*Updated (24.7.08)* I realised that this dough is still spreading among the Catholic faithfuls, so I've decided to move it up to the top of the posts. I sincerely hope that this post and its comments will be able to help those who heard or received this dough to make decisions. God bless.
I have posted on the miraculous dough which many local parishioners believe and even 'shared' with their friends. I took some home too, nope I didn't bake it nor followed its instructions; I just kept it there and let it be. After a while, I forgot about it totally.
When I suddenly realized that presence of the dough and the cake which I've brought back, it was already moulded. That was only two weeks after I brought them back. The pictures below were taken when I found them to be moulded.
The moulded cake. Third succession of bread mould can be observed.
Compared with the original dough, this one stink and its texture had changed - it shrunk.I did a little bit of 'decoding' of the mystery behind the so-called "Miraculous Dough". It's based on my personal theory, so it might not be right. If you do not agree or have a better idea/explanation, feel free to leave them in the comment box.
The use of clean wooden spoon: No special purpose, but probably to avoid contact of dough with surfaces that might cause moulding, as it was to be kept for 10 days before it is baked.
The smell of the dough:
Its odour and form gives one an idea that it has yeast even though it does not.
I don't believe it is true. The smell might have come from a very small amount of yeast or/and a large amount of yogurt. Yogurt might be the reason for the dough to last for more than a week.
It will never mould:
Even though it is kept out of fridge it never moulded.
Look at the two photos above, and tell me, do you think this is true?
The history / origin:
It is also known as Pope Pius bread. The story is told that an Italian woman who was suffering all her life from illness that she could not even do her house chores. One day her daughter asked to bake her a cake. She refused more than once because she was unable to do it. The daughter insisted so much taht the mother felt she needed to bake that cake. She asked the aid of the Virgin Mary. As soon as she started to prepare the cake, the Virgin Mary appeared and she herself prepared the cake for the woman...
Again, I doubt it's true. I found out that the Amish Friendship Bread is quite similar with the preparation of this "miraculous dough". I had a discussion with a good friend, and both of us suspected that somebody adapted this Friendship bread and turned it into some kind of Marian devotion, for the purpose known only to that person who created it.
A few friends of mine, after reading my previous post on this dough and cake, told me that their mothers (strange, why is it always mothers and ladies who believed?) also took some home and bake it for the family. I got the dough and the cake from a physically sick sister-in-Christ. I even heard that this 'recipe' has spread to other churches in Kuching.
One vivid conclusion which we can make from this incident is that people are hungry for God. They are so hungry and desperate that they took the wrong measures to obtain His grace and blessings. They grab anything that claims to earn or that can bring His blessings without first investigate its validity.
I guess that the only way to prove it to those who believed is by showing these evidence to them.
Let us keep in our prayers all our brothers and sisters that our risen Lord Jesus Christ would send us His wisdom to show us the right path to the Father.
