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The Resurrection of Jesus - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

The Resurrection of Jesus

And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him 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 has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”  Matthew 28:2-7

The stained glass window of the Resurrection of Jesus can be seen inside Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, Verona, New Jersey.

Cross Appears on Holy Thursday

Cross Appears on April 5, 2012

Miracles of Faith - Signs, Wonders, and Miracles

By Loci B. Lenar

On the morning of Holy Thursday, I photographed a cross which appears annually on my property and backyard fence. Rays of sunlight is creating an image of a cross that is surrounded by a shield. This phenomenon first began in 2005 at my residence in Mine Hill, NJ, USA.

It usually happens during Lent and sometimes on other occasions. I believe it's a sign from Our Lord to share with others in order to help lead people back to God and their Christian faith.

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.  Psalm 84:11

Scripture tells us that the day before Jesus was crucified he shared his Last Supper with his disciples on a Thursday, celebrating Passover.

Holy Week is an important time to reflect and renew our spiritual life through the gospels of Jesus Christ and the Eucharist (Communion). Easter and the resurrection is a testament to God's love because we share in the redemptive power of the cross through Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Cross Appears on Holy Thursday in 2012

It's interesting to note that the cross first appeared in 2012 on St. Patrick’s Day which by the way is celebrated on March 17th. The above photos are from Holy Thursday.

From Last Year: Brooke Kayal examines Cross which appeared on March 27, 2011

On Wednesday, April 4th, I went to St. Mary's Rectory and sat down with my spiritual advisor, Fr. Richard Tartaglia and shared the photographs from St. Patrick’s Day and discussed spiritual matters as well. St. Mary's Catholic Church is located on Myers Avenue, Denville, New Jersey.

Further details regarding the cross and my testimony can be read in the article, ‘Cross Appears during Lent and Holy Week as Sign of God’s Love,’ or by visiting the website of http://www.christian-miracles.com/.

Copyright 2012 Loci B. Lenar

Illiterate man’s body healed, then God gave him ability to read Scripture

The following excerpt is from GodReports.com:

By Mark Ellis

A mysterious disease left him unable to walk or speak for years. Then God brought a missionary into his life who prayed for healing, and the man received even more than he could have hoped.

Yilma Gudini lived in a rural area without access to education. Most of his childhood was spent herding cattle for his family and he never learned to read. While he enjoyed good health, a mysterious neurological ailment struck him in young adulthood that left him unable to walk or speak.

“Our goal is to raise up a prayer movement,” says Dr. Howard Folz, the president of AIMS. “We also want to see missionaries go to unreached peoples,” he says. “One of these missionaries in Ethiopia reached a man named Yilma.”

One day a missionary visited his village and began to pray for his healing. There was no sign of any improvement after he prayed, but the missionary wanted to return the next day to pray again.
Several days passed and there was no sign of any change in Gudini’s condition. But the young missionary persisted in prayer, as he continued to come back, and by faith to call on God to move with power.

On the eighth day, God answered. “The demons left me, and I could walk and speak again,” Gudini says. “It was a miracle.”

Without any prodding, the joy-filled young man surrendered to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Shortly after that, he experienced another miracle.

“God told me to fast and pray for 15 days,” Gudini says. On the tenth day, God approached him in the middle of the night while he slept.

He had one of the most vivid dreams he could recall. “I saw the Word of God written on the wall,” he says. But as Gudini stared at the strange symbols lighted on the wall, something unusual happened. He could actually read the words – they made perfect sense. In his dream, he read Scripture for many hours.

When Gudini awakened, something even more unusual happened. He ran to get a Bible and when he opened the pages, he could read! Gudini praised and glorified God after this second great miracle in his life.

He ran excitedly to tell a friend — to confirm that what he thought was happening was real. The friend verified his newfound reading ability, supernaturally derived.

Read more: God Reports

Image of Jesus draws faithful to Ursuline chapel

Faithful say image of Jesus draws them to Ursuline chapel | wwltv.com New Orleans

The following excerpt is from WWLTV.com:

NEW ORLEANS – The Ursuline chapel in Uptown New Orleans is home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, but for the past 12 days, it has also been home to hundreds of faithful who are coming in to see what they say is a vision of Jesus on a pillar.

