October 22, 2002 Itza Miracle!
by Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes, O.P.
What is a miracle?
The basic word, miracle, means 'a wonder'. Admiracio, is a wonderment. Which was not always a good term, in the old days the priests were told to watch how they dress so as not to incur admiracio. To wonder at things, or a thing to be a wonder by itself doesn't necessarily mean it is something in which God has a hand, a wonder in it's original sense could be something like a load stone; a magnet.
In the modern age, a miracle is seen as a departure from the ordinary laws of nature.
The problem people have with miracles is that, by themselves, they show the Divine power. Of themselves they do not compel belief in God but they command wonderment, which get our attention. Miracles have the specific affect to reveal the power of God in our midst and thus people must come to grips with God in order to reconcile the miracle.
Forms of Miracles
They can have many forms. A prodigy which is something against nature. This can be someone miraculously healed.
Another form is something that shows God's providence, something that goes beyond all explanation. For instance an enemy is encamped outside a city. The Prophet tells the army not to worry the Lord will come upon the city and they will be given into their hands. Then a plague comes upon that city.
Question: Would the miracle be in that instance the prophecy or the plague? Answer: It would be both because without the prophecy it could be seen as natural. So the pair together, the prophecy and the act of God is what would be considered the miracle.
You have to want to see it
If you're not prepared to see God at work, you probably won't see God at work. You must be willing to tolerate the work of God. Because of this reason, people have a problem with miracles altogether. Not only does God have a hand in things but performing the miracle that opens up a lot of questions like "If He heals one person, why not all?"
It also makes people uncomfortable because people ask why is God doing this here? On the other hand those who want God out of their lives it's a problem because it reveals God's power in a 'flashy' way or inconsistent with the divine order. They're making rules for the guy who makes the rules. They say, "miracles are unworthy of God because he established the laws of nature so He shouldn't be monkeying around with them if it is truly Him."
If you are desperate not to believe in God you will look for anything you can to not see the miracle. For those who believe, no explanation is necessary, for those who don't believe, no explanation is possible.
Yesterday and Today
In the modern era, we have the opposite problem from earlier in history. In the 19th century we had science that was assured of itself. Things were getting better and better, more civilized and that everything would be solved in the middle of the next century. Then what you had is a great disappointment, especially with the world war II.
Nowadays, scientists have the willingness to say they don't know or that there is no certainty. There is much more comfort with that which cannot be explained or that which is given a soft scientific explanation. So before, it was belief in nothing, now it's belief in almost anything, including healing crystals and whatnot.
Do Miracles Occur?
Miracles are a sort of communication between our Lord and us. Jesus uses miracles to point out the place of his power and ministry like in the feeding of the 5,000.
Nonbelievers say the miracles don't happen or can't happen or they happened in Jesus time but don't happen now like some protestants. Not all protestants disbelieve miracles but some to.
Do miracles occur? Well that's a matter of evidence. Yes, there are many instances of miracles. in the modern age, we have the miracle at Fatima where 60,000 people gathered to the place where Our Lady appeared to the children and saw the sun dance. That's fairly clear. It was reported in the newspapers including the anti-catholic ones because they couldn't be left out of such a huge event. Photographs were taken but still shots don't show a lot of movement! You can see miracles occurring in the sun at the hand of God in scripture; where the sun darkens, or the sun staying extended while Joshua hunted down the enemies of Israel.
So we have patterns of miracles through the scriptures. You see also present day miracles in the lives of the Church and the Church's Saints who live in Jesus Christ. You can see them at Lourdes, Fatima, Knock, places in Rome, and many places around the world where Our Lady has appeared, Guadalupe in the Americas or local shrines.
Many healings we see in the life of the Church at these places or at the hands of the Church's Saints. Saint Pio was a great healer. The testimony is substantial for these things happening.
One story pertaining to one who refused to see a miracle. A secular journalist who was an atheist decided to go to Lourdes and debunk what was going on there. He traveled with a family who had a young girl who's face was being eaten away by cancer. He was with her in the baths as she was immersed and the lesions cleared up right before his eyes. Even with this, he was so intent on not believing what was going on there that in his column he did account the miracle but explained it away by saying that the collective belief of the people there in that place has a healing property to it.
In the case of healings, partial healings are not claimed as healings by the Lourdes Bureau which keeps track of the healings at Lourdes. Nor are psychological healings dealt with because who can know the mind of the person; it cannot be physically determined. Only full complete healings are recorded. Nobody says these partial or psychological healings are not miracles, they're just not documented by the Church.
There was a girl who was 12 but looked 7 and she was stuck in her chair. A news crew was there and with the camera on the parents, the interviewer went up and asked the girl, "You've been here several times, what do you do because your prayers aren't being answered?" She replied, "I really am not worried about praying for myself or my healing, I leave that up to Jesus. I pray for my parents that they will accept what Jesus wants." Is that miraculous? no, but is it the work of Jesus in that girl? yes.
Reactions to Miracles
If God acts in power in the life of Christ and the Holy Church, that is where is His power is. These miracles force us to engage Him personally and fully to reconcile this.
There are three reactions that one has to a miracle. On second thought, a story is offered which has never been publicly shared by Father Hayes.
"I went to Medjugorje and while I was there I saw the miracle of the sun. Medjugorje itself may not be a miracle, the Church has not passed on it! But on the top of the mountain on a perfectly clear day, a cloud covered the sun and it changed. It was uncovered by the cloud, then it was no longer a gold sun on a blue sky; it went rose colored, with a band across, with a halo of white light and pink and purple rays. And I didn't know what to think. It was pulsing and not completely round anymore. I thought, 'it looks like something...' and a woman cried out 'the sacred heart!'"
