What the Future holds…the Miracle of Saint Januarius’ Blood
What
the Future holds…the Miracle of Saint Januarius’ Blood
By E. Stanley Ukeni
As we
come to the end of the first quarter of 2017, I think it’s safe to conclude
that the first three months of the year has recorded negligible international
incident of noticeable consequence to the broader peace and security of our
world.
Sure
the menace from terrorist and insurgent non-state actors—including ‘lone-wolf’
crackpots and wingnuts, wishing to inflict mass casualty on unsuspecting
innocent civilian populace still remain a problem for intelligence agencies and
law enforcement entities worldwide. However, my sense is that this is largely a
manageable situation—albeit somewhat intractable and challenging.
I am
not trying to diminish the threats posed by these avowed forces terror, anarchy
and destruction pose to freedom and liberty around the globe. I am merely
suggesting that these threats are far from being of notable concern to international
order.
It does
make good sense to conclude that these ninety days of relative trauma-free
global geopolitical environment should, of consequence, give us cause to be
optimistic about the future. But I’m a bit reluctant to ascribe to this
assessment.
You may
be wondering by now why I express doubt. Ok, I’ll share my reason. Sometime—about
a fortnight ago, I began having a nagging premonition that the second quarter
of the year would bring with it an unsavory surprise that has the potential of plunging our world
into an intractable international crisis—one that would have a far-reaching
prospect of undermining global peace and security, if not handled carefully at
its unset.
I tried
for days to shake off this nagging gut-feeling of a looming crisis, but I just
couldn’t get it out of my mind. So, in a bid to soothe my troubled psyche, I
took up meditation. So, for a brief while, I would spend a couple of hours in
communion with the Divine for insight into cause of my intractable trepidation
about the future.
It was
during one of these meditative sessions that I had an epiphany—or should I say
a regressive vision. In this brief revelation, I experienced an innocuous
religious event that occurred in faraway Naples, Italy, sometime in
mid-December of 2016. It was as if I was right there. I remember that as I
watched the scenes unfold, with keen interest and fascination, I was suddenly
forcibly struck by the potential, and far-reaching, implication of what I was
experiencing.
After
my epiphany, I decided to research further on the background of my vision for
this narrative. I hope this article will give anyone who reads it a cause to
pause and reflect on any decision they are contemplating making in the coming
quarter of the year. And perhaps equally important, we should not be quick to
dismiss any premonition suggesting a strong disturbance in the force.
Having had
time to reflect over and over again on what I’d experienced during my
meditative vision, I feel emboldened to affirm my gut-feeling that the second
quarter of this year might not be as relatively tranquil as the just ending first
quarter.
The accompanying
gut-feeling, which had continued to nag me, has strengthened my opinion that
the ominous events of the coming days or month, whatever they may be, may-well
shape even how the third quarter of the year would unfold. I would here venture
to caution that care needs to be taken that the looming dark-clouds that may
threaten the peace and security of our world does not endure for years to
come.
I’m
sure by now you’re really curious about what I saw in the vision. Alright, I’ll
narrate what I saw. While much of the
world was distracted with the temporal pursuit of mundane existence, thousands
of devotes gathered at the Royal Chapel of the Naples Catholic Cathedral to
celebrate the sacrament of San Gennaro’s blood miracle, as established by a
tradition that dates back to as early as 1389 A.D. Though it was a somber
worship, much like most other regular Sunday mass, one could sense that there
was something more to this particular sacrament—a sense of eager anticipation
hung thickly in the air. The Cathedral was filled to capacity.
It
should here be noted that the miraculous liquefaction (turning liquid) of the
dry blood of Saint Janurius-Gennaro—a pious Bishop of Benevento who was
Martyred by Roman Emperor Diocletian around 305 A.D., is a supernatural
phenomenon of the Holy Church that has been recorded to have consistently occurred
on specific occasions since the past six hundred years.
