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1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:1-3

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on January 14, 2008, 01:35:44 AM
press release
The Bohol Chronicle

Preparations are all set, though simple but fitting, for the annual fiesta in this island municipality in honor of its venerated patron, Sr. Sto. Niño, Jan. 15 and 16.

Mayor Tesalonica A. Boyboy and Vice Mayor Nestor Abad will lead local officials, municipal employees and their parishioners in welcoming their guests and visitors as thousands of devotees and fiesta revelers are expected to flock during the celebration.

The Pontifical Mass is scheduled to start t 9:30 a.m. Wednesday with Most Reverend Christian Vicente Noel, Bishop of Talibon as the main celebrant. Parish priest Rev. Fr. Ranulfo Bernaldez will also lead the visiting priests as co-celebrants of the liturgy.

The usual fiesta activities will follow after the Holy Mass.

Meanwhile, in her fiesta message, Mayor Boyboy said,” as we move forward, let us march with hearts anchored on our Patron with heads up high, vesting ourselves with Christian virtues so that the joyful celebration in this new year would truly be a period of posterity and redemption.”

For his part, Vice Mayor Abad said, “may this commemoration foster among us the spirit of cooperation and unity. These two qualities are highly important in these days of uncertainties and trials. And with the blessing of the Holy Child, I am confident that you can all be rest assured of a brighter future.”

PIT SENYOR !!! VIVA SENYOR SANTO NINO!!!

I hope the people of Pitogo Island had a good fiesta ! Pariho ra man diay ang patron sa Pitogo Island sa Valencia.

Quote from: doraemon on June 21, 2012, 02:30:48 PM
absolutely!!! i guess theres a major problem with this place in regards with the progress... i always visit to the town since naa ko relatives adto... naa mn sd nooy gnagmay nga projects makita but mao lage na, gnagmay nalng but d fact is dinagko raba unta ang budget ana... the road there until now, wala pa jud nahoman... and there are areas nga na-concrete na but sa width is half of the standard.. where is the budget of the other half??? plus kita pa kog mga tubo nga gpanglubong para sa water supply saona mga 4 yrs ago but krun ilaha na sd gpanglukat ky giilisan og lain nga tubo... mkatawa ra ko mghuna nga igo ra jud gpalusot ang kwarta but wala jud nahimo.. sayanga sa tax nato ani... huhu.. nahan lng ko pagawas ky luoy ang mga tawo adto.... dali ra mn gud pd mailad since province kaau and wala say gaovernment authorities nga mkatan-aw sa leadership sa maong town.... hopefully naa pd unta mo-conduct og audit sa mga municipals like this so that there will be a transparency of funds...

you're right, doraemon. the problem with a lot of municipalities in the philippines is that there is this lacking in transparency in what the local government units do with the funds that are given to them. let's hope that improvement continues to be seen in Pitogo Island.

The ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus preached the Gospel to the Jews.

Jesus Christ preaching at the synagogue in Capernaum




Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum.
When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach.

- Mark 1: 21

Quote from: doraemon on June 21, 2012, 01:21:33 PM
if u try to take a look at ur sorrounding during fiesta,, all u can see is her pictures posted on the wall.. just wondering if it was for Sr. Sto Niño or for herself??

hmmm, that's a very good rhetorical question, doraemon. sigoroh, marketing campaign ra pod in lieu with the fiesta.

Nindot bitaw ang view noh? Imagine, some 2,000 years ago, our Lord Jesus Christ was walking off the waters there...God Walked on those very shores....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgLHVi40Gc8#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW2Xz8eAL20#

Quote from: hofelina on June 19, 2012, 02:00:11 AM
Bahala saging basta labing!

ha ha ha, labing diay ang saging?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZUZCoMKxA#noexternalembed

he he he, lost in translation diay ning tawhana.

The Baptism of Christ at the Jordan River by John the Baptist

Quote from: Lorenzo on June 21, 2012, 11:13:21 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JtAz1gnvBM#ws

Powerful !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JtAz1gnvBM#ws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I#

by: C.S Lewis


Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.

