Are miracles bringing us back to God
At a meeting recently a brother Knight of Columbus suggested that we need miracles to bring people back to God and the Church. In the days of Jesus, amazing miracles like raising someone from the dead happened.
I assured my brother Knight miracles were happening all over the world, and it was our job to let people know about them. I mentioned the miracles of Mary ‘s apparitions. Then there are the Eucharistic miracles – just google the topic. I visited the Oratory of St Joseph in Montreal where St Andre of Quebec lived and cured so many of illnesses.
I have just come across another miracle attributed to St Joseph that happened in a small café in Longmont, Colorado. Joseph Ferrara tells the story of this miracle of St Joseph and the devotion of Jose Arturo Maestas.
Arturo, the name he goes by, was always very devoted to Saint Joseph. Indeed, he carried with him everywhere a small and tastefully done statue of Saint Joseph holding the Child Jesus asleep in his arms.
On the day the miracle took place Arturo began to wonder what was different about this day when there were no cars anywhere. The second time he went outside, he saw the railroad warning lights flashing, but no train. Looking down the road in the opposite direction, Arturo saw water flooding into the road from a swollen river heading in the direction of his restaurant.
Arturo warned his employees to leave immediately. As he was locking the front door, water was already making its way in. Turning to Saint Joseph, he placed his statue on an inverted bowl resting on the floor near the front entrance and promised Saint Joseph that he would put his statue in a prominent place if he saved his restaurant.
Three days later, when the flood waters receded, business owners were allowed back into the neighborhood to assess damages. The business next door to Arturo’s restaurant was gutted. The high levels of flood water had breached the premises and swept merchandise from the shelves.
As Arturo approached his restaurant, he could see the floodwater mark on the outside wall at nearly three feet. When Arturo went inside, to his amazement, Saint Joseph had responded to his prayer with a miracle. The entire restaurant was bone dry, and the beautiful red carpet in the main dining area just behind where Saint Joseph’s statue stood during the flood was just as he had left it.
True to his promise, Arturo put the statue in a prominent place for all to see. People of all faiths ask to see the statue of Saint Joseph that saved his restaurant.
(from “How St Joseph Saved this Small Business Owner”, by Joseph Ferrara, www.returntoorder.org )
In Arturo’s devotion to St Joseph we see how venerating the saints works. We can pray to saints for their help and intercession, but adoration is only for the supreme being God. Carrying icons or keep sakes of the saints is also a wonderful way to be reminded of their role in God’s kingdom.
(518 words)
