RESURRECTION MIRACLES

THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA

AT JASNA GORA, POLAND

A Sample from: “Saints Who Raised the Dead: True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles” By Rev. Fr. Albert J. Hebert, S.M. Buy at: https://tanbooks.benedictpress.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/253/keywords/saints+raised+dead/

“I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem: therefore hath the King loved me, and brought me into His chamber. Fear not, Mary, thou hast found grace with the Lord: behold thou shalt conceive and bear a Son. Alleluia.” — Antiphons from the Vespers of The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1962) Pope Pius XI, who had been Apostolic Nuncio to Poland, secured a beautiful copy of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa and placed it in a Vatican chapel as a memento of his stay in Poland. During World War II, Polish pilots with the British Royal Air Force kept an image of the same Lady of Czestochowa, patroness of their native land, in a little shrine in a hangar of their bomber squadron. The Madonna's face is dark, and the picture is therefore often called the "Black Madonna." It has two scars on it: In 1430 a sacrilegious swordsman of the heretical Hussites slashed at the original picture. There is also a scar on the throat from a Tartar's arrow in an action at the castle of Belz. When an artist during the reign of Jagiello retouched the portrait, these scar marks always reappeared, despite his expert attempts to efface them. Apparently Our Lady wants man to remember her sorrows and to recall that she is a Mother who understands sorrow and suffering. Thus the national shrine of Poland at Jasna Gora (Bright Hill) is much older than Fatima, Lourdes or even Guadalupe. The full history of the famous miraculous picture is not known. [Editor's note: Some say it is one of the paintings made by St. Luke the Evangelist.] Ladislaus installed it in its present location—the Church of the Assumption—on August 26, 1382,

the Wednesday after the Feast of St. Bartholomew. On that day he signed an official document ordering the erection of a convent, cloister, and church on Jasna Gora, the Bright Hill. Ladislaus later brought in the white-robed Pauline Fathers to take charge of the shrine, and they have guarded it ever since. The miracle stories that follow were culled from the accounts of the many wonders that have been effected through the intercession of Our Lady of Czestochowa, as preserved by the Pauline Fathers at Jasna Gora.

This famous Marian shrine is in the Archdiocese of Cracow, the see city of Pope [Blessed] John Paul II when he was the Cardinal Archbishop there. When the Pope visited Poland in 1979 the Poles poured into Jasna Gora, as did many other pilgrims from far-off places. The shrine is intimately connected with the faith of the Polish people and their patriotic loyalty as one nation, a Catholic

nation despite its puppet Communist leaders whose power is enforced by Soviet tanks...

In 1517, a Polish child named Samuel died. He was the son of Stanislaw and Anna Wadzic of the town of Husiatyn in the county of Kamienicki. The child's body had been twisted by the excruciating pain he suffered. He died on a Saturday, the day dedicated to Mary, so his mother Anna fell on her knees in tears, offered the cold corpse to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and made a solemn promise to make a pilgrimage to Jasna Gora. After a night of sorrowing by the casket, Stanislaw went to the church on Sunday morning to make the necessary funeral arrangements, while Anna continued to pray. When the father returned home he learned that the deathly pallor had suddenly left the corpse, rigor mortis had given way to normal reflex action, the boy had opened his eyes and, smiling, had reached out his arms from the casket. Stanislaw beheld his healthy son in his wife's arms! In thanksgiving, the happy family made the pilgrimage the next day to Jasna Gora. They brought with them two candles the size of their resurrected son, to be burnt before the miraculous image of the Madonna of Czestochowa. In the history of the Church there have been many miracles involving the raising of the dead—even of three or more persons raised at one time. But seldom has one encountered revival from the dead that began so tragically and ended so joyously as the following miracle of Our Lady of Czestochowa. In 1540 a really gruesome event left a lasting memory among the inhabitants of Lublin, a few miles from Jasna Gora. Marcin Lanio, operator of a large slaughterhouse, went to town on a shopping tour. His wife, Malgorzata, left her kitchen momentarily to borrow some yeast from a neighbor. She

