Hello All,
Being from a Catholic background, I used to believe in a lot of things I see in the Catholic church or "saints".
I have been a long way since that time and have got rid of all the pagan rituals of that church. However, I still struggle with some issues:
1- The Stigmata: I am sure somebody here knows about Saint Francis of Assisi or Padre Pio of Pieterlcina. I am interested to know your take on this phenomenon. I don't see anything in the Holy Bible talking about this. However I am trying to make sense of it. I mean many people believe Francis of Assisi to be a true follower of Christ, yet there is this phenomenon in his life. How come this phenomenon is only happening in the Catholic Church?
I know some would say it is all fake, but it seems unlikely to me looking at these persons.
2- Miracles by dead Catholic "Saints": the other issue is miracles done by Catholic "saints". We see a lot of these saints' bodies still oozing blood and well preserved. There are a lot of stories about serious sicknesses and diseases being healed by visits to their tombs, or by appearances. Seems weird to me. There is saint called Saint Charbel from Lebanon that is becoming very popular for healing people from all over the world. He appears to them in their sleep and performs operations and such things.
Now if these miracles happen, do you think that the devil can be responsible for healing people?
Let me know what you think, it is time I move on from this.
God bless