Apparition of Cross Appears in Window

Photograph by Tarmo Hannula

The following excerpt and photo is from Pajaronian.com

By Todd Guild

Hundreds of people have been flocking to a small house in downtown Watsonville, CA, to get a glimpse of what the owners say is a miracle.

Since the phenomenon was discovered two weeks ago, residents say visitors hoping to see the cross — which changes color and shape depending on the type of light behind it — have been coming around the clock.

On Thursday afternoon, about two dozen people were gathered in the garage, sitting on benches and chairs, silently praying and placing flowers on a table just under the window.

Parents carried their young children, while men stood near the back of the garage, their hats clenched in their hands.

“I live next door so I had to come and see for myself,” Jaime Saavedora said. “I’ve been seeing all these people come here. I’m a believer, so this is really important to me. I’m glad to see so many people come out for this. It’s really incredible; it’s a miracle.”

Sophia Marr of Aptos came to the apparition after she heard about the phenomenon at a church rosary group.

“The amazing thing is that this is happening during Holy Week,” she said. “I’m Roman Catholic, and to me this is beautiful.”

“I think it strengthens peoples’ faith when they see something that’s out of the ordinary,” she added.

At one point, a woman walked up to the window, leaned close and began to cry.

“I see Jesus’ face on the cross,” she said, before collapsing to the ground, where she was caught by her companions.

Esmerelda Segura, 13, said she took the three-hour drive from Sonoma with her family after hearing about the window from her aunt.

“I think it’s amazing,” she said. “At first I thought it was just a reflection from the light, but not anymore.”

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter!

Scripture - Matthew 28:1-14

The Resurrection

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

The Guards' Report

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.

***
The stained glass window detail was photographed inside Our Lady Star of the Sea Church. The Catholic church is located in Lake Hopatcong, NJ, USA.

Copyright 2010 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com

God's Call for the World to Pray for Peace as We Celebrate Easter

Cross of 2010 - Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

By Loci B. Lenar

Lent prepares us through sacrifice and prayer for a spiritual renewal of the soul. However, Easter rejuvenates our lives as God the Father calls us to live by the gospels of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by transforming us into the resurrected image of His divine son.

Through prayerful contemplation and preparation for Easter, I made an appointment with my spiritual advisor, Father Richard Tartaglia of Saint Mary’s Church. My visit on Wednesday, March 31, to Saint Mary’s, included the sacrament of reconciliation and a conversation with Fr. Richard about the spiritual presence of God as our Lord manifests His love through signs and wonders throughout the world.

For anyone that's interested in visiting Saint Mary's Church, it is located on the corner of Myers Avenue and Route 46 in Denville, New Jersey.

Since 2005 and each year following, God the Father has blessed me through His divine son, Jesus Christ, with a miraculous sign of a cross which appears annually on my residence in Mine Hill, NJ. Once again, on Saturday morning, March 27, 2010, a cross surrounded by a shield appeared on my backyard fence. The spiritual presence of God and His angels coincided with the start of Holy Week.

2010 Cross - Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

The cross started appearing at the top of the fence as a result of sunlight and then slowly moved downward until it came in contact with the ground. At that point it turned into a round circle of light and then afterward it disappeared. The most recent cross was seen by my wife, Teresa, including my son, Ryan and his friend Nicole.

In Psalm 84:11, we read that “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.” Through discernment and prayer, it’s the Shield of Archangel Michael, protector of God’s church and people.

In my previous testimony which is posted on this blog from March 23, 2007, I stated that nothing is visible in the house windows that might create a reflection of a cross. As before, I stand by that statement.

In my heart, I know it’s a reflection of God’s light coming from the gates of Heaven. As Jesus said in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

The photographs and testimony were shared with my spiritual advisor, Father Richard Tartaglia during my recent visit.

Father Richard Tartaglia - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

As you walk into the front door of Father Richard Tartaglia's office, the first object you notice is a poster hanging on the rear door with a caption of ‘Men in Black’ with two priests.  The poster has Fr. Jones holding a bible, while Fr. Smith holds a cross, both protecting the church from malevolent forces of evil. Ironically, the poster is based on the sci-fi movie staring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith who are both protecting earth from galactic destruction.

With that in mind, we are indeed living in a world which is following the road to perdition if we do not embrace positive change and follow the gospels of Jesus Christ. In scripture we are reminded to love one another and to strive for world peace.

God the Father is calling for everyone to pray for Divine Mercy and to make use of church sacraments by attending and celebrating Mass.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is calling for us to pray that violence be mitigated and extinguished throughout the world.