needed it for the batter she was about to bake in her large oven. Malgorzata left her two youngsters at home; Poitrus, only four, who had often watched the butchers slaughter the livestock in the yard, decided to imitate them. In his childish mind the nearest and most convenient victim would be his little brother Kazio, age two, sleeping peacefully in a nearby crib. Without realizing the consequences of such an action, Poitrus took a sharp knife and slashed the throat of his oblivious innocent brother. Seeing the blood gush out, Poitrus realized that something bad had happened, and overcome with fear and dread of punishment, he hid inside the large baker's oven left open by his mother. Within a few moments the unsuspecting mother returned, and not hearing the children, assumed they were both asleep. She finished preparing the batter and started the log fire in the oven in which Poitrus lay hidden. Poitrus, poor child, suddenly realizing his terrible predicament, began to scream in agony. The poor mother's blood froze: Realizing where the boy was, she finally managed to pull him out, but the boy had already suffocated in the smoke-filled oven; he lay lifeless in her arms. As the mother looked about, paralyzed at this sudden tragedy, her eyes fell upon her other son, lying slain and blood-soaked in his crib. The double shock was too much for the poor woman. She became demented, struck her head against the wall, pulled at her hair, tore her clothes to shreds, and became like a mad­woman. Her unsuspecting husband, Marcin, walked in on this dreadful sight. When he saw his wife in that condition between

the two corpses of his sons, he did not pause to think, but in great emotion, and apparently thinking she had killed them both, he grabbed a nearby axe and crushed her skull with one blow. After a little while Marcin's mind cleared. He realized what he had done, and dreadful fear and remorse seized him. In the meantime neighbors and friends were gathering with mixed emotions, and some with pious advice. Marcin seemed to have a heavenly inspiration, and he turned from despair to hope in Our Lady of Czestochowa, to whom he had always been devoted. By now all the neighbors had arrived, standing in shock and amazement at the triple tragedy. Their astonishment grew as Marcin silently and determinedly loaded the three corpses onto a wagon, made the Sign of the Cross, and turned the horses toward Jasna Gora. Some watched in fear, others in tears. Marcin journeyed on silently toward Jasna Gora, with people assembling along the roadside as they saw or heard of the strange sight of a man with three dead persons, apparently his own wife and sons, in an open wagon. As Marcin came to the shrine, several kind persons improvised three caskets and carried them into the chapel. Marcin remained at the door, prostrate, pleading with the entering faithful to pray to the Madonna for his family. Perhaps he felt too guilty to go inside. Inside the shrine, Blessed Stanislaw Oporowski, a devout priest, was conducting Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The portrait of the Black Madonna, high above the main altar, seemed to glow with heavenly splendor. Blessed Stanislaw and all the congregation joined in sup­plications for the poor husband and his family. The three dead persons laid

out before all—the mother and two little boys—were a piteous sight. All the congregation sang the Blessed Mother's hymn, the Magnificat. A supernatural feeling penetrated the chapel. At the words, "Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His Name," a shock came over the congregation. The three lifeless corpses came to life and slowly rose from their places. For a moment there was a seemingly age-long silence. Then came a spontaneous outburst, and all joined in a thanksgiving hymn to the Madonna. Husband, wife, and children had a marvelous reunion. Soon the fame of this tremendous miracle spread

worldwide. The Emperor ordered a true copy of the miraculous portrait of Our Lady of Czestochowa to be made and placed in the Cathedral of Vienna. Copies of this portrait should also be placed in many home shrines and in public places. Just as the Poles (many in America) love Our Lady of Jasna Gora, so should everyone love her.

If the faith of the Poles were imitated by others, there might well be many more miracles like those which gave splendor to

Jasna Gora, the Bright Hill sanctuary of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

In the year 1564, a group of teenagers in the peaceful village of Zborow in the county of Kalis conducted a mock trial. The make-believe villain, Valentine Zeroniski, son of the town solicitor, was duly condemned and, with the help of his friends, hanged from a tree limb. They all thought him a very good actor, for he even kicked his feet as if it were for real. But their pleasure at his performance turned to terror when they saw his face grow pale and turn a purplish hue. Fearfully, they tried to release him, but their boyish strength was insufficient. They fled their play-acting gallows, and overwhelmed with fear of punishment, told no one. The body hung, slightly swaying from the limb. When the six o'clock Angelus bell had rung and darkness had fallen and Valentine had not returned, his parents went calling and searching. Late at night, by the light of lanterns and tapers, they found their dead son hanging from the branch of a willow tree. They took the body down, but all their efforts at resuscitation proved fruitless. The parents fell on their knees and pleaded to the Madonna of Jasna Gora for mercy on their son. That compassionate Mother, who had once held the dead corpse of her own Son on her knees, responded to their plea. Valentine opened his eyes wide. He looked about, and then rose up alive and well. A fresco on the ceiling of the chapel at Jasna Gora recalls this miracle.

