Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Miracles!


I'm a little slow off the mark this morning! Maybe it's because of a subject that is a biggie in faith terms. Do you believe in miracles? By miracles I mean events which occur outside of what we have established at the normal processes or "laws of nature."

We were in Montreal this past weekend visiting our son and daughter-in-law who live close to St. Joseph's Oratory, the massive Roman Catholic complex which dominates the city skyline perched on Mont Royal. On Saturday evening we went to the oratory because thousands of people were gathered there in anticipation of the canonization of Brother Andre Bessette which took place in the early hours of the next morning in Rome. For the uninitiated, that does not mean he was fired from a canon. He was declared a saint by the pope after the substantiation of miracles of healing performed through prayers to Andre.http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/15/f-pindera-brother-andre.html

During his lifetime many people came to Brother Andre for healing, although he was uncomfortable with being described as a healer. In the crypt where his remains rest, there are hundreds of canes and crutches left behind by those who believed they were healed. The miracles leading to Andre's canonization happened after his death, as is required by the church.

You might be surprised to know that the process for canonization involves a careful and deliberate examination of events. Medical and scientific experts are recruited to do this work, as well as church officials. A Canadian doctor and scientist, Jacalyn Duffin has been consulted in another instance and in the end penned a book called Medical Miracles. Even though she is an atheist she is open to the possibility of miracles.

Of course Jesus performed many miracles according to the gospels, and resurrection could be considered the ultimate miracle. Have you given much thought to miracles lately? We had our own chat on the way home. Have you experienced a miracle(s)? How do they fit with your faith?

6 comments:

sjd said...

I'm skeptical of this type of miracle. I really don't think God has anything to prove.
The miracles I believe in are the ones we see everyday. The leaves on the trees, clouds in the sky, my kids, my wife. My self, my soul, and all of yours didn't happen by accident. That to me is the true miracle.

Anonymous said...

I'm with sjd, I think a grain of sand is a miracle, and a sandy shore beyond even that.

Nancy said...

I'm with sjd and pupil, there are miracles all around us. I remember the first time I looked under a microscope and saw a sperm and an egg, the those two very tiny cells make a human being! That is truly a miracle.

Laura said...

Funny, I have had to think of "miracles" today as I was putting together some Sunday school stuff and we've hit "the parting of the Red Sea" which often brings thematic lessons around miracles. Admittedly I have somewhat dreaded the miracle lessons of Sunday School teaching because they stir up images of a magical God and then the questions of the kids (and myself) why God didn't answer other prayers in the same miraculous way. I have grown able to leave much to that "peace that surpasses all understanding" but find myself struggling a bit again when having to teach these stories.
Like sjd, I am skeptical about the kinds of miracles Brother Andre is credited with.
Life and love are "miracle enough" for me.

Deborah Laforet said...

I just have to look at my two boys. They are the miracles in my life!

David Mundy said...

Thanks to all of you for responding. Good to see you back Deb!

I agree with all of you that because we look at our world with the eyes of faith we can see the extraordinary in the ordinary. But to play the devil's advocate, couldn't an atheist come to the same conclusions?

As Protestants we tend not to engage in the formal and some would say arcane processes of establishing miracles and sainthood. At the same time we are people of a "Good Book" which spends a lot of time relating stories of the inbreaking presence and love of God. If we don't make room for God's choice to "break the rules" why bother including prayers of intercession in our devotional life?

My years of ministry have included moments of great disappointment when it seems that God has been silent, as well as moments of surprise when the unexplainable has happened.