At present we are on the outside… the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the pleasures we see. But all the pages of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get “in”… We will put on glory… that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch.

We do not want to merely “see” beautyâ€"though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into wordsâ€"to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 12: 12

The LORD your God is in your midst,   a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness;   he will quiet you by his love;  he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Sa una, States, I did not like how my father was so very stern with me and was so quick to correct me. It did not occur to me that my father corrected me in order to steer me towards the right path and not towards the path of darkness and corruptibility. When I was disciplined, my father picked me up with his hand and embraced me saying to my ear , "Doy, gi latos ka nako kai pinangga ka nako; dili ko gusto nga mag rebelde ka nako. I correct you because I love you." And i can hear his voice even now. In my rebellious years as an adolescent, I did not understand this.

Then, much later, in my early 20's, when I started to study the Bible, I realize that it is a biblical mandate that parents, in particular, fathers, not to forget to correct his child / children. As it is said that a father's correction is done out of love; and a father who does not correct or discipline his child does not love his child.

When I become a father some day, I will also instill on my children the fear of God as my father instilled on me and on my siblings. Because when a parent corrects a child, he does it out of Love.

---

"Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

-Hebrews 12: 9-11

“Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.”

~ R. A. Torrey

Yes, Baptism is a Sacred Sacrament !! The Lord Jesus Christ even commanded the apostles to go out and to baptize the nations in the Name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit!

Eternal God, Goodness itself, whose mercy is incomprehensible to every intellect, whether human or angelic, help me, your feeble child, to do Your holy will as You make it known to me. I desire nothing but to fulfill God's desires. Lord, here is my soul and my body, my mind and my will, my heart and all my love. Direct me according to Your eternal plan. Amen.

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven, You are my peace. You are my salvation, You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. You are the bright ray that lights up the path of my life. You are everything to a lonely soul even though it remains silent. You know the weaknesses and You comfort and heal, sparing us sufferings. Amen.

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and within my own family. Amen.

Lord Jesus, I come before You just as I am. I am sorry for all my sins. I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In Your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give You my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite You into my life Jesus. I accept You as my Lord, God and Saviour. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit. Come Lord Jesus, cover me with Your Precious Blood and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I love You Lord Jesus. I Praise You Jesus. I Thank You Jesus. I shall follow You every day of my life. Amen. Mary my Mother, Queen of Peace, all the Angels and Saints, please help me. Amen

Good news for Filipinos and the Philippines in general.

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Amen.

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 10, 2012, 06:28:23 PM

he he he ! how cute!

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 10, 2012, 06:10:30 PM

he he he, delikado ni kai hilig raba si inday mo kaon og popcorn...tawn pod.

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 10, 2012, 05:56:27 PM

he he he special song eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96xOQCq3lE#

What is Vice Ganda? A man or a woman? or both?

Quote from: islander on June 18, 2012, 04:39:07 PM
andy?  andydito ka na ba?  (corny, hihihi.)

womp womp womp ....

Quote from: statesville on June 21, 2012, 02:40:40 AM
Lorenzo, your father did a superb job of raising you and grows up to become a young, fine and God-fearing gentleman.

One thing is clear, States, my father did not at all spare the rod. In fact, I will say that having a stern , yet loving father was necessary. Dad did not spoil us kids, but he told us to value worth and hard work.

Sa bata pa ko, og ma gara gara gajod og ma maldito mi, latoson gayod mi sa amoang amahan. Bakos gayod.

It's about time the Philippine Air Force got this !

It is their rebellious phase. When I was an adolescent, I would try to rebel and argue with my father's logic. Questioning his authority. It was later that I realized that I think just like my father and that we actually see things eye to eye. Then I have a greater appreciation for my father being a very stern man of God. He disciplined me when I needed to be disciplined !

Going to attend a wake for the husband of my colleague today. He passed away this past Sunday. May God have mercy on his soul.

he he he , cute pod.

You should stop texting back!

Finished yet another 36 hour on-call rotation. Before I signed off, I decided to take a picture. lol.

Exhausting kaayo ning on-calls , uy.

