Let us NOT FORGET the MIRACLE IN MEXICO, Swine Flu under Control

On Sunday April 26th the Catholic Church took out in solemn procession throughout the streets of Mexico City the statue of the Christ of Health (El Cristo de la Salud). Sources indicated that the famous statue had not been taken to the streets for about 150 years, since a cholera outbreak scourged the Capital of Mexico in the 1850s. At that time Christ performed the miracle and stopped the outbreak. In a similar manner now in 2009, the MIRACLE has being performed once again by the same Jesus who is alive and risen. On April the 26th the city was overwhelmed with terror and fear, deaths were on the rise and the Church wisely asked the people to pray to the Lord of health for mercy and healing. After the procession, the statue of the Christ of Health was taken to the Cathedral of Mexico, where it was placed in a prominent place within it, at the Altar of Forgiveness, and invitation to the people of Mexico to seek reconciliation with God and implore His Mercy. The prayers of the people have been heard and the MIRACLE WAS PERFORMED by Jesus, and now the outbreak is under control and life in Mexico City is going back to normality. However, nobody seems to give credit to God for what has taken place, He who is the source of all life and healing, and people are simply going back to their lives without a real sense of understanding of the magnitude of the Miracle that has been accomplished in their midst, where the Mercy of God has been quickly showered upon the Mexican People and avoided a potentially tragic situation for Mexico and for the rest of the world. I must add that in addition to the procession of the Christ of Health, the Cardinal of Mexico also celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and asked her also to intercede for the people of Mexico and spare them from a tragedy. THANK YOU JESUS FOR SPARING THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO AND THE WHOLE WORLD from a potentially tragic situation. We pray for those who died, that God in His Mercy will grant them eternal rest. And THANK YOU also to Our Lady of Guadalupe for interceding for the people of Mexico and of the whole world and obtaining this amazing MIRACLE!!

Orthodox Icon of Mary Weeps in Russia

It has been reported that the "softener of evil hearts" Icon depicted on the right, located in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow wept miraculously during the election process of the new Patriarch Kirill. This Icon is also called the "Simon’s Prophecy" Icon.

According to the Evangelist Luke, the Holy Spirit told righteous Elder Symeon, the God-receiver, that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. And thus, forty days after the Divine Infant's birth His parents brought Him to the Temple of Jerusalem, and Symeon "was inspired" to come there as well, and took the Infant into his arms (hence the title "God-receiver"), and pronounced those famous words that we use in the Night Prayer Liturgy in the West "Now Master you can let your servant go in peace, your word has been fulfilled...." (Lk. 2:29). After that, he blessed St. Joseph and the Most-pure Mother of Our Lord, and addressed Mary with this prophecy: “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk. 2:34).

Just as Christ would be pierced with nails and a spear, so the soul of the Most-pure One would be pierced by a certain weapon of sorrow and pain in the heart, when she saw her Son's suffering. After that, the hidden thoughts of the people regarding the Messiah would be revealed, and they would face a choice: to be with Christ, or against Him. Such an interpretation of Symeon's prophecy became the subject of a number of icons of the Theotokos. All those who turn to the Icon in prayer sense that with the softening of evil hearts comes an easing of spiritual and physical suffering. People come to recognize that when they pray for their enemies before such icons, their feelings of enmity are softened, and that strife and hatreds abate, giving way to kindness. The feast of the softener of evil hearts is celebrated in the Russian Church on February 15th.

Congratulations to the Orthodox Church on this day when they have elected their new Patriarch. May this be an oppotunity to work for unity also with the Catholic Church and to build the fraternal bonds that were sadly broken 10 centuries ago. Perhaps this new election is a sign of hope indeed as the icon is a sign of hope, and a continuation of the fulfillment of the prophecies of Our Lady of Fatima.

The truth behind the miracle in the Hudson

Miracle in the Hudson

Reports arrive that about 155 passengers and crew included survived the landing of flight 1549 in the Hudson River. The passengers, the authorities and all those involved in the rescue refer to it as a miracle. And it is indeed a miracle. A miracle for several reasons: first, because when they struck the group of geese, the pilot realized that the engines were dead and asked the passengers to brace for a crash, but according to some passengers, they began to PRAY, I guess there are no atheists in foxholes. Second, the pilot in a miraculous way was able to place the plane on the river without breaking the plane, or submerging the plane, in fact he was able to put it almost perfectly close to land preserving the integrity of the aircraft. Third, people were able to leave the plane in a relative orderly manner, and even those who had to stand on the wings that were submerged, were able to do so without suffering from hypothermia since the freezing waters only covered their ankles. Fourth, due to the intense commercial traffic in the river, it was a perfect spot to place the plane since immediately many of the vessels navigating the Hudson river came to the rescue and were able to remove all the passengers to safety in a prompt manner. Miracle? You bet. And remember the basic definition of miracle as given in wikipedia: A miracle is a visible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can only be explained by DIVINE INTERVENTION! Yeap, Divine intervention, thus, the credit goes primarily to God and also to the pilot that allowed himself to be guided by the HOLY ONE in this amazing adventure. What is amazing is that even the newscasters cannot avoid being reminded that there is indeed a God who is over all and in all :-)