Stigmata

Sibi

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Stigmata (Ancient Greek: στίγματα, plural of στίγμα stigma, 'mark, spot, brand'), in Christianity, are the appearance of bodily wounds, scars and pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, such as the hands, wrists, and feet.

Stigmata are exclusively associated with Roman Catholicism. Many reported stigmatics are members of Catholic religious orders St. Francis of Assisi was the first recorded stigmatic. For over fifty years, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th-century physicians. Stigmata are notably foreign to the Eastern Orthodox Church, which professes no official view on the matter; the first and only stigmatics have been Catholics who lived after the Great Schism of 1054.

A high percentage (perhaps over 80%) of all stigmatics are women. In his book Stigmata: A Medieval Phenomenon in a Modern Age, Ted Harrison suggests that there is no single mechanism whereby the marks of stigmata were produced. What is important is that the marks are recognised by others as of religious significance. Most cases of stigmata have been debunked as trickery. Some cases have also included reportings of a mysterious chalice in visions being given to stigmatics to drink from or the feeling of a sharp sword being driven into one's chest.


The odour of sanctity (also spelled odor), according to the Catholic Church, is commonly understood to mean a specific scent (often compared to flowers) that emanates from the bodies of saints, especially from the wounds of stigmata. These saints are called myroblytes while the exudation itself is referred to as myroblysia or myroblytism. There is a theory that the odour of sanctity is due to the smell of acetone and/or acetoacetic acid, caused by ketosis brought on by starvation from fasting.

Oil of Saints - the term also refers to "the oil in the lamps that burn before the shrines of saints" or "the water that flows from the wells near their burial places", or "the oil and the water which have in some way come in contact with their relics.

Marie Rose Ferron (24 May 1902 – 11 May 1936), often called the Little Rose, was a Canadian-American Roman Catholic mystic and stigmatist


Stigmatics before photography
St Catherine by Il Sodoma, -Saint Francis receiving stigmata -



Mariam Baouardy

Baouardy wrote her brother, then living in Nazareth, asking him to visit her. The young male servant she asked to deliver the letter drew out of her the cause for her sadness. Upon learning of this, he attempted to woo her for himself, inviting her to convert to Islam. She rejected his proposal, which caused the young man to fly into a rage, in which he drew a knife and cut her throat. He then dumped her body in a nearby alley. Baouardy then experienced what she was convinced was a miracle. As she related later, a "nun dressed in blue" brought her to a grotto which she could never identify, stitched her wounds, and took care of her. Her voice was affected for the rest of her life as a result of the cut, which a French doctor later measured as being 10 cm. (nearly 4 inches) wide. After being cared for by this mysterious figure for a month, she recovered enough to leave and find work as a domestic servant in the home of an Arab Christian family in the city


Marguerite Bays (8 September 1815 – 27 June 1879) was a Swiss seamstress and Roman Catholic mystic who was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order
The stigmata was first noticed when she felt intense burning and noticed red blotches appear on her hands as well as on her feet and at her chest. Marguerite was subjected to a medical examination on 11 April 1873 and the doctor allowed for her niece to be present for the examination. Jules Grangier visited her at her home to see the stigmata for himself sometime in 1873 after issuing a series of requests made to see her. In her last weeks, she had difficulty eating or drinking and was capable of consuming only small amounts of herbal tea with milk and occasionally a light bread soup. Her condition worsened in the weeks leading into Lent of 1879 and she suffered from extreme pain during this period. Marguerite grew frail and thin and her brother Jean said she felt like a bag of bones when he had to lift her. At the time her true condition was unknown and it is said she remained silent in relation to her level of pain during this period. Her symptoms are known to have included acute pain in her head as well as her throat and chest. Marguerite died at 3:00pm on 27 June 1879 following several more weeks of acute pain.




CAUGHT FAKING!
Capuchin Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and also Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Italian: Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Padre Pio became famous for exhibiting stigmata for most of his life, thereby generating much interest and controversy. On behalf of the Holy Office, Gemelli re-examined Padre Pio in 1925, writing a report in April 1926. This time Pio allowed him to see the wounds. Gemelli saw as its cause the use of a corrosive substance Pio had attached himself to these wounds. The Jesuit Festa had previously tried to question Gemelli's comments on stigmata in general. Gemelli responded to this criticism in his report and resorted to responding to his knowledge of self-inflicted wounds. He therefore clarified his statements about the nature of Pio's wounds: "Anyone with experience in forensic medicine, and above all in variety by sores and wounds that self-destructive soldiers were presented during the war, can have no doubt that these were wounds of erosion caused by the use of a caustic substance. The base of the sore and its shape are in every way similar to the sores observed in soldiers who procured them with chemical means."





