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Book Review: “The Stigmatists” by author Paul Kengor, PHD

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The Stigmatists:  their Gifts, their Revelations, their Warnings:

Over many centuries there have been incidents of people receiving the “Stigmata”….the wounds of Christ. It is something a bit difficult for the modern mind to accept…even among Catholics. Accepting the supernatural always brings the fear that perhaps we are being deceived….those claiming the stigmata might be charlatans. And we would feel like fools for believing them and then find out that they were false.

The Stigmatists by Paul Kengor“The Stigmastists” by author Paul Kengor tells the story of many of these people….some well-known such as Saint Padre Pio or Saint Catherine of Siena; and others less well-known or perhaps barely known at all, such as Blessed Elena Aiello (haven’t heard of her? Well, neither had we). She was a 20th century stigmatist (she died in 1961, just six years before the death of Padre Pio) and her story as told in the book is fascinating…we won’t elaborate….just get the book and read it for yourself.

Visions, Revelations and Warnings are the underlying stories of the stigmatists…who were often given the option to accept the stigmata or refuse it. Not an easy choice to make, you would imagine, since the outward…and inward…pain could be intense. This is to say nothing of the un-wanted notoriety that came with the stigmata.

“The Stigmatists” is well-researched. The many references to various sources show that Dr. Kengor has taken pains to verify these stories and provide these resources for further research. To us, this is one of the characteristics of good authorship. It certainly helps to validate the contents of the book. Likewise, the index is well-organized, making it easy for a reader to look up certain persons or events.

You probably won’t read “The Sigmatists” all in one sitting…..each story is unique and complete. It is a great book to have handy when you want to read something akin to a “short story” but with greater meaning than mere fiction. Of course, some of those stories might keep you up at night…so maybe not the best bed-time reading!

The book is published by TAN books and can be ordered through our online store.

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September is devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows

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Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows:

Statue of Our Lady of Sorrows in Salamanca, Spain
Statue of Our Lady of Sorrows in Iglesia de la Vera Cruz,Salamanca, Spain

The month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, one of many titles given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she suffered alongside Christ during his passion. This title is derived from Simeon’s prophecy during Jesus’ presentation at the Temple in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.

“As the child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed and a sword will pierce your soul”

There are many churches and shrines dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. You can find some of them here.

During September, Catholics can pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary, meditating on the pains of Jesus through the eyes of Our Lady. This devotion dates back to the 14th century when the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Our Lady of Sorrows, appeared to Saint Bridget of Sweden and revealed this rosary prayer to her. It is prayed similarly to the rosary, but instead of meditating on five mysteries, you meditate on the seven sorrows. And instead of praying 10 Hail Marys in between each mystery, you pray seven Hail Marys in between each sorrow.

The Seven Sorrows of Mary:

The First Sorrow: When Mary and Joseph present the infant Jesus in the temple, Simeon predicts that a “sword” (of sorrow) will pierce Mary’s soul.

The Second Sorrow: The flight into Egypt When King Herod orders the death of all male children age two or younger, Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt with the infant Jesus.

The Third Sorrow: The Child Jesus Lost in the Temple

The Fourth Sorrow: Mary meets Jesus carrying the cross

The Fifth Sorrow: Mary at the foot of the cross

The Sixth Sorrow:  Mary receives the body of Jesus

The Seventh Sorrow:  Mary witnesses the burial of Jesus

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Latest news on Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster….do we have a new “incorruptable”?

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Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster

When Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the foundress of The Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles, died on May 29, 2019 at age 95, her body was not embalmed and was placed in a simple wooden coffin to be buried in the convent where she lived.

Recently, it was decided to move her body into the chapel of the convent.  When the body was exhumed and the coffin opened, it was discovered that there was a crack in the wooden casket that had allowed dirt and moisture into the coffin, which would have accelerated any decomposition.  Despite this, her body had not decayed as expected and appeared to be relatively intact.  In addition, her habit, which she so zealously fought for, was completely preserved, while the lining of the coffin had deteriorated and was gone.

The nuns created a wax mask for Sister Wilhelmina’s face and also coated her hands with wax, the story said. Her body was displayed in the chapel at the Abbey of Ephesus in Gower, Missouri until May 29, 2024.   After that, her body was encased in glass in the chapel and remains there today.

We are not in a position to say that the body is incorrupt….nor are the Sisters.  The local ordinary, Bishop Vann Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, visited the monastery to see Sister Wilhelmina’s remains. Johnston issued a statement the same day, saying that a “thorough investigation” was needed to answer “important questions” raised by the state of her body  More investigation will be required before that can be decided.

You can read the latest statement from the Bishop here.

You can find an email that was recently sent out by the Sisters of The Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles explaining the recent events here.