An incident which took place in 1598 concerns a little girl named Ema, two years old, the daughter of Maciej and Jadwiga Klimczak, residents of Kazimierow. One day when Ema's parents had left her in the care of a babysitter, the latter set the child on the sill of a high open window where, from her high perch, Ema looked about happily at the entrancing countryside. But in a moment of forgetfulness. the sitter stepped away from the child—who lost her balance and fell. When the terrified sitter rushed down to the ground, Ema was dead. When the parents returned they were torn between sorrow and anger. But they had to face reality, so they dressed Ema in white burial clothes, put a green wreath resembling a crown on her head, and placed a holy card of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa in her small hand. Thus, with heavy hearts, father and mother began their vigil. Their eyes were centered on the picture in their daughter's small hands. Suddenly the parents seemed to have a special flash of inspiration that made them both cry out together: "The Lady of Czestochowa! In her goodness she brought so many others back to life. She will help us! She will not refuse our plea and supplication!" (Note that in the sixteenth century, the Polish recognized Mary's great power of raising the dead because of her past interventions in this regard.) The father and mother placed the little casket in their wagon and started for Jasna Gora. The sun shone on them by day and the moon by night, but the once-bright eyes of Ema remained closed. Two, then three days passed, as they journeyed on. Mother and father were mostly silent, like their child's body, except for their audible prayers.

The fourth day arrived, and only half the journey to Our Lady's shrine had been covered. Still they held the reins, guiding the wagon steadily ahead. The eyes of Maciej and Jadwiga were almost closed from so many tears and sleepless nights. Then—suddenly—the body of Ema began to move; her eyes opened, and she rose up alive and well! The overjoyed parents continued on to the shrine in order to thank the Blessed Lady of Jasna Gora. One cannot help but admire such faith, and its reward. How much faith like that is found in the West today?... In 1643 two miners, Jan Wieliczko and his son Wawrzyn carrying their tools, began to descend together on a single rope down the 60-foot shaft of a small mine they operated. The rope broke and they fell to the rocky bottom far below. The mountaineers of the area assembled and, after much difficulty, brought the two bodies, crushed and mangled, to the surface. Though all seemed beyond any human aid, the people did not despair. With the simple faith of the Polish, they fell on their knees and implored Our Lady of Czestochowa for mercy. Suddenly the two men stood up, healthy and well. All raised their voices to sing the praises of the Blessed Mother. ("If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed...") In 1680 the townspeople of Nowograd heard the local church bell tolling for the burial that morning of Judge Mikolaj Grocholski. He had died after a long and painful illness. The judge was much loved, and, according to the Polish custom, his grave was decorated and a buffet lunch prepared for the

mourners. But when the pallbearers raised the coffin for the hearse, the judge sat upright in his coffin! At first everyone fled in fear, but then, seeing that he was real flesh and blood and not an apparition or ghost, they returned and questioned him. His Honor explained: "When I was dying and could not confess my sins because I had lost my power of speech, although I was still conscious, I raised my heart to God, and begged the Madonna of Czestochowa to restore my health and life, making a promise to visit Jasna Gora. Now I have come back with her help to confess my sins and do penance for them." All were greatly impressed, and the funeral buffet turned into a joyful banquet. But the judge procrastinated on fulfilling his promise to visit Jasna Gora, and became seriously ill again. When the final moments seemed at hand, he again turned to Mary, contrite and begging for another chance. That night he received an inspiration, or warning, not to delay, and the next morning he rose from bed well and healthy. He immediately left to fulfill his vows at Mary's shrine.

Not long after this a friend of the judge, a knight, John Kozlowski, while participating in military maneuvers, was thrown at high speed when his charger stumbled; he died of a broken neck. When the judge heard of the tragedy he traveled six hours to arrive at the place of the knight's death. The judge fell on his knees beside the body, and with his eyes fixed on one spot, prayed to his heavenly

