St Michael the Archangel pray for us

I had a dream. I was in a building with multiple floors in it and I was in a room like a classroom. There was a man there who came up very close to me within my space and I didn't like it. He made my skin crawl. The next thing I knew I was leaving the room and he reached his hand inside my purse and took my wallet and moved away from me. I remember next that there were four of these men and I was trying to escape them and I was running through doorways, and down multiple staircases, through the building trying to escape them. I ended up in a room with a lot of people in it. All of a sudden the men appeared in the room with me. I couldn't figure out how they were able to track me into the room since I had taken a circuitous route to get there. But there they were, with me again. And then I began to recite the Saint Michael prayer and as I recited it they moved away from me. I continued to recite the prayer, and as I recited it, and when I started saying it very loudly, they would disappear through the walls away from me. When I took a break from reciting the prayer they would return. I continued to recite it very loudly and in fact my voice became hoarse. At one point one of them jumped over a railing from a balcony and disappeared. He didn't return. I don't know what happened to him. Then I woke up.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen 

Seeing a Eucharistic Miracle in Santarem Portugal

On my recent pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes, Santiago de Compostela, etc., one stop was at Santarem, Portugal. A Eucharistic Miracle took place here in the 13th century. We were able to see this miracle first hand. This short video explains what happened in this miracle.

To say I was moved by seeing this miracle is an understatement. I wept. In fact I couldn't stop weeping.

I had heard about Eucharistic Miracles before seeing the one at Santarem, and to this day, they still occur. More recent Eucharistic miracles have been tested by scientists. These miracles reveal some astonishing similarities. 

I include the conclusions on the scientific testing done on these most recent miracles. I also include the Miracle in Lanciano from 750 AD, which was also tested scientifically in 1971.

The Eucharistic Miracle in Tixla, Mexico in 2006

• Bishop Alejo Zavala Castro formed a theological commission to investigate the phenomenon, and to determine whether the host was supernatural or simply a hoax of some kind. Dr. Ricardo Castañón Gomez, who had also investigated the Buenos Aires miracle of 1996, led a team of scientists in an intensive study of the host between 2009 and 2012. The study reported the following findings:
• The reddish substance “corresponds to blood in which there are hemoglobin and DNA of human origin.
• The blood type was found to be AB, which corresponds to the miracles at Buenos Aires and Lanciano, as well as traces found on the Shroud of Turin.
• Forensic experts found that the substance originates from the interior of the host, which would seem to discount the theory that it was somehow planted from outside.
• Part of the blood was found to have been coagulated since 2006, but further examination shows the presence of flesh blood from 2010.
• The blood contains intact white blood cells, red blood cells, and active macrophages that engulf lipids, indicating an active metabolism.
• The tissue seems to correspond to the muscle of the heart, the myocardium, as found in other Eucharistic miracles. Further, this was found to be living cardiac muscle. Normally after 48 hours, the tissue dies, but this case, 3 months had passed before the results could actually be obtained.
• The study concluded that “the event has no natural explanation.”

Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1996

• Taken only a few weeks after the host was first discovered, the photographs showed that the host had grown in size, and now had the appearance of bloody flesh. After three years of observation, the host had not shown signs of decomposing, so Bishop Bergoglio asked that it be scientifically analyzed.
• In 1999, Dr. Frederick Zugibe, a cardiologist and forensic pathologist, began performing tests on the miraculous host. What he discovered about the composition of the host is truly stunning:
• The analyzed material appeared to be a fragment of heart muscle typically found in the wall of the left ventricle of the heart, close to the valves.
• This type of muscle is responsible for the contraction of the heart, and the left ventricle connects nearly all the organ systems by pumping oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.
• The blood found on the sample was indeed human, and type AB, which also matches the blood found on the host of Lanciano and from samples extracted from the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus.
• The tissue appeared to be in an inflamed state, and contained a large number of white blood cells, indicating that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken, since these white blood cells die outside of a living organism.
• Furthermore, the white blood cells had penetrated the tissue, further indicating that the heart was under severe stress, as if the person themselves had been beaten severely near the chest area.
• In an effort to keep the studies as objective as possible, Dr. Zugibe was not informed about the origin of the samples he had analyzed. But after completing the studies, he remarked, “You have to explain one thing to me: If this sample came from a dead person, how could it be that while I was examining it, the cells of the sample were moving and pulsating? If the heart came from someone who died in 1996, how could it still be alive?” When he was informed that the samples had been taken from the miraculous host, he stated, “This will remain an inexplicable mystery to science—a mystery totally beyond her competence.”

