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Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary - part 1


From The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori:

"There are some persons who make it a boast that they are free from prejudice, and pride themselves on believing no other miracles than those recorded in the sacred Scriptures, looking upon all others as tales and old women's fables. Here it is well to repeat a just remark made by the learned and pious Father John Crasset. He says, 'that as good people easily believe miracles, so are the wicked always ready to turn them into ridicule;' and he adds, 'that as it is a weakness to give credit to everything, so on the other hand does the rejection of miracles, when they are attested by grave and pious men, either savor of infidelity, because they are thought impossible to God, or of presumption, in denying the credibility of such a class of authors.' We give credit to a Tacitus and to a Suetonius; can we, then, refuse it without presumption to Christian, learned, and tried authors? Father Canisius says: 'There is less danger in believing and admitting that which is related with some appearance of truth by respectable authors, and which has not been rejected by learned men, which is moreover a subject of edification to our neighbor, than in rejecting it with a disdainful and presumptuous spirit.'"


Inspired by St. Alphonsus, we will publish in parts the chapter named Various Examples Appertaining to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of his book The Glories of Mary. Below there are three first miracles described in the mentioned chapter.


1. In Germany a man fell into a grievous sin; through shame he was unwilling to confess it; but, on the other hand, unable to endure the remorse of his conscience, he went to throw himself into a river; on the point of doing so, he hesitated, and weeping, he begged that God would forgive him his sin without his confessing it. One night, in his sleep, he felt someone shake his arm, and heard a voice which said, Go to confession. He went to the church, but yet did not confess. On another night he again heard the same voice. He returned to the church; but when he got there, he declared that he would rather die than confess that sin. But before returning home he went to recommend himself to the most Blessed Virgin, whose image was in that church. He had no sooner knelt down than he found himself quite changed. He immediately got up, called a confessor, and weeping bitterly through the grace which he had received from Mary, made an entire confession of his sins; and he afterwards declared that he experienced greater satisfaction than had he obtained all the treasures of the world.

    

2. A young nobleman who was on a sea voyage began to read an obscene book, in which he took much pleasure. A religious noticed it, and said to him: 'Are you disposed to make a present to our Blessed Lady? The young man replied that he was. 'Well,' the other answered, 'I wish that, for the love of the most holy Virgin, you would give up that book, and throw it into the sea.' 'Here it is, father,' said the young man. 'No,' replied the religious, 'you must yourself make Mary this present.' He did so; and no sooner had he returned to Genoa, his native place, than the Mother of God so inflamed his heart with Divine love that he entered a religious order.


3. A hermit, on Mount Olivet, kept a devout image of Mary in his cell, and said many prayers before it. The devil, unable to endure such devotion to the Blessed Virgin, continually tormented him with impure thoughts; so much so, that the poor old hermit, seeing that all his prayers and mortifications did not deliver him, one day said to the enemy: 'What have I done to thee that thou tormentest me out of my life?' On this the devil appeared to him, and replied, 'Thou tormentest me much more than I do thee; but,' he added, 'if thou wilt swear to keep it secret, I will tell thee what thou hast to give up, that I may no more molest thee.' The hermit took the oath, and then the devil said: 'Thou must no more approach that image which thou hast in thy cell.' The hermit, perplexed at this, went to consult the Abbot Theodore, who told him that he was not bound by his oath, and that he must not cease to recommend himself to Mary before the image, as he had always done. The hermit obeyed, and the devil was put to shame and conquered.


Keep the Faith!


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