Miracles
Recent miracles?
The word 'miracle'...
We use the word 'miracle' in many situations...
“It will be a miracle if I pass this exam.”
“Miracle survival for skydiver with faulty parachute”
“She's worked miracles with the garden –
it used to be such a dump.”
The word 'miracle' in a religious setting has a
different meaning...
What does 'miracle' mean?
Miracle is from the Latin
'miraculum'= 'object of wonder'
Old English
'wundorweorc'='wonder-work'.
The Greek words (translated as
miracle in Bibles) were
'semeion'= 'sign'
'teras'='wonder'
'dynamis'= 'power'
So what do Christians mean by „miracle‟?
Incredible coincidence?
Something that
is extremely
unlikely?
Magic?
A divine act for some good
purpose in which the laws
of nature as we know them
are overridden
Lourdes
Lourdes, in southern France, is a
major centre of Christian pilgrimage.
In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, a
young village girl experienced 18
visions of 'a lady dressed in white' –
Mary, the Immaculate Conception.
From the first days, the Grotto where
the visions occurred, became a
centre of healings.
Many thousands of miraculous
cures have been reported; only a
small number have been accepted
by the Church as miraculous in
character.
The Grotto in Lourdes
Miracle? Case Study 1
John (Jack) Traynor
Terrible war injuries
Shrapnel to head,
body shot through,
totally immobilised … His right arm which was like a
skeleton has recovered all its
Full army pension muscles. The hole near his
certified by three temple has completely
doctors disappeared … the instant
Visited Lourdes – repair of the brain injuries as
healed & returned to is proved by the sudden and
definite disappearance of the
work paralysis of both legs and of
the epileptic attacks
Case Study 1 continued
Before... After...
• Completely and permanently • Completely cured
disabled
• “I am in the haulage
• Inch-wide hole in skull covered by business now. About a
metal plate to shield pulsating dozen men work for
brain me. I lift sacks of coal
weighing 200 pounds,
• Severe epilepsy and I can do any work
that an able-bodied
• Multiple organ impairment man can do.”
Jack Traynor in 1937
• Had had several operations, none
of which had been successful • Died in 1943 of a
hernia, completely
• Seemed to be dying when he unrelated to his war
arrived in Lourdes on 22 July 1923 wounds
Case Study 2: Jean-Pierre Bely
Diagnosed with MS in 1972
Progressive, wasting disease,
no known cure
In 1987, Mr. Bely was awarded
a 100% invalidity pension with
an allowance for a third
person
During a pilgrimage to It is possible to conclude with a good
Lourdes, he regained margin of probability that Mr. BÉLY
completely his normal suffered an organic infection of the
functions, in a sudden, type Multiple Sclerosis in a severe
unexpected and unforeseen and advanced stage of which the
sudden cure during a pilgrimage to
way on Friday 9th. October Lourdes corresponds with an unusual
1987 and inexplicable fact to all the
12 years later Church knowledge of science. It is impossible
recognised the healing as to say any more today in medical
miraculous science.
Medical Assessment
Case Study 3: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Juan Diego, a 16th C.
native central
American had an
unusual experience
Its lasting effect is a
picture, claimed to
be miraculous, of a
woman, Mary, at
prayer
This image has
defied scientific
explanation
Juan Diego's experience
On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego rose
before dawn to walk to daily Mass in what is
now Mexico City. That morning, as Juan
passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and
saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow.
A woman's voice called him to the top of the
hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman
dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she
was the Virgin Mary and asked Juan to tell
the bishop to build a church on that site. ...
The bishop was kind but sceptical. He asked
Juan to bring proof of the Lady's identity. ...
The Lady then told Juan to climb to the top
of the hill where they first met. Juan was
shocked to find flowers growing in the
frozen soil. He gathered them in his cloak
and took them at once to the bishop. Juan
told the bishop what had happened and
opened his cloak. But the bishop's eyes
were on the glowing image of the Lady
imprinted inside Juan's cloak.
Mysterious Painting
The image shows no sign of
deterioration after 450 years.
The tilma or cloak of Saint Juan
Diego on which the image of Our
Lady has been imprinted, is a
coarse fabric made from the threads
of cactus. This fibre disintegrates
within 20-60 years!
Microscopic examination revealed
that there were no brush strokes.
It's proved very difficult to use paint
or photos to get anything like the
same effect – especially on rough
cloth.
Mysterious eyes …
The eyes, when highly magnified,
show some interesting shapes. Are
these the reflections of the people
gathered around?
Questions...
Do Catholics have to accept these cases as miraculous?
No. They are obliged to accept the works of Jesus as miraculous.
Is the Church quick to claim that unusual events are miraculous?
No. The Church subjects claims to rigorous scientific checks.
For example, the Jack Traynor cure has not been accepted
(or rejected) by the Church. Because of the circumstances at
the time, it wasn't possible to conduct a full investigation.
Why are Catholic 'miracles' linked with Mary; what about Jesus?
There are a number of Catholic pilgrimage places connected with
visions of Jesus. But this is not a competition. Mary shows us the
way to Jesus, her son. She is also the woman of the Apocalypse,
who heralds the victory of Jesus over evil.
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed
with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve
stars on her head. (Revelations 12:1)