Ms. Bonnie Engstrom is the woman who said that she had prayed to Fulton Sheen for his intercession and that as a result of her prayers, her infant son "who was stillborn on September 16, 2010, after a healthy pregnancy" [1] came back to life from having been "dead for 61 minutes." [2]
At approximately 26:23 on World Over – 2019-07-11 – Full Episode with Raymond Arroyo on You Tube, [3] Raymond Arroyo asked Ms. Engstrom this question: "You say to pray to Fulton Sheen now as much as you ever have. What do you pray for and what would you encourage others to pray to him for?"
Ms. Engstrom started answering at approximately 26:34 saying that over the years and to this day she had asked Fulton Sheen to help her know the Blessed Mother better, because Fulton Sheen had a strong devotion to Her, and to appreciate the Eucharistic Lord because Fulton Sheen had a daily Eucharistic hour and because of this, Ms. Engstrom said this had increased her faith, her love and appreciation there. [4]
Ms. Engstrom never followed up on whether Fulton Sheen answered her prayer that she prayed over the years till the present and helped her know the Blessed Virgin Mary better. Instead, she pivoted and changed the subject. That does not matter greatly because the main reason Ms. Engstrom was being interviewed was that she was the mother of a dead infant who came back to life after praying to a dead televangelist.
Raising someone from the dead is a miracle, one that is not necessarily bigger than another other miracle for every miracle is big from the perspectives of the person(s) benefiting from it. It is appropriate to note here that not all miracles are or will originate from God. [5]
It is assumed here that the miracle Ms. Engstrom experienced on September 16, 2010, was from God. Of course Fulton Sheen cannot raise the dead without Christ willing it be done. At the time, Fulton Sheen was not even canonized a saint. Therefore, Ms. Engstrom was not praying to a saint but to a dead man who was a televangelist.
Fulton Sheen was not even venerable on September 16, 2010. It was only "[i]n June 2012, [that] Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of 'heroic virtues' - a major step towards beatification - so he is now referred to as 'Venerable'." [6]
Fulton Sheen could have led a holy life. Only God knows how holy. If Fulton Sheen is canonized a saint, he, in this blogger's opinion will be a political saint along with many others, but not God's saint.
Unlike God's saints, Juan Diego and Bernadette Soubirous, Fulton Sheen did not see any apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary that one knows of, and unlike Francis of Assisi, Christ did not speak to Fulton Sheen and Fulton Sheen did not have the stigmata that one knows of.
Why pray to a dead televangelist who was not immaculately conceived, and why not pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary Who is the Immaculate Conception and to Christ Who is the Son of God?
Why ask a dead televangelist to intercede when the Blessed Virgin Mary is the only one in Heaven that can be said is the closest to Christ Who is Her Son aside from the Father. Being the Mother of God, the Blessed Mother is the most effective intercessor of all.
What can a dead televangelist who is not yet a saint do to help Ms. Engstrom know the Blessed Virgin Mary better and to appreciate the Eucharistic Lord? One can believe that Fulton Sheen is close to God since he is dead, but is anyone closer to God than the Blessed Virgin Mary Who is the Mother of God?
In order to know the Blessed Mother and Her Son, one has to cultivate a relationship first, through unwavering faith and prayers, and sincere love for both, not on an as needed basis but consistently throughout one's life.
Alhough a sinner's love for the Blessed Mother and the Lord is necessarily imperfect, the imperfection does not prevent the sinner from having a close relationship with them because it is their love for the sinner that perfects the relationship. Their love is a gift to the faithful, a gift that is always undeserved.
This blogger's opinion is to skip the saints and pray directly to God and the Mother of God based on an existing relationship, but it could very well have been God's plan to have Ms. Engstrom pray to Fulton Sheen to have her child stillborn raised to life after asking for Fulton Sheen's intercession in order that Fulton Sheen can have a miracle attributed to him for canonization.
[1] https://www.catholicstand.com/the-miracle-of-fulton-sheen-bonnie-engstrom/
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://youtu.be/N-aXDD3pSXA?t=1583
[4] https://youtu.be/N-aXDD3pSXA?t=1593
[5] https://www.allaboutgod.com/can-satan-do-miracles-faq.htm
[6] https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=7731
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment