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By Jacalyn Duffin

On 27 April 2014, Pope Francis will canonize two of his predecessors, John XXIII and John Paul II. As the rules require, devotees have long been preparing for their recognition as saints, gathering biographical materials and evidence of miracles. This act brings the number of canonizations in his papacy to ten.

But on 3 April, Francis canonized three lesser known Blesseds, two of whom were French-born Canadians, the other a missionary to Brazil born in the Canary Islands. In the case of these three saints and John XXIII, Francis relied on an equivalent canonization without miracles.

The new round of saint making invites us to consider the role of miracles in the canonization process and ask if it is changing in our time. Below are five things you may not know about the canonization process.

(1)   Miracles are used as evidence in the canonization process

Saint-making was once a local procedure, overseen by bishops. During the Counter Reformation, the church codified the analysis of causes through a special committee, the Sacra Rituum Congregatione (SRC). Launched in 1588, these rules were clarified in the 1730s by Prospero Lambertini (1675-1758), who became Pope Benedict XIV in 1740.

Three stages are necessary: first, veneration following an authoritative biography to establish a life of “heroic virtue”; second, beatification following miracles; finally, canonization following more miracles.

In the Catholic tradition, only God works miracles. Therefore, miracles received after appeals for intercession are taken as evidence that the candidates for sainthood are with God. Elements of due, canonical process, miracles also illustrate how the faithful experience illness.

Exemptions from miracles were allowed for rare individuals, especially martyrs—whose deaths were sufficient evidence of sanctity. Nevertheless, the Vatican archives holds many records of miracles ascribed to martyrs, such as the English and Welsh martyrs, Andrew Bobola, John de Brito, and the Jesuit saints of Canada.

The Miracle of Saint Donatus. Amiens, Museum of Picardy. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

(2)   The majority of miracles over the last four centuries are healings from physical illness, for which scientific testimony is required.

In my study of 1,400 canonization miracles over four centuries, more than 95 per cent were healings from physical illness. The proportion of “medical miracles” increased to 99 per cent in the twentieth century.

Most investigations required testimony of physicians, some of whom were nonbelievers: treating doctors, expert consultants, and occasionally medical family members. In addition, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (successor of the SRC) relies on a committee of distinguished physicians, the Consulta Medica, to evaluate the claims of postulants.

Most investigations seek evidence not only that the patient prayed, but also that she appealed to physicians who used up-to-date diagnostic and treatment strategies.

(3)   Diseases that are healed miraculously change through time, reflect changes in science, epidemiology, and medical therapeutics.

The diseases healed by divine intercession reflect the major concerns of any period: fevers in the early period; tuberculosis in the nineteenth century; cancer, neurological, and heart diseases in our time.

Diseases healed by intercession often match characteristics of the new saint. For example, the first miracle ascribed to John Paul II was a French nun’s recovery from Parkinson’s disease. In the cause of Kateri Tekakwitha, whose face had been disfigured by smallpox, the final miracle was the survival of an American boy with native ancestry who suffered flesh-eating disease of his face.

The committee of expert physicians examines every miracle submitted for consideration, assessing the diagnosis, the quality of treatments, and plausible, scientific explanations for the cure.

If the diagnosis was unreliable, or the treatment short of contemporary standards, or the cure scientifically explicable, then the healing may be recognized as an act of grace, but not a miracle.

(4)   Saint-making and recognition of miracles has been streamlined.

Many miracles were necessary for canonization in the past. Seventeenth-century causes saw an average of fifteen to twenty miracles. Benedict XIV emphasized quality and scientific scrutiny over quantity. Thereafter, the average number of miracles for each cause declined to approximately four, although some boasted many more.

For much of the twentieth century, a cause could not be considered until at least fifty years had elapsed following the death of the candidate. Also, the would-be saint should have interceded for two miracles before beatification, and another two for canonization.

During the papacy of John Paul II, the process was streamlined. The wait time was reduced to five years after death, and the miracle requirement, to only one for each of beatification and canonization.

(5)   The need for miracles in the canonization process may be on the wane.

Gathering miracle evidence is expensive and time-consuming. Emerging nations rarely have elegant technologies, such as CT and MRI machines, demanded for exacting proof of diagnosis and healing. Finding witnesses and documenting illnesses long past is difficult.

