St Isidore the Farmer

Saint Isidore the Farmer’s real name was Isidro de Merlo y Quintana. He was born in the year 1070 AD in Madrid. His parents were poor but very devout. Isidore was a hired labourer of Juan de Vargas, a wealthy Madrilenian landowner on his farm near the city.

He was very generous and would share with the poor what he had, including his food. This made his boss, Juan de Vargas, to elevate him to the position of a bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca.

Isidore married Maria Torribia who is also known as Saint Mary de la Cabeza (Santa María de la Cabeza) in Spain.

At one time, their young son fell into a deep well and after they prayed to God the water of the well miraculously rose to ground level and brought the child with it.

Their son later died in his youth. Isidore and Maria saw as if God did not want them to have children and therefore vowed sexual abstinence, lived in separate houses but chastely for the rest of their lives, doing good works.

Miracles of Isidore the Farmer

The number of miracles attributed to Isidore has been counted as 438, but these below are the salient ones:

At one time Isidore was accused by his fellow workers that he was always late for work while attending the daily Morning Mass at a Church nearby in Madrid. He stated that he had no other choice but to follow the ultimate Master. His boss went to investigate the allegation but instead of finding Isidore in the fields ploughing, he found Angels doing the work while he was praying in Church.

Another miracle happened when his master saw angels ploughing on both of his sides. This meant that Isidore’s work was triple that of his fellow field workers.

It is also said that Isidore brought back to life the daughter of his master who had died.

He also caused, from the dry earth, a fountain of fresh water to burst thereby quenching his master’s thirst.

There was a time when going to the mill to grind the wheat, he came across a flock of wood pigeons scratching on the hard surface of the snowy ground looking for food but in vain. He felt sorry for the hungry birds and poured them half of his precious sack of wheat. The onlookers mocked him but he did not mind but when he reached the mill his bag of wheat was full and when the wheat was ground, the flour produced was double what was expected.

Maria, his wife, with the knowledge that her husband, Isidore, would bring home anyone who was hungry, would keep a pot of stew in their kitchen. One day Isidore brought a larger-than-usual number of hungry people home. Maria served several of them until she saw that the stew was no more. She went and told her husband that there was no more stew for everyone. Isidore insisted that she go and check again, and miraculously the pot was full enough for all the hungry people.

There were heavy torrential rains on April 2 1212 in Madrid which exhumed cadavers from cemeteries. His body was found intact in a state of incorruptibility.

It is also said that in 1212 AD, Isidore appeared to Alfonso VIII of Castile, and shown him the secret way by which he ambushed the Moors and took control of Las Navas de Tolosa.

After touching the relics of the Isidore, it is said that King Philip III of Spain was cured of a deadly disease. Consequently, the king replaced the old reliquary (a container for holy relics) with a costly silver one. Thereafter, he mooted Isidore’s beatification This made other members of the royal family to seek curative powers from saint Isidore throughout history

Our God is a God of Miracles

 

Don't play with Fire

 

Healing Testimonies .. Fr Blount

 

ABBA PAULA, THE FIRST HERMIT.

Born in the province of Tiba (Luxor, Upper Egypt) in the year 229 A.D., Paula was the second son of a very rich man. When the father died, the two sons wanted to share the inheritance, so Peter, being the eldest, took the majority and gave what was left over to his brother Paula. This action caused great friction between the two brothers, and because they could not come to an agreement, they decided to settle the matter in court. 

Along the way, they noticed a coffin being carried, and a great multitude mourning the loss. Paula approached one of the men to find out who had died, and the man responded, "Son, this man who died today, delighted in luxuries and lived the life of indulgence, possessed large amounts of gold and silver, and always dressed in expensive attire. Today he left the world and all his riches behind. Take heed my son that we not follow his example, but rather persist in enduring spiritual struggles, for blessed is the man who lives in this world, but does not belong to this world, for the Lord will reward him richly in His Heavenly Kingdom." 

Paula heard these words and felt as if he was spiritually awakened, and suddenly the world before him seemed as nought. He turned to his brother and said, "Brother, let us return." As they were returning home, Paula walked slowly behind his brother, then quickly escaped from his sight. Peter searched for days, and when he could not find his brother, he cried bitterly, "Why did I quarrel with my brother on worldly riches?!" 

