Do You Believe In Miracles?

By Eugene Sierras and Angela López

The main source of the stories in this book comes from the experiences relayed to me by our customers visiting the Catholic store which I and my co-partner opened the last years of our careers in teaching. (in preparation for a transition to retirement.).
A majority of my shoppers were Catholic, but there were many of other faiths including Protestants, Buddhists, Jews, Muslim and those who described themselves as atheists or agnostics.
Readers of this book may be moved by the expressions of faith by residents of our community. Reared as a Catholic I have had questions of faith. However, I have been deeply moved by the religious fervor and faith of those who have related their experiences to me. It has truly made a difference in my life. My husband, also reared in a Catholic family, has been more skeptical of miracles of those about which we have written about. We shared an encounter together in Eloy, Arizona with the “Lady in the Bell Tower” which has had a significant impact on his life. This miraculous event has been witnessed by several hundred people of different faiths and nationalities.
The narratives of miraculous encounters in this book may have an everlasting effect on those who read it and may serve as a segue of common values to a sometimes politically and religiously divided people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781698715056

Eugene Sierras

Angelita V. Lopez is a 6th generation Tucsonan (originally ranchers from Avra Valley). She graduated from the U of A (1963) after attending Catholic Schools and Tucson High. She taught elementary and middle school for a total of 39 years in different school districts in the cities of Anaheim and Burbank, California and Tucson. In anticipation of retirement she and her teaching partner, Colleen DiBiase (also a 2nd generation U of A graduate and Tucson educator) opened a retail Catholic store in the historic Sam Hughes neighborhood. It remained open for 15 years and due to health problems had to be sold, much to the sadness of its loyal customers. Eugene Sierras attended local Tucson schools and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1964. He served in the United States Navy and retired as a Commander. He has completed extensive research in plasma physics, mythology and the Electic Universe and has written not only fiction but about the synthesis of plasma physics, mythology and religion.

Book preview

Do You Believe

In Miracles?

Eugene Sierras; Angelita V. Lopez

©

Copyright 2023 Eugene Sierras; Angelita V. Lopez.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

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ISBN: 978-1-6987-1504-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1505-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023913781

Trafford rev. 11/29/2023

Contents

Introduction

The inspiration to open a Catholic store began with a dream.

Another Dream

Religious Store Customers

Wooden Angels

A Photograph of an Angel

Spirits

Some stories were a bit frightening to me.

Santo Nino de Atocha

I did not know it then but Santo Nino de Atocha is known to help lost children.

A Big, Black Dog to the Rescue

A Little Girl Dressed in White

Sister Carmela told me a story about a nun.

A Nurse Dressed in White Wearing an Old Fashioned Cap

Saint Anthony Finds the Love of Your Life

Not only does he find lost articles but he also finds the love of your life.

Saint Anthony as Matchmaker

Another Lost Item for Saint Anthony

The Virgin de Guadalupe

Roses de la Virgin Guadalupe

Loss of Faith

Jena, My Seven-Year-Old Stepdaughter

This One Was More Dramatic

I Had a Dream

Christmas Time at the Store

The Silver Egg Icon

The Young Man Who Purchased a Statue for His Mother

My Personal Miracle: The Retablo

Saint Michael the Archangel

Miraculous events sometimes happen in mysterious ways.

Healing Plants and Herbs

Dominican Priests

The Poster of the Virgen de Guadalupe

When is a miracle considered a miracle? What makes one believe in such incredible events as miracles?

Saint Therese the Little Flower

The Unexplained Apparition of the Virgin Mary in the Bell Tower

The Infant of Prague

Alex Suffers the Stigmata

Sister Carmela

The Helpful Young Boy Who Later Became a Priest

Michael the Warlock

Father Bliven

A Deacon’s Story

The Power of the Rosary

Angels Protected Father Showri as a Baby

This story is from Father Showri’s point of view.

Rosaries Are of Extreme Importance to Father Showri

Prayers and Miracles

A Miracle of the Scapular

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To Colleen DiBiase, my wonderful friend and business partner, who, without her love for paperwork, this business could not have run as smoothly as it did. We laughed at our difference in shopping and cried at our differences in spending money.

Thank you, also, to Evelyn Valenzuela, my cousin, who had a great part in the success of our inspiring little religious store.

Thank you to all the loyal customers and distributors whose beautiful religious items made this store an exciting venture that Colleen and I can never forget.

Introduction

The inspiration to open a Catholic store began with a dream.

In my dream, God appeared as a kind, old man with a white beard. We conversed. We laughed. After awhile, I asked, Why are you in my dream?

You need to spend more time in prayer, He replied.

Brazenly, I asked, How much time do You want?

Thirty minutes. He replied.

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Just thirty minutes! That does not seem like much to ask. Besides, I already pray for that long or longer. With that last statement we both laughed. I was still laughing when I woke up.

The next day, I timed myself … thirty minutes! I discovered it was, indeed, a long time, twice as long as I normally prayed. I saw that I was not even praying fifteen minutes. I kept getting interrupted by telephone calls, errands, crazy ideas, and distractions. I decided to go pray at the Benedictine convent not far from my house. It provided a quiet, uninterrupted thirty minutes of prayer.

Then I dreamed of God again. As before, we had a pleasant time conversing. Then I asked, This is the second time you’ve come to me. Am I going to die?

Oh no, you are not ready. You are still getting a D in life!

A D in life! I exclaimed. God was talking to me like the teacher that I was. He said it teasingly, and our laughter, again, woke me up.

That very day, my aunt, Anita, called and asked me for the fourth year in a row to join her on a religious pilgrimage. This time to Betania, Venezuela, where the Virgin Mary had been appearing. Always before, I would refuse. This time I was going to offer this trip to God. I was going on a pilgrimage.

It was during this trip that I was introduced to Saint Anthony. I had a history of always losing or misplacing things, and it was no different on this trip. Cora, Anita’s sister, who saw that I was way too often delaying our excursions because I was either looking for my glasses or my purse or something, said, You need a direct line to Saint Anthony!

Saint Anthony! I don’t know Saint Anthony. Who is he, and what does he do? I asked. All saints are known for doing or helping humans in some way. I was not much of a devotee of saints, not like my mother was. I always felt it was better to go to the top.

He finds things for you, and you need him desperately, Cora replied.

Since this was a religious pilgrimage, we were not only going to Mass and praying fifteen decades of the rosary every day, we were also visiting many religious sites and stores. OK, I said to Cora, "on our visits to religious stores, when