Some churchmen worry that the emphasis on miracles and up-to-date medicine poses an unfair and unnecessary hurdle for people of developing nations who should be entitled to venerate exemplary lives of local champions. In causes from 1588 to 1999, only three hailed from Africa: all beatifications by John Paul II on the basis one medical miracle each; one of these three, Sudanese nun Josephine Bakhita (d. 1947), was canonized in 2000.

Similarly, some clerics are concerned that the emphasis on miracles skews the process away from its main mission: to celebrate inspirational, human lives. Miracles sensationalize a process intended to enhance the accessibility of faith in daily life.

They also argue that emphasizing miracles downplays the intrinsic merits of prayer. Most people who pray do not receive miracles. Nevertheless, prayer provides consolation, comfort, insight, and strength.

With his first canonizations, Pope Francis is bucking tradition in a manner consistent with his focus on person-centered simplicity. His April 2014 decision to canonize four saints without miracles is technically within “the rules.” But it bypasses the strict, centuries-old procedures of miracles in order to celebrate their intellectual lives, as well as their spirituality, by drawing attention to their contributions as educators and scholars for the disadvantaged.

Miracles notwithstanding, saint-making is and has always been a product of politics and diplomacy between the Vatican and flocks of the faithful.

Jacalyn Duffin is Professor in the Hannah Chair of the History of Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, where she has taught in medicine, philosophy, history, and law for more than twenty years. She has served as President of both the American Association for the History of Medicine and the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine. The author of seven other books and many research articles, she holds a number of awards and honours for research, writing, service, and teaching. She is the author of Medical Miracles; Doctors, Saints, and Healing, 1588-1999 and Medical Saints: Cosmas and Damian in a Postmodern World.

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Sometimes, things may be hopeless and you need to grieve. When Sarah got sick, I knew in my gut, this wasn’t something I could heal in anyway. She was very old after all, and the diagnosis was bad. It was time. You can feel that energy of endings, and you just submit to it.

Then there’s the miracles.

Whenever my friends are facing hopeless situations, I tell them about Cowboy Dave.

Years ago, during the time everyone had crazy adjustable mortgages, when the housing crisis occurred, we were faced with the challenge of selling our beloved home. We’d be there for four years, and truly loved it, but we felt stuck in an ever-expanding payment that was growing unreasonable. To make matters worst, my husband quit a job he truly enjoyed, but he had to make a tough decision, because he was being treated so horribly and unfairly at work, he felt he had no choice.

We went through what most folks had to go through–the awful feeling of threatening letters coming in the mail, and the overwhelming worry about losing our home. We decided to try and sell our home and went through two different realtors. Things were getting closer and closer to the wire where we were running out of time and the house would be in foreclosure.

Help arrived! A couple came to the door and handed us brochures. With smooth-butter voices they promised to take the house off our hands and hand us $10,000 to run away and start a new life. My head ached at the time, like it does when negativity is sqirming around me. I protested.

The wife’s smile turned into a straight line, and her fists gripped the couch. Her husband turned on his bully button. “You have no choice!” he yelled. He explained they were the only option and we were crazy to turn down this deal. “This is reality and how things are. You’ll walk away with nothing,” he shouted at us.

When they left, we felt bullied and destroyed. It was like a huge hole grew into the ground and we fell right down into it.

And I then got weird guidance.

We were to expect more. Expect miracles. We called the bully couple back and told them no. We were throwing ourselves into the mercy of God and the Universe. It was crazy and illogical.

Two days later, we got a phone call from the realtor. A man wanted to check out the house.

Cowboy Dave, we later affectionately called him, was another realtor from a different company. He was a little old man with a big cowboy hat and a smile that lit up the room. He let his buyer in and then explained to us that this man was given a long list of houses to consider and he pointed to ours. “This is the house I want,” he had said. He lovingly went room to room and the air popped with his excitement. We waited in anticipation for his decision.

Only a few days later, we got his offer. We made over $80,000 in our sale. This was at a time when the house crisis just began, and houses were not selling, much less for the asking price.

When I am feeling like a situation is looking beyond hopeless, I ask myself if it has that ending energy and I need to acquiesce and accept, or do I need to ask and wait for a Cowboy Dave moment.