Having left the town, Paula found an empty tomb, and so he remained within it for three days and three nights, in continuous meditation and prayer. On the forth day, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and led him into the inner Eastern Wilderness. The angel directed him into a deserted cave, which was located near a spring of water and a fruitful palm tree. He dressed himself in a tunic he weaved from palms, and diligently prayed, "My Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, save me from the traps of the enemy, be merciful to me so that I may accomplish Your will and rest safely between Your hands, for to You my King, is all glory and power forever, amen!" He began his ascetic life in the Eastern Wilderness in the year 250 A.D., and remained there for 80 years.

‘A Living God’

My wife and I were travelling recently in the Mountain Province in the north of the country. It’s still a mission territory but even though there is not always a priest around the people gather every evening for the rosary after they come in from the fields.

We joined them and couldn’t help but notice that most were old and most were women. This is a common sight here as in the western world to see mostly elderly women stoically bolstering the church. I wonder why ?

Clearly the problem cannot be our origin. It is the church started by the Lord Himself. It’s Pope and Bishops successors of Peter and the Apostles. We don’t cater to the shifting sands of public opinion but retain authentic and unchangeable teachings.

The thing is though, faith cannot really be taught, it must be caught. And you can only catch it from someone who has it in the first place. The early days of the church set the tone for this :- ‘These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.'’(Mk 16:17) The Acts of the apostles lead us into this demonstration of faith, confirmed by heaven through wonderful signs and wonders of His love and mercy.

Would anyone leave that church? Those early Christians showed that Jesus was a living God, the source of everything we need, not just salvation but everything. Faith became the very centre of their lives, a living faith, an active one, a life of miracles. After all it would be inaccurate to preach a God who is merely a historical figure, or a reclusive or remote Being.

After the Rosary we shared some testimonies about miracles we had seen over the years and my wife gave a talk about praying for healing and we prayed over many who were sick. After that the participants couldn’t wait to go and pray for their sick friends and relatives: an immediate domino effect. I think God is waiting as patiently to be introduced as His people are waiting to hear more about and receive Him!

Miracles in Naju ... a story from Korea

On the day we first visited Naju, the Blessed Mother was weeping lots of tears of blood through her statue. We cried loudly for a long time, repenting our sins and our indifference to her, who was actually so close to us all the time.

Since then, we have visited Naju frequently, filled with the desire to see the Blessed Mother. On October 19, 1990, we attended an overnight prayer meeting for the first time. While listening to Julia relaying the Blessed Mother's messages, I could not control myself and wept so much, repenting my sins. When Julia prayed for me at the end of the prayer meeting, I felt her hand as hot as an iron as she touched my chest. I also felt an intense pain on the left side of my chest, which lasted until the next day. But, on subsequent days, my health improved visibly every day. 

My diabetes, which had afflicted me for thirty years, was gone! I stopped all the medication, but felt as light as a feather in my body. Now I can eat anything: rice, candy, chocolate, etc. My twenty year-old arthritis was also cured. Before, I had trouble bending my knees. Excess water had to be drained out of my knee joints. Now, it is all history. My mother had her first stroke in October 1991. She was in a hospital for three months. But, on May 1, 1992, she had another stroke. Doctors said that it was hopeless. The whole family (there are twenty-five of us) gathered, expecting the worst. But, because my mother loved the Blessed Mother in Naju so much, we informed Julia. She came at about 10 p.m. on May 3. We were shocked, when we saw Julia begin praying for my Mother's recovery. Everyone had already given up hope. My mother remained unconscious. A while later, as Julia continued praying, my mother opened her eyes and, looking at Julia, said, The Holy Water! and, Forgive me.

Julia prayed so fervently. She prayed for each of us, too. She left a little past midnight. My mother continued to recover and ate some food. By daybreak, she became fully alert and spoke clearly. All of us were in such a shock that we could not even speak well. Our nine brothers and sisters were all married, but had different religions. We had lots of distrust and tension in the family. Now we cried and repented. Instead of blaming each other, we all admitted our own faults. This was truly an amazing miracle. We embraced each other and cried loudly asking for forgiveness. 

We offered up our endless gratitude to the Lord and the Blessed Mother for the restored peace in our family. In fact, my mother was always sad about the different religions and tension among her children and offered rosary prayers for each of us from 3:30 a.m. every day. God allowed this grace of conversion and restoration of peace in my family because of the prayers by my mother .Through Julia's prayers for each of us that night, my eighty-three year-old father-in-law was cured of an intestinal inflammation, which everyone had said was incurable. Four others were cured of various sicknesses like ulcers, arthritis, and pleurisy. My whole family converted because of these amazing miracles. We all came back to the Blessed Mother in Naju and began a life of prayers.