Our Lord is calling for us to cherish and respect human life especially the unborn and elderly.

Our Lord is calling for us to live in peace with our brothers and sisters of other religious denominations.

Our Lord is calling for us to help evangelize the world and to pray for Christian unity.

Our Lord is calling for us to pray for peace in our families and for the world.

Our Lord is calling for us to pray for divine protection and to pray for assistance in our lives through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima and Archangel Michael.

Cross Appears on My Fence in 2005

Cross of 2005 - Photo by Loci B. Lenar 

As I stated before, the cross first began to appear on my property in 2005.  For additional information on my testimony pertaining to the 2005 cross, please visit the following link: Miraculous Signs: Angels from Heaven.

March 25, 2008 front page clipping of Gloucester County Times 

Incidentally, in 2008, by coincidence or perhaps I should say by providence, the Gloucester County Times reported a similar story of a cross photographed on Easter Sunday in Pitman, New Jersey. To read the story, please visit the following links: NJ.com or Cross Appears on House During Easter.

Please join in prayer for God’s divine intervention in order to change our world and usher in an era of peace as foretold by Our Lady of Fatima and prophesied in Revelation 20: A Thousand Year Reign of God’s Peace.

As Jesus said in Luke 18:27, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Copyright 2010 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com

Prayers to Saint Jude: Patron of Hopeless and Desperate Cases

Saint Jude Thaddeus

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Prayer to St. Jude

 Patron of Hopeless and Desperate Cases

O most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.

Make use, I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (state your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.

I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.

Saint Jude Heals King Abgar of Edessa

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Prayer To Saint Jude Thaddeus the Apostle

True relative

Of Jesus and Mary,

I salute you through

This Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Through his Heart

I praise and thank God

For all the graces

He has bestowed upon you.

Humbly prostrate before you

I implore you,

Through His Heart,

To look down upon me

With compassion.

Despite my poor prayer;

Let not my trust

Be confounded!

To you God has granted

The privilege of

Aiding mankind

In the most desperate cases.

Oh, come to my aid

Until I can thank you in heaven.

All my life

I will be your grateful client

Until I can thank you in heaven.

Amen.

St. Jude, pray for us

And for all who invoke your aid.

Amen.

Saint Jude Novena

(to be prayed for 9 consecutive days)

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.

Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (make your request here) and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen

May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, and loved in all the tabernacles until the end of time. Amen.
May the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and glorified now and forever. Amen
St. Jude pray for us and hear our prayers. Amen.

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Blessed be St. Jude Thaddeus, in all the world and for all Eternity.

Pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary

***

The prayers can be found on Catholic websites.

For additional daily prayers, please visit the following link: Devotional Prayers

For biographical information, please visit the following link: Saint Jude

The upper stained glass window detail of Saint Jude can be seen inside of the St. Anthony of Padua Church. The Catholic church is located on 1360 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, New Jersey, USA.

The lower stained glass window of Saint Jude healing King Abgar of Edessa can be seen inside of Saint Jude's Church, located on 40 Maxim Drive in Hopatcong, NJ, USA.

Photographs Copyright 2010 Loci B. Lenar
Christian-Miracles.com

Possible John Paul II Miracle?

The following article regarding a possible miracle associated with Pope John II apeared on the Catholic News Agency:

Possible JP II miracle has not yet been examined, clarifies Vatican official : Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Vatican City - (CNA/Europa Press).- The prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, explained this week that the possible miraculous healing of a French nun attributed to the intercession of John Paul II has not yet been examined by the Vatican Medical Commission.

Cardinal Saraiva made his statements to a group of reporters in Rome in reference to reports published a month ago in Poland claiming that the Vatican commission had dismissed the miracle supposedly experienced by Sister Marie Simon Pierre. The cardinal said the miracle could not have been rejected “because the doctors have not examined it yet.”

The nun had been suffering from Parkinson's, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, since 2001, but has testified that she was cured in the night of June 2, 2005 after praying to John Paul II, whose final years were also marked by the disease.

“All I can tell you is that I was sick and now I am cured. It is for the church to say and to recognize whether it is a miracle,” Sr. Marie Simon Pierre told reporters in 2007.

The procedure for approving a miracle through the intercession of a specific person involves first “that it be approved by a Medical Commission, which certifies that the event is scientifically unexplainable and that the healing is instantaneous, complete and lasting,” the cardinal explained.

Before beginning the final examination, “the Congregation usually gets the opinion of two doctors beforehand” and keeps the information confidential. However, in the case of the French nun, one of the doctors expressed doubt and “the news came out,” the cardinal said. He added that even so, this does not mean that the miracle has been rejected, but rather, as is usually the case, the Congregation will ask for a third opinion before beginning the official examination.

