J
- Status
O
oldcelt
Guest
Counselors, priests, nurse, etc., often give hope in difficult situations as a way of bucking people up. None of them can know the final outcome, but they remain positive in an attempt to give others strength.
So far as where he is…it is entirely possible that he views his momentary stop as insignificant and is totally unaware of how people are interpreting it. He may also not wish any publicity or seen a newspaper account of the accident and his involvement.
Obviously, I don’t give much credence to “miracles,” but do get concerned when people attempt to create one out of very common events. Their search for a miracle may actually have a detrimental effect on some people’s beliefs when the miracle is found to be nothing of the sort.
I think it is for this very reason that the Catholic Church is so cautious when it comes to declaring miraculous events as legitimate and worthy of belief.
R
rcwitness
Guest
I wonder two things:
Would/could an angel administer a sacrament?
This priest had an accent. It would be great to know what accent. If french, then St John of Vianney is sounding very possible!
I think either a regular (but good) priest, or a saint.
Would/could an angel administer a sacrament?
This priest had an accent. It would be great to know what accent. If french, then St John of Vianney is sounding very possible!
I think either a regular (but good) priest, or a saint.
M
migueltojose
Guest
SAINT OF THE DAY August 4
St. John Vianney
(1786-1859)
A man with vision overcomes obstacles and performs deeds that seem impossible. John Vianney was a man with vision: He wanted to become a priest.
Situations calling for “impossible” deeds followed him everywhere.
With Catherine Lassagne and Benedicta Lardet, he established La Providence, a home for girls. Only a man of vision could have such trust that God would provide for the spiritual and material needs of all those who came to make La Providence their home.
His work as a confessor is John Vianney’s most remarkable accomplishment.
In 1929, Pope Pius XI named him the patron of parish priests worldwide.
Quote:
Recommending liturgical prayer, John Vianney would say, “Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire, it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.”
Patron Saint of:
Parish priests
Priests
N
njlisa
Guest
I hate to sound like a cynic, but I don’t think we have to leap to the conclusion that the priest was some mystery man. Perhaps he just walked up from his car to see if he could be of service and then took care of the woman. The rescue workers could have been too distracted to see him walk away. In any case, I think God was working in that situation, but not in some spectacular way. If indeed, God sent a saint to be on the scene, why didn’t he miraculously cure the woman?
I do believe that miracles can happen. I have experienced one myself. (I’ll spare you the details – but I miraculously escaped death.) And I think the sacraments, in and of themselves, are miracles. I have been anointed before, and I have felt a great sense of peace. I have a similar feeling after going to confession.
God works through all of us. And that can be miraculous enough.
I do believe that miracles can happen. I have experienced one myself. (I’ll spare you the details – but I miraculously escaped death.) And I think the sacraments, in and of themselves, are miracles. I have been anointed before, and I have felt a great sense of peace. I have a similar feeling after going to confession.
God works through all of us. And that can be miraculous enough.
S
SwizzleStick
Guest
Cool! It’s a good Catholic school!
D
DAML72
Guest
I listened to an interview with one of the officers on the scene. He said the sketch looked nothing like the priest. The description he gave was of a man probably in his 60s, 5’6"-6’ in height with dark hair, with some gray/silver, a bit curly. He was of olive complexion and spoke with a very heavy accent. (Maybe Spanish or Italian, but he wasn’t sure). He was there for probably about a 1/2 hour, as he asked to anoint the girl, but the officer and the EMT weren’t sure they wanted to allow him to do that, as they thought she would think they had given up on her survival. After getting permission to anoint her and doing so, he then stood back and prayed the Rosary.
I couldn’t find the audio interview I heard, but here’s a newer article giving more details:
connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=931681
Personally, I think this was a supernatural occurrence - and a call to someone at the scene to come ‘home’ to the Catholic church. Not only was this a great demonstration of the power of faith, but the power of the sacraments and the Communion of Saints (in praying the Rosary). How wondrous and loving is our God!
D
DAML72
Guest
Oooh - that made the hairs on my arm stand up. To think that we have another ‘Padre Pio’ here watching over us.I personally do not believe that he was an angel, as some claim. I think he is this generation’s Padre Pio (who could bi-locate). They can’t find him because he is hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
For the doubters, how do you explain everyone feeling a feeling of peace and calm? The professionals are used to this type of work. I kinda doubt that they needed someone there to “calm them down”.
Miracle. End of.
R
rcwitness
Guest
Yes,
Why was the sketch so off? Maybe each saw someone a little different?
I wish we could ask these men questions
But, I do wish to remember, this girl had great faith! She is young to have this devotion of praying out loud. Like the officer said, God has good work for her.