Quote from: Lorenzo on June 20, 2012, 11:27:11 AM

“The Doctor” by Sir Luke Fildes

   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHn-8mDmdYc#ws

To better explain, the human body follows this organization:

atom < chemical compounds < carbon compounds < cell < cellular tissues < organs < organ systems < organism

isn't it wonderful how God, in His infinite wisdom, designed man in such a way, literally a combination and product of all His creations in the cosmos?

Bone.

What is bone? Bone is composed of calcium and phosphates; the human skeletal system is actually the reservoir of calcium, an integral electrolyte that is necessary for proper muscular activity, and the balance of the endocrine system.

Who creates bone? Bone is created by osteoblasts (or otherwise known as bone creator cells), which then mature and become osteocytes. Contrary to popular assumption, bone is not a static component, but is actually ever-continually resorbing itself to create new bone through the process of osteogenic resorption. Bone is resorbed through the actions of the osteoclasts, which are bone eater cells, thereby allowing the osteoblasts to lay down new bone.

One asks, where do these osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts come from? They come from undifferentiated stem cells, which differentiate to specific tissues as required by the body during intrauterine formation. Who directs their differentiation? The genes; specifically the chromosomes and the DNA.

Quote from: skylee_swoop on June 20, 2012, 08:04:06 AM
kinsay gusto moapil ani?
visit lang nya mo sa http://www.danaorevolutions.com/

I would prefer to be in the operating room than in this. Ma hadlok ko sa heights. I am not scared to operate on my patients.

Quote from: islander on June 18, 2012, 11:48:05 PM
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural (or Godly) intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints) to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. Bodies that reportedly undergo little or no decomposition, or delayed decomposition, are sometimes referred to as incorrupt or incorruptible.

wiki/

more (text and pictures) at http://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=48574.0

Thanks, Isles.

Quote from: statesville on June 20, 2012, 10:44:01 AM
Our skeletal frame  have the same component except for the size....dako, gamay, potot o taas...

Yes, you're right. The skeletal frame that each of us are predisposed to having was pre-determined by the genetic masterpiece observed in the process called "genetic recombination" where in which all the genetic components of mother combine with that of all the genetic components of father to create "you" , the total combination of their genetic lineage, and the ancestors thereof.

How tall a person is, how wide their bones are, the color of one's eyes, the sound of one's voice, one's hair pattern (full head of hair or upaw), to the very pathological diseases that manifests in the body have a genetic link.

We are , we exist, because of our genes. Everything else is relative and a product of that genetic masterpiece.

And the author of that genetic masterpiece is Jesus Christ Who is Lord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAP7zFNDVow#

Great Read !

Quote from: vrglguapo on June 20, 2012, 06:12:40 AM
Ang dili mo appreciate ug gwapa nga pictures sa babaye b***t Lang.

ha ha ha! dili sila mo appreciate sa baji kai in competition man sila nila. yataps.

mura diay atong situwasyon og supply and demand.

Hello Rey,

It's good to see that you're back here in Tubag Bohol again. Yes, you were absent for quite some time. Good to have you back !

Mr. Baker Abdulla Atyani


Note: Mr. Atyani also bears resemblance to American food critic Anthony Bourdain

he he he, natural ra man og mo angay ang lalake sa lawas sa baji. That is why God made Eve for Adam.

Quote from: bol-anon nga cebuano on June 20, 2012, 03:18:27 AM
that only shows the true color of the abu sayyaf group. they are not fighting for freedom as what they are claiming. they are bandits. why can't the government, MILF and MNLF join forces to wipe out this group? it tarnishes the ideals of MILF and MNLF who are fighting for separation of mindanao.

In my opinion, I believe that the MILF and the MNLF relish in the Abu Sayaff's continued pestering of Government's authority and to continue to affect the local government unit. I will not be surprised to find out that Abu Sayaff is actually getting some kind of financial if not theological support from the cadre members of the MILF and MNLF. The main goal of the MILF and MNLF as well as that of the Abu Sayaff correlates with the overrall concept of Islamiyah Jeremiyah, which aims create an Islamic nation in south east asia.

