'Miracle' boy and other graces
During the beatification ceremony, a healthy,
5-year-old boy named Sebastian, dressed in a suit and tie and accompanied by his
mother and father, joined in the presentation of the relic of Blessed
Stanislaus. Sebastian was at the center of a miracle approved by the Vatican
last year that cleared the path for Blessed Stanislaus's beatification.
While in his mother's womb, the boy was declared dead by doctors in his hometown
of Elk, in northern Poland. It was Zbigniew Chojnowski, the cousin and godfather
of Sebastian's mother, who sought the intercession of Blessed Stanislaus.
Zbigniew's prayers were answered when, on April 4, 2001 - on the eighth day of
his novena to Blessed Stanislaus - the fetus regained a heartbeat.
"This event was immediately judged to have come about beyond the powers of
nature," stated the decree concerning the miracle, which Pope Benedict XVI
authorized on Dec. 16, 2006. Sebastian was born, without complications, on Oct.
17, 2001.
In Poland, where the beatification was televised nationally, the miracle came as
no surprise. Since his days as a preacher, the Founder of the Marians has been
viewed as a "saint" in his native land. And the miracle came as no surprise to
the countless number of Marian Helpers worldwide who have reported receiving
graces through the intercession of Blessed Stanislaus. Such graces have
included, among others things, physical and spiritual healings, and assistance
in family and work-related crises.
"I have often been moved to tears when reading the letters I receive from people
reporting all kinds of graces, big and small, through the intercession of Father
Founder," said Br. Andrew, who, with Fr. Victor Gumienny, MIC, a classmate of
his in the novitiate, presented the relic of Blessed Stanislaus during the
beatification. "When, several years ago, we began encouraging people, through
Marian Helper magazine, to seek Father Founder's intercession, God worked
immediately. The readers of our magazine immediately started seeking his
intercession and immediately began receiving graces. The letters started pouring
in."
Taken from the website of the Marians of the
Immaculate Conception -
www.marian.org
