DEATH OF A STIGMATIC: DEMISE OF UTAH MAN PUTS FOCUS ON COMPLEXITY OF PHENOMENA

[Sue Cifelli]

DEATH OF A STIGMATIC:
DEMISE OF UTAH MAN PUTS FOCUS ON COMPLEXITY OF PHENOMENA     
http://www.spiritdaily.com/avendano.htm

The death of an alleged stigmatic, Alex Avendano, of Layton, Utah, is raising new questions about the nature -- and perhaps dangers -- of the phenomenon.

According to his wife and a priest who served as his spiritual director, Avendano, who was just 40, slipped into a coma-like sleep on October 18 and was pronounced dead shortly after telling those around him that he needed prayers because he was under an intense attack by the devil.

The spiritual director, Father Javier Virgen, of West Valley City, said he is not sure exactly what transpired in the way of such an "attack" but Avendano's wife, Carol, said it occurred while she was at work -- sometime after five p.m. -- and that two friends were with him praying the Rosary when the attack intensified.

When she returned home from work at about 8:30 p.m., says Carol, she found her husband in a "deep sleep," and after a while she noticed that he stopped breathing. She called 911 and they worked on him for 45 minutes to no avail.

Alex's wife, family, and friends were completely in shock.

He is survived by his wife; two sons from a previous marriage, Alexander and Alexees of Shertz, Texas; his parents, Alfredo Avendano and Amelia Boscan of Venezuela; one sister and two brothers of Venezuela; and his in-laws, Bill and Joan Burnside of West Jordan.






Born March 16, 1966, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Alex moved to Utah in 1990, obtained a doctorate in electrical engineering, and had been employed at Franquelin Enterprises before the development of stigmata prevented him from work. "He was a member of the Holy Family Catholic Church for the past three years," notes an obituary. "He spoke five languages fluently, loved computers, his cats, his family, Jesus and His Blessed Mother."

By all accounts a devout man, Avendano was born Catholic (baptized on December 25); converted to Mormonism; spent 23 years in that esoteric religion; and then reverted back upon moving to the U.S. and learning what he calls "the truth" about the Church of the Latter Day Saints -- and Catholicism (as we previously reported).

"In April 2003, I began praying for a sign that I was on the right path and on April 24th, I received my answer." It was an excruciating one. "I was in the bathroom and my hands began to bleed on the backs of my hands," he recalled in a bio. "I had been having pain in my hands for awhile and I thought it was my carpel tunnel coming back. I was frightened and I went out to the living room to show my wife and she was afraid I had fallen and asked me how I cut myself. I honestly cannot remember what happened after that. A week later, I began to bleed from my feet, side, and forehead. There were two separate times that I had whip marks on my back."

Avendano then developed what appeared to be a full-blown case: wounds not only on his hands but also on his limbs, his side, and his head. Stigmata are representations of the wounds of Christ, of course, and date back at least to St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.

During recent decades, there have been many reported cases, the most famous of which was that of St. Padre Pio of Italy -- whose wounds, present for five decades, disappeared upon his death.

While many have automatically assumed a heavenly origin for such sufferings -- which indeed can be the case -- stigmata is proving to present more of a mix of forces than most have recognized. Often, there is controversy. In the case of Alex, the bishop in Salt Lake City had urged great caution, declining to confirm the phenomena, and the chancellor of the diocese in Tucson, Arizona, had strongly disallowed his ministry, quoting the Salt Lake bishop.

There were those who encountered both delightful heavenly phenomena around Avendano, and others who claimed at times to experience an unpleasant, sulfur-like odor. Reports are that a strange voice and even curses were heard to issue from him while he was under attack before he died, events that are confirmed by his wife, who said there was also the tossing around of furniture.

"He was attacked physically," says his wife. "It was almost like he was taken over. He had such attacks at times and we were told it was for his purification. When he came out of one, he was more humble. He was a very holy man. I have no doubt that he's in Heaven."

According to the literature, exorcists have recorded cases in which victim souls -- including stigmatics -- have encountered both the good side and the evil one -- as if their bodies are battlefields. Carol believes that the attack itself did not kill Avendano, but that it was "simply his time" and his heart stopped. In July, the stigmatic had been tested after experiencing chest pains, but was given a clean bill of health.

Because he was often known to lapse into a deep sleep after an attack, or following visions, his wife was not alarmed until she noticed he was no longer breathing. She said he had also encountered an attack by the devil a month before his death.

Father Javier said he too considered it a suffering that was sent as a purification and that Avendano had a solid life of devotion and prayer.

In other cases, however, questions have been raised about the very origin of stigmata, with some mystics displaying manifestations that appear diabolical. In fact, the forces swirling around stigmatics not only makes their phenomena especially difficult to discern but also more potent than the forces behind alleged seers, healers, and locutionists who do not have actual physical wounds .

In some cases, the manifestations have taken the form of unsightly bleeding from the eyes or elsewhere on the body -- leading to further questions. Holy possession or simply possession, period?

"According to the constant confessions of the demons it is the Blessed Virgin who leads the suffering souls against the demons and forces them to battle with the victim souls until they are overpowered," wrote an 18-century exorcist in a booklet called Mary Crushes the Serpent. "It is a worldwide battle between the ferocity of the demon and the victim souls' love for the Cross. The victim souls endure bodily sufferings as well as attacks directed against the sensitive powers of the soul."

"The Blessed Virgin ties the infernal spirits in groups to the victim soul in regular order," says the booklet.  "They are enclosed in the victim as if they were locked in a prison. They are forced to combat with her until one or the other is conquered. The conquered demons are then forced back into hell."

The exorcist asserted that he saw cases where a victim soul was unconscious "with a diabolical expression upon her face," but upon departure of the demon "passed into the presence of the Master and the Blessed Virgin."

"It would be unreasonable to believe that God, after permitting the demons to crucify these victim souls, would not also on His part extend them supernatural help," wrote the priest, saying that among the gifts were "inner voices, ecstatic visions, ecstasies, heavenly odor," the latter emitted when the mystic is "united with God."

"The charismatic graces, speeches, visions, ecstasies, which [were] regularly observed in these same persons besides the demonical influences, confirmed [the exorcist] in his conclusion," noted the editor. 

Still, in other cases, the origin of all such "gifts" has been set to question. We do not pretend to be able to discern them.

"I bring some very sad news," said an initial e-mail from a Florida woman named Becky Murphy upon learning of Alex's death. "Our friend, Alex Joseph Avendano, died last night. I do not have many details of his death but I thought you would all like to know. Please pray for him that his soul rests in heaven with God the Father. I believe that by the suffering that he endured here on earth that he is in heaven, but that is not ours to know. We must pray for his soul.

"I have peace because I know where he is. He touched many lives. His 'yes' to the Blessed Virgin brought the spiritual realm alive for us. What we must take on faith he was blessed to know for fact.  We will never know the pain and suffering that he underwent every single day to do this for us, both emotionally and physically. His 'yes' brought many of us closer to Jesus Christ through Our Blessed Mother and through an increased desire for prayer. Alex loved Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother. He spread that love by teaching others to pray the Rosary, to honor our priests, to live simply, to opening our heart to others and to stop offending God. He tried his best to live the life that God willed for him. As he prayed for us, please keep him in yours."

[resources: Mary Crushes the Serpent and Begone Satan! and Padre Pio: The True Story]

[see also: Possession as suffering of victim soul and archived story on Avendano]

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[please note that charity toward mystics does not constitute a positive discernment]