The MNLF , MILF and Abu Sayaff wish to create a muslim nation in southern Philippines, a concept called "Bangsamoro". Their political, religious and historical claim lies in the fact that that region of the Philippines, Mindanao, was historically muslim. However, the overwhelming majority of Filipinos who inhabit Mindanao are not muslim, nor are they tausug, but are Christian and are from all over the Visayas. Some coming from Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Maasin, Tacloban etc.

The Republic of the Philippines must preserve its territorial integrity and the Government of the Philippines, which is elected by the people, and created for the people, should do what it can to crush any further islamic separatist groups that would try to undermine the will of the Filipino people.

As far as I know, from talking to DILG personnel, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao are incapable of disseminating funds to the proper local level. This resounds the inefficiency of the ARMM agencies. I believe that the Government of the Republic of the Philippines should exercise full control of the ARMM region of Mindanao and abolish autonomy. Every single province of the Republic should be accountable to the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Departments of the nation. And every province should follow the constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, which is the highest law of the land.

May the Philippine Armed Forces hunt down and exterminate further separatist groups that would dare undermine the safety and security and the authority of the Government of the Philippines, which is the breathing manifestation of the Will of the Filipino People.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas ! One Nation Under God!

The genetic codes of each and every single human being is located within the chromosome, of which, every human being has 46 (23 pairs). Each segment of the chromosome is responsible for the transcription of a specific protein, which in turn, leads to the development of the body and respective components.

The foundation of the gene is the nucleotidicic base pairing, in which Guanine binds with Cytosine, Adenine binds with Thymine. Lastly, URACIL replaces Thymine in the case of RNA.

All of us in the continuum of Man share this G-C, A-T nucleotidic relationship. We are because of this biochemical bond, which has been pre-ordained by some great designer of the cosmos.

Let's not stop at the bones, but let's continue down onto the genetic level. All human beings share the same some 30,000 human gene proteins , albeit with difference in nucleotidic variance, which accounts for the genotypic as well as phenotypic variance in human population. Despite how human beings come in different sizes, shape, color (shades) , all of us share 99.9999999 ad infinitum % of the same gene.

Hello there Mawjood, do you know Fr. Roel ?

Yes, absolutely true.

tsk tsk tsk, its quite interesting that they (the abu sayaff) would kidnap one of their brothers in islam, this jordanian journalist. hypocritical islamist group.

Quote from: vrglguapo on June 19, 2012, 06:12:47 AM
There is a huge deposit of marble in Romblon.We always name the place marble-ro  country.

he he he, kuyaw pod diay noh? I heard about that from my Tito Roger some time ago. What dialect do the people in Romblon speak, Nong Virgil? Bisaya sila o Tagalog ba ? I'd like to visit Romblon next time.

Quote from: islander on June 19, 2012, 01:34:02 AM
home is where i find myself.  including those places where there are no restrooms.

on the road diay ka kalingaw, isles?

Quote from: vrglguapo on June 19, 2012, 01:25:23 AM
It is not only Bohol got crystal clear water,This picture i took last year on my holiday at Cresta de Gallo Is.,Romblon.

Wow, mas nindot man pod diay ang dagat sa Romblon, Nong. I also hear that Romblon is known for their marble eh.

Quote from: jorgeanna on June 18, 2012, 07:13:54 PM
home is where the heart is

haha, cute pod ni! yesterday, i saw a dog bowl that said, "home is where your dog is..."

Hail Mary, poor and humble Woman, Blessed by the Most High! Virgin of hope, dawn of a new era, We join in your song of praise, to celebrate the Lord’s mercy, to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom and the full liberation of humanity.

Hail Mary, lowly handmaid of the Lord, Glorious Mother of Christ! Faithful Virgin, holy dwelling-place of the Word, Teach us to persevere in listening to the Word, and to be docile to the voice of the Spirit, attentive to his promptings in the depths of our conscience and to his manifestations in the events of history.

Hail Mary, Woman of sorrows, Mother of the living! Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve, Be our guide along the paths of the world. Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ, to stand with you before the innumerable crosses on which your Son is still crucified.