An Answered Prayer....a story from Liberia

The SMA Fathers work with a Leper colony called Masserti in Liberia and tell this splendid story of God's provision & sense of humour.

Recently Fr Garry contacted me to share an idea. The People of Masserti, he said, are growing rice, in fact they could grow more than they need. But they can't afford to transport it to a rice mill for processing. If they had their own mill, he said they could feed themselves and we could buy the excess for other projects. 

Two hours later the telephone rang and a gentleman said he and his wife would like to help the people of Masserti and he offered a specific donation.

The donation was the exact amount that would be needed for the mill that Fr Garry had spoken of. The names of the donors were  Mr & Mrs Rice !

You will do even greater things ! ..a story from Eygpt

(from Histories of the monks of upper Eygpt..4th Century AD)

The monks of the upper Nile lived as hermits, devoting their time to contemplation & fasting, meeting only on Sundays for Mass. They had a reputation for holiness and were sought out for guidance and their intercessory prayers these stories are about one of them; Abba Aaron.

Now it happened that one day two Nubians were walking together on their way to Aswan. One of them had only one eye. His friend said to him come on, lets receive a blessing at the hands of this great man. The one-eyed man said he isn't a great man; if he really is, let him open my eye and while the words were still in his mouth, his eye which had been blind regained its sight, but his good eye became blind !. 

When his friend saw what had happened, he was utterly amazed, and said to him, Didn't I tell you that he is a very great man ? The one-eyed man said its no great loss, for one eye has been shut while the other has been opened. However lets go to him; perhaps he'll give light to the other eye So the two of them came to the holy man Abba Aaron. My father said to the Nubian, who was not a believer, since you think its no great loss, why are you here ?

Immediately he became very fearful and reverent, saying open my eye And immediately he was able to see with the other eye. And the two believed, and went away joyful, and they proclaimed throughout the whole country the miracle which had taken place.

Now it happened that on another day ,a certain Nubian came out from the mountain with his son to drink water from the river, and when his son put his hand into the river to scoop up some water, a huge crocodile seized him, dragged him under and fled. His father threw himself to the ground and cried out and wept bitterly, for besides that son he had no other.

Now as the man ran up the mountain crying out, he cut himself against the sharp edges of the rocks and severely injured himself. When I saw how heartbroken he was, I told my father. He got up and came to the door and gestured to the Nubian with his hand to come to him. And when he had come, Abba Aaron saw the wounds on his body, and he wiped away the blood that had run over his body and took him inside his home. He brought him in by force and made him sit down. 

Now when he had questioned him about what had happened (he could not understand what the Nubian was saying to him), my father said to me, Rise, see if you can find anyone on the road. Call him. Perhaps you can find someone who knows how to speak with him When I went out I found a man from Philae who was going to Aswan riding a donkey. I called to him and said to him, do you understand the language of the Nubians ? He said, yes. I took him to my father. Now when the man saw the Nubian and the wounds all over his body, he was astonished and said to him, How were you wounded ?. And the Nubian told him what had happened. The holy man Abba Aaron took a piece of wood and gave it to him, saying, take it and throw it into the river where the crocodile seized your son. And he went and did as Abba Aaron had told him. 

Now it happened that when he threw the piece of wood into the water, a huge crocodile appeared and cast the little boy up on the shore and he had not been injured in any way ! And his father took him by the hand and brought him to the holy old man. And when the Nubian saw the miracle he shouted with joy and hugged Abba Aaron and kissed him. Now the interpreter went to Philae and did not go to Aswan that day; instead, he went about proclaiming the miracle that had taken place, he went home glorifying God and proclaiming what had happened. All of those who heard glorified God and the holy man Abba Aaron until this very day.

A missionary Journey ..... a story from Vietnam

When the Americans came I saw a lot of people die; at night we would get under the bed as the helicopter gunships raged above us, I saw many dead bodies every day. When I was a young man I did not know much about politics or really understand the war. I felt very sad that many innocent people died and we did not understand why the war was happening in our country.

When I was growing up, the church meant everything to us. People came to the parish for sanctuary, for help, for prayer and safety. The local priests made a great impression they were very caring men whom the people loved. After the communists took over, I could not study any longer, so I went to work in a labour camp. If you had no job and were a Catholic you were forced to work. We dug canals 8 hours a day I worked at this hard labour for 2 years. The food was poor and there was no medical care, but it was the same for all of us   you had to work for them-you had nowhere to run.

