St Paul - Stigmata?

[Chris†opher Paul]

Galatians 6:17
From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

 

[Hoonbaba]

Maybe it's an idiom of some sort??

And maybe these verses are relevant: 2 Cor 4:10, Ezek 9:4

-Jason

 

[chelcb]

It is believed that St Paul may have been a stigmatist. There have been many in the Church through out history that have bore the wounds of Christ. St Frances of Assi is one and Padre Pio is another.

 

[walkaways]

I wonder how non-believers explain away the stigmata...

 

[Hoonbaba]

Wasn't there that other guy?? uhm....zladko or something....??

 

[Hoonbaba]

Ah I found it....Reverend Zlatko Sudac. Here's an interview with him =)

http://www.stjeromecroatian.org/eng/frsudac.html


and his website:

http://www.fathersudac.org/father_sudac.html 


-Jason

 

[Hoonbaba]

1st April 2003 at 03:47 PM walkaways said this in Post #4

I wonder how non-believers explain away the stigmata...

I remember discussing the issue with a protestant particularly with Fr. Zlatko Sudac.  Many were quickly judging him as a fake, or the antichrist (because of the non-biblical miracles he's supposedly done).

Anyway, to my knowledge many protestants don't even know about stigmata.  But for those who do, they'd likely say it's fake.  This of course is my opinion, so I wouldn't really know.

Honestly I have doubts of stigmata...maybe it's because I'm not Catholic yet.. =P

-Jason

 

[chelcb]

Jason,

Having this gift is just that...a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not that different from the other gifts. They are not up to the person's holiness and having certain charism of the Holy Spirit does not require a person to even be in a state of grace because they are not for the individual, they are for the Church, to build up the body of Christ. Having the fruits of the Holy Spirit speak to the holiness of a person, not the gifts.

Whether or not the person is a fake really should have no baring on our faith. The Church is very cautious with these things because even if the phenomenon is authentic it can put the focus on the person and not what the gift is for and that is to do the work of God. That is the reason why the Church does not have too much to say about these matters.

You are not required to believe but I can tell you there are plenty of those out there with this gift, authentically that have their bishops approval and they suffer much for the sacrifice it costs them to be under such speculation. They even suffer the pains of the crucifixion in their own bodies for the sake of purification, (now you know what Paul really meant). Some are publicized and some are not and yes, some are fakes.

 

[Cecilia]

My ex-boyfriend had offically turned from Christianity. I'm going to have to ask him about his thoughts on the stigmata. There would be some pretty curious replies, I think.

I would love to do more research and thought into the subject. Any more good websites? You can just PM them to me if you wish. Thanks!!!

 

[Caedmon]

While we're on the topic...

How do you tell whether or not "stigmata" is self-inflicted?