After Seeing This, How Can Anyone Doubt?
As I set out to write my newest article, I wanted to write about a saint. Among these inspiring people, how does one choose? Well, I decided not to talk about one saint, but a bunch of saints. There are a good number of saint who can belong to the group who would be called, “The Incorruptibles.” Certain saints have been found over time to be very different than the normal person, even after their death. You or I, or event many saints for that matter, have our mortal body decompose after we die. This process is very quick and many gross things begin to happen to our bodies. I will not go into the messy details, but the short of it is that our bodies fall apart very rapidly after there is not life in them.
However, certain saints have eluded this tragic fate and left for us yet another sign of God’s Grace. The first saint to be discovered as incorrupt was St. Cecilia. Suffering martyrdom around the year 177 A.D., St Cecilia would be discovered in 1599 A.D. when the basilica she was interred in was being renovated. In a very well documented exhumation, St. Cecilia was found to be in the same position as she was placed in her coffin (the position she died in proclaiming the Trinity with her last breath) and looking very much as if she had just passed moments ago. She had remained untouched until this discovery and matched the statue that had been erected of her perfectly as if she was still posing for it.
After her discovery, many more saints have been found over the centuries to be incorruptible. Not all are the same, some have turned in color a bit, others withered slightly, but the fact that they have not turned to bone and dust without having any preservation, internal or environmental, confounds all scientific thought. The list is vast, but here are some images of my favorite incorrupt saints.
St. Vincent De Paul (Died 1660 AD)
St. Jean Marie Vianney (Died 1859 AD)
St. Bernadette of Lourdes (Died 1879 AD)
St. Silvan (Died 350 AD)
And one of my favorites is this:
St. Padre Pio (Died 1968)
St. Padre Pio not only was found to be in this perfect state, but was one who lived with the stigmata for fifty years. I was so awe struck by the sight of him the first time that I saw him that I have decided to include a video link as well. (Click here.)
These are not discoveries that were made long ago before science could explain things. St. Pio was discovered in 2008. There are things that science can not explain. These are gifts from God to show his power and grace among us. There are so many things that can make one doubt their faith. So many challenges come from so many directions. When someone challenges your faith, challenges the belief in saints and God’s action in the world, show them one of these pictures. Even the thought of one of these incorrupt saints makes me struck with awe that God loves us so much. After seeing this, how can anyone doubt?
Links for incorrupt saint stories:
http://listverse.com/2007/08/21/top-10-incorrupt-corpses/
http://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/st-cecilia.html
http://www.catholicapologetics.info/library/gallery/incorrupt/incorrupt.htm
http://www.overcomeproblems.com/incorruptables.htm
Tags » catholicism, discernment, faith, God, incorrupt, saints, trust
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Mike;
I loved this article! It goes to show that nothing is impossible for God. The shining example of these holy men and women is everlasting, it is only fitting that they should also last as a physical reminder of God’s love.
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
E.V.