Sokolka Poland in 2008

• On October 29, the container with the host was transferred to the Divine Mercy Chapel in the rectory and placed in the tabernacle. The next day, by decision of the archbishop, the stained host was taken out of the water and placed on a small corporal, which was then put back in the tabernacle. The host was kept this way for three years, until it was solemnly brought to the church on Oct. 2, 2011. A piece of the altered host was taken and analyzed independently by two experts in order to ensure the credibility of the results.
• When the samples were taken for analysis, the undissolved part of the consecrated host had become embedded in the cloth. However, the red blood clot was as clear as ever. This transformed part of the host was dry and fragile, inextricably interwoven with the rest of the fragment, which had kept the form of bread.
• The results of both independent studies were in perfect agreement. They concluded that the structure of the transformed fragment of the host is identical to the myocardial (heart) tissue of a living person who is nearing death. The structure of the heart muscle fibers is deeply intertwined with that of the bread, in a way impossible to achieve with human means. The studies proved that no foreign substance was added to the consecrated host; rather, part of the host took the form of heart muscle of a person near death. This kind of phenomenon is inexplicable by the natural sciences.

The Miracle of Lanciano, 750 AD 

• The fame of this miracle spread throughout the world over the centuries, but in the 20th century, a time when perhaps we needed it most, even more was revealed. In 1970, Pope Paul VI commissioned a series of studies of the miraculous host of Lanciano. Drs. Ruggero Bertelli and Odoardo Linoli, both doctors of human anatomy and histology, performed separate investigations, which corroborated each other’s findings. Further studies were taken up by the World Health Organization in 1973 and again by Dr. Bertelli in 1981, both of which confirmed the findings and discovered even more information.
• So what did these studies find? The results are truly stunning:
• The flesh has the same structure as heart tissue (myocardium) and the membrane of tissue lining cardiac cavities (endocardium). The flesh was also discovered as being fresh, as opposed to 1,200 years old, with no trace of preservatives.
• The globules of blood were also of human origin and determined to be of type AB. Further, while blood taken from a cadaver would deteriorate quickly, these samples continued to maintain the same properties of fresh blood.

The Most Remarkable Miracle of the Middle Ages

• The Miracles in the Age of Science
• Until the 1990s, Lanciano was the only proven case of the Eucharist turning into human flesh. Other cases have not been tested with modern scientific equipment, nor have the many dozens of bloodstains on corporals and chalices that have been preserved and are venerated as having come from bleeding hosts. But in 1992, the miracles started happening again.
• 1992 and 1996, Buenos Aires, Argentina: In 1992, consecrated particles left on the corporal were put into water to dissolve and locked in the tabernacle, as the Church prescribes for disposing of consecrated hosts. One week later, they had changed into a red substance. Then again in 1996 after a consecrated host fell to the ground and was also put in water to dissolve, it was found a few days later to have turned into a bloody substance. Both cases were sent to be tested by the archbishop of Buenos Aires, who was none other than our future Pope Francis.
• 2006, Tixtla, Mexico: During a retreat, a religious sister who was distributing Communion looked down and noticed that one of the Hosts had begun to bleed and transform.
• 2008, Sokolka, Poland: A consecrated Host fell to the ground during Communion and was put in water and locked in a tabernacle to dissolve. A week later, most of the Host was dissolved except for a red “clot” that remained.
• 2013, Legnica, Poland: A consecrated Host fell and was put in water and locked in a tabernacle. Two weeks later a red spot covered one-fifth of the undissolved Host.
• Startling Scientific Results
• Each of these occurrences received intensive study with highly advanced technology. In several cases, doctors did not know the source of the material. And yet, in all the cases, the same results were found, and are consistent with the results of Lanciano, providing even more details due to more advanced science:
• The blood is human, AB blood type; human DNA was found; white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, and mycrophages were present, indicating fresh blood; in the Tixtla miracle, the blood clearly emanated from within, because the blood on the surface had begun to coagulate but the interior blood was still fresh, as with a bleeding wound
• The flesh is human myocardium tissue of the left ventricle of an inflamed heart; in the miracles from Argentina and Poland, there was evidence of trauma from the presence of thrombi, indicating repeated lack of oxygen; lesions present showed rapid cardiac spasms typical in the final phases of death
• In the Sokolka miracle, the remaining host is tightly interconnected with the fibers of human tissue, penetrating each other inseparably – as if the bread were transforming into flesh. “Even NASA scientists, who have at their disposal the most modern analytical techniques, would not be able to artificially recreate such a thing,” affirmed Dr. Sobaniec-Lotowska, one of the examining experts.
• Dr. Frederick Zugibe, a forensic doctor at Columbia University who examined the Argentinian miracle, did not know the source of the sample and told the doctor who brought it to him, “If white blood cells were present (in the heart tissue), it is because at the moment you brought me the sample, it was pulsating.” When he learned the source of the sample, he was shocked and deeply moved.

St. Zelie Martin an amazing mother and saint

Most of what I write about (abortion) is depressing. My protection against this evil is to turn to Jesus, Mary, and the saints. One of the best places I can do this (apart from Mass, the Rosary and the Sacraments) is to turn to the Discerning Hearts podcast. Kris McGregor is the host. She has literally a ton of good spiritual content from interviews with book authors, to conferences on saints, to audio books, to novenas, to...you name it.

The content is a healing salve for the soul. I download the episodes to my phone, and can listen to them off-line when I am walking or driving, or doing housework, etc.