benefactress: "O Lady of Jasna Gora, just as you have brought me back from the dead to serve you, please restore him to life so that he, too, can wait on you, just as I." All present joined in beseeching the Blessed Virgin Mary. Before the eyes of the entire audience, Sir Kozlowski, knight of Poland, arose. As becomes a knight, he was able to go on a steed to thank Our Lady of Jasna Gora. Szymon Wruszewski, a citizen of White Russia, became mortally ill in Lent of 1628 and died on Holy Thursday morning. As his family wanted to give him a solemn funeral, they postponed the funeral until after the joyful celebrations of Easter. But with the Resurrection on their minds, the family also prayed that the Lord who had arisen after a Good Friday death might also raise Szymon, through the intercession of His Holy Mother Mary. On Holy Saturday, after the Gloria bells had rung out and the last rays of sunset were leaving the horizon, Szymon arose from his casket. All sang the praises of God and Mary; the Resurrection Alleluias of Easter had never carried such meaning, nor had they ever been sung with such spontaneous enthusiasm. In 1674, Stefan, a son of Malgorzata Zloczewska became seriously ill, and his mother vowed a donation of a gold memento to the shrine at Jasna Gora if Our Lady of Czestochowa would heal him. But Stefan died. However, the mother was not discouraged by his death; she considered this a further test of her persevering confidence in Mary, and she continued to pray.

By and by the mother heard the excited voice of the nurse who was watching over the corpse. The nurse was crying that Stefan's eyes were moving, his color was returning, and he was coming to life. The mother rushed in and cried out: "Stefan is alive!" Her son had been brought back to life. On February 8 of 1720 a priest by the name of Michael Pruszynski, Canon of Kijow, pastor of Toporow, in the deanery of Bielski and the diocese of Luch, departed this world. Remarkable occurrences followed. Later that year (on June 14, 1720), very much alive, he made a deposition under oath before witnesses as to what had happened four months earlier. The priest told how he owed his vocation to Mary, how he had grown ill in recent years, had become paralyzed, deaf and blind, and was like a living corpse. Knowing his demise was near, he made his last will. As he was informed later by the three priest witnesses, he died later that day, February 8, 1720. They placed him in the prepared casket, dressed simply in his white priestly alb. He was carried in the closed coffin to a cold dark room where normally he should have frozen completely. (Poland in February!) Father Michael said that while he lay within his coffin, the venerable patriarch of the Pauline Fathers, St. Paul, appeared to him, took him by the right hand, and said, "Arise, and go pay your respects to the Madonna of Czestochowa, because it is by her grace and intercession that you are rising from the dead." As St. Paul disappeared with the words, "Jesus and Mary of Czestochowa," Father Michael, from within the coffin, began to call for help. Turmoil ensued; some fled, while others pulled

at the boards sealing the casket. When he was released, the priest first asked for St. Paul, but the saint was gone. Father Michael then realized he had spent a whole day in freezing cold dressed only in a thin alb. Yet his body was warm and normal in every respect. Despite protests, Father Michael left at once for Jasna Gora, a distance of 70 miles. On his return he brought a beautiful portrait of Our Lady of Czestochowa. It was placed in the church and many of his parishioners received graces and blessings through it and through the Lady it represented. In 1747 an infant named Jozefa Magdalena, just a few months old, daughter of Antoni and Anna Karwat of Salicia, became ill and died. All night the mother wept over the baby's lifeless body, praying to Mary of Jasna Gora to restore her child. Friends and relatives began to scold her: "You expect the Blessed Mother to resurrect your child. You are not worthy of it. Stop your lamenting and give to the earth that which belongs to it." The mother, unnoticing, seemed to have a sudden inspiration. She stood up facing the assembled mourners and said, "You do not understand me! If my child does not come to life here, I am taking her to Czestochowa, and there for sure the Blessed Mother will restore her life and health." With that the mother picked up the miniature basket with the small stiffened corpse, and getting into a wagon, began to pray in audible tones. But the Blessed Mother did not delay longer; she restored the child then and there. Then all the witnesses cried out, "A miracle! A miracle!"

In 1748, a nursemaid took her small two-year-old charge, Anna Gorniakowna, for a walk on the outskirts of the town of Lancuc. It was a beautiful spring morning, and as Anna ran about, she discovered a cave. The child took advantage of the momentary inattention of her attendant and playfully hid within the grotto. Without warning, there was a sudden landslide, and the sandy walls of the cave closed in on Anna, completely burying her. The nursemaid ran frantically yelling for help. Responding workers labored for over two hours before they reached the little body, bruised, cold, purple-hued, dead. The mother—in great anguish yet with great faith—took the small corpse toward the church of the Dominican Fathers. Friends and relatives tried to stop her, protesting, "What are you doing? The girl is already dead. At least place her in some kind of casket." "Let me go," she replied firmly, "because I am sure that Mary of Jasna Gora will restore her to me alive." The mother ran into the church and placed the child in the care of Mary, promising to visit Jasna Gora in homage and thanksgiving. Anna opened her eyes and smiled. The mother went at once to the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa...