St. Michael the Archangel

     His name was the war cry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven. Michael's name is recorded in Scripture four times. Michael is the champion of God's people. "It would have been natural to St. Michael, the champion of the Jewish people, to be the champion also of Christians, giving victory in war to his clients."

The Four Horsemen

     The Four Horsemen are depicted in the Book of Revelation. They are war, famine, conquest (pestilence in modern culture), and death. They are the first in a series of "Seal" judgments. These judgments are when God will judge the living. St. Irenaeus depicted the horsemen of war as Christ himself with the white horse as the success of the gospels. The Horsemen represent the effects sin committed.



 

St. Juan Diego's Tilma

     The Tilma contains the replica of the Virgin Mary. The Tilma was a sign to the unbelieving bishop. NASA has stated that the image colors are made of material not found on Earth.

"A laser that scanned the image even found that the colors float three tenths of a millimeter in front of the Tilma surface, without touching it."

    The image is sacred and supernatural. Terrorists placed a bomb in front of the image, but the image remained the same. The image is a revelation to all unbelievers who think Mary is not holy or worth praying to. The Tilma is a stamp to every believer of Mary and her holiness.



Stigmata

     Stigmata are visible and invisible "sufferings" that relate to the Passion of Christ. The existence of stigmata have been recorded in history. Unbelievers now do not dispute them, but try to find natural explanations for them. Stigmata is to be like Christ for the expiation of sins committed in the world. Without the "sufferings", the wounds would only be a graphic representation of an empty symbol. Stigmata are examples of holy men and women living like Christ, they endure his sufferings for the sins of others.  



Our Lady of Lourdes

     Lourdes is a village in France. In this village, Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.  Mary appeared to Bernadette 18 times. After the 18th apparition, Bernadette joined the Sister of Charity. Bernadette died at the age of 34. She was buried, but then her body was exhumed and her body was not corrupted. Buried once more, ten years later her body was exhumed and again it remained untouched by nature. Bernadette is an example of discipleship in the "flesh".

Gospel of Thomas

     This gospel is claimed by sources to be written by the Apostle Thomas. It writes that Jesus as a young child was revengeful. In this gospel, it claims Jesus killed out of revenge. It claims Jesus was feared, not the description of the Jesus in the other Gospels. In those Gospels, Jesus is loving, caring, and merciful. The Gospel claims to have secret knowledge, a Gnostic theme. The Gospel of Thomas is consisted mostly of Jesus' sayings. The depiction of Jesus in this gospel is heretic. Jesus if vengeful would have taken revenge upon his killers. The gospel goes against the Church's teachings which were handed down by the Apostles themselves.

Relics

      What is a relic? A relic is some object (usually a part of the body or clothes) remaining as a memory of a departed saint. Relics are to be honored by all the faithful. Even in the early Church relics were recognized. The wood of the cross was distributed to all parts of the world.
       Relics have been abused by people. Sin is the cause of this greed. People disguised as monks would sell materials claiming it to be relics. Relics are reminders of the capability of men to achieve holiness through Christ.