Two of my favourite conferences are with Fr. Timothy Gallagher on St. Therese's sister Leonie Martin and Therese's parents St. Louis and St. Zelie Martin (which I am listening to now). Their life was not easy: Leonie's life was very difficult, the deaths of four of Zelie's and Louis' young children, breast cancer, war, etc. So much suffering but also so much joy.

I have read the Story of a Soul by St. Therese. But I find Therese hard to relate to--a great saint to be sure but honestly I just don't really get her. So listening to the letters from her mother (which there are many) about her family (and the commentary) I have found to be absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and hopeful.

If you need a break from the woke world we now live in, check our Discerning Hearts and pick a gem from their basket of precious jewels, of which there are many.

St. Zelie and St. Louis

Servant of God Leonie Martin

There is no problem that cannot be solved by the Rosary

One of the most beautiful spiritual books I have ever come across is this one IN SINU JESU. The book is written by an anonymous Benedictine monk.

From the description of the book:

"In 2007, Our Lord and Our Lady began to speak to the heart of a monk in the silence of adoration. He was prompted to write down what he received, and thus was born In Sinu Jesu, whose pages shine with an intense luminosity and heart-warming fervor that speak directly to the inner and outer needs of our time with a unique power to console and challenge."

Here is the entry from Tuesday, December 2, 2014 on the Rosary. This is a private revelation where Jesus is speaking to the monk:

"There is no problem or difficulty that cannot be solved or resolved by faithful persevering recourse to My Mother's most holy Rosary. The Rosary is My Mother's gift to the poor and to the simple, to the little ones who alone are capable of hearing the Gospel in all its purity and of responding to it with a generous heart. It is to such as these - the childlike and the weak, the poor and the trusting - that the Rosary is given. It is to such as these that the Rosary belongs.

There are no sufferings that cannot be borne peacefully, so long as a soul is praying the Rosary. Through the Rosary, all the grace and power of My mysteries passes through My Mother's Immaculate Heart into the hearts of the little ones who invoke her, repeating the angel's "Ave" over and over again. There are illnesses that can be cured through the Rosary. There are clouds of darkness and confusion that only the Rosary can disperse, and this because it is My Mother's favourite prayer, a prayer that originated in the heights of heaven and was carried to earth by My Archangel, a prayer echoed and amplified in the Church through the ages, a prayer loved by all My saints, a prayer of disarming power and of immense depth.

There are those who find the Rosary difficult. The difficulty lies not in the Rosary but in the complexity of those who struggle to enter into its simplicity. Invite souls to the prayer of the Rosary; through it I will heal the sick of mind and body, through it I will give peace where there is conflict, through it I will make great saints out of great sinners, through it I will sanctify My priests, give joy to My consecrated ones, and raise up new vocations in abundance.

Listen, then, to My Mother's plea in so many places. Listen to her, take her plea to heart, pray her Rosary and, for you, as for her, My Father will do wondrous things."

This is the hopeful message Canada and the world needs right now. We need to say so many Rosaries.

Victoria: a change from snow and %&*$#@

I have my marching orders from Maureen:

"I'm sick of the Ottawa snow and %&*$#@. A change would be nice (pictures of flowers)".

The flowers still aren't blooming, but here are a few pics to cheer you up.

Bulbous trees.

This looks like a picnic table stuck to a tree. Maybe a picnic table for birds?

Funny signs.

Pretty houses.

Big trees.

And I did find flowers. Outside our hosts' front door.

Our first beer. Yum.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I was very happy to see actual evidence of the true meaning of Christmas this year. The Holy Family and the birth of Jesus. In front of people's houses. We were in Milton, Ontario. What a surprise and blessing it was. I don't think I've ever seen this in Ottawa (except for churches), or in any other place. Amazing.

Is Justin Trudeau biased against Christianity?

Is Justin Trudeau biased against Christianity? As Rex Murphy's pointed out today in the National Post, that there have been 48 counts of vandalism and burnings of Christian churches in Canada. 

"Needless to say, the prime minister will be present at both [the Jewish and Muslim summits]. I don’t suppose anyone will draw objections to such meetings, or their intention of removing, or at least reducing, discrimination against either of these two religions.

 

What I find rather inexplicable is that while our federal government is rightly attending to acts of discrimination targeting Jewish and Muslim worshippers, there is, as far as can be determined, no scheduled summit dealing with the current wave of destructive hostility directed at Christian worshippers.

... 

With no aspersions whatsoever on the two faith summits dealing with prejudice against the Jewish and Muslim faiths, I suggest there is justification for a third one on the current wave of attacks against Christian churches, and how to deal with the affronts to their parishioners."

Rex references the True North, who has published a map of all of the now 48 church burnings, and vandalisms done to churches:

https://tnc.news/2021/07/15/a-map-of-every-church-burnt-or-vandalized-since-the-residential-school-announcements/

The very least Justin Trudeau can do is to treat all religions equally. Why isn't he?