San Gennaro, Saint of the day for September 19th

(about 300)

History of San Gennaro
Little is known about Januarius's life. It is believed that he was martyred in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian in 305. Legend has it that Gennaro and his companions were thrown to the bears in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, but the animals were unable to attack them. They were then beheaded and Januarius's blood eventually brought to Naples.

"A dark mass that half-fills a hermetically sealed four-inch glass container, and is kept in a double reliquary in the Naples cathedral like the blood of San Gennaro, liquefies 18 times a year ... Various experiments have been applied , but the phenomenon escapes the natural explanation ... "[From the Catholic Encyclopedia]

Reflection
It is termed Catholic doctrine that miracles can happen and are recognizable. Problems arise, however, when we have to decide whether an event is inexplicable in natural terms or simply inexplicable. We do well to avoid excessive credulity but, on the other hand, when scientists also speak of "probability" rather than "laws" of nature, it is less than imaginative for Christians to think that God is too "scientific" to work extraordinary miracles to wake us up to the daily miracles of sparrows and dandelions, raindrops and snowflakes.