Hail Mary, woman of faith, First of the disciples! Virgin Mother of the Church, help us always to account for the hope that is in us, with trust in human goodness and the Father’s love. Teach us to build up the world beginning from within: in the depths of silence and prayer, in the joy of fraternal love, in the unique fruitfulness of the Cross.

Holy Mary, Mother of believers, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Amen.

Visions


By the time of the events at the grotto, her family's financial and social status had declined to the point where they lived in a one-room basement, called le cachot, "the dungeon," where they were housed for free by her mother's cousin, Andre Sajoux.[6] On 11 February 1858, Bernadette, then aged 14, was out gathering firewood and bones with her sister Marie and a friend near the grotto of Massabielle (Tuta de Massavielha) when she had her first vision. As she recounted later, while the other girls crossed the little stream in front of the grotto and walked on, Bernadette stayed behind, looking for a place to cross where she wouldn't get her stockings wet. She finally sat down in the grotto to take her shoes off in order to cross the water and was lowering her first stocking when she heard the sound of rushing wind, but nothing moved. A wild rose in a natural niche in the grotto, however, did move. From the niche, or rather the dark alcove behind it, "came a dazzling light, and a white figure." This was the first of 18 visions of what she referred to as aquero (pronounced [aˈk(e)ɾÉ"]), Gascon Occitan for "that". In later testimony, she called it "a small young lady" (uo petito damizelo). Her sister and her friend stated that they had seen nothing.[7]

On 14 February, after Sunday mass, Bernadette, with her sister Marie and some other girls, returned to the grotto. Bernadette knelt down immediately, saying she saw aquero again and falling into a trance. When one of the girls threw holy water at the niche and another threw a rock from above that shattered on the ground, the apparition disappeared. Bernadette fell into a state of shock and the girl who had thrown the rock thought she had killed her.[8] On her next visit, 18 February, she said that "the vision" asked her to return to the grotto every day for a fortnight.[9]

This period of almost daily visions came to be known as la Quinzaine sacrée, "holy fortnight." Initially, her parents, especially her mother, were embarrassed and tried to forbid her to go. The local police commissioner called her into his office and threatened to arrest her,[10] as did the district attorney, but since there was no evidence of fraud there was little they could do.[11] The girl herself remained stubbornly calm and consistent during her interrogations, never changing her story or her attitude, and never claiming knowledge beyond what she said the vision told her.[12] The supposed apparition did not identify herself until the seventeenth vision, although the townspeople who believed she was telling the truth assumed she saw the Virgin Mary. Bernadette never claimed it to be Mary, consistently using the word aquero. She described the lady as wearing a white veil, a blue girdle and with a yellow rose on each foot â€" compatible with "a description of any statue of the Virgin in a village church".[13]

Bernadette's story caused a sensation with the townspeople who were divided in their opinions on whether or not Bernadette was telling the truth. Some believed her to have a mental illness and demanded she be put in an asylum. She soon had a large number of people following her on her daily journey, some out of curiosity and others who firmly believed that they were witnessing a miracle.

The other contents of Bernadette's reported visions were simple and focused on the need for prayer and penance. On 24 February, she reported that aquero had said Penitenço ... Penitenço ... Penitenço ("penance").[14] That day Bernadette kissed the muddy ground of the grotto. The next day she went further, and during her trance, chewed and ate grass she plucked from the ground. She then rubbed mud over her face and swallowed some mud, to the disgust of the many onlookers and the embarrassment of those who believed in her visions. She explained that the vision had told her "to drink of the water of the spring, to wash in it and to eat the herb that grew there," as an act of penance. To everyone's surprise, the next day the grotto was no longer muddy but clear water flowed.[15]

On 2 March, at the thirteenth of the alleged apparitions, Bernadette told her family that the lady had said "Please go to the priests and tell them that a chapel is to be built here. Let processions come hither." Accompanied by two of her aunts, Bernadette went to parish priest, Father Dominique Peyramale with the request. A brilliant but often roughspoken man with little belief in claims of visions and miracles, Peyramale told Bernadette that the lady must identify herself. Bernadette said that on her next visitation she repeated the priest's words to the lady but that the lady bowed a little, smiled and said nothing. Then Father Peyramale told Bernadette to prove that the lady was real by asking her to perform a miracle. He requested that she make the rose bush beneath the niche flower on the last week of February.