He remembers being upset, saying, "there must be some natural explanation". Then he said, "I wonder if it's God". Then the third thing was, "I wonder if it's the devil."
Father continued, "I remember to my shame, checking my physical reaction of the body, 'I'm staring at the sun that's not good!' I looked away and didn't see a 'spot' in my retina due to looking at the sun. there was nothing there.
"after 10-15 minutes another cloud passed and then it was the gold sun again."
It is not to be said truly this is the action of God but then again the Lord doesn't normally permit the devil to use the sun. So having said that, it is interesting the reaction that father had. In one sense you'd think a miracle makes faith, but it doesn't in all cases. It makes you wrestle with it and forces you to try to deal with God in His power, either for your belief, or protection by Him. It is not necessarily a faith building experience.
The miracle by itself doesn't compel things, it's proof but it, by itself doesn't compel belief. For an individual it may push them over the edge or to start the journey. for others it wouldn't. Even the Pharisees saw the miracles and chose against Jesus.
Q: Why hasn't Medjugorje been approved?
Well, the war doesn't help, but the Church hasn't passed on an awful lot of sites. There are present honorings like even Knock in Ireland wasn't until recently visited. It's been accepted over time but there wasn't the same type of miracle. Not to mention that the Church never rules on an apparition site until it is over because you never know what the visionary will say tomorrow.
Q: A wonder could be due to a diabolical activity like with the Pharaoh's priests. How do you sniff one out?
With certain apparitions, for instance, they check if they are consistent with Church teaching. Like Bayside, New York. There is no new revelation since the death of the last apostles and if they provide new revelation there is a sure sign. Even at Lourdes there were other girls who claimed visions and where false.
Q: What about Signs and Wonders that pharaohs priests could perform?
They could have been illusions but the devil can also have control of material things.
Q: Can you give specifics of Bayside and what exactly made it condemned?
I'm not familiar myself with all the details, but it said the Pope and Bishops have gone into heresy with an ecumenical council. An ecumenical council cannot be in heresy, we have the Holy Spirit's promise on that.
Q: What is Knock, what happened there?
Oh my heavens! In 1879, this was an apparition which was public, just about the whole town saw this, the priest had just said a long mass and on the back of Church in the rain appeared motionless figures of our Blessed Lady robed as a queen, St. John robed as a bishop and St. Joseph praying. And then to one side towards the back was an alter surrounded by angels with the lamb slain, now risen.
Some had thought the pastor had gotten statues and had to come back and look again. They realized then it was not tangible. It was a complete miracle, lots of witnesses.
The parish priest just got in from doing a mass for the sick and didn't see it; couldn't be bothered with it. This was good so that he didn't shape the memory of the others since he was the one with the theological knowledge.
There was a great deal of problems going on in Ireland at this time and this was a sign that God was among them. It was a sign of hope.
Q: Why don't we hear a lot of the Holy Family's house in Laredo and some other lesser known miracles?
Sometimes it's hard to show the miraculous. Like what is miraculous about the house in Laredo? It is a relic of the house that Jesus lived in, sure. How is that a miracle? Well, it got there by the ministry of the angels, but it is not clear that this is what really happened. There is an Italian will which shows the transfer of the stones of the house to a family, the family was of the name de-Angeles. The church is not going to claim a miracle where they are not sure one occurred.
Q: What about there is a movement in modern times to de-miraculrize certain events? Like crossing of the Red Sea saying like they crossed at low tide.
What you have in the text, you have scripture analysis and this is a great sandbox. Skeptics want to prove the scriptures are false and those people who do this depart from the text. Once people start dealing with it in this way they invent their own story.
Like Jesus who didn't walk on water, He was walking on a ridge that was underneath the water. If you go to the place, you'll find there is no such place, which makes sense because the boat would have hit the same reef if it were near that.
Or the feeding of the 5,000 where all the people shared when Jesus shared. Yeah right. But these people ignore the whole meaning of the scripture trying to explain this away.
Q: There are shrines that have been despoiled that now have miracles happening at them when after being despoiled the miracles had stopped. It seems to me that there is more of an emotional attachment to the place by the people who went there. Does the Church have a position on that?
No, but in the case of this place in UK if the miracles would have continued, the English would have completely destroyed the place and leveled it. So perhaps the Lord did that providentially and perhaps that there are miracles starting there again could be a sign that the Church is alive again in England.
Q: Does the Church have a committee which verifies these things?
Not for everything, but for some. Miracles who are not directly related to Christ, they call these miracles 'credible' which means you're not required to believe in them. At best she says they're credible.
Only a miracle which touches the heart of the Faith must be believed, like the resurrection.
Q: Does the Church ever reverse her position?
Because the church doesn't take a position of Doctrine on miracles except those as part of the deposit of Faith, they don't have to.
Q: you had brought up earlier about the loaves of the fishes. Jesus doesn't do these things without a point. What was the point of that one?
Who gives us the food and drink? God? Jesus is gave the food and so He is God. It is also more involved than that, the previous topic explained this in more detail the notes are online.
Q: Someone here mentioned waking up in the morning is a miracle. That is a smaller....
This is a connection for those who see God acting in their lives. We see the hand of God touching our lives. It is a personal miracle, you start seeing what a wonder it is.
Q: My prediction is that our Church is going through a cleansing, do you expect some miracles to come out of the woodwork?
I don't know, miracles are everywhere but we just have to look for them.