Read more: Image of jesus

Our Lady's Annual Message to Mirjana Soldo

Mary, Mother of Peace by Stephen B. Whatley

The Medjugorje Web - Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje's Message of April 02, 2012 to Mirjana Soldo:

 "Dear children, As the Queen of Peace, I desire to give peace to you, my children, true peace which comes through the heart of my Divine Son. As a mother I pray that wisdom, humility and goodness may come to reign in your hearts – that peace may reign – that my Son may reign. When my Son will be the ruler in your hearts, you will be able to help others to come to know Him. When heavenly peace comes to rule over you, those who are seeking it in the wrong places, thus causing pain to my motherly heart, will recognize it. My children, great will be my joy when I see that you are accepting my words and that you desire to follow me. Do not be afraid, you are not alone. Give me your hands and I will lead you. Do not forget your shepherds. Pray that in their thoughts they may always be with my Son who called them to witness Him. Thank you."

Fr. Higgins: The Man I Saw Brought Back to Life

Fr. John Higgins - Photo Courtesy of St. Peter's List

Fr. Higgins: The Man I Saw Brought Back to Life | St. Peter's List

(Reprinted with permission from HHAmbrose and St. Peter's List.)

By Fr. John Higgins

Who doesn’t enjoy a good BBQ with friends? When I was asked to a young couple’s home for a Young Adult Ministry Home Mass and BBQ I packed my Mass kit and off I went. I arrived about 6:00 pm with a hearty appetite and was greeted by about 15 young people. Then the phone rang and everything changed. I had to drive about 10 miles to a hospital where there was an emergency call.

I drove quickly, thinking that the nurse in charge of the ER, Anne, would be waiting for me. I knew her and her husband and children from the parish. When I walked in I could see paramedics at the foot of the only occupied gurney there, so I hurried and walked in. “Sorry, Fr. John, you’re too late. He’s gone.” Anne said, smiling. She had a lot of compassion, but also understood that I’d come as fast as I could. They were removing wires from an older man. I noticed that he was wearing a Brown Scapular, one of the old cloth ones. I reached and said “He’s wearing an old fashioned Scapular”. When I touched it there was a beep from a monitor, then another. The nurse, Anne, said “What did you do?” I said “Nothing!” She and another nurse jumped to work, reconnecting wires and calling for help. The Paramedics stood with their jaws dropped. The patient opened his eyes and said (in an Irish accent) “Oh, good, Father. I’ve been waiting for you. I want to go to Confession.” I nearly fell over. I’d done nothing but seen and touched his Scapular. The next thing I knew they were working on him. He didn’t get to go to Confession, but I gave him an emergency absolution as they worked. One of the Paramedics asked if I was OK and sat me in a chair.

A couple of weeks later the man came to me for Confession and told me that the doctor couldn’t figure out what happened and had to tear up the Death Certificate he’d already started to fill out. The Paramedics had come to see him in the hospital and shown him their notes. At the bottom of the page they’d written the time and place of his death and then in big bold letters had added “BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE BY GOD”.

Miracles still happen. And no, I didn’t do it. It just happened according to God’s will. Why does He intervene in some cases and not in others? I really don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet. But I do know that God has worked miracles in my life, the most important for me not being what He did for someone else, but what He has done over and over to bring me back from sin and death, through the Sacraments into His Covenant Relationship.

That man still had to die a natural death to be raised from the dead into eternal life. The resurrection Jesus offers all of us is eternal too. And that’s what we look forward to at Easter.
***

Fr. John Higgins

Fr. Higgins was born in Indiana. His mother brought him to California when he was about three years old. They lived in South Gate, Covina, Lynwood and then in 1965 they moved to Downey. Fr. Higgins attended Downey High School for two years and graduated from there in 1967. He attended Cerritos Community College, worked in Downey, Bellflower, and Long Beach before entering the Seminary in 1974. He was ordained to the Priesthood in 1981, has served as Campus Minister and Religion Teacher at Bishop Garcia Diego High School in Santa Barbara, and worked in seven parishes before his assignment to St. Raymond Parish in 2003. He also currently serves as the Chaplain at Downey Fire Department – serving both firefighters and victims.

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