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Chapter 11 - Miracles
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chaPTer 11 MiracLes I would like to list here the miracles God has performed in recognition of the merits of the blessed Margaret. These miracles are intended for people with hardened hearts in order to attract them to the power of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Others may later include things that will happen. 1. Restored sight to the blind through Margaret’s intercession with the Lord. 2. Cured the demented and the mute. 3. Cured hernias and kidney stones. 4. Liberated prisoners. 5. Cured people with numb limbs and the crippled. 6. Liberated those possessed by demons. 7. Raised the dead. 8. Rescued those who were shipwrecked and who had fallen. 9. Restored to health the dying who had already been to doctors. 10. Provided cures for illness and tribulations. resToraTion of sighT To The BLind 1.In Corciano in the diocese of Perugia there was a certain sick person who was tormented by a prolonged fever. So severe was the fever that one of his eyes drooped the length of a finger. When the physicians abandoned all attempts to cure him, he made a vow to himself – being unable to speak – to take ten votive candles, each worth twenty pennies, to the The Life and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Cortona 304 tomb of the blessed Margaret; he hoped her prayers would cure him. As soon as he made the vow, the fever disappeared, without the use of natural medicine, and his eye returned to its normal position. He jumped out of bed, got dressed hurriedly, and cooked a chicken and ate it; he had been unable to eat since he contracted the fever. With his brother he went to Cortona to offer the promised candles at the tomb of Margaret. Thus, he and his brother confirmed the miracle performed for the honor of God and of the Saint. 2. In the Region of Pierlo a baby was born without eyes and remained this way for fifteen or twenty days, to the great sorrow of his parents. But as soon as the child’s mother made a vow to the blessed Margaret he immediately had splendid eyes. The parents attested to this cure when they came to Cortona. 3. The lady Altagiulia, the wife of Guidarelli Finetti of Città di Castello, made a signed oath that she could not see, not even in broad daylight. But after she had commended herself with a vow to the blessed Margaret, the latter’s blessed merits restored her sight immediately. 4. A certain Guido of Pian dei Carpini in the diocese of Perugia was praying in the church of his town. Suddenly some invisible force, believed to be the ancient enemy, struck him on the right eyebrow so hard that he lost sight in that eye. He could not see with his right eye for three months. After trying unsuccessfully to obtain a cure from various saints and doctors, he made a vow to offer a collar of wax at the tomb of Margaret. As soon as he made this vow he was cured by her prayers. 5. In Villa di Cereto in the district of Cortona a child had a growth on the pupil of her eye. Sister Crescia commended her to blessed Margaret, whose merits cured the eye and made it as beautiful as the other. The girl’s parents, Accursino and Giliotta, swore on the gospels that this miracle was true. 6. A boy of Cortona [nomine de alto solario] fell and cracked his skull. The collision was so great that his eyes [3.90.202.157] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 16:52 GMT) Miracles 305 hung down to his cheeks. All those standing around believed him to be dead, and his parents discussed his burial. The mother with fervent devotion said to the blessed Margaret: “I believe without any doubt that you can save my son.” After she offered her vow, the boy got up, and the bones of his skull suddenly healed and his eye returned to its normal position as if he had never fallen. No piece of his skull fell on the pavement. 7. Fina, wife of Ricuccio from Antria near Cocciano, put her hand on the scriptures and swore before the holy Gospels that when she was in labor, her pain was so intense that she lost her eyesight for a year. She then vowed to walk barefoot to the tomb of the blessed Margaret in Cortona to implore her to...