I left Vietnam in 1980, everybody wanted to get out. My escape was organised secretly and cost $2000 for a place on the boat. When I first saw the boat, I thought it was too small, not the right sort of boat for the sea, it was more of a river boat. I asked the man in charge how many it could take and he said 30, but in fact there were 77 of us on board. I will never forget the words of my mother as I said goodbye to her for the last time. She said  Here take this rosary and pray. You dont have much money but trust in God We set sail from Cantho, South Vietnam, in the dead of night.

After 3 days the engine broke down and we just drifted in the south China sea. We had no maps, no compass, nothing at all. The man who organized our escape had given scant attention to food or water for us and before long we were hungry, thirsty and very tired. We steered the ship in the opposite direction to the sun. We thought a foreign ship would see us and have pity. Some got so thirsty that they drank their own urine or squeezed rain water out of blankets they left out overnight. People looked after each other. We knew we were going to die and wanted to die with dignity and respect. We drifted for 17 days without food or water. We prayed all the time. The children kept asking for food. There was a lot of weeping and crying. I kept my hope alive by praying, in the morning, afternoon and evening and even more when the sea turned violent as it often did. I thanked God for my 22 years of life, for my family and asked for the forgiveness of my sins.


There was a young married woman on board who gave birth to her baby (I helped deliver the baby) and I pray to the Lord, Lord, I dont want the baby to die on the first day of his life. I promise you if we survive, I will be a good man Two hours later a British cargo ship, came out of nowhere and rescued us. I knew then that God answers prayers !


(Eventually arriving in England, Michael Ho, became a priest, currently based in Coventry, UK)

Prepare for Miracles

A few days ago, in a small town in the Cordillera mountain range, we sat at a table having dinner opposite a man with a vision. I was surprised by it and at the same time knew that it would be magnificent. 

Earlier that day after Mass the Priest asked people to share any testimonies or insights on the goodness of God and my wife gave witness to a period in our lives where through prayer for healing, both the laying on of hands and prayers over the phone from overseas, I had been healed by God following a rather unpleasant brain haemorrhage I had 9 years ago. I left the hospital without any operation, without medication or any permanent ill effects.

Whenever we go away we always bring blessed oil (a sacramental) and prayer cards from our prayer group for whatever local community we encounter; but this trip was different. The apostolic zeal and intense hunger for God of the town’s folk took our breath away. We were invited to speak at different prayer and church groups, taken out into the hills, to the many dwellings on the rice terraces where the sick were waiting for prayers. 

And together with the priest and praying community so many were prayed over: a patient with multiple sclerosis, a stroke patient and finally a lady with gall stones and heart complications who was in such agony when the group arrived. By the next morning the lady we last visited was sat on the porch enjoying the sunshine and praising God, feeling better. Serious illness is a lonely place for patients and their care givers alike, and hearing testimonies of healing and receiving prayers for it injects a ray of hope into the gloom.

As we finished dinner with the Principal of the local High school, he shared his dream of Catholic groups from their community visiting the sick in their homes and hospitals, not only for company or sympathy, but to bring the healing power of God to them. His own experiences with the long illnesses of his wife and children have shown him that it was only the non-Catholic Christian sects who sent people to pray for healing. Surely, as Catholics we must do likewise. Now they will begin.

It was a beautiful thing to see such love in a community for their sick and elderly neighbours as well as this intense desire to serve them and put their faith in the living God. The parishioners have purity of heart and purity of intention; that is a rare sight. Somehow I know God will honour that and we will hear of great miracles in that town. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14)

ANBA KARRAS THE ANCHORITE ......(FROM THE TRANSCRIPTS OF ST. MARY MONASTERY (BARAMOS))

....After he blessed me and I left with joy and peace. I walked for a while, and then I could not walk because I could not see my way. After a while I opened my eyes and found myself walking in front of a cave inside a rock on the mountain. I walked toward the door and I knocked and said, "Aghabi."

Right then a voice from inside spoke to me saying, "It is good that you came today Anba Bimoa God’s saint, the one who was worthy to shroud the holy body of St. Hillaria the daughter of the great King Zenon. "

I entered the cave and stood staring at him for a long time, because he was venerable and full of awe. He was a very luminous person, and God’s grace was on his face. He was full of light and of average height. He had a long beard with only a few black hairs in it and he was wearing a simple tunic. He was thin, had a soft voice and was holding a walking stick in his hand.

