Possible Pope Pius XII Miracle Emerges

Details of possible Pius XII miracle emerge : Catholic News Agency (CNA)

(Photo of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII)

The following story is from the Catholic News Agency:

Rome, Italy, Jan 19, 2010 (CNA) - Some details of the case under investigation regarding a possible miracle attributed to Venerable Pope Pius XII have been made public. The story features not just one former Pontiff, but two.

On Tuesday morning, Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli published an article in Il Giornale describing at length the situation which "mysteriously involves" John Paul II.

Tornielli reported that this case was brought to the attention of Benedict XVI shortly before he approved a measure on Dec. 19, 2009 venerating Pope Pius XII's life of "heroic virtue," whose cause had been on-hold for the previous two years.

In 2005, a teacher of 31 years of age was expecting her third child in the city of Castellammare di Stabia. She began to have strong pains, which after many tests and a biopsy, signaled the presence of Burkitt's lymphoma. The condition is typified by swollen lymph nodes, often starting in the abdominal region, and the cancer can spread to bone marrow and spinal fluid. Not only was her health in danger, but that of her unborn child was also threatened.

The woman's husband first prayed for the intercession Pope John Paul II, who was then only recently buried in the crypt of St. Peter's. It wasn't long before the Holy Father appeared to the woman's husband in a dream. The spouse described to Tornielli what he saw that night, "He had a serious face. He said to me, 'I can't do anything, you must pray to this other priest...' He showed me the image of a thin, tall, lean priest. I didn't recognize him; I didn't know who he might be."

Several days passed before he, "by chance," came across a picture of Pope Pius XII in a magazine and recognized him as the man John Paul II had shown him in the dream.

The man wasted no time in bombarding Pius XII with prayers for his wife's healing and following her very first treatments she was declared free of the cancer, the tumor had disappeared. In fact, she was cured so quickly that her doctors pondered the notion that they may have originally misdiagnosed the pathology.

The tests and charts were reconsulted and the initial diagnosis was confirmed.

In the absence of the tumor, she had her baby and returned to work. After some time had gone by, she decided to contact the Vatican regarding her experience.

A local news source, the Sorrento and Dintorni, ran an article on Sunday offering a basic story of the possible miracle and the diocesan response to it. According to their report, a Tribunal has been organized by Archbishop Felice Cece of Sorrento-Castellammare to determine the nature of the occurrence and whether it will move on to the Vatican.

According to Tornielli, if they decide positively, the case will be sent on to Congregation for the Causes of Saints for investigation by a team of doctors to declare whether the event was explicable by natural means. If there is no explanation found for the healing, theologians from the Congregation will debate the issue. Only with their "go-ahead" can a dossier subsequently reach the hands of Pope Benedict XVI for official recognition.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, told CNA on Monday that there is no telling how much time the entire process might take.

He also mentioned that if a case arrives to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints it is examined in chronological order based on the date of arrival and there are thousands of cases pending review.

However, he added, "exceptions might be made for Popes, etc."

There was no mention in Tornielli's report of where the lymphoma had manifested itself in the woman's body. According to the National Institute of Health, Burkitt's lymphoma is treatable and more than half of those diagnosed with the cancer are cured with intensive chemotherapy.

Our Prayers are with Haiti

To people of Haiti - Our Prayers are with you. (uploaded from Flickr.com)
Originally uploaded by The Gift of Gifts

Our heart goes out to the people of Haiti. Please join in prayer for God's hand of mercy to help the people to recover from the earthquake. Thank you very much for your prayer support.

Kathleen Evans Healed by Prayers to Mother Mary MacKillop

Photograph from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mother Mary's miracle survivor opens up

The following article is written by ADAM BENNETT from The Sydney Morning Herald:

Miracle cancer survivor Kathleen Evans says she has no idea why she was touched by Mother Mary MacKillop, and probably won't know until she finally gets "upstairs".

The NSW woman, whose dramatic recovery from lung cancer was confirmed as Mother Mary's second miracle, has described herself as an ordinary churchgoer.

Surrounded by a throng of reporters at Sydney's Mary MacKillop Chapel, the 66-year-old said she was just an average mother-of-five and grandmother to 20, who just happened to be touched by the rebel nun.

