Search
-
October 6, 2022By Judy Sellmeyer, parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua, Casa Grande
Tim Francis, a nationally-known lay evangelist who travels the country to help Catholics gain a deeper understanding of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, will be at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Casa Grande, Arizona on October 23, 24, 25, and 26. The presentations will be at 3-5:30 pm on Sunday Oct. 23, and 6-8:30 pm on Monday Oct. 24, Tuesday Oct. 25, and Wednesday Oct. 26. These presentations are the same each night, so you need only attend one. Learn more here.
Tim Francis will lead a discussion and share video of a Eucharistic Miracle where the consecrated host is scientifically proven to be living heart tissue. A miracle involving a woman in Bolivia who receives the wounds of Christ and receives messages from Jesus and Mary. This same phenomenon occurred for St. Francis of Assisi and St. Padre Pio. We see this phenomenon, called stigmata, by video. Francis will also talk about the role of Eucharistic miracles in his reversion back to the Catholic Faith.
“I grew up in a small town in Ohio, one of six kids. We never missed Mass,” Francis said. “Like so many kids, as soon as I went off to college, I left the Church behind. I had more time for football than I did for Church.” After college he moved to Texas, married, and joined a big Mega Church. His mother hoped he would return to the Catholic Church. Through her, he became familiar with prominent Catholic converts and apologists, including Marcus Grodi, a former Protestant pastor who started the Coming Home Network, as well as Tim Staples of the Augustine Institute, and well-known EWTN host Father Mitch Pacwa.
Her prayers were answered when Tim returned to the practice of the Catholic faith. However, his wife remained unconvinced. “I came back to the faith intellectually, but my wife wanted nothing to do with it,” he said. However, a turning point came in 1999, when he watched a television show titled “Signs from God: Science Tests Faith.” A well-known investigative journalist from Australia came to his attention. He was studying several phenomena that seemed to have no natural explanation to determine if they were miracles or hoaxes.
They included a consecrated host that was left sitting in water and turned into heart tissue and a woman in Bolivia who experiences the stigmata — wounds of Christ’s passion — for three hours on Fridays. The next day, the wounds are completely healed. The show had a profound impact on Francis as well. Over the next decade, Francis came to realize that the Catholic faith was not just an intellectual exercise but a means for personally encountering Christ in the sacraments.
"It went from the head to the heart,” he said. “I started going to daily Mass and confession. I learned about the great mystics of the Church and gained a deep appreciation of the authority of the Catholic Church. I also came to believe that the Catholic Church has tremendous gifts called the Sacraments, but very few people are taking advantage of them. It was like this hidden treasure.”
Francis has done over 500 missions in parishes around the country. He is working to spread the message of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. All are welcome and it will be well worth the trip to St. Anthony’s in Casa Grande to attend this event.