He said to me: "You came to me today and brought death with you, and I have been waiting for you for a long time my beloved one." Then I asked him, "What is your name blessed father?"

He answered saying, "My name is Karras."

I asked him, "For how long have you been in this wilderness? " He answered, "For 57 years I haven't seen a human face, and I have been waiting for you anxiously and happily. "

I stayed with him for a day at the end of which Anba Karras became sick with a high fever. He cried and sighed and said to me, "..and what I was afraid of all my life came to me. Oh Lord, how can I escape from your face and how can I hide? Truly how fearful is that hour. Let it be according to your mercy oh my Lord and not according to my sins."

When the sun rose on the next day Anba Karras was lying down and could not move. And behold a great light, greater than the sunlight was coming through the door. Then entered a very radiant person wearing white clothes as bright as the sun and in his right hand was a luminous cross. I was sitting at Anba Karras' feet and I was afraid and surprised. But this luminous person stepped forward toward Anba Karras and put the cross on his face. He spoke with him a lot and then gave him peace and left. I stepped toward our father Anba Karras to inquire about that person, who had all that glory. He answered with all gladness , "This is our Lord and Master Jesus Christ and this is his custom with me. He comes every day and blesses me, talks to me and then he leaves."

I asked him, "Oh my blessed father I desire to be blessed by His glory."

He answered me and said, "Before you leave this place you will see the Lord Jesus in His glory and He will bless you and talk with you also."

When we reached the seventh day of the month of Abeeb I found Anba Karras raising his eyes which were full of tears up to heaven. He sighed deeply and said to me, "There is a great pillar that fell in Upper Egypt and the earth lost a blessed Saint. The world was not worthy of one of his footsteps. He is Saint Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite. I saw his soul going up to heaven surrounded by angels’ hymns and I heard crying and mourning rising from all of Upper Egypt's earth. The monks gathered around his holy body taking a blessing from him and his body was luminous."

When I heard that, I memorized the date and kept it in mind, it was on the 7th of Abeeb that Anba Shenouda passed away. On the next day, 8th of Abeeb, Anba Karras' illness worsened and in the middle of the day a great light appeared that filled the cave. The Saviour of the world entered preceded by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and many angels with six wings, accompanied by the voices of prayer and hymns here and there, and with the smell of incense. I was sitting at Anba Karras' feet while our Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory was sitting at the head of St. Anba Karras, who held our Saviors right hand. He asked him for me, "My Lord and my God bless him because he came from very far cities and a long distance for this day."

The Lord looked at me and said, "May my peace be with you Bimoa, what you saw and heard you will write and preach. But you my beloved Karras every human that knows your life story and mentions your name on earth, will have my peace and I will count him with the Martyrs and the Saints. Every person that presents wine, corban, incense, oil or candles in your memory, I will reward him twofold in the kingdom of heaven. Any one who feeds the hungry or gives drink to the thirsty, or clothes to the naked or welcomes a stranger in your name’s sake, I will reward him double in my kingdom. And who writes your holy biography I will write his name in the Book of Life. Anyone who shows mercy in your memory day I will give him what the eye has never seen and what the ear has never heard and what the heart never felt. Now my beloved Karras I want you to ask me for something that I can do for you before your departure."

Anba Karras asked him, " My Lord I have been praying the psalms day and night and I wished to see David the prophet while I am still in the flesh. "

In the blink of an eye David came holding his harp in his hand and he was singing the psalm, "This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad.." pslam117 v.24

Anba Karras said, "I want to hear the ten cords together with the tune and melody." David moved his harp and sang, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." pslam116 v.15

While David was singing his psalms with his beautiful voice, and while the Saint was very pleased, his soul departed from his blessed body to the bosom of our Good Saviour who took it and presented it to the Archangel Michael.

Then, I Bimoa kissed the flesh of St. Anba Karras and buried him. The Glorious Lord pointed to me to leave the cave, which I did. Then Lord Jesus Christ surrounded by His angels left in front of the spirit, among songs and hymns. We left the body in the cave, and then the Glorious Lord put His hand on the cave and it became as if it had never had a door that could be opened. All of them raised up to heaven in happiness. I stayed standing alone in that place until that beautiful view vanished from my sight, then I closed my eyes to contemplate the bright light and the beautiful view. When I opened my eyes I found myself in front of the cave of Anba Abbamoud ElKallaa. I stayed three days and then I left him and I went to Anba Samaan ElKallaa. I stayed with him three days and then I left and returned to Shaheet Mountain where my church is. There I met all the brethren and told them the life story of St. Anba Karras the Great Anchorite, and his sayings about Anba Shenouda, the Archimandrite’s, departure.