Mrs Evans' identity had remained a secret until Monday, when she spoke publicly for the first time about her miracle cure.

In 1993, then aged 49, Mrs Evans was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, which was soon found to have spread and caused a secondary cancer on her brain.

The former smoker refused radiotherapy treatment and was given just months to live by doctors.

But with constant prayers to Mother Mary from family and the local parish, and wearing a relic containing a piece of the soon-to-be saint's clothing, she recovered from the disease.

"Wow" was down-to-earth Mrs Evans' reaction when doctors first told her the cancer had disappeared.

"When he (the doctor) was so excited the first question I asked him was, 'had it shrunk', and he said 'no, it's gone'," said Mrs Evans, who was flanked by husband Barry, daughter Annette and son Luke at Monday's press conference.

"Once he told me it was gone that was it. I've never looked back and thought I might have cancer again, or it might come back."

"I won't get cancer. I'll die of a heart attack," she joked.

In December last year, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed her recovery as Mother Mary's second miracle, paving the way for the canonisation to make her Australia's first saint.

Her first miracle, the curing of a woman who had leukaemia in 1961, was accepted by the Vatican in 1993.

Mrs Evans, who hails from the Hunter region, said that after years of anonymity she was overwhelmed by all the attention she was now getting.

"I'm not one to be on my knees all the time. I'm just an ordinary person," Mrs Evans said of her faith.

"If I miss a Mass, I don't think I'm going to go to hell or anything like that."

Mrs Evans said she didn't know why she had been saved.

"When I finally do get upstairs, it will be the first question I ask," she said.

Mrs Evans said she had felt a presence in her Windale home during her fight with cancer.

She still wears the relic - "it's on my bra" - and still felt the presence of Mother Mary in her life.

"I have many, many times felt Mary MacKillop's presence," she said.

"I do feel her presence. I do feel that she is with me. I feel she is praying for me.

"I talk to her as if she is a person. It's like when you lose someone in your family and you still talk to that person."

Mrs Evans said she felt privileged to be part of Mary MacKillop's canonisation.

She hopes to travel to Rome for the ceremony, expected later in the year.

"It makes me very humble," she said.

"Australia's first saint - it's pretty big."

Mary MacKillop died in 1909 at the age of 67, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 after her first miracle was decreed.

She fought many battles with the Catholic Church when establishing the Sisters of St Joseph, and the dozens of schools they created for less fortunate children - earning her a reputation as a rebel nun.

Julie Papievis: To Heaven and Back

Julie Papievis: To Heaven and Back - CBN

The inspiring story of Julie Papievis and her miraculous recovery from a car accident that caused a serious brain stem injury is a wonderful reflection of God working through the power of prayer.  The initial brain scan showed no brain activity while she was hospitalized.  Her family and church joined together and prayed for a miracle.

The treating neurosurgen, Dr. John Shea, did not expect her to wake up and gave her only a 4% chance of surviving the injuries.

Julie was in a coma for 6 weeks; however, before awakening, she was given a glimpse of heaven.  Dr. Shea said it was a miraculous event that she survived and recovered from the brain stem injury.

To hear Julie's story, please view the inspirational video produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network.

What does scripture say about prayer?  Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Please don't underestimate the power of prayer, especially when circumstances appear to be hopeless.   Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

God is a performer of miracles, "So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."
-Hebrews 4:16

Christian-Miracles.com

Visitors Come to Tucson Home to Pray for Miracles

Believers come to her home for a miracle - Los Angeles Times

The following excerpt is from an article written by Nicole Santa Cruz from the Los Angeles Times:

Reporting from Tucson - For decades, the faithful say, a 1-foot-tall crucifix has been granting the wishes of people in need.

By the thousands, people have come to pray at El Señor de los Milagros -- Lord of the Miracles -- a shrine on the side of a one-story stucco home in a working-class Mexican American neighborhood in Tucson. People have come from as far away as Germany to worship at the shrine, but most visitors come from Arizona and Mexico.

The carved wood sculpture, encased in glass, has been in the Romo family for five generations, said owner Pauline Romo.

The crucifix, which made its way to Tucson from Spain, is sacred in Tucson's Catholic community. In appreciation, people have built and maintained the shrine for Romo. From the beige tile on the floor, to the decorative ironwork painted black and gold, to the black leather benches for people to sit and pray, each component of the patio-like chapel was built by people who said God answered their prayers.