Man holding baby over Pio's dead body. (?!) A mom made Padre Pio sandwich.

Investigations by medical and church authorities
  1. Luigi Romanelli, medical examination - "The injuries he presents to hands are covered with a brown-red membrane, with no bleeding points, no edema and no inflammatory reactions in the surrounding tissues. I am sure that those wounds are not superficial because, by applying the thumb in the palm of the hand and the index finger on the back and applying pressure, one has the exact perception of the existing void."
  2. Amico Bignami, pathologist - several hypotheses, among which was that the wounds were a skin necrosis that was hindered from healing by chemicals such as iodine tincture.
  3. Giorgio Festa - physician - He was obviously impressed by the fragrance of the stigmata. He had described the side wound as cruciform. In his report to the Holy Office of 1925, Festa arrived at a benevolent verdict and attacked Gemelli's critical view of Pio's stigmata, with theological arguments playing the lead role.
  4. Agostino Gemelli, psychiatric & medical examination - "The case is one of suggestion unconsciously planted by Father Benedetto in the weak mind of Padre Pio, producing those characteristic manifestations of psittacism that are intrinsic to the hysteric mind."
    1. Gemelli re-examined Padre Pio in 1925, writing a report in April 1926. This time Pio allowed him to see the wounds. Gemelli saw as its cause the use of a corrosive substance Pio had attached himself to these wounds. "Anyone with experience in forensic medicine, and above all in variety by sores and wounds that self-destructive soldiers were presented during the war, can have no doubt that these were wounds of erosion caused by the use of a caustic substance. The base of the sore and its shape are in every way similar to the sores observed in soldiers who procured them with chemical means." "He [Pio] is the ideal partner with whom former Minister Provincial Father Benedetto is able to create an incubus-succubus pair ... He is a good priest: calm, quiet, meek, more because of the mental deficiency than out of virtue. A poor soul, able to repeat a few stereotypical religious phrases, a poor, sick man who has learned his lesson from his master, Father Benedetto." Gemelli wrote in 1940 and later several times to the Holy Office on what he considered to be unjustified claims to the sanctity of Padre Pio.
  5. Raffaele Rossi, First Apostolic Visitation - Bishop of Volterra - . The extensive and detailed report essentially stated the following: Father Pio, of whom Rossi had a favorable impression, was a good religious and the San Giovanni Rotondo convent was a good community. The stigmata cannot be explained, but certainly are not a work of the devil or an act of gross deceit or fraud; neither are they the trick of a devious and malicious person. During the interviews with the witnesses, which Rossi undertook a total of three times, he let himself be shown the stigmata of the then 34-year-old Father Pio. Rossi saw these stigmata as a “real fact”.
    1. The Wounds - Those in the hands were "very visible". Those in the feet "were disappearing. What could be observed resembled two dot-shaped elevations with whiter and gentler skin." As for the chest, it says: "In his side, the sign is represented by a triangular spot, the color of red wine, and by other smaller ones, not anymore, then, by a sort of upside-down cross such as the one seen in 1919 by Dr. Bignami and Dr. Festa."
    2. According to Rossi "Of the alleged healings, many are unconfirmed or nonexistent. In Padre Pio’s correspondence, however, there are some credible declarations that attribute miracles to his intercession. But without medical confirmation it is difficult to reach a conclusion, and the issue remains open. According to Lucia Ceci, Rossi could not find any of the attributed miracles.
    3. When Rossi asked him about bilocation, Pio replied: "I don’t know how it is or the nature of this phenomenon—and I certainly don’t give it much thought—but it did happen to me to be in the presence of this or that person, to be in this or that place; I do not know whether my mind was transported there, or what I saw was some sort of representation of the place or the person; I do not know whether I was there with my body or without it.".
  6. John XXIII, investigations and tape recordings, after 1958 - John XXIII was skeptical of Padre Pio. At the beginning of his tenure, he learned that Father Pio's opponents had placed listening devices in his monastery cell and confessional, recording his confessions with tape. Outside his semi-official journal, John XXIII wrote on four sheets of paper that he prayed for "PP" (Padre Pio) and the discovery by means of tapes, if what they imply is true, of his intimate and indecent relationships with women from his impenetrable praetorian guard around his person pointed to a terrible calamity of souls.
  7. Carlo Maccari, Second Apostolic Visitation of 1960 Secretary-General of the Diocese of Rome- "Reticence, narrowness of mind, lies - these are the weapons he uses to evade my questions ... Overall impression: pitiful." Maccari demanded Father Pio's omission to practice kisses after the confession for the lay sisters. Maccari noted in his report that Pio had inadequate religious education. He works a lot for a man of his age. He is not an ascetic and has many connections to the outside world. In general, there is too much mixing of the "sacred" and the "all too human". Maccari noted by name the woman who revealed at which time to have been the lover of Pio, but without assessing the veracity of these statements. Maccari focused on assessing the fanaticism of Pio's social environment, describing it as "religious conceptions that oscillate between superstition and magic." Maccari called Pio's supporters "a vast and dangerous organization." Pio never had his own supporters advised to moderation. Maccari wondered how God could allow "so much deception."
    1. Maccari finished his critical report with a list of recommendations for further dealing with Father Pio.
      1. The brothers of Santa Maria delle Grazie should gradually be relocated, a new abbot should come from outside the region.
      2. No one should be allowed to confess to Pio more than once a month. The hospital was to be given new statutory statutes to sever the responsibilities of the medical and spiritual "healing" capuchins.
      3. Following Maccari's Apostolic Visitation, John XXIII noted in his diary that he sees Father Pio as a "straw idol" (idolo di stoppa).

