- Feb 5, 2002
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An internationally bestselling author and celebrity historian has revealed he was mysteriously cured of cancer after a desperate prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Tom Holland is the author of the histories Millennium and Dominion and with Dominic Sandbrook is co-host of The Rest is History podcast, one of the most-listened to podcasts in the English-speaking world.
At a talk hosted by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, Mr Holland confessed that his only two experiences of possible supernatural origin involved the Blessed Virgin Mary, joking that “God must have a sense of humour”.
Mr Brierley examined the anecdotes in a recent article for The Spectator, headlined “A Christian Revival is Under Way in Britain”.
Mr Holland qualified his remarks to the Catholic Herald by also saying there were potentially non-supernatural explanations for what he experienced – and that he still remains “stranded in the shadowlands between faith and existential despair”.
But he said that the mere possibility of believing that such experiences might have been of supernatural origin opened up for him a sense of how wondrous the universe could appear to a person who chose to make a leap of faith.
His first encounter happened while filming a documentary in the war-torn north of Iraq and he entered an abandoned church desecrated by Islamic State terrorists.
This church was located in an Iraqi town where years earlier Christians were crucified for their faith. The historian recalled that contemplating crucifixion propelled him into an “existential abyss”.
Mr Holland then described how while he was entranced and staring at a patch of rubble on the ground in front of him, a gust of wind carried a piece of paper bearing a sacred image of the Annunciation which fluttered precisely into his line of sight.
Continued below.
catholicherald.co.uk
Tom Holland is the author of the histories Millennium and Dominion and with Dominic Sandbrook is co-host of The Rest is History podcast, one of the most-listened to podcasts in the English-speaking world.
At a talk hosted by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, Mr Holland confessed that his only two experiences of possible supernatural origin involved the Blessed Virgin Mary, joking that “God must have a sense of humour”.
Mr Brierley examined the anecdotes in a recent article for The Spectator, headlined “A Christian Revival is Under Way in Britain”.
Mr Holland qualified his remarks to the Catholic Herald by also saying there were potentially non-supernatural explanations for what he experienced – and that he still remains “stranded in the shadowlands between faith and existential despair”.
But he said that the mere possibility of believing that such experiences might have been of supernatural origin opened up for him a sense of how wondrous the universe could appear to a person who chose to make a leap of faith.
His first encounter happened while filming a documentary in the war-torn north of Iraq and he entered an abandoned church desecrated by Islamic State terrorists.
This church was located in an Iraqi town where years earlier Christians were crucified for their faith. The historian recalled that contemplating crucifixion propelled him into an “existential abyss”.
Mr Holland then described how while he was entranced and staring at a patch of rubble on the ground in front of him, a gust of wind carried a piece of paper bearing a sacred image of the Annunciation which fluttered precisely into his line of sight.
Continued below.
Tom Holland recalls inexplicable healing from cancer after praying to Our Lady - Catholic Herald
An internationally bestselling author and celebrity historian has revealed he was mysteriously cured of cancer after a desperate prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tom Holland is the author of the histories Millennium and Dominion and with Dominic Sandbrook is co-host of The Rest is History...
catholicherald.co.uk