Southern Arizona is dotted with shrines. Often found in front yards or on the side of the road, many consist of just a cross or statue, sometimes decorated elaborately with flowers and candles. Such shrines are part of standard Mexican Catholic practice and are usually statements of thanks, said Jim Griffith, a retired folklorist who lives in Tucson.

Romo's more elaborate shrine is the site of weekly Masses and draws thousands of yearly visitors, many of whom park in the unpaved lot next to Romo's house. The shrine, Griffith said, is a "focus point for people to come and ask for help."

Romo, 84, is something of a Tucson legend. Her family has lived in the area since 1806. The spunky auburn-haired woman served as a rodeo queen in 1947, and designed jewelry at an elegant downtown shop.

Her shrine began as a result of what she calls a personal miracle.

In the 1970s, Romo was on her lunch break downtown eating a piece of pineapple pie when she started throwing up blood. The pie was laden with ground glass -- later traced to a factory accident -- and Romo's insides were torn up. Five doctors told her she wouldn't survive.

In the hospital, Romo pleaded with her mother to give her the statue. "Give him to me," she recalled saying. "And I will show him to the world."

About 200 stitches and a plastic esophagus later, Romo opened the shrine on the side of her home.

Word of the shrine spread, and people began to visit Romo's side yard to kneel before the crucifix and pray.

Mass is said there each Thursday evening. Quinceañeras and weddings have occurred there, and Romo said she sometimes doesn't even notice.

But what she does notice are the stories of miracles people have shared with her over the years.

There was the 3-year-old girl from Mexico who was shot in the mouth and had a bullet lodged in the back of her head. Now that child is 30, with a baby of her own. Her father bricked the floor of the shine in thanks.

"Listen, who lives that gets shot in the mouth?" Romo said. "Tell me. Come on, that's a miracle."

Gesturing around the shrine in the crisp desert wind, Romo said she welcomes everyone, regardless of religious affiliation.

"I don't care how you worship him," she said.

On the left side of the shrine is a blue notebook with a black spine where people write their wishes and prayers.

In Spanish and English, people write for relief from physical ailments or anxiety, or for happiness for their family. Some wishes span multiple pages; others are simply a sentence long.

On Dec. 23, someone wrote, "Please, please, please, heal my knees."

"I don't have to prove what the Lord does," Romo said. Minutes earlier, she had visited with a woman, congratulating her in Spanish. The woman had come to the shrine in the past to ask for help as she pursued a career in nursing. On this day she told Romo that, although she had struggled with the training, she had achieved her dream.

"I see that all the time," Romo said. "Cancer cured, you name it."

One recent afternoon, the gravel crunched as Rosario Lopez's green truck approached the chapel at the end of Melwood Avenue. In dusty blue jeans, tan work boots and a light brown embroidered work shirt, Lopez, 51, went through a chain-link fence to reach the shrine.

The carpenter knelt on a black-padded bench and lowered his head in prayer. In front of him, red and white candles decorated the tile floor, along with vivid red poinsettias. For about 10 minutes, while Lopez prayed, the only sound was the chirping of birds.

Every day for about eight months, Lopez has visited the shrine after work. He's prayed for his own faith and also for his mother's health.

Coming to the chapel has inspired Lopez to become a better Catholic, he says: He now regularly attends Sunday Mass. He's also receiving religious instruction as he prepares to marry his girlfriend of 33 years.

"It really changed me," Lopez said, tears welling in his eyes after his daily prayer.

A Prayer of Divine Protection: Psalm 91

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. - Luke 22:43

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

They say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

 Surely he will save you

from the fowler's snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, "The LORD is my refuge,"

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

 no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

"Because they love me," says the LORD, "I will rescue them;

I will protect them, for they acknowledge my name.

They will call on me, and I will answer them;

I will be with them in trouble,

I will deliver them and honor them.

With long life I will satisfy them

and show them my salvation."

Visit the following link for a selection of Devotional Prayers.

If you examine the photograph closely, sunlight is creating a beautiful and interesting reflection of Jesus on the right side of the window.

The stained glass window was photographed inside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. The Catholic church is located in Boonton, NJ, USA.

Photograph Copyright 2009 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com