After five days we got a message from Upper Egypt saying that St. Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite passed away on the same day that Anba Karras had seen.

May the blessings of St. Mary the Mother of Light and St. Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite and Anba Karras the Anchorite be with us all.

Glory be to God for ever and ever....

AMEN.

House of Joy

I have always admired the work of Mother Teresa and the missionaries of charity in reaching out to abandoned children and elderly and my wife and I visited one of their houses in Manila just before we got married; at that time just to drop off a few supplies of baby milk and medicines. It was almost 20 years later before we visited again but this time I came to appreciate it in an entirely different way.

As we entered I noticed an array of coffins lined-up against the wall outside the carpenters shed, and during the Mass there was an occupied one in the chapel too. But as the day unfolded and we met with many of the residents it became apparent that it was by no means a gloomy place.

We visited two teenage girls both bedridden with badly deformed limbs and unable to speak; but when my wife started to sing to them their faces lit up with beautiful smiles. It was as if light beamed out of them. A pure light, emanating from pure souls as they delighted in the hymns being sung. It was like the two of them were lamps placed at the foot of God’s throne, burning brightly as they lay there interceding, through the sufferings of their short lives, for us sinners.

Next we met an old lady, an 83 year old with a skeletal appearance, almost weightless. She was full of joy also and loved to talk and pray with us. Such a strong spirit and another beautiful (toothless) smile. Like all the residents she has nothing and no one in the world and spends her time in prayer and preparation to meet her God and be reunited with her husband and son who had gone on ahead of her.

Through the love of the missionary sisters the tragic circumstances of the lives of the residents meet the majesty of God and although time is short I believe that each one receives what they need before they die.

For visitors too the place is a great blessing. It gives you a more realistic perspective of your own troubles and a clearer understanding of what is really important in life.

You will do greater things

I attended a crusade at a friend’s born-again Christian church a few months ago where it is likely that most members were former Catholics. Somehow the lack of teachings, doctrine and tradition becomes useful to them as it doesn’t get in the way of the central message.

It got me thinking about how, in many parts of the world, the church seems to be haemorrhaging souls to cults on the one hand and to the born-again Christian or Pentecostal churches on the other. 

With cults clearly there is a strong demonic influence, it goes beyond mere brainwashing and coercion to get people to believe their zany teachings and demi-god status of leaders. They promise freedom and deliver bondage. 

With the born again groups its quite the opposite I find, they are successful because they offer freedom and deliver on it, leading their congregation to be open to the Holy Spirit and into a close union with Him. The bad thing is that, now that what was missing in their lives is now filled, the converts perceive that all that they had before was lacking or irrelevant, so an element of deception creeps into the equation.

As Catholics we are really good at praying, going up the mountain, the private room, and it is our strength, as Padre Pio said it was the Masses said throughout the world everyday that hold it together, I believe that. 

Perhaps the born again Christian groups only exist because of our reluctance to enter in fully to the other dynamic areas of Jesus’ mission, empowered by the Holy Spirit to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons. Imagine if everyone in your parish was equipped like that! 

The strength of the born again groups is that they take Jesus at His word, “you will do even greater things” and then allow Him to work His miracles through them. 

Surely we can do the same, and when you think about it, as our church has God given authority, would He not pour His Spirit out on us all the more, if we ask for it?

God’s Video Screen

When some house church preachers visited one district, a strange occurrence happened. While they spoke, the crowd was able to see images of what the preachers were speaking about at the time. Witnesses said it was as though a slide projector or video was playing in midair, even though the evangelists were employing no such device.

When they spoke about the crucifixion, everyone present – believers and unbelievers alike – saw a gripping image of Jesus hanging on the Cross with His Blood flowing down. When they said, “Jesus was born in a manger” they saw a picture of a manger in front of them. This continued for more than four hours, and was witnessed by more than 1,000 people. Almost everybody repented and dedicated their lives to follow Jesus Christ. They said, “God is real and lives among you. What can we do except thank Him and believe in Him?”