Stigmata: Blessing or Hoax?

Question

What are your views on Stigmata? Is it truly a sign from God and a blessing? Is it all just a hoax to con people out of money or to convert?

Could this phenomenon be mental? Have people wanted feel blessed by Jesus so much that their minds caused these wounds to appear? This would mean it was a case of mind over matter!

How can you explain the wounds being in different areas. Some have wounds in the middle if the hand. Some have them on the wrists. But the wrist did not occur until scientist came out that it was impossible to hang by the hands. What about people that have crosses appear on the forehead. This was not a wound of Jesus!

Answer 1

I think stigmata can stem from all of the reasons you cite.

Fakery? Yes, some fakes have been documented, such as Magdalena de la Cruz (1487­1560), who admitted the fraud.Similarly self-inflicted wounds can be associated with certain brain disorders. Some people who fake stigmata suffer from Munchausen syndrome which is characterised by an intense desire for attention. People with Munchausen hurt themselves or fake an illness hoping to end up in a hospital where they can enjoy attention and care.

People also fake stigmata knowing that some who had stigmata were declared holy by the Pope. In this way they try to gain recognition. Self-inflicted stigmata heal naturally.

Though some people feel stigmata is psychosomatically induced, this is rarely the case. Stigmata can affect women as well as men. The blood may be of a different type than the person who is having the experience.

Classically, Stigmata appear at as many as five locations of the Holy Wounds, namely the hands or wrists, feet, and side (often fatal), and other wounds endured during the Passion, including:
Wounds caused by a Crown of Thorns, although sometimes invisible
Whip lashings or scourging on the back
A wound in the side, caused by a spear, or lanceNail holes in the wrists, or hands
Nail holes in the ankles, or feet
Formations of the flesh in the form of nails: the heads of the nail being rectangular and an inch on the topside and the tip of a nail on the backside, usually curved in as if hitting another surface.

Supposedly, a real stigmatic exhibits the wounds in a five-part series. Each series is separated by a length of time, only to repeat. At the end of each sequence the stigmatic is sometimes known to smell a specific type of flower--rose, jasmine, etc.
There is debate over the historical method crucifixion, if nails were driven through the hands or wrists. Stigmata appear on the hands of some stigmatists, and the wrists of others. Skeptics see this as evidence that the wounds have a human origin rather than a divine one, as divine wounds might be expected to be more consistent. The odor has a smell of jasmine.

In supposed real Stigmata, the blood flows freely and cannot be stopped with traditional medical care. Faked Stigmata are superficial and heal quickly. Blood will appear fresh and of a bright, deep color. The blood flow will often go against the laws of gravity. The stigmata are usually received with states of extreme ecstasy.

In his paper on "Hospitality and Pain", Christian theologian Ivan Illich touches on the phenomenon of stigmata with characteristic terseness: "Compassion with Christ... is faith so strong and so deeply incarnate that it leads to the individual embodiment of the contemplated pain". His thesis is that stigmata result from exceptional poignancy of religious faith and desire to associate oneself with the suffering Christ.

Blessing or Hoax?? I would say that most are "wannabe" stigmatics who so desperately seek some sort of gratification stage their wounds. In a few cases, this does seem to be a phenomenon of certain forms of religious states.

Answer 2

The stigmata are the wounds of Christ on a person the crown of thorns explain the forehead-wound.
St Paul probably was the first stigmatist and he mentions it in one of his letters.
There have been hoaxes, but these have been easily dismissed by the Church as untrue.
St Francis of Asissi, Padre Pio, St Chaterine of Siena, Bl Anna Catherine Emmerich are among some of the stigmatists that are recognized by the Church.

Answer 3

Hoax.

Answer 4

It is absolutely a hoax. Not one single person on this earth has been able to prove, unequivocally, that it has actually happened.

Answer 5

Hoax they are just misers.

Answer 6

These are all caused by the same thing, demons.

Answer 7

stupid, just like seeing the virgin mary on toast

Answer 8

not from God

Answer 9

neither, it's demonic.