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| Light from chapel in Fr. Lange’s house |
The closer to the light, the clearer we see. So, the spiritual blindness around us, has a cause: not enough light.
“Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life’” (John 8:2).
I have come across two times where Jesus literally showed his light in the world. We are not to look for signs and wonders, yet God sometimes blesses us with unexpected wonders.
Father Lange’s House
The photo above was a miraculous light that came from the Eucharist in a chapel in Father Robert Lange’s Fort Valley, Virginia home. Anita Crane, wrote about iton her blog in 2015, describing her former pastor (now deceased),as a humble and loving priest. He served at her parish, Our Lady of Angels from 1999 until 2005 and died last May at age seventy. (His obituary is here.) His memoir called Windows into the Life of a Priest, can be ordered here.
Reverence for the Holy Eucharist was of utmost importance to Father Lange. He stressed that even the smallest particle of the host is the Body and Blood of Christ. When he was ordained in 1986, he was a proponent of receiving Communion in the hand, but time changed his thinking due to witnessing many abuses and lack of reverence.
Father Lange had permission fromhis bishop to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel on the second floor of his house. The picture was taken from the porch of a neighbor’shomewho simply was outto capture the beauty of the valley.
“When she aimed the camera towards the valley and tried to focus for the picture, she says the light coming from my house was so brightshe saidit was difficult trying to look into camera to view the picture to be taken. (It was a cloudy day and I did not have a light on in the room/chapel where the light is coming from.) She took the picture and the image – the Star of David – is what came out on her digital camera. She did not know what to make of it. Not being Catholic, she had no understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion).
“My opinion is that our Lord wanted to give us a beautiful reminder of His true presence in the Holy Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! It is a reminder that He is with us always, that we are never alone, that He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. It is a vivid reminder that He truly suffered and died on the cross and that He is present in this world – until His Second Coming – in this most special manner – the Eucharist.”
Light of Christ from Rhoda Wise’s Home
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| Light outside Rhoda Wise’s House during apparition |
The second picture was taken outside the home of Rhoda Wiseduring one of Jesus’ appearances to her in 1940. When she died on July 7 in 1948, more than 14,000 people attended her funeral at St. Peter’s Church in Canton, Ohio.
Rhoda interceded for the healings of many people, including Rita Rizzo who was to become the world-famous Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN. Rhoda herself received two dramatic healings during a visit of Jesus and her beloved St. Therese of Lisieux.It was during a time she was sent home from the hospital to die after doctors determined there was nothing more, they could do for her. Rhoda would later become a stigmatist and receive numerous more visits by Jesus and St. Therese.
Rhoda wrote in her diary: “On June 28, 1939, Jesus again appeared to me at 2:45 A.M. The room suddenly lighted up, and there He stood in the doorway clothed in white, and the Little Flower was with Him. He declared: “I am here as I said.”
The Little Flower approached my bed and motioned to me to remove the coverlet and the dressing from my wound. She then placed her hand on my abdomen and said: “I am the Little Flower. You have been tried in the fire and not found wanting. Faith cures all things.” She would not permit me to replace the dressing, but returned to Our Lord’s side, and Jesus said “I will come again. There is work yet to be done.”
Then they vanished, and immediately I fell asleep. When I awoke at 5:00 A.M. I was astounded to find that the wound on my abdomen was entirely closed. Al the rawness which had extended over the entire abdomen was also completely gone and was replaced with healthy tan-colored skin. The ruptured bowel, too, was entirely healed. Great was the rejoicing of my relatives and friends and in the days that followed a large number of people came to my home to see me.”
There we times when Jesus told her the day that he would return the following month. At such times, crowds gathered outside her small depression-era house, and one time, the light that shone from her window was photographed. There was no electrical light turned on in her room at the time.
Rhoda saw Our Lord and St. Therese a total of twenty times. She suffered the visible stigmata every First Friday from 12 to 3 p.m. from 1942 through 1945. During the last two years of her life, Rhoda suffered invisible wounds. The Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, formerly opened her cause for beatification and canonization on October 7, 2016, putting her on the path to sainthood.
In both these pictures, we see that Jesus really is the light. And we can receive him and visit him in the Eucharist every day where he dwells in our midst.
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For more inspiration check out Patti’s latest book: Holy Hacks: Everyday Ways to Live Your Faith & Get to Heaven. Other books include: Big Hearted: Inspiring Stories from Everyday Families and the best-selling Amazing Grace Series.
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