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Contents

Acknowledgments xIntroduction xi

PA RT O N E Miracles of Love 3

Healing Touch—ST. MARTIN DE PORRES (1579–1639) 5Little Miracles of Affection—ST.THERESA MARGARET

(1747–70) 11Royal Miracles—ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY (1207–31) 14Miracles from Failures—VENERABLE SOLANUS CASEY

(1870–1957) 20

PA RT T WO Miraculous Prayer 29

Miracles That Made Peace—ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA

(1347–80) 31The “Accidental” Mystic—ST. LUTGARDE OF AYWIÈRES

(1182–1246) 39Miracles in the Desert—ST.ANTHONY OF EGYPT

(C. 251–356) 44Miracles to the Rescue—ST. CLARE OF ASSISI (C. 1193–1253) 50

PA RT t h r e e Dreams, Visions, and Other

Wonders 57

Visions—ST. PERPETUA (C. 181–203) 59Miracles of the Heart—ST. GERTRUDE THE GREAT

(1256–1302) 67Wounded Healer—BLESSED PADRE PIO OF PIETRELCINA

(1887–1968) 73

PA RT f o u r Miracles of Conversion 85

Miracles in Action—ST. DOMINIC (1170–1221) 87Miracles in Death—ST. SABAS AND ST.APPHIAN

(FOURTH CENTURY) 95Miracles in His Mouth—ST.ANTHONY OF PADUA

(1195–1231) 100The Miracle Is the Message—ST.VINCENT FERRER

(C. 1350–1419) 108

PA RT f i v e Miracles to Awaken Us 115

Miracles for the Poor—ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1181–1226) 117A Miracle in Her Soul—ST.TERESA OF ÁVILA (1515–82) 124Raising the Dead and Other Miracles—ST. FRANCIS OF

PAOLA (1416–1507) 131An Astonishing Invasion of the Supernatural—ST. JOHN

BOSCO (1815–88) 138

PA RT s i x Miracles That Changed the

Course of History 147

Miraculous Voices—ST. JOAN OF ARC (1412–31) 149Miracles over Magic—ST. PATRICK (C. 389–C. 461) 155Miracles of Discernment and Obedience—ST. IGNATIUS OF

LOYOLA (1491–1556) 161A Miracle Within—ST. FRANCIS XAVIER (1506–52) 170

Afterword 175Saints and Their Feast Days 179Bibliography 181Glossary 185

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od gave us mystics to show us that ordinary people canlive extraordinary lives. He never meant for us to putthem on pedestals or view them as superhuman, farbeyond anything we mortals could ever hope to be.

Mystics are not preternaturally gifted aliens from another planet, buthuman beings just like us. We esteem them not because, like Super-man, they have supernatural powers and can leap tall buildings in asingle bound, but because they show us how to live good lives.

When I look closely at mystics, I wonder if I grasp what it meansto really imitate them. They did everything in extremes. No costseemed too high. Me, I’m much more balanced. I count the cost allright, but I often find the price is steeper than I’m willing to pay.

St. Theresa Margaret was ill herself but put aside her own suffer-ing to care for the sick sisters in her convent. I’m not that way. If Iget sick, I hop into bed and expect someone to wait on me.

Solanus Casey humbly accepted decisions of his superiors thatseverely restricted his life and ministry. For half a century he laboredwithout complaint. I’m not like him. Even little inconvenienceschafe me. I fight back, big time—just ask the clerks in our localstores.

What can I say about St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who though aqueen spent herself and her fortunes serving Christ in the poor? OrSt. Martin de Porres? For fifty years he lived every moment of eachday for God and for others.

When I stand myself beside these giants, I feel puny.Comedian Stephen Wright says he once went to a convenience

store that bragged it was open twenty-four hours, only to find itclosed. Later, the proprietor explained that his store was opentwenty-four hours, just not twenty-four hours in a row! That’s howI am in my imitation of the saints. I’m inconsistent. I try to be likethe saints. But only in some ways. And not all of the time.

However, I keep looking at them. I try to stay close to them. Ithink that if I draw nearer to them, they might infect me with theirvirtue.

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Healing TouchSt. Martin de Porres (1579–1639)

Virtue is our Everest, and those who climb highest are most worthadmiring.

Phyllis McGinley

Martin de Porres was a forerunner of modern social activists. Con-sider the remarkable record of his achievements at Holy RosaryMonastery in Lima, Peru, most of which he completed in additionto his routine tasks. Just reviewing his generosity may make ushyperventilate with exhaustion.