Pio was said to have had the gift of reading souls, the ability to bilocate, among other preternatural phenomena. He was said to communicate with angels and work favors and healings before they were requested of him. The reports of preternatural phenomena surrounding Padre Pio attracted fame and amazement. The Vatican was initially skeptical. Based on Pio's correspondence, even early in his priesthood he experienced less obvious indications of the visible stigmata: bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations supposedly corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. "Then last night something happened which I can neither explain nor understand. In the middle of the palms of my hands a red mark appeared, about the size of a penny, accompanied by acute pain in the middle of the red marks. The pain was more pronounced in the middle of the left hand, so much so that I can still feel it. Also under my feet I can feel some pain." Father Pio wrote of his devotion to the mystical body of Christ and the intuition that he, Pio, one day himself would bear the stigmata of Christ. Luzzatto points out that in this letter Father Pio uses unrecognized passages from a book by the stigmatized mystic Gemma Galgani. Later Pio denied knowing or owning the cited book.​
Although he had been granted the stigmata, he had been so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to withdraw them. He wrote that he did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since he considered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation.​
On 20 September 1918, while hearing confessions, Pio claimed to have had a reappearance of the physical occurrence of the stigmata. The phenomenon was reported to have continued for fifty years, until the end of his life. The blood flowing from the stigmata purportedly smelled of perfume or flowers. He reported to Agostino that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances. He also said that he was suffering the pain of the crown of thorns and the scourging. He did not define the frequency of these occurrences but said that he had been suffering from them at least once weekly for some years. Though Pio said he would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news had begun to spread. Pio often wore red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet as he was embarrassed by the marks. However, no visible scarring was present at the time of Pio's death.​

"On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation..the pain was so intense that I began to feel as if I were dying on the cross."​

Maria De Vito (the cousin of a local pharmacist at Foggia) testified that the young Pio bought a little bottle of carbolic acid and four grams of veratrine in 1919. The bishop of Volterra, Raffaello Rossi considers the accusation concerning carbolic acid and veratridine (veratrine) and he concludes: "[Padre Pio] requested carbolic acid to disinfect syringes needed for shots, and veratridine for ... a prank to be played during recreation!! Padre Pio had experienced the effects of this powder mixed, in an imperceptible dose, in the tobacco offered to him by a Brother. Without knowing anything about poisons, without even considering what veratridine was (and that is why he asked for four grams), he requested it to repeat the joke and laugh at the expense of some Brothers! That's all. Instead of malice, what is revealed here is Padre Pio's simplicity, and his playful spirit."​

