Saint Joseph of Cupertino: various miracles of levitation

 

It is known that over 200 saints experienced levitation. This extraordinary gift involves the elevation of the human body without the participation of any physical force.

It is a gift, a divine blessing given to certain souls that are spiritually elevated. Saint Joseph of Cupertino had numerous levitations.

One Sunday, on the Feast of the Good Shepherd, Saint Joseph of Cupertino appeared with a lamb on his shoulders, and when he thought of Jesus the Good Shepherd, he rose into the air.

He often fell into ecstasies during Mass or when praying the Psalms.

During the 17 years he spent at the Convent of Grotella, his fellow community members observed 70 ecstasies.

He levitated while carrying a heavy cross up a mountain - The most famous of his ecstasies occurred when ten workers at the Convent tried to carry a heavy cross up a high mountain, but they couldn't because of the weight and the distance.

Brother Joseph took the cross by himself, placed it on his shoulders, and began to rise up the mountain, where he placed the cross under the astonished gaze of his brothers.

Apologizing for Levitation - The virtue of obedience: When he took too long to return from his ecstasies, his brothers would poke him with needles, hit him with sticks, and even place lit candles to burn his fingers, but nothing would make him return except when he heard the voice of his Superior calling him back.

When he returned from the ecstasies, he would constantly apologize, saying to his companions: "Forgive me for these dizzy spells that happen to me."

Levitation out of Love for the Blessed Virgin: One day, the Spanish Ambassador and his wife arrived at the Convent and asked for Brother Joseph to attend them for a spiritual consultation.

He arrived running, but when he saw a painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall, he gave his typical little shout and began to rise into the air until he was face-to-face with the sacred image.

The Ambassador and his wife watched this divine act in awe, something they had never seen before.

The saint prayed for a few moments and then gently descended to the ground, extremely embarrassed, ran back to his room, and didn't leave his quarters for the rest of the day.

In Osimo, where the saint spent his last six years, he was seen by the friars levitating towards an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was three and a half meters high, and giving a kiss to the Infant Jesus. There, along with the Mother and Child, he spent a long time praying with intense emotion, suspended in the air.

Levitating during Mass: On the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin in 1663, one month before his death, he celebrated his last Mass. During the celebration, he became suspended in the air as if he were in heaven, before God. Many people witnessed this event.

Levitation before the Pope and Persecuted by the Inquisition: At a time when the heresy of Luther was trying to spread through Catholic countries, the Holy Inquisition kept a close watch for any abnormal occurrences.

Seeing the large crowds that Brother Joseph of Cupertino attracted, the institution decided, with the Pope’s approval, to move him to a less well-known convent where he would live practically in seclusion.

He was prohibited from speaking to anyone except the friars of the convent, and even from writing letters to anyone.

Many enemies began to claim that his levitations were frauds and accused him of being a deceiver, which caused him numerous troubles.

He was sent to the Superior General of the Franciscans in Rome, and upon realizing how pious and humble he was, the superior recognized that the friar was a holy man.

He was then sent to Pope Urban VII, who wanted to know whether the rumors about Brother Joseph’s ecstasies were true.

While speaking with the Pope, Joseph became so emotional that he immediately entered into an ecstasy and began to rise into the air.

Flying While Praying: On a day of the Immaculate Conception, he invited the guardian priest to repeat with him: Pulchra Maria! (Mary is beautiful!)

As soon as the priest repeated these words, the saint, entering into ecstasy, put his arm around the waist of his superior and carried him with him into the air, repeating together: Pulchra Maria! Pulchra Maria!

Healing a Sick Man in Flight: Another time, a gentleman in a state of dementia was brought to him to be healed by God.

The saint told him to kneel and, placing his hand on his head, said: "Mr. Balthazar, do not be afraid. I recommend you to God and to His Blessed Mother..."

At that moment, the saint gave his typical cry announcing the ecstasy, grabbed the man by the hair, and lifted him into the air. He kept the man suspended for a while, and when his feet finally touched the ground, the sick man was cured.

St. John Bosco's Prayer to Our Lady Help of Christians.

 

           O Maria Ausiliatrice, Madre benedetta del Salvatore, validissimo è il tuo aiuto in favore dei cristiani. Per te le eresie furono sconfitte e la Chiesa uscì vittoriosa da ogni insidia. Per te le famiglie e i singoli furono liberati ed anche preservati dalle più gravi disgrazie. Fa', o Maria, che sia sempre viva la mia fiducia in te, affinché in ogni difficoltà possa anch'io sperimentare che tu sei veramente il soccorso dei poveri, la difesa dei perseguitati, la salute degli infermi, la consolazione degli afflitti, il rifugio dei peccatori e la perseveranza dei giusti.