I was playing around with the concept of manifesting and asking for more. I decided to ask for a specific monetary amount to arrive in the next few days. When I realized I was asking too little, I  blurted “$1000! I want a $1000 in the next few days.”

I received this in the mail.

Look closer…

Even more than I asked for!

Did I mention you need to be specific when you ask for things? Like, I could actually cash this check. The check was from a used car dealership  supposedly I could use towards a down payment on a new car.

While it's not a young adult book, I am thrilled, proud, and beaming to announce that my non-fiction book, CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, is released today in bookstores everywhere! Isn't it pretty? And it'll make an awesome stocking stuffer for anyone this holiday season.


I co-authored this book with Cecil Murphey, New York Times bestselling author of 90 Minutes in Heaven.


I am extremely privileged to have the opportunity today to talk to my friend and co-author, Cecil “Cec” Murphey:

Marley: Cec, thanks for spending some time with me today.

Cec: Marley, it's great that you could take time away from important things like making a living to spend a little time with me.

Marley: I’m so jazzed about our Christmas Miracles book that’s coming out soon. I’ve had a lot of questions from folks wanting to know how we met, what brought us together, etc. So, I thought we’d do a back and forth on how it all came to be. Of course, I have to give props to our amazing agent and friend, Deidre Knight, for bringing us together. For those of you who don’t know, Cec co-authored the runaway New York Times bestselling hit 90 Minutes in Heaven with Don Piper.

Cec: I have to say thanks to Deidre Knight as well. Between Deidre and my assistant, Twila Belk, I've been able to sell quite a few books. 90 Minutes in Heaven has been my big book. I'm also proud of a book I wrote in 1990 called Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. The book has never been out of print and has hit close to four million in sales. Early this year, Cuba Gooding Jr. starred in the made-for-TV film version.

Marley: That’s amazing! You are truly prophetic and definitely “the man behind the words.” Now, people ask how we teamed up. Sadly, there was a personal tragedy that brought Cec and me together as friends.

Cec: True. In early 2007, our house burned and our son-in-law died. Aside from the grief over Alan, we lost everything. Deidre and Jan, my-then-assistant, sent the word out of our tragedy without telling me. I'm immensely grateful for every gift people sent, but I probably wouldn't have admitted I needed help and wouldn't have asked. They taught me how much we need other people.

Marley: Deidre put out a call to other clients of The Knight Agency, to help Cec and his family out in any way in their time of need. At the time, my company was moving and we were cleaning house. We had a ton of office supplies that we were either going to throw away or give to some of the charities the company worked with. I got my boss’ permission to send a large care package to Cec…full of office supplies for him to re-stock his writer’s office. You name it…post-its, staples, paper clips, pens, pencils, markers, white out, ruler, scissors, paper, notebooks, notepads, envelopes, a laptop case, tape, glue, folders, binder clips…etc. A veritable potpourri of office delights. I was hoping that it would help Cec have a sense of getting his office back so he could keep working.

Cec: Marley's gift was the most unexpected I received. We hadn't met, although Deidre Knight had spoken of her many times and kept telling me she was wonderful. I wonder if you can imagine what it was like for me to open that box from someone I didn't know. I saw all those practical things for my office and yelled for my wife. I felt as if I were reading a first-grade book. "Look! Look and see! Oh, look!" I was overwhelmed by the gift and even more to receive it from a stranger. Those supplies were the most practical gift anyone could have given me. I'm still using black paper clips and red folders from Marley.

Marley: Awww…thanks, Cec! I didn’t have to think twice about doing it. Writing is such a solitary “sport,” but the writing community always astounds me with how they help their own. Not long after that, over plates of spinach and Gouda omelets, Deidre introduced me to Cec in person and I was thrilled to finally meet the man behind the words. Deidre knew we needed to work on a project together and thus began our brainstorming. What did you think of that first meeting, Cec, and cooking up the idea to work together?

Cec: Deidre and I had already spoken about a Christmas book and I had some idea about what it should contain, but nothing had come together. One day Deidre told me that Marley was coming to visit her and she wanted us to work together on a Christmas project. Marley and I talked before we ate and again during the meal. Everything felt right to me. I knew my strengths and Marley knew hers (and Deidre knew both of us). Everything clicked. Marley, a far better networker than I am, immediately sent out the word for submissions. Within days she had almost four times more than we could use. (She read every one of them!)