If the evaluation by the doctors is positive, the miracle will be evaluated by a Theological Commission, which will study whether or not the event is due to the intercession of John Paul II. Then, it must pass analysis by the 30 members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who are like the “Parliament” of the Congregation.

Asked if this might delay the date of John Paul II’s beatification, Cardinal Saraiva said, “It’s not a case of delaying because a date was never set in the first place."

Why is this Week Called Holy?

The Garden of Gethsemane

Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

The following article by Deacon Keith Fournier appeared on Catholic Online:

Catholic Online - Lent Story

Why is this Week Called Holy?
Take This Cup

By Deacon Keith Fournier

We all experience "Gethsemanes" in our own lives; times of difficulty, deep sorrow, loss, distress, fear and anguish.

CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) - "Then going out he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not undergo the test." After withdrawing about a stone's throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done."

(And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.) When he rose from prayer -and returned to his disciples- he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test." (Luke 22: 39-42)

This Sunday we enter into Holy Week. Christians will gather in sanctuaries throughout the world and wave Palm branches in imitation of those who lined the streets at Jesus´ triumphal entry. We will follow the path of His struggle, the way of His rejection and we will be invited to climb the mountain of His great saving act of unmerited selfless Divine love.

During this week we are invited to enter into His pattern of surrendered love; to walk this way with Jesus, who, in His Sacred humanity, teaches us the path to our own transformation. The agony in that garden called Gethsemane shows us a very human Jesus.

Yes, He was Divine and, because of that, He alone could do for us what we could not do for ourselves, restoring through His passion and death the broken relationship between God and the people whom He fashioned for love and communion. With His outstretched arms, He bridged the gap between heaven and earth. In His triumph over death he defeated the last enemy and began the new creation.

In His Sacred humanity this man Jesus shows each of us how to live differently. We are invited to greet and embrace even that which we do not want as the very means of transformation. We have been given the grace to accept difficulties, which, when embraced in love, can actually become a path to our redemption.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin." (Hebrews 14:15)

The Christian tradition insists that even undeserved and unmerited suffering, when joined in love to the sufferings of Jesus Christ, can produce extraordinary fruit within us and around us. This is the mystery of suffering in the Christian life.

Saint Jose Maria Escriva once wrote "The great Christian revolution has been to convert pain into fruitful suffering and to turn a bad thing into something good. We have deprived the devil of this weapon; and with it we can conquer eternity."

How do we treat those circumstances that cause us to struggle? How do we deal with what we find unpleasant? Do we practice an "adult" form of avoidance and run, acting as if it will all just go away like when children cover their eyes? Or do we believe that even unpleasant things and "difficult" people can actually be gifts from the hands of a loving God who invites us to walk in the way of His Son?

How do we deal with unresolved conflicts or troubling relationships? Do we work toward resolution, making "love our aim" (1 Cor. 14:7), or do we avoid them, thinking they will just go away if we "pretend" they don´t exist?

Now is the time, during this week we call "Holy", to join the revolution of which this great saint writes. After all, why do we call this week "Holy"? I suggest two among many reasons.

First, the story of this week is the story of an all Holy God who showed the depth of His love through the complete emptying of Himself, in and through the Passion of His Son. Second, it is holy because we are invited into that life and way of holiness that Jesus demonstrated during all of the events that we will soon commemorate.

In the Old Testament the word often translated as "holy" literally meant- to be set aside, consecrated, for God. In Jesus Christ it now means even more. We who are baptized into Him are invited to live our lives now, in Him. To love as He loves; to pray as He prays, to walk as He walks, to suffer as He suffers; to confront evil the way He does.

All of us inevitably experience "Gethsemanes" in our own lives, times of difficulty, deep sorrow, loss, distress, fear and anguish. Friends may have betrayed us, or those whom we love may have rejected us. Maybe things about our lives are being exposed, brought into the light, and it is "uncomfortable".

It is often those times and circumstances that become the very path to holiness if we learn to love as He loves. Our Christian vocation is to live as He lives, to love as He loves and to thereby become "holy" as He is holy. We are invited to embrace the way of surrendered love.

"Take this cup". It is a very human request. What is the cup we are being asked to drink? Let us decide today to make the choice and drink, saying as we do "not my will but yours be done" When we live and love this way, the very people and circumstances that once seemed to be so difficult can become the path to freedom and we learn to walk the way of forgiving love with Him as His redemptive mission continues through time.

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Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding the link (www.catholic.org) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!