Here is a video with Reverend Mother of the Order describing the unearthing of the body.

And here is a great video concerning Sister Wilhelmina by Father Mark Goring.

Visitors viewing the body of Sister Wilhelmina (photo courtesy Alex Simone | News-Press NOW)

Huge crowds came to see her body while it was still open for visitors to see and touch.  Now, her body has been placed in a glass case but can still be viewed.

As you can imagine, this has created an influx of visitors to the Abbey….and, in fact, the Sisters are no longer taking phone calls since it interferes with their spiritual life.

 

 

If you do plan a visit to view the body of Sister Wilhelmina in Gower, Missouri, please be aware of the following;

1.    There is a dress code in their chapel; Marian modesty:  Women must wear sleeves, a veil, and a dress below the knees or lose fitting pants when they visit.  Veils, skirts, and shawls can be borrowed.  Men also need sleeves.

2.   DO NOT TALK. Not at all.

3.   You are in their home. Be aware of that. They are VERY hospitable, and won’t complain if you violate things, but please be respectful.

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Walking the Camino on New Knees

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It is always wonderful to hear stories like this from group leaders and pilgrims when traveling with Select International Tours.

Michelle and Gus Lloyd walked the Camino de Santiago with a group of 26 pilgrims in August of 2019. If you have any doubt how much a pilgrimage like this can impact a person, we invite you to read Michelle’s letter to her Doctor:

September 5, 2019

Dear Dr. Lyons,

Hello! I hope this letter finds you well. I just wanted to reach out to you to share a recent adventure I was part of. First, a little back story. Last August, my husband, Gus was able to begin a bucket list trip with about 25 other people of walking the first half of the Camino de Santiago, a 480 mile walk that has many routes to get to the final destination of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Not sure if you are familiar with it, but about 10 years ago the movie “The Way” came out about it and there are many others as well, but if you are at all curious, I would recommend watching “I’ll Push You” as it is a very inspirational story of two friends who do the Camino together and one of them is a quadriplegic.

In 2013, I came to see you and scheduled my first total knee replacement but I ended up cancelling the surgery because we decided to move and I didn’t have time to deal with it then. Funny fact, the night before that surgery was supposed to take place, I saw you at Lowe’s in Carrollwood in the carpet department. Eventually, my pain got so bad that I didn’t want to get up off the couch to do anything because it hurt so badly with each step I took, so I decided to look into stem cells procedures after a friend of mine shared a Facebook ad with me. I felt like I really got my confirmation to go forward with that at church the Sunday before I began the procedures when I heard this scripture from Hebrews 12: 12-13 for the first time that said. “So strengthen your drooping hands and week knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed, but HEALED”.

Sounds like a confirmation, right?? So I did the procedures twice on both knees but I never found the relief that I need to have an active life. So my husband started hounding me and asking our friend who lives in Kansas that is also an Orthopedic Surgeon to talk to me to try and convince me to just go ahead and bite the bullet and do the surgery. Honestly, my husband was ticking me off but I know now that he just couldn’t stand seeing the person he loved be in so much pain anymore and just wanted to try to help me find the answer I needed to get my life back So, unbeknownst to him, I had made an appointment to see you and scheduled my first total knee replacement with you about ? weeks before Gus left for Spain last year. I was obviously not able to go with him.

You did my second total knee replacement in December of 2018 and I was 8 months out from that surgery when it was time for Gus and his group to go back to Spain to finish the walk this year. I decided that I wanted to go, not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into, (in hindsight, that was probably better). Now, I have always been a person who would work out to videos to keep in shape but I was never a hiker or runner.

Gus & Michell Lloyd walking the Camino de Santiago de CompostelaThis year’s journey began in Leon, Spain and ended in Santiago. We walked 8 stages to complete the mileage needed to finish the walk (an average of 15 miles per day). The terrain was very difficult, especially the first two days, filled with many mountain climbs and many boulder-filled paths going down for miles. I believe at the end of the 2nd day the grade of going up the mountain was 23 %. Can you say, out of breath?

Each day proved to be a very strenuous walk where I felt it in some part of my body, if not everywhere, but I have to tell you, MY KNEES FELT GREAT THE WHOLE TIME! I guess, maybe because I actually had the youngest knees on the trip! If I had any issues, it was with my feet which is to be expected walking 15-17 miles per day but I also have Morton’s Neuroma in my right foot to deal with. As I began each day, I knew we were going to walk, but I didn’t know what journey would unfold before me that day until I actually experienced it, but the one thing that resonated with me throughout the whole trip was a sense of THANKFULNESS.

