The stigmata are wounds corresponding to those in the feet, hands, side and head of the crucified Christ, accompanied by pain, which often bleed periodically especially on Fridays.  God chooses such willing and noble souls to undergo some of the sufferings of the Passion of Christ to expiate the sins of others.  Instances such as this are nothing new to Catholicism; many Saints were known to have experienced the same mystical grace.  This phenomenon has been recorded of over 300 persons from the 13th century.  The first and most famous instance was of St. Francis of Assisi.
    Therese Neumann's case is particularly valuable to present to non-Catholics, not only because she died in 1962, but because another fact of her life is documented in a secular book containing accounts of world records, all of which are carefully scrutinized for authenticity by the authors.  Here is the entry from "Guinness Book of World Records" (1979 Edition):

"Sister Therese Neumann survived 35 years on the "bread" of the Holy Eucharist at mass each morning at Konnersreuth, Germany."

The authors state that "records claimed without unremitting medical surveillance are of little value."   This saintly woman passed the test, though making a "world record" was one of the furthest things from her mind!

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Listen to a Lenten Sermon On-Line

The Catholic Dispatch is planning to make real-life sermons available on the Internet.  Presently it is in the planning stages and we would like your help.  It will be help that is both enjoyable and beneficial. The sermon is on the Passion of Christ.  Quite unique!   You can access the sermon from the front page of:

www.catholic-dispatch.com

Most people today have a computer with sound and a 56K modem. Please let us know what you think of the sermon and the sound quality.  This streaming audio is designed especially for Winamp - a well-known, small and free utility for playing MP3 files.  A link to download this utility is also provided.

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