The mother giraffe gives birth standing up, so the first thing that happens to a new-born giraffe is a fall of about two metres.
Still dazed, the baby tries to stand up on its four legs, but its mother behaves very strangely: she gives the baby giraffe a gentle kick which sends it sprawling. It tries to get up and is again knocked down.
This process is repeated several times, until the new-born giraffe is too exhausted to stand. At that point, the mother kicks it again, forcing it to get to its feet. After that, she does not push the baby giraffe over again.
The explanation is simple: in order to survive predators, the first lesson a giraffe must learn is to get to its feet quickly.
The mother’s apparent cruelty finds support in an Arabic proverb: “Sometimes, in order to teach something good, you have to be a little rough.”
By Paulo Coelho
1) Miracle of Lanciano – 8th century
Public Domain / Wikipedia
In the 8th century, a priest in Lanciano, Italy was experiencing doubts about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. In the middle of saying Mass, he said the words of consecration (“This is my body,” “This is my blood) and saw the bread and wine transform into real human flesh and blood. The blood coagulated into five globules (later believed to be representative of the five wounds of Christ). Word of the miracle quickly spread, the local archbishop launched an investigation, and the Church approved the miracle.
The flesh is still preserved to this day. Professor of anatomy Odoardo Linoli conducted a scientific analysis of the flesh in 1971 and concluded that the flesh was cardiac tissue, the blood appeared to be fresh blood (as opposed to blood that was 1200 years old), and there was no trace of preservatives.
You can visit the miraculous flesh and blood in the Church of San Francesco in Lanciano, Italy.
Public Domain / Wikipedia
2) The Corporal of Bolsena – 13th century
Paolo C. / Flickr
A priest who had been experiencing doubts about transubstantiation was celebrating mass in Orvieto, Italy. Soon after he had consecrated the Eucharist, the host started bleeding onto the corporal (a liturgical cloth) on the altar. The priest, the story goes, ran to the pope who was visiting the town and confessed his sin of doubt. The corporal remains on display in the Cathedral of Orvieto.
Some historians, however, question the veracity of the story, since the first accounts of it don’t appear until about a hundred years after the miracle supposedly took place. Nonetheless, the corporal remains an object of veneration.
Steve Moses / Flickr
3) The Hosts of Siena, Italy – 18th century
via meconferencesc.net
On August 14th, 1730, while the Catholics of Siena, Italy were attending a special festival for the eve of the feast of the Assumption, thieves entered the Church of St. Francis and stole a golden ciborium containing hundreds of a consecrated hosts.
Two days later, someone noticed something white protruding from the offering box at another church in Siena. The priests opened the box and found the missing hosts inside, entangled in cobwebs and dirt. After being cleaned as much as possible, the hosts were placed in a new ciborium and taken back to the Church of St. Francis for prayers of reparation and veneration.
Since the hosts were dirty, the priests decided not to consume them but let them simply deteriorate. Over the next few decades, everyone was amazed to see that the hosts did not deteriorate, but actually appeared fresh.
The hosts remain in this state today, 285 years later, and can still be seen in the (now) Basilica of St. Francis in Siena, Italy.
4) The Miracle of Chirattakonam, India – 21st century
via guadalupehousehi.blogspot.com
On April 28th, 2001, there was Eucharistic adoration at St. Mary’s parish in Chirattakonam, India, when suddenly three red stains materialized on the host. The priest didn’t know what to do and placed the host back into the tabernacle.
A few days later he retrieved the host to examine it again, and the red stains had arranged themselves to look like the face of a man (Jesus?). He quickly found a photographer and had pictures taken of the host.
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