THANKFULNESS for the beautiful vistas I was able to see and walk through each day, THANKFULNESS for the people I was able to share this experience with,

THANKFULNESS that I have a husband that has an adventurous spirit that he has shared with me, THANKFULNESS for the feeling that I actually feel like an athlete now,

THANKFULNESS for all that I was able to accomplish each day,

THANKFULNESS for being hounded by my huband to get the surgeries, ( I told him that I really got the sense as I walked that me not wanting to be cut open again made me realize that I was kind of like an alcoholic, in that, I had to hit rock bottom with my pain in order for me to bite the bullet and have the surgery done not only once but twice),

THANKFULNESS for God answering my prayer through the scripture He gave me, even though it wasn’t through the stem cell healing that I wanted, but most of all,

THANKFULNESS that I had a doctor that was the first one in his family to get a college degree and that I was blessed to have YOU and your knowledge and skill to perform my surgeries and GIVE ME MY LIFE BACK! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for following the call on your life Dr. Lyons!

We are all capable of doing so much more than we ever think possible and I’m so glad to say that I would never have known this without your help in my life! I am forever grateful! Know that you are changing the lives of your patients.

May God continue to bless you abundantly!

Michelle Lloyd

You can read more about Michelle’s husband Gus & his ministry here.

You can find out about the many tours (and cruises) offered by Select International here.

 

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Latest News on the Baths at Lourdes Sanctuary

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One of the most desired activities when visiting Lourdes is, of course, the baths.  Being immersed in the baths is something most pilgrims look forward to. Beginning in November 2023, the baths were closed for actual immersion, although the Shrine developed an alternative plan of sprinkling the water on pilgrims as well as, in some cases, drinking some of the water.  It should be pointed out the the Covid-19 virus is airborne….not spread through contact with water, so we assume that they were trying to avoid crowds gathered in one space rather than any concerns about the water itself.

As of August 14, the Baths at Lourdes have now been re-opened for full immersion.

Furthermore, there is this information about the water from the taps at Lourdes:

The Taps

The Water taps at Lourdes
The water taps at Lourdes

Located at the bridge next to the arches, these taps have sufficient pressure to allow you to fill any containers that you might want to take back for yourself or your loved ones. Note that many souvenir-type bottles, although attractive, are not necessarily the best quality and could leak during travel.  We recommend used commercial bottled water bottles as more durable for travel…then when you get home you can transfer into the souvenir bottles.

Be aware, for those traveling by air, most airlines and countries will not allow you to carry liquids on board.  Rules vary, and in many cases a small bottle inside a secure plastic bag may be allowed.

For U.S.A. travelers, 3.4-ounce containers (or smaller) and then placed in one clear, quart-sized bag.  Check with your airline first.

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Don’t want to go to that country, “Too many Catholics there”

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Watching Cardinal Dolan give the homily at Mass today at the National Eucharistic Conference, I want to paraphrase a joke he told:

A couple of guys, knowing he was a priest, decided to bait him.

They loudly exclaimed: “I wouldn’t want to go to Italy…too many Catholics there”.

“I wouldn’t want to go to Ireland…too many Catholics there”

The Cardinal replied:

“Then go to hell…….there are no Catholics there!”

 

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Book Review: “The Stigmatists” by Paul Kengor

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'The Stigmatists' by Paul Kengor, phdStigmatists, visionaries, the three days of darkness:  terms you may be familiar with; and yet, like us, you probably have friends and relatives who think you are delusional or some kind of religious fanatic to believe such things (perhaps a subject to avoid at those family get-togethers). Oh, they might believe miracles from the Bible, and maybe some prophetic announcements, but that is as far as it goes.  People with with stigmata (the wounds of Christ) in the modern era….well, that is just too hard to swallow for many living in our “rational age”.

This book may not be for those described above….although I liked the page just before the preface “praise for Stigmatists” by Al Kresta, himself a former skeptic of such manifestations.  He echoed some of our feelings, saying  “When I returned to the Catholic Church, I shied away from purported private revelations, apparitions, relics, stigmatists, and other supernatural and/or preternatural phenomena.    I couldn’t shake the sense that there was a whole lot of gullibility passing as faith.  But to raise questions was to risk being regarded as an unbeliever and a skeptic“.

Note: we think a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted, but also realize the reality of such signs.

This book shows us that these stigmatists were normal, emotionally well-balanced people and not part of some sort of strange fanatical sect. Many, if not most, of them would probably not wish to have the burden of these physical signs.

