are brave and faithful, devoted only to him, and who are convinced and convincing." These were the words of Pope Benedict when he arrived Saturday afternoon in Aquileia, an ancient Roman port city containing what is considered the mother-church of the region. It was the first leg of his two-day trip to northeastern Italy. He welcomed public authorities, bishops and faithful from the region, and those from areas evangelized from the Mother Church of Aquileia in Slovenia, Croatia, Austria and Bavaria. In the city's historic Chapter Square, the Pope underlined that the Church of that city was the ninth of the Roman Empire and the Fourth of Italy.

A Prayer on Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!
Photo by Loci B. Lenar

Prayer to the Mother of the Lord for all Mothers

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. Amen

***

The statue of the Blessed Mother can be seen outside the convent of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Denville, NJ.

St. Padre Pio Appears to Hospitalized Patient in Delaware

Padre Pio - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

  

Vince Beddia: A man of faith - By Frank Rega - CapeGazette.com

The following excerpt is from CapeGazette.com:

Long Neck resident Vince Beddia had been under the watchful care of his Delaware cardiologist, Dr. Roberto Rosa, for a dozen years. In January 2011, after Vince complained of having trouble breathing, his physician ordered a catheterization procedure. Prior to the test, Vince had a premonition that he was not going to be leaving the hospital that day. In fact, Rosa and Dr. Fernando Garzia, the medical director of Beebe Medical Center’s cardiac surgery program, determined from the test results that multiple heart bypasses were needed without delay.

While awaiting the intervention, Vince fell asleep in his hospital bed until he was awakened by someone standing near him. He knew immediately who it was. St. Padre Pio, in full Capuchin habit, beamed a great, warm smile as he stood next to Vince’s bed. The saint said nothing verbally, but words were not necessary for Vince to receive the message of peace, hope and confidence that Padre Pio brought to him. The long-deceased Capuchin priest held out his right arm toward Vince, and Vince could see that he was holding a book but was not able to discern its title.

The visit was brief - Padre Pio disappeared just as a nurse was entering the room, but Vince knew that all would be well, and he felt no fear. He asked the nurse if she had seen the saint. Looking at him as if he were hallucinating, she assured him that no else was present in the room.

The doctors and staff at Beebe were quite astonished at how relaxed, carefree, and confident Vince appeared as he was prepped for the anesthesia. Vince spoke to them about the Lord Jesus, and found to his surprise that everyone in the operating room knew the Lord. Garzia later remarked that he had never before operated on someone who was so calm and unafraid.

The extensive surgery that January day lasted about seven hours. The 77-year old patient was subjected to a heart valve replacement and six bypasses.

Many times during his serious illnesses and trials, he would suddenly experience the scent of roses, seemingly coming from nowhere. He thought at first that perhaps the Blessed Virgin was sending him a sign. Later he learned that Padre Pio often signals his spiritual help and presence by means of the aroma of roses and other flowers, as reported in the many books about him. Vince now considers that the heavenly scents were most probably consoling gifts from the saintly Capuchin.

Vince Beddia has fathered 12 children, and he lives with his wife Betty in Long Neck, just a short distance from his son’s Italian restaurant, La Dolce Vita. Formerly a Catholic, he now attends East Gate Presbyterian Church and has words of praise for his pastor, the Rev. Gary Knapp. When Vince told Knapp of his Padre Pio experience, the pastor, who had heard of the Catholic saint, replied, “You are in good hands!” Though currently not an active Catholic, Vince still keeps in prayerful contact with his favorite saints, including Padre Pio, and often prays the Rosary.

Read more: Vince Beddia

The Divine Rescue on Highway Six

The Divine Rescue on Highway Six - CBN TV - Video

The following excerpt is from CBN.com:

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.