As Bernadette later reported to her family and to church and civil investigators, at the ninth visitation the lady told Bernadette to drink from the spring that flowed under the rock and eat the plants that grew there. Although there was no known spring, and the ground was muddy, Bernadette saw the lady pointing with her finger to the spot She said later she assumed the lady meant that the spring was underground. She did as she was told by first digging a muddy patch with her bare hands and then attempting to drink the brackish drops.[16] She tried three times, failing each time. On the fourth try, the droplets were clearer and she drank them. She then ate some of the plants. When finally she turned to the crowd, her face was smeared with mud and no spring had been revealed. Understandably, this caused much skepticism among onlookers who shouted, "She's a fraud!" or "She's insane!" while embarrassed relatives wiped Bernadette's face clean with a handkerchief. In the next few days, however, a spring apparently began to flow from the muddy patch first dug by Bernadette.[17] Some devout people followed her example by drinking and washing in the water which was soon reported to have healing properties.

In the 150 years since Bernadette dug up the spring, 67 cures have been verified by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as "inexplicable", but only after what the Church claims are "extremely rigorous scientific and medical examinations" that failed to find any other explanation. The Lourdes Commission that examined Bernadette after the visions also ran an intensive analysis on the water and found that, while it had a high mineral content, it contained nothing out of the ordinary that would account for the cures attributed to it. Bernadette herself said that it was faith and prayer that cured the sick.

Her 16th claimed vision, which she stated went on for over an hour, was on 25 March. During this vision the second of two "miracles of the candle" is reported to have occurred. Bernadette was holding a lit candle. During the vision it burned down and the flame was said to be in direct contact with her skin for over fifteen minutes but she apparently showed no sign of experiencing any pain or injury. This was said to be witnessed by many people present, including the town physician, Dr. Pierre Romaine Dozous, who timed and later documented it. According to his report, there was no sign that her skin was in any way affected, so he monitored Bernadette closely but did not intervene. After her "vision" ended, the doctor said that he examined her hand but found no evidence of any burning and that she was completely unaware of what had happened. The doctor then said that he briefly applied a lit candle to her hand and she reacted immediately. It is unclear if observers other than Dozous were sufficiently close to witness if the candle was continuously in contact with Bernadette’s skin.

According to Bernadette's account, during that same visitation, she again asked the woman for her name but the lady just smiled back. She repeated the question three more times and finally heard the lady say, in Gascon Occitan, "I am the Immaculate Conception" (Qué soï era immaculado councepcioũ, a phonetic transcription of Que soi era immaculada concepcion). Four years earlier, Pope Pius IX had defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: that, alone of all human beings who have ever lived (save for Jesus, Adam and Eve), the Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Her parents, teachers and priests all later testified that she had never previously heard the expression 'immaculate conception' from them.

Bernadette was a sickly child. She had cholera in infancy and suffered most of her life from asthma. Some of the people who interviewed her after her revelation of the visions, thought her simple-minded. However, despite being rigorously interviewed by officials of both the Catholic Church and the French government, she stuck consistently to her story. Her behavior during this period is said to set the example by which all who have claimed visions and mystical experiences are now judged by Church authorities.

