Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Sister Marie Simon-Pierre to Speak at Beatification of Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar


The Canadian Press: 'Miracle nun,' John Paul II aides to be protagonists in beatification ceremony

The following excerpt is by Nicole Winfield of The Associated Press:

VATICAN CITY — A French nun whose inexplicable cure from Parkinson's disease was the miracle needed to beatify Pope John Paul II will have a starring role in the Vatican's three-day, around-the-clock beatification extravaganza, officials said Tuesday.

Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, as well as John Paul's closest aide, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and longtime spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, will all speak about their experiences with the beloved pope at a prayer vigil at Rome's Circus Maximus on the eve of the May 1 beatification.

The Vatican on Tuesday released details about the ceremonies, which are expected to draw some 300,000 people to the Eternal City on charter trains, planes and boats. Tent cities are being planned at two locations outside the city in case hotel rooms become scarce.

Eight churches in Rome's historic centre will remain open all night from April 30 to May 1 for a "white night" of prayer reminiscent of the all-night cultural events that Rome and many other cities organize, said Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the pope's vicar for the diocese of Rome which is organizing many of the events.

St. Peter's Basilica itself is expected to keep its doors open well into the night of May 1 to accommodate the faithful who want to pray before John Paul's tomb, which will be moved upstairs from the grottoes underneath the basilica for the occasion.

Shortly after John Paul died, Sister Simon-Pierre says she experienced an inexplicable cure of her Parkinson's disease. Benedict earlier this year confirmed that her healing was indeed miraculous, setting the stage for the beatification.

Beatification is the last major step before possible sainthood, and means John Paul can be publicly venerated. No feast day has yet been set, Lombardi said.

Read more: Beatification of Pope John Paul II

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Cross Appears During Lent as a Sign of God's Love

Cross Appears During Lent
 Examining the cross, Brooke said, "It looks like Jesus"
All photographs by Loci B. Lenar


By Loci B. Lenar

As a Christian and practicing Catholic, God has called me to share my spiritual journey with others by being a witness to my faith through signs and wonders which are arising from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In John 3:21, it says: "...whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Since 2005 a cross with an outline of a shield has appeared annually on my property in Mine Hill, New Jersey. Once again on March 27, 2011, rays of light from the sun are shining on the fence and creating an image of a cross. This image has been showing up every morning since last week. The image appears at the top of the fence and slowly descends until it touches the ground. It then changes into a circle and disappears. The cross can be seen for about 30 minutes.



Interesting Note: The sun is on the outside of the fence, while the cross appears on the inside. However, the sun is high above in the sky and God is shining his light upon humanity including our home and property. With that in mind, it's not impossible for God to send rays of light in all directions of the world, including inside our yard and on the fence.   Furthermore, there are no objects in our house windows which might cause a reflection.

I believe that God has opened the windows of heaven and is pouring out the Holy Spirit on our world.  Joel 2:28 says, "...I will pour out my Spirit on all people..."   
 

In Psalm 84:11, it says, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

Interestingly, this is the Lenten season, a time of spiritual renewal and conversion for Catholics and many Christians as we prepare for Easter.

Jesus said in John 12:46, "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness."

My wife, Teresa, had invited her cousin Diane Kayal to come visit with her husband and children on Saturday, March 26th. Diane's daughter, Brooke, stayed overnight with my family. Then on Sunday morning, the cross appeared on our backyard fence at around 9:00 AM. Brooke went outside to examine the image. I photographed her standing next to the cross and Brooke said in awe, "It looks like Jesus."

Prior to Sunday, I went on March 24th to visit my spiritual advisor, Fr. Richard Tartaglia to speak with him about spiritual matters including the cross that began to appear once more on our property. I also gave Fr. Tartaglia an open invitation to visit my home to see the cross appear for himself.

On Monday, March 28th, I dropped off some photographs in the rectory office at St. Mary's Parish, which is located in Denville, NJ, for Fr. Tartaglia to examine and to keep for church archives.  Fr. Tartaglia is my spiritual advisor for over fifteen years.

I believe this cross is a sign for the world. God is forgiving and sending a message of love for people to return to the sacraments of the church and to reconcile through confession.

Our Lord is calling everyone to make a sincere effort to attend weekly church services or Holy Mass.  In doing so, it helps to receive Our Lord's blessings and divine favor.  

He is calling each person to pray for world peace and divine protection so that violence can be mitigated.  

Jesus is calling everybody to open their heart to receive the Holy Spirit in order to have peace in their lives and families and throughout the world. 

I believe the Lord's plan is to move forward with an era of peace as foretold by Our Lady of Fatima in her 1917 apparitions in Fatima, Portugal, and to fulfill Revelation 20:1-3 with a thousand-year reign of God's peace.  To read Our Lady's message, please visit the following link: The Fatima Message

I believe that if enough people pray, the course of history will change through God's divine intervention.

"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

May Our Lady intercede on behalf of humanity for God's mercy to enfold our world with peace and love.

May Our Heavenly Father bless you and answer all your prayers through his Divine Son, Jesus Christ.

Copyright 2011 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com