Apparitions​
During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the devil, both physically and spiritually. His followers also believe that the devil used diabolical tricks to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. Padre Augustine confirmed this when he said: "Now, twenty-two days have passed since Jesus allowed the devils to vent their anger on me. My Father, my whole body is bruised from the beatings that I have received to the present time by our enemies. Several times, they have even torn off my shirt so that they could strike my exposed flesh."​
Padre Pio reported engaging in physical combat with Satan and his minions, similar to incidents described concerning St. John Vianney, from which he was said to have sustained extensive bruising. The occasion of transverberation coincided with a seven-week-long period of spiritual unrest for Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period: "During this time his entire appearance looked altered as if he had died. He was constantly weeping and sighing, saying that God had forsaken him."​
"While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th [August] I was suddenly terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to leave because I felt ill and no longer had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was spared. From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony."​
On 20 September 1918, accounts state that the pains of the transverberation had ceased and Pio was in "profound peace."[4] On that day, as he was engaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, he received another celestial vision which led to religious ecstasy. When the ecstasy ended, Padre Pio claimed to have received the visible stigmata. This time, it allegedly stayed visible for the next fifty years of his life, only disappearing in the last few weeks of his life, leaving no trace on his skin.​
Death​
Pio died in 1968 at the age of 81. The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without a scar. Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side, but it disappeared.​
On the day of Padre Pio's death, mystic and Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini from Venezuela reported that he appeared to her in a vision and said, "I have come to say good-bye. My time has come. It is your turn." Her husband saw his wife's face transfigured into that of Padre Pio. On the following day, they learned that Padre Pio had died. Witnesses say they later saw Esperanza levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation. Padre Domenico da Cese, a fellow Capuchin stigmatist, reported that on 22 September 1968, he saw Padre Pio kneeling in prayer before the Holy Face of Manoppello, although it was known that Padre Pio had not left his room.​
 

phipps

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Stigmata - a sign of God or a deception?

Stigmata are wounds on the body that correspond with the suffering Jesus experienced during the crucifixion.

What are Stigmata?
Common stigmata include forehead wounds seemingly caused by a crown of thorns, marks on the hands and feet where Jesus would have been pierced by nails, and even marks across the arms and back similar to those Jesus bore from being flogged.

Most stigmata occurs in Roman Catholic circles. Stigmatists believe that by bearing stigmata, they are suffering with Mary, honouring Christ, and helping to pay the penalty for others' wrongdoing. They believe that God Himself is inflicting these wounds supernaturally.

However, stigmata go against the very nature of God. The atonement—Christ death and resurrection to pay our penalty—is worthless if humans are required to suffer Christ's wounds all over again. Scripture tells us that Christ died once, for all:

Hebrews 9:12, "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."

Hebrews 9:26-28, "He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."

Hebrews 10:10, "By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit."


Some instances, such as St. Francis' hand and foot wounds, can be explained as the result of other normal medical issues. However, some stigmata cannot easily be explained away by science. They are deceptive wounds, inflicted by Satan.

Marie Rose Ferron
Marie Rose Ferron (1902-1936) was a Roman Catholic born in Quebec. For most of her short adult life, which was spent in Rhode Island, Ferron experienced terrible stigmata.

Bloody wounds appeared on her hands, feet, forehead, and arms, and Ferron would often pass out from the intensity of the pain. But according to one biography, she was happy to suffer, believing that she was suffering in order to take the punishment for other people's sin:

She found even love for the passion He was completing in her reduced body. As the story of pain unfolded with the months and the years, the realization that she was a victim grew more vivid.

"She knew that she was being tortured in the place of others and she accepted her vocation of bearing in her own body the physical pain spared them. In that, too, she resembled her Master, whose love prompted Him to bear mankind's punishment in its stead." Mystics of the Church: Marie Rose Ferron American Mystic-Visionary-Stigmatic," Mystics of the Church online.

Marie Rose Ferron died at 33 years of age, still covered in painful stigmata. If Jesus died once, for all our sins, is it necessary for anyone else to suffer the pain of the crucifixion? No. It is Satan—not God—inflicting suffering upon the stigmatists.

Pointless Pain
Many others have experienced similar symptoms to Marie Ferron. A young Syrian girl named Myrna Nazzour suffered intense and excruciating bleeding from her hands, feet, and head.

Irishwoman Christine Gallagher experiences the same suffering. Other modern stigmatists include Therese Neumann of Germany (1898-1962), Padre Pio of Italy (1887-1968), Catalina Rivas of Bolivia, and Julia Kim of Korea.

Stigmata is a declaration that the sacrifice of Christ is incomplete. Satan would love to have us believe that Christ is not powerful enough to provide salvation, and that we need to earn it ourselves. But it is simply not Biblical that anyone should suffer any longer in order to pay for the sins of the world.

The unfortunate truth is that these poor people are suffering for nothing. Their pain does not please God and is not atoning for any wrong done.

Link.
 

Sibi

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The unfortunate truth is that these poor people are suffering for nothing. Their pain does not please God and is not atoning for any wrong done.
That's true. God does not want or need people to suffer and die. It sounds like it is satanic or demonic.
 
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