Miracles (Ignatius Press)

If I asked you to define the word miracle, what would you say? Ignatius Press recently released a DVD, called Miracles, that looks at this phenomenon and attempts to define it. This 35 minute film begins with several priests, Fr. Marcus Holden and Fr. Andrew Pinsent, philosophizing on the subject. Eventually, we get a fairly concise definition.  A miracle is an extraordinary, supernatural event that happens in nature that nature could never produce by itself. However, a miracle is not something that happens just to cause people to wonder at. A miracle happens so that a change will occur in humanity, and people will turn to God.

After we have a definition, the subject turns to Scripture to look at miracles found in the Bible. Examples given from the Old Testament include the Flood, the parting of the Red Sea, and the collapse of the Walls of Jericho. Where we see the most miracles performed are in the New Testament with Jesus. The reason for this is not only because Jesus is God, but also because people then needed convincing since Jesus was founding a new religion. It is interestingly pointed out that despite these miraculous events that people witnessed first-hand, some still turned away from God, because His teachings were too difficult for them. The miracles of Christ were performed, not just to ease people's sufferings, but were for the salvation of souls.

EWTN contributors James and Joanna Bogle contribute to this film as well, and points out that miracles didn't stop when Jesus left this world. Instead, His Apostles' ministries were filled with miracles as well. As time passed, miracles became rarer, except in one situation. Anytime a new mission is established and a conversion of people is attempted, miracles seem to be more abundant. This goes back to the need for these signs to convince people and save their souls. The film goes on to talk about present day miracles, such as the many that are credited to Pope John Paul II while he was still alive and the incorruptible bodies of approximately 140 saints. Other topics covered include the Eucharist, Mary, and shrines in Europe (Fatima and Lourdes, primarily).

When I first received this DVD, I wasn't sure what to expect. Since the film was only 35 minutes long, I wasn't sure what to expect and how in-depth they could actually get. However, after watching it through, I was pleasantly surprised and wanted to immediately watch it again. It is the perfect introduction on miracles and does a masterful job of explaining exactly what miracles are, what purpose they serve, and citing examples. The main point I took away from this DVD is that miracles are not an end to themselves, but serve several purposes. "They convince us of the reality of God, help us when we need divine help, and to point to certain religious truths." This is a great DVD to pick up for small groups or religious education at your parish.

This DVD was provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review.

Pauline Books and Media - Padre Pio: Glimpse into the Miraculous

The Catholic Church has thousands upon thousands of saints in her rich history. Most of them are only known in specific regions, because there are more saints than days on the calendar, i.e., St. Eulalia. (By the way, St. Eulalia has a fascinating story that you should check out here. Thanks to my friends for naming their future daughter after her and introducing me to a saint I didn't know.) Other saints are considered giants of the faith that everybody knows, like St. Peter or St. Paul. Today, I am reviewing a book about one of these spiritual giants - Padre Pio.

Padre Pio: Glimpse into the Miraculous isn't your typical biography of a saint. The author, Fr. Pascal Cataneo, assumes you already know the basics of Padre Pio, such as when and where he was born, educated, lived, died, etc. This book is more of a spiritual biography of Padre Pio, which focuses on his many gifts and charisms. Believe me. There are TONS of accounts of the miraculous deeds that Padre Pio performed, and this book covers over 100 of them. I imagine that would be considered only a drop in the well; there are probably thousands more stories just like the ones in this book.

Fr. Cataneo organizes Padre Pio's gifts/charisms into chapters to make for easier reading. Chapter 2 addresses when he received the stigmata. Chapter 4 recounts dozen of stories where Padre Pio would gaze into people's souls and be able to tell stunning revelations about them and their sins. Chapter 5 talks about his instances of bilocation, especially with regards to the Marchioness Rizzani Boschi, who was a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio's. Chapter 6 contains accounts of the healings people received when people sought the prayers of this great man. I could go on and tell you what every chapter is about, but you get the idea.

There are many parts in this book that I would say amazed me while I was reading. Several stories in the book involve people going to Confession with Padre Pio and him listing every sin they had ever committed. They then received absolution. This was both scary and awesome to me. I couldn't help but wish that I had a chance to visit Padre Pio for the sole purpose of going to Confession with him. I can't imagine how astonishing this must have been to experience, but I bet it felt even more liberating.

Another story that was scary and sad to me was Padre Pio's conversation with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. In this conversation, Padre Pio told Lefebvre to "Never cause discord among your brothers, and always practice the rule of obedience." Lefebvre said he would follow this advice, but Padre Pio retorted that he would not. He also said he would tear apart the Church and damage the whole Church. Lefebvre ended up doing just this when he formed the Society of St. Pius X and was removed from office by Pope Paul VI.

There are many amazing stories in this book related to the wonders deeds and gifts of Padre Pio. Some you will recognize, and others you will not. Each will leave you astonished, though. In fact, the hair on my arms were standing up for most of my reading of this book. You would be considered blessed if you had just one of Padre Pio's many charisms. He was truly an amazing man who was close to God from an early age, and this 5-star book provided me with more than a glimpse of how saintly he really was. May we all strive to be saintly like him.

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