Marley: I was truly impressed with the submissions we received and it was hard narrowing it down to the ones we chose for the book. We’re fortunate to have such a go-getter agent in Deidre Knight. Cec, can you share how the whole idea of Christmas Miracles came about and what you thought of the project originally?

Cec: For me, it actually started while I was on the rapid-rail train from the Atlanta airport when I listened to teens talk about Christmas and it was mostly about gifts. I had the idea then, but nothing really came together. Months later when Deidre I and had a meeting, she brought up the idea of a compilation and mentioned my working with Marley. I've been Deidre Knight's client since 1997 and I've learned to listen carefully when she comes up with an idea. I said yes before she gave me all the information.

Marley: That’s the truth about Deidre! Getting back to those submissions, Iwant to say we got more than two hundred submissions for Christmas Miracles. So many wonderful stories to read through and select for the book. It was a challenge to pick and choose which ones were right for the book, but I loved every minute of it. After I chose the entries that would go into the book, Cec toiled long hours editing the works for a unified voice. What was the biggest challenge you found in the editing process, Cec?

Cec: I've been a ghostwriter and collaborator for twenty-plus years and this was a switch to give the book a unified voice—which was mine. It would have been easier to stay with each writer's voice, but the book—like many compilations—would have been uneven in tone and quality. When I discussed this via email with our delightful editor, Rose Hilliard, she was (to my surprise) familiar with my work. She told me she liked the warm tone of my writing and that I don't waste words. "That's the voice we want," she said. It still wasn't easy, but it was an exciting challenge. After Marley and I agreed on the stories and gave them that unified voice, our editor pulled six contributions. Although different, Rose felt they were too similar to other stories.

Marley: Can you give our readers a preview of the book? A favorite story perhaps…or one that moved you to tears? (I have to say the little boy who wished for nothing but to be able to read a book all the way through because of his stutter had me bawling when I read the submission.)

Cec: That's not fair! I liked them all. The one that touched me most, however, is the last story in the book, "Sean's Question." We had almost finished the book and I was teaching at a conference in Florida. I felt we needed one strong story at the end. Despite all the good ones, I didn't feel fully satisfied to conclude the book. On the last day of the conference, I met a conferee named Sara Zinn for a consultation. As we talked, I mentioned Christmas Miracles and that I still needed one more story. "I have a Christmas story," she said and told me about Sean. As I listened, tears filled my eyes—but, being the macho type I am, I was sure it was an allergy. Sara wrote the story, and it became the one I sought.

Marley: Oh yes…that one is an emotional one all right. It was meant to be in the book because of how you met at the conference. Now, you and I have both had challenges in our lives that others might have found too much to take, but we are both very strong in our faith and our relationship with God. How do you think Christmas Miracles is going to help others feel closer to God and experience His miracles in their own lives?

Cec: Awareness and appreciation are the two things I want readers to grasp. Awareness means for them to realize that they're never totally alone in life. Those unexpected, out-of-the-ordinary events remind us of that. Appreciation means to be thankful for what we already have. Too often, and especially at Christmas, we focus on what we'd like or what is supposed to make us happy. Christmas Miracles gently reminds readers of both.

Marley: In this day and age when our country is fighting two wars, unemployment is high, and a lot of people have a lack of hope and faith for their future, what do you want readers of the book to take away from Christmas Miracles and how can the stories in our book help provide comfort to those struggling?

Cec: I want readers to see that miracles do happen—sometimes simple, unexpected blessings or those that involve the supernatural (as in one of Marley's stories). I call myself a serious Christian. For me, the world's greatest miracle began with the birth of Jesus. Regardless of a person's religion, this book encourages readers to think about life during the Christmas season and see that life as more than gifts and celebrations. It's also a reminder that God loves us and hears our needy cries.

Marley: Beautifully put, Cec, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Can we share what’s next after Christmas Miracles? = )

Cec: Why it's the Cec and Marley show, of course. Because of our go-getter agent and our enthusiastic editor, we've already received thumbs up for The Christmas Spirit. This will be stories of people who express the true spirit of Christmas by acts of love and kindness, for release in the fall of 2011.