Martin single-handedly transformed his monastery into a servicecenter, distributing food and clothing daily to hundreds of people.He also made it a prototype of a modern clinic by inviting the sickto come there to have their diseases cured. And they came in droves.Martin raised vast sums of money that he gave to the poor. Once, heprovided dowries for twenty-seven impoverished girls, who wouldhave been unable to marry otherwise. He loved the homeless chil-dren of Lima, and for these waifs he planned, funded, and built anorphanage and a school. He arranged for the best possible staff, spar-ing nothing to hire the most qualified caregivers and teachers.

He accomplished all of this out of his own extreme poverty. Hepossessed only one shabby tunic, yet he supplied comfort and help forthousands over a period of nearly fifty years. That’s the real miraclein his life.

=Martin was born in Lima, Peru, on December 9, 1579. Less than fiftyyears before, Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors had seized thevast Peruvian empire of the Incas. In their rapacious pursuit of goldand power, the Spaniards cruelly destroyed the lives of the nativepeople. Martin himself was a child of the conquest: he was the naturalson of John de Porres, a conquistador, and Anna Velázquez, a free

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black woman. During Martin’s lifetime, Peru was just beginning torecover from the Spanish invasions.

When Martin was twelve years old, his mother apprenticed himto a barber-surgeon, who trained him in the medical practices of theday. The youth became a medical expert, mastering the healing skillshe would use to serve others for the rest of his life. At that time,Martin also apprenticed himself to Christ. The youthful disciplespent long periods in prayer every night. Often he was so rapt incontemplation that he seemed to lose contact with the worldaround him.

Martin used herbal medicines, poultices, and other natural reme-dies to heal the sick, but eventually he discovered that he possessedsupernatural gifts of knowledge and healing. Sometimes miracleshappened directly through Martin’s prayer or touch. However, heworried that his supernatural gifts might draw undue attention tohim and cause him to become proud, so he always tried to hide themby pretending to use some herb or other medicine.

Once, Martin visited a woman whom doctors had diagnosed witha life-threatening hemorrhage. The poor lady was so upset with anx-iety that Martin had to assure her repeatedly that she would not bleedto death. When he prayed for her, the Lord revealed to him that shewould recover. Then, in a feeble effort to conceal his miraculouspowers, he gave the sick woman an apple and told her to eat it. As hepredicted, in a few days she had returned to perfect health.

In 1594, at age fifteen, Martin became a lay helper of the FriarsPreachers at the monastery of the Holy Rosary in Lima. Nine yearslater Martin entered the Dominican order by professing the vows ofa religious brother.

=Martin possessed such astonishing healing gifts that I must resist thetemptation to recount the story of his life in great detail. But twomiracles in particular reveal something of his remarkable characterand gifts.

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Little did Francis Velasco suspect how difficult it would be to leavethe monastery of the Holy Rosary once he had entered it as a novice.Barely a month had passed when his father arrived to woo him awaywith the promise of riches and power. The senior Velasco had risento a high rank in the Spanish government. In fact, the Spanish kinghad authorized him to pass on his former post as secretary of thetreasury to his son, Francis. The young man found this offer tooalluring to resist. Afraid to face his superiors, Francis decided insteadto steal away with his father at midnight. But just as he was about to slip away, a surprise visitor startled him. It seems that Martin dePorres had been praying when suddenly he sensed the need to findFrancis and comfort him.

Never one to mince words, Martin accosted the young man. “Areyou going to abandon the house of God for the office of the secre-tary of the treasury? It is better to serve God than to live in yourfather’s house. Believe me, what you were unwilling to do out oflove for God, you will do out of fear of God.”

Martin’s strange knowledge must have frightened the youth, forhe decided to remain in the monastery that night. A few hours later,Francis came down with a high fever. Once he had recovered, nei-ther the midnight warning nor the illness was enough to convincehim of his calling. He tried two more times to depart, each timebecoming seriously ill.

The third and final time, Francis’s illness was so severe that aphysician by the name of Dr. Cisneto declared him a hopeless case.The doctor ordered him confined to his bed, where his fever soaredand his pleural cavities swelled with fluid. There seemed little hopeof his recovery.

Then, one night, despite locked doors to both the building and theroom, Martin de Porres stood beside the sick man’s bed. In his handshe held an old brass brazier filled with glowing coals, a branch ofrosemary, and a clean tunic. Martin dropped the rosemary on thecoals, and the room filled with a blue, aromatic smoke. Then hehelped Francis to his feet and wrapped him in a blanket.

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