"Better than Santa Claus?!"

Meet St. Nicholas the Wonder - Worker.


Adapted from "The WORD among us" -- Daily Meditations for Advent 2008.

We are told this about the author that: " Ms. Louise Perrotta is an editor for The Word Among Us."

As this excerpt tells us:

"This bishop of the early church -- the real person behind the figure of Jolly Old Saint Nick -- might not strike you as an obvious choice when it comes to interceding for a desperate case.

"But Nicholas has long been the most beloved of the wonder - worker saints honored by Eastern Christians.

"Even his bones are wondrous.

"Ever since his death in the fourth century, they have secreted a liquid that has been associated with many physical and spiritual healings.

"Historians agree, that Nicholas was born in the second half of the third century and that sometime in the next century, he became bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern Demre, Turkey).

"The biographies tell how Nicholas became a monk, visited the Holy Land, and was chosen bishop by divine intervention.

"Highlighting his devotion to Jesus, they recount his imprisonment and tortuure during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians.

"Some sources mention a stormy encounter at the Council of Nicea (year 325), where Nicholas is said to have struck Arius for denying the divinity of Christ.

"Not only that: for most of his life, Nicholas exercised two very dramatic spiritual gifts: healing and mighty deeds (I Corinthians 12:9 - 10).

"More recently, Francesco Introna, a professor of forensic pathology, used the latest techniques to analyze the data on the skull [of St. Nicholas].

"His findings revealed a Nicholas with a broken nose -- perhaps another souvenir of imprisonment.

"The 1950s studies also included an examination of the manna [from St. Nicholas' bones].

"Scientists said the liquid was not easily explainable and determined that it did indeed come from the bones, not from an outside source.

"Recognized as an authentic relic, the manna is collected every May 9, which marks the translation of the bones from Myra to Bari [in Italy].

"Orthodox and Catholic join together to celebrate the feast, making it an ecumenical event.

"So many people could use a miracle!

"I expect that when I get to Bari, I'll be thanking God -- and his servant Nicholas -- for a happy ending to many more stories...."