St. Bernadette Soubirous



Famed visionary of Lourdes, baptized Mary Bernard. She was born in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844, the daughter of Francis and Louise Soubirous. Bernadette, a severe asthma sufferer, lived in abject poverty. On February 11, 1858, she was granted a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a cave on the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes. She was placed in consider able jeopardy when she reported the vision, and crowds gathered when she had futher visits from the Virgin, from February 18 of that year through March 4.The civil authorities tried to frighten Bernadette into recanting her accounts, but she remained faithful to the vision. On February 25, a spring emerged from the cave and the waters were discovered to be of a miraculous nature, capable of healing the sick and lame. On March 25, Bernadette announced that the vision stated that she was the Immaculate Conception, and that a church should be erected on the site. Many authorities tried to shut down the spring and delay the construction of the chapel, but the influence and fame of the visions reached Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon Ill, and construction went forward. Crowds gathered, free of harassment from the anticlerical and antireligious officials. In 1866, Bernadette was sent to the Sisters of Notre Dame in Nevers. There she became a member of the community, and faced some rather harsh treatment from the mistress of novices. This oppression ended when it was discovered that she suffered from a painful, incurable illness. She died in Nevers on April 16,1879, still giving the same account of her visions. Lourdes became one of the major pilgrimage destinations in the world, and the spring has produced 27,000 gallons of water each week since emerging during Bernadette's visions. She was not involved in the building of the shrine, as she remained hidden at Nevers. Bernadette was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI.

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1757

Science has always been side by side with faith when it comes to explaining mystical phenomenons and miracles in the catholic church. Fact is, the more atheist the scientist, the more the Church employ them in various investigations. This is done so that there will be no bias when it comes to results. In cases of miracles, medical scientists are asked to explain any specific and detail explanation of such occurrence. Only when science cannot render any rational and valid scientific explanation does the church explain events as supernatural in origin.

With the case of the Incorrupt Bodies, many scientists has already investigated and examined the said bodies. Most if not all, the bodies of the saints’ incorruptibility were documented and declared as “unexp[lainable”. Like in the case of some incorrupt bodies that has been found in moist and flooded grounds, these bodies should have been decomposed immediately but the mysterious thing is, the body’s integrity remains intact and undefiled.

When a human body dies, it undergoes eight verifiable signs and symptoms of death. They are:

- Ceasing breathing
- The body no longer metabolizes
- No pulse
- Pallor mortis (paleness which happens in the 15â€"120 minutes after death)
- Livor mortis (a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the body)
- Algor mortis (the reduction in body temperature following death. This is generally a steady decline until matching ambient temperature)
- Rigor mortis (the limbs of the corpse become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate)
- Decomposition (the reduction into simpler forms of matter, accompanied by a strong, unpleasant odor).

From these signs and symptoms, 5 are the most commonly defied laws in the incorrupt bodies

Pallor mortis in the Incorruptible bodies as sometimes absent. In the case of some saints, the bodies appear fresh, rosy and seemingly just sleeping.

Livor mortis also is defied in the Incorruptibles wherein most of the blood and body fluids that should have been settled on the dependent part of the body is absent. In fact, in some Incorrupt bodies, uncoagulated blood is still flowing from wounds, fluids exudating and oils being excreted from the skin.

Absence of Algor Mortis has also been reported in some incorrupt bodies. The bodies were still warm at the instant of the discovery despite and in spite of several years of being dead.

One of the most extraordinary characteristics of most, if not all Incorruptibles is the absence of Rigor Mortis or the stiffness of the body. When the body dies, muscle contracts because of lack of oxygen. Yet the Incorruptibles has supernaturally maintained the flexibility of limbs after years of being deceased. Most notable examples are the bodies of St. Bernadette Soubirous and St. Catherine Laboure, both visionaries of separate two apparitions in France. Their bodies, up to this day is still soft to the touch and flexible.

And last natural signs of bodily death that is defied by the incorruptibles is the decomposition. In a decomposing body, unpleasant odor often accompanies the body. But in the Incorruptibles, odor of flowers, mostly roses are evident to the sensation as witnessed and testified by some people present during the death, after the death and after the body is exhumed. In fact, some bodies up to this day if not odorless, still manifests a pleasant odor, contrary to the normal rotting odor that a common human body is capable of. This separate Mystical phenomenon which always accompany the incorruptibles is said to be the “Odor of Sanctity” where in the pureness and holiness of the soul of the saint is physically manifested through sweet scents of flowers and unearthly pleasant aroma.


http://bluepanjeet.net/2010/08/09/6810/phenomenon-incorrupt-bodies-saints-incorruptibles/

St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)