"This is what happens to those who embrace the incorruptible hand of St. Mary Magdalene"
An astonishing miracle in Greece that continues to baffle human reason in the twentieth century.
A pilgrim documented his experience: "...In the holy monastery of Simonopetra, the Relic of the left hand of Saint Mary Magdalene is preserved...At the time I first worshiped the incorruptible hand, it was presented naked on red velvet, not in a case, as the photo suggests.
In the afternoon in the nobleman of the Simonopetra monastery, the Archontaris (the Monk responsible for the visitors) talked about the holy relic to a group of pilgrims. – "...The hand is indestructible, with all its skin and tendons. It is kept at the natural temperature of a living body and… smells good. In fact, because of her miracles, Saint Mary Magdalene is considered the second founder of Simonopetra."
- "They say, father, that those who embrace it find that it is warm". - "Yes it's true. Those who embrace it with reverence and faith find the natural heat of a living body".
We smile a little awkwardly. "And what, father, if you embrace it and it is not warm," one asks. – "Let me tell you a story... A certain pilgrim embraced it, but he did not feel it warm, while all his friends felt it warm. Then he got depressed, was brooding all the time, and finally came out to us and asked for our help.
The elder advised him to go to confession, pray to Saint Mary Magdalene, and venerate her holy relic again the next day. Which happened. The next day, the pilgrim, after confessing, embraced her hand and felt great heat and fragrance emanating from the relic. He thanked her from his heart with tears. With tears I am telling you!" – "What do you say was the cause, father?" - "What can I say! Saint Mary Magdalene is repelled by the sins of the flesh. Carnal people with fornications, adulteries and the like, give off a spiritual stench that the Saint abhors. Perhaps she wanted to show her displeasure and disgust". "Oh my God dear father, imagine that even the relic abhor you for your carnal sins!" someone said. – "Tomorrow when you worship after the Divine Liturgy, notice a small wound on the upper side of the hand. Like a small piece is missing. The Russian monks, at the beginning of the twentieth century, who had many at that time on Mount Athos, held it in great reverence. Some of them, as they embraced it, secretly bit it and cut off a small piece, a spike, for a blessing. They hid it in their mouths. By the time the Monastery's monks realised their error, a small wound had appeared on the hand."
Translated from Source: https://www.vimaorthodoxias.gr
