ITS A MIRACLE!
The BVM appears to Indian schoolgirls and gets a grandfather back on his feet
STAND UP FOR MARY
Des Fitzgerald, 82, a former butcher and bookmaker, claims he could walk properly for the first time in years soon after obtaining a 4ft (1.2m) tall statue of theVirgin Mary. The grandfather, from Greystones in Limerick City, recently purchased the BVM statue for 400 euros to mark the centenary of the first apparitions in Fatima, Portugal. After alternating between using a wheelchair and walking aid for a decade, he said his prayers had been answered. “I hadn’t the statue 10 minutes when I was able to walk fully,” he said. “It was a miracle straight away. To prove it to myself, I walked out of the house, down to the gate and back up again. Before, I was barely able to stand up for a minute on my own.” He said he was afraid to wake up each morning in case he suddenly found that his mobility has been impaired again. A shrine, under construction at the time of the news report, was blessed by a number of priests, while a decade of the Rosary was to be said at the site. Irish Independent, 13 Oct 2017.
KERALA APPARITIONS
Both Hindu and Catholic schoolchildren in India claim to have witnessed an apparition of Christ and several appearances of theVirgin Mary accompanied by the scent of jasmine. Matters
India recounted the apparitions based on a note on the parish billboard by parish priest Father Mathew D’Cunha. The phenomena – which unfolded at St Ambrose Church and Lower Primary School in Edavanakkad in Kerala, 16 miles (26km) north of Kochi – reportedly began on 28 September when a student at the school, a Hindu girl named Kristnaveda, went to the church to pray for her (unspecified) ear problem to be healed. She put some holy water on her ear, and told fellow students that this had “helped” her ear. When the children left the school to pray in the church, they looked up and saw in the sky a vision of Christ being scourged. They recited the name of Jesus and went into the church to thank God for healing the girl’s ear.
The only Catholic girl among them, Ambrosiya, volunteered to lead the group in praying the rosary, but she “did not know the Luminous Mysteries recited on a Thursday and sought a teacher’s help.” The children were praying when the teacher reached them at about 1.45pm. One of the girls, Anusree, told the teacher that the Blessed Virgin was standing under the altar. They reported the smell of jasmine. The apparition told the children to come closer, which frightened a girl named Sivanya, who said she wanted to leave. While the teacher was leading the children out of the church, the girls said the apparition followed them and pleaded with them not to leave. Some of the children then went to see Father Merton D’Silva, the assistant priest, who took them back to the church to pray, where they again said theVirgin Mary was standing under the altar. D’Silva couldn’t see anything. The BVM promised the children help with their studies and “promised to send them the Holy Spirit” and to take them to Heaven.
On 3 October a large crowd gathered and prayed the rosary in the church with the reputed visionaries. After a time, everyone perceived the scent of jasmine and the children said they saw the BVM again. Father D’Cunha asked the children to point out the exact spot. The congregation saw a bright light and the priest said he felt someone patting his head. Many said they received the gift of contrition as they prayed. Catholic Times, 20 Oct 2017.