Although
the Vatican has no officially position on the religious significance of the
sacrament of San Gennaro’s blood miracle, it has not dissuaded tens of
thousands of religious devotees, from around the world, from making a pilgrimage
to the Naples Cathedral to witness the blood miracle, which takes place three
times a year; on the Saturday preceding the first Sunday of May (the day of the
translation of the Saint’s relics); on September 19 (the day of his martyrdom);
and on December 16 (the anniversary of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1631,
when the flowing lava of the molting magma stopped at the edge of the city of
Naples—one of the most notable miracles that was attributed to St. Januarius’ intercession).
It rarely occurs that the liquefaction takes place on dates other than the
three traditional dates.
During
these period, two hermetically sealed vials containing coagulated blood of
Saint Januarius—which are encased in an ornamental silver casing with round
glass crystal screens on either sides of the ornamental casing to protect the
vials and permit the clear viewing of the blood in the vials, are brought in
proximity of the head of the Saint that is enclosed in a magnificent silver
bust. The miracle of liquefaction occurs when the vials and the head are
brought in close proximity.
The
miracle is seen by devotees as a sign that Saint Janurius has interceded in
their behalf to avert tragedies and calamities. However, the failure of the
blood in the vials to liquefy has long been seen as a harbinger of such tragic
and calamitous world events as outbreak of epidemic, famine, war and natural
disasters for Naples and the world.
In the
vision, I watched as the Vicar the Abbot of the Royal Chapel, Monsignor
Vincenzo De Gregorio, on Friday, the 16th day of December, 2016;
invite the assembled faithful to maintain a prayerful serenity while they
waited for the expected miracle to take place. The cathedral was filled to
capacity with expectant devotees. The religious ceremony of the sacrament of
San Gennaro’s blood miracle soon commenced, as has traditionally been observed
for centuries.
While
the prayer was being recited the Cardinal retrieves the silver relic containing the
vials from the main alter of the Royal Chapel.
He holds the silver casing by the handle—in full view of the
congregation, as he edges closer to the silver bust.
After
several minutes of waiting expectantly for the miracle of liquefaction—which
had delayed in occurring, the previously serenely prayerful devotees became prayerfully
fervent. Eventually, after a long wait for the miracle of liquefaction to
occur, the vial was returned to the Chapel’s alter by the presiding Cardinal.
It was now obvious to the demoralized congregants that the miracle of
liquefaction had failed to occur—for the first time in over thirty-six years.
Suddenly,
the look of anticipation that previously graced the faces of majority of the
congregants turns to anxiety and panic—some even broke out into outright sobbing.
The failed miracle was widely seen by devotees as a bad omen, and to be fair to
them, their dread is not entirely without reason. It has been witnessed through
history that when the miracle does not take place, really bad things happen.
Here
are some examples of the tragic events that occurred when the blood of San Gennaro
did not liquefy in the last few decades—as reported in various journals and
articles; In 1980, when Southern Italy was struck by a devastating earthquake;
In 1973, when an epidemic of Cholera claimed many lives in Naples; In 1939,
when the Second World War broke out; In 1940, when Italy joined World War II.
And these are merely a few instances.
I get
why many would have a sense of foreboding about the failure of the blood
miracle to occur, as there are documented prove showing how, over the centuries,
the absence of the inexplicable phenomenon has preceded volcanic eruptions, major
earthquakes, devastating droughts, deadly epidemics, bloody revolutions, and
devastating major wars. It has been claimed that the failed miracle has
heralded the tragic deaths of substantive world leaders—including Kings,
Presidents, Prime Ministers, Archbishops and Popes.
Well,
at least now I know that I am not alone in this feeling of an impending
calamity just beyond the horizon. It looks like we all need to buckle our
seatbelts, and prepare for a bumpy ride—as the saying goes. I think now, more
than ever, we must all pray fervently to avert any sudden calamity from befalling
our world. After all, prayer has been known to remedy even the most intractable
malady.
You are invited to
follow E. Stanley Ukeni on twitter at; @EzStan . I invite you to equally follow
me on google+ and my blog site.
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