….and Now for the Good News

We are constantly inundated with bad news, via TV, radio, and the web; so much so that’s it’s easy to start believing the worst of the world, and of people. Yet miracles and incredible acts of heroism are happening under our jaded noses, each and every day.  

In the face of the horrific natural disasters like the flooding in Australia and Brazil, as well as the heinous acts of men like alleged Tucson murderer Jared Lee Loughner, several miracles and amazing acts of bravery have occurred in the past few weeks.  Since I believe we’re all in need of some uplifting news (I know I am!), I thought I’d list some of them here…

*Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a French nun diagnosed in 2001 with Parkinson’s disease at the tender age of 40, has been cured through the intercession of the late Pope John Paul II. After the Pope (who also had the disease) passed away in 2005, Simon-Pierre prayed for him to intercede on her behalf. On June 3, she woke up completely cured. She has been given a clean bill of health by the Vatican’s medical specialists, who have declared it an “official” miracle. This is not the first miracle attributed to John Paul II; one more and he is headed for sainthood.

*Cops rescued 11-year-old Long Islander Sarah Thalhammer when she fell through the ice while trying to save her friend’s Maltese puppy. Thalhammer and the puppy—Ace Ventura—were shaken but unharmed. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/officials_rescue_year_suffolk_girl_pkc6T66Ld01w19C9zfAJ2K

*And let’s not forget the miraculous recovery of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Ten days after being shot in the head, she is breathing on her own, responding to commands, and even gave her husband Mark a ten-minute neck massage. Her doctors have acknowledged her progress as a miracle.

Sometimes, one person’s tragedy is someone else’s miracle…

*Dorwan Stoddard: the 76-year-old man was killed in the January 8 massacre in Tucson after throwing himself on top of his wife Mary to protect her from the madmen’s bullets. http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_ddeec327-f8ab-520e-ac52-511252af1166.html

* 13-year-old Australian Jordan Blake told a man who had stopped to rescue him and his family to save his younger brother first. Minutes after his 10-year—old brother was pulled to safety, Jordan and his mother where swept away by the rapids. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-reports/teenager-swept-away-after-saving-his-brother-from-toowoomba-floods/story-fn7kabp3-1225986169850

* The youngest victim of the Tucson tragedy, Christina-Taylor Green, donated her corneas, saving the eyesight of two other children.