Let’s continue to pray for her…she is in lots of pain right now, according to her mother
D
daisybee
Guest
From the tone of most posters on this thread, I don’t think many of us would be disappointed if the priest were identified. If that were the case, it is still a great blessing that the priest happened to be in a remote area at the right time. In No Man Is an Island, Thomas Merton describes God’s activity “like a hurricane.” He is constantly sustaining all life and sometimes we experience His grace in extraordinary ways. I think most adults realize that unusual instances of grace don’t occur everyday. (Although for us Catholics, we believe that God makes Himself present in the Eucharist, which is a miraculous event that occurs throughout the day across the world…unfortunately we take this miraculous event for granted.)
What I found particularly interesting was the fire chief’s allusion to becoming aware that he and a colleague received knowledge about how the events would unfold in a way that he and one of his colleagues cannot explain. He indicates they are uncertain whether the knowledge came directly from the priest’s intervention or not, and in the videotape he almost seems embarrassed to reference it and try to explain it. (He does not state that the priest told him would happen next; instead he indicated that somehow he and his colleague understood what would happen next.) In prayer, the Holy Spirit can sometimes infuse knowledge directly to a person or people. Further, another mark of someone experiencing something supernatural is the person’s reluctance to talk about it or discuss it in great detail. The fire chief’s testimony seems to have these characteristics. Of course, for most of us, these events do not occur everyday, and I don’t think any of us have time to spend miracle-hunting. When God’s goodness is manifested, however, it is strengthening to rejoice. I believe it is also an expression of gratitude to God for His great power and loving mercy.
D
DAML72
Guest
The sketch was not done by anyone at the scene. It was done by a man whose brother is a priest, and who had a ‘feeling’, based on the few words of description he had heard, what the priest looked like. My guess - it looks just like the artist’s brother. I have no idea why it was published.Yes,
Why was the sketch so off? Maybe each saw someone a little different?
I wish we could ask these men questions
But, I do wish to remember, this girl had great faith! She is young to have this devotion of praying out loud. Like the officer said, God has good work for her.
Let’s continue to pray for her…she is in lots of pain right now, according to her mother
N
njlisa
Guest
The appearance of an ordinary priest is miracle enough. In many cases, the mere appearance of a priest has a calming effect on those around. I had a friend who had long since abandoned the Catholic faith – but he was greatly comforted when a priest showed up to give his beloved dying friend the anointing of the sick.
I was anointed by a hospital chaplain before going into surgery and I felt a sense of calm. But he was just an ordinary priest doing his job.
I wouldn’t go by the emotions of the people at the accident site.
Also, the Church is very skeptical when it comes to declaring miracles. This event merits more investigation before it is worthy of belief.
I was anointed by a hospital chaplain before going into surgery and I felt a sense of calm. But he was just an ordinary priest doing his job.
I wouldn’t go by the emotions of the people at the accident site.
Also, the Church is very skeptical when it comes to declaring miracles. This event merits more investigation before it is worthy of belief.
R
rcwitness
Guest
R
rcwitness
Guest
And the Church should. It has the faith of the whole body to be responsible for. We as individuals are free to believe what the Spirit reveals to us too (so long as it is not in contradiction to Mother Church).
That said, I merely would like to ask them about their experience. Like someone just said. We dont need it to be a saint/angel to love the way one of our good priests helped a girl who had good faith to see our dependence on God
I
ishii
Guest
Thank you for acknowledging your bias. I think its fair to be honest and upfront about it. My experience is that some simply do NOT want to acknowledge or even entertain the slightest possibility of a miracle so they think of other ways to explain events that seem like they could be miracles. There have been miracles throughout history - no reason why there aren’t still miracles today. You just have to have eyes to see them.
Ishii
N
njlisa
Guest
I agree completely with what you’ve said. I was rescued from near drowning. People just happened to be there, at the right place, at the right time, on an unpopulated island to pull me out of a fierce river current when I was about to be sucked under a log. I have my own beliefs as to what happened. I won’t go into them. But I certainly do believe in situations when we are in danger, God can intervene. I think the greatest miracle that happened that day was that I was completely at peace and surrounded by the love of God. I knew in that moment how much God loves me. And it changed my life.
R
RACJ
Guest
Lisa, I would be very interested to hear what you believe happened to you. I’m not about to ridicule you for your account of your first person story. I have heard many stories from people which would be scoffed at by perpetual skeptics, but I believe them.
N
njlisa
Guest
Check your PM’s.Lisa, I would be very interested to hear what you believe happened to you. I’m not about to ridicule you for your account of your first person story. I have heard many stories from people which would be scoffed at by perpetual skeptics, but I believe them.
F
frattura30
Guest
In my opinion, after listening to the radio interview from the link above, he described Padre Pio.
R
rcwitness
Guest
I musta missed the huge beard in the description
- Status