              O Mary, Help of Christians, Blessed Mother of the Savior, your help is most powerful in favor of Christians. Through you, heresies were defeated, and the Church emerged victorious from every threat. Through you, families and individuals were liberated and also preserved from the gravest misfortunes. Grant, O Mary, that my trust in you may always remain alive, so that in every difficulty I too may experience that you are truly the help of the poor, the defense of the persecuted, the health of the sick, the consolation of the afflicted, the refuge of sinners, and the perseverance of the righteous.

Memorare

 You can know more about this prayer here.

      

        Memorare, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

        Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Saint Mary Bernadette Soubirou.

   Born on January 7, 1844, in France, Maria Bernadette Soubirous was the first of nine children born to François Soubirous and Louise Castèrot. In her childhood, she worked as a shepherd and domestic servant.

   During the first ten years of her life, her family faced severe financial difficulties, later moving to Lourdes, where they lived in destitution, residing in the building of the old municipal prison. Although the conditions seemed unsanitary, the family lived on the upper floor of the building, which was occupied by Bernadette's father's cousin. She struggled with formal education and catechism, which delayed her first communion. She was unable to attend school and remained illiterate until the age of 14.

   On February 11, 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette near Lourdes, France, in the Massabielle grotto. Bernadette described the event: "One day, I went with two girls to the banks of the River Gave to gather firewood. I heard a noise, turned around to the meadow, but saw no movement in the trees. I looked up and saw the grotto. Then I saw a lady dressed in white; she wore a white dress with a sky-blue sash around her waist and a gold rose on each foot, the same color as the rosary she held. Only on the third occasion did the Lady speak to me and asked if I would return for fifteen days. For fifteen days, I returned, and the Lady appeared every day, except on one Monday and one Friday. She repeatedly asked me to tell the priests to build a chapel there. She told me to go to the spring to wash and to pray for the conversion of sinners. Many times I asked her who she was, but she only smiled at me kindly. Finally, with arms and eyes raised to heaven, she told me she was the Immaculate Conception."

   The priest who heard her account was astonished and moved by the realization that Bernadette was not inventing her story. She had no knowledge of the meaning of her words, let alone the recently promulgated dogma of the "Immaculate Conception" by the Pope.

   While the matter was examined by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, which proceeded with cautious skepticism, scientifically inexplicable healings were reported at the Massabielle grotto. On February 25, 1858, in the presence of a crowd, a spring appeared under Bernadette’s hands—water from this spring still flows today, producing about five thousand liters daily.

   Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, Bernadette claimed to have had 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at the same location. She defended the authenticity of these apparitions with an unusual firmness for a humble, obedient teenager of low educational and socioeconomic standing. She stood firm against the opinions of her family, clergy, and public authorities, enduring interrogations, pressure, and intimidation from civil authorities. Nevertheless, she never wavered in asserting the authenticity of the apparitions with full conviction.

   In 1860, to escape public curiosity and harassment, Bernadette sought refuge as a "destitute boarder" at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Nevers, Lourdes. There, she received an education and, in 1861, wrote the first personal account of her visions of Our Lady. On January 18, 1862, Monsignor Bertrand Sévère Laurence, Bishop of Tarbes, publicly and officially acknowledged the reality of the apparitions.

   In July 1866, Bernadette entered the novitiate at the Saint-Gildard convent, and on October 30, 1867, she made her solemn profession in the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. She devoted herself to the care of the sick until her death. A vast crowd attended her funeral on April 19, 1879.

   Her beatification took place on June 12, 1925, granted by Pope Pius XI, and she was canonized as Saint Bernadette of Lourdes on December 8, 1933, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, by the same Pope, after the Vatican recognized her personal virtues and the miraculous cures attributed to her after her death.

Prayer to Our Lady Queen of Angels.

         This prayer was dictated by Our Lady to the Blessed Fr. Louis-Edouard Cestac on 13th January 1864.

     

          Auguste Reine des cieux et maîtresse des Anges, Vous qui avez reçu de Dieu Le pouvoir et la mission d’écraser la tête de Satan, nous vous le demandons humblement, envoyez les légions célestes pour que, sous vos ordres, elles poursuivent les démons, les combattent partout, répriment leur audace et les refoulent dans l’abîme. Qui est comme Dieu ? O bonne et tendre Mère, vous serez toujours notre amour et notre espérance. O divine Mère, envoyez les Saints Anges pour me défendre et repousser loin de moi le cruel ennemi. Saints Anges et Archanges, défendez nous, gardez nous.

           August Queen of Heaven, sovereign queen of Angels, you who at the beginning received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we beseech you humbly, send your holy legions so that, on your orders and by your power, they will track down demons, fight them everywhere, curb their audacity and plunge them into the abyss. Who can be compared to God? Oh good and tender Mother, you will always be our love and our hope. Oh divine Mother, send the Holy Angels and Archangels to defend me and to keep the cruel enemy far from me. Holy Angels and Archangels defend us, protect us. Amen.