Posted on 08/21/2003 11:47:57 AM PDT by UnklGene
HOLY VISION IN TOILET SAVES GAL FROM SUICIDE Wednesday August 20, 2003
AN INCREDIBLE vision of St. Padre Pio appeared in a toilet bowl -- and persuaded a grieving widow to put down the kitchen knife she was about to plunge into her heart.
Says Ethel Farbinger: "In one month, my husband died of emphysema and then my mother passed away. Somehow I just couldn't cope with the loss of the two people who were dearest to me in the whole world. Suicide seemed like the only way out."
Overwhelmed by despair, Farbinger, a 28-year-old teacher's aide from Detroit, planned to stab herself in the heart and bring it all to an end.
But then a miracle happened.
"I locked myself in the bathroom at my school and I had the knife in my hand," she recalls. "But before I could actually commit the act, a brilliant light suddenly filled the room and I saw the image of St. Padre Pio in my toilet.
"He smiled up at me and gently explained how taking my life would cause more problems that it would solve. 'Many people will be greatly saddened by your death," he said. 'You must think of them and the good work you still have to do here on Earth.' He then told me that embracing God's love would help get me through this terrible period.
"When the image disappeared, I sat down on the floor and sobbed for almost an hour. But when the tears stopped, I felt a tremendous sense of relief. It was as if God had removed the weight of the world from my shoulders."
Farbinger's best friend, cab driver Kathy D'Amiccio, noticed the difference the next day.
"I knew Ethel had been going through a terrible, terrible time," D'Amiccio says. "Losing Frank devastated her, then her mother died. I did everything I could to cheer her up, but nothing worked. I didn't know what to think when she told me about the visit from St. Padre Pio. The story sounded so surreal. But there was no denying Ethel was a changed person.
"Whatever happened that day, real or imagined, it saved her life."
Farbinger has since turned her home into a shrine to St. Padre Pio, complete with framed pictures and worship candles.
"I wouldn't be alive if St. Padre Pio hadn't come to me in my darkest moment," she says. "I owe him everything I have today. I can never repay him for his remarkable kindness, so I honor him every chance I get.
"Some people think I'm crazy, but I don't care. A miracle happened in my life and I want the whole world to know about it."
St. Yoor'in
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.