San Miguel del Milagro - Part 1

There's a village in Mexico called San Miguel del Milagro (the miracle of St. Michael), and I'm determined to go to there in the very near future. It's the site of the miraculous apparition of St. Michael the Archangel. Here's the story (originally found on a site called "Catholic Devotions"):

While participating in a procession on the Feast of Saint Mark (April 25, 1631), Diego Lázaro saw Saint Michael the Archangel in a vision. Unseen and unheard by everyone else, Michael spoke:

Know my son, that I am Saint Michael, the Archangel. I come to tell you that it is God's Will and mine, that you tell the neighbors of this village and of its surroundings, that in a ravine, which is made of two hills and is in front of this place, can be found a spring of miraculous water for all infirmities. It is under a big boulder. Don't doubt what I tell you, nor put aside what I command you.

Diego Lázaro, perplexed and confused, convinced himself to keep the matter quiet, tell no one, and ignore Saint Michael's message. Naturally, he was certain no one would believe a poor, uneducated peasant.

It was only a matter of days before Diego Lázaro became seriously ill, from what appeared to be a life-threatening heat stroke. He agonized on his deathbed while listening to his family and friends pray for his soul. His suffering was inconsolable, and he lingered between life and death.

While Diego Lázaro lay dying in his small hut, and his loved ones prayed over him, a bolt of lightning had crashed through the windows. This happened so fast and caused such a fright that all the bystanders raced out of the hut and down the hill for their lives.

Abandoned, Diego Lázaro encountered the mighty Archangel-Prince once again. Saint Michael's entrance was intended to drive away the supporters. After a while, those who had abandoned the hut returned, expecting to find it consumed and Diego Lázaro dead. Instead, everyone was shocked and overcome with wonder and amazement. Not only did they find the hut intact, but they also discovered Diego Lázaro still alive, and laying upon his bed as before. To their surprise, with his now clear eyes wide open, he told them, "Don't be afraid for me, for Saint Michael has appeared to me and given me back my health. He took me, I don't know how, to a ravine near here. He went before me, taking huge steps. At the ravine he told me, 'Here, where I touch with my staff, is the fountain that I spoke of while you were in the procession. You must make it known, or you will be gravely punished.'

Saint Michael touched the earth with a golden staff pointed towards heaven, and a great and startlingly brilliant beam of light came forth from the sky to mark and illuminate the place of the spring.

'This light which you have seen descend from heaven is the virtue which God is giving to this spring for the health and healing of all infirmities and necessities. Make it known to all.'

Saint Michael the Archangel somehow had spiritually transported Diego Lázaro to the place he had previously mentioned in his first admonition, and revealed the actual site of the foretold miraculous spring.

When Diego Lázaro finished relaying what had happened, he sprightly jumped up out of bed in perfect health, where only moments before he laid dying. At this, the onlookers and listeners became believers, that the vision was not a mere dream, or even the over-active imagination of someone with heat stroke.

Diego Lázaro journeyed some 20 kilometers east to the city of Tlaxcala, the province's capital. As he had initially feared, nobody believed the "wild imaginings" of an impoverished and uncultured citizen. In fact, he was severely reprimanded and threatened with physical punishment if he persisted in telling his story. But they didn't succeed in discouraging him with their cruel reception. Upon returning home to his wife and parents, he decided they should all try to find the place revealed by Saint Michael and sanctified by the virtue of God.

The site of the miraculous spring was a hill divided by a great ravine called "the Place of the Turkey Vultures" (Tzopilotitlan) and "the Place of the Back Water" (Tzopiloatl). Half way up this earthen divide was the site Saint Michael had designated with his golden staff, however, the holy well directly beneath where he touched was not exposed in any way. Instead, it was covered and hidden from discovery by a large and heavy stone; the boulder spoken of during the second apparition.

Upon arriving at the site, Diego Lázaro told his parents and wife exactly where they must dig. His knowledge of where to dig, although accurate, was insufficient. Even when all four pushed together, they couldn't dislodge the huge slab. It was too heavy for them.

While they struggled in vain to uncover the holy well, a handsome young man, a stranger never seen before or afterwards, appeared from out of nowhere and offered to help. He merely touched the slab and it began to move freely and easily. Thereupon, all four commenced digging till they beheld the crystalline spring. The sacred well contained water clearer than mountain air. But once more, Diego disobeyed Michael and resisted telling anyone what he'd found.

Some six months later, on November 13th, Diego Lázaro participated in another festival; this one honoring San Diego de Alcalá. During Mass, he was mystically overcome and painfully attacked physically. He felt something invisible assault his limbs with bone-breaking pain. Everything hurt. Unable to bear this excruciating and mysterious pain, he struggled back to his little straw hut in agony, confused, and in a quandary. In no condition to move, Saint Michael appeared a third time to a very humbled Diego Lázaro. On this occasion his admonition was most severe. He spoke in a powerful and commanding voice:

Why are you a coward and negligent in fulfilling what I entrusted to you? Do you wish that I punish you by another means for your disobedience? Get up and make known what I have commanded you.

After this last of Saint Michael's strict orders, Diego Lázaro's unexplainable ailment disappeared. Instilled with the Saint Michael's words, he experienced a newfound courage and faith. No longer a reluctant messenger of God's grace, he immediately and docilely returned to the place of the miraculous spring and filled several containers with a substantial amount of the holy water.

Renewed in spirit, Diego Lázaro set out to share his blessed fortune, but not with civil authorities. This time he journeyed to Puebla de los Angeles (the town of the angels), where the Bishop of the province resided, and obtained an audience with him. To Diego Lázaro's delight, his Excellency promised to have the apparitions investigated. As proof of the miracle, the Bishop mandated that the water Diego Lázaro shared be distributed both among the sick within his household as well as throughout the infirmary of the Royal Hospital. All who drank the water regained perfect health.