Marley: And I can’t wait to start working on that project! Thank you so much for your time, Cec, and answering my questions. It was a privilege and honor to work with you and I look forward to our future projects together. You’ve helped me along during a trying time and I appreciate your friendship and support.

Cec: I liked this project because Marley had to send out the word, collect submissions, read them, and discard the weaker ones. I get to see only the better-written stories. (Don't tell her that I have the better job.) Although I mentioned only one story, all of those in the book touched me because of the poignancy of their situations and the miraculous answers. I won't say the stories increased my faith, but they increased my appreciation for the delightful mix of human need and divine intervention.

Marley: Thanks again, Cec! God Bless! And to our readers, please be sure to pick up a copy of Christmas Miracles, out October 13, 2009 from St. Martin’s Press. It’s a great stocking stuffer or gift basket filler. We hope you, too, will discover your own Christmas Miracles in your life.

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Please leave a comment with any miracles you've experienced in your life. All commenters will be entered to win a copy of Christmas Miracles!

And, on a personal note...speaking of miracles...my father had surgery on his carotid artery and a triple bypass of the heart yesterday. Thanks to all of my friends for their prayers and support. Miracles DO happen!

Hugs,
Marley = )

An email from a friend just now: The cancer she's been fighting for nearly a year is in retreat.

It was frightening news back when—all of us afraid for our friend, who promised a fight. No vitriol, no self-pity, not a moment when she asked, Why me? Her fight was something else altogether—faith in her doctors, strength absorbed from her garden, the deliberate welcoming in of family and friends, a trip to France, a trip to the seaside, three seasons spent steeping herself in goodness and thinking of the goodness first—not the operations, not the chemo, not the radiation, not the prognosis.

She sent photos of her adventures. She asked after our own travels, our concerns.

So that those of us who had the privilege of working with her would say, among ourselves, If only we had some small fraction of her in us.

She was on our minds, all the time. She was always there, in our conversations.

And today, her news.

Sometimes there are miracles. Sometimes we only stand back and say, Thank you.

The track suit is the great equalizer. The most voluptuous woman can put it on and suddenly, blamo! She's just as plain as the rest of us. Lolly says, "Forget measuring up. Slip into something comfortable. Grab a bowl of chocolate pudding, and take a little 1/4K jog, or walk, or better yet, throw on Oprah". Ignorance is bliss (or joy?). Or so they say.

... a game of twister............ naked. :)

More stuff on my website, as always: www.d-stolle.de

Inspired by Josh Pincus' 'Joy Division' post , I decided to contribute my own.

Frontman Ian Curtis in full swing.

happy birthday to me...happy birthday to meeee

DANCE LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW or
The joyful unawareness of extinction

My dinosaur extinction theory:

Personally, I blame the tyrannosaurus rex. So fond of raves were these behemoths. So oblivious of their surroundings were they. While gyrating and stomping about to their trancey, music, these scaly party goers never even noticed the giant earthquakes that resulted from their dance party. The seismic activity that followed tripped a volcano or two and set off a chain reaction of further volcanic eruptions. The climate change brought about by the post-rave eruptions, is, what I believe caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Look it up.
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The Illustration Friday theme this week is "Theory" and the Sugar Frosted Goodness challenge is "Joy." So I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone.

It is a happy pop panda. He makes me happy too. Share our joy.

I'm waiting for the spring to arrive. Springtime brings so much joy!

Anette Heiberg
www.anetteheiberg.com

Click here to rate this illustration!

Happy Valentine's Day! It brings me great JOY to make my first post here at SFG. My name is Michael and I'm from the button-down, political Washington DC area but my artwork is unapologetically bold, colorful, and fun. You can browse through my blog or look through my website at: Arty4ever.com

This week's theme: Joy

A special welcome to all of the new SFG members who have recently joined our ranks, be sure to make them feel at home. Have fun with this one folks, and have a great week!!


The SFG Challenge runs Thursday to Thursday, and was created to offer every member an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles, venture outside of their artistic boundaries and post their interpretations each week on a specific theme. This is a completely voluntary challenge!

Be sure to label your illustrations with the appropriate labels as well. Label your entries with your name and the challenge label, in this case SFG: Joy


The next challenge begins Thursday, February 21st, 2008.