By Joan Carroll Cruz
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54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
You Will Be Amazed.,
"The Incorruptibles" by Joan Carroll Cruz, Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, Illinois, On the very first page of her introduction, Joan Cruz specifies that she understands that she is treating a very special case in the preservation of the bodies of saints. First, she notes that there are three classifications of preserved bodies: (1) deliberately preserved, (2) accidentally preserved and (3) the incorruptibles. Ancient Egyptian mummies are probably the most familiar examples of deliberately preserved bodies; many of us have seen them in various museums. In her introduction, Ms. Cruz presents more details than most of us want to know about the modern techniques of embalming and its impact on the body of the deceased. Accidentally preserved bodies include the more or less well known cases of bodies found in peat bogs in Denmark, Ireland and Scotland (page 32). Ms. Cruz presents the interesting case of Bremen Cathedral, Germany, where the cellar burial place tends to mummify any body left there. Experiments were run using the bodies of animals or fowls, hung in the open-windowed cellar, and the bodies of these animals became mummified. The incorruptibles, however, are those bodies which have been preserved only since Christian times and their preservation is ..."even more baffling..." since it "...seems to be neither dependent upon the manner of burial nor on the temperature or place of interment". Joan Cruz makes a case for the intervention of God as a sign of favor to His saints. The mystery is "...further compounded ... (with) ...the observance of blood and clear oils" which flow from these incorruptibles. (Page 27). Her introduction to the book is a clear and pressing statement as to why the 100+ cases she presents are different from mummifying the bodies or from accidental preservation. After her excellent introduction, Joan Cruz then presents, in chronological order, slightly more than a hundred documented cases of individuals whose bodies had been preserved from corruption after their death. In many of the cases, she provides photographs of the dead bodies, with, perhaps, the most striking and the most beautiful being that of the nun and saint, St. Bernadette Soubirous, (1844-1879), whose body has been preserved intact, "...without embalming or other artificial means", since 1879. This is a wonderful book, which will make anyone think again on his mortality, if the book is read with an open mind.  Comments (2) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
Absolutely Amazing and Inspiring,
The book goes through all the [surprisingly] many Saints whose bodies have remained incorrupt - it tells a bit about their lives and about their burials. It details the finding of their bodies incorrupt and the current state of the bodies. Mrs. Cruz goes into some detail on the science behind what makes this phenomenon so utterly amazing [and obviously of Supernatural origins], but she does it in a way that remains interesting and easy to understand. This book is very faithful to the teachings of the Catholic faith and I found it incredibly faith strengthening. I think it would be difficult to maintain doubt when faced with such compelling evidence. This book is almost 30 years old now. I would LOVE to see a revision with better photography and some information on how the incorruptibles may have been investigated with modern scientific measures. Regardless, this is a fantastic book that I highly recommend to every Catholic and anyone else who is interested. Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you?
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22 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
Nonfiction as an act of devotion,
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