Posted on 01/10/2005 12:36:47 PM PST by It's me
CHENNAI (ICNS) – The tsunami waves have subsided, but a miracle is being talked about across Chennai. It is the story of how St Thomas’ miraculous post kept the invading waves away, sparing the newly renovated Santhome Cathedral.
The Cathedral, the world’s second basilica built on an apostle’s tomb, has been giving shelter to hundreds of tsunami victims ever since the waves ravaged many buildings across the coast.
But even though the killer tsunami waves devastated the Chennai coast, Father Lawrence Raj, the parish priest of the Santhome Cathedral Basilica, says “the sea did not touch our church.”
The reason? “We believe the miraculous post of St Thomas prevented the sea waters from entering the church,” says Father Raj.
The church that sits at the site where St. Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, was buried after his death in the year 72 is located a few metres from the sea. While all the buildings on either side of the church were hit by the tsunami waves, the Santhome Cathedral remained unaffected.
Local people now say it is the St Thomas’ miraculous post that has kept the sea away on December 26.
According to Father Raj, the legend is that when St Thomas planted the post at the top of the steps leading to the Cathedral, he said the sea would not pass that point.
The priest saw from the terrace of church the angry sea in action, as it surged across the road and flooded the huts in front of St Thomas’ post, which is an innocuous looking log of wood, mounted on a cement pedestal.
The belief goes that a village in the Mylapore area was flooded when a huge tree trunk fell across the river. The local king brought a royal pachyderm to lug it away, but the task seemed impossible.
Then, according to legend, St Thomas came along, removed the girdle from his waist and handed it to a bystander and asked him to yank the log with it. He did so and the log was moved easily.
A mural in the Cathedral museum illustrates this incident. Father Raj says the current post is believed to be from that same log of wood.
Hundreds of homeless survivors who have been staying in the church ever since the tragedy hit them have prayed to St Thomas for saving them.
“It is St Thomas who has saved me. This church was untouched by the waters because of the miraculous power of the St Thomas post,” said K Sebastiraj, a fisherman who sought shelter in the Santhome Cathedral.
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get a free photo account on www.photobucket.com and upload your picture to them. You can then link to that site and your picture will there for all to see. They even make it easy by listing the HTML required to post. Just copy what is listed in the "Tag" underneath your picute in the album folder and paste it to the post.
It is amazing.
Also amazing is that every Southern Baptist missionary (and there are many) in each of the affected countries was alive and well and accounted for within 24 hours of the disaster.
Anyone still looking for God in this mess is looking in the wrong places.
Ok, I will.
Thanks.
Looking outside the authority of scripture bump!
So the Church that Christ founded died? Then Christ was lying when He said that His Church would last until the end of time?
See post #30.
It doesn't look like higher ground to me.
Lovely picture!
BUMP
But that's wonderful, isn't it?
Anyone saved from this natural disaster is fortunate, aren't they?
It's just a quibble, but St. Peter's in Rome is not a Cathedral. Also, the article at the top of this thread is in error, as St. Paul's in Rome is also the tomb of an apostle.
So, the church was completely safe? Not even the 1st floor flooded?
Bump for a later read. Thanks.
That wasn't MY point at all. Misbehavior by individuals only proves that individuals, even when acting on behalf of a higher calling, are still fallible: it doesn't discredit or repudiate the higher calling.
Disgusting comment.
You think your god is killing infidels with these natural disasters? When your god throws hurricanes at Florida and sends twisters through Oklahoma, is he punishing the U.S.? Tell us, because apparently you know the mind of God.
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