Saint Christina the Astonishing:

Feast day : 24 July

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Christina Mirabilis, popularly known as 'Christina the Astonishing', a holy Christian woman who lived in Brustem, Belgium during the 12th century. As suggested by the title given to her, her life was not an ordinary one by any means. She was born into a peasant family and orphaned at a very young age. Her mystical gifts began to unfold from the age of 21 when she suffered a seizure and was pronounced dead. Halfway into her funeral, she sat up in her coffin and flew to the rafters of the church and refused to come down because of the stench of the sins of people who gathered for her funeral!! She had a heightened sense of smell and often climbed trees, hid in closets to avoid people who were steeped in sins. She subjected herself to severe penances and offered all her sufferings for the conversion of sinners and the souls in Purgatory.

Mystical life:

After suffering a seizure at the age of 21 years, she was pronounced dead. However, astonishingly, midway during her funeral she sat up in her coffin!! As though this wasn't enough, eye witnesses say that she then flew up into the rafters of the church from where she refused to come down because of the stench of the sins of the people who had gathered there. When she was eventually ordered to come down by the priest, she landed on the altar and related to those who were present that she had witnessed Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. She said that as soon as her soul was separated from her body, angels conducted it to a very gloomy place, entirely filled with souls whose torments were so great and hard to be described. She claimed that she had been offered a choice either to remain in Heaven or return to earth to perform penances to deliver souls from the flames of Purgatory. Christina agreed to return to life on earth and do the necessary penance and it was at that very moment that she arose in her coffin. She told those around her that she returned to life on earth for the sole purpose of bringing relief to the departed souls in Purgatory and for the conversion of hardened sinners on earth.

Penances:

From there on, Christina renounced all comforts of life, reduced herself to extreme destitution, dressed in rags, lived without home or hearth, and not content with privations she eagerly sought all that could cause her suffering. Her strong sense of smell was a constant battle for her. She would often climb trees, hide in cupboards and even levitate to avoid contact with sinful people. As part of her mission, she took up extreme penance for the salvation of souls which included throwing herself into burning furnaces and suffering great tortures for extended times, uttering frightful cries, yet coming forth with no sign of burns upon her. In winter she would plunge into the frozen Meuse River for hours and even days and weeks at a time, all the while praying to God and imploring God's mercy. She sometimes allowed herself to be carried by the currents downriver to a mill where the wheel "whirled her round in a manner frightful to behold", yet she never suffered any dislocations or broken bones.

Death and Sainthood:

Through her penitential life she effected striking conversions in souls and the evident miracles after her death prove that all that happened in her life was the plan of God to bring mankind to realise the truth of the existence of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory that was revealed to her.

St. Christina has been recognized as a saint since the 12th century. A Dominican professor of Theology, who knew her personally documented her miraculous life and strange abilities adding eye witness testimonies too. She was truly a Saint who had a heightened awareness of sin and constantly prayed and undertook penance for the sins of the dead so that they may be united with Christ in heaven.