Stigmata: Madness or Miracle?

In the previous episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Christian explored the Christian tradition of the stigmata and its 13th century originator, Saint Francis of Assisi. But what are we to make of of all the stigmatics to follow in the saint’s footsteps? Are these holy wounds the work of deceptive self-harm, masochistic devotion or psychosomatic anomaly?