Pope Benedict XVI in Fatima: "The Virgin's prophecy still hasn't been fully realized"

Benedict XVI in Fatima: "The Virgin's prophecy still hasn't been fully realized"

(If enough people pray, the course of history will change into an era of peace and bring forth Our Lady of Fatima's message of 1917 to a complete triumph.  -Loci B. Lenar)

The following excerpt is from RomeReports.com:

May 13, 2010. Close to half a million people attended mass with Benedict XVI in the esplanade of Fatima’s shrine and they prayed together with him in silence.

The celebration began with a procession with the Virgin of Fatima. Members of various army corps carried her on their shoulders from the Chapel of the Apparitions to the altar while some people threw flower petals.

Benedict XVI accompanied part of the procession in his pope mobile. Before starting the celebration he received a chalice as a memento from a trip of Father Antonio Marti, his former student.

The pope said that “whomever thinks the prophecy of Fatima is fulfilled is mistaken”, because the Virgin is the one who can change a person’s heart, when facing death and fear.

Benedict XVI
“At a time when the human family was ready to sacrifice all that was most sacred on the altar of the petty and selfish interests of nations, races, ideologies, groups and individuals, our Blessed Mother came from heaven.”

The pope said that he went to Fatima to confess to the Virgin that he “loves her”, to pray for mankind “afflicted by so much misery and suffering” and to pray for priests.

Before ending mass the pope visited the sick and blessed them with the Eucharist.

Read more: Benedict XVI in Fatima

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.