Many of the stories in this book are well-known stigmatists. We like the fact that is laid out in Chronological order….beginning with Saint Francis of Assisi (1181/1182-1226), Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) up to the 20th century….. Saint Faustina (1905-1938), Saint Padre Pio (1887-1968) and many others)

The author then takes up to the 20th and 21st centuries in the chapter “STIGMATISTS AMONG US” such as  Alexindra da Costa (1904-1955),  Marthe Robin (1902-1981) and a few who were new to us, such as Blessed ….so we especially enjoyed learning about them.

The book points out that these stigmatists were also visionaries, having experienced visits from saints and even Jesus Christ Himself.  The final chapter summarizes some of the prophetic warnings given to these stigmatists, many of whom were given visions of Hell and told of the coming ‘Three Days of Darkness‘.

This book is well-researched, as you can tell by the credits.  Since this is really a series of short stories, it is great for reading in front of the tabernacle at Adoration, perhaps in bed, or whenever you have a chance for some quiet time in what, for most of us, has become a very busy life.

About the author:Paul G. Kengor is an author and professor of political science at Grove City College and the executive director of Institute for Faith and Freedom, a Grove City College conservative think tank/policy center. He is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace.

The book has yet to be released, the release date is September 24, 2024.  You can pre-order it now through the TAN Books website. Once released, you can find it at most major bookstores.

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Vatican approves apparitions of “Rosa Mystica”

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According to Vatican News:

Based on new regulations, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has expressed its positive opinion regarding the devotion to Our Lady of Montichiari (Rosa Mystica) in northern Italy. This approval is conveyed through a letter to Bishop Pierantonio Tremolada, with the endorsement of Pope Francis

Praying at the statue of Rosa Mystica in Montichiari, Italy
Praying at the site of the apparitions of Our Lady of Rosa Mystica

“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has stated that it found no elements in the messages disseminated by Pierina Gilli that contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church on faith and morals. This declaration is included in a letter published on July 8, signed by the Prefect of the DDF, Victor Manuel Fernandez, and approved by the Pope. The letter addresses the devotion to Maria Rosa Mystica (‘Mary Mystical Rose’) and the messages that Pierina Gilli claims to have received from the Virgin Mary in 1947 and 1966. The letter highlights the positive aspects of these messages, while also noting some elements that require clarification to prevent misunderstandings.”

For the full report, click here.

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Sister Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis, founder of the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family of Sherbrooke, will be declared a saint

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Sister Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis, founder of the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family of Sherbrooke, will be declared a saint on Oct. 20.

Born Virginie Alodie on May 12, 1840, in L’Acadie, Quebec, Blessed Marie-Leonie founded her institute to collaborate with and support the religious of Holy Cross in educational work, in 1880 in New Brunswick.

Today her sisters work in over 200 institutions of education and evangelization in Canada, the United States, Italy, Brazil, Haiti, Chile, Honduras, and Guatemala.

“She always felt a call to support priests in their ministry”, said Bishop Poitras, and “events led her to found a new community which was recognized in 1896 by the Bishop of Sherbrooke: the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.”

Mother Mary Leonia died on May 3, 1912, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, at the age of 72. She was beatified in Montreal on Sept. 11, 1984, by Saint John Paul II, during his visit to Canada.

Her body lies in Basilica-Cathedral of Saint Michael Cathedral in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Source: Catholic News Agency

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Book Review: “Eucharistic Saints…Twenty Stories of Devotion to Jesus”

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Our book review

“EUCHARISTIC SAINTS:

Twenty Stories of Devotion to Jesus by Meredith Hinds (illlustrated by Adalee Hude)”

Eucharistic SaintsDirected at young people, this is certainly a book for our time.  Surveys reveal that many Catholic adults no longer believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, even though that is perhaps one of the most important beliefs of the Catholic faith and what separates us from our protestant brothers and sister (also perhaps, to a somewhat lesser degree, with the Anglicans).  So we are happy to see this book that tell us about the some saints that were devoted to the Eucharist.

These 20 stories help bring the stories of the Eucharist to life…..and, although it aimed at young people, we felt it was just as relevant for adults.  They are hypothetical versions of what might have happened during a Eucharistic Miracle or Miraculous event….and they are believable and the conversations are quite real and enjoyable to read.

As printed, each story stands by itself and if you want to read the background of the event they are listed in the rear of the book.  Our only suggestion for the layout of this book would have been to put each of these factual description in the beginning of each Eucharistic event rather than at the end of the book…..but that is only our opinion and others may prefer the book the way it is laid out.

We noticed that Carlo Acutis was included in the book.  He is Blessed Carlo Acutis today, but it looks like he will soon be Saint Carlo Acutis….the first Saint of the new millenium…. great role model for young people,

There are several saints of which we were not familiar….so it added to our knowledge, which is always a good thing!

We found the illustrations to be beautifully done, and add much to the book  (after all, we live in a visual world).

You can find it at Tan Books.